FUNERAL HOMILY FOR Bill Dorsel

A friend once came to Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of the book, ‘When Bad Things Happen to Good People’, and said to him: "Two weeks ago, for the first time in my life, I went to the funeral of a man my own age. I didn't know him well, but we worked together, talked to each other from time to time, and had kids about the same age. He died suddenly over the weekend. A bunch of us went to the funeral, each of us thinking, "It could just as easily have been me."

That was two weeks ago. They have already replaced him at the office. I hear his wife is moving out of state to live with her parents. Two weeks ago, he was working fifty feet away from me, and now it's as if he never existed.

It's like a rock falling into a pool of water. For a few seconds, it makes ripples in the water, and then the water is the same as it was before, but the rock isn't there anymore.

Rabbi, I've hardly slept at all since then. I can't stop thinking that it could happen to me, that one day it will happen to me, and a few days later, I will be forgotten as if I had never lived. Shouldn't a man's life be more than that?"

This man had just experienced a wake-up call! For all of us, there are times like that when we are brought up short, and we are left thinking disturbing questions like, "Shouldn't a man's life be more than that?" Yes, if our life is going to end here, it should be a disturbing question. But we Christians have an assuring word from Jesus, who came back from death and told us to prepare to go where he is, where he is going. Jesus said:

Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me. So, we are going to a better place to see the glory, divine glory. This glory is the reward that he promises for our faithful life in union with him here on earth. Some people doubt the rationality behind life after this life/death. It is said that there are three stages to our human life. The first stage is the inactive stage, when our organs are developed for the second stage, the active stage of life. And then the second stage prepares for the third stage when one receives the rewards for the virtues or sins of one’s life.

Our first stage is our nine-month life in the womb of our mother. A baby’s life in the womb says it is not meant to live there forever. A baby in the uterus has eyes. But it does not need the eyes; it cannot see. It has feet, but it does not need to walk there. It has hands but does not need to grab anything. It has lungs but does not need to breathe through the nose. All the organs of a baby in the uterus except its umbilical cord are not helpful for the baby in the womb. They are meant for their life after that stage. But the unborn baby does not understand it.  

The second stage in our active life.  Two kinds of actions and their results are accrued from there, good deeds and some bad. Our moral sense tells us that a good person should get a good reward, a person who does bad deeds should get punishment, and an innocent person needs to be given justice.

We do not see that fully happening here in this life. Let’s imagine two scenarios here in this context.

A person sees a house on fire, and he jumps to save the dying person inside the house. In the process, he gets killed along with the man in the burning house. His death is not a reward for his trying to save that man. He should get a reward. Where is he going to get it?

Let’s imagine another situation where a man goes stealing, and in the process of running to save from being caught, he falls in a well and dies.

The thief died, but that is not his reward or punishment. Because everyone dies. He needs to get punished. So, there is a reward awaiting for both these people.

It tells us that we have a stage coming as a stage of enjoying the fruits of one’s actions done in this world. Without that stage of existence, our moral sense gets wounded, feel grieved by this existence. In such a situation, we can lament with the book of Sirach that vanity of vanities, everything is vanity. Those who have faith know that their master promises reward for the good living here. That reward is glory with the Father.

Bill lived in this world believing in the promise of our Saviour. Paul said in the first reading today that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence. Being with Jesus is our reward. Once, he said to those who believed in him that he was coming back and would take them to himself.

Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the Life; whoever believes in me will rise to eternal life.

Christians celebrate the funeral rites to offer worship, praise, and thanksgiving to God for the gift of a life which has now been returned to God, the author of life and the hope of the just. The Mass, the memorial of Christ's death and resurrection, is the principal celebration of the Christian funeral. Therefore, we do that for Bill today.

The Christians, particularly the Catholics, pray for the dead, believing that the dead will go through a stage called purgatory, where even the smallest vestiges of sins are to be cleansed before entering the presence of God. Because nothing unholy can enter presence of God. When St.Bernadette of Lourdes was dying, she was afraid that people would think she was holy. She asked the sisters around her, ‘Pray for me when I am dead. People will say, “That little saint doesn’t need prayers, and I will be left in purgatory.” If a living saint felt that way, how much more do we really know from the core of our hearts that we need real cleansing? Of course, no one in purgatory is forgotten or abandoned. The souls in purgatory are remembered and prayed for at every Mass every day. “Remember our brothers and sisters who have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again. Bring them into the light of your presence.”

