Sunday, September 13, 2009
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
‘SatMaya’ Magic show By Fr Sunny John O.Carm.
In mark 16:15 Jesus told us to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” Fr Sunny does this by using visual illustrations using sleight of hand, optical illusion, storytelling, and other visual arts.
Why do we use the various performing arts to teach and preach the “Good News?” Because a person will only retain a small percentage of what they hear, but if you give them visual illustrations along with the lesson, their retention factor increases greatly. Add to the illustration a mystery or surprise ending, and you lock in on their curiosity and they will long remember what you’ve taught.
A problem rises from the fact that certain words have two meanings. "Magic" has the meaning of witchcraft or sorcery, but the word also means sleight of hand and illusion, the surprising and fascinating modern entertainment medium. Obviously and certainly Fr Sunny is using magic as sleight of hand and illusion.
In fact in I Thessalonians 5:22 say, “avoid every form of evil" or "avoid every kind of evil." In dealing with right and wrong, one must always be careful of appearances, but it is not the appearance that makes something right or wrong. The emphasis on appearance is the essence of hypocrisy. If the issue were that Christians are to refrain from doing anything that looks like sin or could be misinterpreted by someone who does not know, then we would never be able to do anything with confidence. According to this thinking, Jesus was correctly rebuked for eating with publicans, for forgiving prostitutes and for touching lepers. Certainly, these actions confused many people, but the Son of God knew His mission and performed His ministry in spite of possible objections.
Some Christians are very superstitious and assume that anything they cannot themselves understand and explain must be supernatural. Hence they see negative effects as being produced by demons, and every positive event must be a miracle of God.
Knowing all these dispute issues Fr Sunny John was doing Magic since 1998 on the stages in many countries. He started learning and using this talents to explain the gospel when he was actively involved in the teen agers’ retreat called “Christeen” which is founded by Ms Marykutty in India and is well known internationally.
‘SatMaya’ is Fr Sunny’s troop name for magic and this name is formed with 7 letter word and ‘Sat’ is part of satchitananda which refers to the attributes of God who is completeness of truth ,Bliss and joy. ‘Maya’ is the Indian philosophical term for illusion. In the book of Ecclesiastes 1:2 says “Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity.” This is the meaning of Maya. Ina nutshell ‘satmaya’ means the hidden truth or truth in Vanity or vanity in truth.
Dealing with the nature of truth. At any given time, a presentation of truth only represents a portion of reality. For example, take a black and white photograph of a person that everyone claims is a very candid likeness, yet it deceives in certain ways. For one thing, the person is not black and white and gray; for another, he or she is more than two inches tall and is not flat. But the image abstracted by this photograph captures her or his expression and personality very honestly. It is an honest--though partial--representation of the truth. So there is an illusion in every assumed truth.
Matthew 13:34 indicates that in Jesus' teaching, He always used object lessons. Sleight of hand and illusion provide a way of presenting some very powerful spiritual messages in a visual way. When a dirty handkerchief--representing sin--is transformed into an egg, it makes a very striking illustration of the change God makes in a person's life when he trusts Christ. Magic tricks have power to gain and maintain attention.
In the New Testament the word magos is used to describe the magi of Matthew’s Gospel. The word magos is also used to describe those practicing sorcery and magic in the book of Acts. It is from the Greek language from which is derived our own English word .magic.. What do we mean by the word .magic.? Henry Hay3 defines magic as the .art or game .of entertaining by tempting a particular audience to accept, temporarily, minor infractions of natural law.. And he suggests that these are mainly accomplished by manipulating the interest and perceptions of the audience. Through the use of mechanical apparatus, sleight-of-hand, misdirection, (making the audience look .the other way!.) and psychological associations, the entertainer is able to draw the audience into a world of make-believe where the impossible appears to happen.
"Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks [and honor and glory] through Him to God the Father." Colossians 3:17
Sharing God's Love Through MAGIC
Satmaya
In mark 16:15 Jesus told us to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” Fr Sunny does this by using visual illustrations using sleight of hand, optical illusion, storytelling, and other visual arts.
Why do we use the various performing arts to teach and preach the “Good News?” Because a person will only retain a small percentage of what they hear, but if you give them visual illustrations along with the lesson, their retention factor increases greatly. Add to the illustration a mystery or surprise ending, and you lock in on their curiosity and they will long remember what you’ve taught.
A problem rises from the fact that certain words have two meanings. "Magic" has the meaning of witchcraft or sorcery, but the word also means sleight of hand and illusion, the surprising and fascinating modern entertainment medium. Obviously and certainly Fr Sunny is using magic as sleight of hand and illusion.
In fact in I Thessalonians 5:22 say, “avoid every form of evil" or "avoid every kind of evil." In dealing with right and wrong, one must always be careful of appearances, but it is not the appearance that makes something right or wrong. The emphasis on appearance is the essence of hypocrisy. If the issue were that Christians are to refrain from doing anything that looks like sin or could be misinterpreted by someone who does not know, then we would never be able to do anything with confidence. According to this thinking, Jesus was correctly rebuked for eating with publicans, for forgiving prostitutes and for touching lepers. Certainly, these actions confused many people, but the Son of God knew His mission and performed His ministry in spite of possible objections.
Some Christians are very superstitious and assume that anything they cannot themselves understand and explain must be supernatural. Hence they see negative effects as being produced by demons, and every positive event must be a miracle of God.
Knowing all these dispute issues Fr Sunny John was doing Magic since 1998 on the stages in many countries. He started learning and using this talents to explain the gospel when he was actively involved in the teen agers’ retreat called “Christeen” which is founded by Ms Marykutty in India and is well known internationally.
‘SatMaya’ is Fr Sunny’s troop name for magic and this name is formed with 7 letter word and ‘Sat’ is part of satchitananda which refers to the attributes of God who is completeness of truth ,Bliss and joy. ‘Maya’ is the Indian philosophical term for illusion. In the book of Ecclesiastes 1:2 says “Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity.” This is the meaning of Maya. Ina nutshell ‘satmaya’ means the hidden truth or truth in Vanity or vanity in truth.
Dealing with the nature of truth. At any given time, a presentation of truth only represents a portion of reality. For example, take a black and white photograph of a person that everyone claims is a very candid likeness, yet it deceives in certain ways. For one thing, the person is not black and white and gray; for another, he or she is more than two inches tall and is not flat. But the image abstracted by this photograph captures her or his expression and personality very honestly. It is an honest--though partial--representation of the truth. So there is an illusion in every assumed truth.
Matthew 13:34 indicates that in Jesus' teaching, He always used object lessons. Sleight of hand and illusion provide a way of presenting some very powerful spiritual messages in a visual way. When a dirty handkerchief--representing sin--is transformed into an egg, it makes a very striking illustration of the change God makes in a person's life when he trusts Christ. Magic tricks have power to gain and maintain attention.
In the New Testament the word magos is used to describe the magi of Matthew’s Gospel. The word magos is also used to describe those practicing sorcery and magic in the book of Acts. It is from the Greek language from which is derived our own English word .magic.. What do we mean by the word .magic.? Henry Hay3 defines magic as the .art or game .of entertaining by tempting a particular audience to accept, temporarily, minor infractions of natural law.. And he suggests that these are mainly accomplished by manipulating the interest and perceptions of the audience. Through the use of mechanical apparatus, sleight-of-hand, misdirection, (making the audience look .the other way!.) and psychological associations, the entertainer is able to draw the audience into a world of make-believe where the impossible appears to happen.
"Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks [and honor and glory] through Him to God the Father." Colossians 3:17
Sharing God's Love Through MAGIC
Satmaya
Friday, August 14, 2009
my mission in Assumtion church
Bread of Life and Mission
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
I never get a chance to go again and say thanks with my whole heart to all the generous people of the parishes but I am glad today that I got a golden chance to come back to the same parish where I appealed last year for the mission. I know that it will be hard to hear the same person again.
Jack McArdle tells a story in ‘And that’s the Gospel Truth!’ There was an Italian family that had fallen on hard times, when their family business failed, and they lost everything. The neighbors were sympathetic, worked hard at fund-raising and after a certain time managed to get them sufficient money for a trip to America, where the family believed they could make their fortune. The family had never been far from home so they had no idea how to prepare for a long sea voyage by boat from Cobh to New York. They bought bread and cheese, and packed a few boxes with sandwiches. They gathered in a single cabin on the boat with no desire to mix with others in case of finding themselves embarrassed or out of their depth. On the first, second, third, fourth and fifth day they ate sandwiches. From then on the sandwiches began to go bad and began to smell. By now they were all in a bad way. They felt sick, hungry and deeply discouraged. With a day or two left before reaching New York, one little lad begged his dad for a few pennies so he could go on the deck and buy some sweets. The dad gave him a few pennies and off he went. He didn’t return and after an hour the father was forced to go up on deck and search for him. When he came up on the deck he was amazed to find rows and rows of tables surrounded by people eating a beautiful dinner. There in the midst of them was his son, with a plate of turkey, ham, potatoes, and vegetables in front of him, together with a large beaker of Coke. The father came up behind him and whispered, “Why did you do this? You know rightly we cannot afford this.” The young lad’s eyes lit up as he replied, “Dad, we could have had this every day. This is all included with the tickets!” my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, We too often fail to appreciate and enjoy the heavenly food freely given to us by a loving God.
The Fathers of the Church explain that, while ordinary food is assimilated into man, the very opposite takes place in Holy Communion. Here man is assimilated into the Bread of Life. Let us remember that Holy Communion 1) increases our intimate union with Christ; 2) preserves, increases, and renews the sanctifying grace received at Baptism; 3) cleanses us from past sin and preserves us from future sins; 4) strengthens the theological virtue of charity, thus enabling us to be separated from our disordered attachments and to be rooted in Christ; and 5) unites us more deeply to the mystery of the Church.
Eucharist is a symbol of sharing. Mother Teresa says about her experience. She says “One night, a man came to our house to tell me that a Hindu family, a family of eight children, had not eaten anything for days.They had nothing to eat. I took enough rice for a meal and went to their house. I could see the hungry faces, the children with their bulging eyes. The sight could not have been more dramatic!The mother took the rice from my hands, divided it in half and went out. When she came back a little later, I asked her: “Where did you go? What did you do?”She answered, “They also are hungry.” “They” were the people next door, a Muslim family with the same number of children to feed and who did not have any food either.That mother was aware of the situation. She had the courage and the love to share her meager portion of rice with others. In spite of her circumstances, I think she felt very happy to share with her neighbors the little I had taken her.” Yes dear brothers and sisters this is mission sharing. And this is Eucharistic life.
U.S. Bishops wrote in “Celebrating to the Ends of the Earth” “All Catholic people are to be missionaries. All are to proclaim the Gospel. All are to bring the Good news to the world and be Good News for the world, irrespective of their level of education, social or economic status, race, or gender. Each one is the instrument of the Lord for the salvation of all. Whether called to lifelong service to far-distant peoples or not, all are to be called missionaries.”
We can never help anyone in this world when we are fully equipped or wealthy. God is asking to show our love towards others. By the fact we are helping the people who help the people we are becoming part of that universal mission of Christ. There are millions of people who have nothing to eat a day. Whatever you wanted to do for the people in the third world countries you need financial help, if you want to teach them you have to provide food clothing and transportation.
God is not asking us to be a mother Theresa but he is giving you and me a chance to do what we can do to help at least one family or a person to lead a life worthy of human being.
There is nothing big or nothing small in giving, even a small sacrifice you make today for the Missions in the world will prayerfully be remembered by someone who is in utter need of your help.
You know what we say about the word Mercy: My Eyes Recognize Christ in You. Yes, dear brothers and sisters by helping the Mission you are recognizing Christ in others and becoming an angel of God for someone.
Before the mass, someone told me ‘Father if you make it short we will make it up for you. If you preach less, we will give more. I take that wise advice. I thank most sincerely Bishop Dolan and your loving and caring Pastor Stephen,mr Garry Texter and all parishioners of Our Lady of the Assumption church for your love and support. As 2Corinthians 13:13 says “The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
I never get a chance to go again and say thanks with my whole heart to all the generous people of the parishes but I am glad today that I got a golden chance to come back to the same parish where I appealed last year for the mission. I know that it will be hard to hear the same person again.
Jack McArdle tells a story in ‘And that’s the Gospel Truth!’ There was an Italian family that had fallen on hard times, when their family business failed, and they lost everything. The neighbors were sympathetic, worked hard at fund-raising and after a certain time managed to get them sufficient money for a trip to America, where the family believed they could make their fortune. The family had never been far from home so they had no idea how to prepare for a long sea voyage by boat from Cobh to New York. They bought bread and cheese, and packed a few boxes with sandwiches. They gathered in a single cabin on the boat with no desire to mix with others in case of finding themselves embarrassed or out of their depth. On the first, second, third, fourth and fifth day they ate sandwiches. From then on the sandwiches began to go bad and began to smell. By now they were all in a bad way. They felt sick, hungry and deeply discouraged. With a day or two left before reaching New York, one little lad begged his dad for a few pennies so he could go on the deck and buy some sweets. The dad gave him a few pennies and off he went. He didn’t return and after an hour the father was forced to go up on deck and search for him. When he came up on the deck he was amazed to find rows and rows of tables surrounded by people eating a beautiful dinner. There in the midst of them was his son, with a plate of turkey, ham, potatoes, and vegetables in front of him, together with a large beaker of Coke. The father came up behind him and whispered, “Why did you do this? You know rightly we cannot afford this.” The young lad’s eyes lit up as he replied, “Dad, we could have had this every day. This is all included with the tickets!” my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, We too often fail to appreciate and enjoy the heavenly food freely given to us by a loving God.
The Fathers of the Church explain that, while ordinary food is assimilated into man, the very opposite takes place in Holy Communion. Here man is assimilated into the Bread of Life. Let us remember that Holy Communion 1) increases our intimate union with Christ; 2) preserves, increases, and renews the sanctifying grace received at Baptism; 3) cleanses us from past sin and preserves us from future sins; 4) strengthens the theological virtue of charity, thus enabling us to be separated from our disordered attachments and to be rooted in Christ; and 5) unites us more deeply to the mystery of the Church.
