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Lord give success to the work of our hands ( Psalm 90 CHINESE
NEW YEAR MASS 23rd January 2012.
"Lord, you will crown the year with your goodness; To you we give thanks and praise". (Entrance Antiphon)
Num 6:22-27, James 4:
13-15 , Gospel of Mathew 6: 31-34.
You must bring to Jesus everything, even the little,fragments, empty hands.Shattered hopes are His material.
In His hands all is made good. This may sound unrealistic and strange. He looked for people who were poor and oppressed. Seek
His Kingdom and righteousness and we will have everything. Jesus spoke lovingly and sincerely. Trust
Him for He loves us. Trust in His Will, the logic of faith. Anything that gets in the way of His will must be
given up. If we doubt we will be people of anxiety. Many have thrown everything in Christ.
This
New Year we are asked to put our hope,faith and love in Jesus with our resolutions. Sometimes our good intentions fail, because
the way we resolve it. Develop strong will power. St Ignatius says, we want to do what we should not do.This is a process
until we fall in love with Jesus. It sounds simple, freedom to learn and there is room for growth. Love directs our heart
but there are other spirits that change and direct else where,sometimes emptiness and coldness.When our love should grow it
dies. There are bad spirits that leads to war which is sin. Jesus destroyed sin. To reconnect is to get back to Him and remain
in Him. To be more and more curious and be fascinated by Him. Jesus knows me, but do I know Him? Do I make an effort to get
know His mother, father and His people, His ways, His kingdom,His healing the sick and sinners? It is and how we interact
with these thoughts and try to live by it.
A Lutheran pastor in Hitler's time wrote when he was a prisoner,"Do
not be anxious about tomorrow....", only those who love Jesus can understand this, their faith in Jesus Christ. We cannot
alter the circumstances. He rules the world". This pastor was executed in 1945.To trust our faith fully in Jesus
we must give ourselves willingly in His hands. To become lovers of Jesus,take Jesus at His Word.Wish you all a happy
and blessed New year.Meditate on this for few minutes, take His word and listen to Him. BLESSING OF
ORANGES: "Lord we offer you today these oranges, because of their sweetness and golden
color, they have become for us the symbol of prosperity and happiness. In our homes he offering if this fruit has also become
a sign of goodness and kindness and good wishes. in your goodness,pour down your BLESSING upon these oranges which you have
created.Grant that by this invocation of your Holy Name, all of us,who will partake of them, may receive the health of mind
and body and protection of soul, be properous in all kinds of good works and the practice of Christian virtues. Let us feel
in our hearts the sweetness of your love for us:Through the same Christ Our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.
Amen ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lord,
your word is firm and eternal.
Sept 4th, Sunday
23rd Ord Times.
Personal relationship with Jesus is a happy reality, satisfying and blissful, like
nothing else. That is faith at its best that makes religion alive. But God works through men and women. He loves us through
others. Jesus is my best friend, but I need other friends close to me to express and experience with them the one supreme
friendship with Jesus, which shines through all.
"Lord teach me through your presence, your word and
your grace,make me see what you see, and value what you value and reject what you reject".
11
Sept, Sunday 24th Ord Times.
God punishes no one. Men punish themselves. God still loves this heartless servant,
but he had closed himself to His forgiveness, by refusing forgiveness to another. Jesus mercifully warns us that it is a terrible
mistake not to love. Forgiveness means choosing to love.
"Lord I thank you for those who
oppose me. They are helping me to uncover my true self. I thought I am a fine man. I know it is not so. This chastens
me".
18th Sept ,Sunday 25 th Ord Times.
God upsets our calculations and
invalidates our equations. We do recognise that He is the Lord, but are uneasy to see Him act as such. We do not like to hear
that the first is last,as we are always striving to be the first. We forget that it is only by giving up our claims and offering to sit on the last seat,we can ever be called to occupy the
first seat. The thief at death's door repented last, to become the first to
enter paradise. No one can claim special honour, place/ position in heaven. All people,
no matter when they come, are equally precious to God.
" Father let me come to you with a sense of wonder.
You may show a new face today. Let me not shut you in concepts and images. You are forever new".
25 th Sept, Sunday 26th Ord Times.
Jesus never imprisons within his/her past. we too should
not imprison others, labelling them permanently, but allow them chances to change.
