JULY 2025
JULY 2025
REJOICING IN THE LORD
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
Today’s Sacred Scripture readings invite us to open our hearts and minds to joyful acceptance that God cares about us and loves us. I think we must have faith like the man in the following story which helps us to leave our worries to him and He will carry them.
The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old piece of furniture had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pick-up truck refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. When we reached his home, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His weary face was beaming with smiles as he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss. Afterward, he walked me back to my car, and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier. “Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he replied, “I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing is for sure, troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and my children. So, I just hang them on the tree every night when I come home. Then, in the morning, I pick them up again.” He paused, “Funny thing is,” he smiled, “when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren’t nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.
In the First Reading, Prophet Isaiah being the prophet of good news, invites everyone to “rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her….” (Also please read Psalm 122). This message comes to the house of Israel while they are in Babylonian exile. They lived there for 70 years (Please read Psalm 136/137) that God is going to restore them back to Jerusalem.
St. Paul on the other hand, said in the Second Reading that he would “boast of anything except the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ” is a joyful acceptance of the Lord. I believe if we have faith and trust in the Lord, our pain and suffering will change into joy and happiness because “it is not we who have loved him, but it is he who has loved us first and has given his life our sake” as St. John says in his First Letter. God’s grace makes us stronger in our weaknesses and failures and shows us the right path to follow him.
In the Gospel today Jesus calls another seventy-two disciples along with twelve apostles and that he sends them to the villages and cities to announce the Kingdom of God. He comes to bring the love of God to the world, and he wishes to share it by means of communion and fraternity. To this end he immediately forms a community of disciples, a missionary community, and he trains them how to “go out” on mission. The method is both clear and simple: the disciples visit homes, and their preaching begins with a greeting which is charged with meaning: “Peace be to this house!”. It is not only a greeting, but also a gift: the gift of peace. In the mission of the seventy-two disciples, we see a reflection of the Christian community’s missionary experience in every age: the risen and living Lord sends not only the Twelve, but the entire Church; he sends each of the baptized to announce the Gospel to all peoples (please Read Acts 4:32-37). Through the ages, the message of peace brought by Jesus’ messengers has not always been accepted; at times, the doors have been closed to them. In our recent times we could see how people are trying to banish God from the hearts of men and women and to exclude Christ and the Church (please read 2 Peter 2:1-115). Today let us open our hearts and minds to a joyful acceptance of his love, mercy and compassion and pray for those who need God’s mercy, healing and strength the most. Jesus is saddened at being rejected, Pope Francis explained, while the pagan cities like Tyre and Sidon, seeing His miracles, “surely would have believed.” And He wept, “because these people were not capable of loving,” although “He desired to reach all the hearts He met, with a message that was not a dictatorial message, but a message of love. We, each of us, can put ourselves in the place of the inhabitants of these three cities, Pope Francis said: “I, who have received so much from the Lord, who was born in a Christian society, who have known Jesus Christ, who have known salvation,” I who was educated in the faith. Yet it is so easy for me to forget Jesus. On the other hand, “we think of the news of other people, who, as soon as they heard the proclamation of Jesus, converted and followed Him.” But we’ve grown used to it. And this attitude is harmful to us, because it reduces the Gospel to a social rather than a personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus speaks to me, He speaks to you, He speaks to each one of us in our hearts
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
Long ago, a young man went in search of a perfect master. He was determined to find him, and for that he was even ready to go around the world. However, when he began his journey, just outside his village, he saw an old man who was sitting under a tree. This young man went to him and said “you look like a wanderer…Are you? Old man replied, “Yes, I am a wanderer, I wandered all over the earth”. The young man thought to himself that old man looks like the right person to ask his question. So, he said, “Can I ask you a question?” The old man replied, “Sure”. The man, then said, “I want to be a disciple of a Perfect Master. Can you suggest to me where I can go? Where can I find him?” The old man suggested a few addresses to him. The young man thanked him and went on. The man wandered for thirty years around the earth, and he found no body who was up to his expectations. He was dejected and depressed. He decided to go back to his village. The moment he was entering his village, he saw the same old man who had become very old, sitting under the tree and suddenly he recognized him as his Master! He fell at his feet and said, “Why didn’t you say it to me, that you are the master?” Th old man said, “But that was not the time for you. You couldn’t recognize me at that time. You needed some experience. Wandering around earth has given you a certain maturity, a certain understanding. Now you can see. The last time we met, you did not see me. You missed. You were asking me about some Master. That was enough proof that you couldn’t see me, you couldn’t feel my presence, you couldn’t smell the fragrance. You were utterly blind, hence I gave you some addresses, so you could go but to be with the wrong people, that is how you learned. For thirty years I have been waiting for you to return, I have not left this place, this tree”.
