Whispers of the Wind

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