Fifth Sunday of Easter
What is your faith about? What is at the core of your religion? If someone in an elevator asks you explain your belief system, how would you respond?
Among the many themes that today’s scripture readings inspire, I would like to focus on these words from the first letter of St. John: “And his commandment is this: We should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us” (1 Jn 3:23). In so many ways, it seems to me that John gives us our elevator speech. I call this "core Christianity."
Fourth Sunday of Easter
In India, the head priest of parish is called “parish priest”, and his associate is called “assistant parish priest”. In the US, the title for the head priest is “Pastor.” In India, it is the Protestants who call their leaders Pastor. I am torn between the two titles. Parish Priest feels more Catholic. But I also like Pastor because it is more consistent with the New Testament concept of Christian leadership. It is more in line with the way Jesus describes his life and ministry. In today’s gospel reading Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd” (Jn 10:11).
Third Sunday of Easter
I was invited to the 5th grade classroom at our school to talk about the life of a priest. As you know, today’s 5th graders are not the same when I was a 5th grader. They asked me some very intelligent and thought-provoking questions. For example, they asked me, “How did you know that God called you to be a priest?” They also asked me, “What is the best part of being a priest?” I said to them, “I love it that much of my life is dedicated to doing good. I bring Jesus to people when they are ill. I am with families when someone is dying. I prepare young people to get married and have a family. I help people when they are in need. I talk with people when they seek spiritual guidance. I bring God closer to people and people closer to God. I love it!” There was a smile on these kid’s faces as I finished my conversation.
Second Sunday of Easter (Sunday of Divine Mercy)
It would not be an overstatement to say that Jesus revolutionized religion. First, it is unheard of that an all-powerful God would endure betrayals and insults, undergo beating and bruising, tolerate false accusations and judgments, and subject himself to a shameful death of criminals, all to redeem a sinful humanity. What kind of religion is a religion that worships a God hanging on a cross?
Second, Jesus did something equally revolutionary after his resurrection. Jesus revolutionized mercy. Today’s gospel reading reveals God’s intentions. Jesus took the power that belongs to God alone – the power to forgive sins – and shared it with other human beings. Forgiveness is God’s prerogative, but Jesus shared it with his disciples when he said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive and forgiven them and whose sins you retain are retained.” It would be reasonable to say then, that Jesus revolutionized ‘mercy’.
Easter Sunday The Resurrection of the Lord
A question has always plagued my mind. If the birth of Jesus, his life, his death and resurrection was indeed meant to be the turning point in human history, then why is the world still a mess? What really is the implication of the death and resurrection of Jesus? We are here in Church, celebrating Easter! But in various parts of the world violence is still raging, wars are still being fought, children are still dying of hunger, human life is still being unconscionably destroyed, creation is being destroyed by our endless consumerism, and we are yet to understand that all human persons are created equal. Don’t get me wrong. I am not being pessimistic. I am not looking at the glass half-empty. I am not oblivious to the presence of immense goodness in the world. But I question why the stubbornness and hate that killed Jesus still prevails today. Earth could be like heaven. So why is it not? Why did that first Easter not usher in the promised new creation?
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
We are entering Holy Week. On the one hand, Holy Week commemorates the story of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection. However, if we look deeper, it is also our story. Holy week and the story of Jesus, as we heard it in the reading of the passion, recounts the stark realities of the human condition. Within the story we find intense suffering, intrigue, malice, prejudice, hatred, betrayal, bribery, corruption, violence, and murder. But Intertwined in this story is also the life of a man who transformed that tragic story into a story of love, forgiveness, peace and human redemption. He did so by becoming the “suffering servant” of God – a concept introduced to us both in the first and second readings.
Fifth Sunday of Lent
Today’s gospel reading is a fascinating passage, and it calls for some exegesis. I am going to depart from my regular structure of a three-points-homily and reflect on the deeper meaning of today’s gospel.
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Each day, we are writing page of a book, which at end of our lives could be called, “The Chronicles of (Your Name).” I have wondered this week what my chronicle will read like. What will yours read like?
Third Sunday of Lent
Scripture Readings (Year A Reading for Sunday Scrutinies for Catechumens)
This homily is based on Year A Readings for Mass with Catechumens who celebrate the Scrutinies
I have only one niece. And she loves being my ‘only’ niece. She is now married and has two children. When she was about three years old I would often ask her how much she loved me. When she was mad with me, she would hold her two little fingers just a little apart and show me that’s how little she loved me. Most of the time she would open her arms and say, “This much.” One time, I asked her, “Only that much?” She stretched a little more and said, “This much.” This went on for about four or five times until she could not stretch more without hurting. Of course, I just picked her up and covered her with as much love as possible. That is one time in my life when love – pure, simple, and innocent yet overpowering, overwhelming and indescribable totally overcame me.
First Sunday of Lent
To the modern mind, stories like the story of Noah in today’s first reading present more questions than answers. How could God destroy all of creation? After all, it was God’s creation! Is God not a compassionate God? If sin had become so pervasive and oppressive, could God have not sent Jesus then?
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Think about it! We are the fortunate survivors of a pandemic that killed about 7 million people! You remember the COVID quarantine? It affected every aspect of human life – social, economic, religious, family, and educational. Now just imagine a quarantine that would last a lifetime! Perhaps, that gives us an insight into the fate of lepers in the Old Testament and Jesus’ time.