Eucharist is a symbol of sharing. Mother Teresa says about her experience. She says “One night, a man came to our house to tell me that a Hindu family, a family of eight children, had not eaten anything for days.They had nothing to eat. I took enough rice for a meal and went to their house. I could see the hungry faces, the children with their bulging eyes. The sight could not have been more dramatic!The mother took the rice from my hands, divided it in half and went out. When she came back a little later, I asked her: “Where did you go? What did you do?”She answered, “They also are hungry.” “They” were the people next door, a Muslim family with the same number of children to feed and who did not have any food either.That mother was aware of the situation. She had the courage and the love to share her meager portion of rice with others. In spite of her circumstances, I think she felt very happy to share with her neighbors the little I had taken her.” Yes dear brothers and sisters this is mission sharing. And this is Eucharistic life.
U.S. Bishops wrote in “Celebrating to the Ends of the Earth” “All Catholic people are to be missionaries. All are to proclaim the Gospel. All are to bring the Good news to the world and be Good News for the world, irrespective of their level of education, social or economic status, race, or gender. Each one is the instrument of the Lord for the salvation of all. Whether called to lifelong service to far-distant peoples or not, all are to be called missionaries.”
We can never help anyone in this world when we are fully equipped or wealthy. God is asking to show our love towards others. By the fact we are helping the people who help the people we are becoming part of that universal mission of Christ. There are millions of people who have nothing to eat a day. Whatever you wanted to do for the people in the third world countries you need financial help, if you want to teach them you have to provide food clothing and transportation.
God is not asking us to be a mother Theresa but he is giving you and me a chance to do what we can do to help at least one family or a person to lead a life worthy of human being.
There is nothing big or nothing small in giving, even a small sacrifice you make today for the Missions in the world will prayerfully be remembered by someone who is in utter need of your help.
You know what we say about the word Mercy: My Eyes Recognize Christ in You. Yes, dear brothers and sisters by helping the Mission you are recognizing Christ in others and becoming an angel of God for someone.
Before the mass, someone told me ‘Father if you make it short we will make it up for you. If you preach less, we will give more. I take that wise advice. I thank most sincerely Bishop Dolan and your loving and caring Pastor Stephen,mr Garry Texter and all parishioners of Our Lady of the Assumption church for your love and support. As 2Corinthians 13:13 says “The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” Amen.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
My Mother Elizabeth John Pazhukkakulath
This photo is taken just 10 minutes before the accident
My Mother was so happy and spend days with all her children and grand children after the car accident she survied for three more days and she died 1 am in the morning on May 7th 2009 .
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
God so loved the World…
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
There is one major theme running through today’s three readings: God’s incredible love for His people.
In the Gospel, Jesus offers what is probably the most famous verse in the whole Bible—John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.”Of all the verses in the Gospels, it really lives up to the meaning of the word “Gospel” as “Good News.” And verse 17 reads: "For God did not send His Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its Savior."
These two verses, John 3:15 and 17 have been called a summary of the Bible.
Some years ago when the space engineers in the U.S. were designing space suits for the command module pilot and the lunar module pilot, a part of the design of each space suit was an umbilical cord, consisting of a long flexible tubing. The purpose of the umbilical cord was to supply oxygen to the astronauts (Space travelers) when they "walk" in space or pass from one module to another.
This suit receptacle into which the command pilot's cord fit was called J3: 16. The suit receptacle into which the lunar pilot's cord fit was called J 3:17. According to the designer, just as J3: 16 and J3: 17 supply the astronauts with what they need to survive in their journey from one module to another, so John 3:16 and John 3:17 supply us with what we need to survive in our journey from earth to heaven. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.”
The most astounding feature of the gospel is this: in the face of the world's bombast and its ingratitude, God's response is not to expel it but rather to love it, to love it so utterly as to give himself for it.
When the apostle John writes, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…" we must never think that God is giving his Son in place of giving himself; we must never think that God is giving his Son as a substitute for giving himself. Quite the contrary: just because the Father and the Son are one in nature, substance, being, the Father's giving his only Son is simply the Father's giving himself; always himself, never less than himself.
First letter of Saint John chapter 4:16 says, "God is love". And in this infinite and merciful Love, the Father sent his own Son to save all the men and women who have ever lived on earth, from the creation of the world until the end of time.
But, most of the time we may not realize how much God loves us. Eagles are the most long-lived bird in the world. The eagle is used as a model in the Bible to teach God’s loving care for man. The eagle-couple work together and build a nest at a high altitude, inaccessible to other birds. The eggs are laid on soft and warm bedding. She pulls out soft fur from her own breast to adorn the bed. The baby eaglets enjoy the fine rest in the nice nest. The baby eagles, the eaglets, are so happy and experience the love of their parents until when the eaglets reach a suitable age, the mother, with her wings as a broom sweeps out the soft things from the nest to prepare it hard. The eaglets start hating and cursing the mother for spoiling the comfort.
Later the eaglet is carried out of the nest, resting on her wide wings, into the open air. As they circled higher and higher into flight, little baby was impressed with how strong his mother’s wings were. He held tight to his mother’s back. The higher they got, the tighter he held on. Then suddenly without any notice, Mother Eagle folded her wing and rolled over until they were flying up-side-down. Eaglet lost his grip and was falling thousands of feet toward the ground. He was scared. He kicked his feet, flapped his wings, and yapped his jaw, but nothing he tried would work. He could not fly. The eaglet tries its best to fly and stay in the air. Each foot he falls, he cursed his parents for not loving him. He though his parents do not love him and they are abandoning him. He was thinking why they create him. Why they gave him comfort and now let him die in the air?
Just before he hit the ground, Mother Eagle swooped down and caught him and carried him to safety. Gradually the training succeeds and the eaglets learn to fly and live independently. Deuteronomy 32:11 says: “Like an eagle teaching its young to fly, catching them safely on its spreading wings, the Lord kept Israel from falling.”
God, like the eagle, may stir our nest and remove the comforts. He may drop us so that we may learn to survive. We need not fear as He is always near, ready to support us in every fall. Every time when we feel that God is not caring us and not near us, he may be teaching us how to fly and live independently. God’s love is eternal and it will have no end. {Hebrews 12:6-11}, {Proverbs 3:11,12}, {Job 5:17,18}.
The incredible thing, of course, is that God continues to offer us His love no matter how many times we reject Him. His forgiveness is unconditional and is offered over and over and over. His love for us knows no limits.
St. John reminds us most emphatically of something we always tend to forget: that God is not a judge! On the contrary, God is a Savior. He is essentially a savior, and nothing else. Consequently, when he sends His Son into the world, it is for one purpose, to save us.
Our mission is to be that living sign of John 3:16 so that everyone can see through our lives that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might have life.
All we have to do to receive this love of God is just that accept it, embrace it, and believe it. Let me repeat the prayer of St Patrick. “ 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 every one who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.”
In the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
There is one major theme running through today’s three readings: God’s incredible love for His people.
In the Gospel, Jesus offers what is probably the most famous verse in the whole Bible—John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.”Of all the verses in the Gospels, it really lives up to the meaning of the word “Gospel” as “Good News.” And verse 17 reads: "For God did not send His Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its Savior."
These two verses, John 3:15 and 17 have been called a summary of the Bible.
Some years ago when the space engineers in the U.S. were designing space suits for the command module pilot and the lunar module pilot, a part of the design of each space suit was an umbilical cord, consisting of a long flexible tubing. The purpose of the umbilical cord was to supply oxygen to the astronauts (Space travelers) when they "walk" in space or pass from one module to another.
This suit receptacle into which the command pilot's cord fit was called J3: 16. The suit receptacle into which the lunar pilot's cord fit was called J 3:17. According to the designer, just as J3: 16 and J3: 17 supply the astronauts with what they need to survive in their journey from one module to another, so John 3:16 and John 3:17 supply us with what we need to survive in our journey from earth to heaven. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.”