We need to grow in love. Purgatory is where we go through the final purification that frees us to love and makes us ready to experience the joy of God’s presence in heaven. The English Dominican Fr. Bede Jarrett describes it this way: We must not think that our dead are in anguish. No doubt they are restless and eager for their release, but only as a lover might be restless who did not find himself fit to meet his beloved. So, let this celebration of the life of Bill Dorsel today help him hasten his way to the complete vision of God for which he was created and called to eternal rest.

 

  

Thursday, Luke 5:1-11: Miraculous Catch of Fish by Peter.

After he had finished speaking, Jesus said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”

“Put out into deep water…”  There is great meaning to this little line.

First of all, it’s important to note that the Apostles had fished all night long with no success.  They had tried throughout the night to bring in a haul without success. They probably went to all the good spots they knew, casting and retrieving their nets countless times. No matter how much they tried, the result was the same: they caught nothing. By the time Jesus came by the lake the following day, these fishermen must have been exhausted from the night’s work and were not at all ready to fish some more.

The first thing that came to Simon’s mind when Jesus told him to lower the net was how they had unsuccessfully toiled all night. Now, every fisherman of the time knew the best time to fish was at night, it was so much harder during full day light. Peter starts out with a protest against Jesus’ idea, saying Master, we toiled all night, the best time for fishing, and caught nothing.

This is what we often do. We look back on our fruitless ventures and then begin to doubt if God can really cause us to succeed. We must ask ourselves a question: Did we seek God’s approval before we started the venture that failed? If the answer is no, then we cannot charge God for failing to finish what He did not begin. The wiser thing to do is seek His counsel.

Peter then has second thoughts and replies to Jesus, “But if you say so, I will….  I will lower the nets.” The result is that they caught more fish than they thought they could handle.

if we follow God’s instruction, we will be successful in whatever we do. It may not always be instantaneous, but we will certainly succeed. God’s instruction will usually be something we may not want to hear. God’s direction almost always requires us to use our faith and almost always doesn’t make logical sense. Just like Simon, we have to forget about what makes sense to us and trust.

Just think about what would have happened if Simon had laughed and told Jesus, “Sorry, Lord, I’m done fishing for the day.  Maybe tomorrow.”  If Simon had acted this way, he would never have been blessed with this abundant catch.  The same is true with us.  If we fail to listen to the voice of God in our lives and fail to heed His radical commands, we will not be used in the way He desires to use us. Doing the Father’s Will in our lives is the most important thing we can possibly do.  We will be successful according to God’s definition.

What did Jesus tell Simon to do?, To put out into the “deep” water.  What does that mean?

This passage is not only about the physical miracle of catching fish; rather, it’s much more about the mission of evangelizing souls and accomplishing the mission of God.  The symbolism of putting out into the deep water tells us that we must be all in and fully committed if we are to evangelize and spread the Word of God as we are called to do.

Jesus told Peter that life is found in deep water, not shallow water. Often, we do not want to put out into deep water. When we are young, we do not like to lower the net of faith into deep waters. We like to fish from shallow waters. No time for total commitment to God. So much to do, school work and sports. Lord, I do not have time to lower my net deeper. Today I can do a little bit in shallow water. And as a result, we will not find the glory of God in our lives. We will easily be led away from our faith if we are not willing to put out into deep waters. We will end up losing our faith in living God and be carried away by the secular ideas that tell us that we are fine and do not need God. Try to find some time every day to put out into deep waters. Not just perfunctory prayers, but we need deeper reflection on our faith, tune in our wavelength to the Lord’s channel, and listen to him.  

 

At the miraculous catch, Simon proclaims that he is not worthy to be in Jesus’ presence because he is a sinner.  Have we ever had time to find out whether there is any sin in us that makes us unsuccessful, sad and disappointed? Jesus invites Simon and his fishing buddies to join him and cast the nets of salvation over people and pull them into the Reign of Heaven.  The text ends with Peter and his companions’ response:  ‘They left everything and followed him.’ Are we willing to follow him today?

 Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; 1 Cor 15:20-27; Lk 1:39-56

Today, we celebrate one of the great solemnities in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Assumption. This special day commemorates the fact that after Mary’s earthly life, she was taken body and soul into heaven to be with her resurrected Son and adore the Most Holy Trinity forever. It is a remarkable truth that she now enjoys her body and soul united in heaven, anticipating the day when all the faithful will rise and dwell with God in a new bodily form.

In today’s gospel reading, we hear the story of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. Luke describes a visit that left both the visitor and the one visited greatly blessed. Elizabeth addresses Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’. She recognized that in welcoming Mary she was welcoming the Lord whom Mary was carrying. Elizabeth was aware that the Lord was visiting her through Mary, and so she declared Mary blessed. That is why we, too, honour Mary. We recognize that it was through her that the Lord visited us. Later on, in Luke’s gospel, the crowds come to say of the adult Jesus, ‘God has visited his people’. The really significant visitation is God’s visiting us in the person of Jesus, and it was through Mary that this visitation came about. We honour Mary because she was the gate through whom the Lord came to us. That is why, as she sings in her Magnificat, all generations have called her blessed.

Because she is the gate through whom the Lord first came to us, Mary has a unique relationship with the Lord. It is because of that special relationship with the Lord that she shares uniquely in his risen and glorious life before everybody else. That is what we celebrate today on this feast of the Assumption.

This feast is not only about Mary. It is also about ourselves. What Mary has become, we hope to be. The great things that God has done for Mary are a pointer to the great things that God wants to do for all of us. The doctrine of Mary’s bodily assumption into heaven brings home to us that our bodies are destined to be gloriously changed after death. How this will happen is utterly mysterious.

Recognizing that the Lord comes among us in embodied ways inspires us to be concerned about the welfare of people’s bodies. When in today’s gospel reading Mary sings of God as one who exalts the lowly and fills the hungry with good things, she acknowledges God as one who is deeply concerned about people’s bodies, about their physical well-being. Today’s feast calls on us to make that concern of God our own, and to give expression to God’s concern in the way we relate to others, especially to those who are broken in body or spirit.

We celebrate today by singing with Mary her great hymn of praise, the “Magnificat” (Lk 1:39-56). Apart from God’s favour Mary was but a lowly servant living in a “nowhere” town in the hill country of Galilee.  She was at the bottom of the social ladder.  Yet when God touched her womb she became a queen, the mother of the King of kings.  To this day she is honored millions of times a day as her “Hail Mary” is recited by humble Catholics throughout the world.  If you check it out, you will be amazed at the number of singing artists, both religious and secular, who have recorded her “Ave Maria.”  Truly all generations have and will always call her blessed.

And she is not the only one called blessed.  Each of us, being her sons and daughters, is also called blessed because we are special children of the Queen of heaven and earth.  Any low self-esteem problems we might have will evaporate if we drink in this truth about ourselves.

“The Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.  He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.”

 

May the assumed Mary intercede for us with her Son Jesus to do the works she did so that finally, we shall, assisted by Mary, one day reach Jesus, and enjoy the joys of heaven.

 

ALL SOULS DAY

Today, All Souls' Day, the Church offers prayers to honor and to intercede for those who have predeceased us.
This commemoration also brings to mind our own mortality. It can be a day of mixed emotions, for, while we are saddened to recall the deaths of our loved ones,  we are also reminded of our resurrection. Because of our Baptism and the price Jesus paid for our sins, we too can share in the Resurrection.

A too common error among many believing Catholics is their attitude toward death and what happens immediately after death. All too many are convinced that their loved ones, immediately after passing from this life to the next, are already in heaven, even though such loved ones did not live an exemplary and holy life. Remember what the last Book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, teaches us: “Nothing impure can enter the Kingdom of God.”  Jesus also states: “Blessed are the pure of heart for they will see God.”(Mt. 5:8)

How often do we hear at funerals, referring to the deceased, these words: “Well, he is in a better place now!” or “Now he is no longer suffering.” Obviously, those who utter these statements toward the deceased have no bad will in the least. Nonetheless, these statements can cause great damage and the reason is crystal clear! If this person who has passed into eternity is in a better place, which of course refers to heaven, and if he is no longer suffering because he enjoys the perpetual bliss of heaven, then it is not necessary to offer any prayers or sacrifices for the purification of his soul. In other words, why waste prayers and sacrifices in praying for a soul who is already in heaven? They can pray and intercede for us.

