Marriage is a sacrament

From the beginning of Creation, God made them male and female.

God created people in His own image and likeness. He created them male and female. And they were created to know God and love
others with the god-given gifts. The book of Genesis says that God made people from the dust of the ground and we should know
that we belong to God.once a man came to a spiritual master and said, "Master, help me to find happiness. my wife and I are like water and clay,
together we only make mud no life. The master looked at him and said, " because you are dust and unto dust you shall return.
Go and find what it means.2. In today's gospel, Jesus says that because of the hardness of heart, separation, divorce and enmity happen in humanity.
Where there is love, there is God and where there is God, there is heaven. When family keeps Christ at the center of their
life, then their family will be a holy family. Without Jesus, life will be meaningless.once a 98 year-old man and a 95 year-old woman wanted to get divorce.And the lawyer looked at them and asked “How long have
you been married?" They said, "75 rough and rocky years,. "Then, why have you waited so long to file for divorce?" They
replied, we don't want to give bad impression to our children and we waited for our them to die.According to our Catholic faith, Marriage is a sacrament directly instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the
institution of Marriage, the male and the female continue to experience the love of God in their good times and in bad and in
their sickness and in health. once a couple was being interviewed on their Golden Wedding Anniversary. "In all that time -- did you ever consider
divorce?" they were asked. "Oh, no, not divorce," one of them said. "Murder sometimes, but never divorce.heart is the symbol of love and forgiveness and when we make the sign of the cross, we touch the heart and say, in the name
of the son because Jesus was born man and experienced our human frailties. He is the source of all love. Jesus says when two
are in his name, there he will be with them. what is the secret for long lasting marriage? it is forgiveness, forgiveness and more forgiveness.they will say that marriage is a three ring circus... engagement ring, wedding ring and suffering. once a older priest was invited to say some few words on a wedding celebration and he who always used to qoute something from the bible said, " Father... forgive them for they know not what they do"Today let us ask God to bless every married couples and thus they come to know the value of the sacrament of marriage.

Those who humble themselves will be exalted

The secret of knowing Jesus personally

Today we are facing more violence and killing in the name of religions than any other human
cause. Today we are struggling with more religious problems than any other human issues.why
do we reject and fight with each other, Since all religions teach about love, kindness and
forgiveness?Because in one way or another, we are struggling to deepen and develop our faith in God.

The Bible says when everything failed, God at last sent His Only Son Jesus to save us.
Jesus, the only Son of God, the Messiah humbled himself to become man and thus He set an
example for us all.when we believe in Jesus, we will eventually become like him, humble, loving and forgiving.

once a minister was given an award for humility and a week later, the congregation took the
award back because he displayed the award in his office.

when we humble ourselves in the presence of God, then we will be exalted in the presence of
others.

There is a gospel story that says once two people went to pray to God, one stood in front
of the temple and with a loud voice said, "God, you know that i am a good man. I pray five
times a day and fast twice a week. I give ten percent of my salary to the temple and serve
and help others. he was so proud and everyone who walked by heard his prayers and the other
person who did not even raise his head, prayed to God saying, "God, i am a sinner, forgive
me" and then Jesus concluded his story saying the one who humbled himself would be exalted.
Humility transfers our worldly knowledge into diving wisdom. It teaches to accept all as
children of God and serve humanity with kindness and love.
one day a woman came to a minister and said, "every time I come to church, i feel so proud
of myself. By looking at others, I can see how beautiful I am, how gorgeous i am. is it sin
to feel that i am more beautiful than others?the minister looked at her and said, "in your case,it is not a sin at all. then he said, it
is a horrible, horrible mistake".

humility is the secret key to know Jesus personally and bring peace to this world. Humility
teaches to accept others as they are.

Once Winston Churchill was asked, "are you so proud of yourself that every time you make a
speech, the hall is overflowing, you get a big crowd?"Churchill said, "it is flattering. I always remember that if instead of making a political
speech, I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big."

In today's gospel, Jesus looked at the disciples who were fighting with each other for who
was the greatest and big and said, "whoever wants to be first must be last of all and
servant of all.Jesus the Only son of god set an example. He humbled himself to become man and then asked his disciples to follow his way. if we want to become like Jesus, then we should humble
ourselves and servants of all. Like our master, when we empty our humanity and humble
ourselves, we will be filled with divinity and be exalted. Amen.

