Once a man approached a spiritual master and said, “I want to love God more and more and please show me the way to love God”.
The spiritual Master looked at him and said, “Have you loved anybody before?’
The man replied, “I have been very busy looking for God. So I kept away from love”.
The spiritual master said, “Do you remember loving your parents, your friends or your wife or even an animal?’
The man said, ‘The man got mad and said, “why do you ask me such an unrelated questions. All I want is to love God”. Then the master said, “Son, for you it is very difficult to love God. To love God, you should have love for God’s creatures”.
Those who tasted the unconditional love of God knew that God’s love could be experienced by loving others.
When Mother Teresa went to Australia, a Franciscan monk was asked to assist her and the monk was so excited thinking that he might have good opportunity to be with her and talk to her but she was so busy having many appointments with other people and the monk, though was with her, never had a chance to talk to her. Then as she was leaving for New Guinea, at the airport the monk looked at her and said, “If I pay the ticket to come with you to New Guinea, will I have a chance to talk to you and learn about you?’ Then mother Teresa looked at him and said, “you have that much money to pay your own way. if you give that money to the poor, you will learn more about god’s love than anything I can tell you”.
As we learn to love others, we begin to enter through the narrow door that leads us to the kingdom of God. Love. Those who say, ‘I love God and I dedicate my whole life to God, most of the time forget to know Jesus was sent to show the way to the kingdom of God and thus to take them all to the kingdom of God. He did miracles and wonders first and then He talked about God.
When the first missionaries came to Alberta, Canada, they were savagely opposed by a young chief of the Cree Indians named Maskepetoon. But he responded to the gospel and accepted Christ. Shortly afterward, a member of the Blackfoot tribe killed his father. Maskepetoon rode into the village where the murderer lived and demanded that he be brought before him. Confronting the guilty man, he said, "You have killed my father, so now you must be my father. You shall ride my best horse and wear my best clothes." In utter amazement and remorse his enemy exclaimed, "My son, now you have killed me!" He meant, of course, that the hate in his own heart had been completely erased by the forgiveness and kindness of the Indian chief.
When Narvaez, the Spanish patriot, lay dying, his father-confessor asked him whether he had forgiven all his enemies. Narvaez looked astonished and said, "Father, I have no enemies, I have shot them all."
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
20th sunday-a
20th Sunday-A
Good morning/evening every one. Once Emperor Marcus Aurelius said, “People exist for the sake of one another”.
I know an Italian woman of 92 years old. Every time I ask her saying, “Antoinette, pray for me”. She would say, “I always pray for my friends and my enemies”.
“So am I your friend?”
She would say, “That’s what you think”.
Prayer brings healing and when we pray for others, our soul begins to expand. As we think about a sick person and pray for that person, our way of approaching others will also change. We become more compassionate and kind not only to that person who is sick but also towards humanity. And that’s why many people go to different support groups and help others.
Even we focus on one person’s welfare, we will begin to develop a deep connection with every one who is in need. We are both social and spiritual beings and it’s our nature to feel that way. we are all connected in Christ our Lord. And that’s why we experience pain, when people suffer in Syria or in Palestine or Israel. That’s why we suffer when people suffer with Ebola in Africa and that’s why we go through pain when our Christian brothers and sisters suffer in Iraq.
Love can not be hidden. For the sake of love, we will sacrifice anything. And even we will lay down our life as Christ our Master and Savior. That is what happened with St. Maxmillian kolbe a polish catholic priest. When he was in a concentration camp, one of the prisoners escaped and as the punishment for that escape, ten men were chosen to be killed. And among the ten was an young husband. Father Maxmillian took that man’s place and suffered for two weeks of starvation, torture and finally death. It’s all happened because of the love of others. A person can not both love Christ and hate others.
In the gospels, we see two kinds of people coming to Christ our Lord. There were people coming to Christ asking for personal healing, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me”. And to people who came to Him for healing, Christ asked them about their faith and then said, “According to your faith it will be done and go in peace”
And there were another group of people who came to Christ. They came to Him looking for healing not for themselves but for others. For example, a centurion who came to Christ saying, “My servant is at home paralyzed and is suffering terribly”.
Christ said, “Shall I come and heal him”
The Centurion said, “No Master, I am unworthy to have you under my roof but only say the word, my servant will be healed”.
Then another occasion, a group of people brought a paralyzed man on a mat and since the house where Jesus was so crowded, they dug a hole in the roof and through it, they let the man come to Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Son, you sins are forgiven. get up and take your mat and walk home”.
And in today’s gospel, we see a woman filled with faith following Christ and asking to heal her only child. Though in the beginning, it looked so challenging, Jesus seeing her faith says, “Woman, great is your faith. Let it be done as you wish”.
When people went to Christ looking for healing, He asked about their faith but on the other hand, when people approached Christ asking healing for others, He appreciated them and said, “your faith is great. You are doing wonderful. I am so happy that you are asking..... because our love for others will bring more healing and miracles for others.
