17th Sunday- A

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time- A 

Once a priest asked his parishioners saying, "Is there anyone here who does not have an enemy at all?" Please remember even great people had enemies and if you do not have one, please raise your hands". Nobody did and then one older woman of 95, raised her hand and the priest invited her to the front and after everyone clapped hands for her, he asked, "how come you did not have any enemy at all" And she said, "I outlived all those stupid people". 

It's our choices that show who we are , far more than our abilities. As we make good choices in life, we enjoy life more and come to realize the purpose of life too. 

We are here for a reason and purpose and as we make good choices in life, we come to know the divine reason for why God created us. 

We all know that famous story of St. Thomas Aquinas who had a vision as he prayed to God. Jesus who appeared to him said, "Thomas, you wrote well of me and now ask for anything and I will give it to you". Thomas could have asked for wealth, could have asked for fame and riches instead he asked Christ saying, "Da mihi te ipsum" means 'give me yourself" Yes, by asking Christ Himself, he got it all. 

Asking Christ Himself is the best choice in life and as we have Christ with us, everything else will come to us. Yes, He is our ultimate goal and after reaching Him, we have nothing to achieve at all. 

Today's reading, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night and said, "Ask what I should give you". Solomon who praised and thanked God for all the things that happened to him said, "Give me your servant wisdom to govern your people". As he got understanding and wisdom, he got it all. Solomon made the best choice asking for wisdom and asking for understanding.  

It's our choices that make who we are, more than our abilities. 

As we choose right things, we will live. God gave the opportunity to choose between life and death; light and darkness; between happiness and misery and unfortunately our parents Adam and Eve chose death and darkness and misery and pain. 

But our Lord Jesus Christ reversed everything and brought life and light; unending happiness and joy to us all. He says that the kingdom of God is like a hidden treasure and as we leave behind unwanted and worldly things and reach that treasure, then we can say that we make a very good choice in life. 

It's our choices that show who we are, far more than our abilities. 

As a woman who was a widow and poor was getting help from the parish, the parish priest visited her. While he was talking to her about her situation and her son who moved to the big city and was making very good money. The woman said, "I am so proud of my son and he writes every week and also sends me a picture". The pastor said, "I loved to see those pictures thinking they were family pictures". The old widow showed him a bible stuffed with pictures of Benjamin Franklin. Those are $100 bills, in case you missed it. The son tried to help his mother, but she missed the treasure. 

The kingdom of God is like a net that was thrown into the see and caught fish of every kind and we should know how to choose good fish and throw away the bad and make the kingdom of heaven grow. 

It's about choices that show who we are, far more than our abilities. Let us make good choices and make the kingdom of heaven grow and manifest in and through us. Amen.

16th A

Sunday-16th-A 

Once two brothers went to the same church and though everyone knew their wickedness and evil way of life, they did not say anything to them. One day, one of the brothers died and other man came to the priest and said, "I am going to donate 100 thousand dollars to the Church if you say that my brother was a saint in your funeral homily. The priest accepted and got the money and the next day at the funeral, the priest said, "This man was a cruel and evil. He abused his wife and children and did so many bad things to many people but compared to his living brother, he was a saint".  

Today's gospel talks about the compassion, kindness and patience of God Almighty. Our God is slow to anger and ready to forgive and that is why as people went away from Him again and again and as they fell into the same sin over and over again, He did not abandon them but loved and forgave them all completely.  

Today's gospel teaches us to be patience and kind to our neighbor, family members and friends. As we grow wheats, we have to deal with weeds also. 

The servants are crying out in today's gospel saying, "O Master, did you not sow only good seeds in the field? Did you not only create good people in your own image and likeness? Then how come, there are bad people living around destroying the world with war, killing, bombs and so on? God who is so compassionate would say, "Do not go out and destroy the weeds or bad people, let them be. Give them a chance and they would change. Even at the last moment, there is conversation.  

