November 20 - Solemnity of Christ the King

This is the last Sunday in the Liturgical Year and we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. The proclamation of Jesus Kingship is dominated in the preaching and teaching of Jesus. “To the other towns also I must proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God because for this purpose I have been sent.” (Luke 4:44) He taught his disciples to pray, “Thy Kingdom come.” (Matt. 6: 10) He told them to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.” (Matt. 6: 33)  “Jesus said to his apostles: ‘as you go make this proclamation: The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 10:7)

The story of the crucifixion, proclaimed on the Feast of Christ the King, reminds us that the Reign of Jesus isn’t a reign of glory and power, but of service, love, and complete self-giving in order to rescue human beings from evil, sin, and death. Instituting this Feast of Christ the King, Pope Pius XI declared: the peace of Christ in the reign of Christ. This means that we live in the peace of Christ when we surrender our lives to him every day, accept him as our Savior and King and allow him to rule our lives.

Caring King. Jesus does care for His people. Ezekiel 34 speaks of the Lord in terms of a shepherd who cares for his flock. It summarize His care, I myself will look after my sheep … I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered … I myself will give them rest … The lost I will seek out … The injured I will bind up. The sick I will heal. So Jesus is a caring King. He’s been good to us. He has led us, rescued us, purified us, instructed us, and graced us.

Conquering King. Jesus has destroyed the power of many sins. He cleanses the temple of our soul. He has conquered so much of our pride. And one by one, He is diminishing lust, greed, anger, envy, and replacing them with greater love, compassion, and kindness.

Concealed King. He is the newest King of all. He is a King who is hungry, thirsty, sick, and lonely, a foreigner, in prison, and a stranger. He is in the needy. He is in the discouraged ones who cannot find a job; He is in our children who need to be taught and encouraged; he is in the co-worker who just lost some body; he is in the friend who was diagnosed with cancer. He is in the lost youth or family member who needs instruction and needs to be drawn back to the Sacraments. He’s in us, in our struggles and needs.

Yes, Jesus is our King, a caring and intimate King, a conquering King who never forces, a King who is hungry and thirsty, a King who washes our feet, a King who comes to serve rather than to be served. He is a King, one who rules with love. We meet Him every day: in the Eucharist, in the poor, in His Word, in the events of our day and in our very self. He is just one prayer away.”  So let the devotion to Christ the King brings peace and reconciliation in our society, with love and justice and peace.

So this feast is an invitation to all those who have power or authority of any kind to compare their use of power or authority with Jesus. They have to use their power to serve others and building up of a more just society.  Never use the power in any way that might cause pain to others and it should help to alleviate pain. Jesus as the King of love has anew commandment of “Love one another as I have loved you,” and we love others as Jesus loved, unconditionally and sacrificially. During this Holy Mass let us pray that nations and individuals will be humble enough to look at how Jesus used His power and bring about the kingdom of God. Let us always remain loyal to Christ the King who is the Head of the Body, the Church.

~Fr. George Munjanattu

November 13 - 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mal 3:19-20a // II Thes 3:7-12 // Lk 21:5-19

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

We all are well aware that Halloween is over a couple of weeks before and yet I feel like this Weekend is a scary weekend/Sunday. Why do I say? The readings we just heard are not pleasant; it speaks about judgment and punishment. It is simply in black and white; it reminds us about the end of everything.

So, let me tell you a story:

Once upon a time, a poor woman with her infant child lived in a remote village who struggled to find her daily living. Her poverty was so intense and she was even afraid that her only child would die deprived of nutritious food. She cried to God to open some ways so that she and her child will live happily. God heard her prayer, of course, God hears any intense prayer, and sent an angel to her. The angel appeared to the woman, consoled her, and told her God heard her prayers and wanted to give her enough wealth so that she and her child can live safely the rest of their life. In a short span of time, the angel led the woman and her child to a cave. The cave was closed and at the entrance of the cave the angel gave some direction to the woman.

The angel told her, “Look, this is a cave full of wealth. You are given an hour of time and you are free to take as much treasures from here within this time. After an hour you have to come out of the cave and the doors of the cave will be closed; it will never be opened for you. So be sure that you don’t forget to take the most valuable treasure of your life.”

