Happy St Patrick Day

St Patrick Day
Many have noted parallels and similarities between Saint Paul the great Apostle of the Gentile people, and Saint Patrick, the Apostle of the Irish. Saint Patrick of course drew much of his inspiration from Saint Paul and his writings and, whether he was conscious of it or not, he modeled himself and his missionary efforts on those of Saint Paul.
Patrick used the shamrock to illustrate the Christian idea of the holy trinity to the pagan and Druid Irish, A native of Scotland, Patrick was captured by an Irish raiding party as a teen and brought to Ireland as a slave around the year 400.
The future saint later escaped after hearing from God in a dream. He then studied for the priesthood in Britain and France and was eventually ordained a bishop.
In about 433, the Pope sent Patrick to Ireland to spread the Gospel. He had learned the Irish language and customs while a slave, and he put it to use converting the Irish people to Christianity.
instead of trying to destroy the traditions of the Irish, Patrick worked to incorporate them into the faith. He didn't ridicule the Irish for worshipping the sun - he taught them that it was created by God .
St. Patrick died in about 461. He has been recognized as a saint for centuries, but he was never canonized.
Saint Paul speaks of his constant "Concern for all the Churches". Patrick loved his adopted people and worries constantly for them and not just for their spiritual, but also for their physical welfare. He may have been the first in the history of the world to speak out unequivocally against slavery. Late in his life he could claim "The Gospel has been preached to the point beyond which there is no-one" - no-one but the ocean.
Why was he so successful in his missionary efforts? Yes, his own totally authentic faith, his deep love of God and of the people he served, carried their own conviction. Somehow he engaged the very spirit of the people. He spoke to their deepest hungers, desires, and aspirations and so the Gospel message flowed into and transformed the very genius of the Irish without destroying or binding its energy.
The story of Saint Patrick assures us that nothing is impossible to God. He himself would encourage us to go forward as he did without fear:

May we do so with his prayer on our lips.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,Christ on my right, Christ on my left,Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,Christ when I arise,Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,Christ in every eye that sees me,Christ in every ear that ear that hears me.
St. Patrick of Ireland is one of the world's most popular saints.Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in Scotland, in the year 387; died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, 17 March, 461.Along with St. Nicholas and St. Valentine, the secular world shares our love of these saints. This is also a day when everyone is Irish. There are many legends and stories of St. Patrick, but this is his story.Patrick was born around 385 in Scotland, probably Kilpatrick. His parents were Calpurnius and Conchessa who were Romans living in Britian in charge of the colonies.As a boy of fourteen or so, he was captured during a raiding party and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. Ireland at this time was a land of Druids and pagans. He learned the language and practices of the people who held him.During his captivity, he turned to God in prayer. He wrote: "The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was raised, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same." "I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain."Patrick's captivity lasted until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who took him back to Britain, where he reunited with his family.He had another dream in which the people of Ireland were calling out to him "We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more."He began his studies for the priesthood. He was ordained by St. Germanus, the Bishop of Auxerre, whom he had studied under for years. Later, Patrick was ordained a bishop, and was sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. He arrived in Ireland March 25, 433, at Slane. One legend says that he met a chieftain of one of the tribes, who tried to kill Patrick. Patrick converted Dichu (the chieftain) after he was unable to move his arm until he became friendly to Patrick.Patrick began preaching the Gospel throughout Ireland, converting many. He and his disciples preached and converted thousands and began building churches all over the country. Kings, their families, and entire kingdoms converted to Christianity when hearing Patrick's message. Patrick by now had many disciples, among them Beningnus, Auxilius, Iserninus, and Fiaac, (all later canonized as well).Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. He worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God in Confessions. After years of living in poverty, traveling and enduring much suffering he died March 17, 461. He died at Saul, where he had built the first church.Why a shamrock? Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity, and has been associated with him and the Irish since that time.In His Footsteps: Patrick was a humble, pious, gentle man, whose love and total devotion to and trust in God should be a shining example to each of us. He feared nothing, not even death, so complete was his trust in God, and of the importance of his mission.

Death of My Priest friend from Trinidad Fr Moses

Hebrews 7:17 For it is declared: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."
There is a beautiful writing titled “Thou Art a Priest Forever” by Fr. Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire,OP(1802-1861).
To live in the midst of the world with no desire for its pleasure...To be a member of every family yet belonging to none...To share all sufferings; to penetrate all secrets; to heal all wounds...To daily go from men to God to offer Him their petitions...To return from God to men to offer them His hope...To have a heart of fire for charity and a heart of bronze for chastity...To bless and be blest forever.O God, what a life, and it is yours, O Priest of Jesus Christ!
2 Samuel 12:
15 After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill. 16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
18 On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate."
19 David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead."
20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
21 His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!"
22 He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."
I know I am not able to put myself into your shoe. Only God, who knows the secrets of the heart, is truly capable of fathoming such grief, and of providing comfort.
Indeed, the human capacity for being consoled is hardly explicable. They say that time heals all wounds. But it's not true. Some people never recover from their loss. The biblical patriarch Jacob mourned over his son Joseph for 22 years, mistakenly believing that he had been killed by a wild animal. Jacob only stopped mourning when he discovered that Joseph was alive and well in Egypt. Until then, he could not forget his "dead" son.
That is because it is only by Divine decree that the pain of bereavement eases, and that only goes into effect when the person is really dead. The decree did not take effect for Jacob because his son was not dead.
Consolation is not a natural process. Neither the passage of time, nor the awkward, well-meaning gestures of others can remove the memory or wipe away the pain. That is why we ask God to comfort -- because we cannot.
Just as his life was a part of God's plan, so too is his passing from this world to another yet more real world.
In the spiritual reality, nothing is lost: Not the beloved one's purpose, nor their goodness, and nor even their real existence. The soul continues to exist eternally. At the end of life, every soul returns to its unique "place" in the "world."
If you could see The Place where the deceased now dwells, you'd be comforted.
For those who have placed their faith in Christ. We know they are safe in heaven, free from pain, sin, temptation, enjoying the Presence of the Lord, and we know we will see them again. And that is a comfort, it really is. It is for those reasons alone we would not wish them back when our own grief longs for them.
But when we say we’ve lost them, we don’t mean it in the same sense that we lost our car keys or puppy dog. We’ve lost their presence, the ability to be with them, share with them, talk with them, experience life with them. It’s a very real loss and there’s nothing wrong with grieving over it. As far as I can recall, there was only one person in Scripture who was told not to grieve (Ezekiel 24), and that was a one-time object lesson to the children of Israel. The fact that he was told not to grieve indicates that grieving over the loss of his wife would have been the normal course of action. Paul said that he would have had “sorrow upon sorrow” if Epaphroditus had died of his illness (Phil. 2:25-30).
We do sorrow, but not as those who have no hope (“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.” I Thess. 4:13-14.
God wanted us to cling to Psalm 89:1-2:
I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make Your faithfulness Known through all generations. I will declare that Your love stands firm forever, That You established Your faithfulness in heaven itself.
Just like Job, we need to come to the point where we could say, Just like Job, I was to come to the point where I could say, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him"."Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him".
These are the tears of wisdom. At the least, you have learned the pain of losing a loved one. Now, when others are feeling the same sorrow, You have the capacity to help, and understand their pain.
Do not blame yourself...Every survivor feels a great burden and restlessness because they continue to live although their loved one died. And, it is not rare that this feeling turns to unwarranted guilt. The truth is, many people continue to blame themselves for even the smallest things they did or did not do immediately before the death of their loved one.However, the reasons are almost always subjective. Surely, if they really had been wrong, they would be receiving a just punishment from society. They are thinking too little about that person and too much about their own failure. Only unless you live like a saint can you live without regrets.Please, do not blame yourself.
Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes And death shall be no more, Nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, For the former things are passed away.
Footprints on our Hearts:"Some people come into our lives, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same".
What a wonderful time we had with him; O priest of God what a wonderful life!
May He rest in peace.
With love.
Fr Sunny John O.Carm. (Fr Vincent Pazhukkakulam O.Carm.)
March 12, 2008

