The gospel of the Thirteenth Sunday of the year tells us:” when the days drew for him to be taken up, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Lk.9.51). Jesus knew what awaited him in Jerusalem. He knew that he will be handed over to the chief priests and the Scribes, and they will condemn him to death. Nothing could turn him away from the cross. For he also knew that through the cross, glory will come. He knew that he will rise again three days after his death. We must also face our crosses, trials and difficulties because we know that through them we shall attain glory.

The shortest way from Galilee to Jerusalem leads through Samaria. Therefore, “he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way, they entered a village of Samaritans to make ready for Jesus; but they did not receive him because his face was set toward Jerusalem.” (Lk.9.52-53). Bitter religious and national animosity existed between the Samaritans and the Jews. The Jews despised the Samaritans as half pagans and avoided contact with them. But Jesus wanted to extend a hand of friendship to a people who were enemies of the Jews. But the Samaritans would not receive him. The great healer and teacher of mankind had to go another way. If they had received him he would have cured their sick, he would have illumined their minds with his teaching. Jesus wants to enter into our soul. Perhaps often we do not receive him and therefore we are deprived of many graces.

The gospel tells us, “When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” He turned and rebuked them.” (Lk. 9.54-56). Jesus never worked a miracle to punish anyone, not even the guilty. Significant in this regard is the detail connected with Jesus’ arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. Peter was ready to defend his Master with a sword and he even “struck the high priest’s slave and cut off his right ear”. (Jn.18.10). But Jesus forbade him to use his sword (Jn.18.11). Jesus even touched his ear and healed him (Lk.22,51). It is a further proof that Jesus does not perform miracles for his own defense.

Jesus came to save and not to destroy, to forgive and not to punish. In the spirit of Jesus we have to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

May God bless you all and have a wonderful summer!

Father Chris

Today’s Reading from the Gospel of Luke [Lk. 9:18-24] delivered a number of spiritual messages to us.

The attention is drawn on Jesus. Who was Jesus? Who did the crowds think that He was? Who did Saint Peter think that Jesus was? There were those who believed that Jesus was John the Baptist who had returned. Some believed that He was Elijah. Others believed that He was one of the prophets of long ago who had come back to life. When Peter was asked who he thought that Jesus was, He answered, “The Messiah of God.”. The future King, who was to be the Saviour of His people and the world, who came to be spoken of as “the Anointed One.”

The Gospel draws our attention to Jesus’ prophecy that He would suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law. And finally, He would be killed. But on the third day, He would rise from the dead. Such a prophecy must have been hard for the Apostles to swallow. After all, no one comes back from the dead. When you die, your time here on earth is finished, now and forever. What was spoken by Jesus to the Apostles was meaningless at the time. It was only after His glorious Resurrection that the Apostles would remember his proph-ecy.

The Gospel draws our attention to the necessity to renounce one’s life and to follow Jesus by persevering in the trials that may cross our daily path. Those who strive for fame, wealth, pleasures, they are lost. For these goals oppose spiritual growth. It is better to have little and to be happy with it, be-ing thankful to God for all that one receives. It is better to be humble, submissive to God, obedient to the Command-ments, than to elevate one self above all others. Those who defend and spread their faith, they shall be glorified by God throughout eternity. Those who are ashamed of Jesus and their faith, refusing to defend and spread the Catholic faith, they shall be eternally lost. For one cannot serve two mas-ters, the God of glory and the god of indifference.

Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” That is not just a bunch of words; it is a strict command by the Lord Jesus Himself, to follow Him. This week, let us reflect on these Sacred Words of Jesus. Let us ask ourselves if we are being obedient to the Lord Jesus, if we are taking up our cross and following Him. If so, then praise the Lord. If not, then it is never too late to begin. This week, let us also pray for one another, especially for those who need to take up their cross, that they may find the strength to do so for the glory of the Lord Jesus.

Today’s gospel describes to us many characteristics of Jesus, namely sociability, his enjoyment of hospitality, his sympathy towards the sinner, his power of forgiveness of sins.

