26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Why Be Kind?
(Luke 16:19-31: the parable of Lazarus and the rich man)
 It is quite common in parts of East Africa for employees to be absent from work for the purposes of attending funerals.  While in westernized African cities like Nairobi most funerals are scheduled on Saturdays, in smaller towns this is not possible for want of good mortuaries. But why a high rate of absenteeism from work due to funerals?  For one thing, funerals are communal events and hence people would go for funerals of even mutual friends.  However, once I asked one of our staff who was going to the third funeral in one month during her working hours: “Why do you have to go for almost every funeral in town?” Her answer was quite straightforward: “If I do not go for the funeral of […]

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Use money to win you friends
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lk 16:1-16)
 A clear message in the gospels: Renunciation
The gospel of this Sunday took a lot of effort to prepare a sermon on.  For one, this is one of the repeated themes in the gospels:

In the Beatitudes, Jesus begins with a counter-cultural statement, “How blessed are you who are poor: the kingdom of God is yours” (Lk 6:20).
In his preaching, particularly in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus would often repeat: “Sell your possessions and give to those in need. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it” (Lk 12:33).
In the parable of the rich man, God said, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of […]

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Homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

Canonisation of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati7 September 202

Introduction: A Pilgrimage of Hope

It is nearly a year since I walked together with 12 other colleagues for eight days covering 224 kilometres on foot, from the National shrine of Mary in Subukia in Kenya to the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians, Upperhill in Nairobi. We called it the “Shrine2Shrine Pilgrimage”. It was indeed a pilgrimage of hope!

To the enthusiastic faithful of the Salesian Parish in Nairobi who welcomed us at the finish line, we might have appeared like celebrities. But for us, it was never about spectacle. It was an experience of togetherness, contemplation, and compassion.

I still remember the blisters that burned on my toes, the long stretches of hot tarmac, and the aching muscles. Yet every evening, as we gathered for Eucharist, meals, and shared reflection, the discomfort […]

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22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Psychology of the Virtue of Humility
 
One of the areas of my academic specialisation is positive psychology. It is a branch of psychology that focuses on wellbeing and happiness. My area of focus in positive psychology revolves around the concept of “character strengths.” Character strengths are nothing but what religious traditions have referred to as virtues. These include, among others: wisdom, self-control, forgiveness, hope, altruism, love, spirituality, responsibility, leadership, humility, etc. Psychologists ask, why religious traditions and cultures across the world have highlighted these virtues throughout known history of humanity, praising people who are paragons of these virtues and challenging people who have lacked these virtues?  Is it because the practice of these character strengths provides gratification and wellbeing to the individual, and ensures the continuity of the […]

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