Today Christ our Lord says whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.  I invite you all to reflect on Christian leadership today. This leadership is centered on relationship. It is modeled after Christ’s teachings and example and this leadership is empowered by the gifts of the Holy Spirit and Christian leadership is directed by God’s kingdom vision.

Once a group of nuns who were sent to do higher studies from mother Teresa’s order came back as medical doctors, nurses, teachers and engineers and they all came to Mother and said, “Mother, where is my office and where is my private place to practice my position and do you know what Mother Teresa did, she sent them all to the dying and sick and asked them to hold their hands and serve them for six months saying they are your office and your masters and learn from them. Be a servant and then you become first.

1.     The priority of relationship in Christian leadership: Our God is one in essence but three in person. There is a dynamic and mutual self-giving of three persons. We cannot separate the father from the son or the son from the third person. They are all connected with each other mutually and we are created in the image of God and in order to realize that image and that likeness, we need relationship with one another. How can I become a leader? The only Christian way is serving others and being with others and realizing that others are also divine image and likeness. Yes, Christian leadership is centered on relationship.

2.     It is modeled after Christ’s teachings and example Christian leadership is so unique because it is based on the servant-leadership of Christ Himself. Christian leadership is both counter-cultural and counter-intuitive. Unlike secular leaders, we do not hold any prominent place among people instead we serve and look after the needy. Christ is the center of Christian leadership and they have to lay down their lives for their sheep. They have to have courage and strength to go before the sheep and face dangers and difficulty like Christ our Lord did. Christ-centered leadership brings Christ to others not like the secular leaders.

3.     Christian leadership is empowered with the gifts of the Holy Spirit:  All those reconciled to the Father in the incarnation of Christ our lord have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the primary function or action of the gifts of the holy spirit is transforming people into loving community through shared service to one another.  All Christians have received a Charism to serve one another. We are all members of the same body and our head is Christ our Lord and Every member of the body has to work together achieve harmony and unity.

4.      The Vision and Mission that Drives Christian Leadership

5.      Christian leadership is unique because its mission derives from the kingdom vision of the Lord Jesus Christ.

6.      The church is a product of mission -- a sign of God’s saving purpose. God’s eternal purpose is to reconcile humanity to himself through Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:11). The church is the first-fruits of this universal redemptive mission, existing solely because of God’s divine initiative demonstrated in his saving work through Christ. As God’s new creation, the church is a sign of God’s grace and love to a lost world, consisting of people reconciled to God and one another and liberated to love God and others.

7.      The church is a people of mission -- sharing in God’s saving purpose through witness. The church exists for a greater purpose than the good of the church. The church is not only a sign of God’s saving purpose in the world, but also shares in God’s saving purpose through her witness of God’s grace in word and deed (Matt. 28:18-20). For this reason, the church is not called to depart from the world, but rather, to be a witness in the world of God’s saving grace offered to all people (John 17:14-26).

8.      Because of this great responsibility, every member shares a leadership role, for all are called to lead others to Christ through the corporate witness of the faith community sustained by the personal faithfulness of each member. Making the Gospel attractive to outsiders is a prominent part of the church’s witness (Matthew 5:13-16; Titus 2:7-10; 1 Peter 2:11-12). This can only be done when the church recognizes her larger purpose and seeks to testify by word and deed to the reality of God’s grace, acceptance, and love.

9.      In light of the church’s participation in God’s kingdom mission, two practical principles are offered:

10.   Christian ministry is driven by the kingdom vision of Christ. Like all organizations, a vision drives the mission. In the case of the church, the vision that drives the mission is God’s ultimate intention and goal revealed in his saving purpose, namely, a completely transformed cosmos filled with people reconciled to God and one another to the glory of God. Or, put more compactly, the vision is a kingdom vision. The church recognizes that God’s purposes will be fulfilled. It is impossible to thwart God’s kingdom purpose because God’s kingdom presently exists through Christ and in the Spirit, guaranteeing a future glorious consummation. Therefore, only things done in accordance with God’s redemptive purpose have any real lasting value. For this reason, the church “seeks first his kingdom” (Matthew 6:33).