Good morning/evening every one. Once Emperor Marcus Aurelius said, “People exist for the sake of one another”.
I know an Italian woman of 92 years old. Every time I ask her saying, “Antoinette, pray for me”. She would say, “I always pray for my friends and my enemies”.
“So am I your friend?”
She would say, “That’s what you think”.
Prayer brings healing and when we pray for others, our soul begins to expand. As we think about a sick person and pray for that person, our way of approaching others will also change. We become more compassionate and kind not only to that person who is sick but also towards humanity. And that’s why many people go to different support groups and help others.
Even we focus on one person’s welfare, we will begin to develop a deep connection with every one who is in need. We are both social and spiritual beings and it’s our nature to feel that way. we are all connected in Christ our Lord. And that’s why we experience pain, when people suffer in Syria or in Palestine or Israel. That’s why we suffer when people suffer with Ebola in Africa and that’s why we go through pain when our Christian brothers and sisters suffer in Iraq.
Love can not be hidden. For the sake of love, we will sacrifice anything. And even we will lay down our life as Christ our Master and Savior. That is what happened with St. Maxmillian kolbe a polish catholic priest. When he was in a concentration camp, one of the prisoners escaped and as the punishment for that escape, ten men were chosen to be killed. And among the ten was an young husband. Father Maxmillian took that man’s place and suffered for two weeks of starvation, torture and finally death. It’s all happened because of the love of others. A person can not both love Christ and hate others.
In the gospels, we see two kinds of people coming to Christ our Lord. There were people coming to Christ asking for personal healing, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me”. And to people who came to Him for healing, Christ asked them about their faith and then said, “According to your faith it will be done and go in peace”
And there were another group of people who came to Christ. They came to Him looking for healing not for themselves but for others. For example, a centurion who came to Christ saying, “My servant is at home paralyzed and is suffering terribly”.
Christ said, “Shall I come and heal him”
The Centurion said, “No Master, I am unworthy to have you under my roof but only say the word, my servant will be healed”.
Then another occasion, a group of people brought a paralyzed man on a mat and since the house where Jesus was so crowded, they dug a hole in the roof and through it, they let the man come to Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Son, you sins are forgiven. get up and take your mat and walk home”.
And in today’s gospel, we see a woman filled with faith following Christ and asking to heal her only child. Though in the beginning, it looked so challenging, Jesus seeing her faith says, “Woman, great is your faith. Let it be done as you wish”.
When people went to Christ looking for healing, He asked about their faith but on the other hand, when people approached Christ asking healing for others, He appreciated them and said, “your faith is great. You are doing wonderful. I am so happy that you are asking..... because our love for others will bring more healing and miracles for others.
19th sunday
19th Sunday-C
Good morning every one, I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Dear friends, every time we come to church, we celebrate our faith in Christ and hoping that Christ our Master will come one day as He promised to His apostles and others and every time we come here, our expectation in His second coming intensifies and as we receive church’s sacraments, we get ready to welcome the Master who is going to come in an unexpected time.
Once there was an old priest in a remote village and he was known for his devotion to his long years of religious works in a small village and even Vatican was impressed at his dedication and hard work. So they sent reporters to interview him as they wanted to use his story to inspire other priests. The reporter looked at him with pride and happiness asked him what is your secret to this dedication and hard work. The old priest said, “two things my child. coffee and rosary”. then he leaned back on his chair and yelled towards the kitchen: “Rosary! please bring in two coffee”.
After His Resurrection and before His Ascension in heaven, Jesus instructed His disciples saying, “Go, therefore everywhere and baptize them all in the name of the father, Son and the Holy Spirit and preach the Good News to all. I will be with you until the end of time”. This is called the great commission of Christianity and He also promised that He would come back to take us all with Him so that where He is, we may be too.
What did the apostles believe about the second coming of Christ?
Though there is no clear evidence about their expectation of Christ’s second coming happening during their time, some theologians suspect that the apostles waited not writing the gospels thinking that Christ would come back to take them with Him. Once they received the Holy Spirit, they deepened their faith in Christ and began to go everywhere to preach the good news of salvation.
St. Paul also strongly believed that the second coming of Christ would occur during His time and when people of Thessalonica in the hope of His second coming stopped working or doing anything but instead began to interrupt other, St. Paul had to intervene them saying, “ I hear that some of you are not doing anything but keep interrupting others. those who are not working should not eat”. The Lord is coming in an unexpected time, let us prepare ourselves doing good works and preach the good news to all.
The beauty of the second coming is no body knows when He is going to come but He will come as He promised and that is why Christ said, “no one knows not even the son of God but only the Father”.
Jesus says that we should be like those who are waiting for their master’s return, should be dressed for action and lamps should be lit. Be dressed for action... yes, we should keep our faith alive and active. Those who have faith in Christ will never die. They will witness the second coming of Christ on that day.