The young man was not young anymore, he looked at the tree and he was even more surprised because at that time he remembered that in his dreams, in his visions he was always seeing that tree and there was always a feeling that he would find his Master sitting under this tree. He realized that thirty years before he didn’t see the tree, he met his Master but couldn’t recognize him. Everything was ready but he was not ready.
Are we ready to recognize Jesus our Perfect Master? Through the Holy Bible we learn how to live our faith-filled life and follow Jesus as St. Jerome says, “ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ”. In the First Reading we see how Moses is instructing Israelites to “obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that written in this book of the Law; turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul”. The Word of God helps us to examine ourselves and change ourselves according to the commandments of the Lord.
St. Paul in the Second Reading offers us a profound vision of the centrality of Jesus. He presents Christ to us as the first-born of all creation: in him, through him and for him all things were created. He is the centre of all things, he is the beginning: Jesus Christ, the Lord. God has given him the fullness, the totality, so that in him all things might be reconciled. He is the Lord of creation; he is the Lord of reconciliation. This image enables to see that Jesus is the centre of creation; and so, the attitude demanded of us as true believers is that of recognizing and accepting in our lives the centrality of Jesus Christ, in our thoughts, in our words and in our works.
In the Gospel today a young man who is a lawyer by profession is looking for an answer to live a better life by observing the commandments of the Lord. I believe his question should be ours “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer of Jesus to him, is an open invitation for us to examine ourselves if we are keeping his commandments in our hearts. There are two parts of the Gospel; first is the instruction and a reminder about keeping the commandments and secondly an example of living the commandment by the parable of Good Samaritan. The Gospel indicates that the Lord wants us to be Christian by action more than by words. St. Mother Teresa is the best example of today’s Gospel in our recent era.
As I said early, todays’ Gospel has twofold meanings to keep God’s commandments in our hearts and act to show the message in a practical way. This indicates a way of life, which has as its main point not ours, but others, with their difficulties, whom we encounter on our journey and who challenge us. Others challenge us. And when others do not challenge us, something is not right; something in the heart is not Christian. Holy Father Pope Francis reflects on the Gospel in this way “Jesus uses this parable in his dialogue with a lawyer when asked about the twofold commandment that allows us to enter eternal life: to love God with your whole heart and your neighbour as yourself. “Yes”, the lawyer replies, “But, tell me, who is my neighbour?”. We too can ask ourselves this question: Who is my neighbour? Who must I love as myself? My parents? My friends? My fellow countrymen? Those who belong to my religion?… Who is my neighbour?” Jesus responds with parable of Good Samaritan.
At this point, Jesus turns to the lawyer and asks him: “Which of these three, the priest, the Levite or the Samaritan do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell victim to the robbers?”. And the lawyer, of course, because he was intelligent said in reply: “The one who had compassion on him”. In this way, Jesus completely overturned the lawyer’s initial perspective as well as our own!
I must not categorize others to decide who my neighbour is and who is not. It is up to me whether to be a neighbour or not, the decision is mine, it is up to me whether to be a neighbour to those who I encounter who need help, even if they are strangers or perhaps hostile. And Jesus concludes, saying: “Go and do likewise”.
We can smell God only if we keep his commandments in our life. Do we keep them in our hearts? Let’s ask ourselves.
