Divine Mercy Sunday and Confession

Divine Mercy and Sacrament of Confession
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Today’s Feast of Divine Mercy recalls the apparition of Jesus to St. Faustina. He was clothed in a white garment. His right hand was raised in blessing while His left hand was touching His garment at the breast, where two large rays came forth, one red, the other pale. Jesus told St. Faustina: "Paint an image according to the pattern you see with the inscription: Jesus, I trust in you."
What is this Divine Mercy? Divine Mercy is simply God’s love for us in the face of our weaknesses, God’s love as it comes into impact with our sins, God’s love as it reaches down and touches our needs. That is what mercy is. Love on the part of God, plus need on our part, plus sinfulness on our part, equals Divine Mercy. Today we celebrate Divine Mercy.
In his book Suicide, published in 1988, Earl A. Grollman says "Almost everybody at one time or another contemplates suicide" (Second Edition, Beacon Press, p. 2). Studies say that 30,000 Americans commit suicide annually; an additional 500,000 Americans attempt suicide annually. One of the most recognized symptoms of depression is a profound feeling of sadness, hopelessness, or emptiness. You may be surprised to learn that people with depression often experience physical symptoms too.According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 1 in 10 American adults—or approximately 21 million people suffer from a depressive illness each year. We don’t know whom to trust and where to keep our burdens. There comes the beauty of the Divine Mercy. Then the Risen Lord tells you "Peace be with you!" The peace brought by Jesus is the fullness of the Easter gift.
He comes into the room, with the doors locked. The Risen Lord comes into their midst. Not only are they filled with fear, but meeting Jesus for the first time after their very poor record, they are filled with shame and guilt. Because they recognize their sin and are now in the presence of Jesus Christ, the Risen One, they are overcome with shame and fear and guilt.
Jesus takes this opportunity not to scold them. Jesus takes this opportunity to give them His first message after His Resurrection from the dead. And that first message is: “Peace be with you.” In His Risen body He brings them peace, not a scolding, not a condemnation—only peace. And then He shows them His hands and His side and once again He repeats the words: “Peace be with you.” This is the mercy of the Risen Jesus. This is the moment when the Apostles are supremely conscious of their sins, when they are supremely conscious of their weakness, when they are filled with shame and guilt—this is the moment that Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord, the Son of God chooses in order to communicate to these weak men the great power of forgiving sins.
As people of this restless time of ours, wavering between the emptiness of self-exaltation and the humiliation of despair, we have a greater need than ever for a regenerating experience of mercy. We should learn to say repeatedly to God with the faith and simplicity of children: "Great is our sin, but even greater is your love!"
There is a fountain of Mercy flowing from the Sacrament of Confession. But we are not ready to go and quench our thrust… Jesus knows that throughout the ages you and I will need His mercy and His forgiveness and His pardon. That is why He invests His Apostles with this power, not because of them, but because He is merciful and powerful.
Most of us have a doubt in confession. “Yes I am a sinner and I confess to God. Why should tell my sins to a priest whom I know when I can go directly to God?” My First answer to this question is this wonderful sacrament of Penance is instituted by Christ.
Secondly, we are human beings we need “someone with Skin.” There was a boy who was afraid of thunder and lightning. One night, as he was sleeping, a violent storm blistered the skies. He awoke, terrified, and ran into his parents’ bedroom crying. His mother tried to calm him. “Sweaty, honey, I told you God Loves you and is with you. Don’t ever be afraid. You are not alone.” But the little boy replied. “I know mummy that God loves me and listens to my prayers. But sometimes I need someone with skin!”
We all need “someone with skin.” When we have sinned- offending God and his people, the church- we need to open our hearts to another person…”Someone with skin.” For Catholics, that “someone with skin” is the priest, ordained by the church to represent Jesus and the Church herself. “Someone with skin” from whom we can ask God’s forgiveness. And hear that your sins are forgiven…go in peace.
Some of us are so afraid that God will not forgive our sins. My dear brothers and sisters, God is love and He showed his mercy. If the Lord has already taken every single sin that we could commit, that we have committed, or that we will commit, why are we afraid that our sins are not forgiven? What is the worst thing anybody could ever do? Saint Therese of Lisieux tell us that, it is like one little drop of water in the ocean of God’s mercy. The worst thing, the biggest thing that we could ever commit is like one little drops of water in the ocean because God’s mercy is infinite. His love for you and me is infinite; it is beyond anything we could ever grasp or imagine. He nailed that sin to the Cross already. It is over with, it is done. If you have confessed it, it’s gone. That is the mercy of God.
If Jesus has done all this, if He has died on the Cross to forgive our sins, if he has established this great gift of His mercy within the Church, in the Sacrament of Penance, then, yes, we must trust.
He died for us so that we could have His life. He took on our sins so that we could be sinless. He accepted our death so that we could have His life. He went into hell so that we could go to Heaven. That is the mercy of God.
If we have received mercy, then we must show mercy. If we have been forgiven, we must forgive. If we have been shown compassion, we must show compassion.
When we can be at peace, when we are filled with trust, when we are no longer afraid, then it can be said of each one of us what was said of Thomas when he made that profession "My Lord and my God" : He doubted no longer, but believed. When the priests lift the body and blood of Jesus we recite in our heart and with our lips this prayer “My Lord and my God.” Because we Jesus face to face and we believe in Him. If you have never tried it start today.
Now the question each one of us needs to ask, and needs to ask very, very seriously of our own selves is - Do we trust Him? Do we take Him at His word? It is Jesus Himself who said, "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven." Do we believe Him? Psalm 118 echoed several times” His mercy endures forever!"
Are we ready to sing from the depth of our heart:-

Let go and let God have His wonderful way,
Let go and let God have His way,
Your sorrows will vanish; Your Nights turn to Days
Let go and Let God have His Way.

Alleluia: He is risen and He is Alive

Most Rev. William J. McCormack,D.D. Who resides in the rectory celebrated the Easter Vigil.

Alleluia! He is indeed risen! And He is Alive.

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Happy Easter to you all.
I am sure we have visited many pilgrim centers and many tombs of the saints, we venerated many saintly relics. If you ever been in India you will make sure to visit a wonder of the world tomb called “Taj Mahal”, if you have visited Rome I am sure you will go down to the basilica to view the tombs of the saintly popes. In all these tombs it is inscribed that here lies so and so. But if you go to Jerusalem there is a tomb in it is written “he is not here, He is risen.” Alleluia. Yes dear brothers and sisters that is the basics of our faith.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the first article of the Christian faith and the demonstration of all the rest. The last act of Jesus was the starting point of the preaching. Jesus is someone who I know to be good and trustworthy. He would not deceive or pick disciples who deliberately mislead others. I believe their testimony to be true. For sure they testify to something that is mind boggling, but I do not think they could have any other motive than that it actually happened.
When Jesus died, faith in his message died as well and his movement, which had began with such promise, collapsed. If the figure on the cross had been the last sight of Him, we would not have heard anything more of Him and there would have been no Church. Well did one writer say: “The evidence for the resurrection is existence of the Church in that spiritual vitality which confronts us in the New Testament?” This is so my dear brother sand sisters. If you were to take a pencil and cross out every verse in the New Testament which refers to the resurrection or to the idea that Jesus Christ is alive, you would not have much of the New Testament left. It throbs with the conviction that Jesus was raised by God and is alive for evermore. Lose the Resurrection hope, though, and we lose our way. Even this beautiful great St Stephen’s Church will become a museum the day we lose our confidence in the resurrection.
If Christ has not risen from the grave of our lives, from our doubts, fears, from our personal deaths, then so called evidences of the resurrection are of no consequence except as props. Jesus Christ’s resurrection has to become our resurrection if it is to mean anything to all. We need to be resurrected people. We need to get up from our dead life. Are we alive in our faith my dear brothers and sisters? Where is our faith which handed over to us by our fathers our ancestors? Are they all watered down?
Take the challenge of the resurrection. It calls us to identify with a Christ who through the horror of the crucifixion leads us, his people, to new life and hope.
What matters is to take a step. In any great venture it is the first step that matters most. I remember a few years back when I first saw someone operating a computer. He could do such amazing things he seemed like a god to me. I didn't ask him to teach me all that he knew. What I asked him was, "Can you show me how to switch that thing on?" So it is in our faith. If we just take that first step, we will begin to make progress. There will be good days and bad days, set backs as well as advances. But the first step is the most important one. On Easter we take a small step together. It is the renewal of our baptism. We each know those things that are holding us down, maybe fear itself. We ask the Lord to set us free so we can discover his plan, the profession of faith.
Paul understood the reality quite well. In his letter to the Romans, he says "Christ as we know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no power over Him any more." What is the worse thing that can happen to us? Death. Death is swallowed up in victory. "Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?" (1Cor 15:55).
The Resurrection of Jesus is experienced when people receive hope, when drugs are given up, when relationships are reconciled.
But, since it is true that Jesus has truly risen, where is He? Our faith affirms the certainty that Jesus can be found in four places. The risen Jesus is in heaven. The risen Jesus lives in His Church. Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. Finally, the risen Jesus is alive in each of us.
Jesus is in heaven because He ascended to the Father 40 days after His resurrection. Jesus lives in His Church because He said that He would be with us until the end of time. Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist because His love is so great for humanity that He could not leave us alone. Jesus is present in each of us in such a way that whatever we do to any of our brothers and sisters, we do to Him. If Jesus is with us and is if we believe that why we worry. What are we worried about. If Jesus conquered even death don’t you think that he can not conquer the situations you are facing now and get you out of this? He is alive. He is risen. Alleluia

