May 8th Good Shepherd

There are many animals in the world to compare us with but why Jesus compared us with sheep and goats? He could have compared us with horses, very fast and powerful or any other powerful and intelligent animals. The reason I found from few readings, sheep and goats are a kind of dumbest and frail animals. Sorry, It's not a judgement. You might have noticed no goat or sheep is an item in the circus. Another thing, they are very slow to detect danger. Because of this reason, they easily submit themselves to the enemy. They eat whatever they see and get sick.  Jesus realized we are spiritual life is this way; dumbest and frail. We are very weak and frail in our spiritual life. We are tempted and attacked by devil very easily. 

I remember last lent, I made a resolution to abstain from ice-cream and let me confess, I failed at least four times. I know I have given up ice cream for lent by my heart but very weak to follow it strongly. 

This must be the story of many of us during past lent. Look at the times you were tempted by the devil, sometimes very easily, right? A phone call, beautiful face, smell.. Devil is there to destroy our happiness and joy. He tempts us with the things we see most beautiful and charming. That is why St. Francis asks God, why did you create temptations so beautiful and delicious( Novel God's Pauper).

Jesus knows our spiritual nature and explains the need of God for our spiritual health with an analogy of sheep and shepherd.  In those times where bible is written Shepherd is a term used to show a person with kindness, love and compassion. What Jesus is trying to say in this parable is, he is the good shepherd who knows us by name and he is the one who gives us life abundantly. And Jesus knows our life will be terrible without him. 

We had a monkey sweetie-we got her abandoned on the street when she was 3 months old.  One day she run away from her home and what worried all of us is that how she is going to get food? Is she going to survive? Any animal is going to attack her. We knew that she can't survive without us. But we find in the night she knocking at one of the friars room. You might have gone through similar pain when you lost your dog or pet. We know that they cannot survive without us. 

Dear brothers and sisters, the story of sheep and shepherd teaches us that we can't live without Jesus. Our life will be in danger without him. We will be spiritually sick without Jesus. 

We have seen the image Jesus carrying the lamb on his shoulder. This image explains the relationship that Jesus wants to build with us. If we look closer in the picture we can see how compassionately Jesus carries the lamb. How safe the lamb feels. When we are danger and loose ourselves let this image help us to trust in Jesus the good shepherd. And when we loose ourselves in sin let the compassionate image of Jesus help you to return to him so that we might have life and have it more abundantly.

Fr. John Pozhathuparambil

April 30th: Way to Emmaus

Today we heard a beautiful story of encountering Christ.

Cricket is the sports in India and cricket players are like “gods. When I arrived in USA in 2010, it was the time of Cricket world cup and India was on the final game. That was “the news” in India, people were so excited and we were thinking all the world is watching India and cricket. As I arrived, I asked the friar who picked me up from the airport, may I know the cricket score. He said yes, let us stop on the way. He stopped at a cricket store where they sell cell phone connections. Then I knew that in America not many people know about the game cricket and not one television channel airs cricket game. This broke my heart. What was so close to my heart, what I thought the whole world knew was not matter in America. This exactly what the disciples felt when they started sharing the resurrection experience. 

Jesus asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

One of them, named Cleopas,asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

“What things?” he asked. This question what things? broke their heart. They realized what matters to them was not a matter to others. And they learned a lesson that this is what Jesus feels when someone says, Jesus is not matter to him or his suffering, crusifixion, death and resurrection not a matter. 

 As they walked further, on their pilgrimage these disciples learned something else in the presence of this stranger that their faith was not deep enough to accept that happened in Jerusalem and they were running away from facing the reality of faith. They thought everything ended with crucifixion of Jesus. They were saddened by the things happened to Jesus. Their eyes were blind folded to see the mystery of faith and to understand risen lord or resurrection. 

We read in the scripture, these two disciples were going from Jerusalem to Emmaus. 

According to the readings Emmaus is a village about seven miles from Jerusalem. It says Emmaus is 7 miles away from Jerusalem but archeologist couldn’t identify were Emmaus is. We do not know where Emmaus is. Emmaus, therefore is a symbolic place; a place of crisis of faith. They were going from Jerusalem ( A place of God’s presence) to Emmaus( a place crisis of faith). It means they were taking a wrong way in the life of faith. 