'What are the surprises that will
be seen when tax collectors and harlots enter the Kingdom of heaven? First we are going to see a number of people there, whom
we never expected to see. Secondly, we may not see a number of 'nice people' whom we expected to see. But these surprises
would be mild when compared to the third and the greatest surprise of all. That surprise would be: "WE ARE
THERE' (Archbishop Fulton Sheen). Praise the Lord!
"Lord many are the blessings heaped on the just man.
Touch my life to let streams of grace. Lay your hand upon me that I may smile for joy always".
2nd Oct,
Sunday 27th Ord Times.
In a Bible school ,the children were memorising the verse for the day, 'God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son'(Jn 3:16). A little girl,try as she would,could not say the correct
word and continued to say 'God so loved the world that He gave His only forgotten
Son'. If the world forgot God's Son, it is also true that Christians have forgotten that the world
has forgotten. The world needs to be told again the story of Jesus and His saving power.This is our task to tell
over and over until people listen and understand that there is no other name under heaven among men, by which we must be saved.
9th Oct, 28th Sunday of Ord Times.
One cannot ignore God's call and get away with it. We know
it from the Gospel. listen to the excuses we too have thought of improvising excuses
without a thought whether they are convincing or not. In the last analysis,
God's invitation is the invitation to grace. Those had gathered
from the highways and the by-ways, the riff-raff of society had no claim on the king. They could never, by any stretch
of imagination have expected an invitation to the wedding feast still less
could they ever have deserved it. It came from nothing, other than the wide- armed, open- hearted,generous hospitality
of the king. It was grace that offered the invitation and grace that gathered such people in. This is how God
acts. This gives me hope that if: 'Through dangers, toils and snares, I have
already come: it is grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home'.
16th Oct. 29th
Sunday of Ord Times.
This is the secret of newness in life. Inviting me to sing a new song is to teach me
a new life each day and each moment with all the freshness of dawn in every minute of my of my existence. A new song, a new
life, a new dawn, a new breath, a new strength behind each step and a new hope behind each thought. Everything is same, yet
everything is different and new.
Jesus carried no money. He made no income out of His ministry. So He called for a coin.
It carried the imprint of Caesar's face. Jesus reminds us of the overall sovereignity
of God. He dared to stand for God against Caesar, but did not wish to stir up any revolution against Rome that will only end
in destruction of His people. He would let God take care of the Roman Empire in His own good time and God did that.
23rd Oct.30th Sunday of Ord Times.
The who worships without full knowledge is a hypocrite.
The man who refuses to think and think hard whatever the cost tries to deceive God. God wants no ignorant faith. He wants
all of man- total man in His service.
Loving the neighbour is not merely not to hate any. It is not to take revenge
or hold grudges,but to love another as we love ourselves. Our neighbour is not the man or woman next door next door, but anyone
who needs us. God never puts fences around any country or any man cannot be leaped over, with the help of a little Christian
love and understanding.Christian love is for a person (Mother Theresa). Love of God and love of man are two sides of
same coin.
"Always respond to EVERY man, who demands an accounting for hope that is in you" 1 Pet 3:15).
30th Oct. 31st Sunday of Ord Times.
Teaching is not talking. It is living; even dying.
It is gathering truth from Christ, the teacher of all true teachers and exemplyfying it in our lives. Nothing is worse than
a teacher who is a hypocrite Nothing is nobler than the Master Teacher, Christ! Those who exalt themselves as teachers will
be humbled and those who exalt Christ will be exalted.
Hypocrisy has a way of creeping into speech, behaviour and little
things of life and even religion. Religious smugness or self-satisfaction is one of our most modern sins. We are afraid of
'what people will say or think', so we put on a pose of goodness and piety, even when we are anything but good or pious.'
The greatest among you must become your servant says Jesus. Being honest and humble is far more important than gaining any
popular approval. God does exalt humble lives.
St Vianney known as Cureof Ars takes his frugal meals standing by
the fire place. An ecclesiastic visiting him, withdrew saying:' I pictured one of dignity, but he is the opposite". A
dignatory came to talk. The Cure said: "I am no good at discussion, but at confession". At the confessional
man let go his ego, fully converted. The Cure sat for 18 hours daily at the confessional. 5 extra bus lines had to be set
and special window opened at the Lyon railway station for pilgrims to Ars. An un-lettered farmhand became great spiritual
master to draw cardinals, bishops(often cognito), priests and others in all walks of life.
