Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as good shepherd Sunday. It is the world day of prayer for vocations. May ask you to close your eyes, think of an young man in your family or community who can become a priest. If you have him in your mind, will you able to tell him tonight that I thought of you as Fr. John was giving homily and start praying for him?

 I will start with my vocation story. I joined the seminary when I was fifteen. I was a normal kid, loved to have a family, my dream was to have a beautiful wife and two kids; one girl and one boy. But God had another dream for me. He sent a Franciscan friar to my religious study class to talk about St. Francis and the beauty of priesthood. I went to a come and see program and I was attracted by the Franciscan community life, the way they prayed together, the way they did manual work and seeing this, I said this is my nitche.

After my 10th grade, I left my family and joined Franciscan life. My father wasn't happy in the beginning but later he started loving my life. I remember my first travel to the seminary, the bus I was traveling met with an accident and the bus run in to 6 feet deep muddy and dirty water. I tried to get up from the water to take my breath. I knew someone was on me. I felt that I was going to die, I said God, God I am coming to your home.  Suddenly the man or woman who was on me moved away. I somehow got out of the bus through a window and took my first breath. But the strange thing is that I didn't return home, I was so decided to peruse God's dream for me which by that time had become my dream. Mud and water came from my nostrils for two days. 

Now looking back, I have been a Franciscan priest for fifteen years. Never regretted. I helped so many people, saved people from ending their lives, saved families from braking up, spirituality directed many souls, forgave the sins and could do many things just because my call as priest.

Blaga  Dimitrova, one of my favorite poetess wrote: Nameless are the ones who have given their future –without them I’d lost all confidence in the future. 

Dear brothers and sisters, the church is made of people who have sacrificed and dedicated their lives. We have to encourage vocations. I am so sad to see aging priests and Friars in this part of the world. We need more people to dedicate their lives for God. Let my story inspire someone in this room and let me encourage you to continue to pray for the young person you thought of.

 Coming to today's gospel Jesus is using the metaphor of sheep to talk about us. He says, my sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.  

Sheep is the most vulnerable livestock. We cannot train a sheep, that’s why no sheep is an item in the circus. Sheep is a very filthy animal. Enemy can easily conquer a sheep. Sheep eats everything even dangerous plants and food, they are near sighted creatures. Sheep is very timid and terrified animal.  Can't even drink water from running stream that’s why shepherd leads them to still waters. They need constant attention.

Hearing all these, is our human nature is comparable to sheep? No way!  Then why Jesus is comparing us with sheep? 

 Jesus uses the metaphor of sheep and shepherd because, He knows spiritual nature. With our instinct, our fears and timidity, our stubbornness and stupidity, and our rebellious nature, we’re very similar to sheep. In our spiritual journey, we feel we are repeating the same sins over and over again, we make imprudent decisions, we feel that we cannot discipline our lives, evil is easily attacking us, we eat everything like a sheep, even some things dangerous to our spiritual life, we tend to escape from the watch or eye of God. Yes, we are like a sheep in our spiritual journey. This is why we need Jesus in our lives as good shepherd. 

That’s why David, who was a shepherd himself sings, "THE LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:1-4) 

Yes, Jesus is our shepherd who guides us on right path. We need his constant protection and care to grow in our spiritual life. If we follow the Good Shepherd, we can be assured that He will always lead us in the right path, he will help us to make right decision, he will protect us from evil. Our enemy may walk about as a roaring lion looking for victims to devour but if we have Jesus with us we will be protected.  Yes, let us hold on to our good shepherd who has promised us salvation. Jesus says, I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.  

Let us sing in our hearts,

Shepherd me O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death in to life. 

Fr. John Pozhathuparambil OFM Conv.

Divine Mercy Sunday

Divine Mercy Sunday

April 03, 2016

Acts 5:12 16 // Rv 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19 // Jn 20:19-31

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus,

This is the Second Sunday of the Easter and we celebrate this weekend as Divine mercy Sunday. I believe that this Sunday is worth to be celebrated not only because it is the last day of the octave of Easter Season, but also we, our generation, are in a desperate need of God’s Mercy. Putting in the words of Pope Francis, from the book, The Name of God is Mercy, “at a time when “humanity is wounded,” suffering from “the many slaveries of the third millennium” — not just war and poverty and social exclusion, but also fatalism, hardheartedness and self-righteousness”- we realizes that we have no other place to relay upon except in God’s Mercy.

