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

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[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

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time : Do I long to see God in my Life

THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Wisdom 11: 22-12:2|Thessalonians 1: 11-2: 2|Luke 19:1-10

“And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature” (19:3)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

Once upon a time, there existed a few bugs at the bottom of a pond and they used to crawl around the pond. They wonder what happens to their members who climb up the stem of the lily; they never come back. “They wondered what it’s like up there.” Once, they agree among themselves that the next one who is called to the surface will come back. The next little larva that finds itself drawn to the surface by nature, crawls up the stem and out on the surface on the lily leaf. It was really bright up there. It had been so dark and muddy down below. They won’t believe this. Suddenly something begins to happen. The larva begins to open out. The grub spreads out two huge beautiful colored wings and becomes a beautiful dragonfly. It never imagines that this could have happened. It thought it would remain a grub forever.

It seems to me that the story of Zacchaeus almost like the story of the bugs. He was a publican, the chief of the tax collector, a man entirely abandoned to greed, whose only goal was the increase of his gain.[1]    But he longed to see Jesus, a mere curiosity like ours to see a Hollywood star. But   that eagerness to see Jesus changed his life totally.  

The Story of Zacchaeus, what does it teach us?

First of all, the life Zacchaeus teaches that whoever longs, genuinely, to see God or God’s interventions in their life, God also take that longings so seriously. And God takes initiatives to visit him/her and receives him/her as His own.

Secondly, whoever takes God seriously, has to face the obstacles in their life to attain their goal. In the Gospel, we hear   Zacchaeus desired to see Jesus but the crowd prevented him to see Jesus. In the Gospel tradition, the crowd is always a hindrance to people who want to come to Jesus.[2] We have number of examples in the Gospels: the blind man in the Gospel of Luke chapter 18; the Paralytic in the Gospel of Mark chapter 2; the deaf and dump in the same Gospel chapter 7. The Crowd which is inclined to evil, repels people from Jesus rather than leading them to Him.[3] So, getting away from the crowd is so important in our spiritual progress.

Do I have the desire to see Jesus or His interventions in my life? If so, what kind of crowd that preventing me to see Him?  These are the questions that Gospel raises to us today. Each one of us may have different crowd that hinder us to see God. For some of us may be some addictions, for some others may be the social Medias; may be our wrong relationships. Each one of us has to identify from one’s life- what kind of crowd that block one’s vision to see God.

What Good news that we can take into our heart today?

I think this is the Good news that we can take to our heart. We can see God like Zacchaeus in the Gospel. In order to see Him, we must model Zacchaeus spiritually. Instead of giving the power to the crowd to control our life, we must control our crowd in which we have the possibility to go beyond the crowd like Zacchaeus did. St. Augustine, while commenting this passage make an observation. He says, “The reason you cannot see Jesus is that you are ashamed to climb the sycamore tree”.[4] Climbing a sycamore tree for Zacchaeus was really foolishness. Because if he cared people over Jesus, then he would never attempt to climb up the sycamore because people would mock at him. But he cared Jesus over the people and ignored what his fellow citizens would say. I think it is clearer if we put it in the words of St. Bonaventure: “Zacchaeus realized that the foolishness of faith leads to the height of wisdom of Christ.”[5]

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I understand the peer pressures and mocking comments from your friends when you take religion/ faith seriously. I also understand that practicing faith in our society is a real challenge. But I recommend you to reflect this question tonight: When you stand at the cross road of faith to make a decision to step, would you listen to your crowd or would you go beyond the crowd like Zacchaeus?

May our Merciful Lord bless you
Friar Tony vattaparambil Ofmconv

  

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[1] Alexandria, C. o. (2003). Commentary on Luke . In A. A. Jr., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament III Luke (pp. 289-292). Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity Press.

[2]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.

[3] 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.

[4] Augustine (2003). Commentary on Luke . In A. A. Jr., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament III Luke (pp. 289-292). Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity Press.

[5] 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.

30th Sunday Homily Religion without compassion is terrorism

Today's gospel parable of Pharisee  and tax collector is very relevant in today's world. It's not something that happened 2000 years ago. It's something that still happening today.  We see so many people holding on to religious beliefs, traditions and faith without loving one another. In worst case, we see terrorists killing people in the name of God and religion. These kind of people believe that thy are righteous in the eyes of God and believe that they follow right religion. 

Pharisee in the parable is one of them, he believed, he is not like the rest of humanity. He thought he is following right religion he says of himself, He is not — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. He even compares himself with others. He continues, he fasted twice a week, and he payed tithes on his whole income.’ According religious practices he is a good practitioner but he lacked love for others and his life was centered around himself. He lacked love, mercy and compassion for others. He was self praising to God. 

