“As they were baptised they confessed their sins”
2nd Sunday of Advent – Year A
A priest went to hear confessions of boys in a boarding school. As the priest went to this place every Saturday to hear confessions, he would find about 10 to 15 boys lining up for confession. On this particular day, he found seven of them already forming the queue for confession. The first boy came and said, “Father, we threw peanut into the pond.” The priest gave his absolution, and off went the boy. The second boy came and said, “Father, during the last week, we threw peanut into the pond near our playground.” The priest gave his absolution. The third boy came and said more or less the same sin. And so did the six boys. Finally, the seventh boy came. By this time the priest […]
Year A
Year A Sunday Sermons
Sermon for 1st Sunday in Advent – Year A Homily
1st Sunday in Advent
The Son of Man is Coming (Mt 24:44)
One of the advent hymns that I like most is:
We long to see thee so!
To see Thee newly-born.
We long for Christmas morn.
The sands of time run slow.
I like this hymn particularly because it arouses in me the nostalgia for homecoming. As a young boy studying in boarding schools this song reminded me of the joyful time of going back home for Christmas. I remember how the sands of time would run so slow, especially just before Christmas. However, in the past years, especially as a priest being busy during Christmas, unwrapping Christmas of its nostalgic feelings I have also begun to appreciate its spiritual depth. I am not in anyway playing down the importance of the sentimental aspects of Christmas – we have a reason to celebrate it even […]
Feast of the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus
Eucharist: Mystery of Incarnation Enacted
Why did Jesus use bread and wine – mere objects of food – to institute the Eucharist? I offer two possible reflections on this mystery.
The enactment of the Mystery of Incarnation: In the gospel of today, in the discourse that follows the multiplication of loaves Jesus would say,
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world” (Jn 6:51).
As we know, this passage has clear allusion to the Eucharist. Earlier in the same passage Jesus compares the Eucharist to the manna that the people of Israel ate in the desert (Jn 6:49-50). Though Jesus says analogically, Eucharist is bread that came down from heaven we know that the Eucharist does not fall from the skies as […]
Sermon for Christmas – Homily Year A, B, C.
And the Word became flesh (Jn 1:14)
Christmas – Liturgy of the Day
The language of God
A young man was intrigued by this question: what language does God speak? He asked people around, what is the language of God? And no one was able to offer him a satisfactory answer. So the young man undertook a journey going in search of the answer to his all important question. His first stop was a village. He asked the people there: what language does God speak? None of them could answer the question. “But,” they said, “there is a holy man who lives on the hill outside our village who perhaps has the answer to your question.” So the young man went to the holy man. Holy, for sure, he was. And the man said, “Look around you. See the beauty of creation: […]
Sermon for the Feast of Christ the King – 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A Homily
What is your preferred style of leadership?
‘Leadership’ is a much discussed topic today, not only in politics but also in the corporate world. Management trainers at business schools discuss concepts such as Servant Leadership, Transformational Leadership, Visionary Leadership, and Shepherd Leadership. Most of these terminologies have their origins in Christian background.
On the other hand, some research findings have suggested that to be a CEO or an MD in some multinationals of the globe one has to be a heartless go-getter, almost bordering the behaviour of a psychopath. They are merely profit-oriented, and care less for human beings.
The feast of today is an occasion to pause and reflect about our own leadership styles. We may not be CEOs or top-brass politicians, but most of us might have a sort of charge over […]