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Authors
Dr. Chika Eze, SHCJ. Lecturer, Institute of Youth Studies, Tangaza University College. The Catholic University of Eastern Africa, P. O. Box 15055, 00509 Nairobi-Kenya. Email: chikashcj@gmail.com
Rev. Dr. Sahaya G. Selvam, sdb. Associate Professor, Graduate Programmes’ Coordinator, Institute of Youth Studies –Tangaza University College. The Catholic University of Eastern Africa, P .O. Box 15055, 00509 Nairobi. Email: selvamsdb@gmail.com
Josephine Adibo, RSCJ. University Counsellor. The Catholic University of Eastern Africa, P. O. Box 62157-00200 Nairobi- Kenya. Email: josadibo@gmail.com
Mandu Selepe. University Counsellor. University of Limpopo, Turfloop Campus. Private Bag X1106, Sovenga 0727, South Africa. Email: dmselepe@yahoo.com
Sewela Monicca Ramaboea. Clinical Psychologist, P. O. Box 3239, Polokwane, 0700. South Africa. Email: moniccar@webmail.co.za
Abstract
Globally, learners in schools are exposed to psychological stressors that often warrant provision of counselling services as preemptive and curative measures to maintain their mental health. Consequently, schools at all levels are required to provide counselling services, [...]
Authors
Dr. Chika Eze, SHCJ. Lecturer, Institute of Youth Studies, Tangaza University College. The Catholic University of Eastern Africa, P. O. Box 15055, 00509 Nairobi-Kenya. Email: chikashcj@gmail.com
Rev. Dr. Sahaya G. Selvam, sdb. Associate Professor, Graduate Programmes’ Coordinator, Institute of Youth Studies –Tangaza University College. The Catholic University of Eastern Africa, P .O. Box 15055, 00509 Nairobi. Email: selvamsdb@gmail.com
Josephine Adibo, RSCJ. University Counsellor. The Catholic University of Eastern Africa, P. O. Box 62157-00200 Nairobi- Kenya. Email: josadibo@gmail.com
Mandu Selepe. University Counsellor. University of Limpopo, Turfloop Campus. Private Bag X1106, Sovenga 0727, South Africa. Email: dmselepe@yahoo.com
Sewela Monicca Ramaboea. Clinical Psychologist, P. O. Box 3239, Polokwane, 0700. South Africa. Email: moniccar@webmail.co.za
Abstract
Globally, learners in schools are exposed to psychological stressors that often warrant provision of counselling services as preemptive and curative measures to maintain their mental health. Consequently, schools at all levels are required to provide counselling services, [...]
Waiting for the Lord: from rigidity and chaos to integration
1st Sunday of Advent – Year B
In some of our institutions in Asia andAfricawe have watchmen or security personnel. I am talking about the day-watchmen particularly those who mind the gates, not the night-watchmen, who are actually paid to sleep in our properties! (The only night-watchman I have ever come across who we knew was not sleeping at night actually went mad after doing his job so conscientiously for three months.) In any case, I think, there are three types of watchmen – sorry for not being gender-sensitive here, since I have also come across security women these days! There are the rigid ones; there are the chaotic ones; and then the integrated ones. The rigid ones prefer to stand or sit stiff at the [...]
2nd Sunday of Advent – Year B
John the Baptist: the one who knew his space
One of the persons that the Liturgy of the Word during the season of Advent draws our attention to is John the Baptist. Evangelist Mark presents John the Baptist as a person who resisted the temptation to be more than himself (in fact all the Gospels): “In the course of his preaching John the Baptist said, ‘After me is coming someone who is more powerful than me, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’ (Mk 1:7, 8). From the narrative of Mark, there are three qualities that stand out in John the Baptist: his simplicity, humility and [...]
And the Word became flesh (Jn 1:14)
Christmas – Liturgy of the Day
The language of God
A young man was intrigued by this question: what language does God speak? He asked people around, what is the language of God? And no one was able to offer him a satisfactory answer. So the young man undertook a journey going in search of the answer to his all important question. His first stop was a village. He asked the people there: what language does God speak? None of them could answer the question. “But,” they said, “there is a holy man who lives on the hill outside our village who perhaps has the answer to your question.” So the young man went to the holy man. Holy, for sure, he was. And the man said, “Look around you. See the beauty of creation: the green [...]
New Year – Mary, Mother of God
“May the Lord Bless you” (Num 6:24)
Today is a day of blessing. In this New Year, God has blessed us with another opportunity to grow in love, to come closer to Him, and to experience Him in the person of Jesus.
Today is a day of blessing. We honour Mary – she who was blessed among women – as the mother of God. “When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman…” (Gal 4:4).
