Easter (19)

When the first Spiderman movie came out, I was enthralled – it was so good I was left hungering for more. I would replay in my mind again and again my favourite scenes from the movie, and I would track the blogs of ardent fans that would dish out all the latest gossip about …

While aimlessly trawling the net, I recently stumbled across an article entitled “Don’t force your happily ever after.” It was by a young woman named Kelsey, who takes us through the vicissitudes of her love life and then tries to draw a lesson out of it. When she was in …

“Love one another as I have loved you.” This is Jesus’ command to us in today’s gospel. But how has Jesus loved us? I would like to suggest to you that what characterizes Jesus’ love is its asymmetric quality. Jesus’ love is a completely asymmetric love, it’s a love that …

In the English language sheep have a bad rap where following is concerned: “to follow blindly like sheep.” It is true that in some cases this saying is apt and describes well the mob mentality of certain people who decide to abdicate all personal responsibility and simply …

Recently one of the top players in the ATP Men’s Tour, Carlos Alcaraz was interviewed on his hopes and dreams for the future. At the tender age of 19, he achieved the huge feat of becoming the youngest ever number one in the world after winning the US open. Two years later, …

In today’s gospel, we see Jesus giving the Holy Spirit to his disciples and giving them the power to forgive sins: “whose sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you retain, they are retained.” Pope Francis loved reminding us that mercy is the most powerful aspect of …

It is said that on the evening of June 18, 1815 a man stood in the tower of England’s Winchester Cathedral gazing anxiously out to sea. At last he found what he was looking for – a ship sending a signal by use of lights. He strained to see the message. All of England held …

As I child, I often heard the story of the tower of Babel, and took it as a nice story that explained the origins of different languages in our world. However, there is a much deeper meaning to this story which reveals itself if we pay attention to the stated goal of the …

In today’s first reading we are told that while Jesus was lifted up to the heavens a cloud took him from their sight. In the Old Testament, the cloud is a cultic symbol that denotes the hiddenness of God. The heavens was where God was thought to dwell, hidden away from the …

In our first reading today, Peter comes to the revelation that “God has no favourites.” This may seem obvious to us, but at the time it went against the very grain of the Jewish worldview, who regarded themselves as the Chosen people, the favourites of God. The Old Testament …

In her 2013 bestseller, Quiet, Susan Cain explores how the rise of what she calls “the extrovert ideal” has come to dominate our contemporary society, to the detriment of those of a more introverted nature. We live in a culture that hero-worships the extrovert. The media has …

In 2010, the BBC brought out a riveting TV series entitled Sherlock. The series tracks the adventures of Sherlock and Watson and is loosely based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic figure of Sherlock Homes. Unlike the books, Mary, Watson’s wife gets a significant cameo part …

When we make major life decisions, like the choice of a certain career, or the choice of a life partner or the choice to have children, what we are essentially doing is taking a bet on our happiness and fulfillment. We are putting our happiness and fulfillment in life on the …

Anita Pearce was a single mother who lived in Brownsville New York with her three sons. Over a period of six years, all three of her sons were gunned down and killed in gang violence. Her youngest son was killed right on her doorstep. This was obviously a deeply traumatic …

I’d like to continue with the story about the bridge controller that I used in my Good Friday homily. As I said, when it is used as an analogy of our salvation in Christ, it has a number of shortcomings. On top of the ones I pointed out on Good Friday, another shortcoming is …

In today’s gospel we see Peter going back to doing what he knows best, being a fisher of fish. Peter backslides into his old way of life, the way of life he had before he met Jesus. For a brief moment in his life, while he was a Jesus’ side, he thought that his life might be …

In Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, much of the comedy revolves around the relationship between Benedick and Beatrice, who use their razor sharp wits to duel with one another in a game of brinkmanship that becomes increasingly acerbic and antagonistic as the play …

21 years ago, Mel Gibson starred with Helen Hunt in the Hollywood blockbuster film What Women Want. Through a freak accident the character played by Mel Gibson acquires the ability to hear the secret thoughts of any woman who is within a radius of ten meters of him. Of …

It is said that on the evening of June 18, 1815 a man stood in the tower of England’s Winchester Cathedral gazing anxiously out to sea. At last he found what he was looking for – a ship sending a signal by use of lights. He strained to see the message. All of England held …