At the beginning of every day, Jesus gives us a blank piece of paper to write out the history of another day. Nevertheless, we must always keep in mind that this life was never meant to be easy. Jesus gives meaning to our suffering and gives us the ability to carry our difficulties with patience, love, and joy. When we think that Jesus is far from us, it is then that He is always the closest. Every time we suffer, He is able to understand our suffering and console us with His loving presence. Because he is risen. He is alive in us.
On October 29, 1941, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited Harrow School to speak to the students. The war with Germany was going badly, the German Luftwaffe was engaged in its blitz of London, and England was preparing for a Nazi invasion of the British Isles. Churchill’s speech there at Harrow was one of his more famous ones. In it he said:
Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
Giving up can be the work of the devil. Giving up was found in each one of the three temptations Satan presented to Christ when He was out in the desert preparing to embark upon his public ministry. Giving up was the last temptation Satan hurled at Jesus as He hung dying on His cross. Don’t give up our faith. Don’t give up the resurrected life. Hang on. Hang on to Jesus. Even when everybody seems to give up on it. Do not give up on Truth.
God, however, never ever gives up on us… even when we’ve turned our backs on Him or betrayed Him.
Death is not the end of the story. There is one more chapter. This is the most important chapter because, as the saying goes, they who laugh last laugh best. And in the last chapter of the story of Jesus we see him rise from the dead in all glory and majesty. He is vindicated.
The Gospel account today shows us Mary Magdalene, who knew that something really important had happened but was not yet sure what had happened. It shows us Saint Peter, also recognizing that something important had happened, but not sure yet what had happened. And finally the “other disciple” sees and believes.
We can identify with all three of these believers. We can see ourselves as Mary, recognizing that something important has happened and that the leader of our faith should come and see what has happened. We can identify with Saint Peter, who seems always slow to believe but steadfast once he believes. Or we can identify with the more mysterious and mystical “other disciple” who sees and believes. We can be all three of these people at once. Yes, the joy and hope experienced by the disciples on that first Easter day are now enveloping each of us on this Easter day. This is why we echo the words of St. Augustine: "We are Easter people, and Alleluia is our song!"
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Happy Easter

Happy Easterhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxdRQpuR1fwMay The Risen Lord Fill you with his Joy and Mercy.Alleluiah.

The cross is the sign of God's Love: Good Friday

Jesus showed His great Love on the Cross

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
After one noonday Mass in this holy week, one sister came to me and introduced herself to me and expresses her wonder for the beauty of the church and while we were talking she raised a question; Father, I still don’t understand Why Jesus Died on the cross? I just paused for a moment and asked her does she has any kid. She said she has a daughter. Then I asked her does she love her daughter! She said yes indeed. Then I asked will you sacrifice your life in case of danger to save your daughter. Yes of course. No doubt at all. Then I told her I do not have any better answer for your question. This is the same thing Jesus did for us by dying on the cross. Because he loves his children and he died to save you and me.
There is no meaning of cross if there is no love in it. The cross is the sign of God’s Love for us. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish.” He died for you and me so that we will live for ever in Eternity.
God showed His love on the cross and that love overflows from the Cross. One boy was carrying another boy on his shoulder but crippled and heavier than him. Some one felt sorry and asked him; “child don’t you feel heavy and burdened to carry him”? He replied “No Sir, He is not at all heavy for me, he is my brother”. Yes dear brothers and sisters wherever there is love you won’t feel the burden and heaviness of the cross you carry. Jesus did not feel the heaviness of the Heavy cross because He was carrying for us, for you and me, for our Salvation. His love for us made him to get up and walk even after the three falls.
Psalms, 102:6 says ‘I am like pelican of the wilderness”. The pelican is a bird of Egypt, living in the wilderness of the River Nile, from which it gets its name. It is devoted to its young. When it gives birth and the young begin to grow, they strike their parents in the face. But their parents, striking back, kill them. On the third day, however, the mother-bird, with a blow to her flank, opens up her side and lies on her young and lets her blood pour over the bodies of the dead, and so raises them from the dead. Could please show me any better sign for love than this cross???
The beatification ceremony of Maximilian Kolbe was presided by Pope Paul VI. Near the pope was seated a dignified looking man in his mid-fifties, wearing a plain business suit. Everyone was asking who he was and why he was sitting there so close to the Holy Father.
During the homily Pope Paul VI described the life of Maximilian Kolbe. He was a Polish Franciscan priest who was arrested by Nazis in February of 1941 for publishing unapproved literature. They sentenced him to hard labor at the Auschwitz concentration camp. In August of that same year a prisoner escaped. When he was not recaptured the Nazis took a reprisal. They lined up the other prisoners and picked out ten to die in the starvation bunker. One of the men selected was a farmer named Franciszek Gajowniczek. He was in Auschwitz only because he was Jew. When Franciszek was selected, he cried out, "My wife, my children!"
Hearing that cry Fr. Kolbe stepped forward. He said to the guard, "I am a Catholic priest. I have no family like this man. Allow me to take his place." The guard hesitated, but after a while agreed. Maximilian Kolbe, along with the nine others, was placed in the starvation bunker for a slow and agonizing death. After fourteen days, four were still alive and only one was fully conscious--Fr. Kolbe himself. The Nazis needed the starvation bunker for other prisoners so they injected Fr. Kolbe and the three others with carbolic acid.
The man seated next to Pope Paul VI was none other than Franciszek Gajowniczek. What Maximilian Kolbe did for that Jewish prisoner, Jesus has done for each one of us. He died in our place.
Mother Teresa asked her sisters before she died: "how can we last one day without hearing Jesus say "I love you." and she answered that question by saying, "it's impossible." In the Letter to the Hebrews, the author says, "We have not a God that is incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us, but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are." (Heb 4:14-16) For us who believe, the Crucified Christ is not a sign of shame, of defeat, or hopelessness, but "is the wisdom and the power of God" (1Cor 2:24). Bring all you are suffering to his feet. Ours is the God of Calvary. Ours is the God of the emergency room, the AIDS hospice, the broken family; the God of failed relationships, fragile bodies, and shattered hearts. This is why Friday is "Good." God has been and remains in our darkest places, even in the places where we are sure God is absent. Can anyone match the simple but profound final words of Betsie Ten Boom, who was beaten to death by a guard in the Ravensbruck concentration camp? "We must tell the people," she whispered, "what we have learned here. We must tell them that there is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still."
When you study the literature you may come across the Greek Mythology of Prometheus. Zeus in his wrath denied men the secret of fire. Prometheus felt sorry for his creations, and watched as they shivered in the cold and winter's nights. He took fire from the heaven of the gods by stealing and brought it to men. He brought down the fire coal and gave it to man. He then showed them how to cook and stay warm. Zeus could not just take fire back, because a god or goddess could not take away what the other had given. Zeus punished Prometheus. He was carried to Mount Caucasus, where an eagle by the name of Ethon would eat his liver; it would grow back each day and the eagle would eat it again. This punishment was to last 30,000 years. About 12 generations later, Hercules passing by on his way to find the apples freed Prometheus. Prometheus suffered for his love for his creation in Greek Mythology. Each day Our Lord is breaking his body when we come for the Eucharist. There is no greater love than dying for your friends.
Jesus extended his hands on the Cross to embrace each and every one of us. In Rev. 3:20 says “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me. Yes dear brothers and sisters, Are we ready to open our hearts today for Jesus…
Pray often if you can The Serenity Prayer of Reinhold Niebuhr:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God's Love: Thanks for the Priesthood