Once I was in India with Bellarmine students and we visited a Jesuit Ashram and one of the teachers there told us, religion without love and compassion is terrorism. That was an aha moment for many. 

We may find people like this Pharisee  in work places, parishes, religious life. They are full of themselves, despise others saying sentences like, I am the only one who hard work here, I am the only one knows things better. My prayer life is better than you. My poverty is better than you. My religious practices are better than you. They are full of themselves and they forget others and to be kind to others. And not only that they are constantly judging others. Jesus asks us Catholics not to be like this Pharisee being full of oneself and judging others. 

 I might have shared this story I like to share it once again. Lady and 7th station of the cross. What she does is the good practice of the religion but that didn't turn her to love others. 

In the second story, Jesus shows us the tax collector, he is bad man in the society, he cheated his own people collecting money for Rome. But this tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ Jesus says he went home justified. This is one thing important in religion and faith humbling yourself. Humility is beginning quality to understand God and others. 

Dear brothers and sisters, this parable of Pharisee and tax collector teaches us that the entire point of religion is to make us humble before God and to open us to the path of love and compassion. 

Liturgy, prayer, the precepts of the Church, the commandments, sacraments, sacramental—all of it—are finally meant to conform us to the way of love. 

I am giving you two questions for your thoughts and reflection. 

1. How often we use knowledge and practices of religion to put others down? 

1. Does my practices of religion turn in to loving and not judging others?

29th Sunday- Your Prayer in emergency

Your Prayer in Emergency…

Luke 18:1-8. Today, we can have access to any emergency services just by ‘dialing’ a few numbers on our telephone. In the UK, it is 999; in the European Union it is 112,  in India 100 and in some countries it is 911. There are also separate numbers to call the police, fire services, or medical assistance.   The first emergency number system to be used in the world was in London.  It was on 30 June 1937 that ‘999’ was first dialed and a special red light flashed on the telephone operator’s table.  Thus began the system of emergency services. Have we ever called an emergency number in our life?  If ever we called an emergency number, I am sure, it now brings to our mind some traumatic experience. In any case, the emergency number is not the most frequently dialed number on our personal telephone.  The most dialed number in your phone.is may be that of your lover, spouse, child, parent, friend, or business partner?  And what does that frequently dialed number say about your own priorities in life?

In the gospel today we have a reminder on making frequent calls to God. By the parable of the unjust judge and the persistent widow, Jesus emphasizes the “necessity of praying always and not losing heart.” Constancy in prayer is Faith in action.  Now, here is a more important question:  how would you describe your own acts of calling on God!  Are they emergency calls, or are they frequent calls?
-When you are facing danger, call on Psalm 91. Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”  Look at some the emergency numbers in sacred scriptures.

-When you are worried, call on Matthew 6:25-34 The Heavenly Father feeds everybody.
-When you are sad, call on John 14. Jesus Comforts His Disciples
-When you don’t feel loved, call on Romans 8:38-39. Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God
-When you feel no one is on your side, call on Romans 8:31-39 who shall separate us from the love of Christ
-When you are suffering, call on Romans 8:18-30 Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness.
-When you need courage, call on Joshua 1. Never rebels against to the word of God. Be strong and courageous!
-When you are seeking peace, call on John 14:27. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
-When you want to live a happy life, call on Colossians 3:12-17. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, we are called to peace.
-When you don’t understand what God is doing, call on Isaiah 55:8-9. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Jesus tells us that we should pray, pray a lot, pray often, and be untiring in turning to God. Consistency, perseverance, steadfastness, along with continuing courage, is needed in our lives. When we are facing great difficulties along with emotional and spiritual crises of various sorts we may say: “I’ve tried everything. Now the only thing left to do is to pray.” Prayer should be our normal way of life, not just a last resort in times of difficulty. Stay always connection with God.

We live now in a world that offers us quick answers to our problems along with quick responses to our needs. All of our needs and wants can be fulfilled these days in no time at all. Most of our days are crowded and blocked with things to do. Within all of this,  we need prayer, meditation, and time with God.

- Personal prayer is of great importance in our life of prayer. Talking to God in our own words, praising Him, thanking Him and presenting our needs before Him -- transforms our whole life into prayer. Bring all our successes and failures, joys and sorrows, highs and lows to God in prayer.

- Never expect to get whatever we pray for. A loving father may refuse or accept our requests. God is like that. He knows what to give, when to give and how to give it. Only God knows what is good for us in our life.

