Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I am not sure if any of you read the daily cartoon, Pearls before Swine. The main characters in this cartoon are the rat, the pig, the goat and crocodiles. In last Monday’s clip, the goat asks the pig, “Do you have any religious beliefs? …Things you know in your heart are true?” The pig answered, “Just Nachofication.” The goat asks, “What is Nachofication?” The pig replies, “The belief that everything tastes better with melted cheese.” The goat looks disgusted as he turns around and exclaims, “I was hoping for something deeper than the church of cheese.” Perhaps, the cartoon is a commentary on contemporary society which sometimes seems all too shallow. I certainly do not want to make generic judgments about society, but I certainly want to pose some questions. If someone had to ask you the question, “What is at your core?” or, if your children or your parents or your friend had to ask you, “What are the hallmarks of your character?” or if God had to ask you, “Who are you? Or “Who are you becoming?” what would your answer be?
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
In its latest report, the US Census Bureau has announced that in 2009 one in seven Americans was living in poverty. The bureau defines poverty as any family of four living on less than $21,954 a year. Officials said that the number of people in poverty increased by nearly 4 million between 2008 and 2009. Today, 43.6 million people live in poverty in the United States. Among the working-age population, ages 18 to 65, poverty rose from 11.7% to 12.9%, the highest level since the 1960s. Meanwhile, the number of Americans without health insurance increased by 4.4m between 2008 - 2009. This number rose from 15.4% to 16.7% - or 50.7 million people - mostly because of the loss of employer-provided schemes during the recession. The report also suggests that the group that suffered most from increasing poverty levels was children.
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
When I use the word ‘scandal,’ what is it that comes to your mind? Perhaps we are thinking of a serious or a systemic immoral situation. For example, the abuse of children in the church – that is surely a scandal. It is normal to consider a scandal to be a negative situation. And we are right. There is nothing right about a child who demands his inheritance even before the death of his parents and then wastes it all in a life of dissipation (Lk 15: 11-20). There is nothing right about an entire people abandoning the God who saved them from slavery only to show their loyalty to the mere image of a golden calf (Ex 32:7-11). A scandal is serious business. It hurts the people involved, it destroys relationships, and most of all, it leads people away from God.
Labour Day 2010 Homily
Even as we commemorate Labor Day, once again our spirits are dulled by the high unemployment, increasing foreclosures and soaring budget deficit. But, here we are in the Church and in the presence of God. Some of us are grateful that we have employment; some of us bring the pain of our struggles; some of us come seeking God’s intervention and others are here just to be in the presence of God. Does God have anything to say to us today? Is God among us and our struggles?
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
I remember this incident very clearly. I was in my moral theology class in the Seminary. The professor began his class by asking all of us to write our epitaph. I wanted mine to be the best and the most impressive. I remember thinking hard for a minute and finally wrote down the words: “Here lies a man who lived his life to the full.” I was so convinced that everyone in the room would want to copy my epitaph. When I shared my epitaph with the class, I did not hear the ooohs and the aaahhs I was expecting. The professor passed on to my friend sitting next to me. He had merely written, “Here lies a disciple.” Not only was I highly embarrassed at my own epitaph, but that was the single most life changing moment of my life. It is 20 years since then. Disciple – this word haunts me today as it did that day.
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Comment Point: Has Pride cost you? What is the price of humility?)
This was the first time ever that I was shopping for new car tires. Of the numerous options, I settled for the top of the line Michelin tires. Partly I did this because the salesman at the counter told me that it would cost me $ 176. I could not get tires so cheap in India. My eyes popped out when he gave me the printed bill. He had meant $176 a tire. The total was $704 + tax. That was my one pay check! I I had to save my manly pride. I pretended I was cool and for the first time, I broke a principle I live by and charged it to my American Express. This, after all, is the land of the brave and the free. I am not sure if the salesman at the counter was impressed or not, but I learnt it the hard way – pride is expensive. Pride costs.
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Comment Point: What would your heaven look like? Post your comments at the end of the homily)
There are controversies simmering in our country on multiple fronts. Immigration, legal and illegal, is one of them; An Islamic centre at the new World Trade Centre in New York is another one; should babies born in the US be automatically given citizenship status is yet another one; and the age old controversy regarding race has come to the forefront in a brazen way the last couple of years. I am not going to try to answer these questions in this homily but I am sure that each one of has an opinion on each of these issues. But I guess, each person's opinion is a reflection on who they want included or excluded from membership in this country. Let us me say this at the very outsiet - 0ur opinion in these matters is not merely a political, social, or economic stand we take; our opinion in this matter is also a moral stand.
Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Yes! If we believe Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Ark of the Covenant has been found. But let’s leave that to the imagination of Hollywood Cinema. The real history of the Ark is more complicated than that.