It is interesting to me to reflect a little bit more on the wounds of Jesus and along with that our own wounds. I know, we are now Easter People and we have a joyful him, Alleluia, to chant. Yet, the Gospel makes me think that Faith in Christ is roaming around the wounds of Christ. The Gospel gives me a picture that there is a wounded Lord and there are also wounded disciples. And again, it plays like an identity of each person: The Wounds of Jesus prove that he is the Christ and he is risen from the dead. The wounds of the Apostles, which is expressed through their fear, anguish and anxiety proves that they have abandoned their master and they desperately need healing.

What does it all mean about the wounds of Jesus? The wounds of Jesus are the expression of God’s love for humanity. “He so loved the world that he gave his only son to redeem them” from their fall, from their brokenness. When God’s love meets the brokenness of humanity, we experience His Mercy. Today, as we profess in this divine Mercy Sunday, Jesus I trust in you, remember that we are wounded, broken and God will never abandon us alone, for his Mercy endures forever.

What do we mean by the wounds of the Apostles and of ours? How are we wounded? The Scripture gives us the picture that it is the price that we pay when we abandon God in our life. This is very clear all throughout the salvation history- from the life Adam, the first man to the life of that Apostle that we see in today’s Gospel. When we decides that we are capable to do everything and we don’t want a God to explain our wonder and explore our future, we are beginning to hurt ourselves. Then, we end up in some kind of masochism, in which we find pleasure in our own wounds. But it is an abnormality; a deviation from our original identity which is given by God, His image and likeness.   We are wounded and our society is wounded for we abandoned our Lord in our life and the life of our society.

The Feast of Divine Mercy invites us to explore His Mercy where God’s love encounter our brokenness. It invites us to return to our original identity. We can no longer live and enjoy the pleasures of our wounds, that is a perversion. A wound, that is to be treated and healed. The wounds of Jesus have the power to heal our wounds. So, like Thomas, who was healed by touching the Jesus’ wounds, let us be healed by opening our wounds of the Risen Lord. Only he can heal our wounds.

May this celebration of this Eucharist, and various occasions of our sacrament of Reconciliation be an occasion to open up our wounds to the Lord especially in this year of Mercy.

Fr. Tony Vattaparambil OFMConv

Palm Sunday

Passion Sunday

March 20, 2016

Is 50:4-7 // Phil 2:6-11 // Lk 22:14-23:56

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus,

Today we are beginning the best week in the whole liturgical year. Centuries ago, it was called the ‘Great Week‘. Nowadays we Catholics call it ‘Holy Week’.[i] For, we follow Jesus every step in our spiritual life for its perfection. So whatever the title, this is going to be a great and Holy week.

As I am standing here to share my reflection with you on this day, my mind flies to my state in India and praying with Salesian Fathers who sends Missionaries not only to India and all over the world, for the release of Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil from the clutches of present day evil forces called Isis. Fr. Tom is a missionary in Aden, Yemen and was abducted on the 4th of March by Isis. We don't know regarding the whereabouts and well-being of the Father Tom.

Later this week, on March 24th, is the anniversary of the martyrdom (1980) of Archbishop Oscar Romero from El Salvadore, a man who stood for justice for his people.

The lives of these innocent people and their suffering leads to me a number of questions and sometimes shakes my religiosity. It may be true with you too. So what does it really mean to us all these liturgical celebration of this week? 

We know that Religious wisdom often speaks in the language of paradox. The age old wisdom of the ancient religions never failed to speak on the continuing battle between light and darkness, good and evil. These sources of wisdom are pretty sure that the final victory is for light and goodness. Let us look at today's reading in the background of this wisdom. And also, let us look at the suffering of Fr. Tom and the Martyrdom of Archbishop Romero that Justice and goodness will prevail over darkness.

The Gospel takes us today to witness two Processions. The First one leads us into Jerusalem with Jesus’ being welcomed and proclaimed and we cheer with the crowd “Hosanna to the Son of David…… Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” The other procession pictures Jesus leaves Jerusalem a few days later in disgrace and abandoned, going to his own crucifixion. There we also join the crowd cheering with other words: “Crucify him, crucify him!”[ii] What a paradox! We see the glory of a man and his ends in the same page.

 It is a reality in our life and we experience the glory and failure in our life and believe me, sometimes, the bitterness of our suffering makes us to think that our life is a total failure. It is only here in this state of mind that we can understand the real meaning of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is seemingly the suffering of Jesus, but it is the proof of the obsessive love of God.