- To make our prayers effective, be consistent. Our prayers do not change God's will. Instead, they bring our minds into line with God’s reasons.  Sincere and persistent prayer makes us ready to accept His will.

There is a way to pray with the heart, which God can hear, and answer. To speak from the heart is to speak to the heart. God can read our heart, and that is more important than any words we might say. Prayer is not an isolated act – it is a way of life. We need each other’s prayers. We need each other’s strength.

Fr. George Munjanattu OFMConv.

October 9, 2016 - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

2 Kings 5: 17-17|2 Timothy 2: 8-13|Luke 17:11-19

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

There is a story about one of our friaries in India. The Friary is named after St. Francis of Assisi and we call in our language Assisi Snehalaya- House of Love. This is a house set apart for the care and cure of the HIV affected Patients. It was erected as a religious house around the year 2000, when in our society HIV-AIDS was considered something like God’s curse for one’s wrong doing; therefore, those who are infected must be expelled from the society. I remember, reading the circular letter of our then Superior, addressing the need of the society. He compared the situation of 20^th century with the situation of Francis’ time. “Francis, seeing the need of his society took care of the lepers. In the same way, we (Franciscans) are called to respond to the needs of our society and this is our responsibility to take care of the modern day lepers-the AIDS patients[i]. AIDS is no more a threat in our society and therefore, they are no more lepers. But I think the name is still so important. More than a physical ailment, it can well describe the attitude of a society on people who lives in the margins of it.

The ancient world was terrified of leprosy, which is a contagious disease, and having no cure they banished lepers from society.  Lepers became outcasts, required by the law to stand at a distance from people, and to shout ‘Unclean, unclean!’ when they saw anyone near (Leviticus 13:45f).  The Samaritan leper in our today’s story was doubly isolated, for there was deep religious hatred between Jews and Samaritans.

What kind of lepers that we identify in our modern world? St. Bonaventure brings up with four kinds of spiritual leprosy that is possible in the background of this Gospel in his Commentary on Luke. There is a possibility of the leprosy that develops from the evil fear, there is a possibility of the Leprosy that arises from carnal desires, there is a possibility of leprosy that develops from the evil intensions of the sight and there is a leprosy that is the outcome of our pride.  Bonaventure develops these spiritual ailments from the observations of St. Augustine on the theme of Fear and Love. For St. Augustine says, “Love and Fear lead to every deed done justly. In the same way, love and fear lead to every sin. In order to do good, we love God and fear God. But in order to do evil, we love the World and fear the world.”[ii]

Fear and Love of God leads to an inclusive spirituality where nobody is alienated no matter what they are. On the other hand, fear and love of the World build exclusive agenda where narrowness of mind dominate everything.

Every society, every group, has outsiders.  How a group sees and treats outsiders is the clearest indicator of the values the group is based on.  Is there any possibility of an open society where all are welcomed? We might expect that all religious societies, since they claim to be in the service of God, would be open societies; but some of them shrink into cults, and many develop cult-like qualities.  There is always a war between inner and outer.  If the outsider is regarded only as an enemy, then we can be sure that the inner life is diseased in some way.  This is how we estimate the life of an individual; it is also how we can estimate the life of a society.  An individual who only knows who he or she is against, has no positive identity at all; likewise a society. 

A Christian society that is deaf to the outsider and that marginalizes some of its own, can hardly be described as Christian.  Pope Francis, in his very first week as pope, spoke about a tendency in the Church to “self-referencing.”  A Christian community of any kind is not a group of likeminded people who confirm one another in their narrowness, but a group that reaches out to those whose lives are in chaos, whose voices are not heard, whose presence is not welcomed.[iii]

Brothers and Sisters, what kind of leprosy that we faces in our day to day life? Does my Christian identity allow me to welcome everyone and accept them as they are? Or am I afraid of my society and anxious about my social status which leads me to take an exclusive position in which the other is my enemy and outcaste? This is the challenge the Gospel gives us today.

May the Eucharistic Lord, heal our troubled conscience and society. May we have the light to see everyone as God’s child. Amen

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[i] J.CILIA, Circular Letter to the Provincial Custody of St. Maximilian Kolbe, India 1999.