One day a spiritual master with his disciples was going to a village to preach the good news. As he was going, he was stopped by some people and they said, ‘we know you preach the good news and do miracles and wonders and why can’t you pray for some rain. we are here dying without rain. The spiritual master right away knelt before God and began to pray and that time, one of his disciples began to plead him saying, “Please do not pray for rain because we have to go far away and we did not bring any umbrella either. That is called faith. The disciple really believed in the Master. when our faith is stronger, then we can say that we are dressed for action and we are ready to welcome the Master.
In today’s gospel, Jesus our Lord asks us to let our lamps lit. Yes, when our hope is stronger, people could see the love and kindness of God in and through us. we can shine like the sun before all. As we follow Christ, we will be like Him shining brightly. Once a king said to a Rabbi, “ I want to see your God who is the creator of all and who loves you so much”. And the Rabbi said, “That is impossible”. The king said, “you must show Him”. Then the Rabbi took the king out and it was summer and said to the king, “ look at the Sun” and the king said, “I can not, it is too bright” for that the rabbi said, “If you can not even look at the Sun, which is one of the servants of the Holy one, how shall you loot at the Holy one Himself”.
He is coming in an unexpected hour and all we have to do is keep our faith and let our hope shine before others by helping and accepting them all and on the day when the Master comes, He will glorify and bless us all and take us with Him so that where He is, we may be too. Amen.
Good morning every one, I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Dear friends, every time we come to church, we celebrate our faith in Christ and hoping that Christ our Master will come one day as He promised to His apostles and others and every time we come here, our expectation in His second coming intensifies and as we receive church’s sacraments, we get ready to welcome the Master who is going to come in an unexpected time.
Once there was an old priest in a remote village and he was known for his devotion to his long years of religious works in a small village and even Vatican was impressed at his dedication and hard work. So they sent reporters to interview him as they wanted to use his story to inspire other priests. The reporter looked at him with pride and happiness asked him what is your secret to this dedication and hard work. The old priest said, “two things my child. coffee and rosary”. then he leaned back on his chair and yelled towards the kitchen: “Rosary! please bring in two coffee”.
After His Resurrection and before His Ascension in heaven, Jesus instructed His disciples saying, “Go, therefore everywhere and baptize them all in the name of the father, Son and the Holy Spirit and preach the Good News to all. I will be with you until the end of time”. This is called the great commission of Christianity and He also promised that He would come back to take us all with Him so that where He is, we may be too.
What did the apostles believe about the second coming of Christ?
Though there is no clear evidence about their expectation of Christ’s second coming happening during their time, some theologians suspect that the apostles waited not writing the gospels thinking that Christ would come back to take them with Him. Once they received the Holy Spirit, they deepened their faith in Christ and began to go everywhere to preach the good news of salvation.
St. Paul also strongly believed that the second coming of Christ would occur during His time and when people of Thessalonica in the hope of His second coming stopped working or doing anything but instead began to interrupt other, St. Paul had to intervene them saying, “ I hear that some of you are not doing anything but keep interrupting others. those who are not working should not eat”. The Lord is coming in an unexpected time, let us prepare ourselves doing good works and preach the good news to all.
The beauty of the second coming is no body knows when He is going to come but He will come as He promised and that is why Christ said, “no one knows not even the son of God but only the Father”.
Jesus says that we should be like those who are waiting for their master’s return, should be dressed for action and lamps should be lit. Be dressed for action... yes, we should keep our faith alive and active. Those who have faith in Christ will never die. They will witness the second coming of Christ on that day.
One day a spiritual master with his disciples was going to a village to preach the good news. As he was going, he was stopped by some people and they said, ‘we know you preach the good news and do miracles and wonders and why can’t you pray for some rain. we are here dying without rain. The spiritual master right away knelt before God and began to pray and that time, one of his disciples began to plead him saying, “Please do not pray for rain because we have to go far away and we did not bring any umbrella either. That is called faith. The disciple really believed in the Master. when our faith is stronger, then we can say that we are dressed for action and we are ready to welcome the Master.
In today’s gospel, Jesus our Lord asks us to let our lamps lit. Yes, when our hope is stronger, people could see the love and kindness of God in and through us. we can shine like the sun before all. As we follow Christ, we will be like Him shining brightly. Once a king said to a Rabbi, “ I want to see your God who is the creator of all and who loves you so much”. And the Rabbi said, “That is impossible”. The king said, “you must show Him”. Then the Rabbi took the king out and it was summer and said to the king, “ look at the Sun” and the king said, “I can not, it is too bright” for that the rabbi said, “If you can not even look at the Sun, which is one of the servants of the Holy one, how shall you loot at the Holy one Himself”.
He is coming in an unexpected hour and all we have to do is keep our faith and let our hope shine before others by helping and accepting them all and on the day when the Master comes, He will glorify and bless us all and take us with Him so that where He is, we may be too. Amen.
18th sunday
18th Sunday.