The gospel says.” And a woman in the city. who was a sinner, having learned that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment (Lk.7.37-38). It is unusual even today for a woman to wipe the feet with her hair. It was more unusual at the time of Our Lord Jesus to do so, It shows that Jesus did not conform himself to the customs of the time. What the woman did, shows that she was under the influence of grace. She was determined to lead a new life. Who was this woman?

The woman in today’s gospel is left unnamed but states: this woman was a public sinner. She, no doubt, heard the call of Jesus to repentance and His invitation “come to me all you that labor and are heavily laden and I will give you rest” These gracious words of Jesus convinced her that the kingdom of heaven was open even to her and that Jesus was the One who welcomed sinners.

She desperately wanted someone to forgive her sin she wanted someone to sympathize with her; she wanted someone to accept her. All those who used and abused her but none regarded her with any resemblance of respect. But now she found Jesus who condemned sin but welcomed sinners. At some point in her life, the words of Jesus had melted her heart. She repented and surrendered her soul to God. She watched Jesus enter into Simon’s house and she followed him into that Pharisee’s house to show forth her love and faith for the many sins forgiven. Her tears, kisses and perfumes, which she lavished upon the feet of Jesus, were but the manifestation of her tremendous love and gratitude to the one who bought her peace and reconciliation with God.

Let us therefore approach Jesus and lay not only our hearts but also our lives at His feet and ask Him to forgive our sin and help us to rebuild our lives.

Fr. Chris.

Last Sunday we celebrated the feast of the Most Holy Trinity. We praised God for the wisdom, the power and the love displayed in the creation of the world and still more in His work to save all men. We praise Him in particular for His wonderful ways in saving each one of us.

Among all the works of God to save man, there is one which we could call ‘the show piece’ of his wisdom, power in love: it is the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Today we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ or the Corpus Christi: Christ willingly shed his blood for us. He thus manifested His love for us. It is the supreme gift of Himself to all of us. This feast of the most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ does not only recall to mind the past event but actually celebrate the present event. For God, past, present and future are the same. The sacrifice of the Calvary is re-enacted in an unbloody manner. But it is the same sacrifice, the Holy Eucharist.

Every time we come to mass, we partake of the self-giving love of Jesus in order to live this self-giving love in our daily life. Holy Eucharist must lead us to love God more and more and our brothers and sisters, If it does not lead us to love all our brothers and sisters, irrespective of race and color, language, nationality etc. then the Holy Eucharist loses all meaning. It becomes for us a mere ritual .

In today’s gospel. We have the miracle of multiplication of five loaves and two fish. St. Luke starts the gospel today thus: “Jesus spoke to the crowd about the kingdom of God and healed who needed to be cured.” (Lk.9.11). St. Luke conveys a very important message: Christ welcomes the Christian community to celebrate the Eucharist, as he welcomed the crowd. For what?

a) To instruct us further about the kingdom of God to which we already belong, what it should mean to us in our life. This he does through the word of God, preached to us.

b) To heal us from our sins, lest the life of the spirit in us dies away.

c) To Feed us with His Body and Blood, a bread that gives life.

Jesus is the bread of life who gives not only Spiritual but eternal life. He once said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven, whoever eats of this bread will live for ever.” (Jn.6.51). Let us therefore appreciate the gift of Jesus by taking part in the Eucharist devotedly.

May God bless you all,

Fr. Chris

Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity Sunday. One God three persons, truly distinct from one another. Many of us think, the Holy Trinity is a myth but a mystery. A myth is unreal but conceivable. A mystery is real but incomprehensible. Trinity is about a God whose centre is everywhere. It is very difficult to understand and explain.

Whenever we recite the creed, we say: I believe in God the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and became man; I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life. Hence the Holy Trinity is not a myth but a mystery and real.

St. Augustine the great bishop of Hippo, wrote a number of Spiritual books but confessed very candidly his inability and unworthiness to understand the most Holy Trinity. In fact he was the one who wanted to understand the Holy Trinity the most and explain the same to others. He realized that it was impossible to understand this mystery. Hence we need to accept the mystery in faith.

