Corpus Christi

CORPUS CHRISTI....
CORPUS CHRISTI:
When I asked children once about where we get the host or the Altar bread, right away, they  answered, "From Walmart".  Becasue children think that everything comes from Walmart.  I think I should stop going to Walmart with another priest. Because, the last time...as he entered without realizing, he knelt before toilett papers and blessed himself and since I followed him, I did the same.  Once after having practice for first communion,  I asked them, how
the altar bread tasted?  they all said, "It tasted like cardboard". I was not happy at all. So I told their parents not to feed their children with cardboard.
When Blessed Mother Teresa was asked about her amazing energy and strenght to do great things for the poor and the needy. She said, "My energy and strength come from Christ in the Holy Eucharist".
In his last years, St. Vianney preached only three words indicating the tabernacle said, "There is Jesus....there is Jesus" and then he began to cry and so did the people.
The courageous chinese archbishop Dominic Tang who was imprisoned for twenty-one years for nothing more than his faithfulness and loyalty to Christ and the Holy Catholic Church. After five years in the solitary confinement, he was allowed to leave the cell for few hours thinking that he would call his family or friends or go for a walk. Do you know what he did. He used that few hours to say Mass.
In 1969 as Niel Armstrong stepped onto the Moon's surface saying, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", Buzz Aldrin before decending on the moon, consumed the body of Christ that he took with him in a small pyx reading from the scriptures, "I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit".
There is a non-canonical story that goes like this... once God wanted to see what was the pressing needs of His people, so He sent His angels to find out. After some days, they all came back with one demand. They all said that people are in need of food, in need of water. They want to know the truth, the way to come to God and so on... So God said, "I will send my only Son who will satisfy the needs of all people".  Yes, Jesus nourishes us with His words and heals us with His miracles. Anyone who goes to Him will have life everlasting.
Those who were hungry in the wilderness were fed with manna. And what happened to them? They all died and persihed. Because Manna satistied only their physical needs but in the gospels, Christ says that anyone who eats His flesh will never die but be given everlasting life. He says, "Ego Sum Panis Vite" namely I am the bread of life.
Everytime we receive the body of Christ in the hand or on the tongue, we promise Christ, "Christ Jesus, I will become your hand and helping others in need and when we receive look at the Holy Eucharist the body of christ, we say to Christ, Christ I will become your eyes and help others to see higher things spiritual things and when we consume the body of Christ, we promise Christ, "Christ, I will pronounce only your words to those who are oppressed and outcasts and I will bring back those who are scattered and thus, we become another Christ in the world filled with challenges, spiritual toughness.
Like the people of today's gospel, we too come to the Lord empty handed. We come to Him with our sinfulness and short-comings and Christ who loves us so much is not going to send us away saying, "you are a sinner and do not come to me" instead, He is asking us to participate in the banquate saying, "Though you went away from me, though you fell into the same sin again and again, I love you so much. Come and eat my flesh and you will have life that will never end".
Every time, we eat the Holy Eucharist, we witness  Eucharistic miracle.  Yes we are His Eucharistic miracle. As the body of Christ touches our body, soul and mind and heart, we become a symbol of his love and kindness; we become a symbol of His forgiveness and acceptence. Yes, we become His miracle. we are called the Eucharistic miracle of Christ today.
After composing the beautifu hymn of Tantum ergo Sacramentum to vererate the most Blessed Sacrament, St. Thomas Acquinas was not happy, thinking that he did not do a good job, he placed the hymn at the foot of the cross and praying and Jesus himself appeared to him saying, "Thomas, you wrote well. Now ask me anything you want. Thomas said, "Jesus, I don't want anything but yourself..." Dear friends, Every time we come to Church, every time we receive the sacrament and everytime we do anything in His name, all we have to say is..."Jesus, I don't want anything no fame, no money...but give me yourself...the highest gifts of all.
God is not a distant reality. He is with us and he is infinitely in love with us. Every year, we do lose so many people from our Catholic Church. They leave the Church in search of Christ and they want to have deeper encounter with Christ and it is  our time to help them to face Christ every day. So let recieve the body of Christ and become new spiritual creatures. Amen.