Holy Thursday: Priesthood , Eucharist and washing of the Feet

Holy Thursday:- Priesthood and Eucharist and washing of the Feet
My dear fathers, brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Today is the day that our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist and the Holy Orders. Both the Eucharist and the priesthood “were born” during the Last Supper and the two sacraments; the Eucharist and Holy Orders are so closely linked as Pope John Paul said;
“We were born from the Eucharist. There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood, just as there can be no priesthood without the Eucharist.”
Pope John Paul II has called the Holy Mass “Heaven on earth” explaining that “the liturgy we celebrate on earth is a mysterious participation in the heavenly liturgy. That means we do go to heaven when we go to the holy Mass. As Bishop Fulton J. Sheen used to say: “The greatest love affair the world has ever known is contained in a tiny wafer of bread.”
As a priest when I celebrate the mass I am a “stand-in” for the High Priest, to use the words of the church teaching, I am there functioning in Persona Christi- in the person of Christ, the High Priest of the Epistles to the Hebrews. You do not come to Mass to receive my body and blood, and I can’t give it to you, if you do. You come for communion with Christ, to receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Blessed Theresa of Calcutta use to say to the Priests. Priest of God Celebrate this Mass as if it were your first Mass; Your Last Mass; Your Only Mass.
I acknowledge that I am not worthy of this precious gift of Priesthood. St. Paul says in Second Corinthians, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels (clay pots), to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us." I am painfully aware of this fundamental truth that we are all fragile, breakable and, indeed, worthless in ourselves. It is the treasure we hold that matters. We are precious, not for what we are in ourselves, but for what we contain, the indescribable gift each one of us carries: God's grace, God's beauty, God's love, God's very life. We are nothing without Christ in Us. Value of a priest is the value of Jesus Christ. A priest without Jesus and the Eucharist is equal to nothing. That is why we are asking you to pray everyday for the priests. Priests are just Copies of Christ. When we make copies we copy from the original. Yes duplicate from the Original. Do not follow any priest, but Follow our Lord Jesus Christ who asks us all to follow Him.
The life of a Christian in the world is a pilgrimage, a long, hard journey. Along the way we get tired and worn out and we are tempted to give up and turn back. But Jesus has provided us with the Eucharist as a place where we can go in to bathe our aching feet and to be refreshed in body and soul for the journey that is still ahead.
Jesus said in our gospel today in John 13:15 “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you”. What is the example he showed us to follow. In verse 4 and 5 we read “He got up from the meal, took off His outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel.”
We could pick up 6 main points that He did in those two sentences.

1. He rose…
To do anything serious in our lives we need to get up from were we are comfortable with. The prodigal son got up from the pit … We need to get up from our sinful nature… Our sinful habits…We need to rise from Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and Pride.
2. Took of His outer Garments…
We need to take off all the Outer Masks that we are wearing. As Jesus said stop living like the white washed tombs. Take off the outer garments of pride and be thankful to God all what we are and what we have because it is all His Mercy. Our Lives are symbols of God’s Mercy and Generosity.
3. Took a towel and tied it around His waist…
Linen Cloth, a towel is a symbol of poverty, simple life. When Baby Jesus was born Mother Mary wrapped Him with a Towel, when Jesus died they wrapped him with a towel and when Jesus rose from the dead they saw a towel folded and kept aside.
Tying the towel is a symbol of readiness to serve and Being Keen. Jesus is asking us to be available and being accessible to God and for His people. Be ready to serve.
4. Poured Water into a basin…
Water is a symbol of Holy Spirit. In John 2: Jesus changed water into wine and in Last Supper this wine Jesus is changing into His Blood. Jesus is prepared for his Mission. He wishes to give us His spirit.
You can almost hear the sound of the water as it fills the basin. When you listen to the life of Jesus, you hear that sound constantly. Jesus saw how people fill their lives with things, with attitudes, with stuff that did not give life. He came to fill people’s lives with God’s grace, God’s love, and God’s care. Jesus says this grace and love and care will overflow, if you make room for it. Each time we come to this table we are challenged to ask: where am I empty, and will I let Jesus fill that space?

5. Wash the disciples’ Feet… I wish to emphasis this point.
Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe and the Lord of all, gets down on his knees and in an act of love bathes the feet of his disciples. Kneeling down before anyone is a dying to oneself. Jesus is showing us the servant Mentality for us to follow. He is washing all our sins.
Our God in His humility gives to us an example in the washing of the feet of what it means to be a servant, what it means to love, what it means to be humble.
At the time of Jesus, there were no shoes or socks; maybe something resembling a sandal. For the most part it was bare feet. And they were dirty; not just from the day, but from weeks and months and years. It was probably a lot of work to get them clean. Throughout his life, Jesus went to people whose lives were dirty and messy; people others had dismissed as sinners or as too much work. The story of Passover is about God’s care for people who are not always that loveable or perfect or good. And that is the meaning of these feet being washed. It is the meaning of our coming to this table each week. Jesus is not interested in only the good parts of your life; he is interested in the places where you are rough, messed up, unpleasant. He wants to wash your life with his love. To be a Christian is to be prepared to kneel down and perform the lowliest of tasks for another. It is to be a servant for the sake of Jesus.
Judas was one of those twelve. Judas had his feet washed by Jesus. I wonder what went on in the hearts and minds of Judas and Jesus at that moment. It required utter and total humility for Jesus to wash the feet of the one He knew was to betray Him. My sisters and brothers, how many of us would wash the feet of the person who we may find most difficult in life? Of a person who we might totally dislike? Of a person who has harmed us, hurt us, wounded us? Yet Jesus, in His radical humility, reminds us that we are to do the same that we are to imitate Him.
It serves as an excellent meditation for all of us of what we are called to do and how we are called to serve.

6. He dries them with the Towel…

There is something very touching about drying feet; it takes some time, it requires a kind of tenderness and caring. Coming to this table is not about devotion and piety. There is a demand attached to your coming: that you have to be more tender, more caring, more loving. You do not leave here and change the world. You leave, with a towel around your waist, ready to simply be gentler, more peaceful, and attentive to others’ needs.

1 John 1:7 says “the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”
In Ephesians 5: 26,27 we read “ Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

The other side of the coin, which is equally important, is that after our feet have been washed by the Lord, we must go and wash the feet of others. Let us allow Jesus, through this Eucharist, to wash our feet, and as we enter into communion with His Blood, let us pray that we may receive that love and live it out each day until that day when we enter into the fullness of love itself.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Tenebrae Homily on Suffering

Tenebrae – This too will Pass away, have faith in Jesus

Mk. 4:35-41" After have spoken in parables to his disciples, Jesus said to them, «Let us go across to the other side.» And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.

