The Ascension of the Lord

THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST  Good evening/morning everyone. I am so happy to welcome you all for today's Holy Mass. Our special welcome to all our parishioners, Summer parishioners, visitors and everyone here today. Friends in Ascended Christ, let us thank God almighty for bringing us all here to this beautiful Church of St. Paul the Apostle community. Let us thank Him, for sending His only Son our Lord Jesus Christ to be with  us forever. Let us thank Him for showering upon us the gifts of the Holy Spirit each and every day.  Once  an older woman went to church and said to the usher, "would you please kindly take me to the front pew". The usher was so helpful saying to her, "why front pew. Our pastor's preaching is so boring. Why don't do sit at the back". She said, "Do you know who I am?" No. Then she said, "I am the pastor's Mother". Then the usher looked at her and said, "Do you know who I am?" She said, "No. I don't" And he said, "Thank God". 

Today the Holy Catholic Church celebrates the solemn feast of the Ascension of Christ our Lord. 

Christ our Lord, after His glorious Resurrection, for forty days stayed on earth, appearing to His apostles, disciples and other followers preparing them to send out to preach the Good News of Salvation. As He appeared to them, He shared with them divine peace, the peace that the world cannot give. And on the fortieth day, in the presence of His disciples and followers, wake taken up bodily to heaven. Yes, He who descended to be with us, He who did miracles and wonders for us and He who suffered and died on the cross for us and He who rose from the dead, ascended into heaven. 

Once Leonardo Da Vinci started a beautiful painting and for a while he worked at it. It came out so beautiful with its perspective, outline and color then he suddenly stopped the painting. He stopped working on it and asked one of his students to finish it. The student was horrified and shocked and said, "you are a genius and you know what you do. How can I finish your work? Da Vinci  silenced him saying, "will not what I have done inspire you to do your best?' 

Yes, Christ before ascending to His Father asks His disciples to look after His sheep and asks them to finish the picture saying He will be with us until the end of time. 

1. The Ascension of the Lord tells us where the Risen Christ is now: He is now sitting at the right hand of the Father and fulfilling all our needs. The Good Shepherd is looking after His sheep. Jesus who lived, died and came back to life is still with us. Every time we pray, read the bible and come to Church, we experience His presence among us     2. The Ascension of the Lord tells us why Christ appeared to His disciples: He appeared to them to remove their fears and anxieties. He appeared to the to increase their hope and faith and He appeared to them so that they would know that Christ loves them unconditionally. Every time, Christ appeared to them, He gave them peace and hope saying, "Do not be afraid. I will be with you until the end of time"  3. The Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that the Lord will come again on the last day. His coming will be our glory and joy. He comes to judge us and those who follow Him, will have life everlasting. And we who follow Him will be given new life. Let us continue His mission of love and forgiveness until the Lord comes.   4. The Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that those who follow Him should go out and preach the Good News to all, baptizing them in the name of the father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says we do not need to be worried of what to say and how to say it, because everything will be given to us at that time.   So let us celebrate his resurrection and ascension and celebrate our life in Him. Amen.

Six Sunday of Easter- year A

LOVE ONE ANOTHER 

 Today we celebrate the new commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ who says, "As I have loved you, you should love one another". Yes, Love fulfills all other commandments of our Creator. We will be known as Christians by our love. Only out of love, God sent His Son to us and only out of love, Jesus died on the Cross for us. Where there is love, there is God. And we are here to know the presence of God by loving one another. 

 1. In early days, while the Roman emperors enjoyed watching the circus events in which Christians were tortured and killed by lions, gladiators, said to each other, "see how these Christians love each other". Even in the face of great danger, Christians still had time to support each other. The followers of Christ did everything with Christian love. When Mother Theresa went to India to begin her mission, she didn't take with her money or any other material thing but Christ's love. The way she talked about divine love, people who were not Christians came to her to listen. She talked about self-sacrificing love and a giving and generous love, yes Christ's love. Because she rooted her faith in the new commandment of Christ. 

  

  

2. Once Napoleon was told that a new preacher came to his city and wanted to preach to his people. Then Napoleon said to his men, "I will let his preach, If he would preach about God's love like Jesus, if he would suffer like Jesus and die like Him on the Cross and would come back to life on the third day". For two thousand years, many tried their best to define love and its meaning and every one of them failed because they all only taught about love but our Lord Jesus Christ by dying on the Cross set an example for self-sacrificing love. If we love the  Lord, let us love like him and if we follow the Lord, let us put the love into practice. 

