Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last week I was invited to Notre Dame University and then again to the University of Dayton to talk to educators, school superintends and administrators about diversity. One of my starting points was the post 9/11 America. That tragedy has forever changed us. A nation, in which most of us in one way or another are immigrants, was compelled to become suspicious and fearful of those who are unlike us. To add to this, the economic crisis also made us look at immigration as a problem. We want skilled and cheap labor but we do not know what to do with the people who make that labor force. We want cheap commodities but do not what to do with China or India or The Philippines. In other words, because of these crises, diversity is not seen by everyone as a value. And then the many school shootings and the killing of Trayvon Martin makes us suspicious of our own people. Race, culture, economics have become very complicated realities for us. Many people are becoming uncomfortable and even afraid of diversity.
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last week the George Zimmerman trial reached its climax. This morning I saw on the news that George Zimmerman was acquitted of the killing of Trayvon Martin. The case is closed and George Zimmerman is a free man. However, there is hardly a sense of triumph in the media or anywhere for that matter. The reason perhaps is obvious. A life has been lost. Trayvon Martin is dead. Death in any circumstance is a tragedy. And Trayvon Martin is not alone. Each day thousands of men, woman and children become victims of violence and war. And then we come to church and hear the parable of the Good Samaritan. There is almost a sense of relief in the way the story ends. Goodness wins!
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I was watching news about the recovery in the housing sector yesterday. And a phrase that I love kept being repeated again and again. They said, the mortgage rates will rise and if you are thinking about buying or refinancing its time to stop “sitting on the fence.”
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I have an invitation to speak this summer at the national conference of the National Catholic Education Association. The topic that was given to me was: New Evangelization and Adolescents. I am guessing that they want me to talk about making the ‘good news’ of Jesus relevant to high school adolescents. As I prepare for this talk the theme that is emerging is that there is difference between ‘religion for religion’s sake’ and ‘discipleship.’ There is a difference between ‘teaching religion’ to our youth and somehow ‘allowing Jesus to capture the imagination of our young people.’
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings have two very poignant stories to reflect upon. Who does not know the story of David’s lust for Bathsheba, his conceited strategy to possess her, the prophet Nathan’s prophecy to convict him of his crime and David’s repentance? It is a classical biblical story of sin and reconciliation. And then we have the famed story of the woman at the feet of Jesus. The setting for this story is very important. The setting is the house of a Pharisee who has his own sense of sin and righteousness. Jesus overturns his ideas of sin and reconciliation. We have, then, two biblical classics to reflect upon.
Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings tell some rather unbelievable stories – unbelievable not because God cannot accomplish great things but because stories such as the ones we have today is not a part of our normal experience. Both in the first reading and the gospel reading are two stunningly similar stories of young men being raised to life. How often have we seen that? This is hard to believe.
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
As we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi the meaning of this feast most probably is a no-brainer for us. As believers we have the Eucharist at the very core of our Catholic life. We strongly believe that Christ intended that we have his real presence in bread and wine; that for this reason at the Last Supper Jess took the bread and wine and gave it to his disciples and said that it was his body and blood; and that by doing this in memory of Jesus, he becomes present to us in a real and concrete way. But what we consider undoubtedly to be integral part of our faith has also always been the topic of intense controversy. As early as Paul’s times (today’s second reading), there were misconceptions about the Eucharist. A few decades later John in his gospel would dedicate an entire chapter (Chapter 6: bread of life discourse) to remove doubts about the real presence of Christ in bread and wine.
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
When one sees devastation like we have seen in Moore, Oklahoma, it can be very difficult to sit before God without feeling frustrated and terribly sad. It is often very hard to reconcile the greatness of God with the utter misery and pain caused by natural disasters. “Why could God not have stopped such destruction?” that is often our question. Sometimes it is not uncommon for people to get angry with God. In our minds, only God is more powerful than the power of nature. It does not make sense that a compassionate, loving and good God does not positively intervene to stop utter devastation.