God commanded the construction of the Ark to Moses while the Hebrew people were still camped at Sinai (Ex 25:10-22). It was constructed of acacia wood, and was plated with pure gold, inside and out. On the bottom of the box, four gold rings were attached, through which two poles, also made of acacia and coated in gold, were put. The Ark contained the first tablets of Ten Commandments, which were broken by Moses and the second tablets, which remained intact. As time progressed the Ark was placed in a tabernacle. When Solomon built the Temple in about 1000 BC, the Ark found a permanent place in the Holy of Holies in the inner sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
My faith has been tested many times during the course of my priesthood. But in recent times, it has not been tested more than during my last visit home. You already know that my mother had had a fall and my father had gotten cataract surgeries on both his eyes. My bother’s family and I spent a couple of weeks with my parents and it was a time for much assurance and comfort for all of us. But as time arrived for each of us to leave, I could sense the despair and gloom that was beginning to set in at home. Perhaps because of her gradual recovery from the fall, or perhaps because of our leaving, mother began to experience symptoms she had never experienced before – short periods of absolute exhaustion. The day before returned to Dayton, I had to rush her to the emergency room. Her vital signs were all normal, yet her symptoms would not leave her. I was to leave for the airport at 4:00 in the morning the day I was leaving. At 3:30 she had another one of these attacks. I almost decided that I would cancel my flight and stay back till she would stabilize. She snapped out of it and asked me to proceed with my journey. I did, partly because I had to be back here for the weekend masses, but also partly because I entrusted my mother to God in faith. I lay my head on her chest and entrusted her to my God. It has been the hardest good-bye I have even said to mother and father. My faith in my God sustains me even as I nervously continue to do ministry here.
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
We are a generation that in very tangible and dreadful terms knows the effects of human greed. Where shall we begin? Let me see… Shall we begin with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? How can successive governments and multinational corporations allow deep sea drilling without the technology to stem an accidental disaster? They tell us now that the entire department that oversees such operations is rife with corruption. I wonder how many politicians receive money for their campaign form these very corporations. H about all the foreclosures? Was that not caused by greedy banks and their executives wanting quicker and larger profits? Who is paying for it now? Banks got bailed out but not the people who lost their homes. They tell us now that 90% of the ninety million dollars assigned for reconstruction in Iraq cannot be accounted for. Let us see if the guilty will stand on the dock. The effects of just these disasters are enough to send our minds spinning. Greed is a horrific thing. In the Catholic tradition, it is counted among the Seven Deadly Sins.
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I was only about ten years old. My parents had just bought my brother his first ever guitar. The day my brother received it we all gazed at it as if it was a new BMW. At the end of the day, it was neatly put back in its cover. My brother then wrapped it in a bed cover to protect the guitar cover from being ruined. Like God gave instructions to Adam and Eve that they were not to even touch the tree in the middle of the garden, I was given the same instructions. The next day, my parents went to work and my brother went out with his friends. Meanwhile, little Mr. Inquisitive was at home itching to take a chance at being Eric Clapton. My hands trembled as I unwrapped the cover and amidst many inspection of the door way, got the guitar out of the cover. To my misfortune, I had hardly even touched the strings and one of them broke. You can imagine my horror. I did not even know that a guitar string could be replaced. I thought that the guitar was ruined forever. I quickly put the guitar back in its cover, wrapped it the way it was and placed it back in its closet. Now, what I did after the guitar was broken is what is important. I remember kneeling before the prominently placed pictures of the Sacred Heart and Mary, and pleading on my knees with them. I prayed that somehow the string would attach itself to the guitar. I would pray really hard for about five minutes, and then go and peek to see it God had mended the guitar. On seeing that the string was still broken, I would go and pray even harder. This happened about 10 times. Finally, it was evening. Everyone came back home and hell broke loose over the broken guitar string. I never owned up to having broken it.
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I do many, many weddings each year, and once in a way a couple will come by that will totally blow me over. Take the wedding that I had this weekend. The couple had chosen readings that are rarely used at weddings. The gospel reading, for example, was from the end of the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew, where Jesus says, “Whoever hears these words of mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on solid rock…” (Mt 7:24). I asked the couple why they chose this reading. And they said, “Because we want to build our marriage on faith. We want our marriage to be an expression of our discipleship.” I could not feel any happier and contended. It was an assurance that our parish’s focus on discipleship and radical discipleship is bearing fruit.
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(After reading this homily, tell us why YOU "come after Jesus." Post your reflection at the end by clicking on the comment link).
Here is an interesting story! Gary brooks is a fifty year old construction worker from Greely, Colorado. He was arrested this week in a remote part of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. His offence? He had on himself a 40-inch sword, a pistol and night-vision goggles in northwestern Pakistan. He told investigators Tuesday that he was on a personal search for Osama bin Laden and that when he had found him he wanted to kill him. Part of me was amused at the story; part of me was impressed by his conviction. Here was a man utterly consumed by a personal mission. That someone would give up his job, travel a distance, go to hostile territory at great risk… this is impressive even if foolish.
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings are filled with emotional appeal. First let us talk about David. He was only the second king of Israel and at God’s command was handpicked by the prophet Nathan. He was the youngest of seven brothers and had the least of chances to rule Israel. But because he was so specially chosen, God had very high expectations of him. God expected him to reverse the evil rule of Saul, to keep the Covenant that God made with Moses and the Israelites, and to be a man of personal holiness and integrity.
