The King on a Donkey en route to Die
Today we begin the week of weeks in the liturgical calendar: the Holy Week. Today we begin the commemoration of the high points in the history of salvation: the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus – the Paschal Mystery. Today we accompany Jesus on his solemn entry into Jerusalem where he will suffer, die and rise again. And this day is a day of contradictions.
The King on a Donkey’s Back: Jesus is on his final journey to Jerusalem. It is going to be a solemn entry, almost as a King is about to enter to take possession of his capital. And the procession begins at the Mount of Olives – the mount that is be the stage for the ultimate Day of the Lord (according to Zechariah 14:3-4), the day of […]
Sunday Sermons
Sunday Sermons and Homilies
Sermon for Cycle A – 3rd Sunday of Lent
The Living Water
3rd Sunday in Lent – Cycle A
As I have pointed out in my reflection of last week, during the first two Sundays of Lent every year we have the same themes. The gospel text of the 1stSunday of Lent is always about the temptations of Jesus – from the three synoptic Gospels according to the three year cycle. Similarly, the 2nd Sunday of Lent invites us to reflect on the story of Transfiguration. The remaining three Sundays before the Palm Sunday in Cycle A are special. The gospel passages are taken from the Gospel of John and they develop three central themes of our experience of Jesus that are particularly important for the catechumens – those adults who are preparing to be baptised during Easter:
Jesus, the Living Water (Jn 4: the Samaritan woman) – 3rd Sunday of Lent
Jesus, the Light […]
Sermon for Cycle A – 2nd Sunday Homily
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A
Finding our space in the Universe:
The Life Journey of John the Baptist (Jn 1:29-34)
Christmastide is now over and retailers have special Sales. Because, retailers hate ordinary time. They try to make even ordinary time into something special. Hence the reduced prices!
In the liturgical calendar, we are back to the ordinary time. But even in our gospel reading there is an attempt to make the liturgy of today special too. Perhaps it is just to remind us that every Eucharistic celebration is special! As we are in Year A, we should have been listening to the Gospel of Matthew. But our gospel text for today came from the Gospel of John, as is the case every year on the 2nd Sunday […]
Sermon for 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C Homily
Who do you say I am?
Who am I? This is the question that we all start asking consciously right from the age of reason. But it has its beginnings perhaps even earlier, as infants when we are weaned and begin to walk, becoming independent and separate from the mother. This identity question becomes even more acute during adolescence at the threshold of becoming adults. I am not too sure what it could mean for the elderly. As I live through my 40’s I see certain serenity come over me as I ask myself: Who am I? The feeling about that question is unlike it was in my teens and twenties, and even in my thirties.
In answering the question of ‘who am I’ we rely on the help of others. Basically we define […]
Sermon for 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B: Version 2
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B
Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me (Mk 10: 47)
The gospel story of this Sunday has many meaningful aspects for meditation. For another version of my reflection on this gospel story <<CLICK HERE>>.
In the reflection below I focus on this powerful prayer: “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me”, which is also referred to as the “Jesus Prayer”. The devotion of using this prayer in contemplative practice originated in Egypt in the 3rd Century CE among the earliest groups of Christian monks popularly known as “Desert Fathers and Mothers”. It simply consisted in repeating continuously a version of this prayer: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner.” It was for the purpose of this prayer […]