Lent-5 Sunday Year A

Lazarus is raised from Dead

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
If we focus our attention on Martha’s words and actions in today’s Gospel, we can learn something about prayer, faith and life.
Prayer is not saying a lot of words to persuade God, or to control God, or to change God. Prayer, rather, is an expression of our relationship to God, an expression of loving trust and mature dependence upon the One we call "Father." Prayer, then, is conversation or dialogue with God. Martha teaches us something about prayer – she shows us that prayer flows from ordinary events in life, the nitty-gritty of life, and is expressed in our words and feelings. Her brother Lazarus is sick; along with Mary her sister, she sends a message to Jesus in simple words: "the one you love is ill." Then, when she meets Jesus, four days after Lazarus has died, her words again are direct and simple: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Notice there is nothing fancy, elaborate or elegant in her words, just the thoughts of her heart being expressed to one she knew would understand.
What is faith? Is it only the mind saying "yes" to doctrines? Or, rather, is it the total person – total you, total I – saying "yes" to God as He shows Himself to us in Christ? Faith is the loving obedient surrender of ourselves to the Father in whom we hope and trust. Our lives are constantly driven by hope in some form or another. If prayer is an expression of our relationship to God, then prayer is also an expression of our faith. And Martha teaches us something about faith. She believed that the Lord would help her brother – so, she sent a simple message: "the one you love is ill." And, even after her brother died, she continued to believe and to trust: "even now, I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." She understood that faith is a process of believing: "I have come to believe…." And all this, before she had seen Jesus raise her brother to life again.
Prayer and faith are realities that are lived in this life and that lead us to fullness of life. Martha teaches us something about life. She understood what so many of us, centuries later, fail to understand: that life is not ended by human death – "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day." She understood that somehow and in some way, Jesus was and is connected with life in all its fullness. Her intuition was confirmed by the words Jesus spoke to her: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die."
When Martha objects to the opening of the tomb she is expressing the common view that this is now a hopeless situation. G.K. Chesterton once said, “Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all.” In traditional Jewish mentality bringing back to life a person who is already four days dead and decaying is as unthinkable.
This miracle is a challenge to never give up hope even in the hopeless situations in which we found ourselves as individuals, as a church or as a nation. It is never too late for God to revive and revitalize a person, a church or a nation. But first we must learn to cooperate with God. Let God be in control.
If we allow our God to do His will He will do it great. Martha and Mary let everything in His Hands. Doing God's will is a lot like dancing. I know for sure most of you except me are good dancers.
When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
Let us take the word Guidance. It starts with G. let’s put G for God and the following syllables are U and I. 'God, 'U and 'I dance.' Then it becomes Guidance. God, you, and I dance. Let God Lead our life our movements. Put your trust in Jesus and let him in control. And He will give us Guidance.
Let me ask one more question! How can we cooperate with God so as to experience God’s resurrection power in our lives and in our world? Well, everyone knows the answer already: faith. But that is not the point that John makes in this story. In fact there is no one in the story, not even Mary or Martha, who believed that Jesus could bring Lazarus back to life after four days dead. No one expected him to do it, so expectant faith is not the emphasis here. Rather the emphasis in the story on how we cooperate with a miracle-working God is placed on practical obedience and doing God’s will. Remember the word GUIDANCE. God U and I dance.
To effect the miracle, Jesus issues three commands and all of them are obeyed to the letter. That is how the miracle happens. Let’s us go back to the story. First, “Jesus said, ‘Roll away the stone.’ … So they rolled away the stone” (verses 39-41). Did the people understand why they should do this heavy work of rolling away the tombstone to expose a stinking corpse? You bet they didn’t. But it was their faith in Jesus expressing itself not through intellectual agreement with Jesus but through practical agreement with him, through obedience. Why didn’t Jesus command the stone to roll away all by itself, without bothering the people? We don’t quite know. All we know is that divine power seems always to be activated by human cooperation and stifled by non-cooperation. As C.S. Lewis said, “God seems to do nothing of Himself which He can possibly delegate to His creatures.” God will not do by a miracle what we can do by obedience.
The second command Jesus gives is directed to the dead man: “‘Lazarus, come out!’ and the dead man came out” (verses 43-44). We do not know the details of what transpired in the tomb. All we know is that Jesus’ word of command is followed by immediate obedience. Lazarus gropes his way out of the dark tomb even with his hands and feet tied up in bandages, and his face all wrapped up. Even a man rotting away in the tomb can still do something to help himself.
The third command again is addressed to the people, “Unbind him, and let him go” (verse 44). Even though Lazarus could stumble himself out of the tomb, there was no way he could unbind himself. He needs the community to do that for him. By unbinding Lazarus and setting him free from the death bands the community is accepting Lazarus back as one of them.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, Many catholic individuals and communities today have fallen victim to the death of sin. Many are already in the tomb of hopelessness and decay, in the bondage of sinful habits and attitudes. Nothing short of a miracle can bring us back to life in Christ. Jesus is ready for the miracle. He himself said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Are we ready to cooperate with him for the miracle? Are we ready to roll away the stone that stands between us and the light of Christ’s face? Are we ready to take the first step to come out of the place of death? Are we ready to unbind (i.e. forgive) one another and let them go free? Are we ready to dance with our God?
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Photo by Fr Sunny John O.Carm.