He has done everything well

He has done everything well

once after their fiftieth wedding celebration, the man looked at his wife
and said, "honey, I am so proud of you". And the wife who was hard of
hearing said, "speak up, I can't hear you". "I said I am so proud of you"The wife answered "thank you, I am also tired of you"
In today's gospel, Jesus heals a man who was deaf and people who saw his
amazing wonders said to each other, "He has done everything well; he even
makes the deaf hear and the mute speak" and thus they were astounded beyonds
words.
In those days, in the time of Jesus, physical and mental challenges were
considered punishment of God. And thus they were rejected by family members
and society.The great philosopher Plato said, "challenged people were waste
of society and they should be thrown out from a mountain top".Then our Lord Jesus came saying, "we all belong to God.There is no
partiality in the sight of God. Our physical, mental challenges are for the
glory of God and thus He began to heal the sick, give sight to the blind and
make the deaf hear....
Once a man who was poor and had old torn cloths went to Church and people
who looked at him went away from him saying, "He smells bad and he has old
torn cloths on him" And after the celebration, the minister said to him, "
the next time before coming to Church talk to God and find out the dress
code" And the next Sunday also the man came with the same old torn cloths.
people rejected him and nobody shared even peace with him. After celebration the
minister asked him, "I told you talk to God and did you talk to him?" the
man said, "yes I did and He said he did not know the dress code of this
Church because he had never been to this Church".
By His miracles and wonders, Jesus wide opened the hearts of the people and
they began to see the wonders of God's doing and accept everyone as precious
child of God.
Once a man saw people eating grass by the side of the road and asked, "what
are you doing?" the guy said,"we are so poor and don't have anything to eat""get into my limousine and I"ll help you". the guy said, "I have a wife and
three children" "take them all with you" And they all got into the limousine
and thus he took them to his place.the guy with his wife and children
thanked him saying, "you are a very generous man and we thank you". the rich
man looked at them and said, " look at my place the grass is two feet tall,
go and eat them".
Many of us don't see the suffering of others because we are not experiencing
the healing power of God in us. Jesus heals us through His words and through
His Church.Ephphata or opening ourselves experience happens when we love others as we are.
once a salesperson saw an old man sitting on his porch and drinking and smoking in the morning without any worry or concern. The man approached him and asked, "Hi old man... you look so happy and what is the reason be to happy always?" the Old man looked at him and said, "I drink and smoke everyday and eat six times a day" and the man looked at the old man and asked, "by the way how old are you?" the old man said, "I am twenty-five".
Ephpata experience can happen to those who respect themselves and love others without conditions. So let us experience Jesus' healing in us and continue His mission by helping others to experience healing. Amen.

MASTER, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO?

Once a grandfather suffered a deep betrayal and was in turmoil. His grandson who noticed that asked, “Grandpa, what is wrong?”

The grandpa said to him, “there are two wolves fighting inside me. One is called anger and the other is called forgiveness. The grandson thought for a while and asked, “while one will win grandpa?”The grandfather looked at him for a while and said, “the one which I feed”.

In today’s gospel, the Pharisees and Scribes who were afraid to become selfless and generous, who were afraid to help the poor and the needy like Our Lord Jesus Christ, said to Him, “who will follow your teachings. They are very hard and challenging and thus they went away from Him”.They misinterpreted the bible and God’s way by feeding the wrong wolf.When Jesus broke their approaching by His miracles and teachings, they left Him. But Jesus never stopped loving them.

Once after ten years of being a disciple, a man became a teacher and then one day, he went to visit his master who taught him the power of prayer and the teachings of Christ our Lord.The master was so happy to welcome him and then he asked him, “son, when you came in…did you leave your shoes by the door?”

The man said, “yes…master. I did”“did you leave them on the right side or on left side?”He did not know the answer. He then realized that he had not yet attained full awareness and then he became his disciple for ten more years.

In today’s gospel, Jesus looked at His disciples and said, “Do you also wish to leave?”Simon Peter said, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”Even our life time is not enough to learn the love and kindness of Jesus. His every word has power and healing.

What are those eternal words? Jesus himself is the living words and anyone listens to him, will have life everlasting.By eating his body and drinking his blood, we too become his words of eternal source for those who are away from God and are struggling to experience his love and kindness, so let us be his witnesses of everlasting love, Amen.

About a Boy-17th sunday-B

About a boy-17^th Sunday-B

Today I am going to talk about a boy who had five loaves and two fish. I am going to talk about the boy who became an instrument of Jesus’ miracle. Yes, an ordinary and every day boy became a huge inspiration for many. once a sunday school teacher was talking about last judgment and then she said to the children, "when Jesus comes, he will separate the sheep from the goats. He will send the sheep to heaven and do you know what he will do with the goats?" no one answered and then finally little Joseph raised his hand and said, " he will make goat cheese from them".

One day God looked at Abraham and said, “prove your fidelity to me. Take the boy Isaac and sacrifice him on the mountain” and Abraham obeyed what God commanded and on the way to the mountain the boy Isaac was keep on asking his dad, “dad, where is the sacrificial lamb… dad, where is the sacrificial lamb” Abraham said, ‘Son, God will provide” and at the end when Abraham said, “son, you are the sacrificial lamb… Isaac became a miracle boy. Then God blessed both Abraham and Isaac abundantly. The innocent boy Isaac became an instrument of God.