In fact, contemplating on the passion of Christ an excellent way to answer our own idea of God. In my childhood, my mama taught me God is almighty, all powerful, omniscient, etc. And I believe this is the concept taught by all religions down through the centuries and we believe so. But during this great week, we may look at the cross and ask the same questions that people who traveled along calvary in today’s reading. What a God who even cannot help himself from the suffering?

This is a real shift in the idea of God that we professed. We have no more a God that stays up above who has nothing to do with my life. We have now a God who stays beside me not only in the moments of my glory, but more in the moments of failure. And I have such a confident to preach that my God is so powerful, even the extreme sufferings of this world cannot defeat him.

So, dear brothers and sisters, Let us walk together spiritually in these days and know a little bit more about our God who is obsessive in loving and whose Mercy we have hope.

Fr. Tony Vattaparambil OFMConv.

---

[i] Fr Brian Gleeson cp, http://www.frnick.com/homilies/a_c_p_/

[ii] Luis A. Vera, O.S.A. http://www.augustinianfriends.org/homilies/hom_palma08.htm

Easter Sunday Homily 2016

Happy Easter to everyone!

I would like to share a story which I heard when I was a seminarian. The name of the story is world is in darkness. This is the story: A world famous archaeologist excavated the tomb of Jesus and after the excavation, he called a press conference  and lied to the press that he found born and skull of Jesus. And he argued that there is no base for Jesus' resurrection. He said resurrection is myth and delusion of disciples. After hearing this, people stopped going to church, churches became party place. Justice and peace disappeared from the world. Gradually people started hating each other, killing each other and even moral values disappeared. Life became terrible and meaningless. At the end of his life he realized his huge lie made the earth hell. He understood his mistake. He again called a press conference and said to the world, it is true that I excavated the tomb of Jesus but I did not find any thing in the tomb of Jesus. The tomb of Jesus was empty. He said with faith, resurrection is not a myth but a reality, and it is not delusion of disciples, it is truth. 

Dear brothers and sisters, our faith is based on the resurrection of Jesus, our hope is based on the resurrection of Jesus.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians, "if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith"(1cori. 5:1-14 )

Yes, if Jesus wasn't resurrected  we wouldn't have gathered here as a community. If Jesus wasn't resurrected many people wouldn't have given their lives to service and for the love of others. If he was not resurrected our life would have been different. This feast is the foundation of our faith and life.

We heard from the gospel today, two men in dazzling clothes said to the women: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; but has risen”. These words gave hope and happiness to those women who went to the tomb of Jesus. After 2000 years the same words give us hope and happiness. 

My mum died at the age of 11 and the only solace as a family we had is our believe in resurrection. We started our ordinary life trusting in Jesus’ promise that he has gone to prepare a home for us and where my brother and myself will meet our mum. Without Jesus our lives would have been hopeless. This is not only my story, it's a story of many of us. When some one lost from our lives what gave us strength to get back to ordinary lives? It is none other than Jesus' resurrection and his promises. His resurrection reminds us that there is life beyond the grave. His resurrection gives us hope. His resurrection gives us mission.

Today we have seen the light of resurrection, our bonds of sins are broken by the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. We are saved by his precious blood.  No more let us be prisoners of fear or sins. Let us not stay imprisoned within ourselves, but let us break open our sealed tombs to the Lord so that he may enter and grant us life. He is our greatest joy; he is always at our side and will never let us down.

We lit a candle yesterday night, it is a symbol of sacrifice. The candle shines inasmuch as it is burnt up. Like the lighted candle let us be light for others! And this candle will once disappear after shedding light for us. Like the candle let us offer ourselves for others ! 

From today if we have really experienced resurrection we can't but be the missionaries of the resurrection. We have seen the light. The mission of the resurrection is to find Jesus in everyone. The Lord is alive and wants to be sought among the living not among the dead. 

Remember after resurrection Jesus appeared to disciples- as gardner, as a stranger, as a co traveler. Watch for Jesus. He will walk to you as a homeless, stranger, refugee and sick. 

Pope Francis said in his homily, "as joyful servants of hope, we must announce the Risen One by our lives and by our love; otherwise we will be only an international organization full of followers and good rules, yet incapable of offering the hope for which the world longs".

