The Rise of Populist Leaders: Social Media's Role in Creating Modern-Day Heroes Have you noticed that populist rulers have emerged all over the world with the advent of social media? The point I am trying to make is not that social media created such a thing. It is only that the influence of social media is certainly decisive in this regard. In fact, what social media does is to creates "heroes". Don't we see hero-worship and stardom-worship happening more than ever before?

It was some years ago. We decorated the resurrection statue in the church with 'Golden shower flowers' (cassia fistula) and fruits and grains. That year, Easter and 'Vishu' - the native solstitical Hindu festival were the day before and the day after. There are people who are annoyed to see golden-shower flowers in a church. They get to think that roses, dahlias, lilies, and asters are Christian flowers, and that golden-showers, ixora, marigolds, and lotuses are Hindu flowe

To be honest, the Roman soldier who was at Golgotha piercing the side of the already dead crucified man with a spear was to make sure that he was certainly dead. When John describes this, he adds a little detail. "Immediately blood and water came out." Isn't that a very natural thing? If you pierce the side of a person who has been dead for less than an hour and hanging, with a spear, some blood and body fluids that look like water will flow from the pericardial layers of the

That stone was not moved by human hands. It was moved by an intervention from above! It was a huge stone. For years and years we wondered that who would roll it away for us. It wasn't God who rolled it up there. It was us. That stone separated life from death by dividing the heretofore from the hereafter. As long as it remained there, we were afraid of it. That tomb is death. But we didn't know that it was just a doorway. We are clear that upto that stone is our life. But w

There was a garden in that place and a new tomb in it, is the testimony of John. By garden what is meant is a private plot of land planted with olive trees. Joseph was a wealthy man. He was a member of the Sanhedrin. There were many tombs hewn out of rock outside the city walls of Jerusalem. However, it's unlikely that Joseph had made a tomb or had bought a tomb for himself in that area. Because, given his devotion and stature we can rightly assume that he would have had it s

At what time did Christ rise? I don’t know. The Gospels don’t say the exact time. They don’t even say that anyone saw the resurrection. I think it must have been early in the morning, just before the rooster crowed. In other words, when the Lord rose, the cock crowed! The Gospel says that an angel came from heaven and rolled away the stone that covered the entrance to the tomb. According to Matthew, there were members of the temple guard assigned to guard the tomb. Psychology

We are in the Franciscan Jubilee year. What a blessing for us to be living through these days of the eighth centenary of the transitus of St. Francis. Year before last, our Midwest Province's annual retreat was preached by a layman - a renowned writer Jon M. Sweeney. He has authored more than two dozen books, five of which are on St. Francis of Assisi. The main theme of the retreat he gave us was on "vulnerability". According to him, we would be missing the point if we don't

I have heard many people say that all the wars and bloodshed in the world have been fought in the name of religion. That's not at all accurate, but one thing must be admitted: that there is an element of truth in the above statement. All the wars have been fought and bloodshed done were in the name of their beliefs. Things would become clearer if we ask what we mean by 'belief'. Once upon a time when all the people in the world were tribes, one tribe attacked, plundered and d

We can only see things through our familiar cultural lenses. It is difficult for us to make sense of Jesus because of our current social expectations and our common sense. Jesus was aware that he had only a short time here. He also was aware that his actions and events in life had to be corresponding to the prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures. In our ordinary sense, we feel that Jesus was showing a bit of hurry in his life. He seemed to be unnecessarily angering the Jewish re

In many cultures, people wear black on special occasions. In the contemporary context, it seems to be very misunderstood. It is part of Western culture for those attending funerals, formal professional events, musical concerts, etc. to wear black. Similarly, in many upscale restaurants, the management would require waiters and waitresses to wear black uniforms. What is the basis for all this? What is the underlying concept behind all this? In simple words, it is this: it is t

The seventh and final account of the 'signs' in the Fourth Gospel begins with an introductory line: "Now, a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany." The name means 'God has helped' or 'God is my help'. He lived in 'Bethany'. One of its meanings is 'house of affliction'. "Master, the one you love is ill" was the message his sisters conveyed to him through a messenger -an intermediary. He is somewhat far away and in hiding at the moment. Even though the intercessory prayer of the si

Yes, the same thing what I said yesterday. I felt like saying it once again. We are born blind. We are born blind. Yes, from the moment we were born. Or even if we are born with some dim vision, in no time we lose it. Anyone who says that s/he sees is in a fool's paradise. None of us have sight: at least mostly. You only need to look around to perceive that. Yes, the same old questions! Who am I? What am I doing here? Who are these people around me? Where am I going? Wh

It has been only twenty years since the ancient Pool of Siloam was rediscovered. When the Roman army destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem in 70 CE, they hauled over the debris and filled the pool that was at foot of the Temple Mount with it. The Gospel of John (Ch.9) describes an incident where Jesus gives sight to an adult who was born blind. After spitting on the ground, Jesus makes clay and smears it on the eyes of the blind beggar and says to him: Go, wash in the Pool of Sil

I had previously written about the Jerusalem Temple, its Holies, and the Holy of Holies. The same image that I put together at that time is being reposted here. Then I said that there were three things preserved as sacred in the Holies. One: The seven-branched lampstand called the Menorah, made of gold. I had made it clear that the lamp was in fact a symbolic representation of the first encounter of Moses with God. While Moses was tending the sheep, he saw a bush on fire. Mo

God declares through Isaiah (Ch.65) that the New Jerusalem that He is about to create will be one of rejoicing and happiness, there will be no infant mortality, people will live long like trees for a hundred years, where righteousness will flourish, and where they will live in houses that they have built themselves. It will be a new heaven and a new earth. The old will have passed away. Even the memory of the old will have disappeared from the face of the earth! The Jewish p

Dr. Cyprian Illickamuri (our theology professor) ran a column titled " The Doubting Thomas " for many years in the Assisi Magazine published from Bharananganam, Keralam (Today-15th March- happens to be his memorial day. May he rest in the Lord 🙏🏽🌹). For decades, he has been instrumental in promoting serious discussions among the faithful on biblical, theological and ethical issues. He once wrote a response to a question questioning the financial exploitation of hospitals

The concept of the "fear of God" is a commonly misunderstood one. Questions such as whether one should be fearing God or loving Him have often been raised in many audiences. True - it may seem incompatible with the structure of a relationship such as personal bonding. However, each religion and each sacred book has its own cultural character and background. Its concepts must be interpreted in the context of that specific cultural context. In the cultural context of the Bible

Veronica is a woman who is found at the sixth station in the spiritual journey-prayer called the "Stations of the Cross" that is in practice among Catholics. (I had written a note about Veronica last year.) Veronica is not directly mentioned in the Gospels. However, such a traditional story has existed since the time of the early Church. Jesus is in his final journey towards Calvary, carrying the cross. Cross did not have the kind of glamour it has these days. The cross was

The 12th chapter of the Book of Genesis begins with the call of Abram. The story of the Tower of Babel is dealt at the beginning of the previous chapter. The second half of the 11th chapter is about the genealogy of Hem and other family relationships. There is also a hint of a journey of leaving behind there. Abram's father Terah took Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, and his deceased son's offspring Lot and left Ur of the Chaldeans and set out for Canaan. They came and settl

Making stones to become bread; jumping off the temple tower; falling prostrate and worshiping the devil: these are the temptations that Jesus seemed to have faced at the beginning of his public life. Let's read these three temptations from the back. That is, let's look at them from Jesus' responses. To the first temptation Jesus' response was, "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." In other words, man is not mearly matter, b