28th Sunday- A

TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY-A 

Good morning everyone, I am happy to welcome you all for today's Holy Mass. 

After today's and tomorrow Masses, there will be a special pet animal blessing. If you haven't brought your pets today, you may bring them tomorrow 10.00 or 12.00 noon and I will bless them in front of the statue of St. Francis of Assisi. 

One of the churches, after the pet blessing, a wonderful woman came to me and said, "Oh father, I don't have any animal at home and is it o. k to bring my husband?" I said, "That’s fine with one condition. After I bless him, you should take him back to the zoo". He looked at me and said, "Father, that’s not funny. Do not give up your day job". By the way, he was one of the persons who pronounced my last name right and I gave him a check for hundred dollars and he gave it back to me. It's because I said, "This check can be cashed in heaven". 

Once a woman who passed away was at the heavenly gate. Before letting her in St. Peter looked at her and said, "By the way, before entering into heaven, you suppose to spell a word". She said, "What word". Why don't you spell "Love." She said, "L..o..v..e" and thus she was allowed to enter into heaven. Then the saint looked at her and said, "I am going to have a break and all you have to do is, if anyone comes here, just ask that person to spell a simple word and let them in". And as she was standing at the gate, you won't believe that her ex-husband came. She looked at him and said, "What are you doing here?" I took a heart attack and ended up here. Am I in heaven? She said, "Not yet my ex-husband, not yet" before entering into heaven, you suppose to spell a word. He said, "What word?" She looked at him and said, "Spell Czechoslovakia". 

Friends in Christ Jesus, the past three weekends, we have been meditating upon the kingdom of God. Christ our Lord talks about the kingdom of God where we will see God face to face and celebrate unending life. We are all called to enter into heaven and be with Christ our Lord and thus to have eternal bliss. And that's why even before He was going to the Father. He called all His apostles and said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father's house and if they were not, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you and so where I am you may be too.  

Then one of His apostles St. Thomas said, "Jesus, we do not know where you are going and how can we know the way?" Jesus said to us all, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can go to the Father except through me". 

Our God is not God Father who kills others when they do not do what He is saying. Our God is God the Father who though we go away from Him, loves us unconditionally. 

Today's gospel talks about a glimpse of the glory of the kingdom of heaven. It's like a celebration of a wedding festival. We are all invited and celebrate and be happy eternally.  

Once a man who went to heaven was so curious of going to eternal punishment, I mean to hell and see the place. The angel said that is not a good idea but any how he went down. He actually had a good time. The next week also he did the same and had good time. On the third time when he wanted to go to hell, the angel of the Lord said, "NO" but he went down but this time, things were so different. He was being tortured and was in agony and he looked at the devil and said, "What is going on here. The last two times I had fun but now I am being tortured and in agony" The devil looked at him and said, "Son, before you were a visitor but now you are a resident".   

There are so many people say "No" to the wedding banquet, to the celebration. They have so many excuses to come to church and know and learn about the love, kindness, forgiveness of God almighty. They always find a way to avoid the celebration saying, "I don't have time... I am busy and I have to take my children to hockey and so on..." If a person doesn't have grocery, he knows where to go and when a person needs gas, and he knows where to go but when a person doesn't have time, why does he not know where to go. We should go to God who created time. We should go to Him who made everything and He will bless us with more time. 

St. Francis de Sales says, "Pray every day an hour and when you are busy, then pray two hours". 

There is a beautiful Arabian fable which tells about a man who went to his neighbor and asked to borrow a rope. The neighbor said, "I cannot lend it to you because I am using it to tie up a pile of sand" But the man said, "You cannot tie up a pile of sand though". You know what the neighbor said? He said, "Oh yes, you can and you can do anything with a rope when you don't want to lend it to others". 

Today so many people come up with so many excuses to come to the wedding feast and they refuse to know the know the love and kindness of God by practicing their faith. 

But on the other hand, you are here celebrating Christ's love and kindness. You are here participating in his wedding feast and so let us prepare ourselves to celebrate the wedding banquet one day with Christ who is preparing a place for us all in heaven and pray for those who are away from His love and forgiveness.  

If anyone asks you about where you were today? Tell them that you went to experience a piece of heaven... I mean to the Church. Amen.