Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Comment Point: Has Pride cost you? What is the price of humility?)
This was the first time ever that I was shopping for new car tires. Of the numerous options, I settled for the top of the line Michelin tires. Partly I did this because the salesman at the counter told me that it would cost me $ 176. I could not get tires so cheap in India. My eyes popped out when he gave me the printed bill. He had meant $176 a tire. The total was $704 + tax. That was my one pay check! I I had to save my manly pride. I pretended I was cool and for the first time, I broke a principle I live by and charged it to my American Express. This, after all, is the land of the brave and the free. I am not sure if the salesman at the counter was impressed or not, but I learnt it the hard way – pride is expensive. Pride costs.
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Comment Point: What would your heaven look like? Post your comments at the end of the homily)
There are controversies simmering in our country on multiple fronts. Immigration, legal and illegal, is one of them; An Islamic centre at the new World Trade Centre in New York is another one; should babies born in the US be automatically given citizenship status is yet another one; and the age old controversy regarding race has come to the forefront in a brazen way the last couple of years. I am not going to try to answer these questions in this homily but I am sure that each one of has an opinion on each of these issues. But I guess, each person's opinion is a reflection on who they want included or excluded from membership in this country. Let us me say this at the very outsiet - 0ur opinion in these matters is not merely a political, social, or economic stand we take; our opinion in this matter is also a moral stand.
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Yes! If we believe Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Ark of the Covenant has been found. But let’s leave that to the imagination of Hollywood Cinema. The real history of the Ark is more complicated than that.
God commanded the construction of the Ark to Moses while the Hebrew people were still camped at Sinai (Ex 25:10-22). It was constructed of acacia wood, and was plated with pure gold, inside and out. On the bottom of the box, four gold rings were attached, through which two poles, also made of acacia and coated in gold, were put. The Ark contained the first tablets of Ten Commandments, which were broken by Moses and the second tablets, which remained intact. As time progressed the Ark was placed in a tabernacle. When Solomon built the Temple in about 1000 BC, the Ark found a permanent place in the Holy of Holies in the inner sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
My faith has been tested many times during the course of my priesthood. But in recent times, it has not been tested more than during my last visit home. You already know that my mother had had a fall and my father had gotten cataract surgeries on both his eyes. My bother’s family and I spent a couple of weeks with my parents and it was a time for much assurance and comfort for all of us. But as time arrived for each of us to leave, I could sense the despair and gloom that was beginning to set in at home. Perhaps because of her gradual recovery from the fall, or perhaps because of our leaving, mother began to experience symptoms she had never experienced before – short periods of absolute exhaustion. The day before returned to Dayton, I had to rush her to the emergency room. Her vital signs were all normal, yet her symptoms would not leave her. I was to leave for the airport at 4:00 in the morning the day I was leaving. At 3:30 she had another one of these attacks. I almost decided that I would cancel my flight and stay back till she would stabilize. She snapped out of it and asked me to proceed with my journey. I did, partly because I had to be back here for the weekend masses, but also partly because I entrusted my mother to God in faith. I lay my head on her chest and entrusted her to my God. It has been the hardest good-bye I have even said to mother and father. My faith in my God sustains me even as I nervously continue to do ministry here.
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
We are a generation that in very tangible and dreadful terms knows the effects of human greed. Where shall we begin? Let me see… Shall we begin with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? How can successive governments and multinational corporations allow deep sea drilling without the technology to stem an accidental disaster? They tell us now that the entire department that oversees such operations is rife with corruption. I wonder how many politicians receive money for their campaign form these very corporations. H about all the foreclosures? Was that not caused by greedy banks and their executives wanting quicker and larger profits? Who is paying for it now? Banks got bailed out but not the people who lost their homes. They tell us now that 90% of the ninety million dollars assigned for reconstruction in Iraq cannot be accounted for. Let us see if the guilty will stand on the dock. The effects of just these disasters are enough to send our minds spinning. Greed is a horrific thing. In the Catholic tradition, it is counted among the Seven Deadly Sins.
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I was only about ten years old. My parents had just bought my brother his first ever guitar. The day my brother received it we all gazed at it as if it was a new BMW. At the end of the day, it was neatly put back in its cover. My brother then wrapped it in a bed cover to protect the guitar cover from being ruined. Like God gave instructions to Adam and Eve that they were not to even touch the tree in the middle of the garden, I was given the same instructions. The next day, my parents went to work and my brother went out with his friends. Meanwhile, little Mr. Inquisitive was at home itching to take a chance at being Eric Clapton. My hands trembled as I unwrapped the cover and amidst many inspection of the door way, got the guitar out of the cover. To my misfortune, I had hardly even touched the strings and one of them broke. You can imagine my horror. I did not even know that a guitar string could be replaced. I thought that the guitar was ruined forever. I quickly put the guitar back in its cover, wrapped it the way it was and placed it back in its closet. Now, what I did after the guitar was broken is what is important. I remember kneeling before the prominently placed pictures of the Sacred Heart and Mary, and pleading on my knees with them. I prayed that somehow the string would attach itself to the guitar. I would pray really hard for about five minutes, and then go and peek to see it God had mended the guitar. On seeing that the string was still broken, I would go and pray even harder. This happened about 10 times. Finally, it was evening. Everyone came back home and hell broke loose over the broken guitar string. I never owned up to having broken it.