Our God is indeed an Awesome God

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZHjy_u_aCM to watch the first part of Orchid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3n2mLdLYew second part of the Orchid show 2008

Monday Holy hour Reflection

Suffering –Part 2
Welcome to the second part of our reflection on Suffering.
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed to God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger He cried out, "God! How could you do this to me?" Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! "How did you know I was here?," asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied. Yes dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, It’s easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives.... even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground; it just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.
Have you ever asked whether we Can Overcome Suffering?
A lot of our suffering is due to our own unwise choices.
For the Christian, suffering helps us to keep our eyes on things of eternal value, to have compassion on others, to develop patience, to prove our love and loyalty towards God, and to prove to men the genuineness of our convictions and our love.
Don't just think of your own suffering, but consider the suffering of God Himself. Jesus Christ was no stranger to suffering. As God in the flesh, He was certainly willing to take some of his own medicine. He lived, suffered rejection and died a frightening death of agony - and it was for you and me.
Richard Rose once said: "There are basically two kinds of people in the world: Sufferers, and Learners."
If we open the book of Job in the Old Testament, we are faced with another question: “Why do good people suffer?” The book had no answer. It just said: “We don’t know why good people suffer. We just have to keep trusting in God.” God will not lead you where his grace cannot keep you. St. Paul who was suffering from a painful illness was told by God: “My grace is enough for you.” We just have to keep on trusting in God.
Are we doomed to just suffer, and live as "sufferers," or is there any way we can "learn" what to do about it?
Perhaps the best example in the Bible of such a struggle is found in the Book of Job. Job suffers the loss of possessions and family, and is afflicted with a terrible disease. Three friends hear of his plight and come to console him. After Job’s cry of pain (Ch. 3), the discussion begins.
Why is Job suffering? One easy answer that surfaces right away is that Job deserves it, that he is suffering because of his sins (see 4:7-19; 11:4-6). When Job rejects this explanation, his friends counter, in effect, “Don’t give us that! All humans are rotten sinners!” For them, there is no such thing as an innocent sufferer. All suffering is somehow a punishment for sin. Sad to say, Job’s friends have vocal descendants down to our present day. While it is true that our sinful actions can and do have consequences, as an all-purpose explanation, this one is far too simplistic.
Even within the Book of Job, the situation is more complicated. We, the readers, know right from the start that the friends are wrong here. Job is righteous, and his suffering is allowed by God in order to test his virtue (Ch. 1-2). Other answers also appear in the book. Like any good ancient Near Eastern father, God disciplines us through suffering to make us better (5:17-18; 36:15; see also Proverbs 3:11-12). Or, suffering is mysterious, and who are we to understand God’s ways? (11:7-10; 15:8-9).
In fact, maybe the problem with suffering is that ultimately it is not really a “problem” at all. It is, rather, a mystery.
What is the difference? A problem is something “out there.” We can see all the pieces; we can survey all its dimensions. The question is how do we put it together? How do we “solve” it? Problems are solved on the intellectual level. A mystery, on the other hand, is quite different. It is a situation in which I, as a unique human being, am so immersed, am so surrounded, that I can never get far enough away to see it all “out there.” Love is a mystery; so is death. And so is suffering.
We will never “solve” the meaning of suffering any more than we will “solve” the meaning of love.
Nowhere in Scripture do we read, “Have faith in me, and you will understand all things, including [or, especially] suffering!” But we do read, whatever the suffering, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” We do not suffer alone. Together, we will survive all suffering, even death itself!
Let us heed the words of Tennessee Williams who said, don’t look forward to the day you stop suffering, because when it comes you'll know you're dead.
The real secret to getting off the cross is in helping others off of their crosses. We are not resurrected bodily from an empty tomb. We are resurrected in spirit when we grasp the hand of another in need. We cannot be transformed alone. We are transformed only with another.
There is a story of a man who once stood before God, his heart breaking from the pain and injustice in the world. Dear God, he cried out, look at all the suffering, the anguish, and distress in your world. Why don’t you send help? God responded, I did send help. I sent you.
It is up to us to not only getting ourselves off the cross but to help others to rise to hope and liberation.
The Bible tells us in Revelation 21:4 that there is coming a time when all sorrow, tears, pain and death will pass away. There's coming a wonderful day when God will wipe away all tears from the eyes of His children, and our sorrow will end forever.
Have you ever thought from where This Suffering and Sorrow came?-There was a time on this earth when suffering and sorrow did not exist. When God first created man upon the earth, everything was perfect. There was no sickness, no pain, and no sorrow of any kind. It was God's plan for man to live in peace and harmony never having to experience sorrow. According to Genesis chapter three, it wasn't until man chose the way of Satan, rather than the way of God, that sorrow entered the world. Man sins against God in Genesis 3:6-7, and God reveals to Adam and Eve the consequences of sin in Genesis 3:16-19. God told Adam and Eve that they would now experience SORROW and DEATH. Therefore, the suffering and sorrow that you and I face today is not the work of an unjust God; it's the consequences of sin. We suffer because we are sinners. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
We suffer and die because of SIN. You say, "I didn't do anything wrong. Why am I a sinner?" We are all born with a sin nature. We inherited our fallen sin nature from Adam and Eve. Romans 5:12 says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" We read in Romans 3:23 that ALL HAVE SINNED and come short of the glory of God. Why do we suffer? We suffer because we are sinners by nature.
Some People Suffer for the Salvation of Lost Souls.
Perhaps you are thinking, "Well, what's the point? What does God accomplish by allowing us to suffer?" Very simple: He's trying to tell us something. By allowing people to suffer, God is showing us that SOMETHING IS WRONG. If everything were alright between man and God, then there would be no sorrow and death, because in the beginning there was none. God is showing you every day of your life that man has been SEPARATED from Him because of sin, and that man is destined to an eternity in Hell Fire unless he comes to God for help. The fact that God allows suffering and agony today proves that He will allow it in eternity as well.
As someone has said, "Some people won't look up to God until He puts them on their back." This is sad, but true. There are many people who would still be lost in their sins if God had not brought some tragedy into their life to get their attention.
Do you suppose the leper of Matthew 8:2 would have came to Jesus if he'd been in perfect health? What about the blind man of Luke 18:35? II Kings chapter five tells the story of Naman, the Syrian captain who had leprosy. Had this man not had leprosy, he would never have turned to God. The Bible is filled with cases where God reaches people through suffering. Nebuchadnezzar didn't fear God until God humbled him by making his spend seven years of his life on his hands and knees like an animal (Dan. 4:30-37).
Sometimes He will even use the tragedy of one to bring OTHERS to Christ. Such is the case with Lazarus in John chapter eleven. Lazarus was very sick, but before he ever died Jesus said that his sickness was "for the glory of God" (Jn. 11:2-4). Later, in John 11:45, we read that ". . . . many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him." We also read in John 12:11 that many believed on the Lord Jesus Christ BECAUSE OF LAZARUS.
I Peter 2:19-21 tells us that it is our duty to follow our Lord's example in suffering, and I Peter 4:12-16 tells us to be happy when we suffer for Christ, and it tells us not to be ashamed.
Romans 8:18 says, "For I recon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." We read in I Peter 5:10 that our suffering in this present world is only for "a while."
Why does God allow them to suffer? There are many reasons.
One reason is humility. The Apostle Paul didn't live in sin and he didn't lack faith in God, but he DID have to suffer. Why? He tells us why in II Corinthians 12:7: "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure." Whatever this thorn in the flesh was, verses eight and nine tell us that God chose NOT to take it from Paul. Instead, He chose to give Paul the GRACE to bear the burden. God used this problem in Paul's life to help keep him humble, to keep him from being exalted above measure.
Sometimes God sees the need to put us through some things for the purpose of making us stronger. Paul tells us in II Timothy 2:3 to, ". . . . endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." You know, many times a drill sergeant will put a soldier through some things just to make him tough, just to see how much he's willing to take--how dedicated he is. There may not seem to be any logical reason for the trouble that we often face, but God always has a reason. Sometimes He's just trying to make us tougher.
God will also use suffering to teach us patience. Romans 5:3 tells us that, ". . . . Tribulation worked patience. . . “Remember Job? God allowed Satan to take Job's oxen, his asses, his sheep, his camels, his servants, his children, and even his health. Yet, the Bible says, ". . . . In all this did not Job sin with his lips?" (Job 2:10) In the latter end God restored to Job TWICE as much as he originally had (Job 42:10).
Some people suffer so that they will be better equipped to comfort others in their suffering (II Cor. 1:3-4). It's always a blessing to know someone who has gone through the same troubles that you are going through, for they usually have some helpful words of comfort and wisdom. Are you going through some pretty tough times? Maybe the Lord is giving you the experience that you'll need to help someone else later. When some of our good parishioners knew that I am going through some difficulty with my lungs and thyroid, each time when they see me they use to ask me “father did you have your biopsy? What is the result? Because I know that they had gone through the same cases. God may give us some suffering:-
To Make Us Realize that We Are Totally Dependent on God: To Cause Us to Call Upon God in the Day of Trouble: To Make Us Realize that We Need Each Other: To Remind Us That Life Is Short: To Sort Out Our Priorities: To Remind Us of the Curse of Sin: To Show God’s Power to Restore:
He always knows what is best, and He never makes a mistake. David said, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes." (Psa. 119:71) The Apostle Paul, one who suffered greatly, said these words in Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." He also said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philip. 4:13)
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.Amen.