The most astounding feature of the gospel is this: in the face of the world's bombast and its ingratitude, God's response is not to expel it but rather to love it, to love it so utterly as to give himself for it.
When the apostle John writes, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…" we must never think that God is giving his Son in place of giving himself; we must never think that God is giving his Son as a substitute for giving himself. Quite the contrary: just because the Father and the Son are one in nature, substance, being, the Father's giving his only Son is simply the Father's giving himself; always himself, never less than himself.
First letter of Saint John chapter 4:16 says, "God is love". And in this infinite and merciful Love, the Father sent his own Son to save all the men and women who have ever lived on earth, from the creation of the world until the end of time.
But, most of the time we may not realize how much God loves us. Eagles are the most long-lived bird in the world. The eagle is used as a model in the Bible to teach God’s loving care for man. The eagle-couple work together and build a nest at a high altitude, inaccessible to other birds. The eggs are laid on soft and warm bedding. She pulls out soft fur from her own breast to adorn the bed. The baby eaglets enjoy the fine rest in the nice nest. The baby eagles, the eaglets, are so happy and experience the love of their parents until when the eaglets reach a suitable age, the mother, with her wings as a broom sweeps out the soft things from the nest to prepare it hard. The eaglets start hating and cursing the mother for spoiling the comfort.
Later the eaglet is carried out of the nest, resting on her wide wings, into the open air. As they circled higher and higher into flight, little baby was impressed with how strong his mother’s wings were. He held tight to his mother’s back. The higher they got, the tighter he held on. Then suddenly without any notice, Mother Eagle folded her wing and rolled over until they were flying up-side-down. Eaglet lost his grip and was falling thousands of feet toward the ground. He was scared. He kicked his feet, flapped his wings, and yapped his jaw, but nothing he tried would work. He could not fly. The eaglet tries its best to fly and stay in the air. Each foot he falls, he cursed his parents for not loving him. He though his parents do not love him and they are abandoning him. He was thinking why they create him. Why they gave him comfort and now let him die in the air?
Just before he hit the ground, Mother Eagle swooped down and caught him and carried him to safety. Gradually the training succeeds and the eaglets learn to fly and live independently. Deuteronomy 32:11 says: “Like an eagle teaching its young to fly, catching them safely on its spreading wings, the Lord kept Israel from falling.”
God, like the eagle, may stir our nest and remove the comforts. He may drop us so that we may learn to survive. We need not fear as He is always near, ready to support us in every fall. Every time when we feel that God is not caring us and not near us, he may be teaching us how to fly and live independently. God’s love is eternal and it will have no end. {Hebrews 12:6-11}, {Proverbs 3:11,12}, {Job 5:17,18}.
The incredible thing, of course, is that God continues to offer us His love no matter how many times we reject Him. His forgiveness is unconditional and is offered over and over and over. His love for us knows no limits.
St. John reminds us most emphatically of something we always tend to forget: that God is not a judge! On the contrary, God is a Savior. He is essentially a savior, and nothing else. Consequently, when he sends His Son into the world, it is for one purpose, to save us.
Our mission is to be that living sign of John 3:16 so that everyone can see through our lives that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might have life.
All we have to do to receive this love of God is just that accept it, embrace it, and believe it. Let me repeat the prayer of St Patrick. “ 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 every one who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.”
In the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Fr Sunny John's Stations of the Cross with music Part 6
Click on the link please for the 15th station
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Jesus Cleans the Temple!
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Like the desert (Lent week 1) and the mountain (week 2), the Temple is a place of special encounter with God. They built first an ark for the Lord in the desert, then finally a temple in Jerusalem to house God’s presence. All the Jews came to worship and offer sacrifice there. It is the, the highest feast of the Jewish calendar. Incidentally, John mentions three distinct Passovers in his Gospel, which leads us to believe that the ministry of Jesus lasted three years. ( 2:13, 6:4, 11:55). Literally, over a million people will come into Jerusalem that week of Passover, and not only come to Jerusalem, but also to this magnificent Temple, originally dedicated for one purpose, to gather God’s people into His presence.
Today we are not going to see the glorious face of Jesus; we are going to see his angry face. The Temple in Jerusalem, built in order to be the dwelling place of God on earth, built to be a place of encountering God in prayer, had become something very different. Jesus is not happy with what he sees precisely because the way the Temple worship has been organized no longer reflects God’s original idea of a worshipping community. What made Jesus so angry was that worship of God had been turned into a business, with people profiting, even being unjust to the poor, in God’s name. Here are some reasons why Jesus is angry namely, (a) the religious leaders had put rituals over morality,
(b) There was price gouging. In that religious culture, the temple tax had to be paid in one of two types of Jewish currencies, along with an exchange fee – an extra burden for the poor. (c)Then there was extortion. When people came to the temple, they needed to sacrifice an animal to God. Rather than carry an animal with them for the many miles’ walk to the temple — which was too much of a burden — the people would buy one at the temple. The poor who had saved their money over the course of the whole year, had to pay these enormous prices. On top of that, the buying and selling had moved into the court of the gentiles, preventing them from worshipping the God of Israel. For them pleasing God had become something you do in the rituals of the Temple and not in your relationship with people. This kind of religiosity makes Jesus angry.
A story is told of a priest who was coming back to his parish house one evening in the dark only to be accosted by a robber who pulled a gun at him and demanded, “Your money or your life!” As the priest reached his hand into his coat pocket the robber saw his Roman collar and said, “So you are a priest? Then you can go.”(Even here, you know priest is excused most of the time.) The priest was rather surprised at this unexpected show of piety and so tried to reciprocate by offering the robber his packet of cigarettes, to which the robber replied, “No, Father, I don’t smoke during Lent.” You can see how this robber is trying to keep the pious observance of not smoking during Lent while forgetting the more fundamental commandment of God, “Thou shall not steal.”
(d)Another reason why Jesus was mad with the Temple priests was their practice of religious particularity over against universality, of exclusiveness over inclusiveness. Some knowledge of the design of the Temple will help us here. The Temple had five sections or courts: (1) holy of holies (2) court of priests (3) court of Israel (4) court of women (5) court of Gentiles. Though these were seen as five concentric circles of sanctity, the design made room for everybody in the house of God. It was a universal house of God “for all the nations” where every man or woman on earth would find a place in which to pray. But the Temple priests forgot that and thought that it was meant for Jews alone. So they decided to turn the court of the Gentiles into a “holy” market place for selling the animals required for sacrifice and for exchanging money. You could bring Roman money as far as the court of the Gentiles but not into the other four courts. The court of Gentiles was no longer regarded as part and parcel of the house of God, it had become a market place, pure and simple. Now it was this court of Gentiles that Jesus cleansed. In so doing, he was making the point that the Gentile section was just as holy as the Jewish sections. God is God of all and not God of a select group. Like the Jews of the time of Jesus, some Christians today still think that God belongs to them alone and not to others as well.
A certain man died and went to heaven and St Peter was showing him round. St Peter pointed to different mansions: “Here are the Jews, here the Buddhists, here the Moslems, etc.” Then they came to a large compound surrounded by a high wall and inside they could hear singing and laughter. “Who are those?” asked the new arrival. And St Peter hushed him, “Hush! They’re the Christians – but they think they’re the only ones here.” Believers like these need a Temple court experience to awaken them to the universal love of God and bring them back to true worship.