Once a Sunday school teacher asked the children why they should be quiet in Church and little Joseph raised his hand and said, “because people are sleeping” then when will they get up? children seem to know everythig and little Josehp answered her saying, during the consacration time when they ring the bell".

At the age of twelve, the boy Jesus found himself at the Jerusalem temple, He was surrounded by scholars, Pharisees and scribes. He inspired many by his wisdom and knowledge. God does great things with what we consider small and unimportant.Once little Joseph looked at his grandmother and said, "Grandma..do you know how you and god are alike?" how? little Joseph said, " you both are old". Grandma began to laugh. Little Joseph asked her why. She said, 'look at your Grandpa and he is older than God".

In today’s gospel, Jesus took compassion for the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd and asked his disciples to feed them. And one of the disciples, Andrew said to Jesus, “ there is a boy here who has five loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?

And Jesus multiplied the bread and fish and fed more than five thousand people.Big or small, rich or poor every one is important in the sight of God and that is why He chose ordinary people to be his disciples and that is why he chose you and me to be his children. Little drops of water can make a mighty ocean.Jesus may and can use us, as we give up or lose faith thinking that we are nobody and we have nothing to offer for the well-being of others, and does miracles and wonders in and through us. Like the boy who had five loaves and two fish, when we become instruments of God; like the boy who participated in the miracle of multiplication, when we actively participate in our daily life; we will come to know that the boy is none other than you and me. Amen.

Holy Trinity

HOLY TRINITY

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity. We celebrate the triune god. The Father is God. The Son is God. And the Holy Spirit is God. But they are not three gods but only one God.

Many religions talk about Trinitarian gods in their faith. For example, Hinduism. They have a creator god, a protector god and a destroyer god. They believe in three different gods but we- Christians believe in One God. The father god is the creator and the son God is the redeemer and the third person, the Holy Spirit is the sanctifier.

Once a group of people came to St. Patrick and asked him to explain the Holy Trinity. And St. Patrick who picked a three-leaved shamrock and showed to them and said, God is one but three different persons like the three-leaved shamrockIn today’s gospel, Jesus asks his disciples to go out everywhere and baptize them all in the name of Trinity. And Jesus says in the gospels that God sent him. And he often refers God as His father who is equal in power.

Jesus says that the father sent him and he will send the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Him.We all know the famous story of St. Augustine who was so confused about the mystery of the Holy Trinity and one day while he was walking along the seashore saw a small boy using a sea shell to take the sea water to pour on the shore. St. Augustine was asking him what he was doing and the boy said, “I am going to take all water from the sea and pour it on the shore with this sea shell”. St. Augustine laughed at him and said, “it is impossible”. then the boy said, ‘if you think you can understand the secret of Holy trinity with your tiny mind then it is also possible and then he disappeared.

let us adore our truine god, amen

Jesus sends his disciples two by two

Jesus sent his disciples two by two to preach the good news

Jesus, after giving authority and power to his disciples, sends them out two by two to preach the good news. And the disciples went everywhere doing what the Lord commanded them to do.Once a man came to a spiritual master and said, “master, I want to become your disciple and learn everything by spending ten hours a day and how long will it take to become like you?”The master said, “it will take about ten years”The man said, “what if I spend twenty hours a day?”Then the master said, “it will take twenty years”Only by spending time , we learn about God and his love and kindness. The disciples spent time with Jesus and witnessed his miracles and wonders. And then once they were ready, Christ sent them out.

He sent them out two by two. The gospels talk about the resurrection stories and one of them is about the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. On the way to Emmaus, the two looked sad and down and then Jesus joined them and explained everything about his suffering, death and resurrection and then their eyes were opened and their hearts were burning within them. They had an ultra spiritual experience. Jesus says when two or more gather in his name, there he will be with them. As the disciples went two by two, Jesus joined them in their mission giving them courage and strength.As followers of Christ, we are called to pray together not only in the Church but also at home.Once after his sister’s baptism, the brother began to cry and his parents asked him, “why do you cry. Your sister was baptized and is fine”. He said, “did you notice that the priest was saying that children should be raised in Christian homes but I like to live with you guys”.Christian home is one where people pray together and experience the love of God by giving and forgiving one another.And Jesus also asked his disciples not to take anything except some necessary things for their journey. Yes, they took with them love, faith and hope. They were not afraid of journeying because Jesus was accompanying them.One a man asked a spiritual master, “master, why do you leave the house wide opened, every time you leave the house?”The master said, “there is nothing to be afraid of because I am the only precious thing or person in the house”Jesus by giving his blessing made his disciples precious and important.

And we are always precious to him. When we specially follow the lord and preach the good news to all, we are not alone the Lord who was, who is and who will be is always with us. Amen.