Solemnity of Christ the King - November 20

This is the last Sunday in the Liturgical Year and we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. The proclamation of Jesus Kingship is dominated in the preaching and teaching of Jesus. “To the other towns also I must proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God because for this purpose I have been sent.” (Luke 4:44) He taught his disciples to pray, “Thy Kingdom come.” (Matt. 6: 10) He told them to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.” (Matt. 6: 33)  “Jesus said to his apostles: ‘as you go make this proclamation: The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 10:7)

 

The story of the crucifixion, proclaimed on the Feast of Christ the King, reminds us that the Reign of Jesus isn’t a reign of glory and power, but of service, love, and complete self-giving in order to rescue human beings from evil, sin, and death. Instituting this Feast of Christ the King, Pope Pius XI declared: the peace of Christ in the reign of Christ. This means that we live in the peace of Christ when we surrender our lives to him every day, accept him as our Savior and King and allow him to rule our lives.

 

Caring King. Jesus does care for His people. Ezekiel 34 speaks of the Lord in terms of a shepherd who cares for his flock. It summarize His care, I myself will look after my sheep … I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered … I myself will give them rest … The lost I will seek out … The injured I will bind up. The sick I will heal. So Jesus is a caring King. He’s been good to us. He has led us, rescued us, purified us, instructed us, and graced us.

 

Conquering King. Jesus has destroyed the power of many sins. He cleanses the temple of our soul. He has conquered so much of our pride. And one by one, He is diminishing lust, greed, anger, envy, and replacing them with greater love, compassion, and kindness.

 

Concealed King. He is the newest King of all. He is a King who is hungry, thirsty, sick, and lonely, a foreigner, in prison, and a stranger. He is in the needy. He is in the discouraged ones who cannot find a job; He is in our children who need to be taught and encouraged; he is in the co-worker who just lost some body; he is in the friend who was diagnosed with cancer. He is in the lost youth or family member who needs instruction and needs to be drawn back to the Sacraments. He’s in us, in our struggles and needs.

 

Yes, Jesus is our King, a caring and intimate King, a conquering King who never forces, a King who is hungry and thirsty, a King who washes our feet, a King who comes to serve rather than to be served. He is a King, one who rules with love. We meet Him every day: in the Eucharist, in the poor, in His Word, in the events of our day and in our very self. He is just one prayer away.”  So let the devotion to Christ the King brings peace and reconciliation in our society, with love and justice and peace.

 

So this feast is an invitation to all those who have power or authority of any kind to compare their use of power or authority with Jesus. They have to use their power to serve others and building up of a more just society.  Never use the power in any way that might cause pain to others and it should help to alleviate pain. Jesus as the King of love has anew commandment of “Love one another as I have loved you,” and we love others as Jesus loved, unconditionally and sacrificially. During this Holy Mass let us pray that nations and individuals will be humble enough to look at how Jesus used His power and bring about the kingdom of God. Let us always remain loyal to Christ the King who is the Head of the Body, the Church.

~Fr. George Munjanattu

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C

THIRTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Mal 3:19-20a // II Thes 3:7-12 // Lk 21:5-19

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

We all are well aware that Halloween is over a couple of weeks before and yet I feel like this Weekend as a scary weekend/Sunday. Why do I say? The readings we just heard are not pleasant; it speaks about judgement and punishment. It is simply in black and white; it reminds us about the end of everything.

So, let me tell you a story:

Once upon a time, a poor woman with her infant child lived in a remote village who struggled to find her daily living. Her poverty was so intense and she was even afraid that her only child would die deprived of nutritious food. She cried to God to open some ways so that she and her child will live happily. God heard her prayer, of course, God hears any intense prayer, and send an angel to her. The angel appeared to the woman, consoled her and told her God heard her prayers and wanted to give her enough of wealth so that she and her child can live safely in the rest of their life. In a short span of time, the angel led the woman and her child to a cave. The cave was closed and at the entrance of the cave the angel gave some direction to the woman.