Why does the Church give us this reading on the third Sunday of Lent? Because she wants us to reflect on another temple, ourselves, the Lord wants to clean in the same way.
We believe that the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation make each of us a temple of the Holy Spirit, filled with God’s life. Our body and soul become a temple of the Holy Spirit, where God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — really and truly dwell, just like God dwells in this Church and in that tabernacle. This is the temple that Jesus wants to make sure is clean, a real house of prayer, a real place where God is adored.
We can go into the temple of our minds and bodies, by going out into the wilderness of our own personal desert with Jesus. We can make idols out of social status and prestige; out of power trips, resentment and control. my heart or yours could be filled with tables piled high with coins like those of the money-changers. Not literal coins, probably: each man’s or woman’s “coin” can be a bit different. Your “coin” is the measure of ultimate value for you, the value for which you are willing to trade everything else. Your “coin” can be the approval of others, popularity, ambition, financial success, comfort, security, pleasure.
Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Holy Spirit dwells in you (1 Cor 3:16)”, and again, “We are the temple of the living God (2 Cor 6:16)”. We are the sanctuary where Jesus has chosen to reside. As Jesus comes into this temple, will he find it truly oriented to the purpose for which God has created you and me?
There is a phrase attributed to Edmund Burke, “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil in the world is for good men to do nothing.’
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Like the desert (Lent week 1) and the mountain (week 2), the Temple is a place of special encounter with God. They built first an ark for the Lord in the desert, then finally a temple in Jerusalem to house God’s presence. All the Jews came to worship and offer sacrifice there. It is the, the highest feast of the Jewish calendar. Incidentally, John mentions three distinct Passovers in his Gospel, which leads us to believe that the ministry of Jesus lasted three years. ( 2:13, 6:4, 11:55). Literally, over a million people will come into Jerusalem that week of Passover, and not only come to Jerusalem, but also to this magnificent Temple, originally dedicated for one purpose, to gather God’s people into His presence.
Today we are not going to see the glorious face of Jesus; we are going to see his angry face. The Temple in Jerusalem, built in order to be the dwelling place of God on earth, built to be a place of encountering God in prayer, had become something very different. Jesus is not happy with what he sees precisely because the way the Temple worship has been organized no longer reflects God’s original idea of a worshipping community. What made Jesus so angry was that worship of God had been turned into a business, with people profiting, even being unjust to the poor, in God’s name. Here are some reasons why Jesus is angry namely, (a) the religious leaders had put rituals over morality,
(b) There was price gouging. In that religious culture, the temple tax had to be paid in one of two types of Jewish currencies, along with an exchange fee – an extra burden for the poor. (c)Then there was extortion. When people came to the temple, they needed to sacrifice an animal to God. Rather than carry an animal with them for the many miles’ walk to the temple — which was too much of a burden — the people would buy one at the temple. The poor who had saved their money over the course of the whole year, had to pay these enormous prices. On top of that, the buying and selling had moved into the court of the gentiles, preventing them from worshipping the God of Israel. For them pleasing God had become something you do in the rituals of the Temple and not in your relationship with people. This kind of religiosity makes Jesus angry.
A story is told of a priest who was coming back to his parish house one evening in the dark only to be accosted by a robber who pulled a gun at him and demanded, “Your money or your life!” As the priest reached his hand into his coat pocket the robber saw his Roman collar and said, “So you are a priest? Then you can go.”(Even here, you know priest is excused most of the time.) The priest was rather surprised at this unexpected show of piety and so tried to reciprocate by offering the robber his packet of cigarettes, to which the robber replied, “No, Father, I don’t smoke during Lent.” You can see how this robber is trying to keep the pious observance of not smoking during Lent while forgetting the more fundamental commandment of God, “Thou shall not steal.”
(d)Another reason why Jesus was mad with the Temple priests was their practice of religious particularity over against universality, of exclusiveness over inclusiveness. Some knowledge of the design of the Temple will help us here. The Temple had five sections or courts: (1) holy of holies (2) court of priests (3) court of Israel (4) court of women (5) court of Gentiles. Though these were seen as five concentric circles of sanctity, the design made room for everybody in the house of God. It was a universal house of God “for all the nations” where every man or woman on earth would find a place in which to pray. But the Temple priests forgot that and thought that it was meant for Jews alone. So they decided to turn the court of the Gentiles into a “holy” market place for selling the animals required for sacrifice and for exchanging money. You could bring Roman money as far as the court of the Gentiles but not into the other four courts. The court of Gentiles was no longer regarded as part and parcel of the house of God, it had become a market place, pure and simple. Now it was this court of Gentiles that Jesus cleansed. In so doing, he was making the point that the Gentile section was just as holy as the Jewish sections. God is God of all and not God of a select group. Like the Jews of the time of Jesus, some Christians today still think that God belongs to them alone and not to others as well.
A certain man died and went to heaven and St Peter was showing him round. St Peter pointed to different mansions: “Here are the Jews, here the Buddhists, here the Moslems, etc.” Then they came to a large compound surrounded by a high wall and inside they could hear singing and laughter. “Who are those?” asked the new arrival. And St Peter hushed him, “Hush! They’re the Christians – but they think they’re the only ones here.” Believers like these need a Temple court experience to awaken them to the universal love of God and bring them back to true worship.
Why does the Church give us this reading on the third Sunday of Lent? Because she wants us to reflect on another temple, ourselves, the Lord wants to clean in the same way.
We believe that the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation make each of us a temple of the Holy Spirit, filled with God’s life. Our body and soul become a temple of the Holy Spirit, where God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — really and truly dwell, just like God dwells in this Church and in that tabernacle. This is the temple that Jesus wants to make sure is clean, a real house of prayer, a real place where God is adored.
We can go into the temple of our minds and bodies, by going out into the wilderness of our own personal desert with Jesus. We can make idols out of social status and prestige; out of power trips, resentment and control. my heart or yours could be filled with tables piled high with coins like those of the money-changers. Not literal coins, probably: each man’s or woman’s “coin” can be a bit different. Your “coin” is the measure of ultimate value for you, the value for which you are willing to trade everything else. Your “coin” can be the approval of others, popularity, ambition, financial success, comfort, security, pleasure.
Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Holy Spirit dwells in you (1 Cor 3:16)”, and again, “We are the temple of the living God (2 Cor 6:16)”. We are the sanctuary where Jesus has chosen to reside. As Jesus comes into this temple, will he find it truly oriented to the purpose for which God has created you and me?
There is a phrase attributed to Edmund Burke, “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil in the world is for good men to do nothing.’
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.Amen.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Transfiguration of JesusMy Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
In the story of the “Temptations” last week, we were mindful of the full humanity of Jesus. In the story of the “Transfiguration” today, we are reminded of the full divinity of Jesus.
In today's Gospel, we see that "Jesus took Peter, John and James up to the mountain to pray." Mountains are often referred to in the Scriptures as scenes for close encounters between God and His people. Noah - Mt. Ararat; Abraham - Mt. Moriah; Moses- Mount Sinai. Transfiguration experience on Mt. Tabor. And if you know the Carmelites they are related to Mount Carmel.
If I ask you, “Why do we hear the account of the “Transfiguration” during the beginning of Lent?” As a preface for today's Mass puts it, "he revealed his glory to strengthen them for the scandal of the cross." Well, it is always easier to start a journey when we know clearly, where we are going.