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
Welcoming Love
I love the Scripture reference from the Letter to Hebrews (13:1-6): “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it….”. The following story will help us to understand the real meaning of our love shown through hospitality.
There was a young clerk in a hotel who was on duty one not so pleasant night. All the rooms had been allocated when an older gentleman came in rather late and weather-beaten. He enquired cheerfully if there was a vacant room. The clerk mentioned it had been a busy night, and he thought that all the rooms were taken but he would double-check. After a thinking time, he said. “However, I believe there is a small room available, if you don’t mind the simplicity.” The guest was most welcome. Generous hospitality indeed as the room was the clerk’s own humble resting place. He was really surprised when he was invited by the guest, as he was leaving, to visit him in a large city when next he had some free time. “I am sure you will enjoy the visit.” he said. Later the offer was taken up to visit this kind gentleman. The clerk found the area and then the address which was another hotel. He met with the older gentleman who revealed to him that he was the owner of a chain of hotels and had been looking for a new manger for his new one. He then offered the position to the clerk. He said that he had known straight away when he met the clerk that stormy evening – he had found a person who understood the essence of generous hospitality.
In the First Reading we could see the humility and love of Abraham shown towards three men through hospitality and at the end he is given good news of a son. He shows hospitality to strangers, and we can raise a question; why is Abraham so eager to see these strangers? He is sitting under a tree and likely pondering how it would be possible for Sarah and him to have a child, as God has just promised (17:16). At the end of that chapter Abraham had fulfilled his part of the covenant by having his whole household, including himself, circumcised (17:26-27). Not only does Abraham leap to his feet and runs but the first words out of his mouth beseech the visitors to allow him to care for them: “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant”. Abraham has received a seemingly impossible promise, but his animated efforts on behalf of these strangers under adverse conditions suggest that he still trusts that God can and will do the impossible.
In the Gospel today we see the hospitality of Mary & Martha as they welcome Jesus into their home. Jesus not only accepts their hospitality but also uses this event to teach us what is more important for us. Jesus who, on the way to Jerusalem, enters a village and is welcomed into the home of two sisters: Martha and Mary. Both welcome the Lord, but they do so in different ways. Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens to his, whereas Martha is completely caught up in preparing things; at a certain point she says to Jesus: “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me”. Jesus responds to her: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her”.
Pope Francis reflecting on the Gospel said “In bustling about and busying herself, Martha risks forgetting — and this is the problem — the most important thing, which is the presence of the guest, Jesus in this case. She forgets about the presence of the guest. A guest is not merely to be served, fed, looked after in every way. Most importantly he ought to be listened to. Remember this word: Listen! A guest should be welcomed as a person, with a story, his heart rich with feelings and thoughts, so that he may truly feel like he is among family. If you welcome a guest into your home but continue doing other things, letting him just sit there, both of you in silence, it is as if he were of stone: a guest of stone. No. A guest is to be listened to. Of course, Jesus’ response to Martha, when he tells her that there is only one thing that needs to be done. He finds its full significance in reference to listening to the very word of Jesus, that word which illuminates and supports all that we are and what we do. If we go to pray, for example, before the Crucifix, and we talk, talk, talk, and then we leave, we do not listen to Jesus. We do not allow him to speak to our heart. Listen: this is the key word. Do not forget! And we must not forget that in the house of Martha and Mary, Jesus, before being Lord and Master, is a pilgrim and guest. Thus, his response has this significance first and foremost: “Martha, Martha why do you busy yourself doing so much for this guest even to the point of forgetting about his presence? A guest of stone! Not much is necessary to welcome him; indeed, only one thing is needed: listen to him, this is the word: listen to him, be brotherly to him, let him realize he is among family and not in a temporary shelter”.