The woman went inside the cave with her child. You can imagine she was stunned by the enormous wealth stored in the cave. Then coming back to her senses, she laid aside her baby and began to grab gold and precious stones. Time to time, the angel reminded about the time and told her don’t forget to grab the precious one. Finally, the time arrived, she has to get out of the cave. She worked until the last minute and managed to get out. The doors of the cave was closed forever. The woman was so happy that she has collected the wealth for generations. She looked at everything once again and began to hold it with pride. Then she remembered about her child and realized that she forgot to take the baby from the cave. The Baby is inside and the doors are closed. The woman cried out to God again with great pain. The angel came back. And told her: Honey, I told you each time don’t forget the most precious one; but you didn’t get me. We have no way to get into the cave. What is the worth of the wealth if she loses the child for whom she collected the wealth?
We heard in the opening of the gospel that the people of Jesus’ time were so proud to say about the beauty of their only Temple. They were so admired about the beauty and riches and they thought that the beauty will be there eternally. Just as the people in the Gospel, we tend to admire the beauty and riches of the Temple which means the beautiful reality of this world or the firmness of our human institutions, as if they were permanent, eternal and able to offer a solid foundation for our hope. However, on the other hand, just as Qoheleth says (Ecclesiastes 1:2-4), "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!" No human reality can stand firm, all is mere appearance, all these things we experience (again, even our solid institutions) will disappear.[1] This is a contrasting situation in which we tempt to think transitory objects are real and the Real are momentary.
What is the attitude of people that we meet in today’s Gospel?
The people of Jerusalem praised the temple for its permanence and they placed their confidence in the transitory things. They were glorifying momentary and perishable things as if they were perpetual and eternal. Here, Jesus message is clear: none of the things that could offer security and firmness to their lives (including the most important religious reality, the Temple), would stand for a long time.[2] It is true in our life too none of the things that we are holding now including our wealth can offer security in our life. These are transitory which may lead us to God if we make good use of them.
This is the question, then we are asking today?
Where am I clinging to? Am I holding on God or things that have only momentary values?

St. Augustine raises a wonderful question. When soul depart from one’s body, we say the person is dead? What happen to a person if his / her soul loses God? St. Augustine Says the person is spiritually dead. Because, just as the soul, itself, is the life of the body, in the same way, God is the life of the Soul.[3] So if God is absent, away from one’s soul, how we can say that a person has life in its fullness. For that person it is the end of everything.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, I encourage you all to listen to the Spirit and ask yourself whether you are experiencing the presence of God in your life and in your family. You may have a God problem in which you find some difficulty to believe something, something that is not meaningful to your rational mind. That is ok. But i am asking you keep looking for God who is missing from your soul. Because, If God is away from your center of life, your soul, what is the worth to say that you have a life and you have everything else? So don’t forget to hold on to the most precious thing in your life.

Friar Tony Vattaparambil

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[1] http://www.frnick.com/homilies/american_bible_society

[2] Bonventure, Commentary on Luke( Franciscan Institute Publication, NY:1969-1970.)

[3] Arthur A. Just, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament III, Luke (Inter Varsity Press, IL: 321)

November 6 - 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Mass of Remembrance

Luke 20:27, 34-38

As we near the end of the Church's liturgical year, the readings become more eschatological -- having to do with the end times, its more about our life after death.  In today's readings, we look briefly the question of the resurrection and the character of the life we are to live in anticipation of it.  A common question that people 2000 years ago and now are still asking, "is there life after death?". In today's gospel, the Sadducees who did not believe in resurrection confront Jesus with their ridiculous story of an unfortunate woman who had married and then lost seven husbands. They did not start with the real issue, namely belief in life after death and the consequences of our daily decisions in determining life after death. They were trying to fool Jesus but Jesus was very clear about his teachings.  Jesus reply was very direct, he said "there is life after death and God is the God, not of the dead but of the living." In the first reading we see a mother and her sons die for what they believed and they believed that God will rise them up. They were ready to bear any suffering for their faith because they knew their life is safe in the hands of God.

I was 11 when cancer took my mum's life. My brother was 5 years old. I thought life is ended and my family felt emptiness for the first time, we felt darkness inside us, we felt silence in our home. I remember that night when everyone left after funeral, my father, brother and myself sat in the porch looking at the stars believing that one of it must be our mother. I know it's not only my experience, it's the experience of many of you who are hearing me today. You might have felt or still feeling the same pain, emptiness and darkness after the death of your beloved one or ones.  

But in all these emptiness, darkness something gave us hope that was our faith, our faith in resurrection, our faith on life after death and our belief that we all will meet all again. I remember I asked my aunt, what happened to my mum? Did she become dust and gone forever? She told me that, be strong John, do good things, one day, we would meet again and she's alive with our Lord. This gave me hope to live and live a good life. Pope Francis says, it is beautiful “to think of Heaven, all of us will meet there, everyone. It is beautiful; it gives strength to the soul.

Why we have gathered today around this altar, it’s because we believe in life after death and we believe that we are making preparation to heaven by celebrating and leading a good life. And if we believe in life after death church would like us to reflect how much preparations we are making in our lives? How mindful we are about our life after death.

one of my friends shared how her dad became catholic: her dad was not a believer and his actions she thought will not take him to heaven. On a thanksgiving day when everyone was around the dining table,  she asked him, dad if one day we all die and go to heaven and if you are not there what will be our feeling. He had a realization that he was not making steps by doing good things to be in heaven with his family. The next Sunday he went to the church, received baptism and started a good life.

The thought about life after death inspires us to lead a good life. Many people have changed their bad life just thinking of their death and life after death.  Since there is life after death and we believe so, we seriously need to think of the character of life we are to live in anticipation of the life after death. In the 1st reading, the moral messages it contained is that the brothers would rather die than to sin. They believe that after Death, God will raise them up. We learn from the 2nd reading, "May God strengthen you in everything good that you do or say. This is how we should prepare our character of life. Do good in what you do and say and eternal life is waiting for you.

