HOLY SATURDAY< CYCLE-A < SERMON >

“Jesus is risen. He is Lord.”This is the great proclamation of our faith that sends a thrill of joy through us. On this day of the Resurrection we celebrate not only the resurrection of Jesus but also our own hope of resurrection. We are given the assurance that because He lives we also shall live.

In the Mass that we now celebrate, we are invited to share again in the death and resurrection of the Lord. Let us begin by a firm resolution to die to our sins that we may be alive to Christ.

A certain kindergarten teacher was telling her students the story of Jesus. In her class was a little boy who came from a non-Christian family. He was paying very close attention to the story because it was all new to him. As the teacher told how Jesus was condemned and nailed to the cross to die the boy’s face fell and he murmured, “No! That’s too bad!” The teacher then went on to tell how on the third day Jesus rose from the dead and came back to life. The boy’s eyes lit up with delight and he exclaimed, “Totally awesome!” On Good Friday we heard the story of the suffering and death of Jesus. Like the little boy many of us felt like “No! That’s too bad!” Today we hear the rest of the story and again with the little boy we can now exclaim “Yes! Totally awesome!” Today we can again sing “Halleluiah” that we have not sung all through Lent. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad (Psalm 118:24).

Why do we rejoice today? We rejoice because our faith in Christ has been justified, truth has triumphed over falsity, justice over injustice and tragedy has turned into comedy. It is like watching one of the episodes of Batman. First you see an innocent and helpless victim being attacked, robbed, kidnapped, assaulted and tortured by a wicked attacker. And we feel so bad seeing the triumph of the bad guy. Then, almost at the point where the victim has given up hope and is at the point of death, down from the skies comes Batman to the rescue. He battles and defeats the bad guy and rescues the innocent victim. And we feel happy inside at the triumph of justice.

The story of the suffering and death of Jesus on Good Friday is the story of the triumph of falsity over truth, of injustice over justice, of evil over goodness. Jesus was falsely charged of crimes he did not commit, and unjustly sentenced to a death he did not deserve. His good friend betrayed him, his trusted companions deserted him and his number one man denied him. The people he loved demanded his crucifixion and chose to have the bandit Barabbas released in his place. It is a story of betrayal and lies, dishonesty and meanness, unfaithfulness and wicked violence directed against an innocent and apparently helpless victim. All this comes to a head on Good Friday when we see Jesus scourged, mocked, led on the death march, nailed to the cross where he dies after a few hours and hastily buried in a tomb. If that were the end of the story that would be a bad story, a tragedy. But glory be to God it is not.

Death is not the end of the story. There is one more chapter. This is the most important chapter because, as the saying goes, they who laugh last laugh best. And in the last chapter of the story of Jesus we see him rise from the dead in all glory and majesty. He is vindicated. His enemies are shamed and confused. Jesus regains his eternal glory with the Father. He is the Lord who will prevail over all humankind, his enemies included. For us his embattled followers this is good news.

It is good news to know that truth is immortal. We can suppress Truth, accuse it of being a lie, condemn it, torture it, kill it, bury it in the grave but on the third day Truth will rise again. Remember this and do not give up on Truth even when everybody seems to give up on it. Do not give up on Truth; do not give up on Justice. Do not give up on doing what is right. True will always be true. Just will always be just. Right will always be right even when the world around us would have it otherwise. We must learn to believe in the sun even when it is not shining; knowing that by and by it will shine again. It is the end of the story that counts. That is why the church asks us today to rejoice and be glad. Even when we are going through very difficult times: through betrayal, unjust discrimination, lies, misrepresentations; even when the enemy seems to be winning the battle in our lives. Today Christ has won. And we know that in Christ we shall overcome. Halleluiah, Praise the Lord!

Third Ordinary Sunday - Cycle A

Personal Responsibility and Solidarity

Jesus gives a clear call today: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Before applying Jesus words to our lives, I would like to refer to a discussion going on in our country. Since the tragic murder of six people in Tucson, we have heard a lot about individual and group responsibility. The Bible speaks about both: You and I have responsibility for our decisions and actions. At the same time, what we do and say does affect other people. We have solidarity with each other. 

Regarding solidarity, the question arises: I know that I am responsible for myself, but in what way am I responsible for the other person? When someone is going on a wrong course, what responsibility do I have? We might have a family member who is doing things destructive to himself - and who could do harm to others. We often run into people who seem to be traveling down a bad path. What can we do to help them?

An episode from the life of St. Francis sheds light on this question: One day a friar approached Francis, "Brother Francis," he said, "a verse from the Bible is troubling me. Ezekiel says that if someone is sinning and I do not rebuke him that his sin will fall on my head. I will be to blame. But I see people sinning all the time. I don't feel right going around correcting other people." 

St. Francis remained silent for a time. Then he said, "Dear brother, try to live God's will every day. If you do, you will not need to say anything. Your life will rebuke the sinner." 

In those few words St. Francis brings together individual responsibility and solidarity. It's what Jesus says in today's Gospel: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." When we repent we become part of the kingdom of God. 

