Good Friday - Accomplishing the Final Act with Love

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion: April 03, 2026

Readings: Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16,5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42

Crucifixion of Jesus

To listen to my audio-video reflections via YouTube, please click here: https://youtu.be/eha_1oDKM5c

What a day! And it is called Good Friday!! The death of God-man on the Cross, and still we call this day Good Friday!!! The poignant moment of the death of the Messiah makes us stand still and listen to the inner voice of our being. What is this all about? Why must an innocent man die on a Cross? The most brutal, terribly painful and awkwardly humiliating death a person could go through in the Roman Empire was crucifixion.  It was such a heinous death that no one dared to undergo. But here we have on this day, we commemorate that brutal death of our Saviour and Master year after year. The same death, the same event, the same humiliating expressions, and yet we try to find meaning for our lives through devotion and faith. 

1. Pushing the evil away and not reconciling

As we stand at the foot of the Cross of our Saviour and kiss it with a sense of reverence, it brings to our mind the stark reality of evil, wickedness, jealousy, envy, animosity, grudges, scorn, and hostility in this world and in the lives of people. As we scroll through the Word of God in the Holy Bible, it becomes certain that evil can take over good and has a say for some time. Perhaps, evil might not win continuously or eternally, but it has its say that could be detrimental to the life of the person.  The Word of God tells us emphatically that Jesus "went on doing good." Then what went wrong in the life of Jesus to carry the Cross to Calvary?

Lord's Supper: A Call to Live the Eucharist

Maundy/Holy Thursday - The Lord’s Supper: April 02, 2026 

Readings: Exodus 12:1-8,11-14; Psalm 115(116):12-13,15-18; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15

The Last Supper of Jesus
To listen to my audio-video reflections via YouTube, please click here: https://youtu.be/DxZAVToxM90

We celebrate on this Maundy Thursday, a definite, enduring and continuous presence of our Lord Jesus Christ amongst us. The event of the establishment of the Holy Eucharist, which took place 2000 years ago in an obscure upper room in one of the houses in Jerusalem, still continues to be celebrated today as a mark of our Lord's intimate presence amongst us. The scene of this enactment of the Lord's Supper continues to draw inspiration and accept the challenges and sufferings this world brings to us. By participating in this mystery of the Eucharist, we are prepared to face any challenges with joy and courage. Moreover, it enables us to carry forward the memory and mission of our Lord to the ends of this earth.  

1. Holy Eucharist: Partaking in His Divine Nature

Maundy Thursday draws us into the quiet, intimate heart of the Gospel—into an upper room where love takes visible form. Jesus makes a particular mark in human history through this act of sharing the Passover meal with his disciples. St. Paul, in recalling the tradition he himself received, brings us face-to-face with the mystery of the Eucharist. “This is my body… this is my blood.” These are not merely words spoken once in history; they are a living memorial, a presence that endures. 

The Passion of our Lord, the Passion of the Humanity

Passion/Palm Sunday: March 29, 2026

Readings: Isaiah 50:4–7; Psalm 22:8–9, 17–20, 23–24; Philippians 2:6–11; Matthew 26:14–27:66

Jesus enters Jerusalem on a mule
To listen to my audio-video reflections via YouTube, please click here: https://youtu.be/xDEUz4r7yZc 

What is it like entering into the lives of others? What is it that makes us be compassionate and show our empathy to the person who is suffering?  It is our attitudes, feelings, values, convictions and readiness to embrace the other as our brother or sister. As we enter into the mystery of Christ's Passion, suffering, death, and resurrection, we are invited to enter more intensely into the life of our Lord Jesus, lovingly, passionately, and with a heart full of tenderness and love. Today, we read in our Churches the passion narrative of our Lord, so that it enables us to enter into the drama of Jesus' passion. 

1. Passion of our Lord, the Passion of the Humanity

Today, the Church celebrates Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday. It is a beautiful day when we realize that what matters most in our lives is giving time to others. The liturgy of today in our Churches and parishes unfolds with a profound and almost unsettling beauty. It begins in jubilation—palms raised, voices lifted, hope awakened. Yet, as the narrative deepens, the tone shifts. The hymns of praise give way to the solemn cadence of the Passion. Glory and suffering stand side by side, not as opposites, but as inseparable companions in the mystery of Christ.

