17th Sunday-B

SEVENTIENTH SUNDAY B. 

Good evening/morning everyone. 

Once our former Italian bishop visited the parish where I was and asked, "What people do here?" I said, "This is a village and women like baking and men make maple syrup and the both love watching, Jerry Springer show". 

The next day after Mass, as he came to the hall, people shouted saying, "Bishop, bishop..." 

Once I said a non-Catholic joke and the bishop called me about it. All I said was, "A woman invited her friends to her wedding and one of her friends asked, this is your fourth marriage and what happened to your first husband, she said, "He ate poison mushroom and died". What about the second husband? The same thing, "he ate poison mushroom and died and what about your third? He had a broken neck and died. How come? Because he refused to eat the mushroom. 

So, the bishop said, "I heard about the joke and it's funny. Where do you get your materials? I said, thanks to St. Google. 

Dear friends in Christ Jesus, 

Our Lord Jesus Christ the Only Son of God, the Messiah and the one who saved us from darkness and death; gave us eternal light and life, is so kind and compassionate. He loves us with His unconditional love and looks after us with His compassionate heart. 

Compassion means feeling the feeling of other. Though He knew that He was going to raise Lazarus to life, as His heart is always beating for us, cried for the death of Lazarus. Though He knew His power healed the woman, who touched His cloak and, said, 'go in peace my child." There is no boundary for His love and compassion.  

As someone asked Him once, "Oh Jesus, how much do you love me? What did He do? He showed this much stretching out His hands and died on the cross. Yes, Jesus is our love and life and because of Him, we have life. He will never say, "No" to us. 

In today's gospel, we see how our Lord Jesus Christ who had compassion for the people, saw them like sheep without a shepherd and thus taught them many things and then He experienced their hunger too. And thus, He said to Philip one of the apostles, the one who said to Nathanael, "Come and see", we have found the Messiah, "Where are we going to buy bread for these people?" He should have said, "Oh Jesus, you are the bread of life and we don't need to go anywhere". But, he innocently answered our Lord, "Not even six months wages not enough to feed these people?" 

Then Andrew comes running to Jesus saying, "Oh there is a boy, a little child here who has five loaves and two fishes and what are they among so many people?" 

Once these apostles prevented little children coming to Christ and now they themselves are saying, "There is a little child here with five loaves and two fishes". "Let the children come to me and such as these, the kingdom of God" 

What we sometimes consider useless and nothing and what we look down upon and reject become so important in the sight of God. God makes everything out of nothing and that Christ out of those five loaves and two fished fed more than five thousand men besides so many women and children. 

Miracles are happening every day. And those who have faith in the Lord see and experience millions and millions of miracles each and every day. As we have faith and trust in the Lord, we too multiply His love and forgiveness; His kindness and compassion among people. 

As I was walking with another priest, I said, "There are lot of miracles happening every day". He said, "I haven't seen one and I don't see one". Then as we were walking, I heard a baby crying for away and people walking with their dogs talking, laughing and doing different things. I saw trees and water, birds singing and the sky so blue and beautiful and yet we say, "we don't see miracles". If you want to see a beautiful miracle today... go and look at yourself in the Mirror and there you will multiply into millions in happiness and joy. God bless 

  

16th sunday

16th Sunday-B 

Good evening/morning everyone. Someone said you are from India, could you do anything Indian? I said, "Of course and thus I took out my cell phone and made two telemarketing calls" 

Once a preacher preached on alcoholism saying, "If I have all the wine in the world, I will take it and throw it in the river". "If I have all the vodka, Brandy, whiskey in the world, I will take them and throw them in the river". 'If I have all the Molson and Corona in the world, I will take them and throw them in the river". Then there was a long pause and then when the choir director announced the final hymn, there was a big roar of laughter because she said, "our final hymn today is "Let us all gather at the river". 

The next weekend, he talked on forgiveness and asked, "If you have any enemy at all, please raise your hands, almost everybody raised their hands, except the choir director. What is with the choir director? The pastor asked her why and the ninety-two-year-old fragile woman said, "It's because I outlived all my stupid enemies".  

Everybody clapped hands for her and then the pastor invited her to the front and said, "Since you don't have any enemy at all. We are not going to give you any hymn. Why don't you choose three hymns for yourself", the ninety-two-year old lady was so happy and looked at them all and especially the men and said, "Him, Him and Him". 

Friends in Christ Jesus, 

It's because of Christ, we have happiness and joy and it's because of Him, we have a sense and meaning in our life and it's only because of Him, we have the courage to call God almighty, 'Father'. 

