Saturday, November 20, 2010

Feast of Christ the King

XXXIV SUNDAY : II Sam 5: 1-3; Col 1: 12-20; Lk 23: 35-43
Today's Feast - Christ the King - has an interesting history. Even though the Bible clearly presents Jesus as King, it wasn't until 1925 that the Church established a feast day with that title. Pope Pius XI inaugurated this celebration as a response to the totalitarian regimes that emerged in the early twentieth century. Those regimes claimed absolute power over their citizens and they scoffed at the role of God in guiding people's lives. Against this grab for absolute control, the Church said, "No, the state does not have the highest authority. That belongs to God." And as Christians, we know that Jesus is God. He is the King over all kings. In our second reading, St. Paul states that all things were created through Jesus and for him. "He is before all things...preeminent."

We belong to Jesus. He is our king. If a government overreaches itself, if it demands a submission that we cannot give, we have a simple, direct response: Jesus is our king. We see an example of this from the nineteen-twenties. At that time a totalitarian regime gained control of Mexico and it tried to suppress the Church. To resist the regime, many Christians took up the cry, "Viva Cristo Rey! Long live Christ the King!" They called themselves "Cristeros." The most famous Cristero was a young Jesuit priest named Padre Miguel Pro. Using various disguises, Padre Pro ministered to the people of Mexico City. Finally the government arrested him and sentenced him to public execution. The president of Mexico (Plutarco Calles) thought that Padre Pro would beg for mercy, so he invited the press to the execution. Padre Pro did not plead for his life, but instead knelt holding a crucifix. When he finished his prayer, he kissed the crucifix and stood up. Holding the crucifix in his right hand, he extended his arms and shouted, "Viva Cristo Rey." At that moment the soldiers fired. The journalists took pictures; if you look up "Padre Pro" or "Saint Miguel Pro" on the Internet, you can see that picture.

Like the good thief in the Gospel today, Padre Pro died acknowledging Jesus as King. Hopefully you and I will die with the name of Jesus on our lips and in our heart. But, more important, we live today acknowledging Christ as our King. Now, we do not live in a totalitarian country. Unlike Mexico in the twenties (or the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany) we enjoy religious freedom. At the same time we must be vigilant. Government can infringe on what ultimately belongs to God.

It is not enough, therefore, for Christians to hold onto their faith just in their private lives. We must bring Christ and Christian values in to culture, politics, and every sphere of society. If we truly believe in Christ, why would we be afraid of defending and spreading Christian values? Why would we let ourselves be bullied by secular fundamentalists who try to exclude Christ from culture?

In 1908, the famous English historian and writer, Hilaire Belloc, ran for the British Parliament. His opponents tried to scare off his supporters by claiming that Belloc's faithfulness to the Catholic Church would inhibit him from being objective. Belloc responded in a speech: "Gentlemen, I am a Catholic. As far as possible, I go to Mass every day. This is a rosary. As far as possible, I kneel down and tell its beads every day. "If you reject me on account of my religion, I shall thank God for having spared me the indignity of being your representative."
The crowd was shocked for a minute, and then burst out in applause.
Belloc went on to win that election, and many more. If Christ truly is King, which he is, we should not be afraid to spread his Kingdom.

The feast of Christ the King is a day of glory, exaltation and majesty. And yet, the strange thing is that today, we read the story of the crucifixion. After all, if there was a low tide in the Kingship of Christ, it was when he died, his life and work mocked, his hope crushed. Surely, at that moment, he was least a king. "lf you are a king, save yourself", they said. But of course, Jesus was not a king in the only fashion in which they could understand the word, namely a king by the exercise of his power. By dying, he displays the kind of king he is, one who suffers trusting in God and punishes no one.

The Good Thief understood this. The bad thief didn't. The rulers didn't. As Jesus hung on the cross, revealing God's saving love, they sneered and jeered at him. They knew that he had claimed to be the Messiah, the Savior, the King of Israel, but they could only imagine kingship in earthly terms. And so they challenged Jesus to show that he was truly a king by coming down from the cross. If Jesus could eliminate human suffering and injustice (symbolized by coming down from the cross), so they thought, he would prove himself to be a worthy king. But Jesus didn't do it. He didn't even respond to them with an explanation. He simply kept suffering unfairly until the very end. And as he suffered, the Good Thief realized the truth. He realized that there is more to the human story than what we see, experience, and understand here on earth. He realized that Jesus held the key to a Kingdom much greater than any the earth would ever know. He realized that Christ's Kingdom could begin on earth, through faith, hope and obedience, but that it would only reach its fullness hereafter, and so he makes his prayer: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." To that request, Jesus responded.
As a true King, he granted the favor. He didn't take away the Good Thief's suffering - Christ's Kingdom is not of this world - but he gave it purpose: he made it a path to Paradise. And as the Good Thief hung on the cross, dying, tortured, in excruciating pain, he was happy, because he had placed himself under the King's protection, and the King would keep his promise.

We are with Jesus as he makes the rounds of healing, preaching and working miracles. But we find it hard to remain in his company when we must keep fellowship with him in his suffering. We want a Messiah who is king with all the trappings of glory but not a Messiah who invites us to follow him on the way of the cross. Why then do we Christians have a king who reigns from the cross?

St. Luke provides a powerful response. Jesus is on the cross because we need him to be there. We find both the good thief and the bad one within ourselves. We want Jesus to get off the cross and make everything right. We need a quick fix solution to all our problems and the bold display of power.

There are many Christians who demand of Christ the disappearance of suffering, injustice and war. There are other people who say that if Christ has royal power, let him fashion for us a better society, and then they will believe in him. At the same time, we also realize that Jesus must remain on the cross if we are to hear these words: "I assure you: this day you will be with me in paradise."
We are ambassadors of Christ the King. We represent him to the world.
Through us, his wisdom enlightens culture. Through us, his grace reaches into every corner of the human community and heals it of selfishness, greed and injustice. Our job as ambassadors is simply to be loyal. That means first of all that we must know the King's desires and priorities.
Today especially, before we receive our Lord in Holy Communion, let us put more meaning than usual into the words that sum up every christian’s fundamental mission and deepest desire: Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

XXXII-Sunday in Ordinary time.

XXXII –Sunday-: 2 Mac 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thess 2: 16--3:5;Gosple: Lk 20: 27-38
General Charles de Gaulle was France's president from 1959-69. His private life was not without sorrow. One of his three children, Anne, was born subnormal after a car accident involving his wife. De Gaulle used to spend hours with Anne. Eventually she died at the age of 20. At the graveside, after weeping silently, de Gaulle said softly to his wife, "Come. Now she is like the others." Death is called the ultimate leveler. Everyone is born to die. But death is not the last period for those who believe in God. There is resurrection for those who die in Christ.
As we near the end of the Church's liturgical year, the readings become more eschatological -- having to do with the end times. The main theme of today’s readings is the reality of life after death and of the relationship between our lives on earth and the life of glory or punishment that will follow. The readings invite us to consider the true meaning of the resurrection in our lives.
The first reading states the first century B.C. Jewish theology of martyrdom and the resurrection of the just. The intense sufferings to which good Jews were subjected brought them to the conviction that the justice of God would reward the faithful in the afterlife, and would also punish the wicked. This selection describes a Jewish family, consisting of a mother and her seven sons, who refused the command of Antiochus Epiphanus IV to eat pork, (forbidden as “unclean” by Jewish law). Because of their faith and obedience to God, they endured suffering and accepted martyrdom. The conviction that the dead would be raised on the last day had not become widely accepted at that time, nor even by the time of Jesus. But in our first reading three of the brothers speak, and each of them finds strength in the belief that he will eventually be raised by God. One says, “You may discharge us from this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up.” Another says that he hopes to receive his severed limbs again in heaven. The fourth son also says that he is “relying on God’s promise that we shall be raised up by him.” So they express faith in the life after death.
Today’s gospel affirms the victory of God’s love over the power of death. Jesus speaks of God as the God of the living. The gospel shows us how Jesus ingeniously escaped from a doctrinal trap set for him by the Sadducees.
Pharisees and Sadducees are often mentioned together in the gospels, but in their beliefs they could not be further apart. The Pharisees were a religious party with no political ambition; they believed in the resurrection, in angels, in spirits; they expected the coming of the Messiah.
The Sadducees constituted a party of wealth, power and privilege, which controlled the Temple worship. Although few in number, the Sadducees were the Jewish governing class, and they supported Roman rule. They were secular in outlook, and did not believe in the coming of any Messiah (who might upset the system); they did not believe in the next life, nor in the existence of angels or spirits. Nearly all priests were Sadducees. They acknowledged only written Scripture as bearing God’s word, accepting only the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as authoritative. They rejected the oral tradition which the Pharisees found necessary for applying God's revealed word to everyday life. The Sadducees believed in unrestricted free-will and not in fate or providence. They assumed that we control our own destinies through our personal actions.
When the Sadducees posed their question about the status of the woman who was married in this life to seven brothers, they were only making fun of the belief in a next life. No Rabbi had ever brought a ‘proof’ of it from the first five books of the Scriptures .But Jesus provides positive Biblical proof for the reality of resurrected existence. Jesus presumes that Yahweh's burning bush statement about being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is in the present tense. This would prove that these three patriarchs were still alive at the time of Moses, 600 years after their death. Thus, Jesus uses the Sadducees' sacred text of the Torah to respond to their anti-resurrection belief. God said to Moses from the burning bush, "I am the God of your Fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob" (Ex.3:1-6). Since God claims to be God of the patriarchs, He must somehow sustain the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by granting them resurrection and eternal life. Therefore the resurrection of the body can be proved from the Torah itself. Jesus also explains that the afterlife won't be just an eternal replay of this life. Our happiness there will far exceed the sexual joys of marriage in this life, so the ridiculous problem of a man who had seven wives in this life won't apply in the next. A little girl and her father were walking on a clear, starry night. She turned to him and asked, “If the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what will the right side be like?”
When it comes to talking about the hereafter, no one is clearer than Paul: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived, What God has prepared for those who love him."
Since God is God of the living and not of the dead, to trust in this God means to realize we are meant to be alive. And being alive consists of being with Him in a continuous manner, forever. Furthermore, “and for him all are alive” (Lk 20:38): God is the source of life. The believer, submerged in God through the Baptism, has been able to escape forever from the clutches of death.
Resurrection is not some natural right that we are given. It is a remarkable gift or the grace of God. Pessimists say we die like any animal and that is it. Look at Ecclesiastes and you will find this emphatic despair.