It is the same trio, Peter, John and James, whom Jesus also took with him into the Garden of Gethsemane. Thus, they who beheld his glory on the mountain peak would witness his agony in the Garden.
Before Jesus was to enter Jerusalem for his passion and death, he took Peter, James and John up a mountain. The Father desired to strengthen them and to show them the end of the journey that they were about to start. The end was the resurrection-Jesus risen from the dead and glorified. The Transfiguration was a pre-figuration of the glory of the resurrection. In the midst of struggles, pain and suffering, they remembered what they saw on that mountain and it helped them not to give up, but to keep going. They remembered what they saw on that mountain.
There is a story about some dogs that were chasing a rabbit. The first dog actually saw the rabbit and he was not going to stop chasing that rabbit until he caught it. The other dogs followed the first dog who was chasing the rabbit because of the excitement that the first dog had generated. But none of the other dogs had ever actually seen the rabbit. As the chase continued, the dogs further back got tired and started to slow down and eventually stopped the chase. At the end – only the dog that had actually seen the rabbit was still after the rabbit and eventually caught it. You need to see Jesus if you want to follow Jesus.
It is the Holy Mass that makes the transfigured Jesus present to us, it is the holy Mass that makes the divinity of Jesus and His power present to us because the Mass makes the Humanity and Divinity of Jesus present, His body, blood, soul and divinity.
In the Transfiguration Jesus experienced an unconditional acceptance of His father' love and experience of deep love and hence, He was able to walk down from the “mount of Tabor of transfiguration to Golgotha , the mount of suffering. A person who has not experienced love at its deepest level will never have the strength to walk up to the mountain of Golgotha of hatred, oppression and intimidation.
You may have another question about transfiguration why Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. Moses represents the Law and Elijah the Prophets. Moses went through many tests and trials as a young man before he was chosen by God to lead Israel when the Lord delivered them from slavery in Egypt. Their departure or Exodus through the Red Sea was an act of faith amidst threats and hardships. It was Moses who led them for 40 years through the desert to prepare God’s chosen people for the Promised Land.
Elijah is known as a heroic prophet confronting evil in Israel and calling people back to their purpose and destiny in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He had another journey, walking and fasting for 40 days to Mt. Sinai where he had an intimate experience with God which set the tone for the rest of his prophetic ministry until he was carried away by the fiery chariot.
Like Moses Jesus would lead his people out of slavery to sin and death on a journey to a new and everlasting promised land.
Like Elijah Jesus would heroically face evil and defeat it to lead all
men and women to repentance and new life.
In the Mountain experience, the only instructions to the disciples was to listen to Jesus. “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him”(Matthew 7.5)To Listen to Jesus.
Soren Kirkegaard in 1999 said, “It is a risk to preach, for as I stand up, whether the Church is packed or empty, whether I am always aware of it or not, I have one listener more than can be seen. God, whom I certainly cannot see, but who truly sees me. This listener pays close attention to whether what I am saying is true, whether it is true in me. God looks to see if my life truly expresses what I am saying.” Yes dear brothers and sisters in Christ “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him” during Lent we are asked again and again to Jesus and Him alone.
There was a meeting of the board of directors going on hell. Satan was concerned over the fact that business was not increasing. He wanted to reach as many people as possible and draw them into Hell. One demon jumped up and said:”I will go back to earth and convince the people that there is no Heaven.’
That won’t do,’ said Satan. We’ve tried it before and it doesn’t work.’
“I will convince them that there is no Hell’, offered a second demon.
No- that doesn’t work either’, said Satan.
A wise old veteran in the back of the room rose and said, “If you let me go back to earth, I can fill this place. I’ll just convince them that there is heaven and earth but no Hurray. You can do it tomorrow” They can do it later. All agreed to that suggestion.
Yes, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if you want to make a change in your lives do it now. God has spoken similar words over us: You are my beloved son. You are my much-loved daughter. When did that happen? It took place at the moment of our baptism. When the waters flowed over us, as St. Paul says, we died with Christ and rose with him to a new life. St. Paul reminds us that by our baptism we have become citizens of heaven.
God does not ask about our ability or our inability, but our availability.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Temptations-lent 1My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
As we begin Lent, the first Sunday every year invites us to consider temptation in our own life. The heart of Jesus’ temptations was to misuse the power that he had to serve his own gratification rather than God’s intentions. Jesus in the desert is our model during Lent, inspiring us to die to ourselves so that the Father’s plan can be accomplished. Lent is a time to put our souls before a mirror and see ourselves as we really are. Lent is an invitation to allow our sin and darkness and wounds come to the surface so that we can deal with them and allow them to be healed by the grace of Jesus. It is only when we admit something that we can deal with it. The first stage in overcoming anything is to admit the problem.
Temptations come to every one of us. A temptation is a trick, a deception, a lie. It conceals the truth and presents falsehood to us as the truth. A temptation is therefore sneaky, offering us what appears to be a quick-fix, but is in reality a quick-disaster. A temptation hopes we will not use our brains because if we do use our brains when temptation comes we will quickly notice how stupid following a temptation would be. It is no wonder that temptation succeeds best during those times when our brains are not at full potential e.g. when under the influence of alcohol or drugs or when tired or under stress.
Once a priest asked an old monk; “How are you, Father?” He replied, “There is still a bit of the devil in me!” It sounds funny but it expresses a truth about all of us, “there is still a bit of the devil in us” because we have not yet overcome sin. Jesus spent forty days in the desert overcoming the devil and Lent is a time for us to get rid of whatever bit of the devil remains in us by overcoming sin in our lives.
Temptation will always be a part of our lives. No matter our age or the circumstances of our lives, temptation will be something that we have to deal with until the end of our journey here on earth.
Not every temptation is caused by Satan, so we need to look at the two causes of temptation.
Most temptations are caused by our fallen human nature. As we know original sin has wounded our human nature. We simply do not have complete control over our mind, memory, imagination, will, passions and emotions. We will always struggle with something.
Satan can also cause temptation. The greatest victory of Satan in the contemporary world is the fact that many Christians have bought into the lie that he does not exist. Nevertheless, Satan’s power and influence starts at the beginning of the history of humanity, in the Garden of Eden.
The Gospel reminds us of something many people would rather not face - the reality of the devil. The Gospel accounts do not give any description on how he looks, but they do describe his activity.
Because they are spiritual beings, we normally do not see them, but they are real as ultraviolet rays or microwaves. We know about them not by seeing them, but by their effects, by the things they do. The truth is you and I are no match even for the lowliest demon. It would be comparable to someone like me going against a kick boxer. Even the most poorly trained kick boxer could have me on the floor, flat on my back in a matter of seconds. Just so, even the smallest demon could bring you or me down - if we try to deal with him on our own.
Consider the way a wolf attacks a sheep. You would think the easiest way to bring down a sheep would be to attacks its legs and make it stumble. However, studies say that is not the wolf's normal method. He goes for the neck. And when he sinks his teeth into the neck, the sheep cannot bleat. It cannot make a noise to call for the shepherd. The devil does something similar. He wants to first disable our voice so that we do not call out to the Lord. The devil wants to attack at the throat, to take away your voice - so that you will not call out to the Lord.