Lent 4th Sunday Year A

Photo by Fr sunny John from Metropolitan Museum

Physical and spiritual Blindness
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
In a certain home, a father once called for a meeting with his twelve-year-old son. Father wanted to talk about fairness in the home! “Son,” began the father, “when you look at the way responsibilities are shared in this home, don’t you think you and I are unfair to your mother and two sisters in that they do most of the work in the home?” When we wake up in the morning, the house is swept, breakfast prepared and afterwards all the dishes cleaned. And when you come home from school, you find lunch already prepared. After lunch the dishes are cleaned and preparations for supper begin. Water is fetched and so is firewood. Then supper is ready, you and I are invited to the table and afterwards the dishes are cleaned. Who does all this?” “My mum and two sisters,” replied the son. “Son, don’t you think we treat your mother and sisters unfairly in the way we share tasks in this home?” Slowly, the boy answered, “DAD, I do see clearly now that we treat them unfairly. But please, Dad, don’t tell them!”
This is the problem with some of us, we know the truth but we don’t want to admit it. They fear to lose certain privileges that they enjoy when they stay in the dark! Those who stand to gain from the ignorance of others will always fight to prolong such a situation. Accepting Jesus into our lives means having the courage to look at ourselves as we really are.
To learn from Jesus we must first admit our ignorance, to be healed we must first acknowledge our blindness, to be forgiven we must confess our sins. The I'm-OK-you're-OK mentality so prevalent today may in fact not be too far from the mentality of the Pharisees. The great archbishop Fulton J. Sheen said that in the past Catholics believed Our Lady was immaculately conceived but now we believe we are all immaculately conceived and, therefore, sinless. Another way of asking that question is “Are we blind to our sinfulness and our need of God’s mercy?”
There are two main teachings in today's gospel story. 1) Baptism. Just as the blind man went down into the waters of Siloam and came up whole, so also believers who are immersed into the waters of baptism come up spiritually whole, totally healed of the blindness with which we are born.
Secondly, it teaches what it takes to be a disciple of Jesus. It is, in fact, a story of how a blind man who used to sit and beg became a disciple who went about witnessing to Jesus. As in last week's story of the conversion of the Samaritan woman by Jacob's well, this story of the healing of the blind man shows that the one thing you need to qualify to bear witness to Jesus is not doing a certain kind of studies but having a certain kind of experience. The crisis of faith in our time is not very different from the crisis of faith of the Pharisees, namely, thinking that true piety means knowing and following the Book. But Christianity has a lot more to do with knowing and following the Person, the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith experience comes before theology. That is why the blind man arrived at the true faith in Jesus before the learned Pharisees. Let us today admit our spiritual blindness and pray with St Augustine of Hippo: "Lord that we may see." The Lord will give us light and spiritual insight.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
N:B:- Sorry for the short homily due to cardinal appeal's Commitment day.

Visit to New York Aquarium

Lent 3A SAmaritan woman

God cares about you! Samaritan story

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
We have this long Gospel today which is a wonderful expression of Jesus' love for us and for all people.
In the Book of Exodus the people thirst, but they don't want God's will. They want their physical thirst satisfied. Most of us are just the same. We want our physical needs satisfied before we will give our attention to the Lord. We almost refuse to walk with God unless He takes care of us.
From God's side we are always taken care of, but not always in the way that we want to be taken care of. God knows us more than we know ourselves. Nothing ever happens in our life in which God’s love is not present. Even the worst things that we can imagine happening to us can still bear the imprint of God's love and care for us.
Do you know the legend of the Cherokee {cherrekee} Indian youth's rite of Passage?
His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN.
He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man!
Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm. We, too, are never alone my dear brothers and sisters. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him. Just because you can't see God, doesn't mean He is not there.
The music for the Broadway show Les Miserables, gives us a song sung by one of the play’s principal characters, Fantine. Her song is a lament. She sings a sad song to her lost youth, her lost innocence, and her lost beauty. It reflects a song many of us have in our hearts as she sings:
"I had a dream that life would be so different than the hell I'm living, So different now than what it seemed, Now life has killed the dream I dreamed."
The first reading from Book of Exodus, presents us with a whole nation of people feeling that burden, experiencing that depression, that despair. Only a little while earlier God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt, protecting from Pharaoh's pursuing armies by parting the Red Sea for Moses and then swallowing up Pharaoh's army in those same Red Sea waters. Moses spoke to them of God's love for them and pointed out that God's Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey was soon going to be theirs. Yet here they were wallowing in self-pity, hurting and angry with God. Worst of all they were longing to return back to slavery in Egypt.
My dear brothers and sisters, does the present look bleak to you now'? Don’t repeat Israel's mistake. The condition in which you find yourself now doesn't have to be the situation in which you'll find yourself in the future. The present doesn't put handcuffs on you and imprison you. God still has His power and with that power, your life can change. Remember, always remember, that without God you are powerless and can do relatively little. Without God you can accomplish nothing. But with God there is nothing you cannot accomplish. With God's power there's a whole lot about your future that will change. With God, things can and will change. You just ask Him for that eternal life giving water.
We should never lose our heart when we pray because God will make a way. Jesus will give you Living water. He takes care of all. Don Moen writes:-God will make a wayWhere there seems to be no wayHe works in ways we cannot seeHe will make a way for meHe will be my guideHold me closely to His sideWith love and strength for each new dayHe will make a way He will make a wayWhy does Jesus make such a tremendous impact on the Samaritan woman? Because for the first time in her life she meets a man who really understands her, probably the first man to know her so well without rejecting her. Jesus never ever rejects us.
The Samaritans receive the Good News not through the “Twelve Disciples” but through a Samaritan sinful woman!
They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world." (4:42)
We see that there are two stages in the believing or conversion process: 1). believing because of what someone told us about Jesus, and Number 2. believing because we have come personally to know Jesus ourselves.
What is that miraculous water, that life-giving water of life? That water is LOVE. For God, the wellspring and source and of all life, is Love. This divine water of the Holy Spirit, this fountain of life, is what we call also the “grace”. The Holy Apostle St. John says "God is love, and he that dwells in love dwells in God and God in him." (I John 4: 16). So my dear brothers and sisters let us ask today for that living water so that we will not thirst again.
One day a priest came to visit a lady who was gravely ill… he said to her… ‘I will pray for your healing.” The lady replied… “yes Father, do that, I believe in that… but also… pray that I will experience God’s peace… if I am healed, I will get sick again, maybe many times, and each time I will be dismayed and fearful…. unless I learn to put myself in God’s hands, whatever may come… - so, above all pray for peace… for that will last….”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Saint John the Martyr Catholic Church 250E 72nd street. NEW YORK