" Lord, teach
me servanthood and humility.Let me know You are everything to me".
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Some seeds fell along the roads
July 17th , 16 th Sunday of Ordinary Times.
Jesus said in his parable
said " Some seeds fell along the road and the birds came and ate them up....
The seeds need to grow on good soil.
However life in the streets is often noisy and crowded. People are too busy rushing about to pay attention to each other.
To grow the seed also needs a serenity of the heart. I remember how my parents used to look for me when I was not back by
5pm. they would come to the street where we were playing and forced us to go back to prepare for supper, or to study for a
while. What does this mean? We must go back to our homes in which the seed of the Gospel finds its root. The seed needs a favourable condition to grow. It
means it needs a listening heart must be found in being with Jesus, especially through our families.
Thank God
that we were at that time very far away from play station or from going to the cinema. This meant that we could spend a lot
of time with God in our family. After supper ,our father would lead us in prayer. For me now when I recollect, the mystery
of spiritual life always originates from a listening heart.
24th July, 17th Sunday of Ordinary Times.
If we ever had a chance to ask something from God and you are sure that God will grant it, what will you
ask for and why you would ask such a thing?
When we desire to achieve something, usually we will try to make an effort
in order to get it. why do we pay more attention, time, and money and try as hard as we can for it?
Do we put in
the same effort for Jesus?
The Gospel and the first reading today show us an example of how people make decisions
and chose the best thing for their lives. Solomon did not ask for wealth, he asked for wisdom and god gave more than what
he asked. some people understand god's Kingdom as a valuable treasure, and if they make much effort for it, they will find
a way to the hidden treasure.
Do we have faith in Jesus as 'something" precious and valuable in our lives?
Something we will never sell it for the worldly thing such as job position or wealth?
If your answer is YES, don't worry
about weaknesses or disabilities,God will strengthen our effort to do it. He will give us a special pearl: He will give Himself
to us as a PEARL.
31st July, 18 th Sunday of the year( Feast of St Ignatius)
God's
love for us is so strong and reliable that none nor whatever can separate us from Him (Rom 8:28). he invites us to the water
and drink (Is:55). He takes care of us more than we expect.
Let us look at what has happened in early March
this year in Japan: earthquake, tsunami, nuclear meltdown and deadly threat of radioactivity on people,plants and crops. Floods
swept away houses, fields and crops, people and cattle. People became homeless and un sheltered, had not enough food and proper
sanitation.
We may think that the Japanese nation with her high tech and 3 Ds- Dedication, Determination and Discipline-
can help herself and does not need help from other countries.We have no doubt about their high and deep sense of nationalism
and of their pride as a nation, bit this is not the message of Good News today. we are invited to share whatever we have with
a generous heart, as Jesus told his disciples,"Bring them here to me". We entrust them to the Lord and let the good
Lord do the supplement according to His word, " Come here, all you who are thirsty, come to the water! All who have no
money, come!"
We trust and let the Lord accomplish a 'miracle' of our generous sharing.
This is real 'free of charge' gift from God out of His love which unites all nations together.
6th August,
Transfiguration of the Lord,Feast.
Where do you see God?
I pondered this question in my
heart when i read this Gospel reading today. we all don't know what experiences would come our way in our journey in life
which would lead us to our vocation.Yet all the experiences we go through becomes a part of our life's history. they
would have taught us many values and some which we still grapple with. Above all all these experiences help us step by step
to see and taste the love of God that has been abundantly poured out on us.
Often we don't see and taste
and see God's love when bad things happen in our life. we neglect Him ,lose our faith, hope and love.we choose
our own way and the situation becomes more cloudy and brings us no where. Sometimes we also forget Him or pretend not
to see Him when we are doing well in life,at work and when we are prosperous and in good health. Then we are also so busy
that we hardly recognise Him in our brothers and sisters who are suffering.