As a faithful woman went to St. John Maria Vianney and said, "I know per sure that my husband might have gone to everlasting punishment. It is because he killed himself jumping off the bridge and what did Vianney say? He said, "Woman, do not judge your husband and who knows between the bridge and the floor, there was a space and in that space, he might have asked God to forgive him. We should not judge others but love them . By the grace of God, we can change. 

God is slow to anger and ready to forgive and our God is so patient and wait till the last moment.  

Then Christ our Lord says, "The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which is the smallest of all seeds and when it begins to grow, it becomes a tree where birds and animals come for shelter. Yes, Christ is the kingdom of God and He is the mustard seed because His birth was not recognized by many and His calling the disciples and forming a group called the apostles were criticized by many Pharisees and Scribes but by His divine power, the kingdom of God is deeply rooted in every human heart today. Kingdom of God means bringing peace and love; kindness and compassion among people. Let be sowers of the kingdom of God and bring more people to the kingdom where love, only love reigns. Amen.

homily 15-A

15th Sunday- Year A 

Good morning every one.  

Once an old man sent a letter to his son who was in prison saying, "Son, when you were with me, you used to help me digging up the garden for me to grow tomatoes. Now I am old and I cannot do any digging and I miss you son. The very next day, he got an answer from his son saying, "Dad, please do not dig up the garden. That is where the bodies are buried". Love you son Vincent. The next morning at 4.00 o'clock Csis (Canadian intelligent agents) and police came and dug up the whole garden without finding any bodies. They then apologized to the old man and went away. The next day, the old man got another letter from his son saying, "Dad, now go on and plant tomatoes. That is the best I could do for you under the circumstances". 

About five years ago, when we got some strange weather, my TV stopped working because of not getting proper signal from the satellite dish. So I called bell and the man who talked to me said, "our signal is very strong and our sender is working well but your receiver has some problem. I could send someone by tomorrow and it will cost $150 for the visit". I said, "you are answering me from India and why don't you do something for your countryman. You know what he said, he said, "why don't you go out and remove whatever on the top of the receiver and tell me how it works". I removed the snow that was on the top of the receiver and everything worked well. The satellite position was good and the signal was good but the receiver wasn't good, so I had to fix the receiver.   

The sower is good and the seed is good and what if the soil is not good, then it will not produce as 30, 60 and hundred folds. We need good soil that can produce much fruits.  

Almighty God our Father, after creating everything out of nothing, at least took the soil or the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. He made him from the dust so that he could be good soil to receive the word of God. 

You are a good soil when you and spouse are for each other and keep the wedding vows saying "I will love and honor you all my life and especially in good times and bad and in sickness and health... and thus you raise children according to the commandments of God.  

Once a man said, "You know what I have seven children and they all practice their faith and I am so proud of them. I am extremely happy that they are well grounded morally. How did that become so possible while so many people are having tough time to talk to their children about God, faith and going to church? It's because he was very good in his prayer life. People often say, "My children do not go to church and all I can do is just pray for them". Prayer is not that easy. If we dedicate our lives in prayer whole heartedly everything will completely change". Instead we have to say, "My children are not going to church, I am going to learn how to pray". 

Yes, you are a good soil when you pray with all your heart, mind, body and soul. Thus you will produce as 30, 60 and hundred folds of happiness and joy.  

Once a woman who moved from Angola to the states went to church and in there, they were talking about how to bring more people to church by giving out flyers, bulletins and so on and then someone looked at her and said, "What do you do in Angola if you want to bring more people to church and she said, "we used to send two people to a village and they would live among them and by seeing them, many would convert and come to church". Only by practicing our faith, we can bring more people to church. 

You are a good soil when you are part of a faith family. There are people more and more getting isolated and are feeling alone. We cannot blame it on the societal structure or custom and culture any longer. If we want to be with a solid faith community, we are not only coming to church but also should join any faith groups and activities that fit for you. Even if you would like to start a faith based group, you should not hesitate and thus you will become a good soil producing 30, 60 and hundred folds of joy and happiness. 