" And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, «Teacher, do you not care if we perish?» And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, «Peace! Be still!» And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, «Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?» And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, «Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?» "
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
One day King Solomon decided to humble Benaiah, ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He said to him, "Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkoth which gives you six months to find it." "It has magic powers, "If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy." Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility. Spring passed and then summer, and still Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring. On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of the poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a Goldsmith who had begun to set out the day's wares on a shabby carpet. "Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?" asked Benaiah. He took a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it and gave to him. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile. … King Solomon read the inscription. The jeweler had written three Hebrew letters on the gold band: _gimel, zayin, yud_, which began the words “This too shall pass." At that moment Solomon realized that all his wisdom and fabulous wealth and tremendous power were but fleeting things, for one day he would be nothing but dust.
Yes dear brothers and sisters all what we are facing now ‘This too shall pass away”.
Our Loving God who suffered for us and who is always with us in our suffering, calling us today to go to the other side of the lake. When we start going with him there will be always storm and wind across; don’t think because we are believers there won’t be any storm in my life, there will be temptation in our daily lives like St Peter to jump into the water when he saw Jesus walking on the water and then looked back or look down and go down to the water, Jesus is asking us to go to the other side of the lake; there our happiness joy and eternal life waiting for us. And surely the disciples must have been secure and confident in the fact that the Son of God was with them in their boat as they embarked. But the Lord's closest followers must have been not a little surprised and even confused when the waves rose and began to threaten. When we are ready to face all these storms and winds with Jesus and when we reach there at the other side of the Lake there we will enjoy the eternal life. Our Lord calls us to cross with Him over to the other side. While the Gospel speaks of the other side of the Sea of Galilee, we should always keep in mind our ultimate destination, which is none other than everlasting life. As Mark shows us, things can go wrong even when Jesus is in the boat. And when things go wrong, even terribly wrong, and the storms around us begin to rage, it may seem to us, or at least to others, that Jesus is fast asleep.
Crossing over to the other side- in the here and now- means moving from doubt to faith, from fear to calm, from 'brokenness' to wholeness, from mortality to immortality. And if the journey seems difficult, Jesus reminds us again and again throughout the Gospels that the reward is so great.
Most of us when we suffer wonder, why me. Why do I have to suffer? The meaning of life will be become clearer to us when we realize that we will find purpose in life when our search leads us from why to whom. Suffering does have a human face to it. We have only to look at our Lord Jesus crucified on the Cross and there we will find the meaning of our existence and the answer to our searching and longing. A widow was so upset with God for taking her son’s life away from her. She always complained to God where were you when my son died? One day God appeared to her in dreams and told her “He was in the same place wither son, as when His son Jesus was on the cross. He was right there, as He always is with all His children.
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me”. The cross, our personal cross or crosses which cannot be transferred to anyone else is an essential aspect to our walk with the Lord Jesus.
Too many of our contemporaries seek an easy life without suffering, without sacrifice, without renunciation, without mortification. Many people including me would like to stand under the cross of Jesus and cry out as did the jeering crowd on the first Good Friday, “Come down from the cross”. Save yourself and save me”. However, there is only one Jesus, and he is the crucified Jesus who rose from the dead. Christianity without the cross is not Christianity; only through the cross of Jesus have we gained salvation.
So, when we suffer, we should not consider our suffering a burden; rather we must look upon the cross we bear as an immense gift from God. Mother Theresa once said: “Suffering is a sign that we have come so close to Jesus on the cross that he can kiss us and that he can show that he is in love with us by giving us an opportunity to share in his passion”.
When we ask the question why, we need to look upon the crucifix. It is only there that we will find the meaning of suffering and the exact reason why we must carry our own cross.
One day one lady seeing a young man who lost his right leg and hand felt so sorry and expressed her deep sympathy saying “My goodness what a brave young man you are. I feel so sorry for your situation” To this he replied, “Lady; everybody has a cross to bear. You can just see mine.”
We all like to wear pearl Jewels if we get it .Most jewelry is fashioned out of precious metals and jewels that are found buried in the Earth, but pearls are found inside a living creature, an oyster. Pearls are the result of a biological process -- the oyster's way of protecting itself from foreign substances.
The formation of a natural pearl begins when a foreign substance slips into the oyster between the mantle and the shell, which irritates the mantle. It's kind of like the oyster getting a splinter. The oyster's natural reaction is to cover up that irritant to protect itself. The mantle covers the irritant with layers of the same nacre substance that is used to create the shell. This eventually forms a pearl.
Yes dear brothers and sisters try to convert our little suffering to a higher means to others to find the joy. Try to suffer our small pains with dignity and joy, which will allow many, even without notice, to come closer to God. Make our discomfort to a very costly pearl in our life. When we are in pain we search God thinking he is away from us, but the poet C.S. Eliot wrote, "And at the end of our exploring, we will return to the place where we began and we will know it for the first time." We will come full circle and know that this is what we are about.
Christ holds up for us the cross with this under-standing: If we embrace it with love, as he did, the cross can be redemptive. Into every life comes a cross. There’s no way to avoid the cross that each of us must carry. Some are simply “more visible” than others. Sometimes the cross comes in the form of aging, physical suffering, disease, disability. Other times it presents itself as a betrayal of a friendship, an abuse of a relationship. Our cross might simply be the struggle to live out the wondrous yet demanding promises to love, honor and support one another “all the days of our lives.” Whatever the cross, remember this too will pass away.
Let me end with the poem This too shall Pass away by Lanta Wilson Smith
When some great sorrow, like a mighty river,Flows through your life with peace-destroying powerAnd dearest things are swept from sight forever,Say to your heart each trying hour:"This, too, shall pass away."When ceaseless toil has hushed your song of gladness,And you have grown almost too tired to pray,Let this truth banish from your heat its sadness,And ease the burdens of each day:"This, too, shall pass away."When fortune smiles, and, full of mirth and pleasure,The days are flitting by without a care,Lest you should rest with only earthly treasure,Let these few words their fullest import bear:"This, too, shall pass away."When earnest labor brings you fame and glory,And all earth's noblest ones upon you smile,Remember that life's longest, grandest storyFills but a moment in earth's little while:"This, too, shall pass away."-Lanta Wilson Smith

Palm-Passion Sunday

Palm Sunday- Passion Sunday

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
“Today the palms - tomorrow the passion”. The grim truth is that the same people who shouted "Hosanna" on Sunday shouted "Crucify him," just five days later. It is sobering to recall that the same people shouting Hosanna on Palm Sunday were crying "Crucify him" on Good Friday! Quite a reversal, pretty inconsistent. But isn't that a contemporary experience too, the inconsistency of what we do here on Sunday and how we are tempted to live the rest of the week in other aspects of our lives.
What we commemorate and relive during this week called "holy" is not just Jesus’ dying and rising, but our own dying and rising in Him.
Are we ready to die with Him in our lives? One of the two men crucified with Jesus was an "honest thief." He was brave enough to confess who he was. If we were honest, we would also admit we had taken things that do not belong to us. You know, it is not just the one who steals money or shoplifts who is a thief. The person who has sex apart from marriage is taking something that does not belong to him. Even if you call it "living together" it is still stealing. The same with the husband who spends all his time with buddies; he is robbing his wife and children. The person whose motto is "shop till I drop" and who never thinks about the needy is stealing from the poor. The one who is speaking to you now, recognizes he is a big thief.
Max Lucado reminds us that each of us has got a donkey that the Lord needs. “Sometimes I get the impression that God wants me to give him something and sometimes I don't give it because I don't know for sure, and then I feel bad because I've missed my chance. Other times I know he wants something but I don't give it because I'm too selfish. And other times, too few times, I hear him and I obey him and feel honored that a gift of mine would be used to carry Jesus to another place. …Maybe you have those questions, too. All of us have a donkey. You and I each have something in our lives, which, if given back to God, could, like the donkey, move Jesus and his story further down the road. Whichever, your donkey belongs to him. It really does belong to him. Your gifts are his and the donkey was his. The original wording of the instructions Jesus gave to his disciples is proof: "If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, you are to say, 'Its Lord is in need.'" [Max Lucado, And the Angels were Silent, p. 54]
What the passion narrative teaches us today?
First, our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who raised Jesus of Nazareth from the dead, the God who created heaven and earth, the God who created your life and mine, that God, the true God, our God, is a God who suffers and cries and dies. Our true God suffers and cries and dies. The suffering of our God is not imaginary or fictitious or make believe. God’s suffering; pain and tears are as real as yours and mine. He knows what the real pain is. He can feel your pain, because he had suffered it before you.
The cross cries out its message of pain. We hear the words at Lazarus’ death: “He wept.” Our God, the true God, suffers and cries and dies, like we do.
We are the only religion in the world whose God gets hurt, whose God gets stabbed, who writhes in pain on the cross, who gets whipped, who has five wounds in his body, and who shouts his pain in the midst of his suffering on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me and let me suffer like that?” What other religion is there where a cross becomes a throne? His suffering was not imaginary, it was not make believe, and it is not a fake. The cross tells us that. Passion Sunday tells us that. Our God suffers and cries and dies.
But there is a second part. Our God is a God who loves his children so much that God is willing to die in their behalf. Our passionate God suffers cries and dies for us, in our behalf.
That is what the cross tells us: God loved us so much that God was willing to die for us. That is the message of the cross. It is only in the cross that we see the face of God’s love. The cross is that glorious window through which we see God’s great love, a love so great that God was willing to die for you, that God’s son was willing to lay down his life for you and me.
It is from the cross that we hear the voice of God who constantly and persistently says, “I love you. I forgive you. I am with you always.”
There is something about the cross that compels us to make a choice, either for him or against him. You can’t find a middle ground when it comes to Christ, even though at times we try to.
This is clearly expressed in a poem:
I stood alone at the cross of Christ,In the hush of twilight dim,And faced the questionThat pierced my heart,What shall I do with him?
Crown or crucify, what shall it be?No other choice is offered me.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Jesus I trust in You