The angel told,

“Look, this is a cave covered with full of wealth. You are given an hour of time and you are free to take as much as treasures from here with in this time. After an hour you have to come out of the cave and the doors of the cave will be closed; it will never be opened for you. So be sure that don’t forget to take the most valuable treasure of your life.”

The woman went inside the cave with her child. You can imagine she was stunned by the enormous wealth stored in the cave. Then coming back to her senses, she laid aside her baby and began to grab gold and precious stones. Time to time, the angel reminded about the time and told her don’t forget to grab the precious one. Finally, the time arrived, she has to get out of the cave. She worked until the last minute and managed to get out. The doors of the cave was closed for ever. The woman was so happy that she has collected the wealth for generations. She looked everything once again and began to hold it with pride. Then she remembered about her child and realized that she forgot to take the baby from the cave. The Baby is inside and the doors are closed. The woman cried out to God again with great pain. The angel came back. And told her: Honey, I told you each time don’t forget the most precious one; but you didn’t get me. We have no way to get into the cave. What is the worth of those wealth if she loses the child for whom she collected the wealth?

We heard in the opening of the gospel that the people of Jesus’ time were so proud to say about the beauty of their only Temple. They were so admired about the beauty and riches and they thought that the beauty will be there eternally. Just as the people in the Gospel, we tend to admire the beauty and riches of the Temple which means the beautiful reality of this world or the firmness of our human institutions, as if they were permanent, eternal and able to offer a solid foundation for our hope. However, on the other hand, just as Qoheleth says (Ecclesiastes 1:2-4), "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!" No human reality can stand firm, all is mere appearance, all these things we experience (again, even our solid institutions) will disappear.[1] This is a contrasting situation in which we tempt to think transitory objects are real and the Real are momentary.

What is the attitude of people that we meet in today’s Gospel?

The people of Jerusalem praised the temple for its permanence and they placed their confidence in the transitory things. They were glorifying momentary and perishable things as if they were perpetual and eternal. Here, Jesus message is clear: none of the things that could offer security and firmness to their lives (including the most important religious reality, the Temple), would stand for a long time.[2] It is true in our life too none of the things that we are holding now including our wealth can offer security in our life. These are transitory which may lead us to God if we make good use of them.

This is the question, then we are asking today?

Where am I clinging to? Am I holding on God or things that have only momentary values?

St. Augustine raises a wonderful question. When soul depart from one’s body, we say the person is dead? What happen to a person if his / her soul loses God? St. Augustine Says the person is spiritually dead. Because, just as the soul, itself, is the life of the body, in the same way, God is the life of the Soul.[3] So if God is absent, away from one’s soul, how we can say that a person has life in its fullness. For that person it is the end of everything.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I encourage you all to listen to the Spirit and ask yourself whether you are experiencing the presence of God in your life and in your family. You may have a God problem in which you find some difficulty to believe something, something that is not meaningful to your rational mind. That is ok. But i am asking you keep looking for God who is missing from your soul. Because, If God is away from your center of life, your soul, what is the worth to say that you have a life and you have everything else? So don’t forget to hold on to the most precious thing in your life.

Friar Tony Vattaparambil

---

[1] http://www.frnick.com/homilies/american_bible_society

[2] Bonventure, Commentary on Luke( Franciscan Institute Publication, NY:1969-1970.)

[3] Arthur A. Just, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament III, Luke (Inter Varsity Press, IL: 321)

32 Sun. Resurrection should shine on our face...

As we near the end of the Church's liturgical year, the readings become more eschatological -- having to do with the end times, its more about our life after death.  In today's readings, we look briefly the question of the resurrection and the character of the life we are to live in anticipation of it.  A common question that people 2000 years ago and now are still asking, "is there life after death?". In today's gospel, the Sadducees who did not believe in resurrection confront Jesus with their ridiculous story of an unfortunate woman who had married and then lost seven husbands. They did not start with the real issue, namely belief in life after death and the consequences of our daily decisions in determining life after death. They were trying to fool Jesus but Jesus was very clear about his teachings.  Jesus reply was very direct, he said "there is life after death and God is the God, not of the dead but of the living." In the first reading we see a mother and her sons die for what they believed and they believed that God will rise them up. They were ready to bear any suffering for their faith because they knew their life is safe in the hands of God.