Good morning everyone, I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Dear friends, every time we come to church, we prepare ourselves to go back home namely the divine abode, heaven. Every time we come to church, we begin to store up treasures in heaven and every time we receive any of church’s sacraments, we receive blessings upon blessings to know more about our heavenly home.
Do you know why men die before their wives? Because they want to.
A husband and wife were fighting over who was going to make coffee. The wife said that the Bible says that it is husbands’ job making coffee. where in the bible you found it. The wife opened the bible and it said, ’Hebrews’.
1. Meditation
2. Transformation
3. Action
Today’s gospel invites us to think about our eternal home-heaven. Reflecting or meditating upon heaven will change us into new spiritual beings. There are so many saints and holy people meditated upon the glory of God and thus gave less important to earthly things and knew how to use material things to find heavenly things.
1. Reflection or meditation:Meditation is a form of prayer that helps to deepen our faith in God. Our faith in God will help us to differentiate things namely earthly and heavenly. There are saints like St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Theresa of Avila and De Sales who spent time in meditation and prayer to know God more fully.
Once St. Thomas Aquinas theologian who wrote Summa Theologica namely summery of theology stopped writing and his assistants came to him asking, “Father, what happened to you. you are a famous theologian and you changed people’s understanding about Catholicism and why are you not writing?’ And St. Thomas said, “Some moths ago, as I meditated and reflected upon the mystery of God and thus I experienced a glimpse of Almighty and before that experience all my writings and fame are nothing”.
Those who experience the presence of God will know how to hold on to heavenly things and store up treasure only in heaven.
2. Transformation
Reflection and meditation upon God will transform a person into new spiritual being. He will become new and will know how to leave behind things that stop him from loving God and divine things.
once a man found an eagle’s egg and put it in the nest of a hen. some days later, the eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life, the eagle did what the chickens did, scratching earth for food and running around for fear of others. Years went by, the eagle grew old and then one day, he saw a majestic bird flying in the sky so big and beautiful. He asked the neighbor who he was, the neighbor said, “He is called eagle king of birds. He belongs to the sky and we belong to the earth”. And the old eagle believed, lived and died a chicken- because that is what he thought he was.
But we belong to the sky and our prayer and meditation and coming to church will slowly transform us into new spiritual beings. As we spend time in prayers, we begin to find God in everything we do. God called us to know that we belong to the sky. we are heavenly beings.
3. Action:
Once during a battle between Muslims and Christians, a Christian water boy was giving water to wounded Muslim soldiers as they lay suffering under the hot sun. He was brought to the king and was accused of being a traitor. The king asked what he was going to say. The soldier bowed before the king and said, “As they were suffering I saw no Muslim or Christian, all I saw was the face of Christ in every suffering person”. The king praised him saying, “You are the true disciple of Christ”.
Good morning everyone, I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Dear friends, every time we come to church, we prepare ourselves to go back home namely the divine abode, heaven. Every time we come to church, we begin to store up treasures in heaven and every time we receive any of church’s sacraments, we receive blessings upon blessings to know more about our heavenly home.
Do you know why men die before their wives? Because they want to.
A husband and wife were fighting over who was going to make coffee. The wife said that the Bible says that it is husbands’ job making coffee. where in the bible you found it. The wife opened the bible and it said, ’Hebrews’.
1. Meditation
2. Transformation
3. Action
Today’s gospel invites us to think about our eternal home-heaven. Reflecting or meditating upon heaven will change us into new spiritual beings. There are so many saints and holy people meditated upon the glory of God and thus gave less important to earthly things and knew how to use material things to find heavenly things.
1. Reflection or meditation:Meditation is a form of prayer that helps to deepen our faith in God. Our faith in God will help us to differentiate things namely earthly and heavenly. There are saints like St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Theresa of Avila and De Sales who spent time in meditation and prayer to know God more fully.
Once St. Thomas Aquinas theologian who wrote Summa Theologica namely summery of theology stopped writing and his assistants came to him asking, “Father, what happened to you. you are a famous theologian and you changed people’s understanding about Catholicism and why are you not writing?’ And St. Thomas said, “Some moths ago, as I meditated and reflected upon the mystery of God and thus I experienced a glimpse of Almighty and before that experience all my writings and fame are nothing”.
Those who experience the presence of God will know how to hold on to heavenly things and store up treasure only in heaven.
2. Transformation
Reflection and meditation upon God will transform a person into new spiritual being. He will become new and will know how to leave behind things that stop him from loving God and divine things.
once a man found an eagle’s egg and put it in the nest of a hen. some days later, the eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life, the eagle did what the chickens did, scratching earth for food and running around for fear of others. Years went by, the eagle grew old and then one day, he saw a majestic bird flying in the sky so big and beautiful. He asked the neighbor who he was, the neighbor said, “He is called eagle king of birds. He belongs to the sky and we belong to the earth”. And the old eagle believed, lived and died a chicken- because that is what he thought he was.