Our lady of the Scapular and St Stephen's church and Chapel of Sacred heart of Jesus and Mary

Annunciation

Annunciation

Today, we recall with gratitude and celebrate with joy the Annunciation of the Lord to Mary and His Incarnation. We focus on Christ, who on entering into the world, offers His Father an act of obedience, as He says "Behold, I come to do your will" and on Mary, who receiving God’s invitation through the Angel Gabriel to become the Mother of God, likewise makes an act of obedience, as she says: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word" The central focus of the feast of the annunciation is the Incarnation: God has become one of us. From all eternity God had decided that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity should become human. Because human beings have rejected God, Jesus will accept a life of suffering and an agonizing death: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
Mary has an important role to play in God’s plan. From all eternity God destined her to be the mother of Jesus and closely related to him in the creation and redemption of the world. Together with Jesus, the privileged and graced Mary is the link between heaven and earth. She is the human being who best, after Jesus, exemplifies the possibilities of human existence. She received into her lowliness the infinite love of God. She shows how an ordinary human being can reflect God in the ordinary circumstances of life. She exemplifies what the Church and every member of the Church is meant to become.
There is a good reason why the Annunciation occurs during Lent. Two good reasons: This day, the day that Mary finds out that she is pregnant, occurs just exactly nine months before the Nativity of the Lord in December. But, there is a deeper, subtler reason. In Lent, we talk about the way in which God decided to save the world. It happens through the death and the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. And, so it seems fitting that we pause for a moment to remember the very first moment when Jesus was introduced onto the stage of salvation history, that moment when he began his life within the womb of his mother the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Annunciation is one of those events which points to the human nature of Jesus. Leo the Great, who was the Bishop of Rome in the fifth century, wrote about the mystery of the dual nature of Christ in these words:
He who is true God was therefore born in the complete and perfectnature of a true human being, whole in his own nature, whole in ours. By our nature we mean what the Creator had fashioned in us from the beginning and took to himself in order to perfect it.”
The annunciation is in part about the way that God gives humanity a compassionate embrace. Remember what Leo said: God took us to himself in order to restore our human nature. God took us to himself.
As we respond to the awesome reality of God’s choosing to love us even when we were sinners by sending His Son to save us, we not only express gratitude and praise; we not only confess our sins as individuals and a parish. Inspired by the Gospel and strengthened by divine grace, we recommit ourselves "to become more like Jesus Christ, whom we acknowledge as our redeemer, God and man". We want to be like Him. He chose to do God’s will, to take up our human condition and to save us. He chose to love. We can do no less.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

5th Sunday Lent C Forgiveness and sin

Mother Teresa said: “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are endless.”
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
One rainy afternoon a mother was driving along one of the main streets of town. Suddenly, her son spoke up from his relaxed position in the rear seat. “Mom, I’m thinking of something.” This announcement usually meant he had been pondering some fact for a while and was now ready to expound all that his seven-year-old mind had discovered. His mother was eager to hear. “What are you thinking?” she asked. “The rain is like sin and the windscreen wipers are like God, wiping our sins away.” “That’s really good, sweet heart, but do you notice how the rain keeps on coming? What does that tell you?” He didn’t hesitate one moment with his answer: “We keep on sinning, and God just keeps on forgiving us.” Yes dear brothers and sisters, isn’t it comforting to know that God does keep forgiving us? All we have to do is trust Jesus as our savior and He will keep washing our sins away.
What a contrast between the cruelty of the scribes and Pharisees and the compassion of Jesus in our Gospel. The scribes and Pharisees had no regard for the woman. They were only interested in using her to try to trap Jesus; she was a pawn in their game of chess. But Jesus is full of compassion. He restored the woman again. He restored her in two ways. He restored her spiritually by forgiving her, telling her he did not condemn her, while also insisting that she should not sin again, and he restored her to society by saving her life. No one knows what Jesus wrote on the ground but some people suspect Jesus wrote the sins of the scribes and Pharisees.
Notice Jesus' last words to the woman, "go away and don't sin any more." Although Jesus has forgiven her sin he expects her to live a life of grace and union with God from now on by not sinning any more. Jesus doesn't say that sin does not matter because sin does matter and damages our relationship with God. But Jesus does convict her, but did not condemn her — He convicts her of her sin 'Go, and from now on do not sin anymore."
He calls her action a "sin"—not a mistake, or a foible, or a weakness. He labels the deed a sin, and commands her not to do it again.
This leads to the obvious question: What exactly is the difference between "convicting" and "condemning"?
Simply put, to convict is to identify or expose a particular sin; to condemn is to say or imply that someone is damned. During his earthly life, Jesus very often did the first, but he never, ever did the second—as we see evidenced in this Gospel.
Biblically speaking, "to judge" means "to condemn." We Christians need to be clear about that. It has nothing to do with calling sin "sin"!
But think about it: getting convicted now is much better than being condemned on the Day of Judgment! Condemnation is final, because it always sends a person to hell. But every conviction can be easily overturned by an attitude of repentance and a good confession. This means that the experience of being convicted can actually lead us to heaven, if we convert our hearts after being convicted of the sin.
Jesus said to the woman not to sin again and since sin is so horrible and horrific we need to take steps to ensure that we do not sin again because otherwise we will gradually drift again into the same sin. The first step to take is deal with where all sin begins the mind.
Sin begins in the mind. We need to fill our minds with what is good instead of with rubbish. IN Mark 7: 20-23 we read “ From Within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly”.
Sin begins in the mind, from there it moves on to become an action, from there it moves on to become a lifestyle, and then it affects us in eternity. Remember the failure of King David in 2nd Samuel Chapter 11. Instead of going for war, he was walking on the roof and saw Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, taking bath and in his mind he committed sin before he actually committed adultery and then murder. Sin begins in the mind. We need to begin by feeding our minds with what is good instead of with what is rubbish. In our second reading today we see Paul filling himself only with Jesus and cutting out all rubbish from his life,
"I Consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For this sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him…"( Phil.3:8-11)
Jesus does not condemn us when we sin but he asks us to turn away from sin and follow him again. Remember what he said to the woman caught in adultery, "Neither do I condemn you but go and do not sin again." (John 8:11) Jesus does not condemn you but asks you not to sin again.
"The Son of Man has not come to call the virtuous but to call sinners to repentance." (Luke 19:10)
So have no fear in approaching Jesus to tell him your sins. He is a friend of sinners. He loves us so much.
How much does Jesus love us? This much [stretching out arms], he stretched out his arms on the cross and died for us. Let us never be afraid to turn to Jesus for mercy after sinning, he is always waiting to forgive us and restore us again.
Imagine when you die and Jesus comes to meet you and shows you a video of your entire life. On the video you see all the good things you did. But there are also a number of blanks on the tape. You ask why there are such blanks on the tape of your life. Jesus tells you these were the times when you sinned and asked for God's mercy. When God forgives he completely blanks out our sins and does not remember.
The nature of sin is always self-defeating and binding. When we think we are actually doing for ourselves, we are actually defeating our self. We grow when we selflessly do things for others. This is the foundation of Christian life. God created us to know God to Love God and to Serve God. But when we sin we are against our true nature. When you buy any electronic items, you get a manual with it. When we follow the manual and use according to it, the manufacturer guarantees us that it will have long life but if you do it by yourself not following the manual it may have life but it will go dead meantime. Follow the manuals of God and we will live long.
Genesis 4: 7 SAYS “If you do what is right, you will be accepted. But if you do not do what is right, sin is couching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it”.
As Jesus showed the mercy to the sinful woman we need to show the three-tiered mercy: to God, to neighbor, to self. Forgive God. It's important. Forgive your neighbor. It's the law. Forgive yourself. It's Christ-like.
Forgive God, to begin with. Surely, you have something against God — life being what it is.
Sometimes we do not forgive, but carries a grudge, resentment, a justified umbrage for what someone has done to us: Boss, inferior, or equal.
And you, my brothers and sisters, have you forgiven yourself? Here it starts; here it ends, for forgiveness is meaningless when it does not start at home, in your own heart.
Forgive what you have done, or should have done, or could have done and did not. Hatred is the acid that corrodes its container.
I ask you to consider again the power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Confession, to remove rubbish and garbage and junk from our lives. It is not the priest that you meet in Confession, it is Jesus you meet, and it is he who heals you during the sacrament. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." He can walk back in time to when we got that rubbish and he can remove it and repair us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

