Jesus’ Identity

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Lord Jesus, help me prove my identity as your disciple through the way I handle suffering Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is appropriate that we begin this long stretch of Ordinary Time with what is perhaps the central question of Christianity: “Who do you say that I am?” (Lk. 9:18-24). This of course is the question that Jesus poses to his disciples toward the end of his Galilean ministry and just prior to his embarking upon his journey to Jerusalem.

This question posed by Jesus is perhaps best understood within the cultural context of the first century Mediterranean world. The question of identity to ancient Mediterraneans is not the question of identity to contemporary Catholic Christians. We think of personal identity in terms of individuality; ancients think of personal identity in terms of collectivism. Whereas we Catholics have our own personal, individual identity of self, ancients have a much more powerful sense of collective or group identity. What one’s kinship group says about one’s identity is far more important to ancients than most of those in the contemporary Western world realize.

We see this concept of group identity in the second reading (Gal. 3:26-29) when Paul tells the Galatians not to see oneself as a Jew or a Greek, as a slave or a free person, not even as a male or a female; but rather realize that “you all are one in Christ Jesus”.

Ancients would have seen Jesus’ questions to his disciples, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” and “Who do you all say that I am?” as logical questions for group-oriented people. For Jesus to understand himself, he would need to know what others think of him. Notice that both the crowds (in identifying Jesus as a prophet) and the disciples (in identifying Jesus as the Christ of God) have come to only a partial sense of Jesus’ true identity. The crowds and the disciples have yet to understand Jesus’ identity in light of his suffering, death and resurrection. While it is true that Jesus is a prophet, he is far more than that. And while it is true that Jesus is Christ of God it cannot be separated or isolated from his passion and resurrection. This is an aspect of Jesus’ identity that the disciples themselves found very difficult to grasp: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Lk. 9:23).

BECOME MY FOLLOWER… “If anyone wants to become my follower, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

“I Am Sorry”

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Lord Jesus, help me acknowledge my guilt, atone for it and enjoy communion.   Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The three little words “I am sorry“ have an almost incredible potential for transformation. But they often go unsaid, because they seldom roll easily off the human tongue. As a result wounds fester, grudges grow , revenge is plotted, alienation grows. “I am sorry” is a difficult language to master, and fluency comes only to the humble. “I am sorry” chokes in the throat of those who dare to say it because these words say, I am a work in progress, I am in need.

However difficult these words may be to speak and to mean them truthfully, “I am sorry” has the capacity to open up a virtual floodgate of goodness and blessing, because, acknowledgement brings atonement and atonement ends alienation and a new renewed bond can begin to grow again.

The process of moving from acknowledgment to atonement to communion is found in each of today’s readings. The author of 2 Samuel allows us to listen as Nathan, David’s court prophet, functions as a sort of external conscience, laying out before the king the details of his wrongdoing (2 Sam 12:7-10, 13). There is no measure of tack in the prophet’s words. Bluntly, clearly he declares the blessings from God that David enjoyed and, just as bluntly and clearly, Nathan condemned the way the king had conducted himself. To his credit, David is open to the truth about his sinfulness and he repents.

In today’s gospel (Lk 7:36-8:3), two sinners encounter Jesus’ forgiveness. One sinner is open in acknowledging her need and her guilt. Her tears express her sorrow and, as she ministers intimately to Jesus, anointing and kissing the feet, washing and drying them with her hair, her actions reveal her confidence that she has been forgiven.

In contrast to the sorrowful woman is Simon the host; he invited Jesus to his home but not into his heart. His lack of hospitality attests to his unwillingness to admit his need or his guilt. “I am sorry” remains unspoken, and it would seem that Simon has chosen to remain in his sin. If Paul had had the opportunity to speak to Simon and to reason with him as he did with the Christians in Galatia (2nd reading, Gal 2:16, 19-21) he might have told his fellow Pharisee that he could no longer rely on the law of salvation, no matter how scrupulously he observed it. Rather, Paul would say to Simon as he says to us, salvation i.e. justification, is God’s gift to sinners. That gift flows when faith moves the human heart to speak those three little words, “I am sorry”.

Return to Jesus With Repentant Hearts Jesus is always ready to grant forgiveness and pardon to those who sincerely repent. Are you able to help others to believe and return to Jesus with repentant hearts? If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

Food For Sinners

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Lord Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner; come to my heart and reign in me. Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Do this in remembrance of me”. With these words (2nd reading, 1Cor. 11:23-26) and the gift of himself – body and blood in the form of bread and wine – Jesus left another means (besides the Paraclete) by which he would remain always present to his own. He gave himself as real food and real drink, and just as food is a biological necessity for life, so the body and blood of Jesus have become forever necessary for our participation in the life of God and life of the believing community.

In his teachings, Jesus often imaged the kingdom or reign of God in terms of meals. Recall the parables of the wedding feast (Mt 22:1-14; Lk.14:15-24), the ten virgins (Mt. 25:1-13), the faithful servants (Lk. 12:35-48), the locked door (Lk. 13:22-30), the lost son (Lk. 15:11-32) the rich man and Lazarus (Lk. 16:19-31) and the servant (Lk. 17:7-10). All these anticipated the special meals and the gift of himself as Eucharist that we remember and celebrate today. After breaking bread that night with his friends and after being broken in death risen Jesus appeared to his followers amid an ambience of meal sharing. Recall the longer ending of Mark (16:14-18), wherein Jesus is featured as appearing to the eleven while they are eating. Recall, as well, the Emmaus sharing (Lk. 24:13-35), the meal of baked fish in Jerusalem (Lk. 24:36-49) and the grilled breakfast by the sea of Tiberias (Jn. 21:1-13).

Six times within the course of the four Gospels, the evangelists tell us of the open-air meal Jesus provided for the multitudes. Today’s Gospel offers the praying assembly the Lucan version of this meal and renews the challenge of Jesus to his first disciples, “Why do you not give them something to eat yourselves?” As this question is asked again in our hearing, it reminds all who are fed by Jesus’ most-holy body and blood that the satisfaction of our spiritual and physical hungers by Jesus prepares us and makes us responsible for seeking out, serving and satisfying the hungers of others… as he did. In order to do this we must be willing to return again and again to this holy place where food for sinners is freely given. This holy food, this Eucharist, is not a food we merit. We do not have to become worthy before we share it. Rather, this is a food that makes us worthy, a food that tells us with every taste that God is good, that Jesus loves us beyond all telling and even more importantly, that Jesus remains forever present in our eating and sharing.

Happy are those called to His supper Jesus has given us His Body to eat and His Blood to drink so as to nourish us on our journey towards the Kingdom. May we be faithful to him on our journey as a married, single, ordained or consecrated person. If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

Trinitarian Experience

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Holy Trinity, One God, help us trust in the Father, make us love like the Son and inspire us to listen to the Spirit.  Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the month of June, as spring moves into summer, a new season of the liturgical year is also beginning. Called Ordinary Time, this season is introduced on its first two Sundays by two feasts of dogma, that of the Trinity and that of the Eucharist. But, what is dogma and what does it have to do with the ever-changing seasons of our world and our lives? As defined by the church, dogma is a doctrine promulgated with the highest authority and solemnity. Today, the praying assembly celebrates the dogma of the Trinity, and in our celebrating, all present are invited to pass through dogma’s gateway so as to be fully and freely immersed in the mystery of Trinity.

