6th Sunday in Eastertide – Year B
Love one another, as I have loved you (Jn 15:12)
From the Golden Rule to a Programme of Life
Many Diocesan Catechisms, after listing the Ten Commandments would immediately add, “And these can be summarised in two Commandments:
‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’ (from Deuteronomy 6:5), and
‘You must love your neighbour as yourself’” (from Leviticus 19:18).
The official Catechism of the Catholic Church (1993) does not add this appendage, but it groups the Ten Commandments in two sections using the two quotations (from Deuteronomy and Leviticus) referring to the Love of God and the Love of Neighbour as titles for the two groups. For the purposes of teaching it is useful to group the Ten Commandments in the two tablets of Moses: the first [...]
6th Sunday in Eastertide – Year B
Love one another, as I have loved you (Jn 15:12)
From the Golden Rule to a Programme of Life
Many Diocesan Catechisms, after listing the Ten Commandments would immediately add, “And these can be summarised in two Commandments:
‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’ (from Deuteronomy 6:5), and
‘You must love your neighbour as yourself’” (from Leviticus 19:18).
The official Catechism of the Catholic Church (1993) does not add this appendage, but it groups the Ten Commandments in two sections using the two quotations (from Deuteronomy and Leviticus) referring to the Love of God and the Love of Neighbour as titles for the two groups. For the purposes of teaching it is useful to group the Ten Commandments in the two tablets of Moses: the first [...]
Feast of the Ascension of the Lord – Year B
“Proclaim the Good News to all creation” (Mk 16:15)
Today is one of those days when across the globe, in the Catholic Church, people may not be listening to the same readings. In many countries, on this day we celebrate the feast of the Ascension of the Lord. In some other countries, however, this feast might have been already celebrated last Thursday, marking the 40th day after Easter. As we heard in the first reading of today, Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:3) that Jesus was seen in his risen form for forty days. After those forty days, Jesus was no more seen in his risen body. The feast of today marks this stage of transition in the story of incarnation and [...]
Pentecost: The Feast of the Holy Spirit
The reflection below consists of some straight-forward points. For some of my other sermons for this feast and on the Holy Spirit, click on the links below:
Feast of Pentecost as a celebration of unity in diversity
The Holy Spirit as the God of Surprises
A Reflection on the Holy Spirit within the Trinity
A personal experience of the Trinity
Who is the Holy Spirit?
Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Trinity who mediates the experience of God in Jesus. Since the enactment of the paschal mystery in the passion, death and resurrection of the Jesus, the Holy Spirit is actively present when a believer has an experience of the Risen Lord. Often this experience may be in the context of the community.
This is what we see in [...]
Trinity Sunday – Year B
God in Three: Our experience of the Divine
At the recommendation of a friend of mine, some years back, I ventured into reading The Shack. With over 10 million copies in print, and raising a lot of questions among the churches, the book had become controversial. Here is the story-line in brief:
Mack, the main character of the story, receives an invitation from ‘Papa’ to visit the shack – a hut in the forest. From his scanty religious background, Mack knows that Papa is God himself. Four years prior to this invitation, Mack had lost his daughter Missy from a camping site. Since then he had been overcome by, what he calls, “The Great Sadness.” He decides to respond to the invitation and spend the weekend at the shack. What [...]
Feast of the Precious Body & Blood of Jesus – Cycle B
“This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, poured out for many” (Mk 14: 24)
There are two feasts in the liturgical calendar that invite us to meditate on the mystery of the Eucharist: Maundy Thursday and the Feast of the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus, that is, today. The celebration of the Maundy Thursday reminds us that the Eucharist is a sacrificial meal. The altar is not only the place of sacrifice but also the table where a meal is being served. The Eucharistic-food offers us the possibility “to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” When we receive the Eucharistic bread we commune with God.
Related to the theme of the sacrificial meal, the Liturgy of the Word today invites us [...]
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B
The Kingdom of God is like… (Mk 4:26)
One day, walking between two blocks in our college, I happened to run into the Principal. I introduced myself as a research student and priest. The Principal’s next question was, “So what are you working on?” “My project is on spirituality and addictive behaviour,” I said. The Principal, a Jesuit theologian himself, was obviously in a hurry, as Principals usually are! He offered me a quick quip. It came in the form of a question: “Don’t you think almost all our spiritual and moral struggles are basically centred around addiction and idolatry?” And off he went. But his rhetorical question lingered on in my mind for days. Addiction and idolatry! I do not intent to bore you with [...]
