13th Sunday-B

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY –B 

Good evening/ morning everyone. Once some people asked me, "Since you come from India, could you do anything Indian?" I said, "why not? Of course. Do you have a phone? And they asked me, "why?" And I said, "I would like to make you telemarketing calls".  

Once some people decided to do something big for their boss and they presented him a gift and even before opening it, the boss looked at the bottom of the box and saw a little wet and he touched it with his fingers and tasted and thanked them saying, "The wine tastes good and what kind of wine is this?" They said, "No, it is not wine at all and he again tasted it putting all his fingers into the wet spot and pressed them and said, "it's scotch... is it scotch, and it tastes good" They said, "no". He said, 'What is it then?' They looked at him and said, "It's a puppy". 

Dear friends in Christ Jesus, God loved the world so, so much and He sent His only Son into the world. Anyone who believes in Him, will not perish but have life that will never end. When we believe in Christ the Alpha and Omega of our life, the beginning and end of all, our life will be so different. We will not be afraid of anything, not even death. 

Christ as He entered the synagogue of Nazareth, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him. He opened the scroll and began to read saying, 'The spirit of the Lord is upon me. He sent me to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, make the lamb walk and raise the dead to life". When the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him, what did he say? He said, 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing". 

We who come to church, receive all the church's sacraments and put our faith into practice know that Christ continues His miracles and wonders in and through us. Nothing is impossible with our loving Christ our Lord. 

Once a son woke his dad up saying, "Dad, how come you are still sleeping? The boat is going to sink. And the dad said, "Son, I am not going to be afraid, God is our Father and He will help us". The son began to laugh and said, "Dad, do you believe in God that much" And then the dad took a knife and put it in his son's throat threatening to kill him, but the son did not react at all. Then the dad looked at him and said, "Son, why are you not afraid that I am going to kill you?" The son said, "you are my dad and I know you love me so much and you are not going to kill me...' 

Then the dad said, "Son, God is our Father, the one who made us in His own image and likeness and the one who sent us for a reason. When we believe in Him, He will never let us die". 

In today's gospel, we see how a powerful synagogue leader Jairus comes to Christ saying, "My daughter is at the point of death, come and help me. The gospel says that the leader was repeatedly begging Christ for help. As we put our complete trust in the Lord and ask Him, He will never say "No" to us. That is our Lord Jesus Christ.  

As our Lord Jesus Christ went to the leader's house, the daughter was already dead. There were people wailing and weeping and Jesus who came to raise the dead to life said, 'your child is not dead and then He took her by hand and said, "Talitha cum", means little child, get up.  

Conclusion:  

Friends in Christ Jesus, every time we give up thinking to ourselves that we cannot go on, and every time we say to ourselves, oh this sickness is not going to go away from me and it's my end and every time we say to ourselves it is over, we hear Christ saying to us..."Talitha cum", child, get up. Yes, when Christ is with us, who can be against us, so instead of looking at Christ saying, "Jesus, I have a big problem... let us look at our problem and say, "I have a big God". Amen. 

  

THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

The birth of St. John the Baptist 

Good morning/evening everyone. We have a mission Church named after St. John the Baptist in Minet and people often call us looking for a Catholic church in Minet, we give the address and then they call us back saying, "That is a Baptist church and we are looking for a Catholic Church..." Then I read the Bible to them for an hour and explain why it's not a Baptist church.... 

Once two monasteries were fighting over who possess the head of St. John the Baptist. They both claimed that they have the authentic evidence and then they finally settled saying that they both have the head of St. John the Baptist. One Monetary has the head of John the Baptist when he was a man and the other has the head which was smaller that means when he was a boy. 

Today the Holy Catholic Church celebrates the solemn festival of the glorious birth of St. John the Baptist. The Church celebrates three birthday solemnities namely the Nativity of Christ our Lord, the Nativity of our Blessed Mother ever virgin and that of John the Baptist.  

John the Baptist: The very name 'John' means 'God is gracious'. And like Abraham and Sarah and like many other pious people in the bible, Zachariah and Elizabeth were without child for long time. Because of their faith in God and because of their fear of God and because of their trust in God, they were blessed to have a child. But, though they strongly believed in miracles, like Thomas the Apostle, Zachariah began to doubt saying, "How is it possible?"  

Everything is possible with God. And that is why He is called 'God'. And he was taken away his communication ability and he was made mute. It wasn't a punishment but a blessing. He was given time to think, meditate and reflect on the graciousness of God Almighty. There are people after certain age complain saying, "They cannot sleep after certain hour at night..." It's a blessing. They are given time to pray, meditate and reflect on the love of God. There is a reason for everything that happens to us and those who interpret them with the help of God, enrich themselves spiritually. 

