Sunday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Holiness… Perfection… these are not words we associate with ourselves easily. On the contrary, we are the victims of the common adage, “To err is human….” Many people consider holiness and perfection to be outside the ordinary realm. I was barely seventeen when I joined the seminary. I was sure then that I wanted to try the priesthood, but I was less aware of holiness or how to be holy. And sure enough, we were given numerous books about the lives of the saints to read. They made great reading but these books, but as I read them then, it seemed to me that they included a fair amount of a romanticization of holiness. It seemed to me at that time that holiness was beyond me. These books portrayed holiness as something unreachable for a seventeen year old guy who struggled with bad thoughts, who entertained fantasies, who has trouble getting along with other seminarians, and one who struggled with genuine prayer. It took me a long time to realize that holiness and perfection are not unattainable for even a guy like me.
Sunday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
It was in the seminary that I first heard the parable of the wise old man and the boy with the butterfly. The wise old man travelled from village to village and from town to town and along the way, people would line up to ask him their most difficult questions. One day he noticed a young boy, barely in his teens, standing in the long queue. This boy had a nasty habit. He would catch butterflies, hold them in his little fist and ask people if the butterfly is dead or alive. If someone said that the butterfly was alive, he would let the butterfly go free; but if someone said that it was alive, he would crush it in his fist and prove the answer wrong. The wise man approached the boy and asked, "Son, what question do you have for the old man?" The boy stretched out his hand toward the old man. Inside his small closed fist was a beautiful butterfly he had caught that day. And the boy said, "Sir, if you are as wise as everyone believes you to be, please tell me whether the butterfly in my hand is dead or alive.” For a minute or so the wise man was lost for words. He thought hard for a while, then looked at the mischievous grin on the boy’s face. The old man stared straight into the boy's eyes and said, “Son, whether the butterfly is dead or alive, it depends on you. The choice is in your hands."
Sunday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
It is just a week back that I met 3 year old David. He is unusually friendly and outgoing. So when I went for the School open house last Sunday, David had a very specific question for me. He said to me, “Are you God?” I have had kids who think I am Jesus because of my long hair. But this is the first that someone asked me about being God. I was so flabbergasted that I do not ever remember my response.
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
How many of us think of ourselves as “serious Christians?” If you are one of the people who put your hand up, here is a second question: What is the standard against which you evaluate your being a “serious Christian?” Are there criteria by which you judge yourself? For example, for some it is never missing mass on Sunday. For others, it is being pro-life, or reading the Bible each day, or saying morning or evening prayer. For yet other people it is about being good to other people and being in church regularly. But today is about you. Do you think of yourself as a serious follower of Jesus?
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
The State of Kerala that I come from in India is socially and economically better off than many other States. There is poverty but absolute misery is less common. So when I saw this shabbily clad older woman with her equally miserable but pretty looking young daughter and the daughter’s half naked four-year-old wandering the streets of my hometown, I was taken aback. This little child – she only had her dirty underpants on. Her face was filthy, her hair frazzled and she looked starved. Many people turned around to look at them because they clearly seemed to be strangers. I decided to go after them, strike a conversation with them and offered to take them to the local restaurant for lunch. (As I led them to the restaurant, the young woman disappeared. I think I know why. I am presuming that she prostituted herself for a living and may be they thought that I would want her in exchange for the favour; or she had found a customer because I did not see her again). I paid for lunch for three but the older woman very honestly decided that two lunches would be enough since the child could share with them. Instead, she asked me if I would offer her to buy her a pair of eye glasses. She said it would cost her a thousand Rupees. I was clearly not prepared to be that generous. But then, I saw the rosary around her neck. She held on to the rosary and pleaded with me that she was not lying about the eye glasses. I opened my wallet and gave her five-hundred rupees. You would have thought I had opened heavens doors to her. Then, in the middle of the entire town square, she laid her dirty, filthy hands on my head and blessed me. She invoked heaven and all its blessing upon me. Then she asked me to bless them. Knowing that a lot of people were watching this spectacle, very embarrassed, I laid my hands on her and the child very quickly, blessed them, made her promise me that she would not spend my money on anything else but eyes glasses, turned around and left.