The word, "repent," is so important that it is actually the first word Jesus speaks when he begins his public ministry. He calls each one to repentance, to a change of heart, to take on a new way of thinking, a new way of living. Repent. 

In our nation we have a lot of repenting to do. Yesterday marked the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision called, "Roe v. Wade." It took legal protection from unborn children. Since that time, millions (millions!) of girls and young women have undergone procedures that intentionally destroyed their own offspring. We do not judge them. Who knows what pressures led them to such a decision. 

The issue here is not to judge other people, but to ask St. Francis' question. What way do I need to change - to live my life differently? Where do I need to repent? If I give myself more completely to the Lord, if I live with more integrity, it would ultimately have an effect on others. I am not personally responsible for the bad decisions of others, but my life - for better or worse - does affect others. 

In his book Rediscover Catholicism, Matthew Kelly uses a word that we often misunderstand: "holiness." He devotes about a dozen paragraphs to explaining what holiness means today. "Holiness," he says, "is surrendering to the will of God and the same time, it is grasping each moment and making it all it can be." 

I saw holiness in action when I was chaplain of a group called Courage. Courage helps people who struggle with same-sex attraction, but who want to live the teaching of Jesus. Some Courage members have come out of a life style that was far from happy. In truth it involved great misery. With the help of confession, sound friendships and daily prayer that included devotion to the Blessed Mary, they gradually achieved chastity. Rather than being controlled by passions, they gained a degree of self-mastery. Of course, chastity involves a daily struggle, but they know that, when all is said and done, they face a radical choice: holiness or hell. You and I may not see it so clearly, but we face that same choice: holiness or hell. Jesus' word applies to us: Repent. 

The men in that Courage group had a quiet, but profound effect on others: married couples, young people - and priests. If you and I strive for integrity, if we ask God to help us attain genuine holiness, we will influence others; we will make this a better world. 

To sum up: When we repent, we enter the kingdom of God. Personal responsibility leads to solidarity. To reject one's personal responsibility, results in isolation. That is, sin separates us not only from God, but from each other. Repentance, holiness, brings us together. Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. Amen.

Third Sunday of Easter-Cycle A

Meeting Jesus in the Stranger

Two depressed disciples leave the company of the apostles and believers in Jerusalem and head for Emmaus to get away from it all. That same day, late in the evening, they come right back to rejoin the company of apostles and believers that they had abandoned earlier in the day, full of joy and zeal. What happened to them to give rise to this dramatic turnaround? They met a stranger on the way – a stranger who did not quite look like Jesus but who turned out to be Jesus after all.

”Never speak to strangers!” is one of the earliest words of wisdom that parents pass on to their children. And yet when you come to think of it, had Cleopas and his companion followed this advice, Jesus would have passed them by and they would never have had the transforming encounter with the risen Lord. Who knows how many times the risen Lord has passed you and me by and we did not recognize him or experience his transforming grace all because of our fear or strangers?

Cleopas and his friend were trying to distance themselves from the scandalous disaster that befell the apostles and followers of Jesus with the shameful death of their Master at the hands of the very Roman soldiers that they thought he had come to vanquish. But even as they tried to get away from it, they could not get their minds off it. They were talking about it all along the way. Could you imagine the sort of mood they were in as they headed for an unknown future in Emmaus? It was disappointment, sadness and deep depression all at once.

Suddenly a stranger catches up with them along the way and says to them “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” (Luke 24:17). The most natural answer you would expect from them would be, “Hey man, would you please mind your business?” That is the typical response you get from people who operate on the principle of fear of strangers. But Cleopas and his friend were different. All they said was, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” (verse 18). “What things? “asked the stranger. And this led to a frank and profound dialogue that set their cold hearts aflame with insight and inspiration. All because they trusted a stranger and were disposed to inform and be informed by him!

Cleopas and his companion shared with the stranger all the way through. Not only were they ready to share their confidences with him, but they went all the way and shared their meal and shelter with him. It was in the process of this sharing that the moment of disclosure occurred and they suddenly realized that the one whom they had accepted all along as a helpless stranger was indeed Jesus, the answer to all their heart’s questions. This discovery that the one in whom they had trusted, Jesus Christ, was indeed alive and not dead, gave new meaning to their lives, their faith and their vocation. Banishing all fear and fatigue they got up and went back that same night to rejoin the company of apostles and followers of Jesus and share the good news with them that they had met the risen Lord and that they met him in the person of a stranger.

The resurrection was for Jesus the dividing line between earthly life when he was limited to the form of a male, Jewish body and risen life when he is no longer limited in this way. The risen Lord now appears in all types of bodies: male and female, White and Black, young and old, rich and poor, handicapped and non-handicapped, native and immigrant, Catholic and Protestant, Christian and Moslem, liberal and conservative, and so on and so forth. Though we may see those who are different from us as strangers, today’s gospel challenges us to start seeing them simply as companions on the way. When we reach out to them in hospitality we reach out to God and attract a blessing to ourselves.