Christ our Lord called so many people to follow Him but among the many, He chose only twelve and called them Apostles. He then sent the apostles to continue His mission of preaching and healing. Upon their return from the mission, He took them to a lonely place where they could relax and take it easy. But on the other hand, Christ our Lord who even sacrificed His life for humanity, saw a big crowed coming toward Him and He had compassion for them. They were like sheep without a Shepherd and thus He began to teach them many things. 

People were like sheep with a shepherd 

Once a Japanese soldier was put in a prisoner war camp with a Canadian prisoner. The soldier was beaten up bad because he was considered as a traitor. He Canadian soldier bandaged his wounds and gave his food to him and it went on for many days and then one day the Japanese soldier was beaten very bad and the Canadian soldier knew that he was going to die. So, he said, "Why don't you accept Christ in your life and you will be saved" Do you know what the Japanese soldier said, " If Jesus is nice like you then I will..." 

There are so many people today like sheep without a shepherd, I mean, the good shepherd. They are beaten by so many things. They are facing so many challenges and difficulties every day, may be, it's because of their family situation, their health problems and their financial challenges. As they know that they are not alone, the shepherd is with them and will not abandon them, their whole understanding of life and living will be different. 

Then they could say with boldness, 

"Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil. You are with me. Your rod and staff, they comfort me. Yes, the Lord is our Shepherd and we shall not want. Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord our whole life long. Amen 

15th Sunday

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY. 

 I am a very shy person, but I am fine standing before the Altar. And I call this 'my Alter ego'. 

Once a preacher preached against drinking alcohol. He said, "If I had all the wine in the world, I would take it and throw it in the river. If I had all the whisky and brandy in the world, I would take them and throw them in the river and if I had all the vodka in the world, I would take it and throw it in the river". After his sermon, the choir director announced with a big smile, "Our final hymn is, "Shall we all gather at the river". 

The preacher wasn't happy at all with the choir director and the next Sunday, he preached on forgiveness. After his preaching, he asked the people how many are going to forgive others, and everybody raised their hands except the choir director and the preacher looked at her and said, "how come you are not raising your hand?' And the choir director the ninety years old woman said, "Because I outlived all those stupid people". 

Then everybody clapped hands for her and the preacher was so happy with her and said, "Instead of asking me, why don't you choose three hymens for yourself today". The ninety years old woman was so happy and looked at them all and especially men and said, "Him...him and him". 

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,  

Last week end, we met with Christ in His hometown where His authority was rejected by prominent people. And Christ who is compassionate and kind and loving and forgiving still managed to heal the sick and give life to the dead. And in today's gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ who called not the prominent and important people, who called not the rich and influential people but ordinary and everyday people to be His apostles, gave them power and authority. He sends them out to continue His mission of healing and casting out demons.  

As Christ was sending them out on mission, He asked them to take nothing for their journey, no bread, no bag, no money in their belts and not even two tunics. He asked them to take only a shepherd staff and wear sandals and if anyone does not welcome them as they leave, they were asked to shake off the dust on their feet as testimony against them. 

Jesus Christ asked them to take a staff, a shepherd staff to let the people know that they were to guide the people like a shepherd would guide his sheep. 

Christ asked them not to take any bread so that the apostles and others would know that man does not live on bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Christ is our living bread and He fills our heart, mind, body and soul with life-giving bread. 

Christ asked them not to take any bag so that the apostles and others world know that by gaining the whole world and forfeiting or losing one's soul does not going to profit anything. We belong to heaven and what we own, we owe to God and God alone. 

Christ Jesus asked them not to take money in their belts so that the apostles and others would come to know that we cannot serve both God and money. We should give what belongs to Creaser and to give what belongs to God. What belongs to God? We belong to God and by giving ourselves to God, we gain everything. 

Christ asked them to shake off the dust when people refuse to listen to them, it is not only a reminder against them but also an invitation to know that we are dust and unto dust we shall return so it's important to know, love and serve the Lord our God. 

As they went on mission, they did what Christ our Lord commanded them. 

Once Mother Teresa who started her new religious order, the missionary of Charity, went to a very rich Hindu man and stretched out her hand and said, "Please give me something for the poor". You know what the rich man did, he spat on her palm and St. Mother Teresa did not react at all, instead she smiled at him and said, "This is for me and now give me something for the poor". This changed the rich man completely and he became a great benefactor then.  Our great Mother Teresa started her religious order without bread, without bag and without money and without two tunics but all she had was "Jesus Christ". When we have Christ, everything will be given to us. We can have everything in the world and if we don't have Christ with us, we have nothing and if we don't have anything but Christ then we have everything.  

Conclusion: we are called to preach and be missionaries in our everyday life, so let us take Christ with us and then we too will see great things happening to us and to others . Amen.