From a Communitarian faith to a Personal Experience of Jesus
Today, as we conclude the octave of Easter – eight day celebration of this great feast – the Gospel passage of today concludes the series of events that we heard read on the morning of Easter, eight days ago. John 20: 1-10 was the Gospel of the liturgy of the Easter morning. It narrated to us how Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, found it empty and came to tell the apostles. On hearing this Peter and the Beloved disciple ran to the tomb, they saw the empty tomb and the linen; and the Beloved Disciple believed in the resurrection. The following section of the gospel of John (20:11-18), the one about Jesus’ appearance to Mary Magdalene was read during liturgy on Tuesday. Today we heard read the remaining sections of […]
Jesus
Sermon for Trinity Sunday – Year A Homily
How real is your God?
When I was participating in a training in Spiritual Accompaniment (Spiritual Direction), during my supervision sessions, at the climax of the session my director was fond of asking the question: “What is your God like?” She would then challenge me to go even deeper as she would continue to ask: “What does God feel like for you? What does He smell like? What does He taste like? What does He look like? What does He sound like for you?”
Initially these questions seemed silly, and even difficult to answer. Eventually they opened up for me a whole new way of perceiving God. I do the same now with people who come to me for Spiritual Accompaniment, and I see them proceed from impossibility to enlightenment. These questions simply make […]
Yesu na Utume kwa Vijana
UTUME KWA VIJANA 2
Sahaya G. Selvam, SDB
Yesu : Mfano Bora wa Utume kwa Vijana
Vijana wenyewe si matatizo, bali wanaweza kuwa na matatizo. Ni wajibu wa wanakanisa kuwasindikiza vijana na kuwasaidia ili wenyewe watatue matatizo yao. Huu ndio utume kwa vijana. Aliyetoa mfano mzuri kwa utume huu kwa vijana ni Yesu mwenyewe. Katika makala hii tutafakari jinsi Yesu mwenyewe alivyowasaidia vijana wawili, waliokuwa wamekata tamaa, kujenga matumaini na wenyewe kuwa mitume kwa vijana (wafuasi) wengine.
Tunapata mfano huu katika tukio la “Safari ya Kwenda Emau” (Lk 24:13-35)
Siku hiyohiyo, wawili kati ya wafuasi wake Yesu wakawa wanakwenda katika kijiji kimoja kiitwacho Emau, umbali wa kilomita kumi na moja kutoka Yerusalemu. Wakawa wanazungumza juu ya hayo yote yaliyotukia. (Lk 24: 13-14, Tafsiri ya Ushirikiano wa Makanisa.)
Ningependa kufikiria kwamba hawa wafuasi wawili walikuwa vijana. Kadiri ya Sera ya Maendeleo ya Vijana katika nchi nyingi kama Tanzania, kijana ni mtu yeyote mwenye umri ya miaka […]