Who has not experienced in life a moment like this?"  “Sometimes our faith enters into a crisis because of negative experiences and makes us feel abandoned and betrayed by the Lord. 

Today we are also witnessing many people are traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus, some of them expressing serious doubts about teaching of the church, some due to scandalous behavior of the clergy, some of them left to Emmaus thinking God abandoned them when they had a crisis. We might have travelled from Emmaus or may be right now we are feeling we are on the way to Emmaus. 

After the death of  Mother Teresa of Calcutta, some personal letters were made public in a book. In one of her letters, she wrote an undated address to Jesus, "Where is my Faith - even deep down right in there is nothing, but emptiness & darkness - My God - how painful is this unknown pain - I have no Faith." This letters are shock to many but this was her road to Emmaus. We know she survived her faith by her love for Jesus, scripture and Eucharist. The story of Emmaus suggests that it is possible to encounter the risen Jesus "still today". 

On the way two things help them; Scripture and Eucharist. We read, "So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. In this crisis they knew that they need more Jesus in their life and learn to trust him.

Dear brothers and sisters, the road to Emmaus is a symbol of our journey of faith, in our life time, we may take wrong way of faith, we may have crisis: there are two indispensable elements that Jesus has given to us: the Scriptures and the Eucharist to meet the Lord. 

Pope Benedict says, for these two disciples the road to Emmaus becomes the way of a purification and maturation of our belief in God: the encounter with the risen Christ gives us a deeper faith. In other words our life crisis are to help us to grow in faith. 

We may face or facing  Emmaus experience in our lives we do not need to be stressed out, Jesus can help us. We may not get an answer from human wisdom but Jesus can help us through scripture and Eucharist. 

Pope Benedict says, "Still today, Jesus speaks to us in the Scripture; still today Jesus gives us his Body and his Blood.

Pope Francis says, "This Jesus, he is the Risen Traveller that journeys with us. And Jesus is here today, he is here among us. He is here in his word, is here on the altar, journeying with us,” 

Fr. John Pozhathuparambil

Holy Thursday Eucharist and Priesthood

Today we thank Jesus for giving us the Eucharist and the priesthood. Both the Eucharist and the priesthood “were born” during the Last Supper.  These two sacraments Eucharist and Holy Orders are so closely linked because without the priesthood we would have no Eucharist. 

Priesthood is a great gift that's given by God to humanity and to the church. Think about our faith without these men who have dedicated their lives for the church. Without them we would have missed many things. Francis of Assisi told, If I see an angel and a priest together I will bend my knees to the priest first  and then to the angel. 

We have seen many priests falling from their lives in our life time. We have judged them, criticized them and sometimes hated them. I heard one of the old priests saying, priests are forward players of a soccer team. If you know soccer game, the forward players are the most watched and attacked by the opposition team. It's the same with the church, priests are forward players of the church, they are mostly watched and attacked by the opposition team that's evil. When they fail and if we laugh and celebrate their fail, we are celebrating our own fate. It's like celebrating life while we are attacked. 

I am highlighting priesthood, not because I am a priest but to understand the beauty and gift of priesthood. We need to pray daily for priests and vocation to the priesthood. We as Holy family parishioners should thank for giving us four priests to serve us for a while. And you all know this is a luxury  in Louisville diocese. 

Second, Jesus established Eucharist to be with us. It's culmination of his love. He wanted to be with us in real presence.  He loves us and he doesn't want to be separated from us. And this is a greatest gift to us for spiritual nourishment. 

"while it nourishes us with Christ, the Eucharist which we celebrate transforms us little by little into the body of Christ and spiritual food for our brothers and sisters” says Pope Francis. 

And receiving Eucharist means entering in to sacrificial love of Jesus (that's what we are remembering these days) and become persons of peace, forgiveness, reconciliation and sharing in solidarity. 

Many people are so scared to receive Eucharist. 

Pope Francis says “The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.”