However, we must arrive at the bare truth. Only those who are absolutely pure, without any stain of sin, without any attachments to sin and this world, and who have been totally purified of their past sins can have access to the Kingdom of heaven. Most of us would have to admit, with honesty and truth, that we probably have not arrived at that state, yet. In other words, only those who have perfected themselves in charity—supernatural love for God and neighbor—are ready to enter into the utter holiness and essence of the eternal Home of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Mary, the angels and saints!

Therefore, no matter who the person is and was, after he has passed from this life to the next, it is a salutary practice and most pleasing to God to pray, offer sacrifices, offer Masses and offer alms for the deceased. We should not canonize them before their time. Only the Holy Father, the Pope, has the right to declare officially that such a person is a saint in heaven.

Therefore, if such a person has died in the state of grace, but has not yet arrived at heaven, then his destiny is that of PURGATORY. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Purgatory as such:

“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” (CCC # 1030)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church also quotes Pope Saint Gregory the Great, who is the origin and initiator of the “Gregorian Masses”—meaning 30 consecutive Masses for the deceased, on the topic of Purgatory with these motivating words:

“As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.” (CCC #1031)

Then the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers us a clear Biblical passage from the Old Testament, the Book of Maccabees (2 Mac. 12:46) that gives support and proof for the reality of Purgatory, as well as what practices we should undertake so as to help these poor souls in their suffering to arrive safely home in heaven. In a word, the souls in Purgatory are saved because they died in the state of sanctifying grace, but they are totally dependent upon the infinite mercy of Almighty God for final purification. However, the mercy of Almighty God is partially mediated through what we do for them while we are on earth. God wants us to do all we can to help these souls attain their eternal reward. Therefore, let us read and reflect seriously in an attitude of prayer the words once again of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

“This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: Therefore (Judas Maccabeus) made atonement for the dead that they might be delivered from their sin (2.Mac.12:45). From the beginning, the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: “Let us help and commemorate them. If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice (Job.1:5), why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.” (CCC # 1032)

 We can only be truly consoled by trusting in the Lord’s words: I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even if they die, will live [Jn. 11: 25]. It is in this faith and trust in God’s goodness that we pray for the deceased. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied, says Paul in 1 cor.15:19.

We are reminded today, on All Souls Day, not only to pray for those who have died, but also to reflect on how well we might be meeting our own obligations with those entrusted by Christ to our loving care.

Why veil the statues in the Holy week and no Mass on Good Friday?

As you can see the statues in the Church are veiled during Holy week. It is not mandatory since the Vat.II, and so not all Churches do that any more. The rational behind this practice is that:

Christ hid himself from the rage of the Jewish authorities (John 8:59), as they threatened to stone him;  so now he is hidden from the world in preparation for the mysteries of his passion.

“The statues of the saints, too, are covered; for it is but just that, if the glory of the Master be eclipsed, the servant should not appear.

Another reason is that  our Savior’s divinity was almost totally eclipsed during the holy week, so great was his suffering. And even his humanity was obscured – so much so that he could say through his prophet: I am a worm and no man (Psalm 21:7). His face and whole body were so disfigured by the blows and scourges that our Jesus was scarcely recognizable! Thus, the wounds he endured hid both his divinity and his humanity.

 It may be possible that the Church covers the images of the Cross during these days, for the same reason that she refrains from offering the Sacrifice of the Mass on Good Friday.

St. Thomas tells us that “the figure ceases on the advent of the reality. But this sacrament [i.e. the Eucharist] is a figure and a representation of our Lord's Passion. And therefore on the day on which our Lord's Passion is recalled as it was really accomplished, this sacrament is not consecrated.” (ST III, q.83, a.2, ad 2). In this time in which we mystically enter into the historical realities of Jesus’ final days, it is not fitting to have the image, sign or sacrament of the Cross presented to the faithful.

Homily on the Canonization of St.Chavara Elias.