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
A couple of weeks back I drew a contrast between Ahaz and Joseph. I had said that whereas Ahaz was playing games with God, Joseph had shown incredible capacity for fidelity and trust in God. Today, I want to contrast King Herod and the wise kings/men that came from afar. There are many points on which Herod and the wise men differ. First, the wise men are on a search. “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?” they asked. Herod, on the other hand, was king of the very land the king of the Jews was born and neither did he know about it nor did he see the star. Second, the scriptures tell us that Herod was “greatly troubled” when he heard that a star had appeared announcing the birth of Jesus. It seems to me that he was afraid. How could a child be a threat to a king? But his fear was so intense that it made him act irrationally. Many innocent children were killed in the process. In contrast, the gospel reading tells us that the wise men were “overjoyed at seeing the star” and the “child with his mother.” The wise men did the baby homage and offered him gifts. They do not see the child as a threat but rather as an opportunity to know God.
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
(This homily was originally written in 2009. Please bear with the repetition. – Fr. Satish Joseph)
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. The New Testament does not give us much information about the family of Jesus. All we know about this family is from the extraordinary circumstances of Jesus’ birth and from his presentation at the Temple as the Jewish custom prescribed. We also know that they went up each year to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover and that Jesus grew in grace and wisdom. Without speculating much, I think that that much information is good enough for us to draw some very useful conclusions.
The Nativity of the Lord Christmas
I had planned a quiet December 23rd. I wanted set some quiet time aside, prepare my homily and be ready for the Christmas masses. Things did not work out that way. Even before morning mass at 8:15, I had a call requesting the last sacrament for a long-time parishioner. I rushed to the nursing home right away after mass. The entire family had gathered to bid their father farewell. They were praying that dad would be with mom in heaven on Christmas day. Then there was a call to anoint a parishioner in ICU at Sycamore hospital. If there was one man who needed healing that day, it was this man. And then about four in the afternoon I was at the county jail for confession and a visit with an inmate who also is a parishioner. This was a non- contact visit. I had taken the Blessed Sacrament with me. As this person made his confession, I held the Blessed Sacrament up to him so he could pray. I gave him absolution and a blessing. For this prisoner, the idea that God would come to him in prison… that was his Christmas. I have to admit, for me too, because of these three situations, Christmas came early this year. Honestly speaking, there are no words that can appropriately describe my Christmas.
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Playing games! I do not mean the Wii. I mean, playing games in relationships. Sometimes this is a defense mechanism; other times it is avoidance of responsibility or even a strategy for gaining moral or mental advantage. I would be surprised if any of us said that we have never engaged in it. Children are very good at this. Especially, if they know that parents do not agree about an issue, they know how to manipulate the situation. What about playing games with God? Have you ever said to God, if you grant me…, I will …? I have not met anyone who has felt good after playing games in relationships. There is something about simple and honest relationships.
Third Sunday of Advent
I was in a brief conversation with a parishioner last week, whose very young and beautiful daughter has been struggling with substance abuse. She and her husband have been through recovery and relapse so many times that they are afraid of the happiness that every recovery brings. They are afraid that the happiness will soon be followed by the sadness of relapse. Even as I speak, this young girl is on the streets in yet another episode of relapse. In course of the conversation, this mother spoke to me about how she keeps her peace during these troubled times. Somehow, she says, I have learnt to keep my peace by keeping my eyes on God. I am not going to let this take away my peace during Christmas. She did not say this in any self-centered way. She is letting God be God even in the midst of her very traumatic experiences. I will return to this mother in a little bit. Let me first give you the theme and the context for today’s readings.
Second Sunday of Advent
I want to begin my homily today with this You Tube video clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPViKJRHyZo.
(Please play only the first verse of the song and then read the homily.
First Sunday of Advent
I want to introduce you to what I would like to call, the theology of juxtaposition. We understand juxtaposition – placing two opposite side by side in order to highlight their difference. Let me give you an example. On Tuesday, the coal miners rescued from the mine in Chile appeared on CNN. Their happiness, their sense of accomplishment, their heroism was all too palpable. On the same day, news came that the 23 miners trapped in a mine in New Zealand and hoping for a Chile-like rescue were all killed. A second explosion in the already damaged mine left only sorrow, failure and regret for the families of the dead miners. Juxtaposition – placing two opposite side by side. Here is another simple example: heaven and hell. Juxtaposition – it is an important tool to teach important lessons. Let me offer three practical implications from these readings for the upcoming advent season.