4th Sunday Lent C Prodigal Son

The Prodigal Son

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,

I wonder hominy times we have had meditated upon this beautiful story. The prodigal son's decision to leave the father's house and to immerse himself into a life of rebellion, clearly illustrates the nature of sin. Every sin is an abuse of human freedom. When we sin, we defy God who loves us unconditionally. When he asks for his inheritance, the young son isn't simply asking for a large sum of money. He is in effect saying to his father: "I'm treating you as if you're dead. And I want to get now what I'm supposed to receive after you're dead.”
No matter how great your sins may be, this is the day of grace. The bible says, “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” (Isa.55:7)
Notice the steps of Young son’s conversion. There were steps away from God: rebellion against the father, desire for total independence, waste of inheritance, desperate need, debasement and bondage. It is the way of sin, always. But just as there were steps away, so also are steps back. The consequences of sin are always disastrous. Every sinner always experiences profound sadness. As the poet laureate told the congress of the U.S. one day, "the greater honor should go to the one who saw ahead and invented the brake."
First there is an awakening to one’s true condition (v.17). One of the tragedies of sin is that it blinds us to our condition; so we imagine ourselves to be happy when in reality we are miserable or free when we are enslaved. The most miserable people I know think they are happy, or at least are trying to convince themselves they are happy. The prodigal son even when he had to take a job with a detested pig farmer, he supposed he was only doing it on a short- term basis to keep body and soul together until his bad fortune changed. The prodigal son did the most unthinkable job for a Jew. He worked with swine; he worked with what was unclean.
Then he "came to himself". This is a very hard thing to understand. A man cannot be saved unless he comes to himself. What does this mean? In saving our souls, two things must we know. One is to know God, and other is to know ourselves. The two are learned in parallel. If you learn only of God, you will be filled with pride, and your soul will be paralyzed. If you know only about your sins and your unworthiness and know little about God, you will be filled with despondency and fear, or escapism, and your soul will also be paralyzed, unable to do good. But if you learn of yourself and God at the same time, God will reveal Himself and self-knowledge also, within you. Once you know where you are and who you are, it is very easy to make a good decision to rectify your life.
The fist step in conversion is a recognition and repudiation of the lie, which actually an awakening to reality.
The second step in the prodigal’s conversion was an honest confession of true sin. Notice he did not speak of his “Youthful wild oats,” “faults” or “failings”. He did not blame others, as Adam had blamed Eve or Eve the serpent. No! He confessed his sins. We remember King David, who prayed, “Against you, you alone, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Ps.51:4).
Finally the third step in his conversion was an actual return to the father. Thinking alone did not save him, confession alone did not save him, he need to turn around and seek God. And that he did! He actually left his sin and returned to his Father.
When the prodigal son left home, he said “Give Me”. He wanted something. When he returned home a much wiser, but sadder youth, he said, “Make me”. This is the conversion of heart. From “give me” mentality to “make me” mentality.
When the prodigal son came to his senses with the pigs and decided to return to his father he did not expect his father to treat him again as his son. So he made up his mind that he would ask to become one of his servants. He could not imagine that his father would want him back as his son again. He had a warped understanding of his father’s forgiveness. We have a warped understanding of God’s mercy for us. We make the mistake of thinking that God is like us and so we cannot understand God’s mercy. God made us in his image and likeness and ever since then we are making God in our image and likeness.
But when the younger son was on the way back home his father was outside waiting for him. His father ran to him, clasped him in his arms and kissed him. That is what God is like, always longing and waiting for our love. That love and care and concern of God for us is expressed beautifully in Ps 139,O Lord, you search me and you know me, You know my resting and my rising,…Behind and before you besiege me, Your hand ever laid upon me. Too wonderful for me, this knowledge, Too high, beyond my reach.
When we return to God he throws a party for us. Even though the son was far away from his sight, he was never away from his heart. Mercy of our loving God is overflowing.
But there was one who was not celebrating- the older Son. We sympathize with the older son because we think of ourselves as being like him. We are not like the prodigal- so we imagine. We are like that faithful, hardworking, obedient son- so we suppose. But we are not! What was wrong with the older son? Several things: first, he loved property more than people. He would have been quite happy if the money had come back and his brother had been lost. As it was he was angry that the property was lost and his brother recovered. Second, and as a result of his first error, he had an inflated estimate of his own importance and a scorn of others. He was loyal, hardworking, and obedient- or so he thought. So low was his opinion of his brother that he would not even acknowledge his relationship to him, calling him only “the sons of yours” (v.30).
Far away hills look green, there are many attractions in life, there are many voices saying to us ‘Follow me’ or ‘Follow your desires and you will find happiness.’ But the best offer of happiness is from God our Father, “all I have is yours”. This is a most beautiful promise and invitation. After reading this parable we also have a choice to make, will we stay outside or will we go in to enjoy the Father’s party. God our heavenly Father is outside the door waiting for us to come to him. When we return he runs to us, clasps us in his arms and invites us into the party.
So, to summarize, this parable teaches us that God loves us so much; He is willing to forgive even our most terrible sins, as long as we return to Him in repentance and humility.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Repent and remove your sandals of Pride 3rd C lent

