8th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C
When it comes to conversion, it is I first!
In one of his daily sermons (on 19 May 2017), Pope Francis said, some people “use rigidness to cover weaknesses, sins, personality flaws, and they use rigidness to rank themselves above others.” The Pope suggested that people who are rigid about their faith tend to live double lives. On another occasion, the Pope said, concealed by rigidity there is always something else! That’s why Jesus uses the word ‘hypocrites!’ “They appear good because they follow the Law; but behind there is something that does not make them good. Either they’re bad, hypocrites or they are sick. They suffer!” he said.
In this context, someone recently drew my attention to the results of a research carried out by the Harvard B-School […]

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How Happy Are You… (Lk 6:17-26)
6th Sunday in Ordinary
A few years ago, on a Saturday in February I was travelling from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam.  My companion on this 1000 kilometre journey was a priest.  Both of us had sermons to preach the next day.  At one point during the journey, the priest friend asked me, “Selvam, have you by chance looked up at the gospel text for tomorrow?”  “Oh yes, it is the Beatitudes from Luke,” I said.  And he seemed to be sure of himself as he said, “Oh… the Sermon on the Mount!”  My immediate reply was, “No, not really!  In fact, it is a sermon from the plains!”
Often when we look at Gospel texts we easily say: oh yes, I know it. For instance, when […]

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I say, “Leave me, Lord!” God says, “Do not be afraid!” Lk 5
5th Sunday in ordinary time – year C
There is this musical called, ‘The Witness’ by Jimmy & Carol Owens. It is a musical which narrates the life and ministry of Jesus as witnessed by the apostle Peter. Early in the narration Peter sings:
 Nothin’ ever happens here in Galilee,
You just follow in the footsteps of your family.
Be a fisherman like people say you’re meant to be,
Go down to the boat| Throw your net in the sea|
Take your turn at the car| Hoist the sail|
Mend the net| Clean the fish|
cut the bait|Ya da dum|  Da da dee|
Oh|  Nothin’ ever happens to me|
Then Jesus came and all of our lives were changed.
A few years back, in an attempt to define prayer, I said, “Prayer is becoming aware of who I am in […]

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4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lk 4:21-30)
The Rejection of God
Have you ever been rejected by a group of people?  If you are a teacher – and a capable one, you might have an experience of being rejected by a class.  If you are a preacher – and an effective one at that, you might have an experience of being rejected by a congregation.  If you are a speaker or a performer you might have an experience of being rejected by an audience.  If you have attempted to love some people in your life, perhaps you may have experienced being rejected by another person.
In the gospel story of today – a sequel to the gospel passage of last Sunday – Jesus experiences rejection.  He is rejected by the […]

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3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21)
Good News to the poor
One of the popular books that have inspired me a great deal is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.  Supposedly, the book has sold more than 25 million copies in 38 languages since its first publication in 1989.   I must say, the book has played an important role in improving my effectiveness, and I have used it to train many young people in Africa and India. The second habit of highly effective people, according to Stephen Covey is to, “Begin with the End in Mind!”  This, simply means having a personal vision of life, setting realistic goals, and even writing out a personal mission statement.
We are in the beginning of the ordinary time of the liturgical year.  Today we are beginning to listen to […]

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