“Quiet now! Be calm!” (Mk 4:39)
I have often wondered why in the churches we ring bells. For instance, in most Catholic churches we ring the bell at the beginning of mass and several times during the Eucharistic prayer. In some churches the altar servers have their own entertainment ringing the bells. Before the 2ndVatican council when the priest was standing between the people and the altar, and saying his prayers in Latin, it was important to alert the people to what was going on at the altar. Today, it is still used to mark the important moments – the high points – of the Eucharistic celebration; but perhaps it is also meant to wake up people who are asleep.
Many Hindu temples have bells at the entrance, and devotees would ring a bell as they enter [...]
Solemnity of the Birthday of John the Baptist
24 June
This Sunday is the Solemnity of the Birthday of John the Baptist. Being a solemnity, it replaces the liturgy of the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Usually, feast days of saints mark their death anniversary, rarely do we celebrate their birthdays. John the Baptist is the only saint besides the Blessed Virgin whose birthday is celebrated in addition to his martyrdom. And John the Baptist also gets mentioned much during the season of Advent. The liturgy of today gives me many thoughts, I would highlight two of them.
His name will be John
The major focus of the gospel text of today revolves around the naming ceremony of the John the Baptist. What’s in a name? Why the fuss around his name? In most [...]
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
“Talitha, Kum!” (Mk 5:41)
Here is a story of a young girl, who I knew, and who died before time. When I was a young priest in a rural parish in Tanzania, I started a ministry to people who were sick and home-bound. Every Friday a lady-catechist would go to the district hospital, prepare a list of people who would wish to see a priest, and add their names to the list of those provided by the Small Christian Communities. We would then visit these people and minister to them according to their need.
One of those days, we came across a young lady at her home; she might have been 18 years old. Let us call her Neema! Neema was bed-ridden and spoke very faintly, but mentally quite [...]
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
“This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary…” (Mk 6:3)
I am a great fan of the documentaries produced by David Attenborough. I have watched almost all of his productions, right from his Life On Earth (1979). To some of my listeners, his brother may be better known. Richard Attenborough – David’s younger brother – directed the movie, Gandhi (1982). David Attenborough was the controller of BBC Two when it became the first British channel to broadcast in colour in 1967. In 1972, he refused the opportunity to be the Director General of the BBC in order to be able to dedicate himself full time to production of programmes. He took advantage of the possibility of the colour television to produce well researched documentaries on animals and plants. Underpinning his presentations is a strong [...]
“He… began to send them out” (Mk 6:7)
It was Pope Paul VI who began to speak about new approaches in evangelization, in his post-synodal exhortation: Evangelization in the Modern World (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 1975). This was to be an adequate “response to the new challenges that the contemporary world creates for the mission of the Church.” Pope John Paul II began to explicitly use the term, “New Evangelization” and to advocate it very energetically in his writings, speeches and pilgrimages. Following his footsteps, Pope Benedict, and now Pope Francis continue to do the same.
What is happening all over the world, I think, as a response to this call of the Popes, is a new impetus in evangelization that is marked by the [...]
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
“The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught…” (Mk 6:30)
Ministry to young people forms part of the identity of the religious order I belong to. Much of our formation as Salesians is carried out by means of hands-on experience. For instance, right from the phase of junior seminary up until the final months before our ordination to priesthood, on Sunday afternoons we would be sent out in groups of two or three to various locations situated around the formation house. We call this ministry, “Sunday Oratories”. The “brothers” would go to the location – which would often be a playground or an open field – blow the whistle, gather the young people of the locality, play and [...]
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
From Emptiness to Abundance (Jn 6:1-15)
Which is the only miracle of Jesus (besides the healing of the blind man – with differences in detail!) that is narrated in all the four gospels with similar details? It is the miracle of feeding the five thousand from five loaves, which we hear in the gospel of this Sunday.
From Mark to John
For Sunday readings of this year, being Cycle B, we follow the Gospel of Mark. In the past two Sundays we have been listening to the first part of chapter 6 of Mark. Following that sequence today we should have listened to the feeding of the five thousand according to Mark (Mk 6:35-44). However, the arrangement of the liturgical readings (the lectionary) makes a jump to the Gospel [...]
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B (Jn 6:24-35)
Do you seek the bread that the Father gives,
or do you seek the Father who gives you bread?