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Lenten Holy Hour Monday reflection

Suffering
First Day
Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
I am aware that I had taken a very difficult theme to explain; suffering but together we will try to get the heart of it.
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.
One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.
Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily.
But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.
It never was able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us.
We would not be as strong as what we could have been.
And we could never fly.
If we think that because we are being faithful to God’s will and following his commandments that we will walk unmolested through life, we are mistaken. Scripture forces us to understand that our righteous actions will be met with resistance in this secular world. If we are following the Lord because we think that path will always provide happiness and peace, we are mistaken. If you want to do the right thing always you are sure these right things are not always the easy thing.
Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. It was her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens. 'Great', she thought. 'Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry.'
She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.
She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she may find her contact lens.
When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought, 'Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.'
Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, 'Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?'
Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!
The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, 'Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You.'
I think it would do all of us some good to say, 'God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will.'
God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. Sometimes we complain that our cross is very heavy and I can’t take it anymore. But remember He is the one who helps us to that point. He keeps me functioning each and every day Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him....I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)
It is not the suffering of Jesus that is redemptive - it is God’s willingness to share in it that saves. This is the pattern that Jesus Christ sets for us in his life and death – solidarity in suffering that leads to healing of individuals and communities alike. That kind of healing has a cost. Sharing in suffering is painful. Take an example. You may be helping the homeless people throwing out couple bucks into their box. When you decide to work for the uplifting of their lives; then the whole situation will change. it is difficult to go to sleep at night, hearing someone you knew, someone you cared about, coughing and shivering just outside your window. Then you will feel that “It was much easier when you were living at a distance from this kind of suffering.”
It is so much easier when we live at a distance from this kind of suffering. It is easier to cure a patient than to risk healing one who cannot be cured. It is easier to give a homeless man some pocket change, than to listen generously to his story. It is easier to live at a distance, because at a distance we do not have to risk sharing pain, we do not have to risk sharing in loss, we do not have to risk sharing in grief. It is easier to live at a distance. From a distance, there is nothing to fear.
We know there is suffering in the world. And if we ask, “What is God doing about it?” we are asking the wrong question. The question we should ask is, “What are we doing about it?” For many of our sufferings come from us or our fellowmen. That old man was suffering from lung cancer because he smoked. If you don’t want to get cancer, don’t smoke. We have to act not God.
I know and you know that we cannot think like God. And that is okay.
But what about this command to carry our cross and follow Jesus? How do we do that if we do not fully understand the mystery of the cross and how it all works?
What does this command really mean?
It means that sometimes doing the will of God is hard, and involves suffering.
It means that sometimes following the example and teaching of Jesus is a real challenge.
It means that doing the right thing and loving our neighbor can be downright dangerous.
It means that sometimes loving demands sacrifice.
And so many of us here are already carrying crosses. You do not have to go looking for them. They find us.
And I think if we could see each other’s crosses we would be humbled and in awe. Then we won’t complain about our silly matters.
Suffering bruises us in various places and many times will eventually kill us. Salvation and healing are side effects. But they are not automatic-they work only if we work with them. Suffering can teach us a great deal, but only if we are good learners.
Suffering teaches us something about reality. We learn very little from success because success teaches us that we know how the game is played, and that we are doing something right. Then suddenly something blows up—and we learn that we don’t know everything, that we can’t do everything, and that there is always more than we can see that we are not in charge of reality.
The mere fact that every day we ask each other, “How are you?” shows just how vulnerable we are to daily misfortune.
Suffering can teach us something about ourselves. When we are poked and scratched by suffering, we discover whether we are real, sound and solid, or just cheap imitations. As the Philosopher Karl Jaspers said, “It is only in extreme situations that we become aware of what we are.” These are the times we either fall to pieces or we dig deep within our souls to draw on the strength God has ingrained us.
A great tragedy can either burn all the trash out of our life or reduce us to ashes. So in those times when our lives are relatively painless, we need to plan a strategy against suffering. First, we need to link it with the pain of Jesus. We don’t need to know how that works; better there than sunk in a bottomless black hole. When in pain we must remember that every suffering is a new window open to reality. Let us not close that window until we see everything there is to see.
Suffering happens. It is part of life. No one, not the richest person or poorest, not saint or sinner, can get through life without suffering. God doesn’t cause it; God doesn’t plan it. God is just there to see us through it. When we say yes to God, God’s life becomes our life. And we open ourselves to the peace, courage and perseverance that God’s love offers. It can be so much easier to endure suffering when we know that our good and loving God is with us, as close as the next breath we take in.
Jesus says that no matter the circumstances, no matter how much it may seem that evil is prevailing, God's goodness is still present, is still at work in our midst. And God's goodness will overcome the evil. The suffering will be transformed into the reign of God, with justice, peace, joy and fullness of life all present.
“Where is God? Does God really care about me? How could God possibly know what we have to suffer?” These are questions that we may ask sometimes, especially in moments of pain. The answer to these questions is, “God does really care, God is closer than your own heart and God does indeed understand your suffering.”
‘The Word became flesh.’ Why? Because God does care. God had absolutely no need to become one of us but did so to convince us how much we mean to him. Think about how much you mean to God! You mean so much to God that God became a human, just to convince you, and if that isn’t enough to convince you, Jesus died for you. What more can God do to convince you he cares about you?
I would like to conclude today with the beautiful sentence from St Paul’s Letter to Ephesians and will continue this theme of suffering following Monday.
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit. (Eph 1:17-18)
Oh Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar
Be everywhere praised and adored.