Christianity believes that life continues after death." Death does not snuff out the candle of our soul. God gives us the gift of life: Earthly life and Resurrection life: Both are Gift! Both are Grace!"
Some people say there is only one life and so enjoy it. Certainly it is true. But the quality of the enjoyment should be pure and holy. The second part of the movie after the intermission is built upon the first part. So we need to hold faith in the afterlife, the life that lasts for ever with Christ. So a Christian should always prepare for that.
The story is told of an American tourist who paid the 19th century Polish rabbi Hofetz Chaim a visit. Astonished to see that the rabbi’s home was only a simple room filled with books, a table and a bench, the tourist asked, “Rabbi, where is your furniture?” “Where is yours?” replied the rabbi. “Mine?” asked the puzzled tourist. “But I’m only a visitor here. I’m only passing through.” “So am I,” said Hofetz Chaim. We are only passing through here, it is not our permanent dwelling place.

Among other things, the Chinese Boxer Rebellion of 1900 tried to wipe out Christian influence on Chinese society. During the Rebellion, some members of the Rebel party surrounded a Christian mission school and barricaded all gates and doors except one. Across this threshold they placed a cross. Whoever trampled on that cross, implicitly denying their Christian faith, would go free; whoever stepped around it would be shot. The first seven students chose to trample on the cross. They went free. Next came a teen-age girl. She stopped, knelt before the cross, rose, and stepped around it. A shot rang out. She was dead. But the other ninety-two students in the school, inspired by her example and her courage, likewise stepped around the cross and accepted death rather than trample upon the symbol of their faith. If I believe only in this life, I won’t get the courage sacrifice my life, or empty myself for others, even for my own children.
Paul says that we were meant to grow until "we attain to the full height of the stature of Christ." Resurrection is the way where by we can grow to the full height of the stature of Christ.
There is an Italian legend about a master and servant. The servant was not very smart and the master used to get very exasperated with him. Finally, one day, in a fit of temper, the master said: "You really are the stupidest man I know. Here, I want you to carry this staff wherever you go. And if you ever meet a person stupider than yourself, give them this staff."

So time went by, and often in the marketplace the servant would encounter some pretty stupid people, but he never found someone appropriate for the staff. Years later, he returned to his master's home. He was shown into his master's bedroom, for the man was quite sick and in bed. In the course of their conversation the master said: "I'm going on a journey soon."

"When will you return?", asked the servant. "This is a journey from which I will not return." the master replied. The servant asked: "Have you made all the necessary arrangements?"
"No, I guess I have not…The servant said: You have not made arrangements for a journey from which you will not return ? Even for a small journey we make enough arrangements and you did not make arrangements ? I think you deserve this staff. I haven’t seen anyone more dumb than you.
Do we deserve a stupid’s staff ? How have I prepared myself for that journey which can begin any moment from now ?
Does thee proclamation that our God is the God of the living mean something positive to us. It should affect our lives today and every day, especially during our Sunday worship. Let us give thanks to Almighty God for this foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet that awaits us in the place that God has prepared for us. Let us reaffirm our belief in the life of the world to come, since this is the most effective means to escape the stranglehold of materialism in our lives here on earth.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

XXIX-Sunday in Ordinary time

XXIX SUNDAY Ex 17:8-13;: II Tim 3:14- 4:5;Gosple: Luke 18: 1-8

A rural newspaper had been running a series of articles on the value of church attendance in its Sunday Religion column. One day, the editor received a letter which read: "Print this if you dare. I am trying an experiment. I have a field of corn which I plowed on Sunday. I planted it on Sunday. I did all the cultivating on Sunday. I gathered the harvest on Sunday and hauled it to my barn on Sunday. I find that my harvest this October is just as great as any of my neighbors who went to church on Sunday. So where was God all this time?" The editor printed the letter, but added his reply at the bottom: "Your mistake lies in thinking that God always settles his accounts in October." We who believe in the power of prayer often wrongly think that our persevering prayers will force God to act when and how we want Him to act, according to our timetable and according to our desire.

Today’s readings are mainly about perseverance in prayer. In the first reading, Moses, after sending Joshua to fight against the Amalekites, is presented as making tireless intercessions with constancy for the victory of Israel’s army. Both Moses and the widow in this gospel story teach us how we should pray in time of urgency.
In the first reading the urgency is more obvious, for if there is not a speedy resolution, then there is defeat. Amalek has come to wage war against Israel, and Israel must defend itself then and there. To wait is simply to allow oneself to be slaughtered. There also seems to be a degree of urgency in the widow's plea for a just decision against her adversary. She does not seem to be able or willing to wait for the judge to take action in his time. She wants resolution now. Her persistence was a very public event and the entire community witnessed the widow’s repeated encounters with the judge. By publicly badgering the judge every day, the woman was trying to shame this shameless person. Finally the unjust judge was forced to yield. There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about their situations.
Two frogs fell into a bowl of deep cream.They tried every way to get out of there, but could not. One was wise, and cheery. The other one took a gloomy view and resigned to its fate and drowned without trying. The merry frog said: "I can't get out, but I won't give in; I'll swim around till my strength is spent, then I will die more content." And as he swam, his struggling began to churn the cream and finally a layer of butter was formed and he was able to hop out stepping on the layer of butter. Success is for those who persevere in their effort. Constancy in prayer is faith in action which leads to success.

The early Christians found themselves in such an apparently hopeless predicament. Soon after Jesus left them they found themselves persecuted and oppressed by the Jewish religious hierarchy. What encouraged them to endure the persecution was their belief that the Second Coming of the Lord was soon to take place. They believed it would coincide with the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. But when in AD 70 Jerusalem fell and the Temple was destroyed yet Jesus was nowhere to be seen, the Christians found themselves in a big crisis of faith. Have they hoped in vain? Will the Lord ever come back to reestablish justice, to vindicate the innocent and put their enemies to shame? Should they continue hoping and resisting the injustice of their oppressors or should they just join them since they can't beat them? In other words, the early Christians found themselves in the situation of this widow who, without her husband, her lord, had to wage a campaign of passive resistance against injustice and oppression without knowing when it might come to an end. That is why the parable ends with the words of reassurance and a probing question: And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:7-8)

The practical implication of the parable for daily Christian living is given, namely that we "ought always to pray and not lose heart" (verse 1). Prayer expresses our hope and nourishes our faith. If we only pray when we feel like it, or when we are facing a crisis, we will never be constant in prayer - our prayer will depend on our mood. But then we will never develop that mature confidence in God that makes us spiritually strong, wise, and solid. We will remain spiritual infants - crying when we want something, and oblivious to God when we don't.
Just as the judge would not have acted unless the widow had pleaded with him, God also has decided to make his graces depend (at least in part) upon our prayers. "Ask, and it will be given to you," our Lord pointed out earlier (Luke 11:9). "Search and you will find..."

Sometimes our lack of confidence in God comes from not understanding why he sometimes delays answering our prayers.
Why does he delay?
There is no reluctance on God's side. It is about us. We do often ask God for things out of mere politeness and for the sake of good form. In the ‘Prayers of the Faithful’ at Mass, especially, we slip easily into this. The very things we prayed for yesterday, thinking they would make us comfortable were not really things we needed for our life. So we have to ask many times before we know what we want, or before we know with our whole being that we want it. Would I go through fire and water for it? If not, I don’t really want it; I would like it but I don’t want it. If I really wanted it, God would give it immediately, granting that it was God's providence for me.

God doesn't want us to become spoiled children. Spoiled children get everything they ask for right when they ask for it. And as a result, they don't value anything they get. Human nature tends to value what it has to work for. This also applies to our spiritual life. God wants to give us spiritual gifts, lasting, transforming, eternally valuable spiritual gifts, but he won't give them to us until we are ready to receive them.

And sometimes, getting ready means growing in the awareness of our need for God's help. And there's no better way to do that than to have God delay in giving us what we ask for. In other words, the more we pray for what we need, the humbler we become, and the humbler we become, the more spiritual gifts God can pour into our hearts.
St Augustine explained it like this: Suppose you want to fill some sort of bag, and you know the bulk of what you will be given, you stretch the bag or the sack or whatever it is. You know how big the object that you want to put in is, and you see that the bag is narrow, so you increase its capacity by stretching it. In the same way, by delaying the fulfillment of desire God stretches it, by making us desire, he expands the soul, and by this expansion he increases its capacity. God sees time whole, and, therefore, only God knows what is good for us in the long run. That is why Jesus said that we must never be discouraged in prayer. Instead we have to leave the answer to God’s decision saying, “Thy will be done.”

