The story of the mother going to NY to visit her son. The son did not open the door.For, she was not pretty in her looks. After her death, he goes to her apartment.Finds a letter addressed to him. There she tells him that she looked ugly because she gave her eye to him when he lost his in an accident when he was young.
Love involves sacrifice. The greater the sacrifice, if love is deep and intense.
Jesus uses the parable of the good shepehrd to convey to his listeners how deep is his love for them. He would sacrifice his life for them like a good shepherd.
The image of a good shepherd is very familiar to them. Psalm 23 and prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel have dwelt on this image several times.
Good leadership, love, intimacy are all signified in the image of the shepehrd.
Can we refelct these qualities in our dealings with others?Are we good shepehrds to people who depend on us? Do we exploit them or we willing to sacrifice our time and talents for them?
What is Jesus asking us today?
Follow him without any fear. Imitate him in our delaings with others.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Lent,5thSun.March 22,09
` (Jn.8:12-20)
(Mass for the children)
Do you Know the names of the two saints whose feasts we celebrated last week?
St.Joseph and St.Patrick .
Shamrock. A plant with three leaves on each stem. St.Patrick used this to explain Trinity. National sign of Ireland.
St.Joseph and St.Patrick were saints endowed with great faith.They saw everything in the light of their faith in God.
Faith was the light to see the world and the events in their lives.
In today's Gospel , we find Jesus being surrounded by the Pharisees in the Temple, questioned and chllallenged. They build up a strong opposition to him.
Jesus tells them without any fear that He is the Light of the world., that everything in the world becomes meaningful only through him.
We see everything because of the rays of the Sun.So too , events in our lives become meaningful through our faith in Him.
When difficulties come, when we are confronted with challenges and failures, we get the courage to face them because of our faith in Him.
Jesus tells them that God the Father is with Him. His miracles show that God is with Him. So too He is telling us that He is with us.We have to go forward without any fear in our hearts.
The young man’s testimony about the loss of his sister in Bombay…
They went to the church near the station and cried out their heart in pain asking the Lord to bring to them their young sister .When they came out of the church, they saw their young sister walking towards them in the company of an elderly man.
Jesus will never abandon us.Be strong and persistent in your faith in Him. He is our Light.
All of us are sinners. Jesus is the light who frees us from the darkness of sins.
If Jesus is the light for us, there shall never be an occasion in our lives when we need to despair.His hands will support us.His hands will stretch out to us when we fall and stumble.
What a joy it is to feel that Our Lord is our anchor and hope, our fortress and our support, that no power of darkness does have any sway over us.
This is the time to feel strengthened and empowered by our fiath. Never be afraid of the comments of people. Stand firm and strong.
(Mass for the children)
Do you Know the names of the two saints whose feasts we celebrated last week?
St.Joseph and St.Patrick .
Shamrock. A plant with three leaves on each stem. St.Patrick used this to explain Trinity. National sign of Ireland.
St.Joseph and St.Patrick were saints endowed with great faith.They saw everything in the light of their faith in God.
Faith was the light to see the world and the events in their lives.
In today's Gospel , we find Jesus being surrounded by the Pharisees in the Temple, questioned and chllallenged. They build up a strong opposition to him.
Jesus tells them without any fear that He is the Light of the world., that everything in the world becomes meaningful only through him.
We see everything because of the rays of the Sun.So too , events in our lives become meaningful through our faith in Him.
When difficulties come, when we are confronted with challenges and failures, we get the courage to face them because of our faith in Him.
Jesus tells them that God the Father is with Him. His miracles show that God is with Him. So too He is telling us that He is with us.We have to go forward without any fear in our hearts.
The young man’s testimony about the loss of his sister in Bombay…
They went to the church near the station and cried out their heart in pain asking the Lord to bring to them their young sister .When they came out of the church, they saw their young sister walking towards them in the company of an elderly man.
Jesus will never abandon us.Be strong and persistent in your faith in Him. He is our Light.
All of us are sinners. Jesus is the light who frees us from the darkness of sins.
If Jesus is the light for us, there shall never be an occasion in our lives when we need to despair.His hands will support us.His hands will stretch out to us when we fall and stumble.
