Corpus Christi 2018

From Fr. Jude Botelho:

Food for the Journey I traveled to a place in the northern tip of Ireland one night to say Mass for a Prayer Group. It was a wild wintry night and, when the Mass was over, I was anxious to get on the road for home. As I dashed towards the car, I was stopped by an elderly lady, and I wasn't too please at the prospect of having to listen to her tale of pains and aches, while I was impatient to get going. I was very taken aback when she handed me a small boat-shaped basket, filled with triangular sandwiches, with all kinds of fillings. The basket was covered with cling film. "I just thought, Father, you might like to eat those on your journey home." She turned and went back into the church. For once I was stuck for words..! I still have the basket on my desk as I write here now. When I look at it I think of the Eucharist, 'food for the journey.' Jack McArdle in 'And that's the Gospel Truth"

Mothers' Day 2018

# 1: Mother’s sacrificial love: On Sunday, August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines flight 225 crashed just after taking off from the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. One hundred fifty-five people were killed. One survived with injuries: a 4-year-old from Tempe, Arizona, named Cecelia. News accounts say when rescuers found Cecelia they did not believe she had been on the plane. Investigators first assumed Cecelia had been a passenger in one of the cars on the highway onto which the airliner crashed. But when the passenger register for the flight was checked, there was Cecelia's name. "Cecelia survived because, as the plane was falling, Cecelia's mother, Paula Chican, unbuckled her own seat belt, got down on her knees in front of her daughter, wrapped her arms and body around Cecelia, and then would not let her go." She was a real mother. That sounds to me like a metaphor of the love of God. 

Pentecost 2021

From Fr. Tony Kadavil's Collection:

1) The Spirit of God is the melody that energizes the Church: In the last years of his life, the great cellist and conductor Pablo Casals suffered greatly from rheumatoid arthritis and emphysema.  At 90, he was badly stooped, and his head pitched forward; his breathing was labored.  He needed the help of his wife, Marta, to get dressed in the morning.  Marta would then help him shuffle into his studio where he would, with great difficulty, arrange himself on the piano bench.

Easter 2018

From Fr. Jude Botelho:
 Unfinished Till Broken

A story is told of an Eastern village that, through the centuries, was known for its exquisite pottery. Especially striking were its urns; high as tables, wide as chairs, they were admired around the globe for their strong form and delicate beauty. Legend has it that when each urn was apparently finished, there was one final step. The artist broke it – and then put it back together with gold filigree. An ordinary urn was then transformed into a priceless work of art. What seemed finished wasn't, until it was broken.

Steve Goodier

Good Friday

From Fr. Jude Botelho:

He risked his life, all he got back was…

One night a fisherman heard a loud splash. A man on a nearby yacht had been drinking and had fallen overboard. The fisherman leapt into the cold water and rescued the man and revived him with artificial respiration. Then he put the man to bed, and did everything he could to make the man comfortable. Finally, exhausted by the ordeal, the fisherman swam back to his own boat. The next morning the fisherman returned to the yacht to see how the man was doing. "It's none of your business," the man shouted defensively. The fisherman reminded the man that he had risked his life to save him. But instead of thanking him, the man cursed the fisherman and told him that he never wanted to see him around again. Commenting on the episode, the fisherman said: "I rowed away from the yacht with tears in my eyes. But the experience was worth it, because it gave me an understanding of how Jesus felt when he was rejected by those he saved."

Holy Thursday - Stole and Towel - Authority and Service

From Fr. Tony Kadavil: 

1 The Stole and the Towel:

is the title of a book, which sums up the message of the Italian bishop, Tony Bello, who died of cancer at the age of 58.  On Maundy Thursday of 1993, while on his deathbed, he dictated a pastoral letter to the priests of his diocese.  He called upon them to be bound by "the stole and the towel."  The stole symbolizes union with Christ in the Eucharist, and the towel symbolizes union with humanity by service.  The priest is called upon to be united with the Lord in the Eucharist and with the people as their servant.  Today we celebrate the institution of both the Eucharist and the priesthood: the feast of "the stole and the towel," the feast of love and service.  

Palm Sunday B

1. Fr. Tony Kadavil:

“Either give up Christ or give up your jobs.”

Constantine the Great was the first Christian Roman emperor. His father Constantius I, who succeeded Diocletian as emperor in AD 305, was a pagan with a soft heart for Christians. When he ascended the throne, he discovered that many Christians held important jobs in the government and in the court. So he issued an executive order to all those Christians: “Either give up Christ or give up your jobs.” The great majority of Christians gave up their jobs rather than disowning Christ. Only a few cowards gave up their religion rather than lose their jobs. The emperor was pleased with the majority who showed the courage of their convictions and gave their jobs back to them saying: "If you will not be true to your God you will not be true to me either.” Today we join the Palm Sunday crowd in spirit to declare our loyalty to Christ and fidelity to His teachings by actively participating in the Palm Sunday liturgy. As we carry the palm leaves to our homes, we are declaring our choice to accept Jesus as the King and ruler of our lives and our families. Let us express our gratitude to Jesus for redeeming us by His suffering and death through our active participation in the Holy Week liturgy and our reconciliation with God and His Church, repenting of our sins and receiving God's pardon and forgiveness from Jesus through his Church.