A few years ago I was back in Indiaon my biennial home-leave. And I met a gentleman who was a visitor to our home-parish. He had never been to school, he told me. But during the course of our long conversation about Christian faith and life, I discovered that he was indeed a wise man. For instance, he is the one who put this question to me: “Do you seek the bread given by the father, or do you seek the father who gives you bread?” In my mother-tongue (Tamil) it sounded so well. The word for ‘bread’ is “appam”; and the familiar word for ‘father’ is “appa”. So it would sound like a [...]
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
“The bread … for the life of the world” (Jn 6:51)
Some years back, I was staying at the Salesian community in Florence, Italy, for a few weeks. Florence is known for its art and architecture. Following that great tradition, the Salesians in Florence have a beautiful modern fresco-type of a mural in the background of the sanctuary of their community chapel. Paintings are meant to be looked at; however, let me attempt to describe it to you so as to draw a point of reflection from it. At the centre of the mural is the actual tabernacle with the Holy Eucharist. To the right of the tabernacle is the image of Mary. She is seated on a parapet affectionately cuddling the baby Jesus. Her eyes are [...]
Feeding the Soul: “Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever” (Jn 6:58)
Walking down the high streets of our cities today, you wonder, how our contemporary culture is so much obsessed with the human body. Even those traditional commercial establishments that catered to our basic needs for food, clothing and medicine have taken different forms. Grocery shops are giving way to restaurants, tailors are being replaced by designer clothes, and medical stores are adding on beauty products. What amazes me is the bourgeoning industry of body care and cosmetics. From the toes of our feet to the hair of the head, we spend so much of our resources to care for our bodies. The care of skin, hair and nails is no more just a luxury for the rich. Spas and Jacuzzi are becoming household [...]
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
You have the message of eternal life, and we believe! (Jn 6:69)
With today’s gospel reading we conclude the five weeks of reflection on the Bread of Life from John 6. This conclusion offers a mixed sense of reaction to whatever has preceded in Chapter 6. On the one hand, some disciples have found the saying of Jesus, “Whoever eats me will also draw life from me” (verse 57), very hard to accept. They say, “This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?” (verse 60). As a consequence, “many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him” (verse 66). On the other hand, this crisis offers Jesus an opportunity to test the commitment of the Twelve: “What about you, do you want to go [...]
Accompaniment suggests a journey. Every journey presupposes a destination, an end, a goal, a telos. What is the end of the accompaniment of youth? The theme of the Synod for Youth 2018 aims at accompanying
the young on their existential journey to maturity so that, through a process of discernment, they discover their plan for life and realize it with joy, opening up to the encounter with God and with human beings, and actively participating in the edification of the Church and of society (Vatican, 6/10/2016).
The theme suggests maturity of youth as the end of the process of accompaniment and discernment. What is maturity? The proposed chapter will offer the benchmarks of maturity from a psycho-spiritual perspective, in an attempt at defining the goal of the accompaniment process.
Psychologists and social scientists have proposed [...]
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B
From Religious Traditions to Religious Spirituality
Some of the recent, popular books in the study of religion include, Why God Won’t Go Away?, God is Back, and A New Religious America. What these books suggest is that secularism as a social phenomenon is on the decline. Perhaps human beings are growing out of their adolescent rebellion against God. On the other hand, what religious people will have to witness is the fast rise of a new type of ‘spirituality’ – a non-aligned spirituality. For instance, a recent cross-cultural study indicates that 40 per cent of American respondents and 20 per cent of German respondents describe themselves as ‘spiritual-but-not-religious.’ In other words, the current development seems to point out that, after all, secularism was not a rebellion [...]
Shrine of Mary Help of Christians – Upperhill, Nairobi
Year of Jubilee – Monthly Recollections
General Theme of the Recollections:
Christian Spirituality for Today: Towards an Experience of God in Jesus
The reflections will focus on different dimensions of Christian Spirituality for the contemporary world, so that we may find ourselves on the way to God. The participants will be introduced also to different methods of prayer in the Christian tradition. Mary will be presented as a model Christian who responded to the presence of God in her life.
PROGRAMME
8.30 – Arrival
9.00 – Praise & Worship
9.15 – Main Reflection
10.30 – Break
10.50 – Adoration/Confession
12.00 – Mass – Homily
1.00pm – Departure
MONTHLY THEMES
11 August 2018
Reflection: The Christian Life Journey
Homily: The Call of Mary: Structure of a Call
8 September 2018
Reflection: Finding God in our Inner [...]