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What made Jesus’ disciples desert Him this time?
Like Joshua who challenged the Israelites (First Reading), so did Jesus to His disciples (Gospel Reading). But whereas all the Israelites chose to follow the Lord, Jesus’ disciples were divided----some grumbled (vv 60, 61), some left (v 66) and only a small band of His intimates remained (vv 68, 69). For the Israelites, their decision was logical (Joshua 24:16-17). We would like to think that after what Jesus had shown His disciples (feeding the multitudes and walking on water Jn 6:1-21), they all should have made the same choice as the Israelites, but sadly, the decision was otherwise.
Publish date: 2015 - 8 - 23
How often are we like the crowd……….
How often like the crowd, we approach Faith with inappropriate questions. Jesus ignored the crowd’s query about His means of transportation and bluntly pointed out the core of their problem----they were seeking Him for the wrong reason. Are we the same too? Are we looking for Jesus because we believe in Him or simply to get what we want from Him?
Publish date: 2015 - 8 - 2
Are you a rejected prophet or rejecting a prophet?
When people think they know you, they think they know what to expect from you.
Publish date: 2015 - 7 - 5
Who then was He really? Even nature obeyed Him!!
If Jesus can calm the storm with one word, He surely can calm the “storms” of our lives. His only request is that we have faith in Him.
Publish date: 2015 - 6 - 21
The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life
Christian life is not a natural life from its first birth, but a supernatural life from a spiritual birth made possible when a person is baptized in the name of the Trinity---the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Publish date: 2015 - 5 - 31
It is with this love which is shown through the love of our neighbors that we abide in Jesus and bear fruits.
Jesus was very straightforward in affirming that He is the true vine without which we can do nothing and therefore we have to remain/abide in Him. The importance of the word “remain/abide” in John’s Gospel can be understood from its exceptionally frequent use (forty times as compared to only twelve times in the Synoptics) and […]
Publish date: 2015 - 5 - 3
What prompted the crowd so readily to believe Peter?
One thing that always bewilders me is the total contrasting attitude of the people who, some fifty days ago participated in the death of Jesus, were now so readily to believe Peter (Acts 2:14-42; 3:13-26). Consider for a moment what Peter said. Not only did he boldly reprimand them, he professed something that was extremely incredible if not insane---the resurrection of a criminal and that he is the “Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36). What prompted the crowd so readily to believe?
Publish date: 2015 - 4 - 19
Dear friends, in which of the crowds do we see ourselves?
As this Sunday marks the beginning of the Holy Week,let us reflect on the different crowds that our Lord met during these last days of His earthly life. Following today’s readings, let us start from His triumphal entrance into Jerusalem.
Publish date: 2015 - 3 - 29
“mountain is a place of ascent – not only outward but also inward ascent”
Today’s readings narrate two pivotal events. First is the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of his only son and second, the episode of the Transfiguration of Jesus. The former had made Abraham the Father of Faith (rf Romans 4:16) and brought blessing, not only to the Jewish people, but also for all the nations of the earth.
Publish date: 2015 - 3 - 1
Why? Why suffering? Why me?
When I was told that there is no theoretical answer to human sufferings and miseries, honestly I was not only disappointed but I started to doubt and query my faith in God. When I read about Pope St. John Paul II’s apostolic letter Salvifici Doloris which addresses this question of suffering from a Christian understanding, […]
Publish date: 2015 - 2 - 6
“O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord, do not harden your hearts!”
Perhaps it would not be too wrong to say that one of the things that undergoes depletion over the ages is the submission to “authority”. Challenge to the origin of established authority always creates tension among people in different classes.
Publish date: 2015 - 2 - 1
My thoughts are not your thoughts nor are your ways my ways
This Sunday concludes the Christmas season and marks the beginning of Ordinary Time in our liturgical year. But at the same time, it also celebrates another epiphany (apart from Christmas itself and the Visitation of the Magi). It is the epiphany of the Holy Trinity---God the Father (voice), God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit (like a dove) and the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.
Publish date: 2015 - 1 - 8
Our willingness to cooperate with God will surely bring about things that are beyond our abilities and imaginations.
With this last Sunday of Advent, Christmas is knocking at the door. Many of us may well be ready for the celebration that is to come. But two thousand years ago, an unknown Jewish girl who brought forth the first Christmas, had her life-changing adventure began in today’s Annunciation story of Luke’s gospel. Let us revisit this extraordinary event.
Publish date: 2014 - 12 - 21
Sunday Reflection – First Sunday of Advent (Year B)
It is all too often that we are more reminded of the coming of Christmas by commercial decorations and shopping sprees than by the start of the Church’s new liturgical year. No wonder then the season of Advent always begins with the message of wakefulness.
Publish date: 2014 - 11 - 29
What is God’s temple?
Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome What is God’s temple?May Tam Whereas Ezekiel, in the First Reading, gives us his vision of the temple with its physicality and beneficence, St. Paul, in the Second Reading, relates to us the temple in its spiritual sense. However, it is in the Gospel Reading […]
Publish date: 2014 - 11 - 9
“Whose image is this”…….whose image are we?
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time “Whose image is this”…….whose image are we? May Tam Like the Pharisees who could identify instantly the image of Caesar on the coin, it is easy for us too, in our daily lives, to associate images with people or things. But do we ever think of ourselves being images too? […]
Publish date: 2014 - 10 - 19
Was Jesus sent only for the lost sheep of Israel?
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Whenever I read this passage in the gospel of Matthew, I always wonder if Jesus knew already the answer of the woman. Theologically He should, for He is true God and true Man. Therefore His refusal to attend the woman’s plea at the beginning is not a lack of sympathy […]
Publish date: 2014 - 8 - 17
Why Kingdom of God brings about difference of value?
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Last Sunday Jesus began His parables on the Kingdom of Heaven by using common and insignificant things (mustard seed and yeast) to contrast its small beginning with its great ending. Today He depicts the Kingdom of Heaven as a treasure and a pearl. I would like to reflect on what […]
Publish date: 2014 - 7 - 27
God is love
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time If one has to find a word that sums up the underlying message and the spirit of the Gospel, it would easily be agreed that the word is—Love, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). If we look deeply enough, it could be just as easy to find another word which […]
Publish date: 2014 - 7 - 6
How do Jesus use shepherd as an example?
Fourth Sunday of Easter During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He alluded Himself to many figures by using different parables. In this Sunday’s Gospel, He was the shepherd and the gate. Today instead of reflecting on these images of Jesus, let us take a look at the sheep themselves. Surely Jesus is the gate, the entrance to […]
Publish date: 2014 - 5 - 11
Reflection for the Second Sunday of Easter
Second Sunday of Easter If Judas was known by his betrayal of Jesus and Peter by his denial, then Thomas was in no lesser way to be known by his doubtfulness. To the majority of us, if we do not identify ourselves with Judas or Peter, we certainly have times finding ourselves to be like […]
Publish date: 2014 - 4 - 27