In the Gospel Jesus calls us to taste
a small part of His Glory. Why only a small part? Because He will be revealed in all His Glory only when we have
completed carrying our cross in this life. by showing His Glory,Jesus prepares and strengthens His disciples for the way of
the cross. Jesus, Himself, showed us that the carrying of the cross is the way to Glory. We are often tempted to get rid of
the cross and not have the courage to stand steadfast as the children of the cross. we only want to to see and
taste the glory in our life like Peter, James and John did. Jesus invites us to go down from the 'high mountain'
of our life and have the courage to go to our 'Jerusalem', take our crosses and follow Him to the Glory of eternal life.
7th August, 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time.
Take courage, it is I; don't be afraid',
Jesus said to them. Peter's experience is similar to that of ours. We may not walk on water but we do face difficult situations.
If we focus on the waves of the difficult circumstances around us without looking for Jesus for help, we too may despair
and sink To maintain our faith when situations are difficult, we must keep our eyes on Jesus' power.
When Peter's faith
faltered, he reached out to Christ. The Only One Who could help. Let us be aware that the call to get out of the boat involves
crisis, opportunity,often failure, fear and sometimes suffering.
When we are concerned about the problems, obstacles
or difficulties around us and doubt Christ's presence or ability to help, we must remember that He is The Only One who can
really help us.
August 14th, 21 st Sunday of Ordinary Times.
From the quantitiative aspect, bread
is far better than crumbs. However, today's Gospel shows us another amazing aspect of the Canaanite woman who is satisfied
with the and happy with the crumbs from Jesus.
So marvellous is the word of Jesus to her"Wow, how great is
your faith! Let it be as you wish". The woman receives instead of crumbs, the healing for her daughter. The Canaanite
woman really trusts the mercy of Jesus and relies fully on Him. yes, God's mercy is for all, pious or impious,since we are
all sinners who need mercy.
That is what Yahweh says: Maintain what is right and do what is just, for my salvation is
close at hand, my justice is soon to come" (Is 56:1)
All human beings are called to receive 'bread or crumbs of
God's mercy, no matter what religion, denominations or faiths, even unnamed beliefs that they may may belong to. God has in
His heart to save us all.
August 15th feast of the Assumption, Monday.
Our destiny
is heaven. by a special privilege , Mary reached this glory and fulfilment. she has received this privilege not for her sake,
but because of her Son, Jesus. the more we adore His divinity the more we venerate her Motherhood. The Psalm with it's
messianic content and beauty is a fitting choice.
How painful was the motherhood of Mary, when she brought forth at the
foot of the Cross. She could give birth to Jesus in joy in Bethlehem, but us only in sorrow in Calvery. Thus she became the
universal Mother and the new Eve, as much as Jesus is the new Adam. Together they had become a beginning of a new humanity
Yet she proclaims her utter humility that God has looked kindly on 'His servant in her lowliness'.
August
21st, 21st Sunday of the Ordinary Time.
Reflecting on what Jesus said to Peter,it
has 5 semetic images. the rock is the symbol of firmness, God's symbol. The Church is'assembly' called together by God. The
gates in the ancient world are symbols of a fortified city. The keys are symbols of authority.To bind and loosen are
of the power of the totality, which unites two contraries.
There are people saying: 'Jesus-yes; the Church,
no'. Yet Jesus wanted to found / build
His Church., a community of people having something in common and gather
to do something together.Vatican 11 defines the Church as 'People of God'. It is impossible to be a Christian alone.
August 28th. 22nd Sunday of the Ordinary Time.
Jesus proposes a totally different way
of life. he upholds the opposite of what the world offers.' You must renounce yourself He says. There is no real love without
self-renunciation. It demands much courage. to see how costly love is, we have to only look at some painful situations.
To forgive an enemy; to be courageous to take sides in an unbelieving sarcastic environment; to love the spouse faithfully,
to go on serving our children, who seem to be mocking at us (Prov 13:1); to be subject to the controlling games
of self -image even in a community; to evolve a sense of sharing when we are incited to hoard our riches, or use them
selfishly, to be honest in business,when the law of the jungle where the strong bullies the weak rules the roost- many such
situations where authentic love must pray and show enormous courage.
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Lord I seek of your new life to kindle all that I do and think
May
15th, 4th Sunday of Easter.
The sheep hear the Shepherds voice; and he calls his own sheep by name
(Jn 10:3). However some of us have difficulties in hearing or listening. Though Christians we have not listened to the Good
Shepherds voice to distinguish it from the voices around us in the world. Such flock must be taught to recognise the voice
of their Lord from the voice of their enemies, who would come only to hurt kill and destroy.