Persistent prayer reshapes our hearts to God's original design. Such prayer does not change God; instead, it changes us. Sincere and persistent prayer makes us ready to accept His will. In Priests for the Third Millennium, Bishop Timothy Dolan observes that prayer must become like eating and breathing. We have to eat daily, not stock up on food on Monday, and then take off the rest of the week. Do we take ten deep breaths and say, “Good, that’s over for a while, I won’t have to breathe for a couple of hours?” No. SO our prayer also should be regular and constant.
Some times God fulfills our needs in ways we haven’t even dreamed of.
There was a good lady who lived next door to an atheist. Everyday, when the lady prayed, the atheist guy could hear her. He thought to himself, "She sure is crazy, praying all the time like that. Doesn't she know there is no GOD!" Many times while she was praying, he would go to her house and harass her, saying, "Lady, why do you pray all the time? Don't you know there is no GOD!" But she kept on praying.

One day, she ran out of groceries. As usual, she was praying to the Lord explaining her situation and thanking Him for what He was going to do. As usual, the atheist heard her praying and thought to himself, "Humph...I'll fix her. He put a bag of groceries at her door and waited behind the bush to see what the lady would do. The next morning as the lady opened the door she found the groceries and said: O Lord, thank you for sending me these groceries. Immediately the atheist guy came out of the bush and proclaimed, it is not God who sent it to you, I put it here for you. See I told you there is no God. The lady shouted again Alleluiah, thank you God not only for sending these groceries and but you made Satan to pay for them.

God is intimately present in all the turmoil and terror of life, vindicating those who cry out in faith. God is, in fact, with us, even before the cry for help leaves our mouth. God is present, experiencing our pain and distress, and Jesus is the guarantee. Let us ask God today to make us strong in our faith, unwavering in our hope, and persistent in our prayer.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

XXVIIth Sunday in Ordinary time

XXVII SUNDAY HAB.1:2-3; 2:2-4; II TIM 1:6-8, 13-14;: LUKE 17: 5-10

The story is told of a man who fell off a mountain cliff. Half-way down the cliff he succeeds in grabbing a branch of a tree. There he is, dangling on the branch, unable to pull himself up yet knowing that by letting go of the branch he would definitely fall to his death. Suddenly the man gets an idea. He looks up to heaven and shouts, “Is anyone up there?” A voice comes from heaven, “Yes, I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe in me?” The man shouts back, “Yes, Lord, I believe in you. I really believe. Please help me.” The Lord says, “All right! If you really believe in me you have nothing to worry about. I will save you. Now let go of the branch.” The man thinks about it for a moment and then shouts back, “Is anyone else up there?”
Is the man in the story a believer? O course he believes that God exists. He believes in the power of prayer. He believes that God is able to help him and save him from his predicament. But he does not take God on His word. Many of us laugh at the story because we can recognize ourselves in this man. We believe in God, but when the going gets tough and things do not work out as we expect we take matters into our own hands or look for help elsewhere. We believe, yes; but we are people of little faith
The apostles too were men of little faith. They believe in Jesus and follow him, but when they see the soldiers approaching in the garden of Gethsemane they abandon Jesus and flee. They are men of little faith. The big difference between us and the apostles is that whereas we often see ourselves as keeping the faith all right, the apostles see themselves as men of deficient faith. They know their faith lacks something.
In response to the request of the apostles to increase their faith, Jesus tells them the parable about the unprofitable servant who comes back from plowing the field and proceeds straight away to prepare supper for his master and to wait on him while he eats. Only after the master’s needs are fully satisfied does the master then give the servant leave to attend to his own need for food and rest. How does this parable answer the request of the apostles for an increase of faith. Jesus is saying that if we have mature faith we would put the will and pleasure of God first in our lives at all times. If we have faith we will not grumble and complain that we have been working for God all day long, now we are tired and it is God’s turn to attend to our needs. Rather we will forget ourselves and work ourselves to death in God’s service, knowing that God will come to our aid when and how He deems right.
Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am delivered now or not, I will stick to my belief that God loves and cares for me. This is the mistake of the young man caught in the mountain cliff. He has faith in his own deliverance, not in God’s infinite power to save and His unfailing love for him. God’s unconditional love for us demands only one proper response from us, our unconditional love and service of God. So many of us Christians today believe that true and mature faith consists in our ability to obtain miracles from God. The truth that today’s gospel shows us is that mature faith consists not in how much God attends to our immediate needs but in how willing we are to serve God unconditionally, without counting the cost.
Faith is believing and trusting in God. Faith is like a muscle, you have to exercise it every day to make it strong. My faith will grow stronger if I exercise it by trusting in God each and every day. Faith is not faith if kept in reserve for emergencies. Faith is lived daily and shapes the way we think and behave. It is about receptivity to God's presence in our daily lives and it is seen in our faithful behaviour.
The size of faith doesn’t matter because God is the one doing the moving. If it is my faith that moved the mountain, then the bigger the mountain the more faith I would need to move it. The bigger the obstacle the more strength I’d need to climb it. The more serious the illness, a faith even greater would be required to overcome it. The more serious the sin the more faith I would need in order to have it forgiven. That kind of thinking, kind of makes sense, but that’s not how faith works. In fact, faith doesn’t do the work at all. God is the one doing the work through faith. Think of faith as the key that opens the door to God acting in our lives. If I have a bigger key ring than you do, does it matter? The size of a key ring doesn’t matter – key rings don’t open doors but it’s that little key on the ring that opens doors. Even a little faith opens the door for God to move the mountains and trees and even our hearts. That little faith is the little opening for God to enter our life to do the work in our life.

Here Jesus cautions us that it is the quality of faith rather than the quantity of faith that needs to be increased. That is why Jesus compares faith to a tiny mustard seed – a living thing whose power does not depend on its size, but on its life principle that is hidden deep within itself. Unless we understand this distinction, we run the risk of deceiving ourselves. We can easily end up thinking that the more prayers we say, the more faith we have. Or that the more good works we do, the stronger our faith becomes.
Faith is more like life itself. It is something that can grow in a qualitative sense and become deeper, richer and more fruitful. Faith is more than praying with bowed heads and clasped hands.

St. Paul tells us: "Bear your share of hardships which the gospel entails with the strength that comes from God." This is because it is in the fire of affliction that our faith is best tested. The book of Job bear testimony to this. It is this faith that can draw out the poison that is in every sorrow and quench the fire in every pain. Only with such faith can we trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to his love and the future to his providence.

It does not follow that faith will give us the power to literally move trees. But faith will give us power to cope with difficulties and attempt great things for the Lord. It is the power to persevere through difficulties, the power that comes from knowing that our Father is in charge.

The Responsorial Psalm we heard today gives us one sure way to activate the power of faith: "If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart."
Faith is practical. If we believe in God's wisdom, love, and power, we will obey him. We will follow where he leads. And he is always leading us somewhere - always making his voice heard. The most common way he does so is through our conscience. Our conscience is like an inner radio station that is always tuned to God's voice. But it's not the only station out there, and, unfortunately, it's not always the loudest. Sometimes we turn up the station of peer pressure and fashion really loud, or the station dedicated to self-indulgence, irresponsible pleasure, and other soothing but deadening sounds. The sounds that we usually hear loud and clear these days is the sound of death. Pronouncing death for defenseless for one’s easy comfort. Today is respect for life Sunday. Our faith demands respecting life in all its forms. At least 25,000 innocent lives are taken everyday the world over. We feel terribly over the loss of 4000 lives on 9/11; Six million lives by Nazis during world War II. We condemn them. But the most contemptible atrocity ever done on human lives is committed or being committed in these decades by promoting abortion. Does that pain me at all ? Do I condemn that ? If not, I don’t live my faith. Even though I may call myself a Catholic, I don’t believe what the Lord teaches me- to protect the life of the defenseless. President Reagan said: I have noticed that all who are for abortion are already been born. The un-borns can not speak for themselves. So it is the duty of those already born and living, to stand for the right to life of the unborn. Jesus said: I have come that you may have life, life in abundance. And he also said that the thief/Satan comes to steal and kill. So those who are up for abortion are Satan’s agents. Jesus is truly a liberating force. He liberates us from all that endangers our life.

This seventh is the feast of the our Lady of Holy Rosary whose intercession led to the defeat of the advancing Muslims on the Medittaranean Christian countries in the 1500s. Let’s pray to her that blinding scales from the eyes of all the spiritually blind may fall off, so that they may see the value of human life as God’s precious gift. That they may see that procured abortion, Euthanasia, Suicide, Doctor- assisted suicide, embryo destruction for scientific experiments are all evil in themselves which are to be avoided as children of God.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

XXIVth Sunday in Ordinary time.

XXIV-Sunday EXOD 32: 7-14; I TIM 1: 12-17;Gosple: LK 15: 1-32

The parable of the prodigal son, has been called the greatest short story in the world. But, is it in fact a parable about a prodigal son? To put the younger son at the centre of the parable is already to start to misunderstand it. What is at the centre- is the father's great attachment and concern, his willingness to welcome the sinners back. This story reveals 3 amazing things about God's love for us. First, God's love is personal. God doesn't love us globally, but each of us individually in a special, personal way. Second, God's love is unconditional. God does not love us on the condition that we stay good and do not stray into sin. God loves us even when we stray--and to the point of going in search of us. Finally, God's love is a rejoicing love. God's response upon finding us is total joy--with no admixture of rebuke.
The parable of the Good shepherd shows how God is a good shepherd to us. There's an old story, about a little boy who cried out in the night. "Daddy, I'm scared!" Half awake Daddy said, "Don't be afraid, Daddy's right across the hall." There was a brief pause and the little boy called out, "I'm still scared." So Daddy pulled out the big guns, "You don't have to be afraid, God is with you. God loves you." The pause was longer but the little boy called out again, "I don't care about God, Daddy; I want someone with skin on!"