Though Zachariah and Elizabeth were in their advanced age, God blessed them with a child and nothing is impossible with God. Please remember doctors can give you the diagnosis but only God knows the prognosis. Don't be afraid of your challenges and God will continue to do miracles in your life and your children's and grandchildren's and others. 

Even as our Blessed Lady hesitated about the birth of Christ, the angel Gabriel said to her, "Look at your cousin Elizabeth, in her old age, God almighty blessed her with a child...and then we see how our Blessed lady began to sing Magnificat saying, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in the Lord always..." 

Conclusion: 

As we look at the lives of all these amazing holy people who received miracle upon miracle, we come to know one thing in common. Though they practiced their faith in common place such as synagogues and temples and were involved with many community activities, they never forgot to pray at home. They had 'family prayer'. Yes, when a family is united in prayer, miracles and wonders will continue to happen. Let us pray at home and experience Christ every day. So, as we celebrate the glorious birth of John the Baptist, let us renew our baptismal promises asking Christ to help us to begin our family prayers at home. Amen. 

FATHER'S DAY

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY


Good evening/ morning everyone, I am so happy to welcome you all for today's Holy Mass. Our special welcome to all our parishioners, visitors, and everyone here today.
Let us thank God our Father for bringing us all here to this beautiful church of St. Joseph. 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 every day.
our special welcome to all our visitors today. On behalf of this beautiful church, we would like to wish all our wonderful dedicated and amazing fathers, 'happy father's day'. we also thank God for all our departed and living fathers for their sacrifice and dedication.
Once two sons decided to do something big for their father, so they bought a religious horse and all the dad had to say was Amen and praise the lord. When he would say Amen the horse would stop still and as he would say praise the lord, it would take off, would run like the wind. The dad got so excited and jumped on the horse and the horse right away took off and ran like the wind, so fast and went on a hill. the dad got so frightened and didn't know what to say and when he finally remembered he said, "Amen". The horse stood still on the edge of a cliff and he got relaxed and thanked god saying, "praise the lord". 
thus the dad died and one of the sons who was away that day, came home and asked the brother, "what was our dad's last word". my mom liked this joke. the brother said, our dad didn't have a last word. what do you mean and why did he not have a last word. The brother said, "It's because our mother was with him till the end". 

when my dad died my mom was with him till the end and i asked him, Mom, what was our dad's last word and she said, "love your mom more..."
Jesus our Lord the only son of the Father says, "Which of you, when your child asks for bread, give a stone instead and if he asks for a fish, will you give him a snake?  And you who are so conditioned and evil know how to give good things to your children and imagine how much more the heavenly Father will give to those who ask him, the Holy Spirit. 
The Holy  Bible says, God the Father breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of people and thus life began and as they went away from Him, they lost life and Christ our Lord came to restore life on earth and thus He breathed the breath of life again into humanity. Before going up to the Father, he said to his disciples, breathing on them, "Receive the Holy Spirit". Yes, because of Christ, life was restored.
And today, people are asked to continue that breath of life on earth and thus the man and woman become one flesh to bring life on earth. And man is given a great blessing to become a father to continue God's divine activity of creating life. This spiritual call has high responsibility. Without the help of divine, a man cannot become a dad.
Today the world is filled with fathers and some are worthy to be called dad. it's because of their sacrifice and dedication and it's because of their willingness to go against the current and make their children stronger in every single way. These dads know that only dead fish go with the flow and spiritual people take risk to face challenges.
And today let us thank God for all these wonderful dads who sacrifice so much for their families and children.
Once a dad was getting ready to go to work, noticed one of his sons was using his electric shaver to shave his head and the dad got so mad and said, "What are you doing? don't you have anything better to do? the son said, 'Dad, don't get mad at me and go and see what charlie did. there came another son charlie completely shaved his head. The dad got so upset and said to them, "why are you doing these things to me and what are you trying to prove? the children innocently looked at their dad and said, "Dad, we want to be like you bald".
Children imitate their dad and want to become their dad.  In the holy gospels, when Philip asked Christ saying, "Lord, Master, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied. and what did Christ say? Philip, you are with me until now and how can you ask me to show the Father. Don't you know that the Father and I are one. If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.
And that is why being a dad is a high responsibility, dedication and sacrifice. A dad will never do anything that will make their children weak. He will do everything for the good of his children and that is why he is called "Dad".
Yes, Dad is a hero to his children. They look up to Him and then they become like their dad in doing everything thing. And that is way we say, a good dad is a blessing, god-given. Anyone can father a child but only a good dad can make a change in his children lives.
once a dad looked at his son who was trying to move a heavy rock and said, "Son, are you using all your strength? and are you using all your energy to move that rock? The son who was so exhausted said, "Yes, dad of course, i am using all my strength and then the dad said, "No, son, you are not. you have not asked me yet for help".
once a group of children went to see an ocean first time and upon returning, they were sharing their experience with other children in the school saying, "No one can cross the ocean swimming. It's so huge and so on" then one of the children who never saw an ocean said, "What about my dad. He can do anything". 
the kingdom of God which was so tiny began to grow stronger and stronger, because the disciples asked divine help. They asked the Father to help them and Christ taught them to call God Father, so let us go to the divine father and get enough strength to make this world a beautiful place to live and love. God bless.