11.   The priority of the kingdom in shaping Christian vision and mission cannot be lost or else the church will be tempted to substitute a human vision for God’s kingdom vision. Christian leaders fully realize that human sin, selfishness, and lovelessness will always hinder the corporate “seeing” of the divine vision of the kingdom. As Williams and McKibben write, it is easy to “follow human tendencies to substitute another ‘vision’ for the vision we choose to ignore or can no longer discern. Then we have replaced the vision of the Kingdom with ‘our vision.’”[11] It is in light of this danger, that the following (and final) principle is offered.

12.   Christian leadership must continually articulate the vision of God to those inside and outside the community of faith. Due to human sin, God’s kingdom vision is easily forgotten by those within the community of faith, and easily disregarded by those outside. Because of this, Christian leaders must continually articulate God’s kingdom vision in order to reorient those within and to reach those without. Christian leadership that does not continually articulate the missional stance of the church runs the danger of becoming withdrawn, inbred, and powerless.[12]

13.   For those within the Christian community, the kingdom vision of Christ is needed to focus, guide, and direct efforts. Vision is vital for “[v]ision is the picture that drives all action. It conveys an image of where you want to go and how you want to get there... vision is the source for a person’s sense of purpose and goals… ‘For the secret of man's being is not only to live but to have something to live for.’”[13] In short, “[v]ision focuses effort; it inspires action, and it validates decisions.”[14] Once the vision is firmly entrenched in the community, the Christian leader must seek to articulate strategies, goals, and activities to implement and achieve the vision.

14.   In order to maintain focus and direction, a Christian leader must clearly, concisely, and continually present the corporate vision to the church. A clear sense of identity and mission cannot be sustained without this constant reminder. “Planning and implementation (no matter how well done) cannot compensate for knowing who we are, why we're doing what we're doing, and for whom we are doing it.”[15] FOUR PEOPLE
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.

15.  

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

six sunday of Easter and Mother's day

Mother’s day and Love One Another As I have Loved You
I am so happy to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass. Our Special welcome to all our parishioners, cottagers, visitors and every one here today.
Dear friends, Every time we come to Church, God Almighty gives once again blesses us to love one another as Christ has loved us. Every time we come to here, Christ the only Son of God showers upon us His Holy Spirit to know the gift of love that is given to us all and every time we come to Church and receive the body of Christ our Lord we become like Him full of love and kindness.
As we celebrate Mother’s day tomorrow, let us thank God for our mothers who sacrifice so much for our well-being and growth and pray for all women who promote justice and peace in the world.
Once a Sunday school teacher looked at one of the boys and asked, “Joe, tell me, do you really pray before meal at home?’ The boy said, “No...Sir”. Why don’t you pray? He asked and Joe said, “Because my mom is a good cook”.
A mother knows what her children need. She spend all her time, energy and resources for the growth of her children. She not only loves her children and but also teaches them how to love one another. A mother shapes the future of a society.
Once a little boy forgot his lines in the school drama in which he was participating. His mother who was sitting in the front row helped him whispering, “Say, I am the light of the world....” The boy was so happy because he got the line and said proudly, “My mother is the light of the world”.
Mothers radiate divine peace and serenity in the world. They sacrifice their happiness and joy for their family and children. And that is why God’s love is compared to that of a mother.
There is a beautiful biblical story of the wisdom of Solomon in which we come to know the true love of a mother.
Once King Solomon was asked to give a verdict on a case in which two women claimed for one child. They both said strongly that the child belonged to them. Then Solomon said, “Bring me a sword and cut the living child into two and give half to one and half to the other”. Then one mother came forward and said, “ My Lord, please do not cut the child into two. give the child to her”. But on the other hand, the other woman said, “Cut the child into two and I will be satisfied”.
Then the king spoke up and said, “No mother wants her son dead. She is the mother because she wants her child to live so, give her the child”



Motherhood is spiritual in nature and it can only be identified with sacrifice and
love. we say faith begins at home. yes, faith begins at home because of mothers. when a mother has a strong faith, her children's faith will be stronger.

