I am not sure if I have written about this before. It must have been in 1991 or '92. Eight of us went for a special type of retreat. It was a time when the high range regions of Kerala, especially the small and poor farmers, were financially suffering due to the disease that affected the black pepper vines and cardamom plants and their prices went down. Fr. Sebastian Kizhakkekuttu of the Pala diocese, Br Mathew Paikada, my classmate Br Anto Arackal, and our theology students

There are clear hints in the Old Testament about loving one's enemies. There are such passages in the book of Ecclesiastes and the book...

These years we are celebrating the 800th anniversary of the many events that took place in the last years of Brother Francis' life....

What is the most remarkable thing about Francis' life? There aren't many remarkable things about Francis' life. But there is one: the...

Who assassinated Gandhi? Who really needed Gandhi anyway? The Indian national movement needed Gandhi. For a while. Just for a while only....

Cover image of the book, The cultural Sociology of Political Assassinations by Ron Eyerman Even in our days, there are many murders...

Should we accept our past or not? Meaning, should we confess our past mistakes and repent of them or not? According to the practice and...

What is the difference between transport and travel? When someone takes us or carries us to another place, it is transport. When we go to...

I have previously written about celebrating from September 1st to the feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4 as the time of...

“For neither does circumcision mean anything, not does uncircumcision, but only a new creation.” (Gal. 6:15). Have you ever imagined the...

There is a verse in the Bible that reads, “In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and...

A few days ago, I had written about how I understand what the cross was for Jesus. Then I thought about how to communicate the same idea...

I think it was in 2003 or so. I was in Ethiopia for a few months. At that time, I happened to visit a hospital in Wolisso, which came...

Today I remembered the sermon I gave several years back on a Good Friday about the cross and the life of the cross, and how priests and...

Many people seem to have a lack of understanding about what humility is. What actually is humility? Humility is Truth. Humility is the...

"We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize that we only have one." The above quote is from the Chinese philosopher...

On September 1st, 2025, Pope Leo gave a short message to representatives of the charitable organization St. Francis' Work for the Poor...

Many of the parables that Jesus told have been interpreted in various ways. One such parable is the parable of the talents. Before a...

Machaerus: One of the three palaces that Herod had in three different places. Machaerus was a palace in a fortress on a hill overlooking...

St Augustine As a child, when I walked to church, I could hear even from afar through the old style outdoor loudspeaker horns- Fr. Abel,...