When the Lord created the
shepp. he would have thought how he should use them to teach us. he gave them qualities that resemble the Christian character
he demands.he seems to say, "If you wish to live the Christian life, watch the sheep" The sheep and the shepherd
are woven into Isralite's life.
May 22nd, 5th Sunday Of Easter.
Jesus tells
us that his words and works are present in position by the Father who sent Him; that they are source of eternal life. Jesus
speaks to us of Himself. to listen to to Him is to listen to God. to see Him is to see God. In Jesus God meets man and man
meets God. Jesus does nothing on His own. to reflect upon Jesus' life and listen to His words is to understand God , as Jesus
and Father work together- the words of Jesus are Father's voice and His deeds, the power of God. as Jesus is Risen, Lord present
in our lives, we can do greater things. now Jesus acts freely in us through His Spirit. Our love and faith make visible,the
invisible presence of the glorified Lord. When we pray in His Name our requests are granted.
May 29th, 6th Sunday of Easter,
God created us for
heaven. He sent His Son on earth to earn heaven for us. Our real purpose in this life is to work our passage to our
true everlasting home. This we shall do if we keep ever before our minds that Christ was God who came on earth as a
man and suffered torments and death in our name and in our stead, so that we too could rise with him after our lives
had ended. If we grasp this basic truth- the only true and satisfactory explanation of our sojourn on this earth-our
daily actions will be truly Christian; we will gladly "keep our conscience clear" by following the rules
of conduct that Christ has laid down for us. By so doing we will also be prepared always to give an account, an explanation,
to those who ask us whywe are Christians. Our very lives will be of themselves an explanation and an answer to those who are
curious about us, and even to those who while openly opposing and maybe deriding us, are gravely doubting in their hearts,
whether it is we or they who are wrong. We can change our world, and in the innermost hearts of the vast majority of our 'interllectuals'
our 'agnostics ' and our 'practical men of the world' there is a desire for change Christ is calling on us today,through
his apostle St. Peter, to help him call the prodigal sons and the lost sheep. he suffered for them too.
Feast of the Visitation 31st May 2011.
Nobody has spoken better of Mary than Elizabeth who feels that her
son is filled with the Holy Spirit at the mere presence of Mary and the sound of her voice.
The magnificat
shows the appreciation in which those first Christians held Mary and the clear understanding they had reached of the truths
of our faith and our traditions that led them to express their feelings so truly that the song of such a faith and such
a love,could well have come from the lips of Mary herself. the song's keynote is joy. It is joy that opens Mary's lips. All
that comes after the first outpouring is just developing of the first emotion. To come closer to Mary is to enter her joy.
That is to be her children.
The whole event can be taken as fulfillment of Zephaniah's prophecy in the first reading.
It is God's blessing flowing on the purified remnant of His people trusting God, especially his words
of salutation: 'Cry out with joy O Daughter of Zion! God is with you! Do not fear- finding an echo in the words of Archangel
Gabriel to Mary at the Annuciation.
Solemnity: The Ascension of our Lord.Thursday 2nd June 2011.
Solemnity: Meeting the apostles on the unamed mountain, they worshipped Jesus. But some doubted. This
is inevitable. We sin; sin clouds faith. Perhaps the conviction that Jesus lived beyond death. I am with you always till the
end of time. In real symbolic way, John shows the Risen Christ among the seven lampstands (Rev.1:13),in the midst of the Churches
of the Asia Minor.Jesus's resurrection is not a mystery of absence, but of presence-a presence that cannot be restricted to
the Eucharist. Yet it is not complete, because His final, great radiant epiphany is still to come. Jesus is with the
disciples even after the Ascension. This gives them the needed courage.He gave to His Apostles and through them to their successors,
the command and the power to bring his message of salvation to the nations and peoples.
7th Sunday
of Easter 5th June 2011.
God wants us to earn heaven for ourselves, aided of course by his grace.Christ as
our exemplar and model, and as a living,ever present example of self sacrifice for us, the carrying of our personal crosses,
the ordinary difficulties of life, should seem almost trivial when compared with what he who was innocent and sinless endured
for our sakes. he was born in a stable, grew up in poverty in Nazerath, was often hungry and thirsty, travelled the dusty
and rough mule-tracks of Palestine preaching repentance to sinners and calling on call to love God. The pharisees and Scribes
were often accusing Him They even accused him being in league with the devil. They even forced the pagan Governor whom they
hated to crucify Christ whom they hayted too. For three hours He hung on the cross until merciful death brought relief.