But we belong to the sky and our prayer and meditation and coming to church will slowly transform us into new spiritual beings. As we spend time in prayers, we begin to find God in everything we do. God called us to know that we belong to the sky. we are heavenly beings.
3. Action:
Once during a battle between Muslims and Christians, a Christian water boy was giving water to wounded Muslim soldiers as they lay suffering under the hot sun. He was brought to the king and was accused of being a traitor. The king asked what he was going to say. The soldier bowed before the king and said, “As they were suffering I saw no Muslim or Christian, all I saw was the face of Christ in every suffering person”. The king praised him saying, “You are the true disciple of Christ”.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
The Ascension of the Lord
The Ascension of the Lord
Good evening/morning every one, I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Dear friends, Let us thank God almighty for bringing us all here to St. Patrick’s/Our lady of Fatima church to praise and glorify Him, to experience His unconditional love and unlimited forgiveness in Christ our Lord. Today we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord. Christ our Lord is ascending to the Father not to abandon us but prepare a place for us all so that where the Master is, there we may be too. Where the head is going, there body will follow too. Christ our Lord is ascending not to abandon us but to send the Holy Spirit the reminder to be with us and comfort us.
Once a professor went around the country lecturing. Every time he lectured, his driver sat in the audience and listened. One day the driver said, “I listened more than thousand lectures of yours and I can do it as good as you do”. The professor said, “Tonight you lecture and I will sit with the audience dressed like a driver”. The man did a wonderful lecturing. At the end of his lecture, every body clapped and cheered for him then a hand went up and said, “By the way, when you mix the c0l2 and kh2o with the photosynthesis, how come the result is not c02 but clk53? The man said, “This is the most stupid question I have ever heard and I want to prove to you how stupid it is and I let my driver answer this question.
There is an ascension anecdote that as Jesus went up to heaven, angels and archangels surrounded Him and they asked about His mission. Jesus talked about His preaching and healing; His suffering and death and His resurrection and the Mission of salvation. The angel Gabriel asked, “Lord, who is going to continue the mission now?” Jesus said, “I formed a group of men and they will take the message of good news every where. The angel then said, they denied you , they abandoned you and they ran away from you and do you have any other plan? Jesus the Lord looked at them and said, “I have only one plan and they are my plan”.
Christ our Lord after His resurrection for forty days stayed on earth appearing to His disciples and apostles and to other holy people, giving them divine peace and encouraging them to deepen their faith in God the Almighty and on the fortieth day, in the presence of His apostles, He was taken up to heaven surrounded by angels and archangels. As the apostles were looking up the sky and looking sad, then the angels appeared to them and said, “O men of Galilee, what are you looking up in the sky? The Christ who was taken up into heaven, will in the same way come again.
Christ the Lord who ascended into heaven will come again and until then the followers and the disciples and the believers and worshipers should follow His final command or instructions.
Christ our Lord before His ascension told His disciples that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him. Jesus who was born in Bethlehem, who was baptized at Jordan and began His mission of preaching the Good News of salvation to all by healing the sick, giving sight and raising the dead to life was not an ordinary human, He is God indeed and He who died on the Cross came back to life and He has power and authority in heaven and on earth. And those who follow the Lord who has divine authority and power will become like Him having divine power and divine authority. They will do greater things in His name.
Christ asks His disciples to go everywhere. Yes the whole world belongs to Him. What is in heaven and on earth and under the earth bow before Him. Everything was created in Him and for Him alone. As we go everywhere in His name, we see nothing but His divine blessing and grace flowing. we will find Him alone in everything.
He asks us to preach the good News of salvation to all creatures. The best preaching of the Good News is keeping our faith. As St. Francis of Assisi says when we keep the gospel, people will come to know that Christ is alive and will experience His miracles and wonders.
He asks His disciples to baptize the beliers in His name. Baptism is not about the ritual, it is all about becoming a child of God. As Christ, and John the Baptist and all people heard the divine voice from the heavens, blessed people will hear the voice of God on the day of baptism. they will have a reassurance saying, ‘you are my child and with you, I am well pleased”.
Today as the very final thought Christ says, “we do not need to be afraid of anything. people may come and say that the world is going to end today or tomorrow and we will be left alone but Christ today promises that He is with us until the end of time. Nothing will happen to His believers because one day like our master and Lord, we too will be taken up to heaven until then let us live in the Lord and preach the Good news and Christ does not have any other plan to preach the Good news of salvation to the world because we are His plan. Amen.
Good evening/morning every one, I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Dear friends, Let us thank God almighty for bringing us all here to St. Patrick’s/Our lady of Fatima church to praise and glorify Him, to experience His unconditional love and unlimited forgiveness in Christ our Lord. Today we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord. Christ our Lord is ascending to the Father not to abandon us but prepare a place for us all so that where the Master is, there we may be too. Where the head is going, there body will follow too. Christ our Lord is ascending not to abandon us but to send the Holy Spirit the reminder to be with us and comfort us.