Through the centuries, many have attempted to explain the dogmas and enunciate the mystery of Trinity in a variety of ways. Some have offered symbols intended to elucidate the three-in-oneness of God. An equilateral triangle, three interwoven circles, a trefoil, three fish formed into a circle, a shamrock – all have been held forth, at one time or another, as illustrations of Trinity.

Only at the end of the fourth century did the early theologians formulate what would thereafter stand as the Trinitarian dogma: “Father, Son and Holy Spirit are consubstantial, one Godhead, one power, one substance, of equal dignity and majesty, but in three perfect hypostases or persons”. In subsequent centuries, church Fathers, Doctors and mystics have attempted to explain the mystery and guide the faithful to a greater understanding of Trinity.

But understanding does not necessarily lead to contemplation, and contemplation, as author Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964) suggested, is the only worthy response to the mystery we celebrate today. It could be said that explanations are perhaps of less importance than experience. Our knowledge of God as Trinity is made possible by God, who has chosen to be revealed as Mother, Father, Son and Brother, and as living, loving Spirit. As parent, God has brought forth the created universe and even our very selves. As Son and Brother, Jesus has made known a God who hears our cries, who cares, who counts the hairs on our head and who loves so passionately as to become one of us, to suffer, for our sins, to die that we may live. As Spirit, God remains with and within us. These are the experiences of Trinity; these experiences become known in prayer, they are solidified and palpable through contemplation.

The Most Holy Trinity Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Listen to what Jesus says: “When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” What is the 'truth' of your life? How can you best serve God? If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park Phone 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

 

POPE’S  PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR JUNE

Respect for Human Life

General: That every national and transnational institution may strive to guarantee respect for human life from conception to natural death.

The Churches in Asia

Missionary: That the Churches in Asia, which constitute a “little flock” among non-Christian populations, may know how to communicate the Gospel and give joyful witness to their adherence to Christ.

Wind and Fire

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Risen Lord, fill us with your spirit to promote unity, understanding and peace amidst people. Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Anyone who has had the experience of the hurricane knows the fright and awe it can inspire, as well as the strength it can wield. The phenomenon of fire is the same way. Each year, uncontrolled blazes sweep across acres of many countries, leaving behind scars of ash and ruin as reminders of their devastating power. Either of these natural phenomena can strike dread into the human heart-so it may seem surprising and even a little strange that these two forces, wind and fire, are the symbols of the Spirit, the symbols of the feast of Pentecost.

As the praying assembly will hear in today’s first reading from Acts (2:1-11) those first believers in Jesus had gathered in one place (probably the Upper Room) to wait and pray. While the “wind” came gently to the disciples through the breath of Jesus at Easter, it came forcefully upon the community at Pentecost (Acts). Could it be the same wind that swept across the dark waters on the very first of all mornings (Genesis 1)? Then, as now, the wind was blowing with life; a new creation was coming forth. Then. It was the creation of an ordered universe and the creation of humankind by God’s own breath (Genesis 2:7). Now at Easter and at Pentecost (Acts) it is the creation of a community ready to go public with the good news of salvation and God’s gift of forgiveness for a waiting, needy world.

Tongues of fire were also sent to ignite the church’s mission of proclamation. All present, regardless of their varying backgrounds and different languages – every one understood. Wind and fire signalled that the role of the church was to gather together all things in heaven and on earth into a unity of mutual respect and understanding in Christ. This unity, explains David Knight, is not a uniformity that negates or destroys the richness of diversity. It is a unity of Spirit that brought into being a diverse and pluralistic first-century church.

According to the measure that the wind and fire of the Spirit remain active in the 21st century church, we will continue to promote unity, understanding and peace between different races and genders, between different ethnic groups, between people divided by different beliefs and ideologies. The wind and fire of Pentecost, suggested Henri Nouwen in his book “Jesus, A Gospel”, lift the whole mystery of salvation out of its particularities and form it into something inclusive of all peoples, all countries, all seasons, all eras.

 

Come Holy Spirit… "Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love." Send forth workers into your vineyard. May some of our parishioners choose to serve you by becoming priests, brothers and sisters If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

Ordination of  Rev. Luis Manuel Calleja Jr. at St. Michael’s Cathedral, May 15, 2010.

Jesus’ Continuing Mission

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Risen Lord, fill us with your spirit to continue your mission and to bring the good news to every heart. Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Two versions of Jesus’ ascension are set before the praying assembly today, in the text from Acts (1:1-11) and in the Gospel (Lk. 24:46-53). Both include the essential kerygma; both include the promise of the Spirit as the powerful and ever-present enabler of Jesus’ continuing mission through the church. Both include the statement that Jesus was taken up from earth to heaven and both include the charge of the risen Jesus that his own should be witnesses of who he was and what he did before the world. However, they serve two different functions. The Gospel version of Jesus’ return to glory functions as a doxology that concludes the Lucan telling of the Good News, and the Acts account serves to introduce the mission of the church.

Notice also, that while the Gospel recounts the ascension of Jesus on Easter Sunday evening, Luke, in Acts, has chosen to separate the ascension from the resurrection by a period of 40 days. This enables Luke to establish his own historical-theological framework, with its post-Easter instruction of the apostles stretched over a 40-day period.

What did the disciples learn from the risen Jesus during their special time with him? Did the reality of his resurrection take hold of them? Did they begin to perceive him as truly alive? Did they come to realize that the Jesus who died on the cross was the same Jesus who rose and appeared among them? Were they becoming cognizant of their place in God’s plan of salvation and the responsibilities they would assume after Jesus’ returning to glory?

After the disciples had spent so much time with the risen Jesus, their question to him about the restoration of the rule of Israel (Acts 1:6) may seem imperceptive. It may be, however, that Luke included the question to renew in his readers the hope for the kingdom. Without quashing their hopes, the risen Jesus reminded his own that the exact time was not theirs to know. Rather, their job was to witness to his truth, work that could be empowered and directed by the Spirit. Luke ably recounted that work in Acts so as to inspire future generations to continue to do as their ancestors had done – to bring the good news to every heart!

YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES The Lord said, “…you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Pray for an increase of vocations to the ordained and consecrated life. If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

 

"Priesthood is the Love of the Heart of Jesus" On Saturday, May 15, His Grace, Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto presided at the ceremony celebrating the ordination of five new priests for service to the community of the Archdiocese of Toronto. Please keep them in your prayers. They are: 1 - Rev. Luis Manuel Calleja Jr. (Rev. Luis was baptised in St. Edith Stein Parish and will concelebrate mass with us next Sunday). 2 - Rev. Kim D'Souza 3 - Rev. Silvio Eljuga 4 - Rev. Landorff José García Mariona 5 - Rev. Bartlomiej Palczewski Photos and bios

Continuing Action of the Spirit

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Blow in us, O Spirit of God, as we prepare to celebrate your continued presence with us and within us.  Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today’s readings remind us of the gift of the abiding Spirit. The action of the Spirit transformed our ancestors in the faith, strengthening them for the work of evangelization and encouraging them in times of doubt, difficulty, conflict or persecution. It plotted their path for the growth of the Christian community. But some of us are perhaps less aware of the continuing action of the Spirit in the Church today. Is it because the Spirit continually challenges believers to practice discernment? Is it because we think we will be caught off-guard by what the Spirit might say?

The scripture selections will enable us to see how the early church dealt with similar issues and to appreciate some of the principles of discernment that they developed under the aegis of the Spirit. Jesus in today’s Gospel (Jn 14:23-29) establishes the Spirit as God’s gift sent in Jesus’ name to remind the church of all that Jesus said and taught. An attitude of welcome is necessary on the part of all believers to benefit from this gift. This welcome should express itself in the form of constant collective and private prayer besides having a willingness to be surprised.

A second principle is suggested in today’s 1st reading from Acts (15:1-2, 22-29). Don’t backpedal, don’t attempt to restrict the action of the Spirit. After the Cornelius event (Acts. 10-11) and the Spirit-driven, landmark decision to accept gentiles, some wanted to impose Mosaic practice on gentiles as a requisite for salvation. After considerable dissension and controversy, the church agreed to gather, tapped into the power of the ever-present Spirit and decided not to burden the gentile converts “beyond that which is strictly necessary”.

In this post Vatican II era, we must allow the Spirit, so much in evidence at that Council, to continue to move us to realize its insights, decisions, reforms and renewals. Rather than backpedal or ignore or even deny the movement of the Spirit, let us be as bold as a Paul, a Peter, a Barnabas or a John XXIII.

To encourage our continued openness to the Spirit author Murray Bodo, a Franciscan priest, shares the following: “…from time to time, there is an unexpected, sudden revelation or shining forth of God,… call it insight, epiphany, the presence of the Spirit... because of that moment, all the rest of my days are changed permanently.”

WE WILL COME TO HIM… Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him. How will I respond to that love? Am I being called to the priesthood or religious life? If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 or send an email to vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

 

"Priesthood is the Love of the Heart of Jesus" On Saturday, May 15, the Archdiocese of Toronto will celebrate the ordination of five new priests for service to the community. His Grace, Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, will preside at the ceremony, which will take place at St. Michael’s Cathedral. Please keep them in your prayers. They are: - 1 - Rev Mr. Luis Manuel Calleja Jr., 31, was born and raised in Toronto (baptised in St. Edith Stein Parish and will celebrate mass with us on May 23). - 2 - Rev Mr. Kim D'Souza, 27, was born into an Indian family living in Nigeria. - 3 - Rev Mr. Silvio Eljuga, 41, was born in Zagreb, Croatia. - 4 - Rev Mr. Landorff José García Mariona, 34, was born in San Salvador City, El Salvador. - 5 - Rev Mr. Bartlomiej Palczewski, 32, was born and raised in Poland. Visit the Archdiocese of Toronto website for photos and their brief biographies.

Living Gospels

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Risen Lord,  help us bring the good news to life and allow it to speak God’s love to all the unloved as well as the unlovable. Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This Sunday, as we continue our look back at our beginnings, we are reminded that the quality and character by which we are to be known and identified as Jesus’ own is the love that we have for one another. Love compelled Paul and Barnabas (Acts 14:21-27, first reading) to persevere in carrying the message of salvation to as many places and people as possible. Love is the atmosphere that pervades the Seer’s vision (Rev. 21:1-5, second reading) of the new Jerusalem wherein the presence of God, who is Love, obviates all suffering, sorrow and pain. In today’s gospel (Jn 13:31-33, 34-35), Jesus makes it clear that truly authentic Christian love must be more than mere words; love must become a way of life.

In order to affirm the absolute necessity of genuine love for living an authentically Christian life, Anglican Canon William Barcus, in an address delivered to a Nashville, TN, audience (1988), cited a 1944 photo essay published in Life magazine. The subject of the essay was the red foxes of Holmes County, Ohio. One Saturday about 600 men and women and their children got together and formed a big circle, five miles across. They all carried sticks and started walking into the woods and fields, yelling and baying to frighten the foxes out of their lairs. Inside this diminishing circle, the foxes ran to and fro, tired and frightened. A number of them were killed on the spot. Finally as the circle grew smaller and smaller, down to a few yards, the remaining foxes went to the centre and lay down, for they didn’t know what else to do. But the men and women knew what to do. They hit these dying wounded with their clubs until they were dead.

While his listeners dried their eyes, wet with sympathy, Barcus continued “I stand before you today, as one weary of running, as one wounded myself” (Barcus was suffering from AIDS and all the surrounding stigma).
“My people are being destroyed, and your people and all our people together… not only by an illness called AIDS but by a darker illness called hatred… The Christ, Jesus, the compassionate Lord of Life and Lord of more forgiveness and Lord of more hope is the one we have vowed to follow and be ultimately guided by. Sadly, too many of these sick have wondered if they had any alternative but to go to the centre of the circle and lie down and die. Where are you in the circle? Where are we? Where would Christ be?”

A NEW COMMANDMENT… The new commandment of love is required of every one who follows the risen Lord. How do you fulfill the commandment? If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

 

 

CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK

May 2-7, 2010 “Rejoicing in Hope”

Our parish Catholic schools invite parishioners to join them in celebrating Catholic Education Week 2010 this week. During this week, the Catholic community celebrates the distinctive contribution that Catholic schools make to our students, our community, our society and to the province at large. Catholic education continues to integrate Gospel values into every aspect of the school’s life and curriculum.

Thanks to all those who provide leadership in our Catholic schools. We pray for all educators and students, giving thanks to God for all those who faithfully spread the Good News.

Tracking the Movement of the Spirit

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Risen Lord, help us find a lasting home with you and all those who have gone before us, tracking the path of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

One of the advantages of tracking hurricanes is the possibility of preparedness; knowledge of the storm’s path and power allows those in close proximity to travel a predetermined escape route to safety. A very different type of “tracking” is set before the praying assembly today. We, the 21st century disciples of Jesus, are invited to track how the great and powerful breath of the Spirit moved the church’s mission slowly but surely beyond Judah to the rest of the then known world. The inevitable spread of the Gospel and the amazing growth of the church in apostolic times prove tiny beginnings can result in astonishing ends.

In the 1st reading (Acts 13:14, 43-52) we see Paul Barnabas and others working diligently to bring the good news to all of Jesus’ sheep (Gospel, John 10:27-30). We shall follow their movements when they are met with welcome as well as when their best efforts are rejected. We shall marvel as the universal embrace of the Gospel reaches out to gentiles as well as Jews. We shall learn what it means to persevere despite persecution and we will be challenged to ask ourselves, if we see any reflection of those first evangelizers in our own efforts for the sake of the Gospel.

