26th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - C

The story is told of a king who placed a heavy stone on the road and then hid and watched to see who would remove it. Men of various classes came and worked their way around it, some loudly blaming the king for not keeping the highways clean, but all dodging the duty of getting it out of the way. At last a poor peasant on his way to town with his burden of vegetables for sale came and contemplating the stone, laid down his load and rolled the stone into the gutter. Then turning around, he spied a purse that had been buried right under the stone. He opened it and found it full of gold pieces with a note from the king saying that it was for the one who should remove the stone.

The readings of today tell a tale similar to the one we have just heard - that of "dodging our duty" In the first reading, the prophet Amos warns the people that their major sin was their separation from the concern for their neighbor. They were "dodging the duty" of caring for the poor. Amos prophecies that these idle rich who had first received Israel's bounty would also be the first to be exiled and experience deportation.

Luke's Gospel similarly, expresses deep concern for the poor and the underdog. Luke portrays Jesus as a friend of sinners and outcasts. In today’s Gospel, Luke has Jesus teaching his disciples and the Pharisees through the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Prior to this too, Jesus has taught them through many parables but now draws their attention towards almsgiving and the necessity of sharing possessions with the needy. This is in accordance with God's will and contrasts with the vice of greed.

The Gospel describes the characters of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man lived luxuriously, feasting daily lavishly thereby breaking the fourth commandment of working six days and keeping the Sabbath holy. He idly indulged himself, feasting daily. Lazarus, on the other hand, was so helpless that he could not even keep the dogs away.

In those days, food was eaten with hands as there were no spoons, etc. Hands were then wiped on chunks of bread and these were thrown away to the dogs. It was for this that Lazarus awaited at the gate of the rich man. And the rich man did not grudge it to him. He did not push him away from the gate. Nor did he kick him when passing or be deliberately cruel to him. There also is no indication that the rich man was morally wrong or Lazarus morally right
What then, was the rich man's sin? It was that "he never noticed" Lazarus. He accepted him as "part of the landscape" thinking it perfectly natural that Lazarus should be in pain and he in luxury. So, it was NOT WHAT HE DID, but, WHAT HE DID NOT DO, that got him into hell. I am sure he must have seen Lazarus' suffering and in pain everyday as he went out of his gate, but he had no grief or pity for him. I am sure he must have seen the hunger and need every day out of his place, but DID NOTHING about it. In simple words He "dodged his duty" of caring for Lazarus and landed into hell.

The readings teach us that we receive in order to bless others. Failure to give and care invites a measure for measure punishment. On the other hand, the poor who should have received and did not would receive a measure for measure reward. So it was that Lazarus, like the poor farmer in our story, received a "bag of gold", a lifetime of feasting at the table of the Lord.

In our daily lives, as we travel to & fro, we come across numerous people - suffering, depraved, hungry, cold - begging at our railway stations, traffic junctions, street corners, gates of our Churches. Some of us, good conscientious Catholics give alms to charity - St. Vincent de Paul, Missionaries of Charity, Campaign for Hunger & Disease, etc. But, we also pass by many beggars on the roads. We don't notice them, for they are "part of our landscape". Poverty is their lot and well-being is ours. We go to Church, "hear" Mass and return home UNMOVED. We DO NOTHING to improve the lot of our poor neighbors. Perhaps, we "dodge our duty". Where then will we end up - in heaven or hell?

In our daily lives, in our homes, workplaces, parishes, neighborhoods, society, we meet and relate with family and friends, colleagues, neighbors, children, adults, young and old. They have manifold needs - love, acceptance, a smile, a warm hug, a handshake, an encouraging word, a gentle look, a listening ear, a patient attitude, a quiet presence, a helping hand, accompaniment, a whispered prayer, etc. We are blessed by God with all this that we may bless others. But, there is NO TIME since deadlines are to be met, meetings to be attended, teachings to be given, egos to be fed, pride to be nurtured. We DO NOT NOTICE our emotionally and spiritually poor brothers & sisters. They are "part of our landscape". We are UNMOVED. We DO NOTHING to improve their lot. They turn to drugs and other escape routes. We "dodge our duty". Where then will we end up - in heaven or hell?