 3. Once a tourist said to his guide, "you have a right to be proud of your town. I was especially impressed with the number of Churches in it. The people here must love the Lord" The guide said, "Yes, of course, they may love the Lord but they sure as hell hate each other. When people fight with each other in the name of God, when they kill and destroy each other in the name of religion, then they can't be followers of Christ. 

 Conclusion: Christians are those who follow Christ. They know that all the prophets and the teaching of the testaments complete in love. When we love one another, we complete the commandment of Christ our love. Amen. 

Mother's day-fifth sunday in Easter

Mother's Day. 

Fifth Sunday of Easter. 

Once a bishop looked at all his priests and said, "You know what you should begin your homily with a story to inspire your people...For example, the last time, I looked at people and said, "I am in love with a beautiful woman and then I said her name is Blessed Virgin Mary". So priest went back to his parish wanting to imitate the bishop and as he was standing up to preach, he sees the bishop himself is standing at the back of the church, so he gets so nervous and says, "The Bishop is in love with a married woman and I cannot remember her name".  

Her name is Blessed Virgin Mary. Wife of St. Joseph and the mother of God. As we all know that the month of May is the month of our Lady, we are happy to celebrate 'Mother's day'.  Let us thank God for all our mothers who sacrifice so much for the wellbeing and happiness of their children. Let us also pray for every woman who promotes justice and peace around the world. 

Once a little boy forgot his lines in the school skit celebration in which he was participating. His mother who was sitting in the front row helped him whispering, "Say, I am the light of the world". The boy was so happy because he got the line and said proudly, "My mother is the light of the world".  

Mothers are so dedicated and help their children to grow in faith. They love their children so much and they do anything for their children to be happy and grow in the love and kindness of God. There is a beautiful story of a mother and her seven children in the second book of Maccabees. What happens is that seven brothers and their mother were forced to abandon their faith in God Almighty and worship the king. They say, "No..." And thus one by one was being killed in the presence of their mother and the mother encourages them to die for the faith and love. She also gives up her life courageously. A mother who loved her children so much and she wanted them to live eternally. Faith begins at home and mothers dedicate their time, energy and resources to help their children grow stronger in faith. My mother never sent me to church but she took me to church. When a mother does good things for her children, they will do better things for her in the future. 

Once king Solomon was asked to give a verdict on a case in which two women claimed for one child. They both said that the child belonged to them. Then Solomon who was known for his wisdom and understanding said, "Bring me a sword and cut the living child into two and give half to one and half to the other. Then the real mother came forward pleading to the king saying, "Please do not kill the child. Give the child to her. I want my child to be alive and happy". At that point, King Solomon decided who the real mother is . Motherhood is spiritual in nature and it can only be identified with sacrifice and love.  

When a mother has a strong faith, her children's faith will be stronger.  Our Lord Jesus Christ as at the age of twelve disappeared at the temple in Jerusalem, Joseph and Mary were searching for him and at last when they found Him, Blessed Mary was the one who looked at Him and said, "Son, why did you do this to us?" And the Holy Bible says afterwards He went down with them and thus began to grow in wisdom and knowledge before God and others. Parents who help their children to grow in the fear of God do a great thing to their society and their country.  

Christ the only Son of God who came down to bring the love of God says to His disciples, "I am going away...not to abandon you but to prepare a place for you so that where I am you may be too. Then to Thomas and all others who asked Him to show the way says, "I am the way, the truth and the life and no one can go to the father except through me" and then to Phillip who asked to show the Father says, "Oh Phillip, you have been with me all this time and you are asking me to show the father. If you have seen me then you have seen the Father...the father and I are one" 

As we all know that even women who do not have children are also considered mothers. For example, Mother Teresa who was always called Mother by all. It is because of her love and kindness towards humanity. She practiced what she believed. She sowed the seed of love in  humanity. Her whole life was a lesson of love. So let us thank God for all women who dedicate themselves to promote love and kindness; who promote faith and hope to humanity. Amen. 

  

  

  

Good shepherd Sunday-4th sunday easter-A

The Good Shepherd Sunday. 

