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Homily- Reflection for Passion Sunday

 The Passion narrative in our gospels form the oldest part of the gospels. The disciples made a record first of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. Then eventually they reflected on  his words and deeds, even to his infancy, as our gospels tell us.

On this day, the Church celebrates Christs’ entrance into Jerusalem to accomplish his paschal mystery. Today is the beginning of Holy Week. The gospel today, recalls the passion and death of Jesus thus leading us to focus intently on the heart of the mystery of salvation. Matthew here, gives us a vivid representation of what really happened on that First Holy Week. He bluntly puts the betrayal, the fear and the denial of the disciples of Jesus.

Today’s gospel also shows us the mystery of dying and rising, the mystery of humiliation and exaltation, the mystery of suffering and glorification, the mystery of death in order to live eternally, the mystery of defeat which is crowned with victory.

Today’s readings also tell us of the fickleness of the crowd, shouting “Hosanna” today and “Crucify Him” on Good Friday.  Here, we see also that there are many people who have taken part in the passion of Jesus, and it is not a mere coincidence that these people  seem to be representing all of humanity. We have Judas Iscariot, one of his chosen disciples, who betrayed him. We have Peter, the Rock who promised not to abandon him even to death but denied him 3 times. We have the two sons of Zebedee, who with Peter, couldn’t stay awake with Jesus for an hour. We have the officers who came with Judas Iscariot (the traitor) to arrest Jesus. We have Caiaphas, the high priest, and all the chief priests, the scribes and the elders, the whole Sanhedrin, who felt that Jesus was a threat to their security and position in the society. We have Pilate who washed his hands to get out of the matter, to be indifferent somehow. We have Simon of Cyrene, who helped him carry his cross. We have the two thieves crucified beside him, one of whom humbles himself and thus exalted. We have the women of Jerusalem who were  just accompanying Jesus on his way to the Cross, helplessly yet constantly, walking with him. We have Mary his mother, who stood with him, walked with him, and stayed with him at the foot of the cross. We have, the beloved disciple, who is the only one among the twelve to stay close to Jesus, to the end. And  we have Joseph of Arimathaea, a rich man who offered his newly- hewn tomb for Jesus to be buried there.

Each of us stands alone before Christ. Like Judas, Caiaphas, Pilate, Pilate’s wife, Simon the Cyrenean, the Roman Centurion, and all the others who had a role in the drama of the passion and death of Jesus, each of us must declare where we stand by our attitudes and actions. The best test of that is whether we’re faithful to Christian principles: principles of justice, of peace, of married life, of our callings, of our human existence, and principles of Love. Jesus didn’t suffer and die to exempt others from suffering and dying, but to redeem us and to show us how to suffer and die with him, so as to rise and glory in and with him at the end.

As we reflect on this holy week, let us examine ourselves in what way have we partaken in the passion of Jesus. However, we have to understand that no matter how great our sins are, no matter how bad we are in making Jesus suffer, on the cross he saved us all, he cleansed all our sinfulness. But like the thief, we have to allow Jesus do something in and for us, to acknowledge our sinfulness  before him, and say to him, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

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Why DO we tend to stone others?

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.
We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was really friendly.


So I asked, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined
your car and sent us to the hospital!’
This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, ‘The Law of the Garbage Truck.’

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.
As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,
so … Love the people who treat you right.
Pray for the ones who don’t .
Life is ten percent what you make it
and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

TODAY’s GOSPEL speaks about Jews about to be stoned by the Jews because of the things he has done, the good ones…They are blinded of their own self-indulgence to their “personal God” and failed to see the God himself who tried every means to make them see and realize HIS love to them and to all people. 

In what way have we attempted to stone Jesus? In what way have we tried to stone the people that we don’t like? We might just be envious of them… Let’s just be ourselves and utilize the gifts that God gives us. If we are given LEMONS then we’ll make LEMONADE out of it….We can’t do something different from it.

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Sweet Jesus!!!

At the University of Chicago Divinity School each year they have what is called ‘Baptist Day.’ On this day each one is to bring a lunch to be eaten outdoors in a grassy picnic area. Every ‘Baptist Day’ the school would invite one of the greatest minds to lecture in the theological education center.

 One year they invited Dr. Paul Tillich. Dr.Tillich spoke for two and one-half hours proving that the resurrection of Jesus was false. He quoted scholar after scholar and book after book. He concluded that since there was no such thing as the historical resurrection the religious  tradition of the church was groundless, emotional mumbo-jumbo, because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus, who, in fact never rose from the dead in any literal sense.

He then asked if there were any questions. After about 30 seconds, an old, dark skinned preacher with a head of short-cropped, woolly white hair stood up in the back of the auditorium. ‘Docta Tillich, I got one question,’ he said as all eyes turned toward him. He reached into his sack lunch and pulled out an apple and began eating it. ‘Docta Tillich.. CRUNCH, MUNCH ‘My question is a simple question,… CRUNCH,MUNCH… ‘Now, I ain’t never read them books you read..CRUNCH, MUNCH..’ and I can’t recite the Scriptures in the original Greek…CRUNCH, MUNCH …’ I don’t know nothin’ about Niebuhr and Heidegger… CRUNCH, MUNCH… He finished the apple. ‘All I wanna know is: This apple I just ate, . . . . . . was it bitter or sweet?