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the most immense of all the doctrines of Christianity. It is the foundation of the Christian religion. If we take out the persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit from the New Testament, there is no God left there. The Triune nature of God is the one doctrine which upholds the whole foundation of the Christian religion.

One of the clearest expressions of the belief in the Holy Trinity is the sign of the cross. Every Christian and every Spiritual activity begins and ends with the sign of the cross. The sign of the cross is not only an action, but is also a statement of faith. In this gesture one not only makes the sign of our redemption - the cross, but also expresses deep faith in the Holy Trinity. It was with this sign, the early Christians strengthened themselves even during the difficult times. Tertullian writing in the second century attests that Christians made the sign of the cross upon rising, as they were dressing, upon entering or leaving their houses, on sitting down at the table, on lighting their lamps, in fact, at the beginning of every action. Hence the practice of the Holy Trinity was part of our Christian life and we need to recognize it, use the name of the Holy Trinity reverently while making the sign of the cross.

Fr. Chris

Today we have come to the feast of Pentecost, the most solemn day of the year, after that of Easter. The two feasts are intimately connected: the Feast of the Resurrection of Jesus marks the beginning of Easter time which is brought to completion by the feast of Pentecost. In the old Testament Pentecost was the feast of the celebration of the giving of the Law to Moses on the fiftieth day after the Israelites departure (Passover) from Egypt (Ex.Ch.19-20). In the New Testament, Pentecost is the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus on the fiftieth day of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Ten days after the Ascension.

The church was born in the Upper Room when the Holy Spirit came upon those gathered in the Upper Room. Thus the Pentecost marks the beginning of the church of God. He infused courage and confidence among the frightened disciples of Jesus and transformed them from being a band of frightened men into fearless preachers of the gospel. He was not sent for a short time but to abide with us for ever. So the Power of the Holy Spirit is present even today.

When we come to the gospel today, we see Jesus breathed on his disciples and said to them,” Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (Jn.20.23) . The first thing the Spirit does when coming to a man is to heal him of the disease of sin; to cleanse his soul. For example, the denial of Peter, the ambition of the Apostles, all their spiritual miseries were wiped out the moment the Spirit was given them. Hence the first fruit of the Spirit is forgiveness. Secondly the Spirit brings peace to the hearts of men. Once sin disappears, the consequences of sin, dissension, anxiety, sadness disappear too. The disciples of Jesus felt peace within themselves and with each other. They also experienced unspeakable joy in the midst of suffering, persecution and death.

In his letter to the Christians of Galatians St. Paul notes down a long list of gifts, the Spirit brings along: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness and self-control. (Gal.5.22) Let us therefore, pray that the Lord may once again fill us with the Holy Spirit so that we may enjoy the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Fr. Chris

We celebrate today the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven. We find in the readings of today two accounts of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, both given by St. Luke, one at the end of his gospel (Lk.24.50-55) and the other at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles (Act.1.9) It is said that the book of the Acts of the Apostles picks up where the book of the gospel ends. This is significant because

(i) The Ascension of Jesus into heaven marks the conclusion of His work on earth and his earthly life, which was to make available to all men.

(ii) and it marks the beginning of the task entrusted to the Apostles.

Ascension completes a cycle in the earthly life of Jesus. The Incarnation and the Ascension met at a point. From heaven Jesus came down to take human form and back to heaven He went when He ascended. The Incarnation is the coming down of Jesus from heaven and the Ascension is the going up of Jesus to heaven. What Incarnation begun, the Ascension completed: the earthly life of Jesus.

Jesus knew only too well that the Apostles did not possess the necessary light and strength to carry out His mission on earth; it was a task totally beyond their power; no man could ever pretend to be able to carry out “a divine task. Hence Jesus said to his Apostles,” And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Lk.24.49).

Who was this promised person? What was his role? The promised person was the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity:

(i) The Holy Spirit was to enlighten the Apostles to grasp the meaning of all that Jesus did and said while he was on earth.

