MERRY CHRISTMAS 

Good evening 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. Friends in Christ Jesus, let us thank God almighty for bringing us all here today to this beautiful Church of St. Joseph’s to celebrate the glorious birth of Christ our Lord. 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. 

Our special welcome to all our visitors to the best church in town. Today we celebrate the biggest historical event that has ever taken place in human history. We are celebrating the unimaginable event that has even occurred in the universe. Yes, God the creator, the source of our very being became human and willingly accepted to live among us like you and me. 

Today’s celebration of the glorious event of the birth of Christ the only son of God, tells us that God never abandons His people and He will not leave us orphaned. 

God’s love surpasses everything. When His own chosen people whom He loved without any condition, went away from Him; when His own people faced with challenges and difficulties and when His own people began to worship false gods and rejected his mercy and compassion, love and kindness; yet, yet, god did not abandon them. 

He knew his people and he knew that they were weak and fragile, and he knew that they would come back to him.  

And in order to bring them back to him, He sent his kings, prophets, holy men and women and at last, as the highest expression of love, He sent his only Son Jesus Christ because of Him, we live, move and have our being today. 

Yes, God sent His only Son our Lord Jesus Christ. As he was born in Bethlehem, the wise men came to worship him saying, “He is the king of Kings and the lord of all” And at the age of twelve, as Christ Jesus was found at temple in Jerusalem surrounded by rabbis, holy men and women, he proclaimed the love and kindness of God. 

At the age of thirty, before his public ministry, the Holy Spirit once again descended on Him and there came a voice from heaven saying, “this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased”. 

This mission of Christ is bringing people back to God almighty. By his preaching and teaching, by his miracles and wonders, Christ brought them all to onefold.  

Friends in Christ Jesus, 

Every time we celebrate the miraculous birth of Christ, we celebrate our birth, we celebrate our joy and happiness. Yes, every time we come to church, we receive the churches sacraments and we put our faith into practice, we celebrate Christ Jesus. 

Today what can we give it to Christ the giver of all that comes to us. What could be the best gift to Christ?  

Since everything that we see belongs to him and what can we possible give it to him? Let us give ourselves and thus join the angels and archangels and sing, ‘Glory to god in the highest”. Amen. 

4th Sunday-B

4th Sunday in Advent. 

Good evening/morning everyone. Last week, I called my sister-in-law and as I was talking to her said, “How come your voice is different?” she is, “Because I have cold”. “So, has our Mother”, I said. Then she said, “I got it first”. Then I told my brother, “you know what you used to beat me up and take my lunch money and calling wackadoodle and now you got between two women and that is called ‘Karma’. 

Once a wife said to her husband, “you won’t believe what kind of dream I had last night. In my dream, you are giving me a beautiful very expensive diamond necklace for Christmas and I don’t know what, it means”. The husband simply said, ‘Wait and see”. The second day also she repeated the same story. The husband again said, ‘Wait and see’. On Christmas day as she came down to the kitchen, she saw a beautiful gift from her husband waiting for her. She was all happy thinking, “Wow...that’s my diamond necklace” Then she opened the gift where she was a book titled, “How to interpret dream”. 

Once a Canadian spiritual man said, “In 1950s, kids lost their innocence. They were liberated by their well-paying jobs, Cars and new music and so on and there came a new term called, ‘Generation gap’. 

In 1960s, kids lost their authority, it was a decade of protest. Yes, they protested against, Church, government and parents. They completely rejected authorities and yet there was nothing to replace what they had rejected. Unfortunately, a complete vacuum was created but nothing could fill that emptiness. 

In 1970s, kids lost the meaning of love and it was a decade of Miism. It's all about self-image, self-love, self-help and self-growth and so on. Since everything about self and me, me, they forgot about true love. 

1n 1980s, kids lost their hope, they were stripped of their innocence, authority and love. They were more confused than ever. Nothing gave them meaning and hope. Thus, they began to experience more pain and suffering, more depression and anxieties. They stopped believing in future. 

In 1990s, kids were lost in cyber space. Objects became subjects and subjects became meaningless. And thus, we live in a world of confusion, chaos, rejection and loss and yet, 

There is hope, there is faith and there is love for those who put their trust in the Lord. 

Yes, the forth Sunday of Advent brings us all, more hope, more faith and more love.  

It’s about Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Joseph is in the background hidden. A just man always does his job with sincerity of his heart.  

Then comes our Blessed Virgin Lady, the most pure and holy. In theology, we had one of the courses called ‘Mariology’, the science or study of blessed Mary. A nun taught Mariology and she was a very tough and would never give us A Plus. And on the day of oral exam, as I went in, I said, “Good morning Mother”. She said, “Why do you call me Mother? I am a sister. Please don’t say anything, your wisdom and knowledge are so vast, and I want to call you Mother. Then I looked at her and said as I was holding a rosary in my hand, I am very mad today. Why, tell me more. It’s because how come church can survive without a Mother. Blessed Lady is the glue that binds everything together. We go to Jesus through Mary and I went on and on. She gave me A plus and after that she singed on the paper and then I signed agreeing. Then as I was leaving, I looked at her and said, “Bye sister”. She said, ‘Why are you calling me, sister now?’ I like you but don’t be an idiot.  

There are two important qualities that we find in our blessed Lady. She is a community leader and a leader of humanity. 