The Epiphany of the Lord
I took this picture of the sunrise on December 21, winter solstice of 2023. The brilliant glowing light of the sun gradually dispelled the darkness of that longest night of the year. Some claim that the choice of December 25 as Christmas Day has to do with the winter solstice. The gradual increase of daylight beginning with the winter solstice is symbolic of the coming of Christ. It connects us with the first reading from Isaiah:
“Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory” (Is 60:1-3).
On the Feast of the Epiphany, I invite you to reflect with me on the Epiphany of Jesus, the Light.
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
The Feast of the Holy Family is an inspiring feast. Who does not want a wonderful, loving, good, holy, and wholesome family? The Holy Family represents every longing of human families. But, we must be cautious. Comparing the Holy Family with our families can also lead to unrealistic expectations and unhelpful conclusions. After all, two people in the Holy Family were without sin. This is certainly not the intention of the celebration of the Feast of the Holy Family.
Fourth Sunday of Advent
In today’s readings we hear about two epic characters in the Bible separated by a thousand years of history – David and Mary. Both were dearly beloved to God. They were both chosen unexpectedly (David, the youngest son of Jesse was anointed while he was tending sheep and Mary, well, we do not know). They were both chosen for tasks that seemed beyond their abilities (the shepherd boy would be king of Israel and Mary would become the mother of the Son of God). David would become the most honoured king Israel ever knew and Mary would give birth to the promised the King of the universe. God’s promise to David that his kingdom would last forever is in fact fulfilled through Mary. Jesus, her son would inaugurate the Kingdom of God. A thousand years apart, David and Mary are connected by the same prophecy.
Third Sunday of Advent
Today is the third Sunday of Advent. It is also called Gaudete Sunday or Rejoice Sunday. In the ancient times, Advent was fourty days, just like Lent. So midway between these two holy seasons, the church paused to draw the people’s focus from the stringent penances to either the nativity or the resurrection of the Lord. Even when Advent time was made shorter, midway through Advent, the Church invites us to pause and take time to reflect on the reason for our Advent preparations – the coming of our Redeemer. Yes, Jesus is near! The Lord is close! Our redemption is at hand! He is the cause of our joy!
Second Sunday of Advent
It was Christmas Eve, and an overwhelmed mother was preparing the living room for Santa. Her children watched in excitement as she left a glass of warm milk and her freshly baked cookies on the coffee table. But she accidently dropped a cookie on the carpet. “Five seconds rule,” she said to her kids and put the cookie back on the plate. Her seven-year-old said, “Mom, Santa can’t have that cookie!” She protested, “I just vacuumed the whole room and the carpet is clean. Santa won’t know anyway.” Her son said, “So… Santa only knows what I do?”
First Sunday of Advent
The last few years have felt like a marathon. Between becoming pastor of a growing number of parishes and delicate situations with family back in India, it has felt like an unending marathon. There has been no time for vacations or the sometimes to take a breath. Especially since last July, I have barely been able to take two or three days off. I was feeling the exhaustion. I was losing the energy. I was afraid of getting burned out. For the first time in many, I did not even host Thanksgiving. I had to do something. And I did. I requested a clearing my calendar and took the week and weekend of Thanksgiving off. It was the best thing I did. Would I say I am totally rejuvenated? To be honest, barely. However, the time off has helped me connect with my inner self again. I slept a lot. I caught up with my John of the Cross. I took time to pray. I picked up my guitar again. I feel that I took a long, deep breath.
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
The parable of the talents (Mt 25:14-30), is an intriguing parable on many levels. Liturgically, of course, we are hearing it today because the end of the liturgical year is approaching. Once again, like last weekend with the parable of the ten maidens, if we do not understand the parable in the context of the delay of the Parousia, it can be misunderstood. The point of the parable is not how to invest money or to make profit, but that one should not get careless and lose sight of eternity as we await the second coming of Christ.
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
At every baptism, after the child is draped in white garment, the celebrant lights the baptismal candle from the Paschal candle, and hands it to the child with these words, “Receive the light of Christ.” And then the celebrant says to the parents and godparents: “Parents and godparents, this light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly. This child of yours has been enlightened by Christ. He (she) is to walk always as a child of the light. May he (she) keep the flame of faith alive in his (her) heart. When the Lord comes, may he (she) go out to meet him with all the saints in the heavenly kingdom.” These words are a direct reference to parable of the ten wise and foolish maidens in today’s gospel reading (Mt 25:1-13). The symbolism of the lighted candle is simply this - that our baptism, at which we receive the new life of Christ, is an invitation to live that new life, wisely and not foolishly, with faith rather than faithlessly, in anticipation of Christ’s coming rather than aimlessly. Our baptism is a commitment to intentional living.
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
It is not the easiest of times to be a Catholic priest. On the one hand, there is a tremendous shortage of priests. But the bigger issue is credibility. It’s not that individual priests are not loved, respected, and trusted by people but I am talking about the profession as a whole. Especially in the post child-abuse crisis church, the credibility of the Catholic hierarchy has taken a big hit. I am sure the issue is more complex, but perhaps, there is some link between the credibility of the hierarchy and the shortage of priests.