Once a professor went around the country lecturing. Every time he lectured, his driver sat in the audience and listened. One day the driver said, “I listened more than thousand lectures of yours and I can do it as good as you do”. The professor said, “Tonight you lecture and I will sit with the audience dressed like a driver”. The man did a wonderful lecturing. At the end of his lecture, every body clapped and cheered for him then a hand went up and said, “By the way, when you mix the c0l2 and kh2o with the photosynthesis, how come the result is not c02 but clk53? The man said, “This is the most stupid question I have ever heard and I want to prove to you how stupid it is and I let my driver answer this question.Christ our Lord after His resurrection for forty days stayed on earth appearing to His disciples and apostles and to other holy people, giving them divine peace and encouraging them to deepen their faith in God the Almighty and on the fortieth day, in the presence of His apostles, He was taken up to heaven surrounded by angels and archangels. As the apostles were looking up the sky and looking sad, then the angels appeared to them and said, “O men of Galilee, what are you looking up in the sky? The Christ who was taken up into heaven, will in the same way come again.
Christ the Lord who ascended into heaven will come again and until then the followers and the disciples and the believers and worshipers should follow His final command or instructions.
Christ our Lord before His ascension told His disciples that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him. Jesus who was born in Bethlehem, who was baptized at Jordan and began His mission of preaching the Good News of salvation to all by healing the sick, giving sight and raising the dead to life was not an ordinary human, He is God indeed and He who died on the Cross came back to life and He has power and authority in heaven and on earth. And those who follow the Lord who has divine authority and power will become like Him having divine power and divine authority. They will do greater things in His name.
Christ asks His disciples to go everywhere. Yes the whole world belongs to Him. What is in heaven and on earth and under the earth bow before Him. Everything was created in Him and for Him alone. As we go everywhere in His name, we see nothing but His divine blessing and grace flowing. we will find Him alone in everything.
He asks us to preach the good News of salvation to all creatures. The best preaching of the Good News is keeping our faith. As St. Francis of Assisi says when we keep the gospel, people will come to know that Christ is alive and will experience His miracles and wonders.
He asks His disciples to baptize the beliers in His name. Baptism is not about the ritual, it is all about becoming a child of God. As Christ, and John the Baptist and all people heard the divine voice from the heavens, blessed people will hear the voice of God on the day of baptism. they will have a reassurance saying, ‘you are my child and with you, I am well pleased”.
Today as the very final thought Christ says, “we do not need to be afraid of anything. people may come and say that the world is going to end today or tomorrow and we will be left alone but Christ today promises that He is with us until the end of time. Nothing will happen to His believers because one day like our master and Lord, we too will be taken up to heaven until then let us live in the Lord and preach the Good news and Christ does not have any other plan to preach the Good news of salvation to the world because we are His plan. Amen.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
First sunday in Lent
First Sunday in Lent
Good morning every one, I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Today we celebrate first Sunday in Lent. Lent means spring time in old English and during this season, we are called to become new like spring and leave behind our old self. Dear friends, it is God our Father makes us new each and every day in Christ our Lord and it is Christ who helps us to leave behind our old self such as short comings, failures and sins. Every time we come to Church, we celebrate our new self in Christ.
In those days two Irish men came to New York city and one day they decided to travel by train and see the city and wile they were sitting on a train, they saw a fruit vendor and they recognized apples and oranges but not the strange fruit. The vendor told them that it was banana and he showed them how to peel and eat it. So they bought some bananas. while one man had a bit of the banana, the train was going through a tonal and he screamed saying, “pat, don’t eat the banana?’ why? because I had a bite of it and now I can not see, I think I became blind.
In life, we are all going through the tonal of pain and suffering; rejection and guilt. And today we are blessed with forty days of lent to see the light at the end of the tonal. Why forty day? It is a biblical number, during the time of Noah, there came down rain for forty days and forty nights. Moses who was chosen by God to lead Israel went up to the mountain and be there for forty days before receiving the ten commandments. The prophet Elisa walked with the strength of the food that was fed by God for forty days and our Lord Christ the Savior of the world prayed and fasted for forty days and forty nights before His public ministry.
At the end of the fortieth day, He was tempted. We are all being tempted every day but those who pray and fast and observe the spiritual disciplines recognize the tempter and are given the courage to say “ NO” to him.
Like any other ordinary human being, Christ our Lord encountered three types of temptation namely physical, spiritual and material.
For the physical temptation, Christ our Lord said, “One does not live on bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of God”.
Once a man who wanted to become a monk was adviced to do some reflection and meditation on his special call. while he was sitting comfortable to do so, he saw a beautiful woman walking by and was distracted. The next day, he closed his eyes and was doing his meditation but he heard her walking by and was distracted again. The next day, he closed his eyes and ears and as she was walking by, he could smell her. So he covered his head with a brown bag and was doing his meditation. Time went by, when it was ten o’clock, his mind began to act out saying, this is the time, she supposed to walk by. where is she? where is she?
physical desire can stop us from loving God and his immense glory. And this season helps us to rethink our physical desires and if they stop us from going to God, we should improve ourselves during this season.