Lent 2nd Sunday Year A 2008

Transfiguration of Jesus
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
The scripture readings today provide us with a vital insight for living an authentically Christian life. The Book of Genesis recounts for us the call of Abram, and his moving from one place to another, from the familiar to the unknown. Our second reading from St. Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy reminds us of the hardship which the gospel entails, a hardship necessarily connected with change. And, our Gospel reading from St. Matthew describes for us the transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor. What do these three readings reveal to us about the Christian life? That transformation, moving from one state to another, from the familiar to the unknown, is at the very core of the Christian life. The process of transformation often involves hardship, even pain and suffering, which are connected with movement or change. When we link these three scripture readings together, we see more clearly a fundamental process in life: transformation happens only through some kind of movement or change and it is usually effected only when it involves hardship, pain, sacrifice or self-denial. As one traditional idiom states: "no growth without change and no change without pain." Or, as a more contemporary idiom would phrase it: "no pain, no gain."
Transformation cannot take place without a movement or change on our part and that will cost us. It will involve the hardship which the Gospel entails, but God will also give us the strength we need. Transformation is gradual; it does not happen all at once, nor does it happen once and for all.
A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new SUV. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.
As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the SUV’s side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the SUV back to the spot where the brick had been thrown.
The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?" The young boy was apologetic. "Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop..." With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother, "he said "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."
Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. "Thank you and May God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long, slow walk back to the car. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: "Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!" It was his Tabor experience.
God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to listen or not.
There is a mysterious story in 2 Kings that can help us understand what is going on in the transfiguration. Israel was at war with Aram, and Elisha the man of God was using his prophetic powers to reveal the strategic plans of the Aramean army to the Israelites. At first the King of Aram thought that one of his officers was playing the spy but when he learnt the truth he dispatched troops to go and capture Elisha who was residing in Dothan. The Aramean troops moved in under cover of darkness and surrounded the city. In the morning Elisha’s servant was the first to discover that they were trapped in and feared for his master’s safety. He ran to Elisha and said, “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” The prophet answered, “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 was covered with advancing enemy troops? So Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw 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 day, not only was the prophet of God safe but the invading army was totally humiliated.
What Peter and his fellow disciples needed was for God to open their eyes and then give them a glimpse of God’s abiding presence with their master Jesus.
The Transfiguration experience was, therefore, God’s way of delivering the disciples from a crisis of faith. The cause of their crisis of faith was the way in which they saw people and things around them. God helped them out of it by enlightening their vision so that, at least for a moment, they could see from God’s own perspective. Seen from below, in ordinary human light, people and things around us may look drab, commonplace and sometimes repulsive. But seen from above, in the light of divinity, the same people and things take on a more honorable, resplendent and lovable appearance. This glimpse into the true nature and divine aspect of persons and things can be called a transfiguration experience. It is the kind of experience which makes us say with Jacob, “Surely the Lord is in this place, [person, or situation] and I did not know it!” (Genesis 28:16).
Every time we gather for the Eucharist we experience a moment of transfiguration where our divine Lord is transfigured before our eyes in the forms of bread and wine.
Here is a story. Once upon a time there was an oyster, let's call him Oliver and he lived in a shell at the bottom of the Ocean. One day in the course of the oyster’s development, a foreign substance such as a grain of sand gets into the little muscle and irritates the oyster. In response, the oyster covers that irritant with a secretion. The longer the irritation is there, the more the oyster coats it. Pearl oysters vary in size and can be quite rough and ugly. Yet what is happening inside is a combination of rainbows, moonlight, and bits of flame. Once the oyster accepts the irritation as part of itself, the pearl begins to develop. The worst storms, gales, even hurricanes will not dislodge it. As time goes by and this oyster is finally pulled up from the bed where it has been for many years, it is opened only to reveal a beautiful pearl.
Yes dear brothers and sisters today we have two options in front of us. We can blame the sand which got into our life or we can transform this uncomfortable sand into a beautiful pearl.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Happy Valentine's Day to You

St Valentine's Day 2008

Today is Valentine's Day, the day set aside to express our love in a giving way to our spouse, family, friends, and people in general. I can't think of a better Valentine gift than the one given to all of us today in today's Gospel. Jesus said to his disciples, and to us: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Where else will you find a Valentine promise like this? Whatever you want that is good for you or others, is yours! "Your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him."
The White Friar Street Carmelite Church is a church in Dublin, Ireland maintained by the Carmelite order. The church is noted for having the relics of Saint Valentine, which were donated to the church in the 19th century by Pope Gregory XVI from their previous location in the cemetery of St. Hippolytus in Rome.
Admittedly, we don't know anything for sure about St. Valentine, but there seems no reason to dispute there was a St. Valentine.
Have you ever noticed how certain trappings of Christian culture capture people's imagination? St. Blase -- who knows anything about him, other than the blessing of the throats and the candles? St. Francis of Assisi is far better known, but what lives best in folks' memory? Blessing of animals. So the development of St. Valentine's Day is hardly surprising.

Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia. In the early days of Rome, fierce wolves roamed the woods nearby. The Romans called upon one of their gods, Lupercus, to keep the wolves away. A festival held in honor of Lupercus was celebrated February 15th.
The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.
Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular military campaigns. Claudius the Cruel, as he was known at the time, was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome.

This was when a Christian priest named Valentine came to defend love in the empire. Valentine began to secretly marry couples despite the emperor’s orders. When Emperor Claudius was informed of these ceremonies Valentine was sent to prison where he remained until his death on February 14 in the year 270, when Valentine was clubbed, stoned, then beheaded. History claims that while Valentine was in prison awaiting execution, he fell in love with the blind daughter of the jailer, Asterius. Through his unswerving faith, he miraculously restored her sight. He signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine", a phrase that still lives today. If this is true, that would have been the first Valentine's card.

It wasn't until a few hundred years later when Valentine's Day began to develop as we know it. At the time Christianity was beginning to take control of Europe. As part of this effort the Church sought to do away with pagan holidays. Valentine's Day came to replace a mid-February fertility festival called Lupercalia. In honor of his sacrifice for love, Valentine was made a saint and Lupercalia renamed in his honor.

For many of us, though, Valentine’s Day only pretends to celebrate what we like about love while actually undermining it. True romance comes unscheduled, unruly, “a madness most discreet,” quotes Romeo. For those who feel well loved, every day, of course, is Valentine’s Day. For the rest, no card can console.
The minute love feels duty; it has lost its purpose. “Love sought is good,” Shakespeare observed, “but given unsought is better.”