Today is a day of blessing. On this eighth day after Christmas we remember the naming ceremony of Jesus. We bless and honour the holy name of Jesus. We acknowledge that there is power and blessing in the name of Jesus. AsSt Paultells us in Phil 2:9, 10: “And for this God raised him high, and gave him the [...]
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
They went… and stay with him (Jn 1:35-42)
CLICK HERE FOR ANOTHER SERMON FOR THIS SUNDAY
What is the core of Christianity? I asked myself this question after being a Christian for almost forty years. Better late than never!
Is the core of Christianity, being good? My mother always told me to be good. “If you behave well, God will love you!” She said. This was a way my mother convinced me – I convinced myself – to follow Christian morality. Is Christian morality, enshrined in the Ten Commandments, the core of Christianity? At a particular stage in life I realized that Christianity is not merely a moral system. Morality is only one aspect of it. And, Christian morality [...]
3rd Sunday in Ordinary time – Year B
Repent and Believe in the Good News
CLICK HERE for a reflection based on the Second Reading of Today.
Little Johnny was basically a good boy. But he had this problem with his temper. He had his bouts of anger that surprised everyone. His mother used to tell him, “Johnny, you are making it difficult for people to love you.”
So, on the New Year day, he made a resolution: “I am not going to get angry anymore.” He went to the back garden, piled together a heap of earth, put a cross over the heap, and wrote on the cross, RIP. His mother and sister were wondering what Johnny was [...]
He taught them with authority (Mk 1:21-28)
4th Sunday in Ordinary time – Year B
For another sermon, please CLICK HERE
Varieties of Authority
I don’t know if you have watched those old black-and-white fast moving films from the time of the Second World War. Often they show Adolf Hitler addressing large crowds of people. Hitler always spoke with much authority. This has been caricatured by Charlie Chaplin in his The Great Dictator of 1940. Recently, I came upon the acceptance speech of Mother Teresa when she was awarded the Nobel Prize for peace in 1979. She too speaks with much authority. But she begins her speech with the prayer for peace attributed to St Francis ofAssisi: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace!”
So, it seems that there [...]
5th Sunday in Ordinary time – Year B
“Everybody is looking for you” (Mk 1:29-39):
Being busy – restless or engaged?
The contemporary culture forces us to be busy. The more you are urbanised, the more you are likely to be busy. We keep inventing machines to save time, and yet we keep complaining all the time: there is no time! Whether our time is spent productively or not, we are simply busy. We are busy checking emails. We are busy talking on the phone. We are busy twittering. When we are not busy, actually we are busy planning how to be busy. Are you a busy person? How do you feel about your busy-ness? Do you feel restless? Or, do you feel engaged?
The gospel passage of today [...]
From Tangaza University College – Update
Tangaza Contributes to Research in Kenya
Our DVC Designate, Rev. Prof. Sahaya G. Selvam, is a role model in research and publication. His latest publication is in fact on research (Empirical Research: A Study Guide, Paulines Africa, 2017). It is a book that is written precisely with the African students in mind. It provides a study guide for university students at every level.
The book insists that research should go beyond the mere fulfilment of an academic requirement in terms of producing a thesis or a dissertation. It focuses on a scientific approach that insists on an internal consistency.
How do we know something is scientific? This is the author’s criterion: what gets published in international peer-reviewed journals, particularly those that are published by learned associations and [...]
6th Sunday in Ordinary time – Year B
“Of course I want to! Be cured” (Mk 1:40-45):
Effect of Encounter with Jesus – holistic wellbeing
Here is a one-line summary of my reflection: The result of an authentic encounter with Jesus is a holistic wellbeing!
For my PhD work, I sampled some 25 young people in Nairobi, taught them an ancient method of prayer: the Jesus Prayer. They practiced it individually and in groups for 10 weeks. At the end of that period, I interviewed ten of the participants and collected the journal-entries of ten others, while all participants took a battery of psychological tests. One of the findings that emerged from the interviews and journal entries is that the practice of the Jesus Prayer is associated with transformation at three levels: at the level of the individual self in terms of greater self-awareness and [...]
Going up the mountain: Learning to pray
Second Sunday of Lent – Year B – Mk 9: 2-10
The liturgy of the word of God for Sundays in Lent is very well thought-out and appropriately laid out. On the first Sunday of Lent, in all the three cycles, the central theme is temptations of Jesus. On the second Sunday of Lent, like today, the liturgy of the word invites us to focus on the transfiguration of the Lord. The meditation on the transfiguration during lent becomes for us a prediction of what lies at the end of Lent – the resurrection of the Lord. This is what perhaps it meant for the three apostles who were taken up the mountain only six days after (Mk 9:2) Jesus had told them about his impending suffering and death (Mk 8:31). This was important particularly for [...]
“In three days I will raise it up”
3rd Sunday in Lent – Year B (Jn 2:13-25).
To watch my video reflection on the Temple of Jerusalem on Youtube, CLICK HERE.