Pentecost Sunday
On this the Feast of Pentecost, if there is a fact that today’s readings are suggesting, it is this: that Christianity is dependent upon the presence of the Holy Spirit. In today’s second reading from the letter to the Corinthians Paul says, “No one can say, “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:3b). In today’s gospel passage, Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit on the apostles and gives them the authority both to forgive or retain sins. (Jn 20:20). In other words, forgiveness of sin is impossible without the power of the Holy Spirit. There are other instances of absolute reliance on the Holy Spirit for Christian living. In Romans 8:26 Paul would say, “…for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.” Paul is suggesting that the very desire to pray is itself a work of the Holy Spirit. It is possible, then, that the our desire to be in church for worship today is the work of the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament the very first stirrings of what would finally become Christianity, originated with the power of the Spirit in the womb of a virgin. We can compile a long list of other instances in the Bible where the role of the Holy Spirit is crucial to a life of faith.
Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
(Fr. Satish is on visiting home in India. This homily was preached three years ago on the Feast of the Ascension)On some tired nights I go to Caribou Cafe and sip a latte. Of late, I have noticed that the glass windows at caribou Cafe have writings on them. The company has discovered a neat way to advertise – it has put rather noble sayings along with statements that promote their products on these glass windows. Last week, I picked up this paper napkin. It says, ‘Life is too short: for grudges, fake anything, putting profits before people, over-roasted coffee, waiting for a change to happen, crabby people and wifi you have to pay for!’ On the walls there are other suggestions – ‘Adopt an animal; donate blood’. This is a very clever advertising strategy. If a company puts moral statements along with its advertising, people are inclined to have a positive image of the company. But I think that something even deeper is happening on these glass windows and napkins. Either intentionally or unintentionally, the company is also proposing a particular world-view. It is a world without grudges, dishonesty, and unethical business; it is a world where people are good to animals and stay away from bad people. There is only one problem with this world view as I see it – you don’t need God in this world view. Spirituality, in this world-view, has nothing to do with the divine. Rather, God who created the world, has no place in the Caribou world. In fact, there is whole generation of people out there – people disenchanted with the church, those that dislike religious restrictions, young people disillusioned with the establishment – who find this world-view very attractive and liberating.
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Just before Easter we saw the election of a new Pope. I watched it with much interest and nervousness. The election was not simply about who would be the next Pope. It was also about how the cardinals think as the successors of the apostles. It was also about the future direction the church would take. And then, lo and behold, for the first time in the history of the Papacy came a pope from Latin America. He took the name Francis and his first messages seem to indicate a commitment for the poor and a desire for internal reform of the church. Benedict XVI, we know from his writings, was clearly enamored with the person of Christ. He expressed it in a stunningly intellectual manner. Francis’ emphasis is clearly more pastoral. Pope Francis created a flutter when on Holy Thursday he celebrated mass in a juvenile facility and washed the feet of the inmates two of whom were woman and non-Catholic. The entire Catholic and secular world was stunned. What should the world make of his very public action? I begin the homily by talking about the papal elections because today’s readings talk about the early church, apostolic succession and the advocate, the Holy Spirit who helps the church.
Fifth Sunday of Easter
In my homily last week I offered a reflection on the death and devastation at the Boston Marathon. In one of the points in my homily I said, “… that we respond to this gruesome event in the way Christ teaches us to. It means that I do not allow my anger to turn into hate. It means that my desire for justice does not turn into revenge. It means that we do not find relief in triumphalism but rather administer justice with humility. It means that I do not become prejudiced, bigoted and xenophobic. It means that I still believe in love.” However, in the past week the media also exposed us to those who were injured in the terrorist attacks. The stories of those who lost their limbs in amputations are truly gut-wrenching. Among them is 32 year old dancer Adrianne Haslet. Her left foot and part of the leg had to be amputated. She is not letting this hold her back. She is soon to make an appearance on Dancing With The Stars. I tried to imagine what it would mean for me to lose a limb. And then I began to feel the struggle inside me. Yes, I still believe in what I preached last week, but I am also struggling to remain positive, to still believe in love, to refrain from resentment and destructive emotions.
Fourth Sunday of Easter
The events related to the gruesome bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon have just wound up. But the horror, the painful memories and the grief of those that were killed and injured will remain etched in the minds of the people of this nation for a very long time. No motive can justify the killing and harming of innocent people. To know that one of the three people killed in the bomb blasts was eight year old Martin Richard, and then to see him with a poster that said ‘No more hurting people. Peace,” is truly heart wrenching. Little Martin had come to see his mother finish the marathon. There is no appropriate way to describe the tragedy of this event. Over the past few months our nation has seen more blood, more sadness and more tears than we ever want to see.