I was 11 when cancer took my mum's life. My brother was 5 years old. I thought life is ended and my family felt emptiness for the first time, we felt darkness inside us, we felt silence in our home. I remember that night when everyone left after funeral, my father, brother and myself sat in the porch looking at the stars believing that one of it must be our mother. I know it's not only my experience, it's the experience of many of you who are hearing me today. You might have felt or still feeling the same pain, emptiness and darkness after the death of your beloved one or ones.  

But in all these emptiness, darkness something gave us hope that was our faith, our faith in resurrection, our faith on life after death and our belief that we all will meet all again. I remember I asked my aunt, what happened to my mum? Did she become dust and gone forever? She told me that, be strong John, do good things, one day, we would meet again and she's alive with our Lord. This gave me hope to live and live a good life. Pope Francis says, it is beautiful “to think of Heaven, all of us will meet there, everyone. It is beautiful; it gives strength to the soul.

Why we have gathered today around this altar, it’s because we believe in life after death and we believe that we are making preparation to heaven by celebrating and leading a good life. And if we believe in life after death church would like us to reflect how much preparations we are making in our lives? How mindful we are about our life after death.

one of my friends shared how her dad became catholic: her dad was not a believer and his actions she thought will not take him to heaven. On a thanksgiving day when everyone was around the dining table,  she asked him, dad if one day we all die and go to heaven and if you are not there what will be our feeling. He had a realization that he was not making steps by doing good things to be in heaven with his family. The next Sunday he went to the church, received baptism and started a good life.

The thought about life after death inspires us to lead a good life. Many people have changed their bad life just thinking of their death and life after death.  Since there is life after death and we believe so, we seriously need to think of the character of life we are to live in anticipation of the life after death. In the 1st reading, the moral messages it contained is that the brothers would rather die than to sin. They believe that after Death, God will raise them up. We learn from the 2nd reading, "May God strengthen you in everything good that you do or say. This is how we should prepare our character of life. Do good in what you do and say and eternal life is waiting for you.

Franciscan spirituality is a spirituality which preaches joy of resurrection and life after death. I remember a story from St. Francis, one day, friars prepared a delicious meal. And Francis asked one of the friars to bring some ashes. He poured in his food and started eating food. One of the friars asked Francis, we prepared delicious food and you are spoiling it with ashes. Francis said if I enjoy this food, my body will be happy but my soul will be week. Even in eating St. Francis was mindful about his life after death and cautiously taking each actions in preparations for it.

Pope Francis said "the Good News of the Resurrection should shine on our face, in our feelings and in our behavior, in the way in which we treat others.” Let us be people of resurrection and be mindful each day about our actions which will lead to life eternal.

Related with today’s readings, I am giving you two questions:

 How mindful we are about our life after death? How much preparations we are making to join our family members in heaven?

Fr. John Pozhathuparambil OFMConv.

32nd Sunday in Ordinary time

THIRTY SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

2 Maccabees 7: 1-2, 9-14|2 Thessalonians 2: 16-3: 5|Luke 20:27-38

“He is not God of the dead, but of the living (20:38)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

In the introduction, I mentioned that we are near the end of the church liturgical year and in the couple of weeks after, we will begin a new liturgical year with the Advent. So, these last days of our liturgical season, we will be focusing to reflect on the end times: what will happen after my life here on earth? I think it is also appropriate to reflect on those questions in the month of November, since we remember them during this time.