First Sunday Lent 2008

What are you seeing. Look close they are sitting on chairs

Temptations of Jesus Christ
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials.
It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career. When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "My gift to you."
The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, so it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then, with a shock we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we'd do it much differently. But, we cannot go back. This is the time God gave us to build our house.
Our Gospel today is on the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. In each of these three temptations what the devil is saying to Jesus is, "Come on; use what you have to get what you want." And in each case Jesus overcomes the temptation by replying, "No, we can only use godly means to satisfy our God-given needs or to pursue our goals in life."
In the first temptation, Jesus had fasted for forty days in the wilderness and at the end of it he was very hungry. The devil puts an idea into his head: "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread" (Luke 4:3). Notice that the first thing the devil does is sow a doubt in his mind: "if you are the Son of God." "Are you really sure God is with you?" The same thing happened in the Garden of Eden. The first thing the Tempter said to Eve was, "Did God really say you should not eat of any fruit of the garden" (Genesis 3:1). Temptation always begins with a doubting thought. Jesus overcame the temptations by refusing to entertain such doubts and by standing on the word of God.
Secondly, that people are tempted only with what they need or want. After his fasting Jesus needed to eat. So the devil tempted him with food. It is not a sin for Jesus to eat after fasting. The sin may lie in how the food is obtained. Should he follow the normal way of obtaining bread or should he take the shortcut suggested by the devil to obtain instant bread? Jesus refuses to take the devil's shortcut. The means we employ to satisfy our needs must be in accordance with the word of God.
In the second temptation the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and promises to give him authority over them if only Jesus would worship him. Remember that Jesus was about to begin his public life and was looking for a way to get the whole world to know him and accept his message. Again the devil tempts him to use what he has (his heart, his soul) to get what he wants (the loyalty of the whole world). Again Jesus says no. The end does not justify the means. "It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him'" (verse 8).
The devil is a deceiver! And he deceives himself the most! He believes he possesses all the wealth of the earth, because he thinks that all power on earth belongs to him. But Jesus is there! He is the Master of the universe! Since the Incarnation, through the "yes" of Mary his Mother, Jesus defeated and dominated the whole world!
In the third temptation the devil asks Jesus to throw him down from the pinnacle of the temple as a way to prove that he was the Son of God. Remember that the people were asking Jesus for a sign to prove that he was the Messiah. Jesus wanted to convince them that he was the one. But how do you do it! The devil suggested this sensational sky jump without a parachute. Again, use what you have to get what you want. Use your supernatural power to get the people to recognize you and believe in you as the Son of God, the Messiah. Do some magic?
No animal craves power and self-exaltation as we humans do. The devil offers it for a price: immersing ourselves in the culture of death, that is, worshipping him. After that comes despair, “throw yourself down from here.”
Mel Gibson tells about having everything our society values: success, good looks, money, prestige, adoring members of the opposite sex who would do anything for a moment with him. He had it all, yet felt so empty and miserable that he wanted to throw himself out of a window.
The devil is not stupid. These temptations worked for him in the past. He knew it. The devil is also not lazy. He doesn’t give up easily.
Think if we are tempted during Lent, it should be being tempted to do good. And I think those three temptations of Jesus are a good framework. Take the first one, temptation from hunger. What can we do during this Lent for the hungry of the world? Come up with one little thing you would do during Lent that would make this a better world for the hungry, either close at home or across the world. But there’s another kind of hunger. The other is spiritual hunger. I think we are all spiritually hungry but don’t always know it. You know what happens when people are starving and it gets really bad? They lose their appetites. I think, much of our lives, we lose our appetites for things of the spirit. Lent is a good time to nourish our spirits, our spiritual hunger. We all just have to slow down, and that’s a good way to deal with our spiritual hunger.
The next one is power and control. We all want to be in charge. We all want power and control. I think the best antidote for power and control is gratitude and inner peace. So what I would suggest during Lent, we might every day take a few moments to think about people that we are thankful for. Developing gratitude and an inner peace will really deal with the temptation for power and control. What about the third one? What about miracles? There are things we pray for. We pray for people who are sick. We pray for people who are hurting. Maybe, during Lent, let’s, instead of praying for God to do it, instead of praying for God to make a miracle, say “How can I be an instrument of the very thing I am praying for?” Maybe a visit to someone who is sick, maybe a phone call to someone who is lonely, maybe dropping a card to someone who is distant. Satan’s greatest triumph is that he has caused many people to no longer believe that he really exists. Jesus tells us who he is when he said: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10: 18). My dear friends, Satan is real and his actions in the world are very real. We have to fight.
You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. "Life is a do-it-yourself project," someone has said. Your attitudes and the choices you make today build the "house" you live in tomorrow.
Build wisely!
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Ash Wednesday 2008

Ash Wednesday
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Welcome to the season of Lent.
There are two special features about this year’s Ash Wednesday; first of all this will be the earliest Ash Wednesday we have had for the past twenty years. The second is that it is a Leap Year Ash Wednesday. We are starting today the forty days of preparing ourselves for the great feast of Easter. Forty is an important number in scripture. In the time of Noah it rained for forty days and forty nights. The Children of Israel after being brought through the waters of the Red sea wandered for forty years in the wilderness because of their unfaithfulness toward God; Moses went into the cloud and up on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights before returning with the Ten Commandments. Prophet Elijah fasted forty days. And finally, Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days before being tempted by the devil.
Take the example of an empty container .If God wants to fill our heart; you and I need to empty everything that is there which will kill that sanctifying grace. That is why Prophet Joel said tear not your garments but that which cover your heart; that which dirty your mind. God means to fill each of you with what is good; so cast out what is bad! If he wishes to fill you with honey and you are full of sour wine, where is the honey to go? The vessel must be emptied of its contents and then be cleansed." So this is the time for emptying our heart for making place for God.
On Ash Wednesday, the Church signs our foreheads with the cross, in ashes, and says, “Remember, you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.” Diamonds may be forever, but you and I definitely are not. The things we have, the goals we accomplish, our personal relationships, even pain and pleasure, had a beginning not that long ago, and they will end. In the words of a song, “Is That All There Is?”
For us believers the good news of Jesus Christ is that our living and dying are not all there is. There is a new meaning for us in Jesus, in our life in him.
When parents send their children to school, they want them to learn the basics: how to read, write, and work with numbers. With those three skills - reading, writing and arithmetic - a child can succeed in this world. Today Jesus gives us the three basics in order to succeed spiritually, that is, to attain a relationship with God. The three basics are prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
We are called to conversion, to a turning away from our own special idolatries and a turning toward the true God in Jesus Christ. That’s the meaning and purpose of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, the three traditional Lenten practices of Catholics.
Of the three basics, prayer has first place. To use a human comparison: If you desire friendship - that is, a relationship with another human being - you have to do things together, be in each other’s presence, talk...and listen. The same applies in our friendship with God. As Jesus says, don’t do it for show – so that people will think what a spiritual person you are – but to grow in your friendship with Jesus. Prayer draws us to listen to God and respond.
The second basic practice is fasting. The goal of fasting is not to have a sleek body one can be proud of. Don’t think that heaven’s door is a narrow door. Some saints were quite corpulent, others were virtual skeletons, but they had this in common: They practiced the voluntary self-denial of fasting. We need to say “no” to some of our distractions and indulgences, so that we are freer and more attentive to say “yes” to God as he meets us in our lives, especially through others.
Finally, we come to almsgiving. St. John Chrysostom said that after we have satisfied our own basic needs and of those we are directly responsible for, all the rest belongs to the poor. We have to give not by human standards, but according to God's generosity. Almsgiving is the practice of giving to others needier than ourselves, especially at the cost of some sacrifice on our part. Some people decide to abstain from something and fast but they keep and save that money for buying some expensive things that they were craving for. This is not fasting. You have to give out all what you save from your Lenten observances.
Joel’s call for the people to repent even after they are already adorned in sack cloths and ashes and fasting and weeping and mourning is a call to repent and rend their hearts, not their clothing. It is a call to turn, to refocus, and to set their minds on a different path.
What is the turning he invites? Perhaps it is not so much a call to turn away from, as much as it is a call to turn toward. Perhaps not so much a call to give up or reject, but to reclaim and embrace. Perhaps it is an invitation to remember our interconnectedness and God’s desire for relationship, rather than separation and alienation.
When we are able to do this kind of turning with our hearts, we are perhaps more likely to experience Lent as the little boy who overheard a young priest practicing his sermon in the pulpit on Saturday evening. The small boy sat in the back of the church, watching the priest who was so serious in the church full of empty pews. It struck him as funny and he started to laugh. Hearing laughter, the Priest said: “Don’t you know that we don’t laugh in church during Lent?”
“Why?”
“Because Lent is a time when we remember Jesus died for us.”
“Is Jesus dead?”
“No Jesus died, but he didn’t stay dead. He arose from the grave and is living in you and me right now.”
The boy thought for a moment and replied: “I think… I think it must have been the Jesus alive in me that made me laugh.”
Because Jesus lives in us, the laying on of ashes need not be only a heavy reminder of our sinfulness, a reminder that we are dust and to dust we shall return. The anointing of ashes can serve as a hopeful reminder of God’s interconnectedness with us and our interconnectedness with each other and our ability to find healing, strength, peace, hope and justice through and in each other if we are willing and able to trust in God’s healing and abiding peace with us.
The ash cross on our foreheads reminds us that soon, very soon, you and I will return to dust. How do you want to use the time God has allotted to you my dear brothers and sisters!