This was all done for you and me! he belonged to heaven. He need never have left it. He did not have to earn heaven.
he went through all this to give us the possibility of earning heaven for ourselves.
June 12th
Pentecost Sunday 2011.
Jesus showed his hands and side saying :'Peace be with you". the
nail marks and the side, show we need to suffer for one another.How we must be patient and be at peace for the wonderful gifts
of like belivers. Friction, mistrust, competition and envy stalk our path against others and even our own kith
and kin. We must remember our finest gifts can turn against us and become our worst sins, if we fail to set a strong
bond of peace with all. Pentecost is freedom of the Spirit to blow where He wants.
Without Pentecost, Christ's life,
death and resurrection stay captive in history. With Pentecost the Spirit comes to live within us, to make us living
Christs here and now. Pentecost lifts the mystery of salvation to universal level to embrace all peoples. Pentecost empowers.
Everyone can claim the Holy Spirit as 'giver of life'. He is the breath of life. We describe God's active presence within
us by the most essential element of life- the breath. When a baby is born it takes deep breath in. When we die, we breathe
out. What is in- between is what we call life.
When God and Holy Spirit are on our side, we need not worry about
the opinions or sneers of worldly-minded men. If we are true soldiers of Christ we shall win our battles, not by crushing
our enemies but by making them too children of God and our brothers for all eternity.
May the Holy Spirit today fill
us with gratitude for all that God has done for us.
Solemnity: Most Blessed Trinity
(Trinity Sunday) 12th June 2011, Father's Day.
There are many finite created things in our world which
we cannot fully understand. How could we should be able to understand the infinete? something that has no beginning or no
end.When we get to heaven our minds will be illumiated with greater graces but then there will always be something new
in God for us to see and admire. In the meantime our attitude toward the Trinity should be one of sincere gratitude for having
placed us on the road to heaven.
God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son(Jn 3:16)The uniqueness
of God is that He wills to communicate, share and invite us to enjoy His own life. We carry the image and likeness of God
(Gen 2:7). the Father created the world out of love.The Son redeems the world out of love.The Holy Spirit regenerates out
of love. A specific role is attributed to each Person of the Trinity, as creation, redemption and generation. The three act
in harmonious unity in all mighty works in the world. Thus the creation is attributed to the Father(Gen1:1), to the Son(Col
1:16) and to the Holy Spirit (Job 26:13;Ps 104:30). God will not abandon or give up on man after the fall. So He sends Jesus
to the world to be born, to live with us and redeem us. Jesus in time as to go. So God sens the Holy Spirit to stay in us
forever(Jn 14: 16) This is how the Divine continuity works for us;how the Trinity finds its definition in action and experience
to us. So the Trinity is a loving reality.
We
do not walk alone
Easter Sunday ,The Lord's Resurrection,24th
April 2011.
When someone shared in a relgious meeting about the danger of KILLING and DEATH, killing and
death is not just killing and death PHYSICALLY, but killing towards THE SPIRIT of RELIGIOUS LIFE, and the essence of religious
life in the life of a religious person. We have received Jesus so we are all religious in life. there is a need to support
each other, and to remind each other of the spirit, and the core elements of a religious life. We are aware that each individual
needs another member in order to grow. We are aware that another member can be a means of God's involvement in our life. Religious
life is a gift from God.The faith of Christ who rise and live will bring us to His care through a diligent spirit and by the
essence of religious life.
The Apostles got back their faith because of Christ's resurrection. The rising
of Christ among the dead, showed His power towards death. Jesus Christ has won against death. He lives together with us now
and forever. ALLELUYA.
Second Sunday of Easter,Divine Mercy Sunday 1st May 2011.
Jesus revealed
himself to Saint Faustina telling her how wonderful His divine love is for mankind love of Divine mercy taken from
her diary says, " The greatness of this image lies not in the beauty of the color or the brush, but in my grace".
there are many people I have met who have truly experienced Divine Mercy,especially in their sorrowful moment.