Today is the feast of Christ the King. Jesus the risen King has many courtiers in his heavenly mansion. They are called Saints. They are the ones (mentioned in the book of Revelation): those who sit on thrones around the majestic seat of Christ the king. A saint is someone who lived his or her life heroically, or in an extraordinary way witnessing his or her faith in Jesus.

Today we are proud to have two saints added to the list of the Catholic church from our native state:.Sts.Kuriakose Elias Chavara the namesake of this parish and Sr.Euprasia who was known as praying nun who lived in the order founded by St.Elias. It is an honor for us to have these two saints in one stroke added to the Syro Malabar Church.

What is it that, they did to have been elevated to the status of saints. Well, with Sr.Euprasia nothing outstanding is said about her other than she was a woman of prayer. Probably that would tell us what we as Christians need to do to be saints in our life. Just keep the connection with God always; be a person of prayer. As a burning bulb needs to keep its connection with the electric  power source or transformer, so we need to be connected with God. That is the only, and the only thing needed to become a saint. As Jesus told Martha: Martha Martha you are worried about too many things, but only one thing is necessary, Mary has chosen that part. Because holiness does not come from doing a lot of charities or doing the right thing. Doing the right thing for Jesus. If that weren’t the case the Catholic Church should have canonized Mahatma Gandhi as a saint. He may be called a saint in generic sense of being a good man, but to be a saint in the eyes of the Church, all our actions should be done in and through and for Christ. So, being united to Christ and living for him is the Primary and basic requirement to be called a saint. Holiness comes from God. It is God’s property. It can be ours only through faith in Jesus. And therefore, doing works of charity will not bring holiness unless that emanates from one’s closeness to God. That is why St.Paul says that we are saved through grace not by works.

Observing the life of prayer and holiness of Sr.Euprasia, the local people called her “Praying Mother”, and her Sisters in community referred to her as the “Mobile Tabernacle”, because the divine presence she kept within her radiated to all she encountered.

Thus, with a pure heart Mother Euphrasia gave her maternal love and tenderness to those who sought her help. She gave them the comforting words of Jesus’ Gospel and interceded for them. For each little kindness bestowed upon her she would reply, “I will not forget it, not even after death”.

Mother Euphrasia had a profound sense of Church and she personally felt the sorrows and problems of the Church of her day. Mother Euphrasia offered her life in sacrifice for love of God. She abandoned herself to his will and finally joined him on 29 August 1952.

Moving on to St.Kuriakose Elias Chavara, he was a priest in the Archdiocese of Verapoly. To bring the Syro Malabar Church history in perspective: Till 1887 the Syro Malabar Church was under the Latin bishops governance and only in 1923 syro Malabar Hierarchy was restored.

St.Elias was born in 1805 at Kainakary, near Allappuzha. In 1830 he went to Mannanam to direct the construction of the first house of the congregation of which the foundation stone was laid in 1831. On 8th December, 1855 he made the religious profession along with other 10 companions, under the name “Kuriakose Elias of Holy Family”.

In 1871, on January 3rd, Fr. Kuriakose Elias Chavara, with a painful illness, died at Koonammavu monastery in Kochi. His mortal remains were later transferred from Koonammavu to Mannanam in 1889, two years after the Syro Malabar hierarchy was established.

He was the Prior General of all the monasteries of the congregation from 1856 till his death in 1871. When, in 1861, a schism threatened the Church of Kerala with the arrival of Mar Thomas Rokos without proper credentials from the Pope, Blessed Chavara was appointed the Vicar-General of the Syro-Malabar Church by the Arch-Bishop of Verapolly.

Blessed Chavara is gratefully remembered and acknowledged by the later leaders of the Church and by the Catholic community in general for his strenuous fight, strong stance , and effective leadership in thwarting `Thomas Rochos’ intrusion and saving the church of Kerala from schism.

What made  Kuriakos Elias a saint is not anything that he did, like his contribution to education; (I don’t’ want to go into there in detail as you all already know it), or the positions he bore, but his extraordinary trust in God and in his ability to transform that trust into actions of Charity. His trust in doing little things with extra ordinary trust in God’s providence.