Do we rejoice as they did at the very thought of proclaiming the good news and witnessing to its truth, justice and love? Can we set aside, as they did, our preconceptions, our racial biases, our penchant for judging the worthiness or not of others? Can we persist in embracing Gospel values and in living lives that will necessarily contribute to our lack of popularity within the current culture.

As we reconnect at this time each year with those who have gone before us in the faith and as we track their efforts and measure ourselves against the standards they set, we are also to be encouraged, as they were, by the visions of John the Seer (Revelation, 2nd reading for Easter 4,5,6). To those first evangelizers and to us, John’s visions hold out the hope that when, at last, our lives have been spent in service of the Gospel, we shall find a lasting home with God and Jesus and all those who have gone before us, tracking the path plotted by the Spirit, wherever, whenever and however it may lead.

AM I BEING CALLED? How am I being called to feed the lambs of Jesus? Could it be as an ordained or consecrated person? If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

 

FEED MY SHEEP… In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells Peter again and again, “If you love Me, feed my sheep.” He says the same to each of us, “If you love Me, use the gifts I have given you to serve your brothers and sisters.”

Feeding and Tending

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Risen Lord,  help us make our love for you real by feeding and tending others. Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep. With this triple imperative, the risen Jesus opened the way for Peter to come out of his despair and experience redemption. He who had vehemently denied his discipleship (Jn. 18:17, 25-27), as well as any association with Jesus, was given the opportunity to renew his love for Jesus. Jesus’ words to Peter not only helped to assuage his guilt, but they also set the agenda for the rest of his life - and ours. “Feed my lambs” would become the agenda of the post resurrection church.

Feeding Jesus’ sheep would challenge Peter to abandon his ancestors’ centuries–old practice of remaining separate from non-Jews and to accept all people as belonging to the one flock of Christ. That would challenge Peter, as is illustrated in today’s Gospel (Jn. 21:1-19), to welcome all into one boat (bark of Peter) and the one net of salvation. Feeding and pasturing Jesus’ sheep also meant that Peter and others would work so that John’s vision of the Lord, as shared in today’s second reading (Rev. 5:11-14) would eventually be realized and that the voices of every creature would unite to render praise and honour and glory to Jesus and to God forever.

Feeding Jesus’ sheep would soon find Peter exercising a healing ministry in the same manner of Jesus. For healing, teaching, and preaching in Jesus’ name, i.e., for feeding the hungers of Jesus’ sheep, Peter and the other disciples would incur the wrath and the hostility of the authorities, first of Jerusalem and then of Rome. Their bravery and boldness in the face of such personal danger is evidenced in today’s first reading (Acts 5:27-32).

While contemporary believers can readily appreciate the challenge of Peter’s agenda, what are the ramifications of that agenda for us today? For the answer to that question, Henri Nouwen says, first we have to ask ourselves Jesus’ question: “Do you love me?” Perhaps another way of asking that question would be, “How do you love my least ones?” Jesus equated loving him with feeding and tending his sheep. Therefore let us, as church, be renewed in our resolve to make our love for Jesus real by feeding and tending others.

AM I BEING CALLED? How am I being called to feed the lambs of Jesus? Could it be as an ordained or consecrated person? If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

Easter Experience

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Risen Lord,  transform us radically from within and make us ministers of your forgiveness. Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Easter, the central feast of the year, is unique in many respects. It is the only feast that lasts for 50 days in the church calendar. St. Athansius called the seven weeks from Easter to Pentecost “the great Sunday”. The first inclination of the church’s instinct to extend this feast comes in the way we celebrate the Octave of Easter, the first 8 days of the 50. The celebration of Mass on each of those days takes place almost as if we were still on Easter Sunday itself.

What did the Easter experience mean for those earliest Christians and what it continues to mean for us, here and now? Jesus lives; fear not! The early Christians experienced and appropriated the freedom from fear achieved by Jesus-risen. This fact is admirably illustrated in the radical transformation that overcame them. The frightened became fearless preachers of good news and ministers of God’s forgiveness for sinners. What made the difference in their lives? Jesus, who died and rose to life and who in that saving act, conquered the power of fear. Unfortunately, however, fear continues to be the great human leveller. Everybody is fearful of something: fear of failure, fear of hurting or being hurt, fear of loss, fear of not knowing love, fear of pain, fear that what I believe in and hope in may not be so. But the message and the truth of Easter is “Fear not!”. These are empowering words. Freedom from fear is the achievement of the resurrection and the experience into which each of us has been welcomed by the victorious Christ.

Jesus is risen, explained the late, great Karl Rahner and the world with him. Because of this everything is different and we are too. Death is no longer a final stopping place but a passage to life that does not end. Because Jesus lives, death should no longer strike fear into our hearts. “There is nothing to fear”, says the risen Jesus in today’s 2nd reading from Revelation (1:9-13, 17-19). Aware that fear and peace cannot commingle in the human heart, “Peace”, says the Risen Jesus in today’s Gospel.

And yet, despite all these assurances and despite the fact that the imperative “Fear not!” and other similar admonitions against fear are repeated literally hundreds of times in the scriptures, we continue to allow fear to have the upper hand. Why? Could it be that we have yet to welcome Jesus-risen, the embodiment of forgiveness, into our lives?

WHAT WILL IT TAKE? Thomas believed because he saw Jesus. What will it take for you to respond to God's Call to priesthood or consecrated life? If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

Easter People - Fearless People

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Risen Lord, help us live the Easter joy in our day-to-day life.  Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“We are an Easter People; Alleluia is our song.” This declaration was made almost 15 centuries ago by St. Augustine as an expression of Easter joy. But living our joy and enunciating our faith in Jesus’ resurrection in our day-to-day existence is a big challenge.

With regard to this daily challenge, Latin American theologian Jon Sobrino shares a personal memory in his book “Christ the Liberator”. About 30 years ago, Sobrino was present at a mass during which some of his fellow Jesuits were professing their religious vows. At the celebration, Ignacio Ellacuria (one of the Jesuits who were murdered for the faith in El Salvador, Nov. 16, 1989) spoke of the importance of following Jesus by living as already risen beings. Sobrino saw that he was accustomed to Ellacuria’s liking for historicizing the Christian faith.

Jesus resurrection in history means that we can continue to hope in a world grown dim with despair. In raising Jesus, God liberated an innocent, unveiled the injustices done against him and crowned his saving sacrificial death with victory and life. To live as risen beings in history is to share in all that God has done in Jesus and for Jesus.

Living as risen beings also means living free from fear. Fear must never again be the motive for anything we do or do not do. At various times and in variety of ways, we fear deprivation, boredom, loneliness, failure, suffering, but at the root of all these fears, insists David Knight, is the fear of death. Without our belief in resurrection death is the utter end of all; it is absolute loss. But through our baptism into the dying and rising of Jesus, death is absolute gain. Thereby we live as risen beings forever.