Whenever we give in to a temptation, it takes power from us, but when we resist a temptation, we take power from it. The devil wants to take power from us, to make us impotent, but when - with the Lord's grace - we resist him, we gain strength.
Many people become discouraged and nervous when they are tempted. They think that they are sinning when in fact they have only been tempted. Sin is only a sin when there is full consent. To make a sin mortal three things are necessary: a grievous matter, sufficient reflection, and full consent of the will. Temptation is not a sin. Sin is a willed act upon a temptation.
Although it is true that we will always be tempted, we must also do all that we can to avoid temptation. Men who trap animals in Africa for zoos in America say that one of the hardest animals to catch is the ring-tailed monkey. For the men of the Zulu tribe it is quite simple.
The method the Zulus use comes from their knowledge of the animal. Their trap is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine. The seeds of this melon are a favorite of the monkey. Knowing this, the Zulus simply cut a hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand. The monkey will stick his hand in, grab as many seeds as he can, then start to withdraw it. He cannot do this because his fist is now larger than the hole. The monkey will pull and tug, screech and fight the melon for hours. He cannot get free of the trap unless he gives up the seeds, which he refuses to do. Meanwhile, the Zulus sneak up and seize him.
The mere presence of a temptation is no guarantee that we will sin. We can say no! We can resist temptation. Moreover, God will always help us to say no to our temptations.
"Always look at what you have left. Never look at what you have lost." As long as there is life, there is hope!
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Ash Wednesday
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Today and Good Friday are official days of fast and the other six Fridays are days of abstinence from meat. The point of the abstinence law is to give a witness to others and your own self. In a spirit of repentance we have always fasted from one of our favorite foods for the entire season of Lent …whatever it is, my dear brothers and sisters, it is a way of showing that we love the Lord more than food and that we love the Lord more than sin.
Why do we do this? It is said very clearly in the tracing of the ashes. Remember, man, you are dust and to dust you will return. Without God, we are nothing. We are a bunch of chemicals, carbon, water, that are worth about 25 cents if we were split apart and sold for our chemicals. With God however, we are made in the image and likeness of the Triune God and with that, we become priceless treasures. Yes dear brothers and sisters, Lent is a time to remind ourselves that without God we are nothing. It is a time to rend our hearts and tear from them anything that might keep us from God. Everything of this earth is dust and to dust it will return. “Realizing you are a sinner is a great moral achievement!” As the prophet Joel tells us today: “Rend your hearts.” Open them up for the world. That is how we should spend the next 40 days.
In the Scriptures when people left sin behind and turned over to a new life they used ashes to symbolize their repentance. Job said, “I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6) Daniel “turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” (Dan 9:3) Jesus said, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.” (Matt 11:21; Luke 10:13). Therefore in a spirit of repentance we will take ashes on our foreheads.
I want to invite you this Lent to spend one hour a week in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Here at our Church we have the Adoration on Every Monday during Lent at 7pm.
More than ever before, it seems, we live in an age of ashes. This soot is a reminder of the fires that have lit our world – and the burning fragments left behind from so many wars, and so many ruins. Think of the fires of Hiroshima, of London, of Auschwitz, of Vietnam, of Baghdad, of New York, of Buffalo.
We repent. We reconcile ourselves with God. We pray. We rebuild, turning over shovels of ash, to begin again. We believe in something better to come: redemption, and resurrection. The cities that burned have been rebuilt. A glass tower will one day rise at Ground Zero. Sometimes people ask, “What are you going to give up for Lent?” There is one thing to give up during Lent – sin. Our penance during Lent as well as being a small attempt at reparation for our sins is a symbol of the change of heart we want to achieve. In the Gospel today (Matt 6:1-6, 16-18) Jesus spoke about prayer, fasting and giving alms. Since the early centuries these are three practices the Church has encouraged us to undertake during Lent as a form of penance: praying more, fasting and giving alms to the poor.
I conclude with the opening prayer of our Mass today, “Lord, protect us in our struggle against evil. As we begin the discipline of Lent, make this season holy by our self-denial”. Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
Today and Good Friday are official days of fast and the other six Fridays are days of abstinence from meat. The point of the abstinence law is to give a witness to others and your own self. In a spirit of repentance we have always fasted from one of our favorite foods for the entire season of Lent …whatever it is, my dear brothers and sisters, it is a way of showing that we love the Lord more than food and that we love the Lord more than sin.
Why do we do this? It is said very clearly in the tracing of the ashes. Remember, man, you are dust and to dust you will return. Without God, we are nothing. We are a bunch of chemicals, carbon, water, that are worth about 25 cents if we were split apart and sold for our chemicals. With God however, we are made in the image and likeness of the Triune God and with that, we become priceless treasures. Yes dear brothers and sisters, Lent is a time to remind ourselves that without God we are nothing. It is a time to rend our hearts and tear from them anything that might keep us from God. Everything of this earth is dust and to dust it will return. “Realizing you are a sinner is a great moral achievement!” As the prophet Joel tells us today: “Rend your hearts.” Open them up for the world. That is how we should spend the next 40 days.
In the Scriptures when people left sin behind and turned over to a new life they used ashes to symbolize their repentance. Job said, “I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6) Daniel “turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.” (Dan 9:3) Jesus said, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.” (Matt 11:21; Luke 10:13). Therefore in a spirit of repentance we will take ashes on our foreheads.
I want to invite you this Lent to spend one hour a week in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Here at our Church we have the Adoration on Every Monday during Lent at 7pm.
More than ever before, it seems, we live in an age of ashes. This soot is a reminder of the fires that have lit our world – and the burning fragments left behind from so many wars, and so many ruins. Think of the fires of Hiroshima, of London, of Auschwitz, of Vietnam, of Baghdad, of New York, of Buffalo.
We repent. We reconcile ourselves with God. We pray. We rebuild, turning over shovels of ash, to begin again. We believe in something better to come: redemption, and resurrection. The cities that burned have been rebuilt. A glass tower will one day rise at Ground Zero. Sometimes people ask, “What are you going to give up for Lent?” There is one thing to give up during Lent – sin. Our penance during Lent as well as being a small attempt at reparation for our sins is a symbol of the change of heart we want to achieve. In the Gospel today (Matt 6:1-6, 16-18) Jesus spoke about prayer, fasting and giving alms. Since the early centuries these are three practices the Church has encouraged us to undertake during Lent as a form of penance: praying more, fasting and giving alms to the poor.
I conclude with the opening prayer of our Mass today, “Lord, protect us in our struggle against evil. As we begin the discipline of Lent, make this season holy by our self-denial”. Amen.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
A friend in need is a friend indeed.My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
A certain immigrant, new in town, attended a neighborhood church for years without making any new acquaintances. Even before the Mass is over, most of them will leave the church. Those who would gather in small familiar groups with old friends and nobody ever seemed to notice him. So one day he decides to go to church wearing his baseball cap. As soon as he took his lonely seat at the back of the church, the usher comes to him and said, “Brother, we don’t wear caps in church here.” “Thanks,” he replies but does not remove his cap. During communion, he goes up for communion and the Eucharistic Minister pulls him aside and gently says to him, “My brother, wearing of caps is forbidden in our church.” “Thanks,” he replies but does not take off his cap. After the mass, the priest who is shaking hands with parishioners greets him very well for the first time and then courteously adds, “But, my dear brother, wearing of caps in church is not allowed.” “I know,” says the man, “but I have been coming to this church, father, for two years now and no one ever seems to notice me.”