After the Holy Spirit descended upon her, she became more active and more vibrant. She immediately got up and went to the hill country of Judea where she met with Elizabeth. That is called the power of leadership. A leader is the one who takes first step to change the situation and give more room to improvement and change. She took first step to bring peace and harmony. She never hesitated to share what she experienced and enjoyed. That kind of leadership we need today. Not holding on to something but share with others and let others move forward. 

Our blessed lady is a powerful leader of humanity. She never hesitated to great things in the presence of God. Once she accepted the will of God, she stood strong and powerful. She helped her beloved Son Jesus grow in wisdom and knowledge. He is her protect in so many ways. Even after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, she played a Prominet role to protect and lead what her son left behind. It’s not about men or women, it’s about the stamina, good will and personality and character design a person to become a leader to their community or humanity. 

Today our Catholic church needs more leaders who can lead the people and bring more peace and prosperity to all. So, let us move the church forward. Today we have the means to live but do you have meaning to live for? Only Jesus whose glorious birth we are going to celebrate soon, can give meaning to live for. Let us hold on to him and live life to the fullest. Amen. 

3rd Sunday in Advent

Good morning everyone,  

Last week as I was talking to one of my friends, he said that he is thinking of his life otherwise, I mean taking his life. Then came a pause between us and he said, “Why do you sound so excited?” I said, “no, not at all. I am moderately happy”. Then I continued saying, “Do you remember three weeks ago, you bought that beautiful pair of shoes for $600 and can I have them after you died?” He hung up the phone on me. That happens a lot these days and I don’t know why my friends do this to me.  

Then two days later, he called me again and said, “I am so happy now. What happened? Nothing. My wife told me that I am happy. So, I won’t have those shoes then? Then I talked to his wife and the Moses in me came out and said, “Let him go gracefully”.  

We often hear about Good News and Bad news jokes. Once a gallery owner said to a famous painter. By the way, I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is this morning a man came by and said, “if the price of the painting would go up if you die and I said, “Yes, of course, he is one of the famous painters in town. So, he bought all of them for two million dollars. What is the bad news? The bad news is that man was your doctor. 

Our faith is not all about sin, death and punishment. It’s about life, happiness and heaven. That’s why this Sunday in a special way, is called, ‘Joyful Sunday’. We celebrate this joyful Sunday praising Jesus who destroyed sin and death and showed the way to our eternal home. 

Once a Rabbi visited a Muslim family on Christmas day. Since the both were not celebrating, ‘Christmas’, they went to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas day. As they finished eating, the waiter brought a little Christmas gift to the Rabbi that said made in India. The Rabbi smiled and said, “Wow...this is amazing. Here I am in a Chinese restaurant with my Muslim friends getting a Christmas gift from a Buddhist waiter, made by a Hindu. 

The joy of Christmas is sharing ‘Christ’ with everyone. The joy of Christ mas is sharing God’s love and kindness with everyone. The joy of Christmas is sharing Christ’s compassion and forgiveness with others.  

I used to be mad and unhappy to see a Hindu or a Muslim coming to Christian shrines and experiencing healing. I used to say to myself, “you know what I was baptized, I received First Communion and I practice my Catholic faith, miracles and wonders should only happen to me and other Catholics, not to those Hindus and Muslims. Then I understood that Christ belongs to all. His love and forgiveness are unlimited. We should share the joy of Christ with all. Our prayers and spiritual practices help believers and non-believers alike. When we are good faith practicing Catholics, then the world will benefit from us tremendously. 

In today’s gospel, we meet with so many people from different walks of life, coming to John and asking before receiving their baptism, “What should I do?” The question is, “What should I do to enter into the kingdom of heaven?” 

All, John was saying is, “Be fair and nice to others”. As anti-intellectualism is growing so fast today. It’s because, not many people want to know something new every day. It’s because, not many people want to face any challenge today and it’s because, not many people would dare to go beyond their routine lifestyle and thus anti-intellectualism is growing so fast today.  

Once George Bernard Shaw said, “There are only three kinds of people we see. There are people who make thing happening. There are people who watch thing happening and there are people who do not know what is happening. 

Thus, many people are losing ground and losing hope. Poverty is growing everywhere and today people do not hesitate to blame it on the government and politicians; blame it on the economic and social systems and family and culture. 

Then comes John the Baptist and says, “Play a fair game and be nice to others...if they need something, help them. Lift them up”. 

John was eliminating the fear in people saying, “There is more powerful than I, is coming and He will baptize you with fire and the Holy Spirit. He will show the way to the Father and the Messiah is coming. 

Once a mouse was in a constant distress because of the fear of cats. Then a spiritual master took pity on the mouse and turned it into cat. But then, it became afraid of dogs. So, the spiritual master changed it into dog. The dog was afraid of tigers saying, “They are stronger than me’. Then the Master changed the dog into a tiger. But then, it was afraid of hunters. At that point, the spiritual master turned the tiger into a little mouse and said, “I can do nothing for you as long as you have the mind of a mouse”.  

If we have the mind of a mouse, all our coming to Church and practicing faith will not bring any effect at all. This Christmas will also be one among others. But, on the other hand, if we change and extend ourselves to the needs of others and do what we should do to bring prosperity and peace, then we will be baptized over and over again with fire and the Holy Spirit. Amen.