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
I said to someone the other day that I was “funeralled out.” We have had so many funerals and so many tragic deaths that I feel emotionally drained. The most challenging part of my ministry is to keep the hope and faith of grieving families, particularly children. The intense grief comes from knowing that the family will not have the PRESENCE of their loved one. PRESENCE – that is the key. Sometimes we take it for granted, but the ability to be present to each other the greatest thing about being alive. Funerals are sad because death takes away our ability to be present to each other.
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
We have often heard about St. Patrick and his use of the shamrock to explain the Trinity. I recently came across a more modern explanation that I had not heard before. C.S. Lewis used the analogy of a three dimensional picture to explain the Trinity. If we draw a line on a piece of paper it becomes a one-dimensional image. You can make that line a square if you add length and breadth to it. Now, it is a two dimensional square but the same image. Make the square into a cube, by adding two more lines in such a way that now there is depth in the picture, which is the third dimension. So now there is one image but three dimensions. Trinity, according to C.S. Lewis is like that - three persons yet one God.
Solemnity of Pentecost
On this the Feast of Pentecost, if there is a fact that today’s readings are suggesting, it is this: that Christianity is dependent upon the presence of the Holy Spirit. In today’s second reading from the letter to the Corinthians Paul says, “No one can say, “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:3b). In today’s gospel passage, Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit on the apostles and gives them the authority both to forgive or retain sins. (Jn 20:20). In other words, forgiveness of sin is impossible without the power of the Holy Spirit. There are other instances of absolute reliance on the Holy Spirit for Christian living. In Romans 8:26 Paul would say, “…for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.” Paul is suggesting that the very desire to pray is itself a work of the Holy Spirit. It is possible, then, that the our desire to be in church for worship today is the work of the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament the very first stirrings of what would finally become Christianity, originated with the power of the Spirit in the womb of a virgin. We can compile a long list of other instances in the Bible where the role of the Holy Spirit is crucial to a life of faith.
Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus
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On some tired nights I go to Caribou Cafe and sip a latte. Of late, I have noticed that the glass windows at the cafe have writings on them. The company has discovered a neat way to advertise – it has put rather noble sayings along with statements that promote their products on these glass windows. Last week, I picked up this paper napkin. It says, ‘Life is too short: for grudges, fake anything, putting profits before people, over-roasted coffee, waiting for a change to happen, crabby people and wifi you have to pay for!’ On the walls there are other suggestions – ‘Adopt an animal; donate blood’. This is a very clever advertising strategy. If a company puts moral statements along with its advertising, people are inclined to have a positive image of the company. But I think that something even deeper is happening on these glass windows and napkins. Either intentionally or unintentionally, the company is also proposing a particular world-view. It is a world without grudges, dishonesty, and unethical business; it is a world where people are good to animals and stay away from bad people. There is only one problem with this world-view as I see it – you don’t need God in this this way of conceiving the world. Spirituality, in this world-view, has nothing to do with the divine. Rather, God who created the world, has no place in the Caribou world. In fact, there is whole generation of people out there – people disenchanted with the church, those that dislike religious restrictions, young people disillusioned with the establishment – who find this world-view very attractive and liberating.
Sixth Sunday of Easter
(We welcome you to post a comment at the end of this homily).
What a week this has been! One event after another tested our nerves as a nation. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the floods in Tennessee, and the failed bomb attempt in New York grabbed the nation’s attention. Of all the weeks, this was the week that the nation could have used some prayer. May 6 was to be the National Day of Prayer. On the contrary, the day was -marked by controversy and a court ruling that said that having a government-mandated Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. The National Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based group of "freethinkers: atheists, agnostics and skeptics of any pedigree," filed a lawsuit and Wisconsin judge Barbara Crabb issued a 66-page ruling that said the law violates the U.S. Constitution. In her decision, Judge Crabb said that because prayer is a powerful activity, the government could not use its authority to try to influence when and how people pray.
Fifth Sunday of Easter
(After reading this homily, please do not hesitate to post a comment, give a feedback or share an experience. You can play your part in evangelizing the world).
This is the amazing story of Sr. Rani Maria, a Clarist nun, from the diocese of Indore in India. On Feb 25, 1996, following religious violence against Christians, she was stabbed to death by Samandar Singh, a Hindu right wing activist. (As an aside let me say this - the reason for violence against Christians is not a simple issue of bad Hindus killing good Christians. It is a little more complicated than that. I cannot deal with the complexities in this homily). This murder shook the Catholic Church in India.
Samandar Singh was arrested in connection with the murder, tried and sentenced to prison, where he spent 11 years. In prison, he went through two experiences. First, his wife divorced him and his first son died. Grieving and angry at the same time, he began plotting how he could take revenge against the man who pushed him to kill the nun. Second, to his utter amazement he received a visit from another nun, Sister Selmi Paul, who happened to be the murdered nun's biological sister. This was no simple visit. During the entire visit, the nun addressed him as “brother,” and she embraced him in forgiveness. Samandar Singh was profoundly touched by this gesture. This experience began his journey of repentance. He gave up plans for revenge and accepted the sorrow caused by the murder. The story does not end there.