Holy Trinity Sunday.

TRUSTING THE FATHER...FOLLOWING THE SON AND LISTENING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
Good morning/evening everyone, I am so happy to welcome you all for today's Holy Mass and our special welcome to all our summer parishioners, visitors and every one here today.
I am so happy to see so many fresh people. I remember calling summer parishioners 'fresh' I got into troule once, after Mass some people came to me and said, "So Father, you call the regular parishioners , 'left overs'.
Today the Holy Catholic Church celebrates 'Holy Trinity Sunday'. About hundred years ago, after Mass a little child pointed out me to her grandma and said, "Look...He is Jesus...He is Jesus". I was so horrified and looked at her grandma and said, "Please tell your grandchild, I am not the Son but the Father".
Dear friends, every time, we come to church, we deepen our faith in the Holy Trinity, we are given a special blessing to know the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Every time, we are abundantly blessed by the Tnity in whose neame we were all baptized.
Once a bishop went to a parish to do confirmation and as he looked at the children, asked, "Waht is holy trinity". They said, "God is one. The Father is God. The Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God but not three gods but one God.... one nature but three different persons". The bishop who was hard of hearing said, "I don't understand what you are saying". Then a man who was standing next to the bishop said, "Bishop, you are not suppossed  to usderstand because it is a mystery".
When it comes with mystery...it is to believe not to analize and to understand. The classical story about a saint who tried to analize and try to understand was St. Augustine. As he was thinking about the three persons with one nature, one essence and one substance namely omoousis. As he walked by a seashore oneday, he noticed a child taking water from the sea pouring it on the shore with the seashell. He asked what the child was doing. The child said, "I am going to take all the water from the sea and pour it on the shore with this seashell" The saint was lauging at the child sayinng 'impossible'. Then the child looked at him saying, "then how is it possible with your limited mind to understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity". The story is not only about the Holy Trinity but it is about the interest and spiritual intensity of the saint. As we deepen our faith in God, things will be revealed to us.
1. The Father is God who is our Creator:
Once a group of scintists said to each other, "We do amazing things these days. We make and remake. We shape things to perfection and we do not need God any more". So they called God and said, "God, we can do anything and everything and we do not need you any longer..." So God looked at them and said, "then you may go your way and by the way, can you make people like I did. They said, "Of course". So one of them, bend down and took a handful of dirt to make man and that time God stopped him saying, "that's my dirt and get your own".
God is the Lover who created everything and He made us in His own image and likeness, so that we may reflect Him in  our words and actions and we may at last return home to be with Him for ever.
2. The Son is God who is our redeemer:
Once a woman came to St. John Marie Vienni and said, "Father, I am so afraid that my husband who jumped off the bridge is in everlasting punshment now because he killed himself and there is no salvation for those who do these things'. The saint looked at her and said, "Rememer... there was a space between the bride and the ground and your husband might have called on the name of the Lord and who are we to judge. Even at the last moment, there is salvation". Christ our Lord came to redeem and give us life. He has the same nature that of the Father. The Father and the Son are the same. The Redeemer expresses the Creator's love.
3. The Holy Spirit is God who is the Sanctifier:
Once a bishop went to little Island where three monks lived away from people. He noticed that they did not even know the Our Father prayer. So he spent some time with them teaching the our father prayer. But when his small boat leaf the island and was back in the open sea, he suddenly noticed ther three monks walking on water cried out to him saying, "Dear bishop, we forgot the Lord's prayer you taught us". The bishop overwhelmed by what he was seeing and hearing asked them, 'then how do you pray all these years? They said, "We just say, there are three of us and there are three of you, have mercy on us". The bishop who was so impressed by their simplicity then said, "Go and continue to pray like that, you are all already sactified".
Conclusion: God is one and He is our Father, He is our Redeemer and He is our Sanctifier. As we bless ourselves let us be concious of His presence. The Father...the Son and the Holy Spirit". Amen.

