It is not those who say to me, Lord, Lord… (Mt 7:21)
“Undeniably, those who wilfully shut out God from their hearts and try to dodge religious questions are not following the dictates of their consciences, and hence are not free of blame; yet believers themselves frequently bear some responsibility for this situation. For, taken as a whole, atheism is not a spontaneous development but stems from a variety of causes, including a critical reaction against religious beliefs, and in some places against the Christian religion in particular. Hence believers can have more than a little to do with the birth of atheism. To the extent that they neglect their own training in the faith, or teach erroneous doctrine, or are deficient in their religious, moral or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than reveal the authentic face of God and religion” (Gaudium et Spes, no.19).
This was a […]
Sunday Sermons
Sunday Sermons and Homilies
Sermon for Cycle A – 20th Sunday Homily: Good News to the Nations
Good News to the Nations (Mt 15:21-28)
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
It so happens that I write this from Nairobi, where I am on transit. I travelled fromIndiaa few days ago, and tomorrow I will be travelling to London. Memories of my days inIndiaare still fresh in my mind, even as I closely watch the current riots in the United Kingdomwith some anxiety. Thanks to our easy means of communication and fast means of travel today, many of us enjoy the privilege of constantly coming in contact with people and places that are new to us. The Word of God today invites to examine our attitude towards ‘strangers’ in the light of Jesus’ own mission to the nations.
The current riots of London do not seem to have any explicit racial connotation, but the role of the inability of people to accept strangers and the unwillingness of strangers to feel at home […]
Sermon for Cycle A – 22nd Sunday Homily: Discipleship & Spirituality
Sunday Homily for
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
The headlines of the past week’s newspapers here inLondonhave been about the fall of the former Libyan leader. I was wondering why the man with so much accumulated wealth and power could not have saved himself in good time so as to continue to enjoy at least part of his wealth and power. Unfortunately, perhaps his inflated instinct to save himself got the better of him. He might not enjoy anymore the possibilities that existed for him even a few months ago. “For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it” (Mt 16:25a).
On the other side of the globe, the headlines in the Indian subcontinent have been about a poor, unmarried man (Anna Hazare) who suddenly shot to fame because he went on a fast unto death campaign, joined by hundreds of thousands of supporters, pressing the government ofIndiato […]
Sermon for Cycle A – 23rd Sunday: Being a Prophet
The Prophetic Role of a Christian (Mt 18:15-20)
23rd Sunday – Year A
Faced with an enemy or an unjust aggressor, an animal has basically three options (3 F’s): Flight, Fight and Freeze. In danger, a rabbit always runs away (flight). When a snake perceives danger, its first option is to run away. When it realises that it cannot run away it attacks; it spits its venom (fight). The tortoise does not have horns or poison to attack, neither does it have speed to escape, its option is to freeze – to pull itself inward and pretend that it is dead.
Faced with an unpleasant situation we humans too have the above options. What do you do when we come across situations we don’t like in the street, or even in our parish community? Try to recall an occasion when you were at a meeting and you didn’t like the way the discussion […]
Sermon for Cycle A – 27th Sunday Homily: 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)
‘Redundancy’ is a word that you hear so often these days! More and more people are being made redundant, given the current economic environment. Since my return to theUK, this August, after being away for some months, I have heard at least three people explicitly speak to me about either they themselves or someone else in their family having been made redundant recently. They have lost their jobs.
We should not allow the profit-driven corporate institutions, or the civil services controlled by budget-cuts after years of excessive spending, to make a statement on our self-worth as individuals. Redundancy might have nothing to do with individuals’ talents and skills. Simply, the game of Monopoly that is being played by the corporate world should not make us feel that we are […]