Marvellous was the transformation from fear to fearlessness in those who first experienced the power and reality of Jesus-risen. They learned to readjust their priorities, concentrating not on the passing things of earth but on the things that are above (Col. 3:1-4, 2nd reading). They could powerfully preach the good news of salvation (Acts 10:34, 36-43, 1st reading). Their experiences with the crucified Messiah and with the empty tomb (Jn. 20:1-9) will provide renewed impetus for our own continued growth in faith and our commitment to live as risen beings until Jesus comes again.

HERALD THE GOOD NEWS The Lord is risen, it is true! Through our baptism He calls us to proclaim new life to the world. Pray for those who herald the Good News as priests, brothers and sisters. If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

BEYOND WEEPING

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Lord Jesus,  stay with me and help me reach out to those who walk the way of the cross. Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On this Palm Sunday, we begin the week called “Holy”. Our intent during this week is to remember the suffering and death of Jesus. Those sufferings were borne in fidelity to God and with total reliance on God’s help (Is. 50:4-7, 1st reading). Those sufferings were embraced with a humility that accepted not only the human condition but also the position of a slave and even a disgraceful death on the cross (Phil. 2:6-11, 2nd reading). Those sufferings were made all the more burdensome by the incomprehension of sleeping friends, by the denial of a chosen disciple, by the betrayal of another, by rejection of authorities and the mockery of the crowds (Lk 22:14 - 23:56, Gospel). Our interest in the sufferings of Jesus must never be primarily intellectual and speculative; they should always be practical. It should become a way of life for us. It should renew our sensitivity to the sufferings of others.

Jesus walked the way of the cross in Jerusalem “once and for all”. But the way of the cross continues to be walked by more than 150 million street children throughout the world (United Nations statistics, 2002). A good number of them are forced into the streets to eke out a meagre living for their families. School is out of question for these young labourers who invariably become victims of violence, sexual exploitation and abject neglect. Thousands of them live in sewers or under bridges.

According to the administrators of Human Rights Watch, Brazil’s street children are victimized by the nation’s Police force, which in one day alone, executed 27 children in a church in Rio. In Colombia, the HRW estimates that at least six innocent children die per day at the hands of law enforcement officials. As long as these situations persist, the way of the cross continues for Jesus’ least ones.

In today’s gospel we find women being moved to tears at the sight of Jesus carrying the cross. Jesus’ words to them continue to speak their challenge to us: “Do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and your children”. Today, this gracious gift of Jesus, “once-for-all” sacrifice prompts us to move beyond mere weeping to devoted work for the relief and well-being of his least ones. Let us be their companions, care takers and defenders along the way.

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion - March 28, 2010 Blessed are they who come in the Name of the Lord! Am I being called to proclaim Jesus as a priest, deacon, religious brother or sister If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

GOD OF ALL MERCIES

My Dear Brothers and Sisters:

A 31-year-old Nigerian Muslim woman named Amina Lawal was sentenced to death by stoning eight years ago, because she had been found guilty of adultery. Civil rights groups around the world were outraged at the sentence that Lawal should be buried up to her neck and then have stones hurled at her head until she was dead. Under pressure from these groups, the judge declared that Amina Lawal’s conviction was invalid because she was already pregnant when harsh Islamic Shariah law was implemented in her home province. When she heard the judge’s decision, Lawal told a reporter from CNN: “I am happy. God is great and he has made this happen”.

Almost two millennia ago, scribes and Pharisees brought before Jesus another woman caught in the act of adultery (Jn 8:1-11). They quoted the law and goaded him into offering his opinion on the matter. But rather than be pressured by their tactics, Jesus simply appealed to the consciences of the woman’s accusers. Were they without sin? If the exact letter of the law were to be imposed on them would they fare any better than the sinful woman? Should they not remember the mercies shown them by God and be grateful to be able to show similar mercy to a fellow sinner?

That day in the temple area, Jesus did not give a briefing on the law but a lesson on the manner in which God deals lovingly, gently, patiently and with forgiveness with those who sin. Whether the woman’s accusers took to heart the lesson that was offered them that day, we cannot know. One by one, they drifted off, John tells us, starting with the elders.

As the climax of Lent approaches, both of these women teach us that our encounters with the God of all mercies preclude our taking up stones or pointing accusatory fingers at one another. Rather our gaze should be turned inward so we can recognize, admit and repent of our sins. Then the God of all mercies calls us to drop our stones, look away from ourselves and our sin and recognize God’s gifts of freedom from slavery and sin (Is. 43:16-21, 1st reading) as well as the ultimate gift of knowing Jesus Christ and the power of his resurrection (Philippians 3:8-14, 2nd reading)

 

Lord Jesus, help us acknowledge our sinfulness instead of pointing a finger at other people and condemning them as sinners.    Amen.

 

LOOKING FOR FAME, FORTUNE? What am I racing after in my life? Fame? Fortune? A life in Jesus? What is the prize I seek at the finish-line? If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca www.vocationstoronto.ca

THE FORGIVING FATHER

 

Lord Jesus, help me overcome anger, pent-up hostilities, negative feelings and negative attitudes. AMEN.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Imagining ourselves to be on a journey, we should think of God waiting for us at our destination. God sees us “while we are still a long way off.” In case we may not see our God coming toward us, provisions are made for huge billboards to alert us to the divine presence and salvific event. One reads: “There will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Lk 15:10). Another invites: “I will heal your defection; I will love you freely - come back to me”.(Hosea 4:5)

Deeply moved at the sight of us coming home in need of forgiveness, our God grabs us before we can speak our sins and embraces us with a love that forgives, affirms and reinstates the relationship that we have broken. This loving forgiveness is illustrated in a touching way in today’s gospel (Lk. 15:1-3, 11-32)in the parable of the prodigal come home.

“A man had two sons”. So the parable begins, and, with that announcement, we are invited to determine which son we identify with most. Will we throw in our lot with the son who knew himself to be a sinner- who humbled himself, admitted his sin and came home to find the open arms of his forgiving father? Or will we stand in sympathy with the older son and allow the love that has been lavished on us to be overshadowed by anger and resentment?

Surely the Pharisees and the Scribes took offence at what they would have perceived as flagrant injustice. The tax collectors and sinners regarded it to be too good to be true. Jesus’ parable of forgiveness wounded the sense of fairness of the professional keepers and interpreters of the law. We can almost hear them murmuring, “Yes, let the prodigal return, but to bread and water, not fatted calf; in sack cloth, not a new robe; wearing ashes , not a new ring; in tears, not in merriment; kneeling, not dancing”. (Fred Craddock, “Luke” 1990) But this is precisely the point of Jesus’ parable. God’s grace and forgiveness are lavish, not limited, and these are offered to repentant sinners. We for our part, must follow the lead of the prodigal and “come to our senses”(v.17) and recognize our sinfulness. Then we will discover that our God is already running out to meet us to reinstate us as beloved sons and daughters.