The second one is spiritual temptation. And Christ our Lord said, “Do not tempt God your Father”.
Once there was a religious man who prayed five times a day and fasted three times a week and did every thing according to the commandments of the Lord and one day as he was walking on a river bank, he fell in the water and cried to God saying, God help me. Then came fire fighters and then police and people to help him but he refused saying, ’God will come and help me”. But God did not come, he drowned. when he went to heaven, he said God how come you did not come to help me. God said, I was the one who sent all those people to help you but you refused. Do not tempt your Father. The difference between religious and spiritual people is religious people look for miracles but spiritual people become miralcles for others.
The third temptation of Christ is the mateiral one and to that Christ said, ’Worship the Lord and serve only Him”.
one day a man met with his friend who looked sad and he asked why. He said you know my uncle who died a week ago and left with me million dollar. yes you suppose to be happy and why are you sad because the other uncle who died two days ago also left me a million. wow now you have two millions and you should be happy and why are you looking sad. The man said I am sad becasue I do not have any more uncle to die.
material things will never fill the heart of a person. When we serve God and God alone, we will be given everything. Let us take advantage of this season and fill our hearts with love and kindness; with happiness and joy and thus become new and say no to our old self. Amen.
Good morning every one, I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Today we celebrate first Sunday in Lent. Lent means spring time in old English and during this season, we are called to become new like spring and leave behind our old self. Dear friends, it is God our Father makes us new each and every day in Christ our Lord and it is Christ who helps us to leave behind our old self such as short comings, failures and sins. Every time we come to Church, we celebrate our new self in Christ.
In those days two Irish men came to New York city and one day they decided to travel by train and see the city and wile they were sitting on a train, they saw a fruit vendor and they recognized apples and oranges but not the strange fruit. The vendor told them that it was banana and he showed them how to peel and eat it. So they bought some bananas. while one man had a bit of the banana, the train was going through a tonal and he screamed saying, “pat, don’t eat the banana?’ why? because I had a bite of it and now I can not see, I think I became blind.
In life, we are all going through the tonal of pain and suffering; rejection and guilt. And today we are blessed with forty days of lent to see the light at the end of the tonal. Why forty day? It is a biblical number, during the time of Noah, there came down rain for forty days and forty nights. Moses who was chosen by God to lead Israel went up to the mountain and be there for forty days before receiving the ten commandments. The prophet Elisa walked with the strength of the food that was fed by God for forty days and our Lord Christ the Savior of the world prayed and fasted for forty days and forty nights before His public ministry.
At the end of the fortieth day, He was tempted. We are all being tempted every day but those who pray and fast and observe the spiritual disciplines recognize the tempter and are given the courage to say “ NO” to him.
Like any other ordinary human being, Christ our Lord encountered three types of temptation namely physical, spiritual and material.
For the physical temptation, Christ our Lord said, “One does not live on bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of God”.
Once a man who wanted to become a monk was adviced to do some reflection and meditation on his special call. while he was sitting comfortable to do so, he saw a beautiful woman walking by and was distracted. The next day, he closed his eyes and was doing his meditation but he heard her walking by and was distracted again. The next day, he closed his eyes and ears and as she was walking by, he could smell her. So he covered his head with a brown bag and was doing his meditation. Time went by, when it was ten o’clock, his mind began to act out saying, this is the time, she supposed to walk by. where is she? where is she?
physical desire can stop us from loving God and his immense glory. And this season helps us to rethink our physical desires and if they stop us from going to God, we should improve ourselves during this season.
The second one is spiritual temptation. And Christ our Lord said, “Do not tempt God your Father”.
Once there was a religious man who prayed five times a day and fasted three times a week and did every thing according to the commandments of the Lord and one day as he was walking on a river bank, he fell in the water and cried to God saying, God help me. Then came fire fighters and then police and people to help him but he refused saying, ’God will come and help me”. But God did not come, he drowned. when he went to heaven, he said God how come you did not come to help me. God said, I was the one who sent all those people to help you but you refused. Do not tempt your Father. The difference between religious and spiritual people is religious people look for miracles but spiritual people become miralcles for others.
The third temptation of Christ is the mateiral one and to that Christ said, ’Worship the Lord and serve only Him”.
one day a man met with his friend who looked sad and he asked why. He said you know my uncle who died a week ago and left with me million dollar. yes you suppose to be happy and why are you sad because the other uncle who died two days ago also left me a million. wow now you have two millions and you should be happy and why are you looking sad. The man said I am sad becasue I do not have any more uncle to die.
material things will never fill the heart of a person. When we serve God and God alone, we will be given everything. Let us take advantage of this season and fill our hearts with love and kindness; with happiness and joy and thus become new and say no to our old self. Amen.