Third Sunday of Easter
Here is to all you Justin Bieber fans. The last I checked, he has more than 51 million likes on his facebook page and close to a million friends as well. How it is possible to have some many ‘likes’ and ‘friends’ on Facebook? Well we now know that there are companies, who for about five dollars, can find you hundreds of Facebook friends. And Justin Bieber has done just that. I cannot wrap my mind around why someone so talented and popular would do that… but I guess these days you are not known by the kind of friends you have but how many friends you have. And thanks to social media we can have as many friends as we want.
Second Sunday of Easter
Think about this for a moment. Just before Jesus finally breathed his last what if his nails came loose, his wounds were healed and a triumphant Jesus stood in the midst of all his oppressors and crucifiers? God could still claim that Christ endured suffering for us up until the very end and Christ’s suffering could have still atonement for sin. Or, what if Christ, after his resurrection, first appeared to Pilate, then to Herod, then to the chief priests and the elders and then to all the Roman soldiers? I think that world history would have been written very differently if that were the case. Why did Jesus only appear to his disciples and few friends after his resurrection?
The Resurrection of the Lord
For those of us who continue to be intrigued about how the universe came about, there was fabulous news last week. Physicists employing the $900 million Planck space telescope mapped background radiation from the early universe. They were able to study sound echoes and fossilized light going back billions of years. Physicists now say that the universe is 13.8 billion years old – 80 million years older than we had originally thought it to be. The new discovery also bolstered the belief that the universe was smaller than an atom in the beginning when, in a split second, it exploded (Big Bang Theory), cooled and expanded faster than the speed of light. Here, however is the most intriguing thing. 68.3% of the universe is dark energy – dark, not meaning bad but that we do not understand what it is. It is a mysterious energy that is spread smoothly throughout the universe. Physicists have not identified what this energy is. Imagine the possibilities! The material world is only 5% of the universe. The universe almost offers us unlimited possibilities.
Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
We Catholics are a little crazy. After all, we eat and drink the body and blood a guy who died two thousand years back but believe that he is alive. We are so crazy that we think that when we read his words that he is actually talking to us. We even think that when we gather in his name he is in our midst even though we do not see him. It is a little spooky but without him being with us there would no reason to get together. And then we break bread and drink wine in his memory but then, it is not just ordinary remembering; rather, we believe that we are actually reliving his death and resurrection. If this has not freaked you out yet, we also believe that those who are yet to come into the world, those who are here and those who have gone before us are all connected in an ‘eternal NOW.” I told you we Catholics are a little crazy!
Fifth Sunday of Lent
Just this last week, I celebrated the last sacraments with six different families and presided at three funerals. So when at the Theology on Tap session last Thursday the young adults asked me to share the best part of my life as a priest, it did not take me too long to answer. The most meaningful aspect of my ministry is also the hardest – praying with those nearing death and their families. Funerals take their toll on me but funerals are also the most hope-filled experience. In spite of the grief, the lifelessness, and the absence that death causes, thanks be to our faith in Jesus Christ, there is a meaning and blessedness in death that cannot be compared to any other experience.
Fourth Sunday of Lent
(I have chosen to depart from my regular style of homilies to adopt a more Ignatian imaginative reflection method. I have tried to put myself in place of the blind man to experience what it must have meant for him to be set free. Please be sure the read the gospel reading before you continue to read.)
I remember this as clearly as the day I first saw light – my parents had taken me to a wise man in my village. I was so nervous. Even my parents were afraid. His voice was gruff. He did not even ask my name. He seemed distant. I could feel the coldness of his hands… and his heart. He touched my eyes and mumbled. His touch felt like dry wood. “It a punishment for sin,” he said. “But we are good people,” my parents protested. “We follow the law and the prophets.” “Go your way, now!” he said, dismissing us. “God does not do this to righteous people. If you did not sin then your ancestors probably did. Don’t waste your time over this blind boy. Sit him down in the market place to beg. May be someone will have mercy on him. And remember to make him look more miserable than he is. He will have a better chance.”
Third Sunday of Lent
The story of the Samaritan woman is so dramatic and powerful that we could draw multiple themes from it. Add to it the very powerful story of the water from the rock in the first reading, these readings give us the possibility of an entire day’s retreat. I have chosen to focus on the second half of the story of the Samaritan woman as the theme of today’s homily. The common word that unites my homily is the word ‘story.”