Eternal
life becomes visible: We touched him with our hands.
Cyril Egan wrote a poem called “A Kind of Prayer.” It’s
about a person who’s looking for something. Everywhere he goes, he searches, searches,
searches. One day someone asks him what he’s searching for. He responds, “I’m
looking for God.” Then he adds quickly: “Don’t tell me I’ll find him in my
heart (Though in a sense that’s true); And don’t tell me I’ll find him in my
fellow man (Though in a sense that’s true, too). What I’m looking for is a God
making a five-sense breakthrough to humanity.”
To all of you who are God's beloved and called to be saints, grace and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord's peace stay with you. R/ And also with you.
Fr. Tony Kadavil: Synopsis:All Saints Day: The feast and its objectives: All baptized Christians who have died and are now with God in glory are considered saints. All Saints Day is intended to honor the memory of countless unknown and uncanonized saints who have no feast days. Today we thank God for giving ordinary men and women a share in His holiness and Heavenly glory as a reward for their Faith. This feast is observed to teach us to honor the saints, both by imitating their lives and by seeking their intercession for us before Christ, the only mediator between God and man (I Tim. 2:5). The Church reminds us today that God's call for holiness is universal, that all of us are called to live in His love and to make His love real in the lives of those around us.Holiness is related to the word wholesomeness. We grow in holiness when we live wholesome lives of integrity truth, justice, charity, mercy and compassion sharing our blessings with others.
We may wonder why the Church picks those moments of grief
and sorrow and suffering and turns it into a celebration. Yesterday we celebrated the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Opening: O God, our creator, you have made this world out of love and gathered us together as one family. Today we wish to thank you for Mary whom you freed from earthly bondage into your heavenly glory. Today 71 years ago you freed our Mother Land from foreign occupation. We thank you for all that is beautiful in India that we are proud of. Bless every citizen of our country that s/he may work for peace, prosperity and true freedom. Strengthen our hands that we may truly build and not destroy hearts and hopes, homes and future for your children.
Acts 12:1-11/ 2
Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18/ Matthew 16:13-19
****
Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saints Peter and
Paul, the two great pillars of the Church.
We may think that these two saints are like two peas in a
pod, and if we were to give names to a pair of twin boys, the obvious choice
would be to name them Peter and Paul.
Peter and Paul may seem to give us an impression of unity,
but in fact, they were more of an incompatibility.
They were more like oil and water, and their differences go
deeper than that of liquid viscosity.
That fact is that initially, they would have wished the
other to be dead, and they won’t even bother about attending the other’s
funeral!
In the past, the Saints have enjoyed a tremendous popularity: the churches were full of their statues and recourse to them was perhaps more than to God. There was a saint for truck drivers, for students, for lost items, for eye diseases and even for a sore throat. They were considered a kind of intermediaries that had the function to “soften” the impact of a God considered too big and too far away, a little unapproachable and somewhat foreign to our problems.
The Nativity of Our Lady or the birthday of our beloved Mother Mary, also called as "Monthi Fest" by Mangalorean Catholic community is also celebrated as a harvest festival like 'onam' of kerala, 'pongal' of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The days following the angel’s announcement had been the most exciting, most disorienting days of Mary’s life. With only one fresh water spring, the village of Nazareth was small. Rumors flew. By all appearances, she had fallen into disgrace. She was avoided, even slandered by her own kindred, homeless in her own hometown. The silence between her and Joseph was a yawning chasm. Yet even as whispers turned into open slander among the townsfolk, Mary’s heart beat with purpose. She remembered God’s promises. And she remembered her promise, I am the Lord’s handmaiden.
Popular imagination has added an interesting slant to the story of the woman taken in adultery. You know the story: The Pharisees bring the woman before Jesus for judgment and Jesus says, "Let the person who is without sin cast the first stone." They fell silent, and then, all of a sudden a stone came flying from the crowd. Jesus looks up, surprised and amused, and then says, "Hold it, mother? I am trying to make a point, here." This joke likens the sinlessness of Mary to the sinlessness of good women and men we have known. For we have known many good men and women who think that their holiness of life is their personal achievement. As a result they develop a certain holier-than-thou attitude toward others who have not attained their level of holiness. They become intolerant, angry and judgmental toward those they regard as sinners. People like that would not hesitate to throw the first stone at a sinner caught red-handed, like the woman in our story.