 

GOD WELCOMES US… Like the forgiving father of Luke's Gospel, God welcomes us home in spite of our sinfulness, and calls us to a life of holiness. Where are you at home? Are you being called to a life as an ordained or a consecrated person? If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca www.vocationstoronto.ca

PASSAGES AND PASSOVERS

 

Lord Jesus, who hears our cries, knows our struggles, strengthen us along our way. AMEN.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On each of Lent’s Third Sundays, the selected scripture readings remind us that ours is a spirituality of un-rootedness. As we see in today’s first reading from Exodus(3:1-8, 13-15), ours has always been a people on the move, not just from one geographical place to another, but also from one state of growth to another.

In her book “Passages”, author Gail Sheehy calls these developmental stages “passages”, which all human beings experience as they move toward maturity. Among life’s major passages, Sheehy identifies (1) “pulling up roots”- leaving home and defining oneself apart form one’s parents; (2) “the trying twenties”- one’s first tentative stand as an adult when all things seem possible; (3) “the catch thirties” - in which life commitments are made, broken or renewed, (4) “the midlife crisis of the forties”- a dangerous part of the journey when maturing adults confront the loss of youth, the fading purposes of old roles, career changes, disruptions in sexual equilibrium and spiritual dilemmas; it can also be a time of great opportunity for self-discovery and renewal. In addition to these passages, there are so many others, as when we find friendship and pass from loneliness to companionship, or when we pass over from sickness to well-being, or when sorrow for sin moves us to repentance and allows us to pass over from guilt to forgiveness. Through all these passages and passovers, we learn to know ourselves and, even more importantly, we come to know God.

It could be said that passover is the name of our spirituality, a spirituality that began to grow when God said to Abraham, “Go!” and because he had faith in God, he did. Moses had first become aware of the presence of God in the phenomenon of the bush, burning but not consumed. By the strength of God’s presence, Moses led his people out of Egypt. Their passover from slavery to freedom became the pivotal event of Israel's history. But even that passover was marred by human frailty.

Paul, in today’s 2nd reading (1Cor. 10:1-6,10-12) warns his readers to learn from the experience of the Israelites so as not to repeat their mistakes. When the journey of life becomes burdensome, we have to remember Moses’ God, a God who hears our cries, knows our struggles and is ever present to strengthen us along our way.

 

PROCLAIM HIS NAME… The Lord is kind and merciful and calls us to proclaim His Name. Consider service in the priesthood or consecrated life. If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 email vocations@vocations.ca www.vocationstoronto.ca

A PLACE TO CALL HOME

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

 

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is part of human being’s dream to have “a place to call home”. This Sunday’s readings illumine and illustrate this aspect. In Genesis (15:5-12, 17-18) we see how the promise of homeland changed Abraham’s future and outlook on life. In the transfiguration scene (Lk. 9:28b-36), we see Peter offering to pitch 3 tents to remain in that blessedness for ever. This natural instinct of having a home and homeland should guide us to the fact that we are “citizens of heaven”. (2nd reading Phil. 3:17-4:1)

This inborn tendency of having the blessedness of that place we call home should help us today to focus a caring eye and offer a helping hand to those who do not enjoy the security either of a home or a homeland. The recent natural calamities in Haiti and the man-made calamities in Sri Lanka and other countries are to rouse our feelings in this respect. In its most recent survey, World Refugee Survey 2009, the U.S. Committee for Refugees in Washington D.C. certified that in the year 2008, more than 13.6 million people were forced to flee their native lands due to war and persecution. More than 21 million others have been internally displaced i.e., they have been forced from their homes and made to walk their countries’ roads in search of a secure resting place. In addition to these refugees and otherwise displaced persons millions of others throughout the world are homeless. Of these millions, at least 15% are children and 19% of the urban homeless population are veterans.

Homelessness is, in effect, equivalent to having no identity. Without an address, the homeless person usually cannot get a job, receive social security or financial aid. HomeAid, an organization begun to assist the homeless, cites a variety of causes of homelessness, e.g. sudden job loss, catastrophic illness, spousal desertion, domestic violence, crisis pregnancies or a combination of these.

In light of these statistics, let us be attentive to Jesus who speaks to us through the needs of others. During these weeks of Lent, let our thoughts and actions be centered on the homeless, the displaced, refugees and all other companions on life’s journey who are seeking a place to call home.

Lord Jesus,  let me be attentive to You when You speak through the needs of others.  Amen.

HOLY SPIRIT LEAD ME… Peter, John and James had a mountaintop-experience with Jesus by witnessing His transfiguration. We too can have a mountaintop-experience when we open our minds and hearts to following God's Will for our life. If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

Fasting, Feasting, Offering

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Fasting from food and feasting on the presence of God are the two important spiritual exercises during Lent. In between comes offering with almsgiving. This six-week long intense preparation for Jesus’ saving death and resurrection can be considered to be a “time-out” in every calendar year.

Sports enthusiasts know that a time-out can give athletes a chance: to regroup, if the game plan is not meeting with the success they had hoped for; to revise existing strategies, to affirm the good efforts of the team; to re-centre the attention of the team on the desired goal; to add to the psychological burden of their opponents by slowing the action of the game and interrupting their momentum.

As regards the time-out we call Lent, these six weeks similarly provide believers in Jesus with an opportunity for engaging in a variety of exercises, from rethinking their behaviour to regrouping their energies, from revising their spiritual strategies to affirming their good efforts, from slowing the pace of their daily lives to re-centering their focus on Christ and the gospel. To put it another way, the annual Lenten time-out offers each of us a special opportunity for fasting and for feasting. Both of these spiritual exercises are featured in the scripture selections of this Sunday.

In today’s first and second readings, we are invited to feast on the word of God describing the gift of salvation. Paul reminds us that we are to appropriate God’s saving gifts by faith.., “believe in your heart and you will be saved…faith in the heart leads to justification” (Rom. 10:8-13). For his part, the author of Deuteronomy reminds us that our feasting is to be firmly founded in the remembering and retelling of our saving story. (Deut. 26:4-10).

Following the example offered by Jesus (Lk 4:1-13) fasting is to be embraced as a means to spiritual growth. Along with praying, offering and almsgiving, fasting is to be an integral aspect of every believer’s formation.

Lord Jesus, help me know the emptiness of hunger so as to be filled with your good news.Amen.

HOLY SPIRIT LEAD ME… Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert for forty days of prayer and fasting. Are you open to being led by the Holy Spirit into the life-commitment God has prepared for you? If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

Trust In God

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Lord Jesus, help us to have perfect trust in your wisdom and providence. Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
“In God We Trust; all others must pay cash!” this sign, hanging over the cash register in a store, always brings a smile to the passers-by. Jeremiah, in today’s 1st Reading (Jer. 17:5-8) makes a similar point, namely, there is a blessedness that comes to those who trust in God; however, those who put their trust in anyone or anything other than God will find that blessedness eludes them. This theme of trust is presented in today’s gospel (Lk. 6:17, 20-26) in a more challenging form with its series of woes on the rich, the full (or satisfied), the joyful and the well-liked.

