God and his faithfulness

Introduction

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the word faithfulness as “deserving trust, keeping your promises or doing what you are supposed to do.” We say God is faithful because we can trust him to keep his promises and do what he is supposed to do.
The passage I have selected for my sermon today speaks about a man named Isaac and how his whole life is a retelling of what happened to his father Abraham to whom God had promised to make him into a great nation. The lesson conveyed is of God’s continuing faithfulness.

Text: Genesis 26:1-32

(1) Not changed by our situations

Read Genesis 26:1-6
(I) Isaac occupied the same land that his father Abraham did and famines were common in that land. Both had faced them.
(II) In Abraham’s time when the famine came he fled to Egypt. Isaac wanted to do the same but God stopped him and restated the blessing to his father.
(III) Just like his father Isaac assessed God’s faithfulness based on the severity of the famine. He did not know that God is not challenged by man’s situations.

Deep and Lasting Love

Eucharist

CORPUS CHRISTI: Body and Blood of Christ

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Holy Trinity - Liturgy Prayers

Introduction by the Celebrant

A. An Inexhaustibly Great God With joy and gratitude we celebrate today the solemnity of the Blessed Trinity. When we think of the mystery we honor today, the question is not so much: who is God, but, as Scripture itself puts it: who is God for us? And the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, answers, in a variety of ways: God is a mystery of love. God loves us. With Psalm 8 we say: what are human beings that you spare a thought for them? Thank you, Lord, thank you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All praise to you through Jesus!

Fathers' Day

Hear – Paul Anka’s song dedicated to fathers:

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=CpQIfuxmgT4&NR=1
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ6LwbmlZ-E&feature=email

Holy Trinity A 2014

Links to earlier posts:
http://www.tkayala.com/2012/05/trinity-sunday-homily.html
http://www.tkayala.com/2012/06/trinity-prayers.html
http://www.tkayala.com/2013/05/holy-trinity-2013-homilies-and-stories.html

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Some Stories: (More Stories at the bottom or at: http://www.homilystories.in/2014/06/holy-trinity.html)

The story is told of a priest sitting in an airport waiting for his flight. A fellow killing time struck up a conversation. Said he, "Father, I believe only what I can understand. So, I can't buy your Trinity. Perhaps you can explain it to me." The priest reluctantly put down The New York Times. "Do you see the sun out there?" "Yup." "OK, it's 80 million miles away from us right now. The rays coming through the window," said the priest, "are coming from the sun. The delightful heat we are enjoying on our bodies right now come from a combination of the sun and its rays. Do you understand that?" The fellow answered, "Sure,  padre." "The Trinity," the priest went on, "is like that. God the Father is that blazing sun. The Son is the rays He sends down to us. Then both combine to send us the Holy Spirit who is the heat. If you understand the workings of the sun, its rays, and heat, why do you have difficulty believing the Trinity?" The man said something about catching a flight and was off.  

He recalled the husband, who said when he became a father, he better understood the Trinity. When he and his wife had their son, they had evidence of their love for each other. There was the lover, the beloved, and the love, each distinct and yet one. 

Pentecost A

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Back Posts:
Pentecost 2013: http://www.tkayala.com/2013/05/pentecost-2013-homilies-and-stories.html
Water, Fire, Wind Symbols: http://www.tkayala.com/2013/05/holy-spirit-3-symbols-video.html
Fr. Tony Kadavil's Collection: http://www.tkayala.com/2012/05/pentecost-may-21-homily.html
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Starters:
The Church on Fire 

Two persons were talking together before a large church which was being destroyed by fire. The first man spoke in a voice which could be heard above the voice of the firemen: "This is the first time I ever saw you at church." To this the second responded: "This is the first time I ever saw the church on fire." There are many prophets of doom saying that the age of the Christian Church is over - that it has lost its zeal! We're taking a beating right now in this country and around the world. Our theology is being questioned. Everyone is writing a critical book against the organized church. We have had to take some unpopular stands on social issues. Magazines are attacking the ministry, and it isn't the thing to do anymore to join the church. John Kelman said, however, "God pity the nation or city whose factory smokestacks rise higher than her church spires."  

Why Belong To The Church?, anthology, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.

Ascension 2012

Introduction

Today’s readings describe the ascension of the Lord Jesus into his heavenly glory after he had promised his disciples his Holy Spirit as their source of heavenly power, and commanded them to bear witness to him throughout the world by their lives and preaching.  But the ascended Jesus is still with us through his indwelling Holy Spirit as he has promised, "I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.”   Today’s feast celebrates Jesus’ final glorification after his suffering, death   and resurrection –   a glory in which we hope to share. 

Scripture Lessons 

The first reading  gives an account of the event of Jesus’ ascension as recorded in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. First, Jesus instructed his apostles to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the baptism by the Holy Spirit so that they might become his “witnesses to the ends of the earth” by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then a cloud took Jesus from the sight of the disciples and two heavenly messengers in white garments gave them the assurance of Jesus’ “second coming” or return in glory.  Today's psalm suggests that, by his Ascension, the risen Lord "mounts his throne" in glory.  In the second reading,  Paul explains the theological meaning of Jesus’ exaltation, giving us the assurance that one day, we, too, will be ascending to heavenly glory, provided we carry out the mission entrusted to us by the ascending Lord. Today's gospel describes  how  Jesus  ascended  to  heaven  after  giving  his  final  blessing  and missionary command to his disciples. The command was to “proclaim the good news to every creature”(Mark 16:15), “to be his witnesses"(Acts 1: 8), and “to make disciples of all  n ation s.”  (Matthew 8:19). 

Life Messages 

1)  We  need  to  be  proclaimers  and  evangelizers:  To  be  a  Christian  is  to  be  a proclaimer and an evangelizer.   There is a difference between preaching and proclaiming.  We preach with words but we proclaim with our lives.  Let us ask the guidance of the Spirit of God to bear witness to Jesus by our transparent Christian lives. 2)  We need to transmit his teachings to the world:  Jesus taught us lessons of faith, hope, love, forgiveness, mercy and salvation by his life and preaching and gave us the mission to teach these to others.    Hence, let us learn about Jesus and his teachings by our daily study of the Bible and the teachings of the Church, experience him in personal prayer, reception of the sacraments and works of charity, and convey to others Jesus whom we have experienced with the help of his Holy Spirit. 

3) We need seek our help in this mission from the ascended Jesus who is our strength and encouragement: We will be able to overcome doubts about our faith and baseless fears,  anxieties and worries by meditating on Jesus’ Ascension and the lesson it teaches, that we, too, are called to share his glory in heaven. L/12