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I do many, many weddings each year, and once in a way a couple will come by that will totally blow me over. Take the wedding that I had this weekend. The couple had chosen readings that are rarely used at weddings. The gospel reading, for example, was from the end of the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew, where Jesus says, “Whoever hears these words of mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on solid rock…” (Mt 7:24). I asked the couple why they chose this reading. And they said, “Because we want to build our marriage on faith. We want our marriage to be an expression of our discipleship.” I could not feel any happier and contended. It was an assurance that our parish’s focus on discipleship and radical discipleship is bearing fruit.
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(After reading this homily, tell us why YOU "come after Jesus." Post your reflection at the end by clicking on the comment link).
Here is an interesting story! Gary brooks is a fifty year old construction worker from Greely, Colorado. He was arrested this week in a remote part of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. His offence? He had on himself a 40-inch sword, a pistol and night-vision goggles in northwestern Pakistan. He told investigators Tuesday that he was on a personal search for Osama bin Laden and that when he had found him he wanted to kill him. Part of me was amused at the story; part of me was impressed by his conviction. Here was a man utterly consumed by a personal mission. That someone would give up his job, travel a distance, go to hostile territory at great risk… this is impressive even if foolish.
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings are filled with emotional appeal. First let us talk about David. He was only the second king of Israel and at God’s command was handpicked by the prophet Nathan. He was the youngest of seven brothers and had the least of chances to rule Israel. But because he was so specially chosen, God had very high expectations of him. God expected him to reverse the evil rule of Saul, to keep the Covenant that God made with Moses and the Israelites, and to be a man of personal holiness and integrity.
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
I said to someone the other day that I was “funeralled out.” We have had so many funerals and so many tragic deaths that I feel emotionally drained. The most challenging part of my ministry is to keep the hope and faith of grieving families, particularly children. The intense grief comes from knowing that the family will not have the PRESENCE of their loved one. PRESENCE – that is the key. Sometimes we take it for granted, but the ability to be present to each other the greatest thing about being alive. Funerals are sad because death takes away our ability to be present to each other.
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
We have often heard about St. Patrick and his use of the shamrock to explain the Trinity. I recently came across a more modern explanation that I had not heard before. C.S. Lewis used the analogy of a three dimensional picture to explain the Trinity. If we draw a line on a piece of paper it becomes a one-dimensional image. You can make that line a square if you add length and breadth to it. Now, it is a two dimensional square but the same image. Make the square into a cube, by adding two more lines in such a way that now there is depth in the picture, which is the third dimension. So now there is one image but three dimensions. Trinity, according to C.S. Lewis is like that - three persons yet one God.
Solemnity of Pentecost
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 Jesus
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On some tired nights I go to Caribou Cafe and sip a latte. Of late, I have noticed that the glass windows at the 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 this way of conceiving the world. 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
(We welcome you to post a comment at the end of this homily).
What a week this has been! One event after another tested our nerves as a nation. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the floods in Tennessee, and the failed bomb attempt in New York grabbed the nation’s attention. Of all the weeks, this was the week that the nation could have used some prayer. May 6 was to be the National Day of Prayer. On the contrary, the day was -marked by controversy and a court ruling that said that having a government-mandated Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. The National Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based group of "freethinkers: atheists, agnostics and skeptics of any pedigree," filed a lawsuit and Wisconsin judge Barbara Crabb issued a 66-page ruling that said the law violates the U.S. Constitution. In her decision, Judge Crabb said that because prayer is a powerful activity, the government could not use its authority to try to influence when and how people pray.
Fifth Sunday of Easter
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This is the amazing story of Sr. Rani Maria, a Clarist nun, from the diocese of Indore in India. On Feb 25, 1996, following religious violence against Christians, she was stabbed to death by Samandar Singh, a Hindu right wing activist. (As an aside let me say this - the reason for violence against Christians is not a simple issue of bad Hindus killing good Christians. It is a little more complicated than that. I cannot deal with the complexities in this homily). This murder shook the Catholic Church in India.
Samandar Singh was arrested in connection with the murder, tried and sentenced to prison, where he spent 11 years. In prison, he went through two experiences. First, his wife divorced him and his first son died. Grieving and angry at the same time, he began plotting how he could take revenge against the man who pushed him to kill the nun. Second, to his utter amazement he received a visit from another nun, Sister Selmi Paul, who happened to be the murdered nun's biological sister. This was no simple visit. During the entire visit, the nun addressed him as “brother,” and she embraced him in forgiveness. Samandar Singh was profoundly touched by this gesture. This experience began his journey of repentance. He gave up plans for revenge and accepted the sorrow caused by the murder. The story does not end there.