So, what is that we are called to do here when we celebrate this day? Just to rejoice and celebrate? Yes, but much more. It is a call for us to strive to become saints. These two were declared saints not because they were religious priest or a nun. No. If that is the case you people have no chance. But because as I said earlier they trusted in the promise of God. Sr.Euprasia chose what Mary chose and Fr.Kuriakose chose what Mary and Martha chose in their lives. If their lives do not present an invitation for us to strive the path of holiness, then this means nothing for us. We are called to be human beings, not human doings. It is primarily our attitude to life and God rather than our actions that matter most. So open yourself/ourselves to this call of God to holiness and in that our efforts these two compatriots will help us. 

MOTHER OF GOD- NEW YEAR-2014.

A few weeks ago, when Pope Francis was selected as “Person of the Year,” a young woman of feminist leanings joked, “We should have a WOMAN as head of the church ABOVE the Pope,”.  Another woman who heard her immediately tossed back, “We have one- Mary.  Mary, Mother of God, is above the Pope in the Church!”   She is not God, but above any human being as the message of the angel indicated “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb too. She herself proclaimed: All generations will call me blessed.

Today we celebrate the New year, but as Catholics today we think and celebrate Mary as the Mother of God.  Mary’s Motherhood is the heart and reason for all our attention to and claims on Mary through the centuries.

Jesus once asked his disciples “Who do you say I am?” (Mt 16:15).  It is a question that never goes away, and every believer faces it again and again.  We can be quite clear in our mind about the Church’s answer to the question, but every believer has to experience the force of the question addressed to him or herself.  “Who do you say I am?”  In a sense it cannot be fully answered with words but only with one’s life.  It could have the right formulation but it has little significance if my life contradicts it or ignores it. 

Through the centuries every possible answer has been given.  Followers of Nestorius, the 5th-century archbishop of Constantinople said that Christ was two persons – the man Jesus and the divine Son of God.  This view was rejected at the Council of Ephesus (431 AD), which insisted that Jesus was one person with two natures, divine and human.  The most emphatic way they could say this was to affirm that Mary was not just the mother of the man Jesus, but that she was the mother of God.  This was to say that Christ was one person, not two.  If there were two persons in Jesus, Mary could not be the mother of Son of God. She could only be the mother of human Jesus, not of the Christ. Note that it is more a statement about Christ than about Mary – or rather, equally so.

In today's Second Reading, St Paul reminds us that through God's grace we have all become brothers and sisters of Christ and, therefore, children of God.

This is what happened at baptism. At that moment we were born again, supernaturally; God infused his divine DNA into our souls. The spiritual life consists of the gradual spread and development of that DNA, until each one of us becomes a mature, wise, and fruitful follower of Jesus Christ.

Today's Solemnity reminds us that if we have become Christ's spiritual brothers and sisters, we have also become spiritual children of Mary. She was his mother in the flesh, and she is our mother in grace. Representing all disciples of Jesus in John the apostle Jesus said: this is your mother.

In today's Gospel she teaches us one of the most important virtues of all: wisdom. St Luke tells us how Mary responded to the wonderful things that God was doing in and around her: "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart."

God did not tell Mary His entire plan. She had to walk in the dim light of faith, one step at a time, trusting in God, witnessing his action, and seconding it whenever she could. This capacity and habit of reflecting in our heart of God's action in our lives is both a sign and a source of wisdom. And we can never become mature, courageous, and joyful  followers of Christ unless we develop it.

Our culture has a custom of making new year resolutions. Why not make the resolution to spend this year learning from our spiritual mother how to let God put wisdom into our lives, by "keeping all these things and reflecting on them in our hearts" through praying Rosary every day. Rosary is a very powerful weapon to fight Satanic influences in our families if prayed together as a family.

As we make new priorities for life, let’s make sure that Jesus and Mary find a place in our plans and decision makings. When  wrestling with all the uncertainties of life, struggles, challenges that seem to keep coming our way, remember we can fight them all with the help of Mary and her Son.

In closing let me draw our attention to one of the important areas we should be paying attention to this new year. It is about redeeming our time.

What portion of our time does God have in my everyday life ? How much television are we watching? How much time to sports are we devoting? What are we doing with our time? If we don’t find time for God, he will not find time for us to. Let’s not always be pleasure seekers but seekers of Holiness, which gives us joy and peace.  Let’s start every day of our New year on our knees, one who kneels before God can stand up to anything in life. Wish you all a happy new year.