[ii] St. Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter XVII, Vol.3

[iii] http://frnick.com/weekday/today_s_good_news

Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

TWENTY SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Amos 6: 1-7|1 Timothy 6: 11-16|Luke 16:19-31

Let us be Merciful to One another

Schindler's List is a 1993 American epic historical period drama film, directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg and scripted by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the novel Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally, an Australian novelist. The film is based on the life of Oskar Schindler, an ethnic German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. When the war started, he saw it as an opportunity to make money. He made friends with some of the German officials and worked out a deal with them to use Jewish prisoners as free labor for his weaponries factory. Since he didn't have to pay his workers, he was able to rake in a handsome profit. But little by little his eyes opened to the horrors of the Nazi regime. His heart changed, and he started using his factories and his connections with German officers to save his Jewish workers from the Holocaust. He used the money he had made during the early part of the war to "buy" more and more Jewish workers, just so he could save their lives. By the end of the war he was as broke as he had been at the beginning, but he had managed to save hundreds of Jews from being murdered. In the last scene of the movie, the Germans are fleeing as allied troops approach the town where the factory is located. We see Schindler surrounded by the workers whom he had saved, and they are thanking him.

But then Schindler starts to cry. He looks around at the faces of the people he saved, and he tells them, "I could have done so much more." He holds up his gold watch, and he says, "This could have bought someone's freedom." He cries out that if he had started sooner he could have saved twice as many. Every face he sees makes him think of another face that he could have saved if he had been less self-centered. He is completely troubled. Schindler had experienced firsthand the destructive power of the sin of omission.[i]

Once again, we are reflecting the story of Lazarus and the rich man. We have heard about this story number of times and I believe that this is more meaningful to reflect in the year of Mercy. The Story is about the sin of lack of Mercy and we can say it was merciless indifference.

The rich man in Jesus’ story did not commit any serious sins in our concept. It doesn’t speak about it. He did not kill anybody; neither was he a Mafia king nor involved in human trafficking. He was a pretty good guy in our definition of holiness. And yet he failed to enter into eternal life. Why?

St. Bonaventure in his commentary on Luke says, “[ii]the circumstances of the poor man shows that he was worthy of Mercy and consequently that the rich man was merciless and impious. For the poor man was sick, abandoned and he was a man dear to God and Just”. But the rich man was so self-centered and he closed his heart to a neighbor who desperately needed his help.

Indifference is becoming an iconic quality of our time. Why should I enter into others business? Why should I bother about other’s life? I don’t have to waste my time for you? I am sorry, I am not the right person to help you, and I have something else to do… These are the often quoted comments that we hear now a days. Indifferent to life and society is now fashionable and we have no problem to accept it. I am happy as far as my life is safe. I have no problem whatever happens around me.

My mind makes me to think with Marin Niemoller, a German Lutheran Pastor and theologian, he says:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me[iii]

Brothers and Sisters, Self-centeredness and individualism kills the goodness in us, Kills the society and the nation. It is not our riches and wealth that is evil but it is our attitude and the love towards them make it sin. Whenever we hear about the story of the Lazarus, we point our finger to all the rich people around us and consider ourselves in the position of Lazarus. Is the money only the wealth? Don’t we consider our other resources like, time, energy, health, knowledge etc. as part of our wealth? I believe that we all are blessed with different talents and those are our wealth. Therefore we are rich enough to share it with others. We can no longer say that I am poor and sharing is someone else business. The gospel is so clear we can never be indifferent to others’ life.

Let me conclude it with a wonderful quote that appeared on our freshmen T- Shirt this year: Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.

Let us be merciful like the Father. Amen

Tony Friar Vattaparambil

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[i] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schindler%27s_List

[ii] Works of Bonaventure, commentary on the Gospel of Luke Vol VIII, Part 21523.

[iii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came_...#Author

23rd Sunday Homily

Today the whole world is in happiness, the mother of everyone especially the poorest of the poor, is canonized  by Pope Francis. I am proud as an Indian that she is the fourth Indian Saint. There is no one like mother Teresa who loved the poor, who dedicated the whole life for the poorest of the poor of Calcutta in India. We may not see another icon like mother Teresa in our life time again. She is something beautiful for God.

Mother Teresa’s life began in Yugoslavia in 1910 and ended in Calcutta India on September 5th 1997. She served 69 years the poor people. Received 127 awards and Nobel price of 1979. 4500 followers working in different parts of the world. You may know mother Teresa received Bellarmine Award in 1981 and visited Bellarmine 1982. Her speech is so beautiful and inspiring. 

By this canonization Pope Francis is highlighting the merciful side of the church  in the jubilee year of mercy. 

Father Brian, the priest who campaigned for her sainthood says,“Even in popular culture she’s identified with goodness, kindness, charity,” 

In her words, I took vow of poverty to understand the poor and their life better. 