God knew we needed that assurance of someone with skin on. So God wrapped all the glory of heaven into the flesh and blood of Jesus and stepped into this world as the Good Shepherd just to show us how much we are loved. The Good Shepherd isn't satisfied until all of the sheep are safely gathered into the flock. Not even a one percent margin of loss was acceptable. He will not rest if only one sheep is missing, or one coin is lost. They show us that he cares deeply enough to go out of his way to save us when we are lost.

These parables teach us more about the heart of God than a whole library full of theological treatises. All three parables of Luke 15 end with a party or a celebration of the finding. The self-righteous Pharisees, who accused Jesus of befriending publicans and sinners, could not believe that God would be delighted at the conversion of sinners.
The elder son’s distrust, pointed out at the end of the parable, coincides with the initial malicious gossip of the Pharisees which prompted Jesus to tell them this parable. The self-righteous Pharisees who would rather see a sinner destroyed than saved. The elder son reflects the Pharisees' attitude that obedience to Mosaic Law is a duty, not a loving service. Like the Pharisees, the elder brother lacks sympathy for his sibling and levels accusations at him. As a self-righteous person, he refuses to forgive. Thus, his grudge becomes a sin in itself, resulting in his exclusion from the banquet of his father’s love. That is what we all do when we sin. We exclude ourselves from the banquet of God’s love.
The Pharisees could not understand this forgiving image of God, because they have painted their image of God in their own likeness.
Our view of God affects every decision and relationship in our life. Kathleen Chesto wrote to Catholic Digest to tell them about an incident that occurred in her family. Her five-year-old child approached her one day in the kitchen and asked, "Mom, is God a grown-up or a parent?"

Mom was a little puzzled by the question. "I'm not sure what you mean," she said. "Is there a difference between a grown-up and a parent?" "Oh yes," her five-year-old answered quickly. "Grown-ups love you when you are good and parents love you anyway." If we have never received unconditional love, we have never given it. Some of us are still trying to earn our way to heaven. And we are expecting others to earn their way as well, like the pharisees. Jesus is trying to tell us in this parable that God's love doesn't depend on our goodness; it depends on God's character. Here is this truth expressed in I John 4: 10, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
God’s love is a persistent, tenacious kind of love. By looking at just how lavish in the parable is the father's welcome for his lost son, we might well say that it is the father who is 'the prodigal', that he is prodigal of his mercy. The father heaps presents on the younger son. Throughout the Bible we are shown just how much care God lavishes on us, despite a catalogue of infidelities and betrayals and failings on our part.

The younger son didn't really know his father. He didn't know how much his father loved him and how eagerly his father wanted to bequeath him prosperity and joy. As a result, he paid his father a colossal insult by demanding his share of the inheritance while his father was still alive.
It was a way of saying that his father would be of more use to him dead than alive. The older son was no better. On the surface he seemed to do everything right, but he had no idea about how much his father cared for him, and so he resented the celebration at this brother's return. Although they had lived their entire lives under the same roof, the two brothers had never opened their hearts to their father; they had closed themselves into the petty little world of their egoism.
We can easily do the same: spend our whole lives as "practicing" Catholics, going through all the right motions and looking great on the outside, but not opening our hearts to God, not getting to know him on a personal, intimate level. That's a risky way to live our faith: we could easily end up separated from the Father for good, eating corn husks and missing out on the joyful celebration of the Father's love.

As the sheep that strayed out far from the herd, the younger son is lost from home, and this is reflected in the geographical distance he travels away from home; he ends up in a distant country. Like the coin that was lost in the house, the older brother stays put, but he risks getting lost by cutting himself off from his brother and his father. There are separations that need no great physical gap. The Pharisees “lived” in the house of God, but could not experience the forgiving love of God, the publicans and sinners were away from the so called people of God, but experienced the forgiving love of God through Jesus. This parable teaches us that it is possible to live "in the Father's house" without really getting to know the Father.

This can be for us a Sunday of self-reflection and assessment. As forgiven prodigals, we must be forgiving people. God’s forgiving attitude was shown by Jesus when he prayed for his killers saying that they did not know what they were doing (Luke 23:34). If those who killed the Son of God could be forgiven because they acted in ignorance, then every human sin could be forgiven because there is an element of ignorance that clouds our spiritual and moral insight at the moment of sin.
Nine years ago today, the United States suffered the greatest terrorist attack ever on American soil, with almost 4,000 dead. To mark that event this Sunday is observed as peace and justice Sunday. It brings us face to face with the ugly face of world terrorism on the one hand, while on the other it makes us to look up to God for the ever growing problems we find ourselves surrounded with. God created a just and peaceful society for us to live. But our sins disrupted that peace in the world. The so called terrorists act out of ignorance, blinded by wrong teachings of fanaticism. They need God’s grace to see the wrong they do and seek God’s forgiveness for their wrong. In the perspective of the terrorists, others are at wrong, not they. If there is something wrong on our side as a nation, we need self examination and see the wrong on our side to rectify and seek God’s grace to remove the speck or log, out of our eyes. As we pray for peace in the world let’s ask God to give eternal light and peace to all who died on 9/11/2001 at World Trade Centre. Christianity will be known by the fruits of love, kindness, compassion and mercy. As Christians, being led by the Holy Spirit, let’s show our identity by the forgiveness we offer who hurt us.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

XXIII-Sunday in Ordinary time

XXIII-Sunday: WIS. 9:13-18;: PHILE 9-10, 12-17;Gosple: LK 14: 25 – 33

We know the old commandment, “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). We know the new commandment of Jesus, “Love one another; even as I have loved you” (John 13:34); also Love your enemies. And we come hear today these words of Jesus: “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). How can we reconcile these seemingly contradictory demands? How can we “hate” those we are supposed to love? And, more importantly, why?

Jesus’ words of “hating” one’s family is a Semitic hyperbole or exaggeration, spoken for effect. Matthew’s gospel makes it clear. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Mt 10:37-38). When Jesus said "hate your family,” he was talking about spiritual detachment, the ability to put God first, before other relationships and before self-interest. Without such detachment, one does not have the ability to truly follow Jesus.

The paradox of hating those we love was dramatized in a most fascinating way on Saturday, September 8, 2001 in the women’s finals of the US Open tennis tournament in Flushing, New York. For the first time in the history of the tournament, the world watched a sportive and emotional roller-coaster as two sisters who love each other so much that they live in the same house and share the same hotel room fought each other. Could you imagine what was going on in the minds of Venus and Serena Williams as they battled and slugged it out against each other, suspending their love for each other and at least temporarily “hating” each other? They had to “hate” each other because the one was standing in the way of the other becoming the world champion. The one was an obstacle to the realization of the other’s dream to wear the world crown. And so they had to hate and fight each other.

Venus won. But she did not do her usual victory leap and celebratory display. Instead she ran to the net, put an arm around her defeated junior sister’s shoulder and said, “I love you.” Why did she say that? Because the game is over now and her sister is no longer an obstacle in the way of her victory. She said, in other words, “I am sorry, but I had to do it: I had to fight you so hard, I had to “hate” you because you were standing in my way. But I still love you.” That was a rare example of hating those we love, and from it we can learn much about Jesus’ injunction to “hate” our loved ones.
we are to love our parents and siblings and spouses, and indeed everyone else, except when they become obstacles in our bid to win the crown of eternal life. We should be prepared to wage an uncompromising war to see that no person or thing stands in our way to make us lose the crown. Possessions constitute a formidable obstacle in many people’s bid for the crown of salvation. That is why Jesus concludes today’s gospel with these words: “So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (v. 33).
Discipleship implies a lie deeper than family ties. Jesus is not just saying, “Love me more.” He is saying that it is not just a matter of degree; it is sometimes either/or. To translate every choice into a matter of degree is to avoid choice.
Today’s gospel, therefore, shows us how absolute and how radical are the demands of discipleship. Jesus' call to complete renunciation of everything that gets in the way of discipleship seems too extreme. He isn't looking for us to limit our commitment to celebrating Mass on Sunday and avoiding evil. He expects us to live the Gospel and to announce the Good News to others, and to do this, knowing there will be a great cost. Being Jesus' disciple has never been convenient. It is costly -- costly in terms of money, time, relationships, and priorities.
The radical demands of Jesus call us to center our lives on the suffering and risen Christ.

We must bear our crosses: For the early Christians, however, cross-bearing had a far more literal meaning. Just as Jesus went to the cross, some of his followers would also taste death for their devotion to the Master. Only if the disciple is firmly committed to Christ will he be able to spend his life in sacrificial service for others. Jesus only calls people to follow him along the way of the cross because he knows that our deepest yearnings can only be satisfied by friendship with him.
Andrew died on a cross
Simon was crucified
Bartholomew was flayed alive
James (son of Zebedee) was beheaded
The other James (son of Alphaeus) was beaten to death
Thomas was run through with a lance
Matthias was stoned and then beheaded
Matthew was slain by the sword
Peter was crucified upside down
Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows
Philip was hanged. And John died a living martyrs death in exile.

No human life is without suffering. No human life is without a cross.
But for those of us who know Christ, our friendship with him enables us to suffer with meaning, and even with joy.

The demands that Jesus makes upon those who would follow him are extreme. Christianity is not a Sunday morning religion. It is a hungering after God to the point of death if need be. It shakes our foundations, topples our priorities, pits us against friend and family, and makes us strangers in this world.