I would like to share another story: a group of villagers hated each other. Once an old wise man stayed with the villagers for couple of days. People were very hospitable to him. And when he left the village, he said to the villagers that one of you is Jesus! And from the next day villagers stopped fighting and started looking for Jesus in each other. This village became most happy place. Yes, let us watch for jests in each other. 

As a missionaries of resurrection, as people who have experienced resurrection, Let us open our hearts to hope and go forth.  May the memory of his works and his words be the bright star which directs our steps in the ways of faith towards the Easter that will have no end. If you are saddened any recent things in life, let Jesus resurrection give you hope. Let us find Jesus among the live.

Fr. John Pozhathuparambil

Second Sunday of Lent Feb. 21st

Many artists and poets have painted transfiguration of Jesus, many ascetics have meditated up on Jesus's transfiguration and many have enlightened by reading transfiguration passage.
What is transfiguration? For western Christians it's an explanation of mysticism or asceticism and for eastern Christians it is a passage of enlightenment that the disciples of Jesus should go through once in their life time.
Arch bishop Raya hierarch of Melkite church  says, " transfiguration is not simply an event out of the two thousand years old past, or a future yet to come. It is rather a reality of the present, a way of life available to those who seek and accept Christ's nearness".
I would say transfiguration is a private and intimate moment of discipleship. It takes about what happened to disciples than what happened to Jesus. At this moment of enlightenment the disciples realized who Jesus is, he is the one they were expecting, he is the one Father is pleased with and he is the fulfillment of law and prophet.
And today as the second week of lent we remember transfiguration to remind us that our faith would be incomplete if we do not experience private and intimate moment with Jesus.
When apostle Peter had that moment of private and intimate  he said, "Lord, how good it is for us to be here!”

Pope Paul VI once said in a homily that Christ "is necessary, and we cannot do without him; he is our fortune, joy and happiness, our promise and hope; our way, our truth and our life"

We can see many private and intimate experiences with Jesus in the Bible.
Look St. Thomas the apostle when he had a private and intimate Jesus' experience, he said loudly; my lord and my God. St. Francis Assisi when he had Jesus experience, he said my lord and my all. St. Paul when he had Jesus experience he was blind for three days and he couldn't eat or drink anything. In Indian spirituality we call this as enlightenment, some western philosophers call it as aha moment.

Lent is a time of enlightenment, aha moment and Jesus experience. It's time to evaluate what is my experience with Jesus? Did I ever had an intimate and private experience with Jesus? Who is Jesus for me?

I gave Holy Communion to one of our children who has been respiratory assistance. His name is Emil and he is 11 years old. After receiving First holy communion at kosair hospital he shed tears, I asked why? He said  tears of Joy.
I found in the room of one of my friends- "Jesus is intoxicating than drugs". He wrote this after he stopped drug and alcohol through 40 days of prayer.

Lent is a time of Transfiguration and remind us to transfigure ourselves.
To have this transfiguration what we have to do? We have to go with Jesus- go to the mount. Mount is a place of silence, it's a place where we are quiet and away from your busy world.
Then you will encounter Jesus and experience Christ's nearness.

Once we have this encounter, a  wow moment, it will transfigure our lives, our marriages, our homes, our work, our relation and our community.  
Without this enlightenment, aha moment, wow moment, without having a private and intimate moment with Jesus, our faith is incomplete and our faith will be lukewarm.

Buddha was having bath in a river and a disciple came and asked him, how can I be enlightened? Buddha invited him to the river and pushed his head in the water for few seconds. Disciple used all the power to come up on the water. Buddha said, seek God as you searched for breath under the water.
Let us pray that this lent season will be a time of enlightenment and transfiguration. Let us pray that we will have a private and intimate experience with Jesus to become people of enlightenment and transfiguration.

Ash Wednesday

February 10, 2016

Jl 2:12-18 // II Cor 5:20-6:2 // Mk 6:1-6, 16-18

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus,

It is so cold outside and we all know that this winter is only half way reached, yet I want to call this day as the first day of spring- first day of spiritual spring. Some of you may think in your mind- you have to correct yourself, that this is the first day of thinking on fish fry! Those who are thinking in that line, may I say that I am not totally against you. But something more than our physical appetite is reflected during this whole season of Lent, which will produce the fruits of new hope, optimism and new directions in our Journey. That is why, I named this day as the first day of Spiritual Spring.

