Sermon for Cycle A – 33rd Sunday Homily

clipart-talents-300x191God is a gambler! He takes risks with me.
(Prov 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; 1The 5:1-6; Mt 25:14-30)
  The Kingdom of God is like…
Often Jesus comes up with stories that speak a contemporary language.  In the gospel, today, Jesus shows some sophisticated knowledge of market economy.  He seems to be aware of investment, interest rates, and stocks.  He would have surprised the disciples, to whom the parable is addressed, as a natural hedge-fund manager.
It would seem very trendy, therefore, to develop a sermon on entrepreneurship based on the gospel text of today.  But interpreted within the larger agenda of the mission of Jesus the parable is not about anything material.  “The kingdom of heaven is like…” (Mt 25:14), that is how the gospel narration begins. It is not even about one’s talents in music, public speaking or organisation! We shouldn’t be misled […]

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Feast of All Saints

The Saints Inspire, and we can Imitate them
All Saints Day
Why Saints? Because they inspire us
In 2009, when the relics of St Thérèse of Lisieux were being taken around the UK, the euphoria of the people who went to pay homage took the sceptics by surprise.  In this secular Britain, an estimated 290,000 people paid their respects to St Thérèse, in 20 churches.  However, I must say, I heard the most cynical remarks about the relics only from my fellow priests.  In any case, by then I was in London, and one of those nights I was called to help out with confessions at the Westminster Cathedral.  As I sat at St George’s chapel, hearing the sincere confessions of some pilgrims, I watched the others file by the relics.  But what […]

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Bible Study Session with Selvam – Every Tuesday – 6pm Nairobi Time

{{unknown}}Psychospiritual Reading of the Bible
The weekly session looks at different passages from the Hebrew Scriptures and Christian Scriptures from a psychological perspective and makes application to Christian Spirituality today.
Fr Sahaya Selvam, SDB, a Catholic priest serving in Nairobi, holds a MA degree and a PhD in psychology, with a specialisation in psychology of religion employing the theoretical framework of positive psychology.
Register here to be included into a Google Classroom, where you will see additional material. Links to the zoom sessions will be sent to you via email.
https://forms.gle/FWBz8LX9tqtjzptcA
 

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Sermon for 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A Homily: Loaves & Fish

bread-limpa“And they all ate and were satisfied” (Mt 14:20)
 One of my academic interests is to examine the psychological impact of Christian contemplative practice on people.  A pattern emerges from the formal interviews that I have conducted, and the informal conversation that I have had.  The participants speak of what I call, ‘a 3D spirituality,’ there is an upward movement of the heart towards God, there is an inward movement towards the self, and there is an outward movement towards others. This is something I strive for in my own personal life, and I offer opportunity for people to experience through my own ministry. These days I add a fourth dimension to this, inspired by the spirit of the Laudato Si’: the outward journey is also towards the rest of creation!
3D Spirituality.  In the […]

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