Dr Tillich paused for a moment and answered in exemplary scholarly fashion: ‘I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven’t tasted your apple.’ The white-haired preacher dropped the core of his apple into his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Dr. Tillich and said calmly, ‘Neither have you tasted MY Jesus.’

The 1,000 plus in attendance could not contain themselves. The auditorium erupted with applause and cheers. Dr. Tillich thanked his audience and promptly left the platform.

Have you tasted Jesus? Savour HIS Words for you today.

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Our beautiful and amazing earth: View from the Top…

NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock who is currently aboard the International Space Station shares pictures of the Earth he snaps with the world through Twitter.

Known to his nearly 68,000 Twitter followers as Astro_Wheels, Wheelock has been posting impressive photos of the Earth and some of his thoughts ever since he moved into the space station in June, five months after it got Internet access.

Greek islands on a clear night during our flight over Europe. Athens shine brightly along the Mediterranean Sea.

Mystery Island‘ …located in the Indian Ocean close to Madagascar. Interesting features on the island and the unusual shape should be enough to help you discover this beautiful place.

Northern lights in the distance in one of the finest nights over Europe. The photo clearly shows the Strait of Dover. Paris is dazzling with the city lights. A little fog over the western part of England, particularly over London.

The moon is breathtaking.

Of all the places of our beautiful planet few can rival the beauty and richness of colors in the Bahamas. In this photo, our ship is seen against the backdrop of the Bahamas.

At a speed of 28,163 kilometers per hour (8 kilometers per second), we rotate the Earth’s orbit, making one revolution every 90 minutes, and watch sunsets and sunrises every 45 minutes. So half of our journey is in darkness. For the work we use lights on our helmets.

Every time I look out the window and see our beautiful planet, my soul sings! I see blue skies, white clouds and bright blessed day.

Another spectacular sunset. We see 16 such sunsets each day, and each of them is really valuable.

Beautiful atoll in the Pacific Ocean, photographed using 400mm lens. Approximately 1930 km south of Honolulu.

Perfect reflection of sunlight in the eastern Mediterranean.

Above the center of the Atlantic Ocean, before another stunning sunset. Downstairs in the setting sun visible spiral Hurricane Earl.

A little farther east, we saw a sacred monolith Uluru, better known as Ayers Rock. I have never had the opportunity to visit Australia, but someday I hope that I will stand by this miracle of nature.

Morning over the Andes in South America. I do not know for sure the title of this peak, but was simply amazed by her magic, stretching to the sun and wind tops.

Over the Sahara desert, approaching the ancient lands and thousand-year history. River Nile flows through Egypt by the Pyramids of Giza in Cairo. Further, the Red Sea, Sinai Peninsula, Dead Sea, Jordan River, as well as the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea and Greece on the horizon.

Night view of the River Nile, stretching like a snake through Egypt to the Mediterranean, and Cairo, located in the Delta. Far away in this picture, one can see the Mediterranean Sea.

Our unmanned ‘Progress 39P’ approaches the ISS for refuelling. It is full of food, fuel, spare parts and all necessities for our station. Inside was a real gift – fresh fruit and vegetables. What a miracle after three months of food from a tube!

I wanted to share with you this view from the Dome. We said goodbye to the members of our group Sasha, Misha and Tracy this weekend, and they returned safely back to Earth. In this photo, Tracy quietly dreams of returning home.

Module Union 23C Olympus docked with the ISS . When our work ends here, we go back home to Earth. We fly over the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus. The rising sun is reflected from the Caspian Sea.

The flash of color, movement and life on the canvas of our amazing world. This is part of the Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Australia, photographed through the lens of 1200 mm.

All the beauty of Italy, a clear summer night. You can see many beautiful islands that adorn the coast – Capri, Sicily and Malta. Naples and Mount Vesuvius are allocated along the coast.

At the southern end of South America lies the pearl of Patagonia. The amazing beauty of rugged mountains, massive glaciers, fjords and seas combined in perfect harmony.

“Dome” on the side of nadir station gives a panoramic view of our beautiful planet. Fedor made the picture from the window of the Russian docking compartment. In this photo I’m sitting in the dome, preparing the camera for our evening flight over Hurricane Earl.

Florida and southeastern U.S. in the evening. A clear autumn evening, the moonlight over the water and sky, dotted with millions of stars.

Clear starry night over the eastern Mediterranean. The ancient land with a thousand years of history stretching from Athens to Cairo. Historical land of fabulous and alluring island … Athens – Crete – Rhodes – Izmir – Ankara – Cyprus – Damascus – Beirut – Haifa – Amman – Tel Aviv – Jerusalem – Cairo – all of them turned into tiny lights in this cool November night.

In this time of year you can enjoy the beauty of the polar mesospheric clouds. With our high-angle illumination, we were able to capture a thin layer of noctilucent clouds at sunset.

Astronaut Douglas Wheelock