Soren Kierkegaard said that there are a lot of parade-ground Christians who wear the uniforms of Christianity, but few who are willing to do battle for Christ and his kingdom.
As Christians, we must walk in Christ's steps unconditionally, not just for a day or two or a couple of months, but for a whole lifetime. Now, if we are afraid of the high demands of Christ, remember that we are not left to fulfill them all alone. Jesus who called us to the steep road will walk with us every step of the way. And he promises a fruitful journey to whoever keeps going with him and giving up everything to stay with him.

Today Christ will come in Holy Communion to strengthen us once again, so that we can continue bearing our crosses with faith and hope. This week, let's share that strength with someone who needs it. Let's take a share of a neighbor's cross, just as Christ has taken a share of ours.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

XXIth Sunday in Ordinary time.

XXI Ordinary Sunday. Hb.12:5-7,11-13,Luke 13:22-30

The credit card is a great invention. With just a plastic card one can go into a shop and buy whatever one wants - a dress, a pair of shoes, grocery, a television set, and even a car - take it home and begin to enjoy it, all with just a promise to pay later, as money becomes available. It is a wonderful system that could be a lifesaver to someone in temporary financial crisis. But the credit card system can create in people the mentality of “have it now and pay later,” which does not work in life generally. In the real life, most of the goods that come to us are prepaid. To pass our exams, we have to study beforehand. We cannot pass our exams now with a promise to complete the required courses later. To win a football match, the team must practice hard before the match, not after. Most goods and blessings that come to us in life are prepaid.

Discipline is the name we give to the necessary hard work and self-denial that people endure in order to prepay for a future reward. Discipline, as everyone knows, can be a very painful experience, but those who succeed after going through the rigor of discipline usually look back and agree that it was worth it. As today’s second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews says, “discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).

Wise parents raise their children with discipline. With discipline children are helped to cultivate good habits, such as, early to bed and early to rise, brushing their teeth and taking a shower, cleaning their rooms and helping out in the kitchen. With discipline children learn how to join in the family meal rather than watch television all the time, how to make time to do their homework rather than browsing the internet all night long. At the time, they may object and think that their parents are harsh, but later in life, when they begin to reap the rewards of a disciplined life, they will thank their parents for inculcating some discipline into them.

Our second reading today compares God to good parents who discipline their children out of the love they have for them. God punishes us because he loves us, he wants us to be good children. Paul asks: What child is there whom a parent does not discipline? Punishment becomes part of disciple some times. Parents are to punish their children only if they love them to death; just as God loved us in Jesus. If parents don’t love the children their punishment will bring reverse effects. Punishment becomes a duty for the parents who love their children deeply. If you think you don’t love your children enough, you lose your right to punish them. So if we want our children to be good and if we really love them, remember the dictum in the proverb: Spare the rode and spoil the child. It means that if we refrain from punishments where required, we are bound to spoil our children. Of course we may say, law of the land prohibits it, we are not supposed to punish our children or else we end up in jail. When punished in love we won’t cross over to the limit of what law prohibits. Our society will certainly punish if a man or even a teenager does something criminal. Our society will not spare them. We don’t hear any judge ever saying “I forgive you”. The violator will be put behind bars and their freedom which they regard most in life is choked. But how come the parents are not allowed to punish their our own kids whom they really love, that is absurd. Of course the promulgation of this law was caused because some where some people over did things, were cruel to their own children. To curb one extreme we went to the other extreme. But we know the virtue always lies in the middle. All through the bible we find God submitting his people to punishment for their waywardness.

Several years ago, one young man was condemned to death for robbery and murder. He was in the jail waiting his execution . When he was asked about his last wish he said he wanted to see his mom. His mom was brought to the jail and he asked his mom to come closer because he wanted to share something secret in her ear. When she got near him, he bit her ear off. She was bleeding profusely and when asked why he did that to his mom he said- When I was a kid and stole a pencil from the school, my mother did not punish me, she did not even scold me, on the contrary she encouraged me. And later on I stole several things from the school, but my mother did not punish me even for once. If she had punished me then and made me realize what I did was wrong, I would never have ended up here.
Prov.1:8 says: Hear my child, your father’s instruction, and do not reject your mother’s teaching; for they are a fair garland for your head, and pendants for your neck.
Prov.13:1 says: A wise child loves discipline, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

So always remember to correct our children when they do wrong. Overlooking their mistakes when they are young would encourage them to develop bad habits. They should not be prompted to think that we are approving of their faults. A bent plant can be straightened when it is young, not when it has become a grown tree. It is wise not to punish children for any kind of mistakes at the first or second instance. Correcting a few times would probably bring good result. Being lenient too many times will inspire them to commit the same mistakes often. Remember, never to punish them before others, especially before their friends or peers. It will hurt them severely and cut down their self image. Also never speak of the negatives of your child before him/her to others. That will not produce the intended results. In spite of repeated punishments if the child does not improve, then you need to find out the reason behind it. This may be a trick to getting your attention, because he or she needs your attention more than what he gets now.

After the vacation a school teacher asked her class how they enjoyed the vacation and told them to write down what they wanted to become in life. After the class the teacher took the papers home and was reading them at night and as she read one paper she started crying. Her husband asked what happened and she gave him the paper to read. A boy wrote he wanted to become a TV. The reason he wrote were,.. TV is placed in a respectable position and everyone pays attention to the TV and listens carefully to the TV. At home no one listens to me. My parents have no time to talk to me or spend their time with me. My brother is busy with his cell phone and computer, and there is no one to talk to me. If I become a TV and if I get the attention the TV gets in my home I will be very happy. When he read through the paper and came to read the name of the boy he found out that it was written by none other than their own son.

Once the children reach teenage, corporal punishment is not advisable. Prov.19:18 says: Discipline your children while there is hope; do not set your heart on their destruction. A violent tempered person will pay the penalty”. So when you are angry don’t think of punishing your children, you can go to extremes. When one of the parents punish, let the other parent console them and fondle them in love, so that they would know that the parents do not hate them, but punished out of love and concern. The children who had been punished and had opportunities to take “no”s in their childhood are less likely to have mental breakdown when they grow older.
The intensity of punishment should always be in proportion to the mistake done. Never punish twice for the same mistake. The way a child is reared affects how genetic predispositions are expressed. Being a parent is an awesome vocation. The relationship parents have with their children leaves its influence on them for many years afterwards.
Discipline entails tr
ials and hardships. It takes going through the “narrow gate”. But only those who go through the narrow gate will make it to heaven. Wide and smooth are the road that leads to destruction.
Many years ago, an editorial in the magazine, War Cry put it like this: “A loose wire gives out no musical note; but fasten the ends, and the piano, the harp or the violin is born. Free steam drives no machine. But hamper and confine it with piston and turbine and you have the great world of machinery made possible. The unhampered river drives no dynamos, but dam it up and we get power sufficient to light a great city. So our lives must be disciplined if we are to be of any real service in this world.”

Let me conclude by reading to you a famous quote: Watch your words, they become your actions, watch your actions they become your habit, watch your habit they become your character, and your character will determine your destiny.

XXI Ordinary Sunday, Discipline your children

XXI Ordinary Sunday. Hb.12:5-7,11-13,Luke 13:22-30

The credit card is a great invention. With just a plastic card one can go into a shop and buy whatever one wants - a dress, a pair of shoes, grocery, a television set, and even a car - take it home and begin to enjoy it, all with just a promise to pay later, as money becomes available. It is a wonderful system that could be a lifesaver to someone in temporary financial crisis. But the credit card system can create in people the mentality of “have it now and pay later,” which does not work in life generally. In the real life, most of the goods that come to us are prepaid. To pass our exams, we have to study beforehand. We cannot pass our exams now with a promise to complete the required courses later. To win a football match, the team must practice hard before the match, not after. Most goods and blessings that come to us in life are prepaid.

Discipline is the name we give to the necessary hard work and self-denial that people endure in order to prepay for a future reward. Discipline, as everyone knows, can be a very painful experience, but those who succeed after going through the rigor of discipline usually look back and agree that it was worth it. As today’s second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews says, “discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).
Wise parents raise their children with discipline. With discipline children are helped to cultivate good habits, such as, early to bed and early to rise, brushing their teeth and taking a shower, cleaning their rooms and helping out in the kitchen. With discipline children learn how to join in the family meal rather than watch television all the time, how to make time to do their homework rather than browsing the internet all night long. At the time, they may object and think that their parents are harsh, but later in life, when they begin to reap the rewards of a disciplined life, they will thank their parents for inculcating some discipline into them.

Our second reading today compares God to good parents who discipline their children out of the love they have for them. God punishes us because he loves us, he wants us to be good children. Paul asks: What child is there whom a parent does not discipline? Punishment becomes part of disciple some times. Parents are to punish their children only if they love them to death; just as God loved in Jesus. If parents don’t love the children their punishment will bring reverse effects. Punishment becomes a duty for the parents who love their children. If you think you don’t love your children enough, you lose your right to punish them. So if we want our children to be good and if we really love them, remember the dictum in the proverb: Spare the rode and spoil the child. It means that if we refrain from punishments where required, we are bound to spoil our children. Of course we may say, law of the land prohibits it, we are not supposed to punish our children or else we end up in jail. When punished in love we won’t cross over to the limit of what law prohibits. Our society will certainly punish if a man or even a teenager does something criminal. Our society will not spare them. The violator will be put behind bars and their freedom which they regard most in life is choked. But the parents are not allowed to punish their our own kids whom they really love, that is absurd. Of course the promulgation of this law was caused because some where some people over did things, were cruel to their own children. To curb one excess we went to the other excess. But we know the virtue always lies in the middle. All through the bible we find God submitting his people to punishment for their waywardness.
Several years ago, one young man was condemned to death for robbery and murder. He was in the jail waiting his execution . When he was asked about his last wish he said he wanted to see his mom. His mom was brought to the jail and he asked his mom to come closer because he wanted to share something secret in her ear. When she got near him bit her ear off. She was bleeding profusely and when asked why he did that to his mom he said- When I was a kid and stole a pencil from the school, my mother did not punish me, she did not even scold me, on the contrary she encouraged me. And later on I stole many things from the school, but my mother did not punish me for once. If she had punished me then and made me realize what I did was wrong, I would never have ended up here.