Let us thank God for these two gifts; gift of Eucharist and priesthood. Let us meditate on God's love; the love He showed even giving his only son on the cross
Fr. John Pozhathuparambil

Sunday April 23 Divine Mercy

In the year 2000 Our Holy Father Pope John Paul declared a new feast, the Feast of Divine Mercy to be celebrated for the first time in 2001 on the Second Sunday of Easter, tomorrow. We usually call it Divine Mercy Sunday on the remembrance of St. Faustina who was privileged to receive apparitions from Jesus emphasizing his mercy. Sr. Faustina was born in Poland in 1905. When she was twenty years old she entered the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy where she lived for the next thirteen years until her death on October 5th 1938. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1993 and canonized in 2000. When canonizing her Our Holy Father said,

“Today my joy is truly great in presenting the life and witness of Sr. Faustina to the whole Church as a gift of God for our time. In fact, it was between the First and Second World Wars that Christ entrusted his message of mercy to her. Those who remember the events of those years and the horrible sufferings know well how necessary was this message of mercy.”

One of the important vision of Faustina is the picture of Divine Mercy. In February 1931 Sister Faustina saw Jesus dressed in a white garment. Jesus told her to Paint an image according to the vision she see. And in the bottom, Jesus asked her to write: Jesus, I trust in You. In the vision, Jesus held one hand raised in blessing and the other hand touching his garment at the chest as in the picture. From that point in his garment two rays of light emanated, one red and the other pale.

Later Jesus explained, “The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross..” (Diary §299)

In the picture, we can see Jesus walking to us. It means Jesus is coming to us with his peace and Mercy. No matter what sins you committed, no matter where you are Jesus is walking to reconcile with you. He comes to you, not in ager but with divine mercy. And what is interesting is that this image is very close to the image of shroud of Turin especially its structure. It’s not just coincidence but it’s the work of God.

Another one is powerful prayer Divine Mercy Chaplet.  A number of times in St. Faustina’s diary we see the power of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy."Say unceasingly this chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great Mercy at the hour of death. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this Chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I want the whole world to know My infinite mercy. I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My Mercy.

And as we celebrate divine Mercy, we are reminded of this mercy we need to show each other in order to avoid another war and its suffering. Today we are reminded about when people are suffering and in pain, we have to bring Christ’s peace to them.

Today we need to ask this question: What does "mercy" mean?

To understanding the meaning of mercy, it will help if we examine its etymology. Our English word, mercy, goes back to the Latin: misericordia, which is composed of two words. "Cordia" is familiar to us from such words as "cardiologist" and "cardiac." It means heart. The first part, "miseri" refers to suffering. Mercy, then, means to have a heart for those who suffer or, more precisely, to have a heart willing to suffer for others.

Today’s gospel we see St. Thomas believes Jesus resurrection by putting his hand in Jesus’s side. This side, this wound is the entire mystery of Christ and of God: his Passion, his earthly life – filled with compassion for the weak and the sick. Pope Francis says, “Being apostles of mercy means touching and soothing the wounds that today afflict the bodies and souls of many of our brothers and sisters.”

“Curing these wounds, we profess Jesus, we make him present and alive; we allow others, who touch his mercy with their own hands, to recognize him as ‘Lord and God.’”

During today’s retreat at Franciscan Kitchen for homeless, om of our students shared this beautiful concept of Mercy, "whenever we sacrifice our time and convenience for others, whether it be family or strangers, we are helping Jesus to spread his mercy. Whenever we care for the poor by feeding them and asking them how their day has been, we are helping Jesus give his mercy. It is in the simple moments when we smile at strangers or offer comforting and supporting words to others that help Jesus spread his mercy".

Ultimately mercy results not so much from human effort as from God's free gift. " During the this time of Easter, we ask God to open our hearts so that we might receive into our hearts his Mercy - his Holy Spirit, so that we will be apostles of Mercy. 

Fr. John Pozhathuparambil

March 26th : Jesus is the light

Last Sunday we heard about Jesus as giver of life and today we hear Jesus as light of life. One of the teachers once shared a story about a blind girl in his school. After the gym class one day, the girl was in the locker room getting for the next class. All of a sudden all the lights went out in the locker room and all the girls started screaming. The. Kind girl asked the girl standing next to her. What happened? The friend told her that lights went out and they couldn't see. The blind girl calmly turned to her friend and said, don't worry, take my hand, I will lead you out. 