Once a mother who had three sons, received gifts and presence from them for mother's day. The first son beautiful big house for her. The second one got a nice BMW car and the third one a parrot who
could recite the whole bible. Then she sent a thank you note to each of them. she said to the first
one, "Son, since I am getting old, I don't need a big house and I can't accept your gift" To the
second one, she wrote, "Son, I am not driving anymore and I can't accept your gift. Then she
wrote to the third one, "Son, you are the best. And thank you very much for your precious gift
and by the way, the bird was so delicious”.
Conclusion: Christ our Lord invites us to love one another as He has loved. So let us extend our love to those who are in need. Amen.

fifth Sunday- B

Fifth Sunday of Easter-B
Stay connected to Christ the servant: Some years ago, Mother Teresa was asked by a reporter one day, “What is your biggest problem?” Without a moment of hesitation, Mother Teresa answered with one word: “Professionalism.” She said: “Here are these servants of Jesus who care for the poorest of the poor. I have one who just went off and came back with her medical degree. Others have come back with registered nurse degrees. Another with a master’s in social work… and when they came back with their degrees… their first question always is, ‘Where is my office?’ Then she said, ‘But you know what I do? I send them over to the House of the Dying where they simply hold the hands of dying people for six months and after that, they’re ready to be servants again.’” [Victor D. Pentz, “Take This Job and Love It” Protestant Hour Sermon, (3/14/2005), p.3.] This was the greatness of Mother Teresa… her unflinching commitment to stay connected to Christ’s Servant Mentality.
　
We often hear about ‘family tree’. It is a method of tracing back your ancestors. In these days, people travel to distant countries to trace their family of origin and the method of family tree is also used to see why a person has certain psychological challenges or problems in personal life.
In the book of Exodus, when Moses asked the name of the Almighty, God uttered, “I am who I am”. I am the Lord, God of your ancestors. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I was, I am and I will be.
Moses then understood that God is one and He is his God Thus he made the immediate connection with Him and obeyed the will of the Father.
And in the New Testament, one of the Apostles of Jesus called Philip asked Christ, “ Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied”. And Christ the Lord responded saying, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me seen has seen the Father. The Father is in me and I am in the Father and the Father and I are one.
In the gospel of John, Christ the Lord uses seven times the word, “I am...” The same God who said, “I am who I am” is the Lord who says, “I am the bread of life. I am the life, the way and the truth and I am the good shepherd and I am the vine”.
And in today’s gospel, Christ the Lord says, “I am the vine and you are the branches... as you are with me, you will bear much fruit”.
He invites us to have a physical connection with Him. How can we have a constant physical connection with the Lord. How is it possible to hold His hand tight and walk with Him each and every day? Jesus says, “Any one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will never die but will have eternal life”. Yes, dear friends as we come to church and receive His body and thus we connect with Him twenty-four seven. Thus we have a strong physical connection with the Lord. This very connection makes us courageous to face our present day situations.
The Lord who says, “I am the vine and you are the branches” invites us to have a strong spiritual connection with Him. How can we have a spiritual connection with Him? And How can we improve ourselves knowing that we are His image and likeness and grow spiritually each and every day? Through our every day prayers and other spiritual practices. The Holy Catholic Church does have so many prayer methods and especially the month of May which is dedicated to our Blessed Virgin Mary has to offer amazing Marian prayers that lead us to Christ.
As we grow in physical and spiritual connections with Christ, Jesus our Lord says that we will bear much fruit. Yes, because of Christ-connection, we the branches extend ourselves to the world and help others to know and experience the Love and kindness of God. So let us unite ourselves with the Vine and bear much fruit. Amen.

