If you want to be a follower of mine…
An online dictionary offers four possible meanings for the word ‘devotion’. I would reduce the four definitions to two:
(a) earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc.
(b) a form of prayer or worship for special use.
My reflection this morning is on the significance of these two points for our Christian life journey – being disciples of Jesus wholly ‘devoted’ to him, and living the Christian spirituality in our daily lives. In classical Christian literature, the word ‘devotion’ is often used in place of the more contemporary word ‘spirituality’. For instance, the classical work of St Francis de Sales is entitled, Introduction to the Devout Life. By ‘devout life’ he simply means spirituality and fulfilling the universal call to holiness. In short, my reflection is about spirituality – based on the Liturgy of the Word on this 22nd Sunday in ordinary time. What is spirituality?
Spirituality is letting ourselves be […]
Month: August 2023
Sermon for Cycle A – 21st Sunday Homily: Who is Jesus?
But you, who do you say I am? (Mt 16:13-20)
21 Sunday – Year A
In my mother tongue, Tamil, while speaking about great people, speakers and writers often refer to: “the Buddha, Jesus and Gandhi”. These three persons are mentioned as a matter of fact in the same breath. We Christians may feel proud that even non-Christians refer to Jesus as a great man. Looking at it at a deeper level, this expression may not reflect the authentic experience of Jesus.
Who then is Jesus for you? Is he merely a great man? The gospel text of today once again invites us to reflect on this question.
This event – of Jesus asking his disciples – “Who do people say the Son of man is?” and “But you, who do […]
Sermon for 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A Homily
Jesus insults a Canaanite Woman (Mt 15:21-28)
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, that are strange to us, that are different from our own. The Word of God today invites us to examine our attitude towards ‘strangers’ in the light of Jesus’ own mission to the nations. Do we still look at others in terms of in-group and out-group categories?
Jesus, being a man of his culture, also had to refine his own attitude towards the “out-group”. And this ability of Jesus to learn even from a woman of the “out-group”, and his openness to discern the will of His Father through this woman, would determine the future […]
Sermon for 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A Homily
When you are one with Jesus, you do what he does!
The gospel narrative of the 18th Sunday in Cycle A is about feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. The story in the gospel reading of today is what follows immediately after that feeding. To understand the meaning of the reading of today, we need to ask an intriguing question: in whose hands did the miracle of the loaves really take place? What do I mean? Did Jesus take the loaves and the fish, put a veil around them, and say the magic words, ‘Abracadabra’ (by the way, this is Aramaic – the mother-tongue of Jesus, the equivalent of the Indian version, ‘zee-boom-bah’), pull away the veil, and behold, an abundance of bread and fish!
No! That would be magic. And […]
IPPA Spirituality and Meaning Practitioner Award 2023 to Rev Dr Sahaya G. Selvam
International Association of Positive Psychology (IPPA) Spirituality and Meaning Practitioner Award 2023
Rev. Dr Sahaya G. Selvam’s Contributions to Spirituality, Meaning and Wellbeing in Africa
Religion, spirituality, meaning, and wellbeing define Rev. Dr Sahaya Selvam’s work/ministry as a Catholic priest and as a psychologist, originally from India, now serving in religious and academic contexts in East Africa, particularly among the youth.
To him, besides the categories of religion and spirituality, there is also a possibility for religious-spirituality (Selvam, 2013). Positive psychology provides a theoretical and methodological framework for his academic research and to develop and delivery interventions in the context of religious-spirituality. Character strengths (CS), including purpose and meaning, act as mediators in the relationship between a spirituality and wellbeing. In his PhD work, he explored CS as mediators in the relationship between […]