Jesus promised that the poor would possess the kingdom, the hungry would be filled, the weeping would laugh and the hated, insulted and ostracized would have a heavenly reward. By the same token, the rich, full, laughing and those who are well thought of will know: need, hunger, grief and rejection. No doubt, Jesus’ contemporaries were shocked at His contrasting pronouncements of blessings and woes. According to popular belief, those who enjoyed an abundance of this world’s goods were thought to be blessed by God, whereas those who suffered from the lack of material possessions were considered cursed; their condition was regarded as just punishment for sin. Although our knowledge as to the reasons for the economic circumstances of the poor and the wealthy has altered and developed, nevertheless Jesus’ radical statements have not become any easier to accept or understand. They challenge our trust in the truth of the good news.

We, for our part, who long to be among the blessed, are to cultivate a trust in the mercy of God, who will answer our hunger with satisfaction, our sorrowing with joy, our rejection by the world with a loving welcome and our poverty with a place.

INTERESTED IN VOCATIONS? Call Fr. Jose Happy are those who know they need God. Happy too those who live faithfully the vocation of the life-commitment God calls them to, be it married, single, religious or priesthood. If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 email vocations@vocations.ca www.vocationstoronto.ca

The words of the psalmist echo the theme of all of today’s readings. “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.” As good stewards, firmly grounded in that hope, may we bear fruit in due season — assisting the poor, feeding the hungry, and consoling the sorrowful whenever we have the chance.

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Call To Service

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Lord Jesus, make use respond to the call of your children who are in need Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
God’s call comes to us in different ways. Few among us have probably experienced a summons to ministry as dramatic as that of Isaiah (1st Reading Is 6:1-2,3-8), or as decisive as that of Peter, James and John (Lk 5:1-11). Few of us can boast of seeing seraphim or hearing distinctive voices. Few of us were offered the sign of a great catch of fish as a portent of our future success. Recall Paul’s encounter on the road to Damascus. The flash of light, the commanding voice, his ensuing blindness and cure mark Paul’s call as extraordinary. Also extraordinary was the call of Augustine (354-430), Francis of Assisi (1182-1266), Joan of Arc (1412-1431) and the like.

Although the voices and visions that moved these remarkable men and women to do remarkable things for Christ and the church are indeed inspiring, most of us cannot claim a similar experience. Nevertheless and despite the lack of drama, our calls to service are nonetheless real and compelling. For many of us, the call to ministry comes in a rather conventional manner, as through the voice and direction of a pastor, spiritual guide or friend. Some among us are moved to service through the example of others.

Today’s liturgy places before us a challenge. Whether the call is conventional or unconventional, can we see it as a call from God? For example, take the pathetic situation of the victims of AIDS in Africa. Can we take the inner urge to reach out to them as a call from God? Can we recognize the face of hunger and offer bread? Can we relieve the thirsty with water, the needy with a share of our substance, the lonely with a few hours of our time and attention, the sorrowful with an offer of our sympathy and a sharing in our joy, the sick with the support of our care, and the dying with the comfort of our presence and caring?

INTERESTED IN VOCATIONS? Call Fr. Jose or visit http://www.vocationstoronto.ca/ Do not be afraid. If the Lord is calling you to the ordained or consecrated life, do not be afraid. Jesus calls and will give you the grace to respond wholeheartedly. If God is calling you, contact Fr. Jose – or - Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 email vocations@vocations.ca www.vocationstoronto.ca

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The Uphill Struggle of Discipleship

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Lord Jesus, empower us to make the word of God resonate within social situations. Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
According to a myth popular among the ancient Greeks, Sisyphus, the king of Corinth and reputed founder of the Isthmian Games, was punished by gods because he outwitted them. Punishment was to push an enormous boulder up a steep incline. The moment he reached the top, the boulder would roll down and Sisyphus had to begin all over again. The task of bearing the message of God’s word to others and the daily duties of discipleship can be similarly burdensome, requiring similar “Sisyphean” strength and endurance.
Each day, the disciple must accept to begin anew the often uphill struggle of hearing, keeping, living, doing, preaching and witnessing to the truth of God’s word. Because that message of truth often brings to light that which is slack and sinful and challenges those who hear it to repentance and conversion, the bearer of the message is sometimes abused. Shooting the messenger is often deemed easier than allowing the message of truth to penetrate, penalize and purify.
That Jeremiah and Jesus experience the weighty burdens of their respective ministries is clearly seen in today’s first reading (Jer 1: 4-5, 17-19) and gospel (Luke 4:21-30). Recall the utterances warning Jeremiah of the resistance and rejection he would encounter. Initially well received by his hometown crowd Jesus soon became the object of their derision. Paul knew that many would find the word of God on love (2nd Reading, 1Cor. 12:31-13) to be impractical, even impossible to implement. Paul, like Jesus and Jeremiah before him, was convinced that the living word of the living God is the norm by which believers are to form their values and set their priorities, the challenge to which they are to respond, a means by which they come to God and themselves and the tool by which attitudes are adjusted, and hearts are sensitized to others’ needs.
By virtue of the presence of God within, Jeremiah, Paul, Jesus and every struggling disciple are rendered capable of exercising a prophetic ministry. Are we ready to become God’s prophetic voice in bringing the churches together?

INTERESTED IN VOCATIONS? No prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. Do not be discouraged by jeers when considering religious life or priesthood. If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 email vocations@vocations.ca www.vocationstoronto.ca/

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Be Strong and United

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Lord Jesus, help us face the future united and strong interpreting the word of God for life. Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This week’s readings invite us to face the future united and strong. Reading the word of God and interpreting it for life are the best means to meet this challenge.
In the 1st reading (Nehemiah 8:1-4,5-6,8-10) we find the emphasis on the power of the word of God to: (1) make God’s will known; (2) touch and change human hearts; (3) rally the people to be renewed in their resolve to listen to God’s will. As Ezra read and interpreted the law for the people, their mood noticeably shifted from one of attentive affirmation and adoration to one of sorrow and weeping. As God’s word is read, the word reveals not only God’s goodness and love but also the failures and sinfulness of the one who listens. Nevertheless, Ezra did not permit the people to wallow in regret. Rather, he encouraged them to dwell not on their sinful selves but in the redeeming and liberating word of God, and so to replace their regretting with rejoicing.

In the Gospel, (Lk 1:1-4;4:14-21), Jesus, like Ezra, reads aloud and interprets the word of God for his contemporaries in Nazareth. He declared that the words he read were being fulfilled. His words, the words of Isaiah, were the words of good news, healing and liberation from every form of enslavement such as sin, injustice, slavery, poverty, illness, oppression. Jesus did not merely promise “pie in the sky when you die”; on the contrary he demanded that through the sharing of the rich with the poor, there be daily bread on the table, here and now.