The blind girl's classmate learned a valuable lesson on that day- she may be blind but she isn't disabled, she just sees in other ways or different ways.

The story of the blind man in today's gospel teaches us that blind man was poor and isolated  but he saw much more than anyone else. In those days, society had a lack of knowledge about disabilities. The stereotype people alienated and outcasted people with disabilities. They were not even allowed in the temple to worship, because they were seen unclean. Who is really blind here, it's the society. The society was blind. The society lacked insights to accept everyone as they are and see love of God in all. 

When the story unfolds, disciples asks,

Who sinned disciples asked? The blind man and parents? This is the question of the society put through the mouth of disciples by John. 

If we see a homeless man in the street and turns our face away from him/her. If we see an immigrant and fear him taking our jobs, if we see a man with beard sitting next to us as terrorist, if we bully someone for having different sexual orientation, we are sick and we are blind like the society of that time. 

In reality, the blind man was not disabled by his blindness but he was disabled by the ignorance and prejudices of the society. The society told him you are blind and therefore you can't worship God in the temple. 

I do help in a soup Kitchen with our students. One day I was talking to a homeless man. He said, thanks for treating me as a human being. He said when I am in the street, many people avoid me alienate me, and turn my face from me thinking all homeless people are bad. I said I do this because of what Jesus taught me, he gave me light and I wish everyone has light from Jesus.

By healing the blind, Jesus is trying to give insight to the society. And he says to them, God's works is in everyone. God's love is in everyone, all are children of God. 

As story develops, Jesus gives him his sight back. The light that comes to him is the light of Christ. He was enlightened. He first recognized Jesus as a man, then a prophet and then son of God and finally he calls Jesus as Lord and worships him. The healed man attains faith, and this is the highest grace that he receives from Jesus: not only to see, but to know Him, to see him as the light of the world”, yes, we need this enlightenment. We need to pray for this. We need light of Christ. 

“Many times a good act, a work of charity, provokes gossip and questions from people who do not want to know the truth. They spread negativity and hatred … The cured blind man is first interrogated by the astonished crowd – and then by the doctors of the law.  We as Catholics, Christians should not be negative and speed hatred. Our God is love and our life is of light.

The transformation of the blind man invites us to remind us our faith journey. It reminds us to ask the question, Whether we really know who Jesus is. Who do I say, Jesus is- what does this mean in our daily living. What's in our heart? Do we see with eyes of God? Are we blinded by prejudices and stereotypes? Do we alienate and isolate people? 

St. Augustine  interprets that the blind man represents the human race. Sin is the spiritual blindness. When Jesus heals the blind man and allows him to see the light, he literally sees, which can be taken as a sign that he sees the errors/ shortcomings of his ways and wants to correct them by following the ways of God.

St. Paul tells us we are called to live as the children of Light. For light produces every kind of goodness. We have to bring light of Christ to where there is darkness. 

Blind man opens up to the light of God and His grace. Sometimes, unfortunately, we are like the doctors of law, we judge others, even the Lord. Today, as we listen to the Gospel, we are invited to open ourselves to Christ's light, so that our lives might bear fruit and eliminate our behaviour that is not Christian; we are all Christians, but we all at times behave in ways which are not Christian, which are sins. We must repent of this, and eliminate these forms of behaviour … to behave like 'children of light', with humility, patience and mercy. … Those doctors of the law had neither humility, nor patience, nor mercy. … We must not be afraid to be children of light. Let us open ourselves to the light of the Lord, He Who always awaits us, to let us see better, to offer us more light, so we can be reborn to new light. 

I would like to conclude with an ancient blessing from India: 

asato mā sadgamaya

tamasomā jyotir gamaya

mrityormāamritam gamaya

Oṁ śhānti śhānti śhāntiḥ

From ignorance, lead me to truth;

From darkness, lead me to light;

From death, lead me to immortality

Om peace, peace, peace

Fr. John Pozhathuparambil

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.