We have passions and desires. May be for someone of us these passions, dreams and desires are the reasons to live. A life without dreams and desires are unimaginable. The material growth and the prosperity that we enjoy today in our society is the realization of the dreams and desires of our ancestors. It is also an undeniable truth that we have a holy desire deep within our heart. A holy desire for God. Because of our daily burdens of our life, we keep aside this holy desire, thinking that we can look into it at some other time. Lent is the time to take a look at your holy desire. In fact, St. Augustine, one of the most important church fathers, says that the Christian life is an exercise of holy desire. It does not demand us to uproot our natural desires, but to raise and purify them. Our desires are too small if our ultimate values are those of this world; We have experience or is experiencing, even when I fulfill the brim of my desires, I am not so happy. What does it mean? It proves to us that we have some higher desires which makes us ease, peaceful and joyous. During this Lent we tune in to these higher desires, to deep-down our longing for God.

I am really positive that the social group with the help of professional crew will serve best possible fish fry at our Saffin center. But imagine if I don’t have an appetite for eating, does the food that is served to give me any good?

Lenten Season is the greatest season that one can cultivate values and virtues in one’s life. But if we don’t possess a spiritual appetite, it will not turn to me any good. So we need to sharpen our spiritual appetite, so that we can turn some good out of this season.

So let us be serious with our traditional triple ways: Prayer, Fasting and alms giving. This is the spirit of today’s Gospel and the spirit of Lenten season. Prayer will satisfy our longing for God and mend our relationship with him, Fasting will sharpen our spiritual appetite for God and Alms giving will help us to open our eyes to our brothers and sisters and realize that I am not alone in this world.

May your longing for God be deepened during this season of Lent.

Fr. Tony Vattaparambil

First week of Lent Homily (Feb. 14)

A man got a special invitation from Lucifer  to visit heaven and hell before he could choose them. He went to heaven first and St. Peter wearing a long white garment. St. Peter welcomed him to heaven. He saw inside the heaven praise and worship, liturgical music, flowers, incense etc. 

Then he visited hell. Lucifer was  waiting for him with beautiful face, colorful garments.  He entered inside and heard Jazz music, delicious food, dance.  It  was a party place . Very colorful place! 

Man said I am choosing hell because that's the prettiest and party place. After death he was welcomed to hell by lucifer. He  saw lucifer with ugly face and shabby garments. He went inside find no party, no rocking songs, no colors, not even air condition. 

He asked why? Lucifer answered that when he first visited it was a tour program- this is the real hell. Welcome! 

Devil is the deceiver and he has only one purpose in the bible that's to take us away is from the purpose of God or direct ourselves something other than God. It can be ego, pleasures of the world, sex, money, power.. 

As the first Sunday of lent, in today's gospel we see three basic level temptations:

First level is very basic level temptation. It's about bread; bread here symbolizes sensual pleasures. Devil is asking Jesus to make sensual pleasure center of his life.

There is nothing wrong with food, party, sex( inside marriage) but if they dominate you above the will and purpose of God there is the spiritual problem. Look at the world lot of people are addicted to food, sex, porn and other pleasures of body. When they become lord of our life and then your deepest desire  for God is not realized .  That's why Jesus says, It is written, One does not live on bread alone.

Then comes the second level of temptation; devil is taking to another level of temptation:  devil says, I shall give to you all this power and glory. Power can be the greatest temptation, for some people power is temptation, can't imagine life without power. Some people use power  to manipulate others. Power is not itself bad. Pope Francis has power, our president has power but if the power is used against the will of God or to manipulate others, then the spiritual problem comes. Lent is the time to reflect if I have quest for power and glory become center of life and forget God and his ways in our lives. 

Third is another level of temptation; then devil led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” This is temptation of ego. In this level devil is asking som one to make himself as the center of the world. We have heard about narcissistic generation - they love themselves so much and they think they are the center of the world! It's the time to think if I am putting myself in place of God? Your life is not about you but about God. 

All the spiritual leaders both in the Bible and outside have gone through some kind of dessert experience. And today's gospel Jesus is asking us to go through these dessert experience and make God as center of your life. And Lent:

L stands for Love God

E stands for Eat mindfully 

N stands for Neighbour - love others 

T transform- the whole spirit of LENT.

If you follow the spirit of lent going through a dessert experience, then we will be able to celebrate resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Fr. John Pozhathuparambil 

 Show original message