Friday, February 28, 2014
8th sunday
8th Sunday in ordinary time.
Trust in the love and providence of God.
Good morning every one. I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Dear friends, it is God who looks after us and it is Christ who provides us with happiness and joy and as we come to Church, we are given blessings upon blessing to know the love and kindness of God our Father.
If you have a problem that can be fixed, then there is no point in worrying and if you have a problem that can not be fixed and then there is no point in worrying either.
There is a story about a man who worked in the freezer compartment for a big business and one day as he went in the freezer compartment for his routine job, the freezer door locked itself and he could not get out. As he realized that it was past midnight, he could not get any help so he wrote on the freezer compartment wall, “I am getting colder and colder and I am so weak. this will be my last words”. The next morning when workers opened the freezer compartment, they found the man dead.
But the sad twist to the story is, the freezer compartment had stopped working a few days prior to the incident. The man died just because of his unnecessary worry and fear.
In today’s gospel, Christ our Lord invites us to put our trust in God Almighty. Do not worry about what to eat and drink because life is more than eating and drinking and do not worry about what to wear because life is more than clothing. people who put their trust in God will not worry about every day things because they know that God who created everything will look after them and He will feed them with finest of all. When they are down, He will lift them up and as they encounter challenges, He will bring them answers.
We should not worry about what we are eating but we should think about what is eating us.
Who is our Master. Is it God or material things. Those who go after material things will not only lose their peace of mind but also God but on the other hand those who serve God and God alone not only gain God but are also showered with wealth. They will be given more of everything. So it is better to serve God and gain life.
How can we stop worrying and start living? We can all start living by living one day at a time like all other living creatures. There is a story about a clock, a wall clock who took a nervous breakdown and ended up stop working. He was taken up to a psychiatrist and the doctor looked at him and asked, “what is your problem?’ The wall clock said, “I have to make two ticks in a second and 120 ticks a minute and imagine how many ticks I have to make for an hour and for a day and for a year. By thinking about all the ticks I have to make, I had a nervous break down”. The doctor looked at the clock and said, “how many ticks you have to make at a time”. He said one tick at a time. Then go home and make only one tick at the time and do not think about the next until the time comes. The clock went home happily.
living one day at a time is the secret to serve God and find happiness. Today so many people spend their resources to find happiness, to find serenity and peace and Our Lord Jesus Christ gives answer to all our human challenges and problems saying, “live one day at a time and if we do not know how then we should learn from other living Creatures. So let us put our trust in God and serve Him alone and all other things will be given to us. Amen.
Trust in the love and providence of God.
Good morning every one. I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Dear friends, it is God who looks after us and it is Christ who provides us with happiness and joy and as we come to Church, we are given blessings upon blessing to know the love and kindness of God our Father.
If you have a problem that can be fixed, then there is no point in worrying and if you have a problem that can not be fixed and then there is no point in worrying either.
There is a story about a man who worked in the freezer compartment for a big business and one day as he went in the freezer compartment for his routine job, the freezer door locked itself and he could not get out. As he realized that it was past midnight, he could not get any help so he wrote on the freezer compartment wall, “I am getting colder and colder and I am so weak. this will be my last words”. The next morning when workers opened the freezer compartment, they found the man dead.
But the sad twist to the story is, the freezer compartment had stopped working a few days prior to the incident. The man died just because of his unnecessary worry and fear.
In today’s gospel, Christ our Lord invites us to put our trust in God Almighty. Do not worry about what to eat and drink because life is more than eating and drinking and do not worry about what to wear because life is more than clothing. people who put their trust in God will not worry about every day things because they know that God who created everything will look after them and He will feed them with finest of all. When they are down, He will lift them up and as they encounter challenges, He will bring them answers.
We should not worry about what we are eating but we should think about what is eating us.
Who is our Master. Is it God or material things. Those who go after material things will not only lose their peace of mind but also God but on the other hand those who serve God and God alone not only gain God but are also showered with wealth. They will be given more of everything. So it is better to serve God and gain life.
How can we stop worrying and start living? We can all start living by living one day at a time like all other living creatures. There is a story about a clock, a wall clock who took a nervous breakdown and ended up stop working. He was taken up to a psychiatrist and the doctor looked at him and asked, “what is your problem?’ The wall clock said, “I have to make two ticks in a second and 120 ticks a minute and imagine how many ticks I have to make for an hour and for a day and for a year. By thinking about all the ticks I have to make, I had a nervous break down”. The doctor looked at the clock and said, “how many ticks you have to make at a time”. He said one tick at a time. Then go home and make only one tick at the time and do not think about the next until the time comes. The clock went home happily.
living one day at a time is the secret to serve God and find happiness. Today so many people spend their resources to find happiness, to find serenity and peace and Our Lord Jesus Christ gives answer to all our human challenges and problems saying, “live one day at a time and if we do not know how then we should learn from other living Creatures. So let us put our trust in God and serve Him alone and all other things will be given to us. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)