When
we come to the Eucharist let us say,"Lord Jesus,I know you love me. Although my situation is like this, I still beleieve
in you. I still love you and put my hope in you. Amen". I do believe that God's grace that flows from His divine Mercy,
by saying such a tender faithful prayer, we can really experience what Jesus said in the Gospel today: "Peace be with
you".
Many of us often neglect and reject this important and expensive 'Peace' that he offers freely to us. Why?
because we tend to forget like Thomas. We are frustrated over many things. We lose our faith. We feel,helpless and we lose
trust in the power of love when pain, sufferings,failures flood our life. In the Gospel, Jesus again refreshes our faith,
hope and love through His peace out on us.
Third Sunday of Easter 8th May 2011.
The
two disciples were walking in the wrong direction,away from the fellowship of believers in Jerusalem. They were confused,
upset and abandoned having lost their Lord,their direction and hope. Along the way Jesus appears but they were not able to
recognise Him. For they were too focused on their dissapointments and problems. Jesus opened their eyes and minds to
the Scriptures. He gave them the right direction.
Some how we too like the two disciples do the same. so we cannot recognise
the person who is trying to help us or see the good things done. When Jesus broke bread only they were able to seethings in
their right perspective. Because they understood everything now they were filled with joy, hope and courage. so they retuned
to Jerusalem to share their experience with others. Learning from this Emmaus experience, we have to be aware that there is
always someone who walks with us, and He is truly risen Lord. He not only walks with us but He brings the true meaning if
the Scripture to life for us, He offers understanding and companionship and even is with us in the breaking of bread and communion
around the table. He walks alongside in our problems,difficulties and we must share the joy we receive from Him with others.
Jesus in our life
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After the death of Jesus, the disciples lived out their daily lives as fisherman.
they went back to their usual work which they had done befor they followed Jesus.
We too in our daily life today - attending
Mass, praying the Liturgy,going to college, work eating,doing house work and playing sports. In our daily life we have great
expectations. We want to see Jesus. We desire to experience Jesus. We wish Jesus would do a miracle for us. All
this is fine and it is a pleasure to have such wonderful experience of faith, but we fail to realize the presence of
Jesus in our daily lives, our works, and our experiences. Jesus is present throughtout our very normal life and our
ordinary works. Our challenge is to see Jesus through these and we need to open our heart and mind to see Him; otherwise our
life will be bland.
God out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News.
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God must be obeyed and not human
beings. We cannot hide the testimonies of Jesus as the apostles did.Every Christian must tell the story of Jesus. At every
Eucharist we hear that the Lord is with us. It is a real and a direct intimacy that opens the eyes and changes a life. It
is Jesus who enters our life and joins us with His unmistakable presence, His redeeming grace, and His winning love and lets
us feel His step, walking by our side. Resurrection of the Lord is not just an anniversary, it is the Good News to the world,
the great news. Let it be a light on our face and song in our voice, joy in our service, hope inour work and warmth in our
love. Unless we rise up in our own lives, we cannot be a witness to the Risen Christ. This is the permanent working of the
Holy Spirit in us to make new and lively what looked old and routine.
Lord you are seen and heard, touched
and felt so full of the experience that gladdens our life. We want to share it with the world. Help us in this task.
Science cannot explain
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There are two opinions regards the multiplication of 5
barley loaves and 2 fish to feed five thousand people.
The first one is to believe the Bible and second is
to see it as a symbol or parable, for it cannot be explained scientifically.
Their is a real story to see
this phenomenon with a better perspective.
There were two people on a train in France. One was older who
had his Bible opened to the story of the loaves and fishes. The younger person happened to notice it.
Curious, the young
man asked him, "pardon me, sir, do you believe that story, or are you just reading it?
"I believe it ",
he said. "Don't you?"
"No!" said the younger. "I'm a scientist, that story conflicts with science".
Just then, the train slowed down.
"This is my station ", said the younger. "Nice talking to you,mm...Mr..?
"Pasteur", said the older, "Louis Pasteur".
The young man was shocked; he had just been speaking
with one of the world's top scientist, who solved the mysteries of rabies,anthrax,chicken cholera, and silkworm diseases,
and contributed to the development of the vaccines.
Lord, please help us come to terms with our own limitations,
and be humble enough to accept the supremacy of God. Amen.
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