The Solemnity of Christ the King
Does the paradox of the gospel reading chosen for such a majestic feast strike you as unusual? Why would the church choose the most shameful moments of Christ’s life as the gospel reading for the Solemnity of Christ the King? When we celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, and events connected with our loved ones, don’t we normally focus on the positive? The gospel, on the other hand says about Jesus that the rulers sneered at him, the soldiers jeered at him, and one of the criminals reviled him, saying “Are you not the Christ?” But why does the church want to read this gospel for the feast of Christ the King? Why could the Church not have chosen a reading for this feast where Christ is shown in his splendor – the transfiguration of Jesus or the Ascension of Jesus, for example?
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Do you sense a revolt brewing inside you when, in the middle of September, you see a decorated Christmas tree at the malls? I feel violated. I feel someone has taken something very sacred to me and made a mockery out of it. It is as if someone was wishing me ‘happy birthday’ in November when my birthday isn’t until February. Over the past few days, I have also seen Christmas lights – it must be the warm weather; or a rather depressing political season (people actually want some good news), or the drudgery of the economy is making people impatient for celebration. Liturgically, however, we are at a different place. After all, no matter how impatient we might be, we cannot avoid the natural cycle of life can we?
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
One of the regrets I have in life is that my faith has never been severely tested. I have never lived underground, my life has never been in danger, or I have never had to choose between my family and my faith. I wonder if faith would mean something different had it to be challenged in a serious way. Do you wonder the same ? How can we know how precious our faith in Jesus is unless it is tested?
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Put your hands up if at one time or another you have been head over heels in love. I am not asking you if it all worked out or if you are still with the person you got crazy about; I am not even asking if the other person felt the same for you. Perhaps, you only secretly adored this person and never made your love known. I am merely asking you if your heart has ever skipped a beat? I am asking if you lost your appetite or started putting make-up because love stirred your heart like never before? I am asking you, if you have been crazy in love?
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
When I first started to take my relationship with God seriously, I found spending quite time in prayer very satisfying. I would look forward to taking more time to be with God in prayer. Ironically though, one of the effects of my prayer in its initial stages was also pride. My prayer was beginning to give me a sense of superiority over those in the seminary that did not take the time to pray or were struggling in prayer. I found myself becoming judgemental in this regard. I found some satisfaction in finding myself to be better than others. Things got even worse before they got better. I very briefly reached a stage when I would feel unhappy to see particular seminarians pray, the ones I found it difficult to get along with. It was as if I was losing my spiritual superiority over them. It took me some time to discover that all those times that I thought I was in prayer, like the Pharisee in today’s gospel reading, I was deluding myself.
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last week, there were some distractions in my spiritual life a little bit. As I have said before, I find early mornings to be the best time for quite time in prayer. In the last few weeks, however, I have found waking up in the morning to be very difficult. I have had to drag myself to my prayer corner. The other distraction was sports. India took on Australia in cricket. When I get up at 5:30 in the morning, the game is just ending in India. Those of you who love sports, you know there is nothing like catching up the last bit of the game. If you are curious, no, I did not give up into these temptations. However, I did ask myself a few questions as I sat in prayer. Why am I doing this? Why do I spent quite time in prayer? What am I getting out of this? I will give you my answer in a few moments. Let me first provide the larger theme of today’s reading.
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Because our nation is at war, perhaps, it will be easier for us to understand today’s readings better. Here then, is a hypothetical situation. Suppose one of the Taliban commanders came to the United States to seek treatment for cancer, how would you react as ordinary citizens? Would you support the offer of health care and nursing to him? Now, let me ask you these same questions as a people of faith in Jesus Christ? Are you now at least compelled to pause and rethink your reaction? Do you now have a different answer than our initial reaction? If you are struggling for an answer, then perhaps, you will understand today’s reading really well.
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
For how long and how much pain should someone have to endure before they utter these words to God in prayer? “How long, O LORD? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not intervene. Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery?” (Hab 1: 2-3) Do you sense the same desperation and sheer exhaustion in the cry for help that I sense? In recent times, people without employment, people without health insurance and people whose homes have been foreclosed, perhaps have raised their voices to God. What became of these prayers, I wish I knew.