Franciscan spirituality is a spirituality which preaches joy of resurrection and life after death. I remember a story from St. Francis, one day, friars prepared a delicious meal. And Francis asked one of the friars to bring some ashes. He poured in his food and started eating food. One of the friars asked Francis, we prepared delicious food and you are spoiling it with ashes. Francis said if I enjoy this food, my body will be happy but my soul will be week. Even in eating St. Francis was mindful about his life after death and cautiously taking each actions in preparations for it.

Pope Francis said "the Good News of the Resurrection should shine on our face, in our feelings and in our behavior, in the way in which we treat others.” Let us be people of resurrection and be mindful each day about our actions which will lead to life eternal.

Related with today’s readings, I am giving you two questions:

 How mindful we are about our life after death? How much preparations we are making to join our family members in heaven?

Fr. John Pozhathuparambil OFMConv.

October 30 - 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

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

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

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

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

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

The Story of Zacchaeus, what does it teach us?

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

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

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

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

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

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

May our Merciful Lord bless you
Friar Tony vattaparambil Ofmconv

January 10 - Baptism of the Lord

Bellarmine University

“Baptized and Sent”

Rev. Ronald Knott

January 10, 2016

You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.

Luke 3

I don't actually know how many people I have baptized over the last 46 years, but I do know that there have been several hundred for sure! Every once in a while, one of them will show up here in this very chapel, reminding me just how old I am getting! Are any of you here today? If so, raise your hand!

The pouring of, or immersion in, water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the essence of the baptismal ritual. Every time you enter a Catholic Church, from then on, you are invited to dip your hand into baptismal water and cross yourself to remind you that you are forever an adopted child of God and to remind you of your mission to the world.  Just as God's voice from heaven said to Jesus "You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," at  your baptism the Church said to you, "Your are, from this day forward, God's adopted son or daughter, in whom He is well pleased."  After the water is poured over you, the priest or deacon anoints you on the top of the head with chrism - the oil used in the Bible to anoint priests, prophets and kings - and says that you and Christ are bound together, from now on and forever!

Just as Jesus' baptism marked the beginning of his ministry of love and service to the world, as his adopted children and heirs, our baptisms marked the beginning of our commission to carry on that ministry of love and service to the world until he returns in glory.  Our baptisms, not just ordinations, are initiations into ministry.  In a certain sense, we all become priests at baptism, all off us were given some share of Christ's ministry to the world.

After a lifetime of being his ambassadors, representing Christ in the world, when we have drawn our last breath and have been prepared for burial, our family and friends will bring our bodies back into the church one last time. Our baptisms and our funerals are two bookends to our lives. Just as was done at our baptism, the priest will meet your casket at the door, sprinkle it with baptismal water and dress your casket in a white pall reminiscent of that little white dress they put on you at your baptism so many years before.  This moment at the door of the church is especially poignant for me on those occasions when I can remember baptizing the deceased many years before, as I have actually done on occasion.

Students! Today is the day we remember the baptism of Jesus, the day he officially began his public ministry. Today is also one of those days when we are asked to remember our own baptisms, the day we were officially charged with carrying on his ministry. In a few minutes, we will again renew our profession of faith in the Trinity and repeat again the vows that made for us our baptisms and vows we confirmed at our Confirmations - vows to be a force for good in the world.  To seal the deal on this renewal, I will sprinkle you again with the water used for baptisms to remind you once again that you are indeed a child of God, with whom he is well pleased!

  

Students! In the next several years, many of you will get married and have children. One of the things I try to do in here is to help you start getting ready for that - help you  to make remote preparation to become serious marriage partners and parents - so that you will be ready when that time comes!  To do that, you need to be serious spiritual seekers now!   Now is the time to begin preparing yourselves for marriage and parenting. That is why renewing your own baptismal vows is so important!

Since this is the week we pray for vocations in general - vocations to carry on some part of Christ's ministry - hopefully some of you will search your hearts to see if God is calling you to lead others to holiness as a priest, deacon or religious brother or sister - to assist and support those who have been called to marriage and parenting and to bring the gospel to those who do not believe or whose faith is in crisis!   If you are called to ministry, respond like Isaiah, "Here I am, Lord, send me! I will hold your people in my heart," rather than try to run from it like Jonah! 

If you are called to marriage and parenting, decide today that you will break that cycle of going through a showy Catholic wedding with no intention of practicing that Catholic faith afterwards that is so common these days! Decide today that you will break that cycle of demanding the baptisms of your children with no intention of bringing those children up in the practice of the faith that is all to common today! Nemo dat quod non habet. If you don't have it yourself, you cannot give it!  Repeating the vows of your baptism and sprinkling you with the water of baptism today is just a hollow ritual if there is no intention in the heart  to renew your commitment to be a serious follow of Christ! If you are not a serious disciple yourself, going into it, there is no way you can be a serious partner in a Christian marriage, no way can you be a serious Christian parent, no way can you answer a call to ministry!  Decide today to be who you really are - a child of God, with whom he is well pleased!