You are a good soil when you have a spiritual passion. There are so many people coming and going in the world. They live and they die without any hope and we are so fortunate to have Christ with us. Christ is our sower and let Him sow the goods in the good soil of our hearts and thus let us produce fruits of compassion, love, kindness and forgiveness. 

Conclusion: The satellite position could be stronger and the signal could also be stronger but if the receiver is not positioned properly, then the TV will not work. Yes, the sower can be good and the seed can be good too but the soil is not good, nothing will be produced. So let us be good soil and produce fruits as 30, 60 and hundred folds. Amen. 

14th Sunday- a

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time- A 

In today's gospel, Christ our Lord the Only Son of God who came to give us life, life that will never end says, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" 

It's Christ who is the way, the truth and the life and It's Christ who is the living bread and life-giving water and it's Christ who leads us to green pastures and feeds us with the finest of all. 

One of Anthony De Mello's stories goes like this, once an old rabbi prayed to God saying, "God, all my life, I dedicated and served only you. Now look at me, I am so poor and please do something. Please let me win a lottery and thus I will be happy. The rabbi waited for a while and nothing happened and again he prayed to God to help him to win a lottery. Months went by nothing happened. And then he finally prayed to God saying, "God, I am in desperate need, please do something". That night God appeared to him and said, "I will let you win a lottery and why don't you buy a lottery". 

This is just a story and please don't buy a lottery unless you are a rabbi. 

As we go to Him with our heavy burdens, He will definitely give us reduced our burdens and give us rest.  

In the Old Testament, we meet with so many God-fearing people and how their burdens were completely removed by God almighty. For example, Abraham and Sarah who were suffering without an offspring but though for long time, they were not blessed with a child, they never lost their faith in God. They cried out to Him day and night and at the age of 99, Abraham was blessed with Isaac. Because of his faithfulness and trust in God, his burden was completely removed.  

As we move little further, we meet with Job who cried to God, "Naked I was born and naked I will die... " but never lost hope in God. He went back to him again and again and at the end, God highly blessed Him. 

Though we are all filled with so many material things, they cannot give us permanent happiness and joy. God alone, yes, He alone gives us joy and happiness. Our heart will be restless until it rest in Him. 

In today's gospel, Christ our Lord calls us saying, come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. It is because in the time of Christ, the so called religious leaders,  

the Pharisees and Scribes were putting too many religious burdens on everyday people. They were too many laws and regulations; too many conditions and controls and every day and ordinary people were suffering of Sabbath laws and customs. 

There came Christ who saw people like sheep without a Good Shepherd and had compassion for them and said, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest". 

Thus people who were considered sinners because they were sick and people who were physically and mentally sick because they were considered sinners came to Christ and Christ the compassionate one carried their burdens and gave them rest. Christ the gently one made their burden light and showed the way. 

When we are tested with trials, the first question we ask God is "Why Me?" And we fail to count the innumerable blessings we receive from God each and every day. Arthur Ashe, the famous Wimbledon player was dying of AIDS due to his blood transfusion, many of his fans wrote letter to him asking, why did God choose you for such a bad cruel disease? And Arthur replied them saying,  'World over 50, 000, 000 children start playing tennis and 5, 000, 000 learn to play tennis. 500, 000 play professional tennis and 50, 000 come to the circuit and 5,000 reach the grand slam, and 50 reach the Wimbledon and  4 to semifinals and 2 to finals. When I was holding the cup, I didn't ask God, why me. And today in pain, I should not ask God, "why Me". 

So it's God who chose us and let us thank and praise him for the good things that are happing to us and then let us go to him with our pain and suffering. There he will unload our burdens and uplift our souls.  

Conclusion: So we who believe in Christ, come to Church and practice our faith, let us go to Him and unload our burdens and challenges and He will give us rest. Amen.