4th sunday Ordinary time 2008

Beatitudes
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
The eight beatitudes we have in today’s gospel constitute a road map for anyone who seeks to attain this happiness of the kingdom. The Eight Beatitudes do not describe eight different people such that we need to ask which of the eight suits us personally. No, they are eight different snapshots taken from different angles of the same godly person. In them we find the "attitudes" of Jesus.
A parent is walking in the woods searching for a lost child. Suddenly, in the distance, the parent hears what sounds like a faint cry for help. The parent stops--the sound of the dead leaves being crushed underfoot drowns out the faint cry. The parent is motionless, even to the point of not breathing. In the woods at this moment the parent has become a listening presence. That special love between a parent and a child allows the parent to hear what the other searchers will never hear. Love recognizes the faintest cry in the distance and distinguishes it from the other sounds in the woods. Without that love relationship, the faint cry would not be heard. Without that relationship we won’t understand God’s word.
The Beatitudes lie at the heart of Christ's teaching, for they describe our relationship to the Kingdom in three ways. First, these simple rules address our highest desire: happiness with God. For, only God can satisfy the heart. Second, they describe the path to God for us as individuals and together as a Church. Through the Beatitudes, we share God's very life (sanctifying grace) because we enter into his Kingdom. Finally, they challenge us to live moral lives by putting God first. If we want to know what it truly means to be a Christian we need to listen and understand the Beatitudes in Matthew.
1)"Blessed are the poor in spirit, Spiritual poverty recognizes that all we have and all we are, is a total gift from God. We are totally dependent on God, a good and loving God, who is in charge of the universe and of our lives. They are those who are aware of their own smallness and emptiness. This Beatitude assumes that someone either already has certain possessions or gifts and is nevertheless poor in spirit, or that he does not have certain things but is detached from what he doesn’t have. Do you know we can be attached to things we don’t have? In either case, poverty of spirit is “detachment of spirit.”
To be detached in spirit so that we use the gifts we have as God wants us to use them, and to enjoy them only insofar as the Lord wants us to enjoy them, but never to take complacency in any creature.
The rich in spirit don’t hunger for anything. They are “full of themselves,” self-satisfied. When offered an opportunity to grow spiritually, they protest “but I’m a good person and worship God in my own way” or “I go to Mass every Sunday, isn’t that enough?” They may be able to get excited about the Super bowl, but never about heaven.
2) "Blessed are they who mourn… Now as you know, there is trouble with our English language. Because, while the labels remain quite constant, the meaning of what’s behind the label is determined by the persons who use the language.
There is distinction between sorrow and sadness. Christ does not mean “happy those who are sad.” Sadness is mourning. It is either mourning over the wrong object or excessive mourning.
Sorrow, on the other hand, is grief over what deserves to be mourned (and mourned in the right way). The Gospels give us a fine description of what is to be mourned in the two episodes where we are told that Our Lord wept. He wept over Jerusalem and at Lazarus’ tomb. Why did Christ weep over Jerusalem? Because Jerusalem was sinning! What, then, is a correct object for mourning? Sin. Christ Himself, the Son of God, not only mourned over Jerusalem, but what happened in Gethsemane? He was in positive agony. We say, with some justification, this was in anticipating His sufferings, but mainly it was due to sin—our sin.
At Lazarus’ tomb, Christ sorrowed over Lazarus’ death. We, too, sorrow over the loss of people we love. Those who are honest about their sorrows and sins will gain the consolation of the Lord. They know how little they are without God. In their sorrow, they will be comforted.
3) "Blessed are the meek… the meek know that God is ultimately in control, and they are about doing the divine will. Gentleness is strength restrained by love. Only strong people can be gentle. Others can seem to be, but they are not. Gentleness, therefore, is not weakness; it is just the opposite. It means that someone has hurt me but I don’t hurt back. How many times in public you have been told things when everything in you cries out to tear a person to shreds. But you don’t, not because you can’t, but because love keeps you from doing that which nature urges you to do.
4) "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness…We all have longings: for meaning, for intimacy, for depth. You name the desires and we’ve got them. The highest ideal of all is to desire above all else to put God's righteous will into action and then work unceasingly with his help to grow in holiness, justice, and truth. Truth in the following of Christ consists in desiring and then choosing what is right.
5) "Blessed are the merciful…If we give mercy, we shall get mercy. Mercy is love that overcomes resistance. Mercy is love in the face of sin and injury. I love in spite of the fact that I am not loved. I love those things which cause me difficulty and trouble. I love even those who not only don’t love me, but who may oppose me, who may hate me. This is what God’s mercy is towards us. It is His love overcoming resistance. And you know who offers resistance to God’s love—we do. Yet in spite of us, God loves us. That is mercy.
6) "Blessed are the clean of heart… The pure of heart are those who are not defiled and polluted by values and attitudes that take us away from God. We know that our seeing is dependent upon the condition of our hearts. They put on the mind and heart of God, looking on others with the eyes of Jesus. There are many meanings to the expression “purity of heart.” But the one that we cannot omit is the internal chastity of mind, symbolized by the biblical word “heart.” Chastity confers clarity of vision.
7) "Blessed are the peacemakers… God's peace is the rightness of relationships. Peace embraces four satellites: truth, charity, freedom and justice. Peacemaking means reconciliation: first with God, the highest kind of peacemaking; with themselves, and within themselves.
8) "Blessed are they who are persecuted …The Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, William Penn, once said, "No cross, no crown." To stand up for what is right, especially in the face of mockery, rejection, and verbal and even physical abuse, is to stand with Jesus Christ and help him carry his cross. Jesus never promised us a rose garden; he did promise us eternal happiness united to the Blessed Trinity.
Like any ideal of happiness, the road is as important as the destination. Striving to live the Beatitudes day by day opens us to God's lead and the way to his Kingdom. Think of the Beatitudes as Jesus taught us as attitudes for happiness. They will require us to change our lives. But the payoff? Happiness. Thomas Aquinas said: No one can live without joy.