Today's readings challenge us to move out of ourselves and be spurred on to action, to NOT MERELY EXIST but, to REALLY LIVE, to be moved to noticing and caring for our neighbors. For, in our daily lives, we do not EXIST with OBJECTS but, LIVE with PEOPLE. Then we will hear, "As much as you did it to one of these my brethren, you did it to me. Well-done, good and faithful servant. Welcome into my kingdom". AMEN.

My Accident Snaps

Hey there,

You’re invited to a view a page on Webshots!

http://community.webshots.com/user/lincolnrebello/tags/My%20Accident%20Snaps/albums

Enjoy,

Lincoln

Hi Friends,

Thanks for your prayers and calls during my stay at home....My accident was a minor one, but the hurt which is on my left Knee is still painful..i still cant stand...

What touched me the most that many close friends came to see me and spend some time with me...they were many who came in from Far and near......they were some who called to inquire about my well being...

Please continue to keep me in ur prayers...so that i may be able to bounce back.....

Bye

Thanks once again....

My Accident

Hi Friends,

On Sunday 16th September as i was moving towards Kandivli on the Highway on my own bike, another bike from behind crashed into me knocking me down. By the time i got up form the ground the bicker had vanished form the scene. When I got up from the ground, i realised that had bruised my left hand and left leg badly...i was give water by the good Samaritan on the road and then after i collected my self and my bike i drove back to the My parish Church....

On the way i was feeling daisy...so as soon as i got back to the church i called Mrs Mercy who is an ex nurse who came running along with her Husband and rushed me to the near by hospital...while i was in the operation theater, she gave a call to my Parish Priest rev Fr. Austin Norris, who then called me to inquire about my accident and asked me to inform my family people...

I called up my sister and her husband came to pike me up....

I was home for almost 10 days unable to walk...my hand had healed but the wound on my leg is still painful....

i am attaching a fee snaps that my nephew and niece clicked from my cell phone while i was home...My sister and my sister-in-law use to dress the wounds regularly at home...

Aunty Joy's Funeral Snaps

Hi Friends,

After that fitting farewell to my beloved angel, i have posted few snaps of the service...please click on this link to take you to that page....

http://community.webshots.com/album/560601146IUIVDA?vhost=community&start=12

Tribute to Our Loving Aunty Joyce.

My heart bleeds as I stand before to bid farewell to our sister Joyce.

If I am standing before you today as a priest, its because of this women who rest so peacefully in our midst.

I can still remember that year 1990, I was going through a treble time in my life…there was darkness all around me…I would have remained in that darkness, had not Aunty Joy showed me the light…

Someone rightly said that God has assigned a guardian angel to each one of us and my guardian angel is here resting in front of us.. She was truly my angel who guided my in my life…

The year 1990-91 I was preparing for my final exams, and I know the trouble I was going through, I use to study in their garden and aunty joy would go out of her way to make things for me so that I don’t waste time going home for my meals.

A couple of years latter when I was to join the seminary, she was the first person whom I consulted before I made that important decision. The words in my farewell card signed by aunty Joy Sydney and smitha, still fresh in my mind, “With whom will we share our meals with.”

I was a part of that family. We use to go to her house to watch TV, Play cricket, study and I even celebrated my birthday in their garden…She was a women with a big heart.

My Family has lost a friend, a companion and an angel. Being educated, we would always consult her in times of problems and was confident of finding an answer.

I would like to summarize, what Joyce meant to me in words of the hymn of St Francis:

You made me a Channel of Peace
Where there was hatred, You taught me to bring love.
Where there was injury, you showed me how to pardon.
Where there was doubt you showed me how to have faith.

When there was despair in my life, you brought hope
When there was darkness, you showed the light.
And when there was sadness, you brought joy.
You taught me that it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
In sharing with each other that we receive,
And in dying that we're born to eternal life.

Today we celebrate the birthday of our Blessed Mother, and it is said that all the angels in heaven will be singing and praising God, and today he has taken an angel for our side to be with his blessed mother.

