Wisdom is keeping the Lamps full
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
(Wis 6:12-16; 1The 4:13-18; Mt 25:1-13)
In October 2011, The Tablet, the Catholic Weekly published from the UK, ran a story entitled, “From Catwalk to the Convent”. In the article, Vicky Mitchell gave a personal account of her experience in producing and directing a documentary on “Young Nuns” that was shown on BBC1 in the same week. First of all, after the lull in vocations in the UK since the 1960’s there seems to be some positive signs that more and more young women are considering the possibility of a religious vocation. As the writer spoke to several novice mistresses, priests, vocation promoters, and to 15 young women who were actively discerning a vocation to religious life, she wonders: “The big question, […]
Author: selvam
Sermon for Solemnity of All Saints
The Saints Inspire, and we can Imitate them
In a homily on the feast of All Saints in 2006, Pope Benedict said the following, recalling the homily of St. Bernard on this very feast: “Why should our praise and glorification, or even the celebration of this Solemnity, mean anything to the Saints?… The Saints have no need of honour from us; neither does our devotion add the slightest thing to what is theirs…. But I tell you, when I think of them, I feel myself inflamed by a tremendous yearning” (Disc. 2, Opera Omnia Cisterc. 5, 364ff.). The Pope then continues, “This, then, is the meaning of today’s Solemnity: looking at the shining example of the Saints to reawaken within us the great longing to be like them.”
In the second reading of today (1Jn 3:2-3) […]
CREATION OR EVOLUTION?
Understanding the Origins of the Universe, Life and Human Beings
1. What Is Evolution?
When we speak about evolution, we need to distinguish four related questions:
Origin of the universe: How did the universe come to be, and develop from its early state into what we observe today?
Development of planet Earth: How did Earth form and develop into a planet capable of supporting life?
Origin and Evolution of life: How did life emerge and diversify into the many forms we see today?
Evolution of human beings: How did human beings emerge through biological evolution?
The central idea is that the universe, Earth, life and human beings did not necessarily appear as finished products. Rather, they developed through processes that unfolded over time.
This brings us to the fundamental question: Is everything the result of chance, […]
Sermon for Cycle A – 28th Sunday Homily: Celebrate Life
C’mon and Celebrate!
(Is 25:6-10; Phil 4:12-14,19-20; Mt 22:1-14)
In most cultures a meal is an occasion for coming together. It is communitarian. It is a fellowship. That is why, even people eating alone in trains and buses might invite others to join them, and if forced to eat alone, they would do it rather awkwardly.
In the context of a meal, strangers become friends (Lk5:29), and even enemies become covenantal partners (Gen 26:26-31). No wonder then, meal or celebration is used in the Gospels as a powerful image of the Kingdom of God (or the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, as the Gospel of Matthew has it).
1. Life in God is a celebration
Yes, the Kingdom of God is a party! The book of Deuteronomy (14: 22-23), says, “Every year, you must take a tithe of […]
Sermon for Cycle A – 27th Sunday Homily: Avoiding Spiritual Redundancy
Are you protected against Spiritual Redundancy?
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
(Isaiah 5: 1-7; Psalm 79; Philippians 4: 6-9; Matthew 21: 33-43)
Down-sizing, Redundancy, and laying off are common in the capitalistic world. Often, it is a painful experience for individuals. One danger is for people to take it too personally when they are laid off. In most cases redundancy is not a statement on our self-worth as individuals. Redundancy might have nothing to do with an individual’s talents and skills. Simply, the game of Monopoly that is being played by the corporate world should not make us feel that we are worthless. To the people who have been made redundant, it might seem insensitive to repeat the words of the 2nd reading of today: “There is no need […]