In today’s second reading (1Cor. 12:12-30) Paul provides the praying assembly with the motivation for all their efforts at liberation – we are one body; we share one baptism; we are all given to drink of the same Spirit; we, though many, are one; we, though with different social status, different ethnicity, different gifts, different functions, are all one body in Christ. It is this very oneness that must move us to action, for when one of the members of the body of Christ suffers, all are affected. Therefore, each one of us is responsible for the freedom and dignity of all of us.

Let us hope that the word of God, which we hear expounded today, might move us to an evolution from regret and repentance to a joyful realization and celebration of the healing, liberating mercies of God.

INTERESTED IN VOCATIONS? The call of the disciples is so familiar to us that we tend to miss the wonder of the disciples’ response, which was immediate and complete; they leave everything and follow Jesus. Can we do less if we feel that God is calling us to the priesthood or religious life? If you think God is calling call Fr. Jose or visit http://www.vocationstoronto.ca/

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Spousal Love

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, CMI

Infant Jesus, help me to be faithful, forgiving and generous in love. Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
God’s love for humankind is often pictured in the bible as spousal love or marital love. Unlike the relationship that unites the parents and children and brothers and sisters, spousal love is born of a choice; two people freely choose to commit themselves one to the other. So too spousal love is creative. Those who love one another as husbands and wives become a new entity; “the two become one body” (Gen. 2:25). Creative spousal love is also fruitful; from their love for one another spouses bring new lives into the world. Spousal love is also complimentary. Each without the other does not know wholeness. Authentic love is also enduring; those who love in this way promise to do so until death separates one from the other. Given these qualities, the very idea that God loves each of us as with spousal love is all the more remarkable.
In today’s first reading (Is.62:1-5), Isaiah emphasizes like his prophetic colleagues Hosea (ch.2) and Ezekiel (ch.16), God’s willingness to continue to love Israel as spouse and to renew their relationship even when Israel was a less than worthy partner. Despite their infidelities and sinfulness God remains faithful and forgiving.
Within the context of the wedding feast at Cana, Jesus (Jn 2:1-12) manifests the gracious and generous goodness of God. The abundance and quality of the water-turned-into-wine are symbols of God’s generous love. Let us become partakers of this generous love by exercising our charisms rather than egos.

INTERESTED IN VOCATIONS? Call Fr. Jose or visit http://www.vocationstoronto.ca/

St. Augustine’s Seminary Retreat Weekend — February 5-7 “The Love of Christ urges us on.” To radically respond to His call to follow Him whole-heartily. Jesus is inviting you to spend time with Him so that you may discover His call to the priesthood. February 5th to 7th, 2010, St. Augustine’s Seminary, there will be an opportunity for young men of 18 years or older to spend a weekend for time of prayer, reflection and information on the process of becoming a Christ’s disciple through the Catholic priesthood. During this gracious year for priests consider the call to the priesthood. If God is calling you, say yes…Come and See. Those interested are asked to speak with their Pastor or contact the Office of Vocations for further information at 416-968-0997.

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Sacramental Solidarity

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Lord Jesus,  help us face the struggles that are inherent to our solidarity with you by remembering and repeating the blessing, “I am the beloved of God”.  Amen.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Last Sunday we reflected on “Travelling towards God” keeping the journey of the Magi in focus.“ Are we, the baptized Christians, travelling towards God with one heart and one mind?”, is a pertinent question when we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, this Sunday. The question becomes more focused in the context of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity that we observe this year from January 24th to 31st.

Lord’s Baptism is a sacrament of solidarity. Jesus desired to be completely one with mankind, so it should not be surprising that he joined the crowd of self-admitted sinners at the Jordan. In all he did he identified himself with every aspect of the human condition. Eventually, Jesus’ solidarity with sinners would lead him to the suffering and death on the cross. It was his loving and unquestioning acceptance that assured the demoniacs, lepers, paralytics, Roman Soldiers and sinful women of God’s care, forgiveness and healing.

Our solidarity with Jesus through Christian Baptism in water and the Spirit would not only require the acceptance of all others as brothers and sisters, but also a share in his suffering and death. In this aspect the gospel for today (Lk. 3:15-16, 21-22) offers both strength and encouragement.

At his baptism, while he prayed, the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus to grace him for all that lay ahead of him. A voice from heaven identified him as Son and called him Beloved. This enabled Jesus to say in the trying moments “I am the Beloved of God. Others will leave me, but God will never leave me. I am the Beloved of God. I live by the hope and by the strength found in that identity”. These same gifts are accorded to each of us who are baptized into Jesus’ dying and rising.

By virtue of our sacramental solidarity with Jesus, we, too, are graced by the Spirit, welcomed as children of God and pronounced “Beloved!” When we face the struggles that are inherent to our solidarity with Jesus, we must remember and repeat the blessing, “I am the beloved of God”. Then we, too, can live in the hope found in that identity.

 

VOCATION SEEDS As John the Baptist introduced the people of his time to Jesus a voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.” Perhaps God is calling you to do the same in our time as a priest, deacon or religious. If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca

Travelling Towards God

Message from Fr. Jose Koluthara, C.M.I.

Infant Jesus, make us insightful travellers in the world so as to see your manifestation everywhere.  Amen.

Today’s feast, Epiphany of the Lord, is characterized by traditional motifs like astrologers and kings, rising stars in the east. Apart from this there is another underlying theme, travelling towards God. Isaiah's vision, as shared in the first reading (Is. 60:1-6), features sons and daughters travelling home to Jerusalem. What Isaiah prophesied is presented in the gospel (Mt. 2:1-12) as fulfilled in the travellers, the foreign astrologers, from the east who made their way to Bethlehem to offer gifts to Jesus and to pay him homage.

If God manifests himself to foreign astrologers, why can’t we Christians see God? The following illustration may solve the problem. A little girl was looking through the family album and found a picture of a man sitting behind a cow. All that was visible was the man’s legs and feet. She took the picture to a photo shop and told the clerk: “This is the only picture of my grandfather that I have. So please remove the cow so I can see what he looks like”.

Something always seems to get in the way, to prevent us from having an unobstructed view of our God. Call it a cow. In the most radical sense, it is the sacred cow of science. Once upon a time, God was out in the open; we saw God everywhere: making thunder, causing flowers to grow, healing sickness – God was part of everything that happened.

But then, gradually, science began to take the place of God. It taught us that thunder is from the heat coming through the clouds, that photosynthesis grows grass, that medicine cures sickness. With each advance in science, God got crowded out of view. Today, almost every physical phenomenon is completely covered by the sacred scientific cow. We desperately want someone to remove the cow so we can see God again.

Faith tells us that God is the only reality; everything else is real only insofar as it is part of God’s reality. Everything else is a cow of some kind, blocking our view of God. Any desire in the wrong place or wrong time or wrong expression becomes shaped into a cow or a golden calf.

This feast challenges each of us what it is that we are manifesting to the world from our own experience of God.

VOCATION SEEDS “On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” God asks us to give our lives. What treasures have been given to you to share with others in Christ’s name? If God is calling you, contact Fr. Hansoo Park 416-968-0997 Email vocations@vocations.ca or visit www.vocationstoronto.ca