As we bid farewell to our beloved Aunty Joy, we also place a petition at her feet of our blessed Mother, that from her throne in heave she may guide and protect Sydney and Smitha.

Sayonara, Joyce till we meet again in paradise. May the angels lead you to paradise. May your soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Birthday of Our Blessed Mother: Day of the Girl Child

Feast Day
The Day of the Girl Child

I like to begin with the case filed in the High court in Mumbai by a Couple, on the right of the Parents to select the sex of their next child. The Honorable Judge, in his statement said these words, “Sex selection is not only against the spirit of the constitution, it insults and humiliates womanhood. It violates a women’s right to life.”

Today we celebrate the Birthday of our Mother and also the Day of the Girl Child. God chose the Virgin Mary, from the moment of her conception to be the instrument of salvation. By her obedience she became the new Eve, mother of the living. The first Eve despite her disobedience, received the promise of a posterity who would be victorious over the evil one, as well as the promise that she will be the mother of all the living.

Sixty years ago, whilst the world awaited the birth of a new nation, the screams of the labour pains could be heard far and wide. India was undergoing the trauma of partition; scores of women were raped in the Partition Riots of 1947. The screams of women brutalized still resound in the ears of the many that lived through those dreadful events.

Only few years ago similar screams rent the air in the second-class compartment of a late night local train in Mumbai. The screams of a girl-child resounded in the early hours of the morning as a drunken youth brutally raped her.

Every time I pass that junction, said a women appearing before the Godra Commission, tears roll down my eyes, for I witness one of the most disgusting scene of a pregnant women being raped in broad day light, her stomach torn open and her fetus burnt in front of fanatic men, praising God.

Nothing seems to have changed: the rape of women then and the rape of women now – although we have got our freedom scores of women are awaiting their freedom. It is as if the darkness of the night still covers the nation.



Even today, 100’s of young girls are brought from Assam and sold in the flesh trade in Mumbai. Even today, 100’s of fetuses are aborted only because they are females. Even today girls continue to burn their childhood days in the kitchens of their homes, while their brothers goes to schools. Nothing seems to have changed. And nothing will change.

This about our nation, but what about our own families? Whether we like it or not there is some amount of injustice happening in our own families. Boys are given more freedom than girls. They can come home at any time, do what they feel is right and even enjoy the best. While Girls have to be on time, don’t talk to any boy, do all the work at home, yet get the worst when it come to family matters.

I just said that nothing will change. Yes nothing will change. Because as long as we come to church, day after day, go for novenas Wednesday after Wednesday, garland the picture of our mother, say the rosary faithfully every night, and yet continue to do injustice to the women in our families, nothing will change. Yes nothing will change until we learn to respect the women in my family, until we realize that even she has a right to live, even she has a right to walk shoulder to shoulder with her brother. The moment we realize this, things will begin to change.

A gentleman shared with me some thing this morning, and it fits very well with the message of today. He said that a devotee of Mary, who had visited all the shrines in India, died and went to heaven and the first thing he did was to go in search of Mary. And when he could not find her, he said to St Peter, I want to meet Mother Mary. St Peter replied, you want find Mary here, She is in the hearts to all those suffering on earth.

How true are these words. You want to honor Mary, start respecting women from today. Stop all those clumsy jokes on women, Stop SMS those lousy one-liners on women. Respect the women in you family. Treat them equally. Be bold and tell others to stop.

Women on you part learn to respect other women, stop gossiping about others. Give equal right & freedom to the girl in your family. Learn to respect your body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Mary will then be honored.
What better birthday gift can we think of giving Mary than this?

I like to end with this beautiful poem which appeared in the Examiner:

Oh! What's the use of this sudden new trend?
From times immemorial the world has been dominated by men.
They come and they go, do whatever they please,
Treat us like inanimate objects sent to earth for their ease.
Girl-Child Week! And what after that I pray?
Are we to go back to being mere objects of clay?
Pulled and pushed, pounded, squeezed, crushed and broken?
We don't need a Week... a meaningless token!
What we need, is a revolutionary change,
When we as God's creatures are given free rein.
To live, to study, to work and to play,
To be treated as equals to any boy any day.
To have our own lives, make choices, be at peace in our own space,
To use all our God-given talents and our Full potential
To better society and the human race.

