Theme: Life challenges A variety of good and unexpected challenges are among those that have shaped and guided our lives this far. In spite of this, there is little to regret since sometimes good things happen when we least expect them. Changing plans and adjusting priorities is a blessing in disguise. We are invited to think out of the box in order to answer unforeseen provocations. First reading: Wisdom 1:13–15; 2:23–24 The book of Wisdom has been attributed to Solomon due to his reputation as a sage, yet this is the work of a Hellenist Jew who lived and wrote…
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
Theme: Even the storm obeys! The fact that vast water masses comprise two-thirds of the earth’s surface makes them appear mysterious and amazing. In common minds, the lakes and the like have been associated with the powers of evil, ruin and chaos. For whatever reason, oceans have always inspired ambivalent feelings of fear, fascination, awe and anxiety. According to Hebrew cosmogony, the sea was one of the basic elements from which everything was formed. In the beginning, God separated the seas from land cf. Genesis 1:9-10 and formed a three-story universe: the earth, the heavens above the earth and the…
Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary TimeYear B
Theme: Kingdom Today we handle the message given to us in parables. Parables are specific literary forms used to deliver a needed message for the ethical purpose to provoke thought and challenge hearers for decisive action. When we accept the invitation from parables and look beyond the words and images we find therein deep teaching that God is intending for us here and now. First reading: Ezekiel 17:22–24 Great trees that are massive living giants deeply rooted in the earth with their boughs stretched wide across the horizon have been a favourite subject of poets and artists for centuries. Experts…
“Love, you do not look fine”, My Coronavirus ordeal
I survived COVID-19 and I am happy to tell the story. By the time you read the last paragraph of this article, you will have learned how to beat COVID-19 and stop being scared by it. But first, a bit about my background for context. When you spend a lot of your early life with grandparents, you learn a great deal about so many things. Being a World War II veteran, Grandpa Atanansi Komunjara, was a living encyclopaedia of knowledge. Every night, after prayers, he spoke to me to sleep. Initially, he slept alone in a room. As years went…
Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B
Theme: Sin by any other name is sin While defining the word name William Shakespeare said that whatever we call a rose, by any other name would smell sweet and whatever we call sin, by any other name would still be sin! In our contemporary society, we tend to minimize sin by calling it other names. There is a tendency to ignore evil and to behave as if sin is dead. The truth is that sin has not disappeared; it has simply changed its name. Much of sin is now called crime, immoral and illegal. Sins like murder, robbery, adultery…