Remove the Sandals of Ego and repent and turn to God
My Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
One day a disciple came to pay homage to his master. He carried flowers on his both hands. When he entered in the presence of his master he heard a sound saying “drop it”. He thought it may not be right to offer flowers with left hand so he dropped the flowers from his left and he continued. When he was at the center he heard the same sound again “drop it”. So he dropped the flowers from his hands. He thought the master may not like the flowers. When he was very near to the master when he was about to bend his knees he heard the same sound “drop it”. He was shocked. Didn’t master saw that I drop the flowers? Then he heard the sound saying “drop it. Drop it not the Flowers but your Ego. Then come and pay homage.”
Yes dear brothers and sisters in our first reading we heard God is asking the same kind of a dropping off. Remove the sandals. If you happened to be in any of the Mosques or in the eastern Hindu temples or some Asian churches you have to remove your sandals or shoes. Taking off our shoes reminds us of our smallness and our poverty. Here God is asking Moses to remove the sandals. Because you are in the holy presence. If you wish to be in the presence of God, you need to remove your sandals. What are these sandals that you wear? IN Jesus’ time only the sons wear the sandals not the slaves. We know when we read the story of the prodigal son father says the servants to bring the sandals for his prodigal son. We have to remove the sandals we wear in our heart. The sandals of egoism, the sandals of power, the position, money, authority, the sandals of worries, tension, anxieties for tomorrow, sandals of hatred , un-forgiveness, revenge, pride etc.,. We can not enter in the presence of God wearing all these sandals of pride and ego.
To make it simple take the word “SIN” S-I-N. Sin happens when I stand out in the center of our life. Take that I from the Word SIN which is our egoism, the “I-ness” and bend it as much as you can and you know the most you can bend is to make it a zero. When your I become a big Zero then you place it right in the same position where you took the I from SIN then you get back your true nature SON. You become sons and daughters of God .When you change from the I centered life to Other centered life you get back your son-ship. When you remove I, the pride the ego from you then you can see the presence of God throughout your life. Then you can feel it experience it. Until and unless you are not ready to remove the sandals of your reason and ego you can never experience the loving God. God is asking us today trough the Gospel to repent. Remove I and become Zero. God is asking us to become SON.
Isaac Newton said “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
But even if it’s the way of the world, maybe it’s not God’s way. Jesus tells us “Unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.” No mention of whether you’re a good person or not. No consideration given to hard work and noble intentions or whether you come from a “good family.” If you don’t repent, you’ll perish. And not just die a peaceful death, but be executed in a way that would make Isaac Newton conclude that you must have been a very bad person.
The reason for that is we’re all sinners. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God, as St. Paul wrote. Sure, we might think we’re a little better than the guy sitting next to us, but even if that’s true we’re still full of sin. No matter who we are we don’t have the right to stand before God and tell God that He is obligated to bless us. God accepts us only out of the goodness of His heart, not because we deserve it in some way.
The gardener asks the man to give it just one more year. He’ll care for it and till it and fertilize it. And if it still doesn’t bear fruit by then, then he’ll cut it down. But just give it one more chance.
Though God's salvation is always available, only those willing to change their core lives ever notice it. Repentance is the first step in our redemption. That is why Jesus gives the strong warning in today’s gospel; "If you do not repent, you will all perish."
Teshuvá was the key concept in the rabbinic view of sin, repentance, and forgiveness. The Jewish rabbis taught that repentance required five elements: recognition of one's sin as sin; remorse for having committed the sin; desisting from repeating this sin; restitution for the damage done by the sin where possible; and confession. One who followed these steps to teshuvá was called a "penitent." In fact, Jesus invited his Jewish listeners to such repentance. “Repent” (Greek, metanoia), implies not just regret for the past but a radical conversion and a complete change in our way of life in responding and opening ourselves to the love of God. Repentance, or a turning away from one path to another, is not so much finding God as being found by God. Literally, in Greek, “Metanoia” means “turn around.” “A decision which changes the direction of a person’s life or behavior.” Turn to God. Trust in God, not in your idea of what you deserve and don’t deserve. We are called to abandon our false gods of money, power and pleasure and return to the one God, who “secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed.”
Imagine that you are in Love. If you are in love, you want nothing to come between you and your beloved; and the effort must be made daily both to avoid creating obstacles and to getting rid of any that may have appeared. You want straight paths, no hills or valleys! That is just another way of speaking of the spirit of repentance, seeking to keep completely open the channels of love, life and rejoicing which deepen with every passing day. Repentance is not being sorrowful and heavy, Feeling sorry and weeping but turning from the evil life to Godly life. Truing back to sin and turning to God. Remember Both Judas Iscariot and Peter were sorry for their sins but Judas turned to himself but Peter turned to God.
We need to live lives of repentance, because we never know when we will meet a tragedy of our own. Let us repent while we have the chance. Let us turn to Christ, acknowledge our faults and failings and receive from him mercy, forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. There is no better way to take these words of Jesus to heart than to go to sacramental confession; and there is no better time to go to confession than during Lent.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

St Stephen's Church 29th street Manhattan

2nd Sunday in Lent C Transfiguration of Jesus

Transfiguration Of Jesus
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
It is always a grace to be someone special. What a grace for Peter and James and John to see Jesus transfigured. They got a preview of the glory of Jesus risen from the dead and his glory in heaven. A Mountain-Top Experience. It was also a preview of the glory we all hope to share in heaven.
It was not the only special grace Jesus shared with Peter, James and John. Earlier in the Gospel (Mark and Luke) we read that Jesus only allowed Peter and James and John with him into the house of the synagogue official whose daughter he raised up again (Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51). Later when Jesus was teaching in the temple Peter and James and John asked Jesus a question privately and he gave them more teaching (Mark 13:3). In Gethsemane, Jesus took Peter, James and John aside from the others to be near him during his agony (Mark 14:33). So Peter, James and John received many special graces from Jesus.
Peter, James and John were the three main councilors of Jesus, or the best disciples or best friend or the people whom Jesus loved more than others. They were selected to experience this dazzling revelation of the inner reality of Jesus. Even though they were privileged persons we see in today’s gospel account and in Gethsemane account that they were sleeping.
How could they have slept, we ask? How… after all these privilege experiences and love, could they have slept, not only in the presence of Christ but also in such a moment when Christ is so desperately needed their companionship, their comfort, their consoling presence with Him in His agony?
While we blame the apostles let us think “how could we, after receiving so many gifts from God , still spiritually snooze and doze our way through our prayers, our Masses and, indeed, throughout our whole spiritual life?
When we were young we’ve had many mountain top experiences in our spiritual life. We were proud to be catholic and to go for the sacraments and serving in the church and supporting, but now after all these wonderful experiences we just sleep. We sleep because of routine, because of boredom. We sleep because we're exhausted, drained, and running on empty. Why does Jesus gives us some special experiences? To be active and to live for Him even at the point of death.
At the transfiguration story Jesus is joined by two great men of God from the Old Testament: Moses and Elijah.
Why were Moses and Elijah chosen to meet with Jesus on this occasion? Why not Adam and Eve? Why not Noah? Why not Abraham or Isaac or Jacob or King David?
It’s because Moses represented the Law: the Law that God had given to his people on Mt. Sinai. And Elijah represented all the prophets, whom God had raised up to prepare his people for the Messiah. when combined, they symbolize the Old Covenant. Their conversation with Jesus points to Him being the fulfillment of the Covenant. God had used the Law and the prophets in the Old Testament to get his people ready for Jesus, and Moses and Elijah witnessed to that fact by their presence at the Transfiguration.
What was; what is; what will be: Moses and Elijah saw the connection! They understood how their work in the past was a preparation for what Jesus was doing in the present, and for what he was about to do in the near future through his passion and death.
I think that is one of the greatest challenges of our life to see the connection between what was, what is, and what will be. Even if we are witnessing different transfiguration in our everyday lives we may not find the connection between what was; what is and what will be. We get glimpses of God in the love we receive from other people. We get glimpses of God when badly needed help suddenly comes to us from out of nowhere. We get glimpses of God when we look back over our lives and what we couldn’t understand in the past makes sense now.
There is a mysterious story in 2 Kings that can help us understand what is happening in the transfiguration. Israel is at war with Aram and Elisha the man of God is using his prophetic powers to reveal the strategic plans of the Aramean army to the Israelites. At first the King of Aram thinks that one of his officers is playing the spy but when he learns the truth he dispatches troops to go and capture Elisha who is residing in Dothan. The Aramean troops move in under cover of darkness and surround the city. In the morning Elisha's servant is the first to discover that they are trapped and fears for his master's safety. He runs to Elisha and says, "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" The prophet answers "Don't be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." But who would believe that when the surrounding mountainside is covered with advancing enemy troops? So Elisha prays, "O Lord, open his eyes that he may see." Then the Lord opens the servant's eyes, and he looks and sees the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (2 Kings 6:8-23). This vision was all that Elisha's disciple needed to reassure him. At the end of the story, not only was the prophet of God safe but the invading army was totally humiliated. Ask the Lord to open our inner eyes that we may see and experience him. When we are spiritually blind we may not experience the providential hand of God in our lives and we are afraid.
If you ask any film directors, they will tell you how they make the horror movies and how they make those gruesome films with beasts that tower over us like ten-storey buildings and gigantic, slimy creatures that send us quivering under our seats? It’s quite easy. All they do is to destroy the ordinary backcloth and replace it with a false one, and against this false sense of perspective an ant can look like a terrifying monster.’ It is true when the splendor and majesty of our God is forgotten our problems, our demands and talks will appear to be nightmares that outstrip our resources. And we are afraid. Don’t ever forget that everything flows from God’s grace. John Newton wrote: “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what one day I hope to be, But, Praise God, I am not what I used to be, and I am what I am by the grace of God.”
My dear brothers and sisters, the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain is also awaiting each of us after death. Why can we look forward to being transfigured after death like Jesus? Because we are baptized. When we were baptized God put his seal on us. What was that seal? The Holy Spirit. We were sealed with the Holy Spirit on the day we were baptized. We were marked out as God’s property, belonging to God. Let us hold our heads high. When the media or your friends criticize the Church and make you look foolish because you are still a practicing Catholic, hold your head high. Because you have been baptized into the Church Jesus will transfigure our wretched bodies into copies of his glorious body. When you were baptized you were sealed with the Holy Spirit as God’s own child. Be proud to be a catholic.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

His Blessings are always with you

Why should we worry When He is there for us. Be prepaired to face difficulites. YOu need to fight against the enemies. Devil is running like an unwanded and brocken Mad Man, not knowing what to do. Devil will try to tempt you with different things but do not give up. Jesus is there to help you and His angels will guard you Just Say Amen to What HE says ...