Fourth Sunday of Easter
(After reading this homily, please share your comments and reflections. You may post your comments at the end).
I was at the movies this week to see the movie“Letters to God.” The movie depicts the true story of Tyler, a young boy whose life is put on the line when he is diagnosed with cancer. Quite uncharacteristically, though, instead of losing faith and hope, he begins to write a letter a day to God. He writes to God about his illness, his family, his friends, and even a school mate who dislikes him. Through his letters to God he soon becomes a surprising source of hope and inspiration. These letters changed the meaning of life for his family, his neighborhood, the local church, the mailman and anyone else that came in contact with him.
On the periphery, this is a very simple movie, I might even say a little too simplistic. It does not answer the deeper questions that emerge in our minds. It does not deal the “why” and “what” of suffering. But what it does is that it lays out the basic tenets of evangelical protestant faith – unconditional faith in Jesus, enduring all things in faith, asking the question “WWJD,” accepting Jesus as one’s personal Lord and Savior etc. It is a ‘back to the basics’ kind of movie. For me, that is the attraction.
Third Sunday of Easter
(After reading this homily, please share your comments and reflections. You may post your comments at the end).
Here are three scenarios I present to you. First scenario: sex-starved celibate clergy, on the prowl, greedily eying children or anyone whom they can sexually exploit. Second scenario: emotionally unaffected celibate men, holy priests in every sense of the word, who by some supernatural power are able to live exemplary lives all the time – every one of them. Third scenario: Catholic priests, human in every sense of the word, who strive to answer to the call of God and the church community to the best of their ability, weak and vulnerable as any other person, yet most of them exhibiting extraordinary sacrifice, commitment, and love. I hope it is obvious to you that scenario one and two are both exaggerations. The third scenario is closer to the reality.
Second Sunday of Easter
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The Easter vigil service last Saturday night was an unforgettable experience for many reasons. First of all, we had thirty-three people who were, either baptized, confirmed, or received into the Church. It was an immensely solemn and touching ceremony. But then, twice we had to completely halt the service. During the reading from Scripture one of the servers holding the candle for the readers blacked out and fell hard on the floor. We waited about fifteen minutes for the medics to arrive and safely take him to the hospital. And then during the laying on of hands for Confirmation, another person blacked out. We halted the services again for about 10 minutes for the medics to arrive. A third person was very close to joining the bandwagon but she averted the potentially third crisis.
Easter Sunday - The Resurrection of the Lord
(After reading this homily, tell us why YOU believe in the Resurrection? What does Easter mean for YOU? Post your comments at the end).
This has been an incredible Lent for me. From heart wrenching retreats to tough Lenten penances to the sheer exhaustion of hard work – this Lent has been a very fruitful journey. This morning, after the practice with the elect from the RCIA, after the practice with altar servers, and after taking meticulous care of the preparation for this celebration, I was hungry and exhausted. I went into my room, stood there for a minute, looked up and I said, “You better have risen from the dead!” Well humor aside, if Christ is not risen from the dead, then not just this lent, but my entire life thus far has been wasted; if Christ is not risen from the dead, then you are wasting your time here in this Church tonight; if Christ is not risen from the dead, these thirty-three RCIA elect have wasted a whole year in frivolous pursuit; if Christ is not risen from the dead, then every person that died and we buried last year, we better have given them a good farewell because we will never see them again. If Christ is not risen from the dead...
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
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Suffer... Suffering... I do not like the very sound of these words. I don’t like the thoughts that these words trigger in my mind. I don’t want to imagine or think about it. There is not a single moment that I have spent trying to figure out what life would be like if I had a lot of suffering. I have imagined my life without suffering... not ever getting old, not getting a single grey hair, not ever having to deal with wrinkles, not ever having to go the hospital, not ever having misunderstandings... but I try not to spend time imagining suffering. And yet, even as I stand here and preach, there is no denying that for one reason or another, I suffer. And I am aware that each one of you, for one reason or another, in small or greater degree, suffer.
With the celebration of this Eucharist we are entering the most sacred events As we enter Holy Week, we are entering into a week that dramatizes the stark realities of the human condition. Within the Jesus story we find intrigue, malice, prejudice, hatred, betrayal, bribery, corruption, and bloody murder. Intertwined in this sad story is the life of a man who took the consequences of human sin upon himself and transformed it into love, forgiveness, peace and eternal life. He did so by becoming the “suffering servant” of God – a concept introduced to us both in the first and second readings. By becoming the “suffering servant,” Jesus changed the very meaning of human life. Human quest for permanent happiness and eternal life can only be fulfilled in Jesus.