One day a journalist saw mother caring a man in the street who had wounds all over his body, she told motherTeresa, mother, I wouldn't have done this work if I was given a million dollars. Mother Teresa replied, I also wouldn't have done this work if someone has given me a million dollars, I do this just because of Jesus and I see Jesus in them. 

Mother Teresa says, to understand the poor 1. we have to have a life of prayer and 2. we have to have to have relation with Jesus. Mother Teresa many times in her speeches reminded us in the speech she gave at Bellarmine the story in the Luke's gospel where mother Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth. According to her this is a story of outreaching to needy. She says, the moment Jesus came to Mary's womb she hasted to help her cousin. She went there to help her washing, cooking and cleaning. Small things but with love. She knew Elizabeth needed her. 

Mother Teresa says, every time we receive Jesus we must have that joy and haste to give Jesus. We should have haste and joy to help others. 

In the city of Calcutta, her sisters receive Jesus in the morning in the form of the Eucharist and the whole house is moving to give Jesus to others. What a beautiful concept. Our celebration of mass  shouldn't end here it should move us to give Jesus to others. 

Dalai Lama asked Buddhists to follow the path of mother Teresa. He said mother  is the incarnation of Maha Karuna (immeasurable compassion)and Dalai Lama says, she represents love without distinction and compassion for all humanity and her love expressed through humble service.

Arch bishop was talking to students at St. X and sharing a an experience, someone in America asked mother Teresa how can I serve poor people? To serve poor, She said,  you do not have to go to India, they are on your door steps. Yes, they are here around us. They may be one of your siblings, Neighbors, co workers, friends
They may not be hungry for a piece of bread but they may be hungry for love, they may not be naked for a piece of cloth but they may be naked because they lost human dignity. They may not be homeless for a room but they may be homeless for human love and touch. Yes, they are on our door steps. The alcoholic man you meet in your street is Jesus, the homeless man you see on the street is Jesus. She said give them a smile and from smile you start your love.

She says, love is not a luxury of few but it is a simple duty of everyone. She asks, give your smile to everyone. 

Today's gospel teaches us 'If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple" We may feel our religion is odd, Jesus asking to hate? It's not Jesus asking us to hate but asking us to give priority to God and things of God. That's what mother Teresa did, she gave priority to love God and to do what he wants us to do. Mother Teresa is a great example of discipleship explained in today's gospel. She left everything for the sake of the gospel. 

Pope Francis said in his canonization homily, Mother Teresa, in all aspects of her life, was a generous dispenser of divine mercy, making herself available for everyone through her welcome and defence of human life, those unborn and those abandoned and discarded.  She was committed to defending life, ceaselessly proclaiming that “the unborn are the weakest, the smallest, the most vulnerable”.  She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity; she made her voice heard before the powers of this world, so that they might recognize their guilt for the crime of poverty they created.  For Mother Teresa, mercy was the “salt” which gave flavour to her work, it was the “light” which shone in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering.

One thing mother Teresa taught me personally and all Christians in India to open our hearts and love people beyond their religion. In my country 97% of people are other religions( that's billions of people) and she taught me they are also children of God and they too will receive heaven if they do good. Her words always inspired me. She said once when asked about conversion, she said, this is my point view of conversion, if you are Hindu be a good Hindu, if you are a Muslim be a good Muslim, if you are a Protestant be a good Protestant, if you are a Buddhist be a good Buddhist. She wanted people to come closer to God (however they understood Him) and believed that in this way they would also come closer to each other, love one another, and ultimately create a world that is better for everyone to live in.


You all know that I am from India where mother Teresa worked as a missionary.  I wished but unfortunately I could ever see  Mother Teresa but I have received a blessing and signature from Mother Teresa! I am so happy Tomorrow this signature will turn in to a relic. 
I receive this blessing and signature when I was a philosophy student in 1996. I was editing a handwritten magazine for the seminarians. I had crazy idea of getting mother's signature for the magazine. I asked one of our Friars to paint her picture on a letter size card and I posted mother Teresa with covering return postage. I was eagerly waiting and the next day we heard she fell sick and was in ICU. I lost hope but she recovered and the first thing she did after her recovery is to send her blessing to us. We keep this as a precious memory( the picture is on the top).  She put a card with it and it said: 

fruit of SILENCE is Prayer
The fruit of PRAYER is Faith
The fruit of FAITH is Love
The fruit of LOVE is Service
The fruit of SERVICE is Peace

Let us celebrate mother Theresa loving everyone and giving our joy to every one 


Fr. John Pozhathuparambil