A Word From The Pastor
Today the Second Sunday of Lent: We hear about the transfiguration of Jesus at Mount Horeb. Mountains are perceived to be locations of God- experience in many traditional cultures and in many world religions. In the bible, mountains are pictured as a holy place. A place of meeting God. We see in the Bible God often chooses a mountain top to reveal Himself and His plans. Every time we come to Mass transfiguration happens at the mountain of the Altar. The “transfiguration” in the Holy Mass is the source of our strength: In each Holy Mass, the bread and wine we offer on the altar become “transfigured” or transformed (transubstantiated) into the living Body and Blood of the crucified, risen, and glorified Jesus. Just as Jesus' Transfiguration was meant to strengthen the apostles in their time of trial, each Holy Mass should be our source of Heavenly strength against temptations, and for our Lenten renewal.
The Just Man: On March 19th we celebrate the feast of St Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Little definite information has come down to us about the chosen soul who was to be, in God’s providence, the earthly guardian of Our Lady and the Foster- father of the Incarnate Word. All that is reliably known of this “just man’ named Joseph is contained in the first two chapters of the Gospels of Sts. Matthew and Luke. From the fact that there is no further reference to Joseph in the Bible after the finding of the boy Jesus in the temple, it has been reasonably inferred that he did not live to see the beginning of Our Lord’s public ministry. The date and place of his death and burial are unknown, but devotion has been shown to him since the earliest times. Joseph is, no doubt, the greatest and most beloved of all the saints of the Church next only to Mary. His greatness and that of Mary is measured by their closeness to Jesus Christ when he came to earth as the Word Made Flesh, the God- With- Us, to impart eternal life to all who believed in him. As a carpenter by profession St Joseph is given the title, “Patron of workmen”. He is also invoked for a happy death. Great in the spirit, great in faith, St Joseph comes through as a man who heard the words of the living God- he listened to those words in silence, and become, as it were, the first witness of the Divine Mystery. St Joseph; pray for us.
Abstaining From Meat On Fridays: A Jewish man joins a Catholic neighborhood. But every Friday he makes the life of his Catholic neighbors difficult. While the Catholics avoid meat, the Jew is outside barbecuing steak. The mouthwatering smell is making their abstinence excruciating. The best way to put an end to their misery is to convert the Jewish guy to Catholicism. After much pleading and some arm-twisting, the Catholics succeed. They take him to a priest for baptism. Afterwards the priest congratulates the new convert and cheerfully says, "Born a Jew, raised a Jew, now a Catholic!" His Catholic neighbors are very happy. At last, there will be no more temptation on Fridays. But the next Friday evening, the familiar aroma of barbecue fills the air again. The Catholics all rush to the Jew's house to remind him of the obligation of abstinence. They see him standing over the grill, sprinkling water on the meat and solemnly saying, "Born a cow, raised a cow, now a fish!"
God’s blessings,
Fr. Suneesh Mathew
|