The holy family

Homily for the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Good morning every one, I am so happy to welcome you all to celebrate today’s Holy Mass. Dear friends, every time we come to church, we celebrate Jesus the Lord who is the source of every human family and every time we come to Church, we celebrate Christ who blesses every family with peace and serenity; with love and forgiveness. Every time we come to church and receive any of the Church’s sacraments, our families become holy.
Today the Holy Catholic Church celebrates the solemn feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. And today we especially pray for our families and ask God to make them holy.
Once a teacher who was teaching the importance of the family and things that money can not buy said to the children, “money can not buy laughter and it can not buy love”. Then to illustrate his point, he said, “what would you do if I offered you $1,000 not to love your mother and father?” No one said anything. there was a deep silence. Finally a boy raised his hand and said, “how much would you give me not to love my big sister?”
Once a little boy looked at his dad and said, “dad, how much do you make an hour at work?” The father was surprised and said, “ look, son, not even your mother knows?’ Don’t ask me again. But the son insisted and then the dad looked at the son and said, “forty dollars for an hour”. Then the son looked at his dad and said, “could you loan me $20.00?” The dad said, “why?’ Please give me and then the dad gave him twenty dollars and then the son thanked his father and added twenty more dollars and gave it to his dad and said, “Dad, here is forty dollars. would you please sell me an hour of your time?”
Today’s gospel is all about holy family and how we can make our families holy.
In the holy family, we meet with Mary and Joseph. They both were god-fearing spiritual people. They loved God and listed to His divine words. Because of their faith, when they were confused about things and when they were worried about their future, angels were sent to them. They were told ‘not to be afraid of anything and be strong’.
When we are spiritual and believe in God, nothing can take us away from the love and kindness of God. The angels of God will come and guide us and they will comfort us.
Both Mary and Joseph were community oriented people. They kept the loving commandment of God and loved others as they loved themselves. For example, When Elizabeth was in need, Mary went all the way from Nazareth to Judea to help her. The bible says when Jesus with His disciples came to his hometown, people began to say to each other, “ we know His father Joseph and we know His mother Mary..” Every one knew Joseph and Mary in the community because of their generosity and kindness toward others.
Those who love God will have a generous heart and they will look at others as their own extension and have more compassion for others.
They both were good and responsible parents. Though they knew Jesus was the only Son of God. They fulfilled their parental duty to look after Christ. For example, when Christ our Lord disappeared at the age of 12 at Jerusalem temple, Mary His mother looked at him and said, “Son, why did you do this to us. do you not know that you have to be with us?’ And from that time onwards, Christ listened to his parents and thus He grew in wisdom and knowledge.
At Cana, when people did not have enough wife for the celebration, Mary inspired Christ to perform His first miracle.
Every family becomes holy when it keep Christ the head of all human family. Nothing can exist outside of Him and nothing can bring meaning. Jesus is the maker of every family. So as we celebrate the Holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, let us pray for our families and ask Christ to bless them. Amen.

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Good morning every one, I would like to welcome you all for today’s Holy Mass and our special welcome to all our visitor.

Today the Holy Catholic Church celebrates the fourth Sunday of Easter as Good Shepherd Sunday and world day of prayer for vocations. Jesus Christ the Only Son of God is the good shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. Those who listen to His voice and follow Him will have life that will never end.

Once there was a man who owned several hundred sheep. His servants used to take them out for feeding and each evening as they brought them back, they found two or three missing. He asked his servants to go and look for them, but for the fear of wild beasts and wolves, they refused to do so. The owner had love for them and wanted to save them. And he said to himself, “If I go myself, searching for these sheep, they will not recognize me as they have not seen me before. So I must become like a sheep to save them” Then he went out and found some of them gone astray and others had been wounded. They readily followed him thinking he was a sheep like one of themselves. He brought them in and sat with them and fed them, then he took off his sheep skin. He was not a sheep but man a good shepherd. God became man so that we could become divine and enter into the kingdom of God.

What are the functions of the good shepherd. The new David the eternal king came to gather the people of Israel and all to the one fold.

Yes, Jesus the good shepherd wants to gather us all under his guidance and thus lead us to paradise. And that is why the Christ who says, “I am the good shepherd who lays down His life for his sheep”, goes after the one sheep that is lost and as he finds them, there will be a big celebration.

The good shepherd came to gather the sheep and cleanse the temple of god. During His mission, Christ cleansed the temple of Jerusalem and today He wants to cleans us the temple of the Holy Spirit. we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and it is our duty to keep them pure and holy. As we spiritually uplift ourselves, then we will begin to hear the divine voice. The good shepherd says that my sheep will listen to my voice and they will follow me.