Pentecost-the power of the Holy Spirit

PENTECOST SUNDAY-THE HOLY SPIRIT
Once a mother asked her son about his sunday school. The son said, "The priest said that we don't need to be afraid. We are all going to get our quilt". When the mother who was confused, met the priest and asked about the sunday school lesson and the priest said, "The lession is be not afraid. The comforter is coming".
Once a priest decided to do something different for Pentecost becuase it is about  the Holy Spirit. Dove is a symbol of the Spirit. So he asked a little boy to go up to the choir lot and throw down a pigeon while he was saying, "Down came the Spirit". The priest said three times, "Down came the Spirit". But nothing happened. Finally, there came a small voice from the choir lot, "The cat ate the bird. Shall I throw down the cat?"
Today the Holy Catholic Church-the Mother Church celebrates Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost means fiftieth day. Fifty days after the glorious Resurrection of Christ our Lord, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit as tongues of fire on the Apostles and on all who believed in the Risen Christ.
1. After His glorious Resurrection, the Messiah appeared to His believers for forty days and on the fortieth day, in the presence of all His believers, He was taken up to heaven. While He was with them, He said, "Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift that my Father promised. For John baptized with water, but in few days, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus words were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. The disciples of Christ were all filled with the Holy Spirit and the apostle Peter preached his first sermon, urging the crowd to repent and believe in Christ Jesus. On the day of Pentecost about three thousand people were baptized and became people of God.
2. Once Mother Teresa was asked by a visitor, "Mother, by the way. "Is not hard to learn the language of these people whom you are serving?" Mother Teresa said, "No...Not at all. We communicate with our hearts, with our smile and with our faith".
When the Holy Spirit came upon them, the Apostles began to speak in many languages. Everyone understood them perfectly. They talked to them the purpose of God sending His only Son. Thus they all experienced healing and wonder of Christ our Lord.
3. Once a teacher asked her school children to name the gift they possessed from the Holy Spirt. Everybody discovered their gifts except one boy. The teacher asked him, "Joe, don't you have any gift?" The boy aid, " I am not going to be worried about it right now because I have enough patience".
Conclusion: We are all blessed with many gifts from the Holy Spirit-the comforter, the life giver, the advocate and the mover of life. When we use our gifts, they will be multiplied into million fold. Yes, as we use the gifts of the Holy Spirit to improve ourselves and others, every day becomes Pentecost. Let us celebrate Pentecost every day. Amen.

Ascension and mothers day

ASCENSION OF THE LORD AND MOTHER'S DAY

Good morning/evening every one, I am so happy to welcome you all for today's Holy Mass. Today let us thank God for all our mothers who sacrefice so much for our welfare and growth and let us thank God for every womna who promotes justice and peace; love and harmony of God by her very presence.
Once three sons decided to do something big for their mother. So the first son bought a very expensive house and the second son an expensive sporty Lamberghi car and the third son spent all his money and bought a parrot that could recite the whole bible. All the mother has to say is any of the bible author and the parrot could recite the book.
The mother then wrote a thank you note to every one of them. She said to the first one, "Son, thank you but I don't want to look after a huge house in my age, so I can not accept your gift. But anyhow thank you for your love". To the second son, she said, "Son, I don't even drive and I can not accept your gift. I can not accept your gift but thank you very much'. To the third son she said, "Son, you are the best and you know what a mother wants...thank you so much and by the way, the bird was so delicious".
Motherhood is a very high calling. Their sacrifice and love; their dedication and self-giving are beyond measure. Because of mothers, the world is a better place today and it is because of mothers, children become stronger.
Once a little boy forgot his lines in the school program 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 families and children. And that is why God's love is compared to that of a mother.
once a Sunday school teacher looked at one of the boys and asked, "Joe, tell me do you really pray before meals at home?' Joe said, "No...Sir.." Teacher asked, "why don't you prayer before meal?" And Joe with innocent look answered, "Because my mom is a good cook". Mothers know their children's needs and wants.
What do mothers want? They do not want anything for themselves. All they want is their family to be happy. Yes, they do not want anything for themselves and all they want is their children to grow stronger in every single way and they do not want anything for themselves and all they want is the better world for everyone.
Today we celebrate the glorious feast of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ. As Christ our Lord was taken up to heaven surrounded by angels, He left behind two mothers to look after our mothers. Yes, universal Mother the Holy Catholic Church and our spiritual Mother Blessed Virgin Mary. And Christ our Lord is now sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for the needs of us and helping us through the universal mother and our spiritual Mother. So let us pray for all our physical mothers through our universal mother the Holy Catholic Church and our spiritual Mother Blessed Lady. Amen.