Prov.1:8 says: Hear my child, your father’s instruction, and do not reject your mother’s teaching; for they are a fair garland for your head, and pendants for your neck.
Prov.13:1 says: A wise child loves discipline, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

So always remember to correct our children when they do wrong. Overlooking their mistakes when they are young would encourage them to develop bad habits. They should not be helped to think that we are approving of their faults. A bent plant can be straightened when it is young, not when it has become a grown tree. It is wise not to punish children for any kind of mistakes at the first or second instance. Correcting a few times would probably bring the result. Being lenient too many times will inspire them to commit the same mistakes often. Remember, never to punish them before others, especially before their friends. It will hurt them severely and cut down their self image. Also never speak the negatives of your child before him/her to others. That will not produce the intended results. In spite of repeated punishments the child does not improve, then you need to find out the reason behind it. This may be a way of getting your attention, because he or she loves your attention more than what he gets now. After the vacation a school teacher asked her class how they enjoyed the vacation and told them to write down what they want to become in life. After the class the teacher took the papers home and was reading them at night and as she read she started crying. Her husband asked what happened and she gave the paper to him. A boy wrote he wanted to become a TV. The reason he wrote were,.. TV is placed in a respectable position and everyone pays attention to the TV and listens carefully to the TV. At home no one listens to me. My parents have no time. My brother is busy with his work, and there is no one to talk to me. If I become a TV and if I get the attention the TV gets in my home I will be very happy. When he read through the paper he found out that it was written by his own son.

Once the children reach teenage, corporal punishment won’t help much. Prov.19:18 says: Discipline your children while there is hope; do not set your heart on their destruction. A violent tempered person will pay the penalty; So when you are angry don’t think of punishing your children, you can go to extremes. When one of the parents punish, let the other parent console them and fondle them in love, so that they would know that the parents do not want their destruction, but they punish out of love. The children who had been punished and had opportunities to take “no”s in their childhood are less likely to have mental breakdown when they grow older.
The intensity of punishment should always be in proportion to the mistake done. Never punish twice for the same mistake. The way a child is reared affects how genetic predispositions are expressed. Being a parent is an awesome vocation. The relationship parents have with their children leaves its influence on them for many years afterwards.

Discipline entails trials and hardships. It takes going through the “narrow gate”. But only those who go through the narrow gate will make it to heaven. Wide and smooth are the road that leads to destruction.
Many years ago, an editorial in the magazine, War Cry put it like this: “A loose wire gives out no musical note; but fasten the ends, and the piano, the harp or the violin is born. Free steam drives no machine. But hamper and confine it with piston and turbine and you have the great world of machinery made possible. The unhampered river drives no dynamos, but dam it up and we get power sufficient to light a great city. So our lives must be disciplined if we are to be of any real service in this world.” Watch your words, they become your actions, watch your actions they become your habit, watch your habit they become your character, and your character will determine your destiny.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

ASSUMPTION OF BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION

Rev. 11: 19, 12: 1-6, 10,: I Cor. 15: 20-27,Gosple: Luke 1: 39-56

There is an old story about a workman on a scaffolding high above the nave of a cathedral who looked down and saw a woman praying before a statue of Mary. As a joke, the workman whispered, "Woman, this is Jesus." The woman ignored him. The workman whispered again, more loudly: "Woman, this is Jesus." Again, the woman ignored him. Finally, he said aloud, "Woman, don't you hear me? This is Jesus." At this point the woman looked up at the crucifix and said, "Be still now, Jesus, I'm talking to your mother."

The Feast of the Assumption is one of the most important feasts of our Lady. Catholics believe that when her earthly life was finished, Mary was taken up, body and soul, into heavenly glory, where the Lord exalted her as Queen of Heaven. (ccc, # 966). The Assumption is the feast of Mary’s total liberation from death and decay, the consequences of original sin. It is also the remembrance of the day when the Church gave official recognition to the centuries-old belief of Christians about the Assumption of their heavenly mother.

Assumption- was a reward for Mary’s sacrificial cooperation in the divine plan of salvation. Her death was a transformation from this life to the next. She is the model Christian who heard the Word of God and lived it. She carried the life of God within her, celebrated the life of her Son on earth and is united to His life for all eternity.

The fact of Mary’s death is generally accepted by the Church Fathers and theologians and is expressly affirmed in the liturgy of the Church. Origen (died AD 253), St. Jerome (died AD 419) and St. Augustine (died AD 430), among others, argue that Mary’s death was not a punishment for sin, but only the result of her being a descendant of Adam and Eve. When Pope Pius XII made the proclamation of the assumption on November 1, 1950, he put into words a belief held by the faithful since the first century. Way back in AD 325 the Council of Nicea spoke of the Assumption of Mary. Writing in AD 457, the Bishop of Jerusalem said that when Mary’s tomb was opened, it was "found empty. The apostles judged her body had been taken into heaven.

According to one legend, Blessed Virgin Mary was living at Ephesus with the beloved disciple John and while there she died. St.Thomas was not there around at that time and when he was informed of Mary’s death on his arrival, he refused to believe it and demanded the grave to be opened and found it to be empty.

The second reading from the I Corinthians is Paul’s defense of the resurrection of the dead, is an apt selection on the feast of our heavenly Mother’s Assumption into heaven. In the Magnificat, or song of Mary, given in today’s gospel, Mary acknowledges that “the Almighty has done great things” for her. God, who has "lifted up" his "lowly servant" Mary, lifts up all the lowly, not only because they are faithful, but also because God is faithful to the promise of divine mercy. Thus the feast of the Assumption celebrates the mercy of God or the victory of God’s mercy as expressed in Mary’s Magnificat.

Marian doctrine and devotion, properly understood and practised, does not lead believers away from, but rather leads more deeply into the mystery of Christ. The woman in prayer who thinks that Jesus should keep still because she is talking with his mother has lost sight of the perfect harmony of wills and hearts between Mary and Jesus which we see most clearly in the Wedding Feast at Cana where Mary commands us: "Do whatever he (Jesus) tells you" (John 2:5).

Mary’s Assumption gives us the assurance and hope of our own resurrection and assumption into heaven on the day of our Last Judgment. It is a sign to us that someday, through God’s grace and our good life, we, too, will join the Blessed Mother in giving glory to God. It points the way for all followers of Christ who imitate Mary’s fidelity and obedience to God’s will.

One Sunday school teacher, had just finished explaining the feast of the Assumption to her class. "Now," she said, "let all those children who want to go to heaven to see their heavenly mother raise their hands." All the children raised their hands except little Marie in the front row. "Don't you want to go to heaven, Marie?" asked the teacher. "I can't," said Marie tearfully. "My mother told me to come straight home after Sunday school.

Since Mary’s Assumption was a reward for her saintly life, this feast reminds us that we, too, must be pure and holy in body and soul, since our bodies will be glorified on the day of our resurrection. St. Paul tells us that our bodies are the temples of God because the Holy Spirit dwells within us. He also reminds us that our bodies are also members of the Body of Christ.

This feast also gives us the message of total liberation. Jesus tells us in John 8: 34 that every one who sins is a slave of sin, and St. Paul reminds us (Gal. 5: 1) that, since Christ has set us free, we should be slaves of sin no more. Thus, the Assumption encourages us to work with God to be liberated from the bondage of evil: from impure, unjust and uncharitable thoughts and habits, and from the bonds of jealousy, envy and hatred.

It is always an inspiring thought in our moments of temptation and despair to remember that we have a powerful heavenly Mother, constantly interceding for us before her son, Jesus, in heaven. The feast of Mary’s assumption challenges us to imitate her self-sacrificing love, her indestructible faith and her perfect obedience.

Our prayers to Mary are the prayers of children asking their mother for help. We pray to Mary because she is our mother. When we were little and we fell down and scraped out knees, we called out to our mommies. When we got older we stopped calling out to our moms in time of minor difficulties, but when major traumas hit, when a girl loses a baby, when a young man learns that he has cancer, it is usually Mom who is still the first person called upon for help. Jesus gave Mary to us to be our Mother. He wants us to call upon our Mom in times of need. We recognize that it is Jesus’ life and power that saves us, but we also recognize that Mary was given to us at the foot of the cross as our mother.

One young boy was praying for months to get a particular kind of toy. He was desperate for not getting that toy. One day when he came to church he saw a small statue of Mother Mary. He slowly took the statue home and came back to church again to pray. He told Jesus, I have hijacked your mother. If you want her back give me the toy.