(ii) The Holy Spirit would help them to know Jesus always better and to discover always clearer His plans for them and for all people.

(iii) The Holy Spirit would enlighten the Apostles to be His witnesses to announce the good news to all people.

The Holy Spirit helped the Apostles and He will help all Christians to grow in the knowledge of Christ and to be His witnesses in the world. Therefore let us pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Fr. Chris

In the Liturgy of the word today, Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” (Jn.14,23.24a) There is an inseparable connection between loving Jesus and keeping His word, between love and obedience. Love is the root, obedience is the fruit.  When there is sincere love of a person, there is fulfillment of his wishes. When there is sincere love of Jesus, there is keeping His word. When there is sincere love of the church, there is observance of her laws. When there is sincere love of the liturgy, there is observance of the liturgical prescription.  When there is sincere love of the congregation to which one may belong, there is obedience to the rules of the congregation. When there is no keeping of God’s word, there is no love of God. When there is no observance of the laws of church, there is no love of the church. Let us therefore show in our lives that we love Jesus by keeping His word. Let us be sincere in our efforts when we say that we love Jesus but disregard His word then we are not sincere but deceive ourselves.

Again, the Lord told his disciples, “peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” (Jn.14.27).

Peace is a gift of the Lord. The Lord grants it to those whom he favors. St. Paul says, “Our God is the God of Peace.” (Rom.15.3) “Jesus is our peace.” (Eph.2.14). “The gospel we preach is the gospel of peace.” (Eph. 6.15).

Before departing from this earth, Jesus divested all His possessions. His soul He committed to His Father; His body to Joseph of Arimathea to be buried decently; His clothes to the soldiers; His mother to St. John and His peace to his poor disciples. He did not have any other possessions to give them but He gave them the best and the most needed: His peace. His peace comes with His presence. Wherever He is, there is peace. The peace, which He gives, is the peace between God and us. We who were at variance with God have, now, been united with Him by His blood. Jesus has worked out this peace between the Father in heaven and the rebellious prodigal children on earth. We are therefore no more strangers and aliens but children of God.

May the peace which Christ promised His disciples reside in our hearts and in our families. May Christ’s love and command reign supreme in all the aspects of our lives, so that we may enjoy His peace.

Fr. Chris

Jesus says:

“I give you a new commandment, that you Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also must love one another . By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another,” (John 13:34-35)

In today’s gospel Jesus asks us to love others as he loves us. Since we have so many depictions of love in what we see on TV and read and listen to in popular music it would be good to understand exactly what is the love Jesus speaks of. It is easy to love those who are good to us but what about loving those who have hurt us? The more serious the hurt the more difficult it is to love them. Therefore we need to heal these hurts so that we can love others.

Jesus said we will be known as his disciples by the love we have for one another. We can make heaven on earth by loving as Jesus loved, and we get a description of heaven in our second reading today.

Today we thank God for the gift of his love for us, we thank Jesus for his love for us which sacrificed himself for us as we see in the sufferings of the crucified man in the Shroud of Turin. Through prayer and the healing of hurts , let us continue to draw strength from God to love others as Jesus loved us.

A story is told about a teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten students put on his boots: He asked for help and she could see why. With her pulling and him pushing, the boots still did not want to go on. When the second boot was on. She had worked up a sweat. She almost whimpered when the little boy said, “Teacher, they are on the wrong feet”. She looked and sure enough, they were. It wasn’t any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on, this time on the right feet. He then announced “These aren’t my boots.” She bit her tongue rather than scream, “Why didn’t you say so?” like she wanted to say. Once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off. He then said, “They’re my brother’s boots. My Mom made me wear them” She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. She mustered up the grace to wrestle the boots on his feet again. She said, “Now, where are your mittens?” He said, “I stuffed them in the toes of my boots.”

Ever had one of those days?

I think all of us do. The question is, will we bite our tongues and do that good thing we desire to do? Will we face the countless little crosses that appear before us each day? Will we willingly take on the burdens that should not be ours to take despite a lack of appreciation and understanding among those whom we are helping?

This is what love does - it accepts the little crosses !!