Six Sunday in Easter...

Six Sunday in Easter...
Once there was a famous priest who did miracles and wonders, and man came to him saying, "Please, Father, pray for my hearing". The priest right away touched the man's ears and prayed for him for forty minutes and then he looked at him and asked, "How is your hearing...how is your hearing?" The man said, "I don't know Father. My hearing isn't until next week".
Today's Gospel reading invites us to know that the indwelling of God, the presence of God, in every one of us.
 Friends in Christ, every time we come to Church, we are given a especial blessing to know the presence of God in us and everytime we receive any of the Church's sacraments, we come to the presence of Christ in us and every time we extend ourselves to the needs of others, we come the know the presence of God in every one of us. God is always with us.
Today one of the greatest challenges is 'Isolation'. There are more than 25% of people live alone. Parents, Spouses and Children live as strangers to each other. Today children especially do things alone, playing alone, eating alone and dealing with their challenges alone. But as believers of Christ, we do not need to be alone at all. Because the indwelling of God, the presence of God is always with us.
Christ  who came for us; Christ who died for us and Christ who came back to life for us is always with us. As we open ourselves and let Him in into our hearts, see begin to see miracales and wonders around us.
Saint Francis of Assisi was an ardent advocate of the doctrine of the indwelling God in man. God's presence is in every person. Once he met with a man who refused to believe in God. As the saint was walking with the non-believer, they met with a blind person. Saint Francis looked at him and said, "what would you do if I restore your sight?" The man said, "I will follow you for the rest of my life.  I will serve you for the rest of my life" . At that point, Saint Francis of Assisi looked at the non-believer and said, "why don't you love God who created you with sight".
There is an invisible force namely the presence of God that directs us to do everthing. Even what we see and understand the visible world is not even ten percent and how could we understand and know the invisible world. All we have to give ourselves to Christ and He will give us the Holy Spirit to know the truth.
Once a little boy saw his grandpa being sad and asked why. The grandpa said, "Son, there are two wolves fighting in me, the good one and the bad one". The boy asked, "Which one is going to win, grandpa?" The grandpa said, "The one I feed the most".
Conclusion:
Which one we are going to feed the most, the material world or the divine world. As we come to know more and more the indwelling presence of God in us, then we do not need to go after things, people and perishable things, they all come to us. yes, it is because what belongs to God comes to God and since God dwells in us, they all come to us. So let us see God and His presence and then everything will be given to us. Amen.

Six Sunday of Easter-C

Six Sunday in Easter
Once there was an old priest in a remote village known for his devotion and hard work. Even Vatican was impressed at his dedication and they sent reporters to interview him as they wanted to use his story to inspire other priests. So the reporter looked at him and asked the secret to his dedication and hard work. The old priest said, "Two things my son...two things, Coffee and Rosary". Then he leaned back on his chair and yelled towards the kitchen: "Rosary! please bring in two coffee".
Today's Gospel reading invites us to know that the indwelling of God in every one of us.
Dear friends in Christ, every time we come to Church, we are given a special blessing by God Almighty to know that He is always with us. Every time we come to Church and receive any of the Church's Sacraments, there Christ assures us that He will never abandon us. Yes, dear friends in Christ, God who sent His Son Christ Jesus to us continues to shower upon us His Holy Spirit.
Today one of the great social and ethical problems of our time is 'Isolation'. Today more than 25% of all adults live alone. Spouses, parents and children live as virtual strangers to one another. We especially see children eating alone, playing alone and dealing with their chellenges alone. This is very unfortunate and we never need to be alone at all.
Christ who was sent by His Father to be with us, the one who died for us and the Mighty one who came back to life us is always with us. yes, Christ is with us and that is why, every time we celebrate Mass and other spiritual celebration, we say, "The Lord be with you" and others respond saying, "With your spirit". The only thing what we have to do is let Christ come into our lives and then we will see great things happen to us.
Saint Francis of Assisi was an ardent advocate of the doctrine of the indwelling God in man. God's presence is in every person. Once he met with a man who refused to believe in God. As the saint was walking with the non-believer, they met with a blind person. Saint Francis looked at him and said, "what would you do if I restore your sight?" The man said, "I will follow you for the rest of my life.  I will serve you for the rest of my life" . At that point, Saint Francis of Assisi looked at the non-believer and said, "why don't you love God who created you with sight".
There is an invisible force namely the presence of God that directs us to do everthing. Even what we see and understand the visible world is not even ten percent and how could we understand and know the invisible world. All we have to give ourselves to Christ and He will give us the Holy Spirit to know the truth.
Once a little boy saw his grandpa being sad and asked why. The grandpa said, "Son, there are two wolves fighting in me, the good one and the bad one". The boy asked, "Which one is going to win, grandpa?" The grandpa said, "The one I feed the most".
Conclusion:
Which one we are going to feed the most, the material world or the divine world. As we come to know more and more the indwelling presence of God in us, then we do not need to go after things, people and perishable things, they all come to us. yes, it is because what belongs to God comes to God and since God dwells in us, they all come to us. So let us see God and His presence and then everything will be given to us. Amen.