Let us pray today for the grace to overcome the crippling fear of strangers, for the courage to reach out with open hearts and open hands to those who are different from us, knowing that even though the strangers on our way may not look like Jesus, they may indeed turn out to be Jesus just like the lonely stranger on the way to Emmaus. Amen

GOOD FRIDAY< CYCLE-A < SERMON >

Take your need for forgiveness to the Cross

Take your need for forgiveness to the Cross. How do we betray Christ? By our selfishness. Let's look at the motives of Judas in today's Gospel passage. Why did he betray Jesus despite experiencing his unconditional love for three years?


We know that Judas was selfish, because we know that he had embezzled donations (see John 12:6). Intent on finding "what's in it for me?" he wanted Jesus to become a messiah who would deliver him from Roman oppression. Jesus turned out to be quite an uncontrollable disappointment. Judas was so blinded by his own strategies that he could not fathom the possibility that God might have a better idea.

Self-centered people like Judas don't like to sit idly by and accept disappointment. When he decided to take control by turning Jesus over to the Jewish authorities, he asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" Until they promised a reward, handing Jesus over was still an IF. No wonder Judas committed suicide! He was unable to recognize the forgiveness that Jesus made available to him, because at the heart of every self-centered person is the belief that they are unworthy of being loved. Selfishness comes from the notion that if I don't take care of myself, no one else will (not even God!) because I don't really deserve it.

Are you ever disappointed that Jesus is not what you want him to be for you? We all fall into this "what's in it for me" trap whenever we're upset that God doesn't answer our prayers the way we want him to, or when we give our problems to Jesus and life doesn't get easier, or when he asks us to do something that's difficult and unrewarding.

We fall into the "what's in it for me" trap whenever we search for our own solutions after trusting in God and not getting the results we want. We succumb to it by listening to our self-protective fears. Selfishness tells us to protect our wishes, our happiness, our comfort zone, our possessions and our life style. It blinds us to the possibility that God might have a better idea.

Like Judas, in our selfishness we betray Jesus. We profess to trust him as the Lord of our lives, and yet our self-serving choices prove otherwise. We believe in him only when it suits our purposes. We adore him only when it's easy.


The question is not "Have I betrayed Jesus?" but "How quickly do I seek his forgiveness after I betray him?" Peter betrayed Jesus, too, but he loved Jesus so much that his selfishness lasted only a little while.

Today's step forward on the Lenten journey: Imagine that you're sitting with the disciples at the Last Supper. Jesus has just dipped his matzah into the spice dish, and he hands it to you. He's looking you in the eye. He knows your heart. He loves you despite all your betrayals. What will you say to him? Admit your betrayal; receive his smile. He will now take your sins to the cross with him. Remember to do this at every Mass, because the liturgy transcends time to connect us to the real Last Supper.

MAUNDY THURSDAY< CYCLE-A < SERMON >

Eucharist and Washing of Fee

Life in Palestine in the time of Jesus was hard. The popular means of transport was your feet. People walked long distances on rough, dusty roads to go from Galilee to Jerusalem, for example. Travelers often arrived their destinations with sore and aching feet. As a sign of hospitality, the host would see to it that his guests were given a warm foot bath and massage as a way of relieving their aches and pains. This was usually done by the house servants or slaves.

This service of bathing and soothing the tired feet were also provided by the rest houses or inns found at strategic locations along the major roads and highways. Travelers worn out along the way could go into these rest houses and have food and foot bath. Their energy thus restored they would then be able to continue and complete their long journey. That is how such rest houses along the way got the name "restaurants" -- they restored strength to tired and exhausted travelers on the way. The disciples would have understood Jesus washing their feet in light of this cultural background. And for us it is a pointer to the meaning of the Eucharist we celebrate.

Understood in light of the washing of feet, the Eucharist is a place of restoration for people on the way. The life of a Christian in the world is a pilgrimage, a long, hard journey. Along the way we get tired and worn out and we are tempted to give up and turn back. But Jesus has provided us with the Eucharist as a place where we can go in to bathe our aching feet and to be refreshed in body and soul for the journey that is still ahead. When we give communion to a sick person we call it viaticum which means "provisions for a journey." The Eucharist is always a viaticum: in the Eucharist we derive strength to continue our upward journey toward God.

The first and most essential part is to let the Lord wash us. As Jesus said to Peter,

 "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me (John 13:8). 

First, the Lord washes us clean so that we belong to the Lord. Only then are we qualified and empowered to wash the feet of our sisters and brothers in the Lord. When this truth dawned on Peter, he overcame his reluctance and cried out,

 "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" (v. 9). 

For this to happen all that the Lord needs from us is simply for us to be there, to present ourselves to him and to let him wash us.

The other side of the coin, which is equally important, is that after our feet have been washed by the Lord, we must go and wash the feet of others. After Jesus had washed his disciples' feet, he said to them:

Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord -- and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you (John 13:12-15).

Jesus establishes a close link between him washing the disciples' feet and the disciples washing the feet of others. If the Eucharist is the place where the Lord washes our feet, daily life is the place where we ought to wash the feet of others. Eucharist leads to life leads to Eucharist. True Eucharist piety must lead to service of others. Jesus who broke the bread of the Eucharist also washed the feet of his disciples. We must follow his example both at the altar of the Eucharist and at the altar of life.