As we may well be aware, the Liturgy of the Word for Sundays in the Catholic liturgy is laid out in a three-year cycle. During Lent, the Year A cycle uses the Gospel of John, with passages particularly relevant for those who are preparing for baptism during Easter. This year, we are using the Year B cycle, basically reading from the Gospel of Mark. Previous two Sundays of Lent we read from the Gospel according to Mark. But today we switch over to John and continue listening to John until the 5th Sunday in Lent. The Gospel of John is often considered the most difficult of the Gospels – highly symbolic in [...]
“God loved the world so much….”
4th Sunday in Lent – Year B (Jn 1:12-15).
The Gospel of John is often considered the most difficult of the Gospels – highly symbolic in its expression and deeply theological in its content. John likes to use terms with more than one meaning and thus invite us to a deeper level of reflection. For instance, in the gospel text of today (from John 3) there are at least three expressions that can have more than one meaning: night, spirit or wind, born from above or born again. This conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus turns out to be a theological discourse, which is very typical of the Gospel of John. Though the text we heard read is only part of the conversation, I would like to consider the whole encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus (Jn 3:1-21), pick [...]
FOR THE POWERPOINT: CLICK HERE
FOR FULL LINK TO THE REFLECTION: CLICK HERE
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/commissions/mission-and-evangelism/bible-study-2-cwme-arusha-tanzania/
We want to see Jesus lifted high
5th Sunday in Lent – Year B (Jn 12:20-33)
When I read the gospel text of the 5th Sunday in Lent (year B), I was reminded of a popular song, written by the Children’s song-writer Doug Horley, that goes:
We want to see Jesus lifted high,
A banner that flies across the land,
That all men might see the truth and know,
He is the way to heaven.
Despite the fact that the song is theologically simplistic – remember it is a children’s song – I thought the first line captures quite well the theme of the gospel of today: “We want to see Jesus lifted high”. I would like to use this line in two parts to offer the reflection for today. In the third part of the reflection, I will propose another method of praying, thus completing our series [...]
(Please click on links)
Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday)
Sermon 1: The mystery of suffering and resurrection
Sermon 2: The day of contradictions
Maundy Thursday
1. The Sacrificial Meal
Good Friday
Commentary for the Liturgy of Good Friday
Homily1. Why did Jesus have to die?
Homily 2. The Mystery of Suffering
Easter Sunday
Commentary on the Liturgy of Easter Vigil
1. Easter: an Event or an Experience
2. The Resurrection – a meditation
Via Lucis
Like the Way of the Cross, there is a devotion approved by the Church for use during Eastertide. See the links below for three versions of the Via Lucis.
1. Via Lucis 1 – with hymns and readings
2. Via Lucis 2 – with short reflections
3. Via Lucis 3 – with Scripture Reading
Be blessed!
Sahaya G. Selvam, sdb
2nd Sunday of Easter
The Divine Mercy
(FOR ANOTHER SERMON ON ST THOMAS – CLICK HERE)
Happy feast of Easter! Easter is the prototype of all Christian feasts. It is such a great event that one day of celebration does not suffice. We needed eight days of liturgical celebrations. Yes, today we conclude the Octave of Easter.
On this 2nd Sunday of Easter, every year, we have the same gospel reading, though the other two readings vary. The gospel passage of today begins with the narration of the first appearance of the Risen Lord to his apostles on the day of Easter, it goes on then to narrate the appearance of the Risen Lord to Thomas who was absent on the day of the Easter. The latter incident takes place on the eighth day of Easter (like today). Thus the gospel text of today from John [...]
3rd Sunday of Easter – Year B
Peace be with you
One sentence that we hear repeated so often in the Eastertide is, “Peace be with you.” Every time Jesus appears to his apostles he greets them, “Shalom aleichem!”
Earlier, in the course of his farewell address to his apostles before his passion and death, Jesus had told them not to let their hearts be troubled at his going away: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you’; but he added ‘not as the world gives do I give to you” (Jn. 14:27). Again, he says to them, “I have said this to you so that you may have peace” (Jn. 16:33). In the gospel text of today, he says yet again, “Peace be with you” (Lk 24:36).
‘Peace’ is a word which features [...]
The Maasai people ofEast Africaare a very interesting people. Their photogenic, elegant figures are used to advertise tourism inEast Africa. But traditionally they were known for raiding the neighbouring tribes, and taking possession of their cattle. At least, so goes the legend! From these accounts one might think that the Maasai are a very violent people. There is a mythical background, however, to why the Maasai raid the other tribes that have cows. It is said that, in the beginning when God created the world… He created all the animals, and especially the cows. Then He also created human beings – the Maasai, of course. Then God entrusted the Maasai with all the cows in the world. Therefore all the cows in the world simply [...]