good shepherd sunday

JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Once a sunday school teacher asked her students to memorize the famous Psalm 23rd. One of the boys tried to memorize the Psalm but he could not remember the whole psalm at all. As the children were reciting the Psalm on day in front of the congregation, Sam out up nervously and said proudly, "The Lord is my Shepherd and that is all I need to know". Yes, the Lord is our Shepherd and that is all we need to know and everything will be fine.
Today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday. This day, we celebrate our special call to follow Him and to be with Him. The Shepherd knows His sheep and leads them to everlasting life.
1. Once two people were asked to recite the Psalm, "The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want..." The first man who was a powerful orator got up and recited the whole Psalm, and everyone stood up and clapped their hands and cheered for him. Then the other man got up and repeated the same word and this time, no mone cheered for him. They were all sitting quietly in a devotional and prayerful mood. Then the orator got up and said, "I have a confession to make". You should know the difference between this old man and I, "I only know the psalm and this man knows the shepherd". today, we are called to know the shepherd persnally by means of every day prayer and self-giving.
2. One day a sheep saw a hole in the fence and he escaped through the hole. He wandered far and forgot his way back. Then he realized that he was being chased by a wolf. He ran and ran but the wolf was kept following him until the shepherd came and rescued him. Then he carried the sheep to the fold. After that so many people told the shepherd to nail up the fence but he never did. That is our Good Shepherd who gives us freedom and free will to choose between good and bad and between right and wrong. When we go away from Him and fall into sin, He recognizes our failures and weaknesses saying, "I came for the one sheep that was lost". For the Good Shepherd, the lost sheep is also a good sheep. And He saves us from peril and danger. He gives us freedom not to go away from Him but to know our humanness fully and thus to love God with all our heart, mind and body and love others as ourselves.
3. In today's gospel, Jesus says that His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him. And no one can snatch them out of His hand. People may go away from God and His Church but because of His love and forgiveness, they will certainly come back to Him. Nothing can stop them from experiencing His love.
4. Once there happened a dialogue between a recent convert and his friend, "So you have been converted to Catholicism?' Yes. Then you should know about Jesus and His life. Tell me about His birth place. The convert said, "to be honest with you, I don't know.  what was His age when He died? I don't know. How many sermons did He preach? I don't know. Then the friend looked at him and said, "you don't know much and you claimed to be converted to Catholicism". Yes, I am ashamed at how little I know about Jesus but  this much I do know. Three years ago, I was a drunkard and was in debt. My family was falling to pieces. My wife and children hated me and they did not even want to see me. But now I have given up drinking, we are out of debt; ours is a happy family. All this Christ has done for me. This much I know.
what is our call? Do we follow Christ and His teaching and do we love Him? let us ask ourselves again and again.
Conclusion: The love of the Good Shepherd transforms our very nature. The lost sheep is also a good sheep, le us go to Him and He who is our way, truth and life and He who is our Good Shepherd will transform our lives. Amen.