Good morning/evening every one. Our special welcome to all our visitors today. Once a shepherd travelled with Einstein and Einstein said, "Wow...everything is possible with united airlines. And by the way, we have a long way to go and why can' t we do something...more like a bet. The shepherd said, "What bet?" Then Einstein said, "I will ask a question and if you don't know the answer, you pay me fifty bucks and you ask me a question and if I don't know, I will pay you ten thousand dollars. The shepherd said, "That sounds fine". Then Einstein said, "What is the speed of light that can be easily calculated and controlled by the distance between the sun and earth coming through the moon?. The shepherd said, "What...?' Then he paid him fifty dollars and then the shepherd looked at him and said, "What is the animal goes up a mountain with three legs and comes down with four legs?' Einstein was so confused, "What is the animal goes up on a mountain with three legs and comes down with four legs... Then he ended up paying the shepherd ten thousand dollars. Then Einstein said, "Before asking a question, what is that animal...? The shepherd gave him fifty bucks saying, "I don't know either". 

Today the Holy Catholic Church celebrates 'Good Shepherd Sunday'. This Sunday invites us to surrender ourselves to Christ the Good Shepherd who leads us to eternal life. 

Once a man was interpreting Psalm 23rd according to today's situation saying,  

"The TV is my shepherd and there is nothing I shall want. 

It makes me lie down on the couch. 

It leads me away from my faith and destroys my soul. 

It leads me to sex and violence for the advertisers' sake. 

Even though I walk in the shadow of Catholic responsibilities, 

There will be no interruption, 

For the TV is with me. 

It's cable and remote control, 

They comfort me. 

It prepares a commercial for me in the midst of my worldliness and  

Anoints my head with secular humanism and secularism. 

Surely ignorance and laziness will follow me all the days of my life and  

I shall dwell in the house of wretchedness watching TV forever. 

1. Once two people were asked to recite the famous Psalm 23rd ...The Lord is my Shepherd and there is nothing I shall want. The first man who was a powerful orator got up and with all his modulations of voice recited the psalm, every one got up clapped hands and cheered for him...Then the other man got up and repeated the same words. But this time, there was no clap or cheer... there was a deep meditative silence. There was a devotional and prayerful mood. Then the orator got up and said, "The difference between the old man I was....I know the Psalm but the old man knows the shepherd".  Today we are called to know the Shepherd personally and say, "The Lord is my shepherd and there is nothing I shall want". The Good Shepherd knows us and lead us to life and happiness.  

2. One day a little sheep saw a hole in the fence and through which he escaped. He wandered far and forgot his way back. Then he realized that he was being followed by a wolf. He ran and ran but the wolf kept following him until the shepherd came and rescued him. Then He carried the sheep to the fold. After that, many of his family members, friends and others came to him saying, "your sheep are escaping through the hole in the fence, nail it up..." But he never did.  He is our Good Shepherd who gives us all complete freedom to choose between good and bad; between life and death, between light and darkness and between heaven and earth. Even we choose otherwise and feel bad, He comes to us saying, "I am here for the lost sheep and thus saves us. He calls us by name and gives us life. He is the gate for the sheep.  

3. Christ the Good Shepherd says, "His sheep will not listen and follow strangers but only the shepherd". He loves His sheep and gives eternal life. Once there happened a conversation between a recent convert and his friend. The friend said, "So you have been converted to Catholicism?" Yes...I am. Then you should know Jesus and His life. Tell me where and when He was born. The convert said, "I am not quiet sure though". Then tell me about how many sermons He preached and how many miracles and wonders He performed. The convert said, "I don't know..." The friend said, "you don't know much about Christ and you claim to be converted to Christianity". The convert then said, "Yes, I am ashamed at how little I know about Christ but this much I do know...three years ago, I was a drunkard, I was in debt. My family was falling to pieces. My wife and my children hated me and they did not even talk to me. But now I have given up drinking and we are out of debt; ours is a happy family. All this happened because of Christ the Good Shepherd. This much I know. 

4.  Today we also celebrate 'Vocation Sunday'. Let us pray for vocation to priesthood and religious life. I remember in the last church, we had a very good altar server and he came to every mass and did a fabulous job and people just loved him and they all often looked at him and congratulated him and said, "one day...you will be a priest...."After hearing that he would be a priest one day, he stopped coming to church. It is a call and all we have to do is just encouraging them to involve more in the church and praying for children but not pushing them. 

5. Let us pray and ask our Good shepherd to continue to bless these children who are going to receive first Communion today. God bless. Amen.