Sunday Homilies by Fr. Rudolf V. D’ Souza

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 FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER 2007
May 6, 2007 - Year: C
Acts 14:21-7; Rev. 21:1-5; Jn. 13:1, 31-5
A service of love in the Lord Jesus.

First Reading...
"Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch. There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, 'It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.' And after they had appointed elders for them in each church, with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.

Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had completed.

When they arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles." [Acts 14:21-7]

Second Reading...
"Then, I John, saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.' And the one who was seated on the throne said, 'See, I am making all things new.'" [Rev. 21:1-5]

Gospel Reading...
"Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

During the supper, when Judas had gone out, Jesus said, 'Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.

Little children, I am with you only a little longer. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." [Jn. 13:1, 31-5]

Useful Story:
There was once a guy who suffered from cancer... a cancer that can't be treated. He was 18 years old and he could die anytime. All his life, he was stuck in his house being cared by his mother. He never went outside but he was sick of staying home and wanted to go out for once.

So he asked his mother and she gave him permission. He walked down his block and found a lot of stores. He passed a CD store and looked through the front door for a second as he walked. He stopped and went back to look into the store. He saw a young girl about his age and he knew it was love at first sight. He opened the door and walked in, not looking at anything else but her. He walked closer and closer until he was finally at the front desk where she sat.

She looked up and asked can I help you she smiled and he thought it was the most beautiful smile he has ever seen before and wanted to kiss her right there.

He said Uh... Yeah... Umm... I would like to buy a CD. He picked one out and gave her money for it.

Would you like me to wrap it for you she asked, smiling her cute smile again.

He nodded and she went to the back.

She came back with the wrapped CD and gave it to him. He took it and walked out of the store. He went home and from then on, he went to that store everyday and bought a CD, and she wrapped it for him. He took the CD home and put it in his closet. He was still too shy to ask her out and he really wanted to but he couldn't. His mother found out about this and told him to just ask her.

So the next day, he took all his courage and went to the store. He bought a CD like he did everyday and once again she went to the back of the store and came back with it wrapped. He took it and when she wasn't looking, he left his phone number on the desk and ran out...

!!!RRRRRING!!!

The mother picked up the phone and said, Hello

It was the girl!!! She asked for the boy and the mother started to cry and said, you don't know He passed away yesterday...

The line was quiet except for the cries of the boy's mother.

Later in the day the mother went into the boy's room because she wanted to remember him. She thought she would start by looking at his clothes. So she opened the closet. She was face to face with piles and piles and piles of unopened CDs. She was surprised to find all those CDs and she picked one up and sat down on the bed and she started to open one.

Inside, there was a CD and as she took it out of the wrapper, out fell a piece of paper. The mother picked it up and started to read it.

It said Hi... I think U R really cute. Do u wanna go out with me Love, Jacelyn

The mother opened another CD...

Again there was a piece of paper. It said Hi... I think U R really cute. Do u wanna go out with me Love, Jacelyn. I Love You.

The mother broke into further tears because her son had never opened a CD wrapper, if he had had, he could have found his real love before he died…

Gospel Reflections:
Jesus gives us a new commandment, "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." [Jn. 13:34] To this, Jesus added, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." [Jn. 13:35] By shining in love towards one another, others will know that we are the disciples of Jesus.

These Words of Jesus remind us of the words that are found in the First Letter of John. "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love." [1 Jn. 4:7-8] "God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them." [1 Jn. 4:16]

"Those who say, 'I love God,' and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him (Jesus) is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also." [1 Jn. 4:20-1] 

Event:
When I visited a house, I found only person there was the old lady, the mother of three children, who well settled abroad, and came to know that they were not even phoning here on her birthday. She was feeling so lonely, depressed and at one moment told me that it would have been better for her not to have these children. She was suffering the indifference on the part of these children and at times humiliation. 

Reflections continue…
My brothers and sisters, the love that we have for our brothers and sisters in Christ is but a reflection of the love that we have for God. If we love God, we seek to please Him in all things. To please God, we must obey the commandment of Jesus to love one another. By our obedience to this commandment, our love is perfected in the Lord Jesus so the heavenly Father may love us as He loves His only begotten Son.

Love in the families:
Perfect love unites the children of God, (pause) without exception. If biological brothers and sisters are divided among each other, where is the love of God? If parents disown their children or the children continuously disobey their parents, where is the love of God? If a family is divided and no one is doing anything to reunite it in the love of God, where is the love of God? It is not in the family and it is not in those who know the family and remain silent to the division that harbours anger, hatred, violence, verbal abuse and all the works of evil. 

Love among nations:
Where is the love of God when a nation is divided? The innocent are murdered. The children are orphaned. The women are raped. The refugees go hungry. The homes are destroyed. The drinking water is poisoned. Is this a service of love in the Lord Jesus? 

Love toward their own flesh born children
Where is the love of God when the unborn are aborted? The life of the elderly and the sick is ended. The seniors are abandoned by their relatives. The state enforces the death penalty. The rich rob the poor. Those claiming to be Christians are killing each other in the name of God. Is this a service of love in the Lord Jesus? 

My brothers and sisters in Christ, who are we deceiving? Are we not deceiving ourselves? When the abnormal has become the norm, are we shining in a service of love in the Lord Jesus? Indeed, who are we deceiving but ourselves?

During today's First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard of the praiseworthy service of love that the Christians had for each other in the Lord Jesus. Paul and Barnabas continued on their mission from town to town, "strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith." [Acts 14:22]

Repeating the words of Paul and Barnabas, this is what they said, "It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God." [Acts 14:22] They were telling the believers that they must persevere through many persecutions.

Story Application for the homily:
Well, to apply the story here, the boy should have at least taken troubles to open the CD wrappers. This means, that we need to do at least a bit on our part to love the other person. This happens in our homes, we never take initiatives to appreciate our mom who does so much in the kitchen and at home. This also applies to our appreciation to our papa, who does such a lot in providing to our members. We should never take some things for granted. Love is generated in myriads of ways that is why we say God is Love. God shows his love in number of ways, but we do not open our eyes to see that love. 

Practical suggestions:
Try to find in your parish first of all among the parish pastoral council members if they are really concerned with their zone, community. Find out if your family members are loved. Take a fare look at each one of them at home; find out the sadness on their face. Can you make a change?  

Love simply does not happen. It is the result of the Resurrection. We need to come out of our tombs of selfishness, self centredness, egoism, pride, jealousy, envy, anger, lust. Then we can begin to really love. Otherwise, we will be entombed in our own selfish understanding of love.  

Less of pride in public appearances, less of prideful thoughts in your mind, and less of jealousy when you see a person better than yourself can generate true love among people and within you. But there is need for working at it. Love is Sacrifice. I want love and not sacrifice says the Lord (Hosea 6.6) 

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