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, The point this man was trying to make we could find through our gospel today, namely, that it is not enough for Christians who worship together to call themselves brothers and sisters; they must also show themselves to be friends in deed. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
“When Jesus saw their faith…” – the faith of his friends not that of the paralyzed man – he healed the paralyzed man, soul and body.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
As historically accurate as this story is, the paralytic is also a metaphor for the individual who is paralyzed by sin. The paralytic is that person who has now gotten to the point where they can't even help themselves by God's grace, to seek His forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance and needs the assistance of friends and loved ones to break out of the cycle of sin, despair and pain that keeps him separated from God. The paralytic is also a metaphor for that person who suffers from a serious illness or terminal disease and cannot help himself or herself. They need assistance to receive the Sacrament of the anointing of the Sick and help in old age or in their difficult condition. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
The persons who sometimes go unnoticed but should cast an impression of us are the friends of the paralytic - the ones who bore a hole in Peter's roof. They overcome their fear of being ridiculed and break social convention to help their friend. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
St. Augustine was famous for saying that each of us has the mandate and the vocation by our baptism to go out and seek out the paralytics in our midst who need our help and to abandon love for human respect in order to bring them to the feet of Jesus, especially in the Sacrament of Penance. We have to lower our friends through the roof of fear and ridicule to help those who cannot help themselves. We can do this specially as we are entering the Lenten season by encouraging others to come to the Sacrament of Penance, encouraging them for coming for the Monday adoration and Friday way of the Cross; by helping to catechize those who do not know their Catholic faith by agreeing to read the Bible together.
The fact is that sin exists: St. Augustine says;"it is a word, deed or desire in opposition to the eternal law”.
The paralytic who is at the center of the story never says a word. We know nothing about him except two very important things. Jesus healed the man physically. And Jesus healed him spiritually – he forgave the man’s sins.
God always heals. There is the paralyzed man, unable to get close to Jesus on his own, stuck on his mat and probably feeling helpless and frustrated. And there are his friends, lifting him up and carrying him, breaking through any barriers that get in their way, determined to do all they can to help. They refused to take impossible for an answer. They believed that “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”
In order for this event to happen, three things had to come together. First, the friends had to be aware of the man’s situation. Then they had to show up, ready and willing to help. And third, the man had to allow himself to be carried. Otherwise, Jesus would have been left waiting and this miracle never would have taken place.
Mother Teresa once said, “Wherever you go, be a carrier of God’s love.”
If you Remember Robert Fulghum’s “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”? He ends his writings “And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.” That’s today’s lesson: take turns. We all take turns throughout our lifetimes playing out the different parts in this story. When it is our turn to carry others, we are called to step forward and do it. And when it is our turn to be the one who needs carrying, we are called to accept the help that is offered to us, even when that is very hard to do. Sometimes we do the carrying, and sometimes we have to be carried. May God help each one of us to learn to do both with His grace. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
In the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Stand by me Lord
Have you ever complained to God .. ASked him for your future?.,.. worried about your life....stand in a cross road of spiritual life to find the right way... lisen to this
Lyrics by Fr Sunny John O.Carm.
Music by Mrs Deirdre Broderick
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Jesus heals the leperMy dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
As we all know, many diseases are contagious, and for the people of the ancient world there were few ways for controlling the spread of disease. Epidemics often wiped out whole towns. The most effect means for controlling the spread of disease was isolation and separation. The infected person was banished from the community, and often forced to wear distinctive cloths or to make some kind of noise to warn people to stay away. Of course this was not done out of meanness, but rather to protect society. One of the most frightening, and deadly of diseases that often threatened the ancient world was leprosy. It was so very contagious, and seeing body parts literally being eaten away was just horrifying. And almost any kind of skin disease would have been considered leprosy. The only thing that could be done in most cases was to send the inflicted to live in caves with others with the disease. This meant that the sick not only had to suffer the symptoms of their illness, but they were also cut off from their loved ones.
At one time in St. Francis of Assisi’s life, he had a terrible fear of lepers. Then one day when he was travelling, he heard the warning bell that lepers were required to ring in the Middle Ages. When a leper emerged from a clump of trees, St. Francis saw that he was horribly disfigured. Half of his nose had been eaten away; his hands were stubs without fingers and his lips were oozing white pus. Instead of giving in to his fears, Francis ran forward, embraced the leper and kissed him. Francis' life was never the same after that episode. He had found a new relationship with God, a new sensitivity to others, and a new energy for his ministry.
To the Hebrews leprosy was not only a most dreaded natural disease, it was also popularly seen as divine chastisement. The story of Miriam, sister of Moses, who was struck with leprosy as a result of her misconduct in the book of Numbers chapter 12,as well as that of Job who was afflicted with a leprosy-like skin disease reinforced their view of leprosy as divine punishment for sin.
According to ancient Hebrew belief, physical contact with lepers rendered a person unclean. Against this background the gesture of Jesus who stretches out his hand and physically touches the leper becomes unthinkable.
And, of course, we know that with the cure, this former leper returned to the community from which he had been banished. Truly, then, did this healing have a tri-fold effect: the physical disease was cured; the man was restored to the human community; and he came to faith in Jesus.
Martin was a young soldier in the Roman army. Elegantly dressed, he was mounted on his horse one day when he was accosted by a leper begging for alms. The sight and the stench of rotting flesh was so repulsive to the sensitivities of young Martin that his first instincts were to ride off on his horse. But something inside him made his walk up to the beggar. Since all he had was his military coat, he cut it in two and gave half to the leper while he wrapped himself with the other half. It was a very cold winter day. That night in his dream, he saw Christ clothed in a half coat saying to the angels around his throne, “Martin has clothed me with his garment.” This event was the turning point in the life of him who was to become St Martin of Tours.
My dear brothers and sisters, the gospel invites us to go deeper, leprosy becoming symbolic of any condition that estranges us from others and, hence, from God. Leprosy has always been a clear image of sin. It is contagious, disfiguring, repulsive, cuts us off from the community, and causes death. We can see our bodies but we can’t see our souls. Leprosy we can see; sin remains invisible.
We have a lot to learn from this poor Leper. The leper was taking the risk of coming out in public. The man approached Jesus… his trust was so great his desire to be made whole so strong, that he took a great risk and went right up to Jesus.
His words were not words of lament or “woe is me”. He didn’t ask Jesus why me? Why do I have to suffer this horrible disease, Rather he simply made a profession of faith. He trusted Jesus. He trusted God so much that he even let Jesus decide if it was in his best interest to be healed. The leper was a man of faith, a man who had worked through all of the suffering and isolation he had and still believed.
Even terrible disease of leprosy could not deprive him of his faith of his ability to hope.
He didn’t let his circumstances take away his ability to hope or his ability to believe. As much as he suffered, he still was able to trust in God’s love and God’s mercy for him.
He did not allow self-pity to take away his ability to hope. If that had been the response of the Leper he never would have been healed because he never would have asked.
The challenge for us today, my dear brothers and sisters, is to restore the lepers to the human community. And that will begin with me reaching out to someone probably very near whom I would really rather avoid.
There are still so many people we isolate today… you know they are the ones we pass on the street and avoid making eye contact with, they are the ones whose calls we never take, they are the ones we just are not willing to touch or become involved with. They are the ones whom we always blame that we don’t understand.
Remember what Peyton Conway March said “ There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else.”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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