3 Readings talk about God's presence in three areas: Nature (water & Herb) or creation. This is first temple. Second human persons, second temple. Third: social, civil and ecclesial structures. God first created time, space and context. Then created human beings. Sin and grace take place at a particular, location and context. Paradise had everything for grace and growth. Also the apple tree that caused sin. During the plague in France, those who sought refuge in the churches were saved. This was because of the candle lights and incense that kept the rats away. context and time and place in God's plan! - TK ********** Thomas O’Loughlin Introduction to the Celebration
Sisters and brothers, each week when we assemble for the Eucharist we enter into the presence of the Father, and offer him the sacrifice of praise in union with Christ Jesus. We enter into the presence of Christ, and through him into the presence of the Father. Today we reflect that as the people of the Lord Jesus we are called to be always awake and ready to bring his wisdom to our world and to be his presence among all the people we encounter.
Years ago a young man was riding a bus from Chicago to Miami. He had a
stop-over in Atlanta. While he was sitting at the lunch counter, a woman came
out of the ladies' restroom carrying a tiny baby. She walked up to this man and
asked, "Would you hold my baby for me? I left my purse in the
restroom." He did. But as the woman neared the front door of the bus
station, she darted out into the crowded street and was immediately lost in the
crowd. This guy couldn't believe his eyes. He rushed to the door to call the
woman, but couldn't see her anywhere. Now what should he do? Put the baby down
and run? When calmness finally settled in, he went to the Traveler's Aid booth
and together with the local police, they soon found the real mother. You see,
the woman who'd left him holding the baby wasn't the baby's real mother. She'd
taken the child. Maybe it was to satisfy some motherly urge to hold a child or
something else. No one really knows. But we do know that this man breathed a
sigh of relief when the real mother was found. After all, what was he going to
do with a baby? In a way, each of us, is in the same sort of situation as this
young man. Every Christmas God Himself walks up to us and asks, "Would you
hold My Baby for Me, please?" and then thrusts the Christ Child into our
arms. And we're left with the question, "What are we going to do with this
Baby?" But an even deeper question is just, "Who is this Baby?"
If we look at Scripture, we find all kinds of titles and names for this Baby we
hold in our arms: Emmanuel, "God-with-us;" Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Christ the King, Jesus. In
today’s Gospel describing the presentation ceremony, Simeon asks Mary the
question: "Can I hold your Baby for a few minutes, please?" (King
Duncan).
The arrival of the wise men wasn’t a part of the story of Jesus’ birth at all. They actually came in a time when the miracle of Jesus’ birth had long since worn off – while Mary and Joseph were caught in the busyness of life and parenting. In a time like this the gifts once again reminded them of three important truths God had told them in the beginning. Today even as the Christmas season is far behind us and we are about to get caught in the busyness of the new year God wants to remind us of those three truths. Text:Matthew 2:1-12
Story: A husband asked his wife, "Why would God give the wise men a star to guide them?" She replied, "Because God knows men are too proud to ask directions."
"When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, heal the broken, feed the hungry, rebuild the nations, bring peace among people, make music in the heart." So wrote Howard Thurman. ---------- As we give our insignificant, little gifts to God, the good news is that God accepts them! Like the Magi offering their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, we offer what we have, from the heart, in response to what that Child has given to us - himself.
Let us conclude with a 19th century English carol, Christina Rosetti’s A Christmas Carol, which begins, “In the bleak midwinter.” The carol sums up, in its last stanza, the nature of "giving to the Christ child.” What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I could give a Lamb.
If I were a wise man, I could do my part. What I can I give Him? Give Him my heart!”
O God, our creator, you have made this world out of
love and gathered us together as one family. Today we wish to thank you for
Mary whom you freed from earthly bondage into your heavenly glory. Today 65
years ago you freed our Mother Land from foreign occupation. We thank you for
all that is beautiful in India that we are proud of. Bless every citizen of our
country that s/he may work for peace, prosperity and true freedom. Strengthen
our hands that we may truly build and not destroy hearts and hopes, houses and
future for your children.
