3rd Sunday Ordinary time: Our Call

You all know the religion Buddhism was founded in India but they declined  in India.There are a few reasons researchers put forward. One of them is the lack of missionaries and their spirit. When you think about how Christianity spread in the whole world and still alive in the world, the reason is our missionaries and lay people who took Jesus words so close to their heart, went around and spread the good news. 

And we are here today, in part, because of them—and because of the men who responded. We’re here because fishermen mending their nets listened. Because they dropped everything. And they followed.

In time, what they did, the choice they made, transformed the world.

Two thousand years later, that invitation is still out there. Christ still calls. To every one of us. The words of this gospel are being repeated again and again this evening  in churches around the world. Jesus comes to us where we are—whether it’s on the banks of a  lake, or an office in Louisville or a kitchen in Poplar Level Road or house in New Burg Road. He comes to us and offers that invitation.

Come after me. I will help you do things you never imagined.

This call Jesus gives 'come and follow me' is individual, very personal. The fisher men answered right in time. Didn't say, let me retire then I will follow, let me get rich and settle myself and I will follow you, let me get marry and have children and then I follow you. They flowed him as they heard the voice of Jesus. 

We need to appreciate our own call to be Christ’s disciples. The mission of preaching, teaching and healing which Jesus began in Galilee is now the responsibility of the Church

Whether we are married, single or religious we are all called to respond to Jesus and preach his words. Dear brothers and sisters, we are reminded of this today about our call to proclaim Jesus to the people. we are called to announce the good news to everyone, but not everyone will listen. Once we’ve done our work, we should move on and not obsess about those who won’t listen. Why do some respond and some don’t? We don’t know, but that’s ultimately up to God. Today we are reminded our duty as Christians is to flow him and to make Jesus as our priority.

Look at the first disciples in the Gospel, They for their part, might have preferred to keep their jobs, to remain with their families, to stay with the life that they knew. When they see Jesus and hear his words to them, they make a different choice, however; they take a risk, step out in faith, leave behind that which is comfortable and secure. 

Remember your baptism a candle was given to you or parents and told keep this candle burn brightly. You are here today because you are still keeping that light, may be few of them are flickering. We are today reminded what it means to be Christian. Today we are asked to reflect how I am responding to Jesus call in my everyday life? 

There was a broken statue of jests under the statue someone wrote, Jesus has no hands but yours. Yes, he needs us to proclaim his words and preach his message. 

I recommend few simple practical things to help us to keep Jesus calling going on.

1. Saying grace in private and in public. It will remind you and other people around to remember God before the meal. 

2. Wearing a cross under your shirt; wearing a rosary. People notice it am may say “I didn’t know you were Catholic,” or “What’s the deal with that medal you’re wearing?” 

3.Saying a rosary when you travel. 

4. Saying God bless you when someone sneezes. 

Matthew tells us that the people to whom Jesus brought his ministry had been sitting in darkness, but that Jesus' coming had brought them a great Light. 

As we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us ask the Lord Jesus to give us the strength and perseverance to answer His calling so that we may faithfully serve the Lord according to His will. 
Fr. John Pozhathuparambil

Epiphany 2017

Is 60:1-6 | Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6|Mt 2:1-12

Following our Star… following our dream…

 Dear Brothers and sisters in Jesus

Paulo Coelho's master piece, The Alchemist is an inspiring story which has been translated at least 69 languages. It is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way, he meets different personalities and no one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to overcome the obstacles along the way. Number of times, we would feel that Santiago may drop to follow his dream, because the obstacles are either demanding or huge; but we see the next moment, that he comes back on his course to follow his dream. The story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.

The Feast of Epiphany makes me to think in the same line of the novel Alchemist, wise men who followed the star in order to find the real treasure in their life. Did they have obstacles on their way? Did they think about dropping their journey- we don’t know; but I am sure, anyone who search for any treasure in their life has to pay for it. Because, any adventurous trip includes risk. Adventurers have always aroused our admiration and our skepticism. To the cynical observer, the Magi must have seemed foolish to go following a star. These astrologers had to be a little crazy leaving the security of their homeland to venture forth into a strange country presided over by a mad man like Herod. Nevertheless, to the person with the eyes of Faith, the Magi had discovered an immense secret. Not only the secret of the star that they followed, but also the secret of the universe and secret of their existence.

Three groups of people that we meet in the gospel today. These people represents three attitudes of humanity. First, we meet Herod and his dependents. The dominant emotion that rule them is hatred. Hatred towards everything and everyone. They kill everyone whom they see as the potential threat to their comfort zone and destroy everything, every system that challenges their ways. Second, we meet the Priests and Scribes of Jesus’ time. They represent the people of indifference. They are knowledgeable people who can articulate reasonable discourses on anything under the sun. The danger of this attitude is they close themselves from the light of truth or ignore the presence of truth. Why do they do it? Because they are comfortable in their selfish motifs and they don’t want to change themselves.

The third group of people are the Magi, who are willing to open themselves to the reality and who are capable to change themselves according to the light they follow. These group of people are courageous people who are willing to cross their comfort zone and who are willing to follow their dream. Moreover, the Magi represents our own longing for the Ultimate Truth; our own search for God.

