DAILY HOMILIES

“Do not appear before the Lord empty-handed… glorify the Lord generously… with every gift show a cheerful face, and dedicate your tithe with gladness. Give to the Most High as he has given, and as generously as your hand has found. For the Lord is the one who repays, and he will repay you sevenfold.” (Sirach 35:4-11).

Just as John took her home upon hearing the words, “Behold Your Mother” we also take Mary home through our devotional practices. One may ask, does Mary deserve this title? What makes her mother of the church? Mary, together with Joseph raised Jesus. She was with him throughout his hidden years of formation and remained with him all through his public ministry. Mary instigated Jesus’ first public miracle for the good of the couple in Cana.

Let us open our hearts today for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As we remember that day that the church was born; that day that all timidity and fear was wiped out of the believers; that day that the church received fire and utterance to spread the message across the world; we sincerely pray that God may find us worthy again to receive that fire and begin a new era of Christianity. Amen

God calls us individually to different tasks. Just as our gifts and abilities are different, our sufferings for the sake of God are never the same. Sometimes we would wonder if God is partial but all that matters is that we follow Jesus.

If in your opinion the Christian life is hard/impossible, it is a sign that you do not love God. Love is not something we can pretend about. Jesus tells us: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)

Always allow God to do your fighting for you. Just as no one can fight God and succeed, you cannot win unless God is on your side. Seek first God’s kingdom and be fervent in prayer. God will do the rest for you.

The prayer of Jesus in today’s Gospel passage carries a lot of deep-seated messages. In fact, this prayer is both prophetic and instructive. Firstly, Jesus highlights the hatred of the world. St. Paul in today’s first reading mentions the fact that “fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock…” (Acts 20:29).

Imagine you died but God gave you a second chance to return to this world. How would you live your life? Let your answer guide your life from this moment. The best time to die is not necessarily at old age, it is when your time comes; when you have finished the race and fought the good fight. Stop procrastinating. Just begin!

Regardless of what you are facing now, take courage, be cheerful, smile. Know that Jesus has conquered already. One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is joy. There is nothing spiritual about being moody, annoyed or depressed.

If it were possible to summarize the words of Jesus in last Sunday's Gospel passage, it would be John 15:12 which reads: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus wants us to continue His mission of saving the world by replicating His sacrificial love, especially for our enemies. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus prays for us. In this prayer, Jesus expresses His desires for the Church and also reveals our identity and mission further

If you do not believe that your prayers are capable of changing anything, then you are yet to understand the meaning of prayer. The deeper your confidence in the power and effectiveness of even a single line of prayer, the more you see the result in your life.

Nevertheless, if we fail to fulfil the purpose of our election by God, we would be replaced. This is what plays out in the election of St. Matthias whose feast we celebrate today. His election teaches us a crucial lesson: no matter how good you think we are, there would always be someone who can take your place. Avoid pride.