If we have Mary with us, our prayers have a better chance of being answered soon. Let’s approach Jesus through Mary, because she gave Jesus to the world. To Quote Pope Benedict XVI, “On this feast day, let us thank the Lord for the gift of the Mother, and let us pray to Mary to help us find the right path every day”.
On this feast day of our heavenly Mother, let us offer ourselves on the altar and pray for her special care and loving protection in helping us lead a purer and holier life.
O Mary, Assumed into heaven, pray for us, your children, who are fighting the attacks of sin. Amen.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

XIXth Sunday in ORdinary TIme

XIXth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Wisdom 18:6-9; Heb. 11: 1-2, 8-19 ;Gosple: Luke12: 32-48

According to an old fable, a man made an unusual agreement with Death. He told the Grim Reaper that he would willingly accompany him when the time came to die, but only on one condition – that Death would send a messenger well in advance to warn him. Weeks turned into months, and months into years. Then one bitter winter evening, as the man sat thinking about all his possessions, Death suddenly entered the room and tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, the man cried out, "You're here so soon and without warning! I thought we had an agreement." Death replied, "I've more than kept my part. I've sent you many messengers. Look in the mirror and you'll see some of them." As the man complied, Death whispered, "Notice your hair! Once it was full and golden, now it is thin and white. Look at the way you tilt your head to listen to me because you can't hear very well. Observe how close to the mirror you must stand to see yourself clearly. Yes, I've sent many messengers through the years. I'm sorry you're not ready, but the time has come for you to leave."
The central theme of today’s readings is the necessity of vigilant preparedness in the followers of Christ. Jesus uses two comparisons to explain the nature of the vigilance required of us. We must be ready for action like an oriental servant or like an oil lamp trimmed for service. The long flowing robes worn by people of the day were a hindrance to work. When a man prepared himself to work, he gathered up his robes under his girdle (belt) in order to leave himself free for activity. The reference to fastened belts and lamps burning ready also recalled the preparedness for action which was legislated for Israel in the Passover ritual (Exodus 12:1).
Since the time of our death is quite uncertain, we, too, must be ever ready to meet our Lord at any moment. He should find us carrying out our task of love, mercy and service, rather than leaving things undone or half-done. He should also find us at peace with God, ourselves and with our fellowmen (Eph.4:26)

The Lord comes unexpectedly into our lives everyday through events and people we meet. But the ultimate, unexpected coming of the Lord in our lives is the moment of death. We should be watchful to recognize the Lord and prepared to meet him in the little unexpected opportunities of everyday life. This is the best way to prepare for the ultimate encounter with the Lord at the hour of death.
During his sermon, an evangelist asked all who wanted to go to heaven to raise their hands. Everyone in the audience did so--except for one elderly man sitting near the front of the auditorium. The preacher pointed his finger at him and said, "Sir, do you mean to tell us that you don't want to go to heaven?" "Sure I do," the old man answered, "but the way you put the question, I figured you were getting up a busload for tonight!'

Linda Taylor was putting her three tiny tots to bed. Suddenly Peggy, who had just begun kindergarten, said thoughtfully, Mommy, if the world came to an end, right now Would I have to take my library book back, or would it be okay to leave it at home?"

Peggy's innocent question and Jesus' sobering words invite us to ask, "How ready am I to meet my Maker, at this very moment?"
Seneca says: That day which you fear as being the end of all things is the birthday of your eternity.

The first sentences of today’s gospel speaks about how to prepare ourselves to meet the Lord.
Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
This takes us to the last Sunday’s reading too. Money doesn’t bring happiness, everyone agrees. But then we go straight back to pursuing it as if it did. A full purse, like a full stomach, makes you want to go to sleep. We become oblivious of everything except the stock market or our business – and that is a kind of sleep. All great religious figures kept shouting, ‘Wake up!’ It is not that everyone was dozing in the sun; no they were not: they were making money.

Our preciousness in God’s eyes is contrasted with the preciousness of material treasures. We get our value from the Creator and not the accumulation of other creatures. Our heart’s desires will announce to which kingdom we belong.
Money is seductive because it appears to be the key to everything and everywhere. There was once a wealthy man who decided to donate a large amount of money to a monastery. To his great surprise, the abbot said, “No thanks, we have enough at present.” The rich man pressed him to take it anyway, but he refused politely. Suddenly the rich man began to weep. “You have made me realise how poor I am,” he said, “I have nothing to offer you except money.”

Jesus gave many warnings about the seductions of wealth. There is nothing wrong with the material things of the world in themselves. If my purse is always full, I will think only about getting a bigger purse. And it will fade gradually from my awareness that half the world is hungry. And I may also fail to notice that I am hungry myself, because my heart is empty. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” If money is my treasure, there will be nothing in my heart except money. Let’s take to heart seriously the warning of Jesus and be alert and watchful for we don’t know when the Lord comes.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

XVIIIth Sunday in Ordinary Time

XVIII Sunday. ECCL. 1:2; 2:21-23,: COL. 3:1-5, 9-11,: LUKE 12:13-21

One morning in 1888 Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, awoke to read his own obituary. The obituary was printed as a result of a simple journalistic error when Alfred's brother died. The words, “The Dynamite King, the great industrialist who had made an immense fortune from explosives passes away” gave Alfred an overwhelming shock because, for the first time in his life, he saw himself as the world saw him – a merchant of death and destruction. As he read the obituary with horror, he resolved both to make clear to the world the true meaning and purpose of his life and to get ready for his meeting with his God. He decided this could be done through the final disposition of his fortune. His last will and testament consisted of an endowment of five annual prizes for outstanding contributions in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. The fifth one is now called Nobel Peace Prize. A sixth category, economics, was added later. The Nobel Prize thus became the expression of Alfred Nobel’s life's ideals and ultimately it would be the reason we remember him as a rich scientist who had the good will to share his riches with others.

The noble examples of sharing given by Alfred Nobel and later by John D. Rockefeller have been followed by many millionaires in this century. There is no parallel in the sharing made in recent years by the world’s richest man, Bill Gates, drawing inspiration from Christ’s warning against hoarding and advice for sharing one’s riches. Each parish bears ample testimony to the sharing made by the parishioners in the form of tithes and donations. Our Parish set an example by pledging over thirty thousand in pledges over our parish goal in DPAA. Congratulations, even though it is only 503 families that donated.

The common theme of today’s readings is the futility of greedily acquiring wealth and power because everything and everyone is “here today and gone tomorrow.” Therefore, the meaning of life cannot be found in possessions. The first reading from Ecclesiastes gives the great dictum of Biblical realism, "Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!". The author claims that he has “seen all things that are done under the sun” and found them to be “a chase after wind” (Ecc 1:14). He expresses a ruthlessly honest pessimism about the prospects for finding true happiness in the greedy acquisition of earthly goods, because the greedy hoarder leaves everything behind at his death and his heirs will receive and may squander his hard-earned wealth. According to an old legend, Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), commanded that when he died and was carried forth to his grave, his hands should not be wrapped in the burial clothes, as was the custom, but should be left outside so that all might see them, and might see also, that they were empty. In the brief span of his thirty-three years, Alexander had conquered and possessed the riches of an empire that extended from Greece to India. Yet, in death, his hands were empty; none of his wealth could survive the passage of death.

In today’s gospel, by relating the parable of the foolish rich man, Jesus warns us against all types of greed, because greed takes our life’s focus away from God and away from serving and loving Him in other people. Instead, greed directs all our energy and attention to fulfilling the self, making our wealth the basis of our security. Jesus issues a warning, a warning inspired by a squabble over inheritance, but one that all of us need to hear. He says: "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."
The richer the man grew, the greedier he became, as suggested by the Roman proverb: “Money is like sea water; the more a man drinks the thirstier he becomes.”
The key to poison ivy, once you have it, is not to scratch. Restraining yourself is hard, for your skin itches and you want relief. But scratching only makes poison ivy worse. Avarice works the same way. We get infected, and we want to scratch, although we know we shouldn't do so. Possessing more and more promises relief, but only makes the situation worse. We keep scratching, but it's no solution.

The foolish rich man “never saw beyond this world.” He was punished not for anything wrong he did, but for the good he failed to do. It was his acts of omission rather than of commission that prompted God to cut short his life.

He failed to become “rich in what matters to God.” He was not thankful to God for His blessings; instead, he considered them as solely the fruit of his own labor. He also failed in his stewardship duties – the returning to God of His portion in paying his tithe. Third, he did not recognize his possessions as a loan from God, given to him to share with others. Fourth, he was taken up with worries or anxieties about his wealth. He was starving to death spiritually in the midst of God’s abundance.

Let us control our greed. Our greed takes different shapes and forms. For some it may be the desire for the approval and praise of others. For others it is the uncontrolled desire for power, control or fame. For still others greed takes the form of excessive and sinful indulgence in eating, drinking, gambling, drugs or sexual activities. Greed also diverts our life away from God and away from serving and loving Him in other people. As greed directs all our energy and attention to fulfilling the self, its objects become our false gods, and they will consume us unless we become rich in the sight of God.

A man is walking down the beach and comes across an old bottle. He picks it up, pulls out the cork and out pops a genie!
The genie says, "Thank you for freeing me from the bottle. In return I will grant you three wishes."
The man says "Great! I always dreamed of this and I know exactly what I want. First, I want one billion dollars in a Swiss bank account."
Poof! There is a flash of light and a piece of paper with account numbers appears in his hand!
He continues, "Next, I want a brand new red Ferrari right here."
Poof! There is a flash of light and a bright red, brand-new Ferrari appears right next to him!
He continues, "Finally, I want to be irresistible to women."
Poof! There is a flash of light and he turns into a box of chocolates.
Greed will eat us up.