Lent First Sunday Year C

Temptations
My Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
A mother camel and her baby are talking one day and the baby camel asks, “Mom why have we got these huge three-toed feet?” The mother replies, “To enable us trek across the soft sand of the desert without sinking.” “And why have we got these long, heavy eyelashes?” “To keep the sand out of our eyes on the trips through the desert” replies the mother camel. “And Mom, why have we got these big humps on our backs?” The mother, now a little impatient with the boy replies, “They are there to help us store fat for our long treks across the desert, so we can go without water for long periods.” “OK, I get it! Mom. We have huge feet to stop us sinking, long eyelashes to keep the sand from our eyes and humps to store water. Then, Mom, why the heck are we here in the Bronx zoo in this freezing winter?” Modern life sometimes makes one feel like a camel in a zoo. And like camels in a zoo, we need sometimes to go into the desert in order to discover who we truly are and how we are expected to live our lives as true followers of a crucified God. Lent invites us to enter into this kind of desert experience of prayer and penance. Lent begins with a reflection on the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
There is no hiding place or shelter in the desert and we are asked to take the courageous step of going out into the desert like Jesus. Sometimes we are led into the desert by the Spirit like Jesus when a trial or cross comes our way.
Jesus was tempted to totally wreck his Father’s plan for his life. But Jesus overcame His temptation with the power of Holy Spirit and the Word of God. The three pieces of Scripture that Jesus quoted show him submitting to his Father’s plan:
“Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” “You must not put the Lord your God to the test.” “You must worship the Lord your God and serve him alone.”
Jesus submitted to his Father’s will. During Lent like Jesus we are to die to ourselves so that the Father’s plan for us can be accomplished in our lives.
A temptation always presents something to us as good – it comes to us wearing the disguise of good. We should not choose what only appears to be good – we should choose only that which is actually good. Some pious people think that God tempts us just to see which way we’ll choose. They think its God’s way of testing us. But remember St. James wrote in his epistle:
"No one experiencing temptation should say, ‘I am being tempted by God'; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one. Rather, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire." James 1:13-14
Let’s now look at the three temptations the devil put to Christ.
The first temptation was to turn the stones into bread,” The Evil One was tempting us all, suggesting that all of our appetites should be satisfied. Find heaven on earth; lack for nothing. Forget about that hunger you feel in your soul, that hunger for meaning and purpose, and that hunger for God’s love. As a matter of fact, why even bother with God. Deal only with what is here and now. It was also a temptation to Jesus to ignore His real mission as Messiah and to respond to others’ physical needs alone considering the kingdom of God is mere food and drink.
The second temptation is to simply give up on the struggle to be good and surrender to the world as it is. In the gospel account you just heard, the devil himself declared “It is all mine, and I give it to anyone I choose.” The world, he claims, is his – it belongs to him. That, of course, is a great lie. The world is God’s.
The third temptation is to turn your religion into something that you do to make God act. Take for example our Prayers? Well, that’s to tell God what He needs to do for you. It’s informing God that He hasn’t made a perfect world and that He needs to fix it up here and there with me. Our prayer style is like going to a small shop and giving out the long grocery list to get it ready when you come back. God has to do everything you ask. We say “Your will be done”. And we know whose will, we wish to be done! Go to church, the devil suggests, so you earn redemption points, and then when you die tell God He’s obliged to give you a death benefit, that God owes you a place in heaven because you are a Sunday church going person.
The third temptation is to make God act, not you. In other words, don’t put yourself to the test, put God to the test. Make God responsible for what happens to you. Force God’s hand. In this final temptation, Jesus is urged to doubt God. Satan suggests that Jesus should put God to the test: "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down,” Sometimes we become angry with God when He fails to respond to tests we set up for Him. The test may be something like this: "If my husband is healed of cancer, then I'll know God loves me." "If my boy comes back safely from Iraq, I’ll know God is on my side." "If I get the job that I’ve been praying for, I’ll know that God cares about me." Jesus teaches us that the Spirit-filled life requires unconditional surrender to God's will. We have to allow God to do his will be done in us, not as we wish but as God wish.
Each of the three temptations, according to the Fathers of the Church, represents an area in which humans regularly fail: the lust of the flesh (stones to bread), the lust of the eye and the heart (ruling over all kingdoms), and the pride of life (a spectacular leap from the Temple). Note that Jesus overcame these temptations through the knowledge of his identity, his purpose, and God's plan for human salvation. Sometimes we imagine the devil is going to try to bring us down with a huge temptation, like a million dollars or a beautiful woman or a handsome man, but we have to remember the devil is very stingy. He would love to trip us with something as small as a hamburger—and then give us indigestion to boot!
One would not really be human if one had never had any contact whatsoever with the attractiveness of sin. Jesus sets a model for conquering temptations through prayer, penance and the effective use of the ‘‘word of God’’. Temptations make us true warriors of God by strengthening our minds and hearts. We are never tempted beyond our power. In his first letter, St. John assures us: "Greater is He who is in us, than the power of the world". Hence during Lent, let us confront our evil tendencies by prayer, by penance and by meditative reading of the Bible.

Feast of Chair of St Peter Feb.22

CHAIR OF ST. PETER
Happy Feast day of the Chair of St Peter My dear brothers and sisters,
St. Peter was the prince of the apostles and the first pope. Jesus said to him, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18). After Jesus went back to heaven, St. Peter preached the Gospel. He guided the small but growing Christian community. At first, Peter labored in Jerusalem and in Antioch, two big cities of the east. Later, he went to preach the Gospel in Rome, the capital of the world.What chance did Peter have to perform his great task for the Lord? His Master had been crucified but then had risen. Who would believe that? The evils of pagan Rome would drown his voice no matter how dedicated he may be. But the Holy Spirit was alive in Peter. He courageously took up the ministry Jesus had left him. Never again would Peter deny his Lord. Never again would Peter put his own personal well-being before the good of the Church.The feast of St. Peter's Chair at Rome reminds us that St. Peter started the Christian community in that city. The special chair is a symbol of the authority that was given to him by Jesus. Kings of old sat on thrones and ruled. Peter's chair is a symbol of his authority from Jesus to rule the Church.St. Peter was martyred for the faith, but down through the ages there has always been a bishop of Rome. He is the pope. The pope rules the whole Church, as St. Peter did, in Jesus' name. We call the successor of St. Peter the Holy Father.
What did the Lord mean when he said to Peter, “You are rock and upon this rock I will build my Church?” In the Gospel of Mathew there are three particular images of great importance to us concerning Peter - the naming of Peter as the rock on which Christ would build His Church, the giving of the keys, and the declaration of Apostles’ power to bind and unbind things on earth and in heaven.
When the Pope defines a doctrine ex cathedra, from the chair, he is asserting the magisterium of the church, the authority to speak without error about an important doctrine, a power believed to have been given by Jesus to Peter, the first Bishop of Rome and the first Pope, and authorized by Scripture.
The Pope is the Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth. A vicar is one who stands in the place of another and has his full authority. The Pope has jurisdiction over the whole Church in its beliefs, moral teachings and discipline. He "is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and the whole company of the faithful" (Universal Catechism, N. 882). Justly it is written in the Psalm which we so often chant: Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders.
We thank God for giving us Leaders for our faith. We thank God for all the popes that served the church and pray for the good health in mind and body for the present Pope Benedict IV.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.