Lent: Finding the Fullness of Life through Trust and Hope

Fifth Sunday of Lent: March 22, 2026

Readings: Ezekiel 37:12–14; Psalm 130:1–8; Romans 8:8–11; John 11:1–45

To listen to my audio-video reflections via YouTube, please click here: https://youtu.be/yiJ7fYq2sUM 

Bringing solace and hope to those who are mourning or hopeless is a beautiful thing. It is an act of mercy. We need people who can comfort us when we are in sorrow or suffering. We need people who can put their shoulders on us and listen to us. In a world of competition and the rat race, very few have the time and willingness to do that. When we look at the life of Jesus, we see this aspect of readiness and willingness to comfort those who are mourning, despite a busy schedule or being far from home. Jesus touches the lives of his good friends, Martha and Mary. He reaches out to them at the very toughest time of their lives, when they have buried their beloved brother. At that moment, Jesus does an unimaginable thing: he raises Lazarus from the tomb and gives them back their loving brother, alive. This is what true friendship means: reaching out to those who trust us and love us at the right time with the right act of love.

1. Lent: Waiting for God in Patience

The Gospel of John 11:1–45, the raising of Lazarus, stands as one of the most profound revelations of who Jesus is—not merely a healer, but the Lord of life itself. Yet, before it becomes a story of resurrection, it is deeply a story of waiting, sorrow, confusion, and faith stretched to its limits. Jesus hears that Lazarus is ill, and surprisingly, He delays. This delay is unsettling. It challenges our instinctive belief that God must act immediately when we pray. 

Lent - Encountering the Healing Touch of God

Fourth Sunday of Lent: March 15, 2026

Readings: 1 Samuel 16:1, 6–7, 10–13; Psalm 23:1–6; Ephesians 5:8–14; John 9:1–41

Jesus is healing a blind man
To listen to my audio-video reflections via YouTube, please click here: https://youtu.be/aniupZZbVe8

Often, it is difficult to see the good in others. Human nature tends to react with jealousy, anxiety, and many questions when something good happens in another person’s life. It may seem strange, yet it is often true. Unfortunately, the prosperity of one person sometimes becomes the cause of heartburn for another. There are people who try to malign the name of someone who is good and sincerely striving to make a difference in his own life and in the lives of others. Wickedness and evil, in subtle ways, seem to be part of the human condition. While we strive to do good, there is often a contrary impulse within us that pulls us in the opposite direction. This week, the Church celebrates Laetare Sunday, which falls on the Fourth Sunday of Lent. As we reach the middle of our Lenten journey, the Church invites us to rejoice. Christ comes as the Light of the world, entering the darkness of human life to restore sight. The healing of the man born blind by Jesus becomes a subject of intense dispute, especially among the Pharisees, who were unable to recognize the goodness present before them.

1. Healing: A journey of encounter

The Gospel of John 9:1–41, presents the powerful story of the healing of the man born blind. At one level, it is a miracle story, but at a deeper level, it is a revelation about spiritual sight and spiritual blindness. The physical healing becomes a sign pointing to a deeper transformation that Jesus desires for every human person.

Lent: Transforming our Lives through Dialogue with God

Third Sunday of Lent: March 8, 2026

Readings: Exodus 17:3–7; Psalm 95:1–2, 6–9; Romans 5:1–2, 5–8; John 4:5–15, 19–26, 39–42

To listen to my audio-video reflections via YouTube, please click here: https://youtu.be/SUy6xBCiNVA

Where can we look for the best things in life? Is there something extraordinary that can be attainable and could give us complete meaning for our lives? Will we find something that will explain everything and give us the fullness of life? Man's search for meaning has been continuous and unceasing. In spite of a great history of knowledge, epistemology (the study of knowledge) and hermeneutics (the study of interpretation), we are still making sense of this world. There is no ultimate truth that a person has found. Even though for us Christians, Jesus is the ultimate truth. However, we still doubt. As a result, we do not follow his teachings in word and deed. In this context, we have fantastic liturgical readings on this Third Sunday in Lent to encourage us to strive to follow the same Lord who enlightened the Samaritan Woman two thousand years ago.

1. God initiates dialogue with us

The Gospel of the Third Sunday of Lent (John 4:5–15, 19–26, 39–42) presents the profound encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. It is a story of thirst—human thirst and divine thirst—meeting at the same place. Jesus begins the conversation with a simple request: “Give me a drink.” The Son of God appears tired, thirsty, and dependent on a stranger. In this moment, God reveals something essential about Himself: He approaches us in vulnerability.