What a joy it is to feel that Our Lord is our anchor and hope, our fortress and our support, that no power of darkness does have any sway over us.
This is the time to feel strengthened and empowered by our fiath. Never be afraid of the comments of people. Stand firm and strong.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Lent,March15,09
(For Children’s mass, Chicago,09)
What is economic meltdown? The financial disaster being experienced now—There is a moral breakdown in our values and faith. Lent is a time for restoration , for a new moral stimulus package to be infused into our lives.
Here is what a 7th grader from San Diego, California(Veronica Wilson ) wrote(Faith and Family,March, 09):
“Spreading the Gospel is spreading the faith. Talk to people of other religions or of no religions. Tell them about your traditions, about what we do at church every Sunday. Never be embarrassed about your faith.You might get teased or made fun of, but Jesus will always be within you and that will make you confident. Try to see the best in people. There is a best in everyone, because Jesus is within everyone.(The words of the Holy Father to the Youth on the World Youth Day in Sydney,08: “The Lord wishes you young people to stir up the wind and fire of a new Pentecost in the world.”)
Today’s Gospel---Jesus compares the deafness and the neglect of the people of Israel to His mission to the actions of the tenants of a vineyard. Through a powerful and telling parable , Jesus shows them how stone-deaf are his listeners. The tenants killed the servants sent to them to collect the owner’s share of the produce but the tenants killed the servants as well his son. The owner took a drastic action of expelling and punishing all of them. The same is going to happen to all of them because of their rejection of Jesus.
Now we are the chosen people. But we too reject Jesus in our lives through many of our actions.
---Through our dealings in the community, at home and work place--- Occasions when we should give forgiveness, show compassion and reach out But we don’t. Christian faith grows through the sacrifices of our selfishness. Devotions and practices help us to have that new life. Without undergoing spiritual regeneration, we are just empty shells, hollow men.
We too get warnings in our life. The prophets do not come ..but intimations come. Through the words of the priests, colleagues, spouses, children, we come to know some of our actions are not good, that we are not acting as Christians.
As St.Paul points out, we are the children of God, the adopted children of God.Live like the children of God.
This Lent—for a new life. Call some one that you have not called.Speak warmly to a person that you have not called or criticized often.This is not weakness but strength from the presence of Jesus in our lives.
What is economic meltdown? The financial disaster being experienced now—There is a moral breakdown in our values and faith. Lent is a time for restoration , for a new moral stimulus package to be infused into our lives.
Here is what a 7th grader from San Diego, California(Veronica Wilson ) wrote(Faith and Family,March, 09):
“Spreading the Gospel is spreading the faith. Talk to people of other religions or of no religions. Tell them about your traditions, about what we do at church every Sunday. Never be embarrassed about your faith.You might get teased or made fun of, but Jesus will always be within you and that will make you confident. Try to see the best in people. There is a best in everyone, because Jesus is within everyone.(The words of the Holy Father to the Youth on the World Youth Day in Sydney,08: “The Lord wishes you young people to stir up the wind and fire of a new Pentecost in the world.”)
Today’s Gospel---Jesus compares the deafness and the neglect of the people of Israel to His mission to the actions of the tenants of a vineyard. Through a powerful and telling parable , Jesus shows them how stone-deaf are his listeners. The tenants killed the servants sent to them to collect the owner’s share of the produce but the tenants killed the servants as well his son. The owner took a drastic action of expelling and punishing all of them. The same is going to happen to all of them because of their rejection of Jesus.
Now we are the chosen people. But we too reject Jesus in our lives through many of our actions.
---Through our dealings in the community, at home and work place--- Occasions when we should give forgiveness, show compassion and reach out But we don’t. Christian faith grows through the sacrifices of our selfishness. Devotions and practices help us to have that new life. Without undergoing spiritual regeneration, we are just empty shells, hollow men.
We too get warnings in our life. The prophets do not come ..but intimations come. Through the words of the priests, colleagues, spouses, children, we come to know some of our actions are not good, that we are not acting as Christians.
As St.Paul points out, we are the children of God, the adopted children of God.Live like the children of God.
This Lent—for a new life. Call some one that you have not called.Speak warmly to a person that you have not called or criticized often.This is not weakness but strength from the presence of Jesus in our lives.
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