Henry Ford once asked an associate about his life goals. The man replied that his goal was to make a million dollars. A few days later Ford gave the man a pair of glasses made out of two silver dollars. He told the man to put them on and asked what he could see. "Nothing," the man said. "The dollars are in the way." Ford told him that he wanted to teach him a lesson: If his only goal was dollars, he would miss a host of greater opportunities. He should invest himself in serving others, not simply in making money. Money is important. No question about that. But money is only a means by which we reach higher goals. Service to others. Obedience to God.
By comparison how rich we are! And with our wealth comes responsibility. We should use it wisely, not be wasteful, and help others. We need to get back to the basics and re-establish our priorities. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mt. 6:33).

Let me close with the beautiful prayer from the book of Proverbs: "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." (Proverbs 30: 8-9).

Saturday, July 10, 2010

XVth Sunday in Ordinary time.- Good Samaritan

15th Sunday: The Parable of Good Samaritan Lk 10: 25- 37.

We have all heard this parable of the Good Samaritan before and we know that Jesus is challenging us to act differently and love our neighbor no matter who they are. But we do not always recognize who is our neighbor in need. In the Gospel we have the image of a person beaten, stripped and left for dead. This person was ignored, forgotten and passed by.

In our lives we come across many people like this man who have been passed by who is hurt and in despair. There are spouses who are in a loveless relationship. There are teenage boys and girls who feel that they cannot talk with their parents without being criticized or scolded. There are those who work long hours and make sacrifices for their jobs and in the end are either laid off or overlooked when it comes time for that promotion. Finally there are the sick and the elderly that no one visits or calls. They may feel that there is no reason for living. There are many times in our own lives when we really need someone but feel ignored and disregarded, and we know how much it hurts.
Often it happens that we hesitate to go out and help fearing what might happen to us, like the priest and the Levite. An old man standing on a crowded bus. The young man standing next to him asked, "What time is it?" The old man refused to reply. The young man moved on. The old man’s friend, sensing something was wrong, asked, "Why were you so discourteous to the young man asking for the time?" The old man answered, "If I have given him the time of day, next he would want to know where I am going. Then we might talk about our interests. If we did that, he might invite himself to my house for dinner. If he did, he would meet my lovely daughter. If he met her, they would both fall in love. I don’t want my daughter marrying someone who can’t afford a watch." Often we behave like this man- unreasonably afraid of what would happen if I help others.
We are all called to make a difference in the lives of others. It may not involve binding the wounds of someone who has been physically beaten. But it does involve reaching out to those in need, especially those who feel that they have no one else to turn to. Jesus tells the lawyer in the gospel today that for him to inherit eternal life, he must show mercy to others like the Samaritan. We are challenged to be less fearful and judgmental and to be more compassionate and caring. Whatever good deed we do to someone, it does make a difference to that person.
Certainly, there is no written law detailing what to do if we come across someone in dire need of our help. There is no written law that says that we have to stop our car and see why a four year old is walking alongside a busy road, all alone. There is no written law that says that the old man in the walker should have someone help him take in his garbage barrels, but we know in our hearts what we need to be doing and what we need to be avoiding.
The Temple ministers, the Levite and priest know the law, at least theoretically. They also know that if they touch someone who the law said would be defiled in any way, they could not perform their service in the Temple. They had the written law, but they did not have the law of God in their hearts. So they walked pass the injured man on the side of the road.
The Good Samaritan did not base his actions on the written law. He based his actions on the Law within his heart, the Law of Love. The Samaritan’s were a mixed people, part Jewish and part pagan. The Jews called them half breeds and looked down on them for selling out to the pagans. But the Good Samaritan knew the Law better than the Temple priest and Levite. He did what a person who loves God would naturally do: care for someone who was hurting.
Let us remember that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho passes right through our home, and workplace. We are invited to be people of generosity, kindness, and mercy toward all who are suffering. A sincere smile, a cheery greeting, an encouraging word of appreciation, a heartfelt “thank you” can work wonders for a suffering soul.
What is it that we need to do to inherit eternal life ? Jesus gives us the answer: we need to look within ourselves and reach out to God’s Presence wherever our hearts find Him.

Friday, May 14, 2010

SOLEMNITY OF ASCENSION OF THE LORD

Lk.24:46- 53 Solemnity of Ascension.-10

Little Bobby was spending the weekend with his grandmother after a particularly trying week in kindergarten. His grandmother decided to take him to the park on Saturday morning. It had been snowing all night and everything was beautiful. His grandmother said, "Doesn't it look like an artist painted this scenery? Did you know God painted this just for you?"
Bobby said, "Yes, God did it and he did it left handed."
This confused his grandmother a bit. "What makes you say God did this with his left hand?"
"Well," said Bobby, "We learned at Sunday School last week that Jesus sits on God's right hand!"
Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, Jesus ascending to the right hand of the Father. Our first reading gives a clue to the meaning of this mystery. You will notice that St. Luke does not speak about Jesus "going away," but that "a cloud took him from their sight." There is a difference between "leaving" and "disappearing." When someone leaves, it suggests separation, even finality. When a person disappears from sight, he might still be very close - in another room, or even closer. The fact that the disciples no longer see Jesus does not mean that he has gone from them. He is more present, not less, in being ascended to the Father. He is fully present, participating in every moment of our lives.
Having done all that he came to do he now ascends to the Father. His great work is now handed on to his disciples to bring to completion. But this is no task that can be worked out in a few years. No, it is an undertaking that will take his followers till the very end of time to bring to its glorious conclusion.
A high point in a relay race is the moment when one runner passes the baton to another runner. More races are won or lost at that moment than at any other moment in the race. The passing of the baton in a relay race is a good image of the ascension. Jesus passes the baton to his disciples. He passes on to us the responsibility to make God's Kingdom a living reality in our home, our schools, and our world. To make sure that we don’t drop the baton Jesus assures the Holy Spirit, the Divine power to be with us.
The role we undertake as members of the Church is to spread the Good News throughout the earth and to live our lives in such a way that they give glory to God. Our ultimate goal is that all nations and people will come to worship the one true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.

You might be wondering why God has chosen to entrust this great work to a group of weak and fallible human beings. Surely God could utter the command and all people would bow down and worship him, if that’s what he really wants. The only problem is that by issuing such a command people everywhere would be under the obligation to worship God. It wouldn’t be their spontaneous free choice; it would be done out of compulsion and not out of love. So God chooses us, inadequate and feeble creatures, to convey his message, his Good News, to the people of the world, so that they may love him and worship him.

It is important to understand that God does not want us to worship him because he needs it or because he would gain any advantage from it. It would not add one jot to his greatness nor would it inflate his ego in some strange way. God does not desire our worship and devotion because it will do him any good, but because it will do us good.

In our text Luke tells us that they worshipped him and went back to Jerusalem full of joy. That’s exactly how it ought to be for us each Sunday as we return home from the Eucharist, going back to our ordinary lives full of joy and trust in the Lord. Though the priest says: the mass is ended go in peace- the mass really does not end here. It only begins here. And we continue the celebration outside the Church. We give witness outside the church what we experienced inside the church. Our neighbours see us go to mass every Sunday morning. But its how they see us coming back that is our real witness to them.
What are the experiences Jesus wants us to share - to witness to others? It could be a lot of things, but today's Gospel gives us the starting point: "Repentance, for the forgiveness of sins." St.Francis said preach the gospel, use words if necessary. We need to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in our homes and neighborhood by our actions.
Pope Paul VI said, "The world needs witnesses more than it needs teachers." You know, it is relatively easy to be a teacher. Most people are eager to share their knowledge - and especially their opinions. It is much harder to be a witness: To tell others what one has experienced. That can be risky and demanding. Two people can live under the same roof and never share their deepest experiences.*

Let me tell you about a man who gave a powerful witness to repentance and forgiveness. He was a slave trader, with little religious feeling. Or to be more accurate, whatever religious sentiment he had, he numbed with alcohol. Once when he piloted a slave ship across the Atlantic, a violent storm broke out. Something caused him to cry, "Jesus, have mercy on us." When the storm subsided, he reflected on what happened - and he gave up the slave trade. The captain was John Newton. He wrote a song amazing grace.
We may not have had such a dramatic experience as John Newton. We haven't enslaved others for personal gain. We have not bought and sold other human beings, but at times we have not treated someone as a person, but as an object, an instrument of selfish desires. We have sinned, but - like John Newton - we can repent and beg forgiveness. We can open ourselves to the "amazing grace" that lets us make a fresh start. And like Newton, we can witness to what Jesus has done for us.
We need to be proclaimers and evangelizers: To be a Christian is to be a proclaimer and an evangelizer. There is a difference between preaching and proclaiming. We preach with words but we proclaim with our lives. Let us ask the Spirit of God to bear witness to Jesus by our transparent Christian lives.

Cardinal Newman one of the greatest intellectuals in Church history, recognized that souls are ultimately not won by arguments and programs, but by credible witnesses. The truth of the Gospel, he said, "has been upheld in the world not as a system, not by books, not by argument, nor by temporal power, but by the personal influence of such men…, who are at once the teachers and the patterns of it."
Jesus has ascended into heaven and he wants us to be his witnesses. Like the apostles, we start in Jerusalem, that is, right where we find ourselves. Although Jesus has disappeared from our sight, he did not leave us. And he tells us, "You will be my witnesses."
The ascended Jesus is still with us because of his promise, "I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.” He is with us at all times and in all places, releasing a new energy upon the earth, the energy of the Holy Spirit to preach his Good News of salvation by bearing witness to him. We need the help of Jesus’ abiding presence in us through his Holy Spirit to accomplish our mission. Next Sunday is the feast of Pentecost. Hence let us learn to be humble and let the Holy Spirit lead the way in our witness to the world.