Time to talk of other things ...

  July 16: Our Lady of Mt Carmel and the brown scapular When I was young, my mother gave me a brown scapular of Our Lady of Mt Carmel. I didn't know her full story. Today is her feast day so allow me to tell you what I have learned ... The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel serves to remind the faithful of our Blessed Mother’s promise of special protection and heavenly graces to all those who wear the brown scapular, a sign of salvation and a safeguard in danger.    The significance of Mount Carmel Mount Carmel is associated with Prophet Elijah's zeal for the Lord and tradition holds he lived on the mountain and that there was a spring associated with him there called the "Fountain of Elijah".  In 1 Kings 18, Elijah confronts the prophets of Baal in a dramatic contest on Mount Carmel. Ahab, king of Israel,  under the influence of his wife Jezebel,  has led the people astray into worshipping Baal.  Elijah challenges 450 prophets of Baal to a test: two al...

 Solemnity of St Peter and Paul Today, June 29th, we celebrate the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul, a day made holy for us by their exemplary life of courage and testimony of the two pillars of the Church.  Apart from Mother Mary, St Joseph and St John the Baptist, these two saints are the only humans commemorated in the Catholic calendar with a ‘Solemnity’. Peter (or Cephas) was the older brother of the apostle Andrew and son of John/Jonas of Bethsaida , and a fisherman by trade who was married and settled in Capernaum. Peter was the first Apostle to be named ( Mark 1:16-18 ). We can relate to his sense of doubt causing him to nearly drown when walking on the water ( Matthew 14:28-31 ), his denial of Jesus three times ( Mark 14:66-72 ) and weakness of sleeping during the passion in the Garden of Gethsemane ( Mark 14:32-42 ) even as we admire his passionate devotion to Christ ( Mark 14:29-30 ). He was the first one to recognise Christ as the Messiah, prompting Jesus to christ...

Solemnity of John the Baptist In the Catholic calendar, the feast days of saints are normally celebrated when they die and go to heaven - except in these three cases: Jesus, Mother Mary and John the Baptist - this is no ordinary distinction. All three were pre-ordained for a very powerful mission at their conception. The feast date June 24th is derived from the message given by Archangel Gabriel to Mother Mary at the Annunciation (March 25th), " And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren " (Luke 1:36).  True to his mission, John did exactly what he had to do and refused to steal the spotlight from the Messiah, as we hear on the Gospel of John " [The next day] he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world " (John 1:29) St Augustine of Hippo, has a very interesting take on John's testimony, *He must increase; I mus...

  Today is the Feast of the  Immaculate Heart of Mary While the Sacred Heart of Jesus represents divine love and mercy pouring out for mankind, the Immaculate Heart of Mary represents the perfect human response to that love — a life and a heart completely aligned with God's holy will. The placement of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary exactly one day after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is entirely intentional. It is a visual and liturgical way of showing that these two hearts are theologically inseparable. Three things to remember about the Immaculate Heart of Mary A]   Purity and Freedom from Sin : The word "Immaculate" means without stain. It signifies the Catholic belief in Mary was conceived without original sin and remained in the state of full grace befitting her unique stature as the Theotokos - the bearer and nurturer of the Son of God B] Total Surrender to God : It represents her famous "Fiat"—her response to the Angel Gabr...

Reflections on the Sacred Heart of Jesus  Introduction: Growing up in Poona in the 1970s and 80s, my paternal grandmother Adelaide Gonsalves, had a large size portrait of the Sacred Heart of Jesus hanging in the living room. Each year the picture was solemnly displayed outside the house for the annual Corpus Christi procession from the Church of Immaculate Conception to St Xavier's Church - that explains why I've always held the image in very high regard.   The   Solemnity of The Sacred Heart of Jesus , which is celebrated on the Friday following the second Sunday after Pentecost (or the Friday following Corpus Christi). The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus  became especially well known in the seventeenth century when Jesus appeared to a French nun and mystic named St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690), also known as the messenger of the Sacred Heart of Jesus During a series of visions, Jesus revealed His Heart as a symbol of His immense love for humanity a...

 Events of Good Friday that fulfilled Scripture     Let's take a closer look at some of the incredible prophesies that were fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross.    From the supernatural darkness over the land, to the veil of the temple being torn in two, to the earth shaking beneath the feet of those who witnessed it, these were not random events but are Scripture coming to fruition.    Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children ... for if these things are done when the wood is green what will happen when it is dry? ( Luke 23:28,31 ). Jesus foretell the grim future, he is the "green wood"—  completely innocent, righteous, and full of life, who has committed no crime but is yet subjected to death by crucifixion. Fact : The "dry wood" represents the city of Jerusalem and its population in the decades to follow; a direct, apocalyptic prophecy regarding the Roman Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD—r...

 Jan 1st - Solemnity of Mother Mary, Mother of God and Queen of Peace The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God falls on 1st January, exactly one week after Christmas, the end of the Octave (8 days) of Christmastide.  Solemnities in the Catholic Church are the highest rank of liturgical celebration, higher than feast days or memorials.  By celebrating a solemnity dedicated to Mary’s motherhood, the Church highlights the significance of her unique role in the life of Jesus. It is fitting to honour Mary as the Mother of Jesus because we are not only honouring Mary, who was chosen among all women throughout history to bear the Incarnate word of God, but we also honour her son as our Lord and Redeemer, who is fully God and fully human (like us in all things except sin). Council of Ephesus Jesus’ unique nature as human and divine, both simultaneously and equally, is something we take as a given.  Back in the early days of the church, in 431 A.D., this dogma of our faith was ho...

 St Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury and Martyr Credit: CatholicFire Saint Thomas Becket (c. 1118-1170), once proudly declared, "I am ready to die for my Lord, that in my blood the Church may obtain liberty and peace". He died defending the clerical institution and became the Patron Saint of the Roman Catholic Diocesan Clergy. The cold-blooded murder of St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, inside the hallowed sanctuary of Canterbury Cathedral on December 29, 1170, shocked the whole world. Chancellor of England Thomas Becket was a close friend of King Henry II of England (r. 1154-1189). While Archdeacon of Canterbury, Thomas was made chancellor of England at 36 by his friend King Henry II. Chroniclers speak with wonder of the relations between the King and his Chancellor, declaring that "they had but one heart and one mind". Becket was on excellent terms with the King and served him for seven years as a statesman, diplomat, and even soldier, leading tr...

St Stephen, Deacon and First Martyr The day after the joyous occasion of Christmas, in a plot twist reminiscent of J R R Martin, the Catholic Church remembers its first martyr Saint Stephen.  Stephen, full of faith and the Holy Spirit In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke praises St. Stephen as “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit,” who “did great wonders and signs among the people” during the Church's earliest days.    Stephen was a Jew who most likely came in contact with Jesus during the Lord's ministry on earth. He may have been among the 70 or 72 disciples whom Christ sent out as missionaries, who preached the coming of God's kingdom while travelling with almost no possessions. [ Luke 10:1-24 ]   Stephen, the Archdeacon   Stephen's reputation as a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, led the twelve Apostles to choose him, along with six others (Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas), to assist them in administering to the ...