Why do we want to speak about Resurrection in our Christian life? Or more specifically, why should I believe in heaven?

St. John Chrysostom, the Patriarch of Constantinople of 3^rd century gives us a wonderful observation on the theme. He observes: “In everything or deed the driving force of one acting is hope of future reward. For the person who plows is plowing for the sake of a harvest. And a person who fights is fighting for the sake of a victory. So take away the hope of resurrection then the observances of piety has been damaged”[1] I think along with Chrysostom, it is wonderful to reflect our attitude towards the life after death. Cardinal Shöenborn, a Contemporary theologian and the Archbishop of Vienna, Austria, recently attributed the declining influence of Christianity to the decline in our awareness on our life after death. He argues that since so many modern Christians don't take seriously the Last Things (death, judgment, heaven and hell) we are less dynamic, less purposeful, less committed to doing great things for Christ, the Church, and the world. He notices that “Something very strange has taken place in recent years: Christians have lost touch with heaven. “Of the desire for heaven, our ‘heavenly home,' we hear hardly these phrases now. "It is as if Christians have lost the orientation that for centuries defined the direction of our journey. We have forgotten that we are pilgrims and that the goal of our pilgrimage is heaven.  But now, we do not long for heaven; we take it for granted that we will get there. This analysis may be exaggerated, but I am afraid it is essentially true." The thought about our resurrection will give us the strength to face the challenges not only in our spiritual life but also our daily burdens. [2]

When we are sure about our destination, we tune all our actions in conformity to the end. Sometimes I wonder about one of our saintly friar, St. Maximilian Kolbe whose 75^th anniversary of his Martyrdom, we celebrate this year. What was the driving force that helped him to face the challenges of his life? He was a brilliant young scholar who earned his first PhD by the time he was 21.During his seminary years, he studied science on the side, and was even designing space travel mechanisms long before World War II. As a young priest, he put his notable talents to work by beginning an Apostolate called the Knights of the Immaculata, dedicated to spreading the Gospel through mass media. When the Nazis conquered his native Poland at the start of World War II, St Kolbe's publications strongly denounced Nazi errors and Crimes. And so the saint found himself arrested, threatened, released, and, when he continued to publish criticism of the Nazi regime, arrested again. This time he was sent to forced labor at the Auschwitz concentration camp. To be able to help his fellow prisoners, he publicly acknowledged that he was a Catholic priest. As a result, he received special treatment from the guards: beatings, attacks by dogs, the dirtiest and heaviest work, the carrying of the corpses... Through it all, he kept encouraging his friends. He told them: "No, they will not kill our souls... They will not be able to deprive us of the dignity of being a Catholic. We will not give up. And when we die, then we die pure and peaceful, resigned to God in our hearts." Eventually, he offered his own life in substitution for a young man who had been randomly chosen for execution.[3] Maximilian knew very well that his destination is not here on earth. There is a heaven above in which he will have a vision of God face to face.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I totally understand that it is not fashionable to use the terms such as heaven, life after death, beatific vision, eternity etc. Since it is not sounding meaningful to us, what we do? We eliminate those words from our spiritual dictionary. I see it as a dangerous move in our spiritual path. Can anyone eliminate words such as love, sorry, care, help, friendship etc. from our life dictionary? I think no one can. Because our life is based on those words.  In the same way, we can never eliminate the word heaven and eternity from our collection of spiritual vocabularies. Because these words coins our self, our identity, our faith and our destination.

May we have the courage to reaffirm our destination which gives the meaning of our life here on earth.

Friar Tony Vattaparambil

---

[1] Bonaventure. (2004). Commentary on the Gospel of Luke. In r. J. Karris, Works of St. Bonavneture (pp. 1789-1807). St. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publication. 1939

[2] http://www.frnick.com/homilies/epriest November 5, 2016 1.50 PM

[3] http://www.frnick.com/homilies/epriest November 5, 2016 1.50 PM