Dear brothers and sisters,

These attitudes can be seen any community like ours. If a community is dominant with the attitudes of Herod, it would be a closed community. No novelty will happen there. Because they don’t expect changes. If the community is predominantly with the attitudes of priests and scribes of Jesus’ time, it would be an indifferent community. No life would be there. It exist for the sake of existing. Finally, if the community with the heart and minds of the Magi, it would be an open community where everyone is welcomed, where new ideas and life has immense value. Moreover, this third group of community will be a God centered community where everyone is in search for their Ultimate truth.

This epiphany, the feast of Manifestation, is inviting all of us to explore the heart of the Magi, because we have a common dream- a dream of making this sacred ground for everyone to feel comfort and everyone feels everyone as part of their life and that they are related to each other.

PS. I know that your Sunday obligation is over. But don’t forget your community obligation tomorrow. The home coming celebration of Holy Family. Be part of tomorrow’s event- because we are related to each other.

Mary Mother of God 2017

Mary, Mother of God

Nm 6:22-27 |Gal 4:4-7 | Lk 2:16-21

         

  “When the giant trees fall” is a beautiful short story written in the background of a historical event that happened in India. It is a story of a mother and her child who happened to be in a Catholic convent to save their life from a communal riot. In October 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her soldiers who were the follower of a religion called Sikh. The main characters- the mother and her son belong to this community and the violent people are behind them to end their life. The mother and the child somehow get into a convent. The story begins there. Though, the historical background is so cruel and sad, the story brings out the joyous& creative side of our life.           

           The mother superior of the convent decided to give shelter to the mother and her innocent child in their cloister. The convent is filled with old nuns who have never expressed the joy and hope in their face. Everyone seems to be so gloomy and there was no life left there in the convent. They existed for the sake of existing.

            Now, what happens when a kid comes into a place? Of course, it looks around for a while, give everyone around a scary look. Once the child is comfortable in the new place, it starts to explore everything. The child is exploring the reality around; but we, adults would call that activity, that noble activity- messing up. Within the short span of time, the face of the convent is changed. The silence is broke, the nuns started to run after the kid everywhere. There was laughter, joy, fun and of course, life.

            We are still in the octave of Christmas and our joy is today coupled with the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. This is also the day that we remember with joy and gratitude how Mary and her Divine Son Jesus, like the child and his mother in our story, transformed a hopeless, joyless and sinful world into a place of joy and happiness.

          What is the traditional belief about the feast? The feast answers the question, “Why do Catholics honor Mary?” Non-Christians sometimes believe that we, Catholics worship Mary as a goddess who gave birth to our God.  Non-Catholic Christians argue that there is no Biblical basis for honoring Mary and that Catholics worship her and make her equal to God. They fail to understand why we honor Mary and name Churches and institutions after her.  They do not understand what we mean by calling her the Mother of God. The truth is that Catholics do not worship Mary as we worship, adore, God.  We honor her, respect her, love her and seek her intercession, praying, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners."  We do not, ever, equate her with God nor replace God with her. Rather, we honor her, primarily because God honored her by choosing her to become the Mother of Jesus.

        I think it is very ideal to celebrate the beginning of a new year by celebrating the feast of Mother Mary. In 1967, Pope Paul VI instituted the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. In his encyclical on devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he wrote, "This celebration, assigned to Jan. 1 in conformity with the ancient liturgy of the city of Rome, is meant to commemorate the part played by Mary in this mystery of salvation. It is meant also to exalt the singular dignity which this mystery brings to the holy Mother …through whom we were found worthy …to receive the Author of life.” The solemnity shows the relationship of Jesus to Mary. It’s a perfect example of how we should venerate Mary under all of her titles and is a good foundation for our understanding of Mary’s place in Christology. The Church puts the feast of this solemnity on the first day of the New Year to emphasize the importance of Mary’s role in the life of Christ and of the Church. We commemorate the various saints on different days of the year, but Mary is the most prominent of them all. She has a special role and mission given to her by God. She is a powerful intercessor for all of our needs here on earth. In celebrating her special feast day, we acknowledge this great gift for the Church and world; we call on her to be actively involved in our daily life; we imitate her virtuous life as a great inspiration; and we cooperate with all the graces we get through her.

             William Barclay, a professor of Divinity and a biblical scholar from Scotland, speaks about three ways to make New Year meaningful. He says, there should be something to dream, something to do and someone to love. As a community of believer at Holy family, we as a community should have something to dream- a dream about a still more active and vibrant  community; secondly, our community should engage more in our society for common needs and finally we should say ourselves I am not alone; I am part of a family and a community.

        I began this reflection with a story of a mother and a son. So ends with a conversation of a dad and son.

A boy asked his father, "Dad, if three frogs were sitting on a limb that hangs over a pool, and one frog decided to jump off into the pool, how many frogs would be left on the limb?"

The dad replied, "Two."

"No," the son replied. “Here is the question again: There are three frogs and one decided to jump, how many are left?"

The dad said, "Oh, I get the point! If one decided to jump, the others would too. So there are none left."

The boy said, "No dad, the answer is three. The frog only DECIDED to jump."  

Does that sound like our last year’s resolutions? Great inspiration and great resolutions, but oftentimes we only decide, and months later we are still on the same limb of doing nothing.

May You a Graceful New year

Amen.

Reference: http://cbci.in/Sunday-Reflections.aspx