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
Prayerful Hearts
St. Teresa of Calcutta once said, “Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of Containing God’s gift of himself.” And I do believe in it because prayer changes our lives and brings us closer to the Lord “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God”, St. Paul says in the Letter to the Romans (8:26-27). If we see the Sacred Scriptures and the life of the saints, we could see the importance of prayer. Even in the life of Jesus though he was Son of God but still he loved to pray. St. Ignatius of Antioch encourages us to be united in love and prayer because Jesus Christ dwells within us. “Let us not be insensible of Christ’s loving kindness. For if he had acted as we do, we would have been lost indeed. Therefore, let us become his disciples and learn to live in the Christian way”.
I firmly believe that whenever we pray either individually or collectively, we not only pray for ourselves but also for our brothers and sisters, and for all those who need our prayers. We become guards for them in their temptations and suffering. The following story is by an unknown author who highlights the importance of prayer, it may change the way that we think about prayer and the way we pray. In prayer we converse with the Lord as he is sitting in front of us.
A man’s daughter had asked the local pastor to come and pray with her father. When the pastor arrived, he found the man lying in bed propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.
“I guess you were expecting me,” he said.
“No, who are you?”
“I’m the new associate at your local church,” the pastor replied.
“When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up.”
“Oh yeah, the chair,” said the bedridden man. “Would you mind closing the door?”
Puzzled, the pastor shut the door.
“I’ve never told anyone this, not even my daughter,” said the man.
“But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head.”
“I abandoned any attempt at prayer,” the old man continued, “until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, ‘Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here’s what I suggest. Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It’s not spooky because he promised, ‘I’ll be with you always.’ Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you’re doing with me right now.”
“So, I tried it, and I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I’m careful, though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.”
The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue the journey. Then he prayed with him and returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor that her dad had died that afternoon.
“Did he seem to die in peace?” he asked.
“Yes, when I left the house around two o’clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange, in fact, beyond strange, kind of weird. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed.”
Today’s First Reading is the intercessory prayer of Abraham for Sodom and Gomorrah. He pleads to God for protection of the cities even if there are five people and God did agree but unfortunately is there found none and later those cities were burned to dust and became symbols of evil. Why did Abraham plead for the cities?
In the Second Reading St. Paul speaks about our relationship with Lord by reminding us not to forget about Baptism as we are buried with him in baptism and will also be raised with him in his resurrection. And the life of prayer does help us to keep our relationship strong with him.
In the Gospel today we see the desire and urge of apostles to learn “how to pray?” and Jesus gives them the prayer of the prayers to make them understand that God is our Father, and he cares about us. He teaches them to begin their prayer with Our Father. This word is the “secret” of Jesus’ prayer, it is the key that he himself gives to us so that we too might enter that relationship of confidential dialogue with the Father who accompanied and sustained his whole life. St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney says “Never forget that it is at the beginning of each day that God has the necessary grace for the day ready for us. He knows exactly what opportunities we shall have to sin and will give us everything we need if we ask him then. That is why the devil does all he can to prevent us from saying our morning prayers or to make us say them badly. Prayer is nothing else than union with God. When the heart is pure and united with God it is consoled and filled with sweetness; it is dazzled by a marvelous light”.
Holy Father Pope Francis says, “With the name “Father” Jesus combines two requests: “hallowed be Thy name, thy kingdom come”. Jesus’ prayer, and the Christian prayer therefore, first and foremost, makes room for God, allowing him to show his holiness in us and to advance his kingdom, beginning with the possibility of exercising his Lordship of love in our lives”. He also says, “Among these, there is one, the great important thing we must ask is “Give me the Holy Spirit”. What a beautiful prayer it would be if, this week, each of us were to ask the Father: “Father, give me the Holy Spirit!” who cries for us and makes us understand “Abba, the Father” as St. Paul says. St. Padre Pio compares prayer with the perfume “The prayers of the Saints in heaven and of the just on earth are a perfume which never will be lost.”
Other Sermons In This Series
4th Sunday of Easter Year A ~ April 30, 2023
April 28, 2023
5th Sunday of Easter Year C – May 15, 2022
May 13, 2022
Solemnity of Christ the King (34th Sunday) Year C ~ November 20, 2022
November 18, 2022