Jesus the good shepherd came to gather his sheep and cleanse them and then to protect them from their enemies. There are so many wild beasts and wolves are constantly around the believers. They are looking for an opportunity to devour us. But the amazing thing is, we are not alone, the shepherd is with us and He is ready to protect and guide us. He will lay down His own precious life for us. we do not need to be worried or afraid of anything. As we listen to Him, we will be safe and secure.

The good shepherd came to gather, cleanse, protect us from our enemies and then reign over us or lead us to eternal life. As we deepen our faith in the Lord our Shepherd, we will like David with the loud voice sing, “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want”. He is our good shepherd and leads us to green pastures. As we enjoy his love and kindness; His compassion and forgiveness, let us share his love and forgiveness with one another. Amen.

　

　

Easter

CHRIST IS RISEN…ALLELUIA

There was a tradition among the followers of Christ namely during Easter time, when a person meets with another, he would say, “Christ is risen…” the other would respond saying, “Christ is risen indeed”
Now I am going to say, ‘Christ is risen and would you please say, “Christ is risen indeed”.

Once a group of theologians were asked to describe Easter and everyone came up with different definition and there happened to come a ten year old boy and he said, ‘I can describe Easter”. They all looked at him and then he said, “Surprise”.

Easter can be better described with a word “surprise”.

It was a big surprise for many people who never thought that Christ would come back to life. The Pharisees and the Scribes criticized His teachings and preaching. They put Him down for His miracles and wonders. They finally crucified Him on the Cross saying, ‘ He is a blasphemer”, he compares Himself with God saying that He is the Son of God. When Christ came back to life, they believed His words and they became His followers and disciples.

It was a big surprise for death. Who could destroy death? Death was understood and accepted by humanity as a natural phenomena. But Christ our Lord by dying on the cross destroyed death and restored life. There is no death for those who believe in Christ. Yes, we will never die but live forever and ever. And that is why we are called to celebrate life every day.
It was a big surprise for sin. Because of original sin we all became slave to human nature and conditions but our Lord Jesus Christ by His resurrection, washed away our sins and made us new in Him. We are God’s people without original sin and suffering.
It was a big surprise for Satan who celebrated death of Christ thinking that He would never come back and He was gone for ever but Jesus our Messiah and Savior as He predicted rose to life, the tomb was empty. When people went to anoint the body of Christ, all they saw was empty tomb. Conclusion:
Dear friends in Christ, the tomb was empty, there was nothing in it. The nothingness has a deep and rich meaning. Yes, when we empty ourselves, we will understand the nothingness of the tomb and how God raised Christ from death to life. Christ is risen… indeed Alleluia. Amen

holy thursday

Dear friends in Christ Jesus, today we celebrate Holy Thursday and thus enter into sacred tritium. Except for the resurrection on Easter, Holy Thursday is possibly one of the most important, complex and profound days of celebration in the Catholic Church. Holy Thursday celebrates the institution of the Eucharist as the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. This day, Christ our Lord in His venerable hands took the bread and blessed it and gave it to His disciples and said, “ Take this all of you and eat it, this is my body which will be given up for you”. Then He took the chalice of wine and blessed it and gave it to His disciples and said, “take this all of you and drink from it. This is my blood poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins”. Every time, we celebrate the Holy Mass, we celebrate the this day event and experience the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Then our Good Shepherd instituted the sacrament of the priesthood to serve humanity remembering the sacred words of Christ, “I came to serve and not to be served”.
　
During supper, Christ our Lord who came from God knew that He is going to God got up from the table and took off His outer robe and tied a towel around Himself, then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of His disciples and then wiped them with the towel that He had around him, saying, “Do you know what I have done to you? you call me Lord, Master and teacher-and you are right. That is what I am. And I your master and Lord have washed your feet. you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
And Christ our Lord today gives them a commandment saying, “Love one another as I have loved you. Do as I have done to you”. So let us imitate our Master and serve one another and bring Christ’s love and forgiveness to all.