KAY A. LOBO

Birthday of Our Blessed Mother: Day of the Girl Child

The Day of the Girl Child

I like to begin with the case filed in the High court in Mumbai by a Couple, on the right of the Parents to select the sex of their next child. The Honorable Judge, in his statement said these words, “Sex selection is not only against the spirit of the constitution, it insults and humiliates womanhood. It violates a women’s right to life.”

Today we celebrate the Birthday of our Mother and also the Day of the Girl Child. God chose the Virgin Mary, from the moment of her conception to be the instrument of salvation. By her obedience she became the new Eve, mother of the living. The first Eve despite her disobedience, received the promise of a posterity who would be victorious over the evil one, as well as the promise that she will be the mother of all the living.

Sixty years ago, whilst the world awaited the birth of a new nation, the screams of the labour pains could be heard far and wide. India was undergoing the trauma of partition; scores of women were raped in the Partition Riots of 1947. The screams of women brutalized still resound in the ears of the many that lived through those dreadful events.

Only few years ago similar screams rent the air in the second-class compartment of a late night local train in Mumbai. The screams of a girl-child resounded in the early hours of the morning as a drunken youth brutally raped her.

Every time I pass that junction, said a women appearing before the Godra Commission, tears roll down my eyes, for I witness one of the most disgusting scene of a pregnant women being raped in broad day light, her stomach torn open and her fetus burnt in front of fanatic men, praising God.

Nothing seems to have changed: the rape of women then and the rape of women now – although we have got our freedom scores of women are awaiting their freedom. It is as if the darkness of the night still covers the nation.

Even today, 100’s of young girls are brought from Assam and sold in the flesh trade in Mumbai. Even today, 100’s of fetuses are aborted only because they are females. Even today girls continue to burn their childhood days in the kitchens of their homes, while their brothers goes to schools. Nothing seems to have changed. And nothing will change.

This about our nation, but what about our own families? Whether we like it or not there is some amount of injustice happening in our own families. Boys are given more freedom than girls. They can come home at any time, do what they feel is right and even enjoy the best. While Girls have to be on time, don’t talk to any boy, do all the work at home, yet get the worst when it come to family matters.

I just said that nothing will change. Yes nothing will change. Because as long as we come to church, day after day, go for novenas Wednesday after Wednesday, garland the picture of our mother, say the rosary faithfully every night, and yet continue to do injustice to the women in our families, nothing will change. Yes nothing will change until we learn to respect the women in my family, until we realize that even she has a right to live, even she has a right to walk shoulder to shoulder with her brother. The moment we realize this, things will begin to change.

A gentleman shared with me some thing this morning, and it fits very well with the message of today. He said that a devotee of Mary, who had visited all the shrines in India, died and went to heaven and the first thing he did was to go in search of Mary. And when he could not find her, he said to St Peter, I want to meet Mother Mary. St Peter replied, you want find Mary here, She is in the hearts to all those suffering on earth.

How true are these words. You want to honor Mary, start respecting women from today. Stop all those clumsy jokes on women, Stop SMS those lousy one-liners on women. Respect the women in you family. Treat them equally. Be bold and tell others to stop.

Women on you part learn to respect other women, stop gossiping about others. Give equal right & freedom to the girl in your family. Learn to respect your body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Mary will then be honored.

What better birthday gift can we think of giving Mary than this?

I like to end with this beautiful poem which appeared in the Examiner:

Oh! What's the use of this sudden new trend?
From times immemorial the world has been dominated by men.
They come and they go, do whatever they please,
Treat us like inanimate objects sent to earth for their ease.
Girl-Child Week! And what after that I pray?
Are we to go back to being mere objects of clay?
Pulled and pushed, pounded, squeezed, crushed and broken?
We don't need a Week... a meaningless token!
What we need, is a revolutionary change,
When we as God's creatures are given free rein.
To live, to study, to work and to play,
To be treated as equals to any boy any day.
To have our own lives, make choices, be at peace in our own space,
To use all our God-given talents and our Full potential
To better society and the human race.

KAY A. LOBO