FATHER'S DAY

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY. 

Good morning/evening everyone, I am so happy to welcome you all for today's Holy Mass. Let's thank God the Father Almighty for bringing us all here to this beautiful church of St. Joseph's. Let us thank the Father to send His only Son our lord Jesus Christ to be with us forever. Let's thank our Father for showering upon us the gifts of the Holy Spirit every day. 

Happy Father's Day to all our wonderful fathers who by their very life inspire and influence their children and family. 

One day two sons decided to do something wonderful for their dad on a Father's Day, so they spent a good amount of money and bought a Catholic horse. The horse was so religious and when it heard "Amen", it stood still and when it heard, "Praise the Lord', it ran like anything else, I mean so fast like the wind. When the dad saw the horse, he was so happy and thanked them and then right away jumped on the horse. The horse began to run so fast and the dad completely forgot what to say. The horse was running so fast and went on a hill. That is always happen with men. The man got so afraid and thank God, he remembered the word and he screamed saying, "Amen", the horse stopped on the edge of the cliff and he was so happy and thanked god saying, "Praise the Lord". 

Once a son innocently looked at his dad and said, "Are you the boss of the house?" The dad was all proud and said, "Yes, son, of course, I am the boss of the house and then the boy said, "Is it because Mom put you in charge, right?" 

Once a man said, "The best thing that my dad taught me is...."Don't tell your mom".  

The Father God is our Creator and when He breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of people, life began. Adam and Eve began their spiritual journey on earth. But as they went away from God, their life source was taken away from them. They faced pain and suffering and eventually death. But God who loves us so much sent His Son Christ our Lord who breathed on the disciples saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit". And thus, life was restored, and that life is continuing in people.  

Today God calls men in a special way to become fathers to praise and glorify and continue His wonderful creation activity in cooperation with women and other creatures. Continuing His creation activity demands so much responsibility, spiritual responsibility. Fathers have to sacrifice and dedicate more than hundred percent of everything to protect their family and raise their children holy. 

Where can they draw energy to do so? Can they do it by their strength alone? No, no father can do it alone. They need strength from above. They need God. They need God the Father to make them good fathers on earth. 

Once a dad who was so buy getting ready to go to work, noticed that one of his children was using his electric shaver to shave his head. The dad got so mad at him and said, "what are you doing? Why are you keep bothering me and you need a good spanking." The son said, " dad, don't get mad at me. God and see what Charlie did. Then Charlie his second son came in completely shaved head. The dad got so upset and said, "Why are you doing all these things to me and what are you trying to prove me?' They innocently looked at their dad and said, "Dad, we want to be like you". 

That is a desire of every child trying to be like his dad. In the gospels, Jesus often says, "The Father and I are one. To Philip who said to Christ, "Show us the Father and we will be satisfied", Philip, have you not understood all the things that I talked to you and now you are asking to show the Father. If you see, you have seen the Father. The Father and I are one. No one can go to the Father except through me".  We say like the Father, so is the Son. 

Being Father is a very big responsibility. They have to set the example first and then it's easy for the children to do. It's not just telling the children, "Don't do this and don't do that" and then going behind their back and doing everything. The children imitate their father. 

Once a group of children went to see an ocean first time and when they came back to school the next day, they were very excited to share their experience saying, "The ocean is so huge, and no one can cross the ocean swimming". And one of the children who did not go to see the ocean with them, looked at them and said, "What about my dad? He can do anything.  

Fathers are role models and guide and they build and shape their children's future. When a dad is spiritual and practice his faith, his children will always be spiritual and practice their faith. 

One day, a dad saw his son trying to move a heavy rock. He said to his son, "Son, are you using all your energy to move the rock?" The son who was so exhausted said, "Yes, dad of course". Then the dad looked at him and said, "No, son, you are not. You did not ask my help yet".  

Fathers make a big difference in their children's lives. As we celebrate 'Father's Day, let us pray for fathers who teach their children to grow stronger in faith, hope and love.  

Today the world needs spiritual fathers, spiritual leaders who not only pray daily and also help their family to do so. We need good morally upright fathers who can help their children to grow faithfully and we need catholic fathers who pray the rosary, come to Mass and celebrate life and help others to do the same. So, let us ask St. Joseph, to pray for all our fathers today. Amen.