Feast of Ascension

RETURNING TO GLORY

Dear brothers and sisters, today the Church celebrates the Ascension of Our Lord. The first-born of the new creation is gloriously returning to the Father. And all of us his brothers and sisters are destined to follow him in the glory of the Father. We do not have a permanent city here on earth. With the Ascension of Jesus, we also belong to heaven. But how very often we lose sight of our heavenly inheritance! How carelessly we conduct our lives as though we belonged totally to this world! Let us humbly ask the Lord to pardon for all our sins and especially for our undue attachment to the things of this world.

Liturgical materials for the Feast of Ascension of our Lord.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sYNY4KPf882XyiESeDsA2oR9JZ4dZkOr?usp=share_link

6th Sunday of Easter

ANOTHER HELPER

If a child is born in a Catholic family, the child is Catholic. The parents will baptize the child at a very young age thereby ensuring that the child grows under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. The child’s family and the Church and its institutions will help the child to further advance in faith. This is the dynamic that is taking place in the life of a believer in Christ. But the fact is that the believer has to do something more to advance in the faith that he/she has received. Our parents, teachers and Church personnel help us in this process. But the ultimate source and power behind our faith is Jesus himself. Jesus makes it very clear in Today’s Gospel passage. In his long exhortation at the Last Supper, Jesus promises to send them the Paraclete who will represent Jesus himself. He will not leave his disciples desolate or abandoned because by dwelling in the person and working along with him/her he will take the person’s life forward. This is the awareness that we need in order to grow in our faith. Of course, above all else, there is the towering presence of the Father who sees everything.

Liturgical materials for Sixth Sunday of Easter.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SI3EMc8N02wGnIHyx24OmZkx28vY-GZl?usp=share_link

5th Sunday of Easter

APPOINTED TO SERVE

The Christian community in its initial days lived in peace and harmony albeit the isolated events of corruption and deceit as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira. As it happens in any community where people live and interact, there will be issues regarding day-to-day living. The First Reading of today throws light on a problem and shows how the apostles dealt with it. The problem began when a group of women started complaining about the daily allocation of food. The apostles found a way to tackle it. They appointed a group of men to take care of it while they themselves would devote to the building up of the community through prayer and exhortations. Having lived with Jesus and experienced his acumen in dealing with problems, the apostles have now become able administrators of the community. What is our experience of Jesus?

Liturgical materials for the Fifth Sunday of Easter.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NkyWD-twLQ0dwoqIBvRd9j4_vy2YZZA3?usp=share_link

4th Sunday of Easter

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Today is called Good Shepherd Sunday, and, appropriately, this day is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Today, the Church calls us to reflect on the meaning of God’s call for each of us and to pray for generous respondents God’s personal call (vocation), to the priesthood, the diaconate, and the consecrated life, because the entire Christian community shares the responsibility for fostering vocations. Both the Old and New Testaments use the image of a Shepherd and His flock to describe the unique relationship of God with Israel and Christ with Christians.

In the tradition of Israel, the kings were considered to be the shepherds. They had the obligation to lead the Israel safe and secure. Unfortunately, the kings became selfish to serve themselves and their families at the cost of the people. God promised the people of Israel that he will not submit his sheep in the hands of the earthly shepherds. He said that he will be their shepherd. In this way, Jesus said ‘I am the good shepherd’. Jesus invites all to be with Him placing the trust and confidence in Him.

Liturgical materials for the Fourth Sunday of Easter.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FWwRLA3RYCD6MzhfMcejzez96wPbkQV0?usp=share_link

3rd Sunday of Easter

STAY WITH US

We are all on a journey. Some journeys become memorable because of the encounter we have had with the co-travellers. Such journeys will have a lasting effect. Every journey becomes an encounter when you have a person to lead the conversation, when the conversation is productive, when the hearers have the heart for listening to what is being said and an openness to accept and change. The Readings of today concentrate on the positivity of an encounter. The Emmaus story in the Gospel highlights this aspect of journey becoming an encounter and thereby transformation of the hearts. Similarly, in the Acts of the apostles, we see Peter encountering the crowd in Jerusalem at Pentecost event, and becoming instrumental in paving the way for people to repent of their sinful actions.

Happy to share with you the Liturgical materials for the Third Sunday of Easter.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FY2bYTixQhPXpiBr7s0EfIk_Yhelvkl_?usp=share_link

2nd Sunday of Easter

MY LORD! MY GOD

Today we conclude the Octave of Easter which is also celebrated as the Feast of Divine Mercy, as decreed by Pope Saint John Paul II. We experience the abundant mercies of the Lord especially through the events of the Holy Week and the Easter Season. The sufferings, death and resurrection of Christ have caused an abundant flow of mercy upon the whole world. In the gospel of today, Jesus appears to the Apostles, greets them with the gift of peace, empowers them with the Holy Spirit and gives them the power to forgive sins as a sign of God’s mercy. Thomas the Apostle is the recipient of the great mercy of God as Jesus appears again after eight days. The emphasis of the liturgy today, therefore, is on the great mercy of God which is the gift of Easter. Let us celebrate this Octave of Easter, the Divine Mercy Sunday, by resolving to seek the Lord’s mercy for ourselves and be instruments of that mercy for others.

Liturgical materials for the Second Sunday of Easter.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MVBV3P_heCMRgPZJYB0padvl7rU9u9ec?usp=share_link

Easter Sunday

HAPPINESS IN HOPE

Today the Church celebrates Easter. With this celebration we conclude a six-week long retreat. We have reflected upon our own shortcomings in the light of the passion and death of our Lord. During the season of Lent we did not recite the Gloria and the Alleluia, because Christ her bridegroom was going through his passion and death. But today they are re-instated solemnly. Means of fasting, prayer and almsgiving were practised in order to restore our relationships with ourselves, with God and with others. Now begins a seven-week long celebration which will culminate in another important solemnity, namely, the Pentecost. If Lent represented our life in this world, Eastertide will represent our life after death where we shall rejoice in the presence of God forever. Let us ask ourselves whether we have grasped this mystery of Jesus’ resurrection in its fullness.

Liturgy for Easter Sunday.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dmQWAkxPjNJAG2l6oP4f99N9FRcNAAEP?usp=share_link