Message from Fr. Eslin Pereira … “

… BE LIKE HIM”

Speaking of the Beatitudes, we will miss their original depth and meaning, a well-known passage, if we are not careful. Preunderstanding requires us to resist imposing our pre-supposed conclusions when approaching such a familiar passage. We must avoid confusing our ideas with those of Matthew or Jesus based on our instinctive inclination to apply meanings arising from our own experiences. The beatitudes must be understood in the light of the historical situation and the association of words and ideas for the immediate hearers.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus stands out as one to bless all with values of His own. We believe in personal pride; Jesus blesses poverty of spirit. We seek pleasure; Jesus blesses those who mourn. We see the prosperity of aggressive people; Jesus blesses the meek. We love good food and drink; Jesus blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Each beatitude begins with the Greek word, makarios, which is usually translated “blessed” or “happy.” “Blessed” is preferable because of its religious connotations—blessedness is a gift of God. We use “happy” more broadly—often in ways that contradict the Beatitudes—in ways that celebrate our power or the satisfaction of our appetites.

In the original language, the “are” is missing. For example, a literal translation of the first beatitude reads, “Blessed the poor in spirit,” giving it the exclamatory feeling of, “Oh the blessedness of the poor in spirit!”

The first four beatitudes (poor in spirit, mourn, meek, and hunger and thirst for righteousness) describe the heart of the person who is rightly related to God. The remaining beatitudes (merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and the persecuted) describe how such a person relates to other people.

Jesus models what he calls for in the Beatitudes. He is a servant, meek, mournful, and merciful. The Beatitudes are about Jesus; to be like Him, is our call.

God bless,
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

Message from Fr. Eslin Pereira …
ANGER IS THE GIFT OF BEING HUMAN!

Prophets are often known for their anger against injustice.  CAC teacher Brian McLaren makes a connection between anger and love: I think about things I love … birds, trees, wetlands, forested mountains, coral reefs, my grandchildren … and I see the bulldozers and smokestacks and tanks on the horizon.   And so, because I love, I am angry. Really angry. And if you’re not angry, I think you should check your pulse, because if your heart beats in love for something, someone, anything … you’ll be angry when it’s harmed or threatened. Anger makes most sense to me through an analogy of pain. What pain is to my body, anger is to my soul, psyche, or inner self. When I put my hand on a hot stove, physical pain reflexes make me react quickly, to address with all due urgency whatever is damaging my fragile tissues. Physical pain must be strong enough to prompt me to action, immediate action, or I will be harmed, even killed. Similarly, when I or someone I love is in the company of insult, injustice, injury, degradation, or threat, anger awakens. It tells me to change my posture or position; it demands I address the threat.

McClaren shares scriptural passages that urge us not to react in anger, and describes how contemplative practice can direct our anger into loving action:  “Don’t be overcome with evil. Overcome evil with good”. (Rom 12:21).  “When someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek”. (Lk 6:29). “Do not return evil for evil to anyone”. (Rom 12:17). “Bless those who persecute you. Bless, and do not curse”. (Rom 12:14). In each case, we’re given alternatives to our natural reactions, alternatives that break us out of fight/flight/freeze, mirroring, and judging. In the split second when we take that long, deep breath, we might breathe out a prayer: “Guide me, Spirit of God!” We might pause to hear if the Spirit inspires us with some non-reactive, non-reflexive response.

Anger does its work. It prompts us to action, for better or worse. With time and practice, we can let the reflexive reactions of fight, flight, freeze, mirroring, and judging pass by like unwanted items on a conveyor belt. Also, with practice, we can make space for creative actions to be prompted by our anger … actions that are in tune with the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (see Galatians 5:22) … actions that overcome evil with good and bring healing instead of hate.

So, yes, you bet I’m angry. It’s a source of my creativity. It’s a vaccination against apathy and complacency. It’s a gift that can be abused—or wisely used. Yes, it’s a temptation, but it’s also a resource and an opportunity, as unavoidableand necessary as pain. It’s part of the gift of being human and being alive.

God bless,
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

A MILLIONAIRE IN MINUTES…

“If I had a dollar for every time” …This phrase originates from the writings of Mark Twain. In his book ‘More Tramps Abroad’’, he wrote, “If I had a dollar for every person killed by snakebite per year in India I would rather have it than my other property.” It has been used in many forms since, though perhaps never again in relation to snakebites. The dollar has been replaced with a nickel, penny, or quarter. The snakebite has been replaced with too many things to mention. But the point is, most people realize that if they could receive a small sum for something that happens often, they could become wealthy. In Mark Twain’s case that was snakebites and fifty- thousand people die of snakebite each year in India –number that has remained astoundingly steady since he penned those words.  Now imagine you had a dollar for every time someone gossiped about someone else (?) you would be a millionaire in minutes… John the Baptist spoke about Jesus to the people, replying to the messengers sent by John the Baptist. Jesus spoke about John – no gossip but truth, truth that brings dignity to individuals.
Let’s begin the new year with a strong resolution to always cut out gossip.

God bless,
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

EPIPHANY? (!)

Epiphany is one of those Church celebrations we Catholics look forward to, and yet, rarely talk about. Unlike Christmas Day, which is widely celebrated and extensively prepared for by people of different backgrounds, Epiphany is one holiday which tends to get left out despite its significance in the story of Christ's birth. Popularly, Epiphany is the last day of the Christmas season. It marks the beginning of a religious holiday honoring the Magi for Catholics.

While the word "epiphany" bears Greek roots, it is actually used to describe a very important moment during Christ's birth; it marks the exact moment the Savior was visited by Three Wise Men and revealed to the world. The operative word is "revealed," because in ancient Greek, Epiphany means "revelation. We celebrate Epiphany to honor the Three Wise Men who sought Christ to acknowledge His birth, welcome Him with the most expensive gifts of the time, and reveal His coming. Because the holiday is celebrated in honor of the Magi, it has often been called the Twelfth Night (because it occurs 12 nights after Christmas) or Feast of the Three Kings. Christians believe that after the birth of Jesus, the 12 days of Christmas mark the amount of time it took the three wise men to travel to Bethlehem for the Epiphany: when they recognized Jesus as the son of God.

On beholding our Lord and Savior in this celebration, let's all pray for a better future virus free for the whole world.

God bless,
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF 

Dear Parishioners,
I wish you all Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year of 2023!
All of us long to have the peace of mind in our day-to-day happenings; none of us would wish to be bothered, worried, and stressed. ‘May be’ or for any believer ‘should be’ that this season of Christmas, in a special way a time of peace, a time to stay cool. I share the reflection of Dr. William R. Bouknight based on St. Damien to have a small thought on what it means to be “Emmanuel”. Over 100 years ago Father Damien de Veuster, (St. Damien of Molokai) a Belgian priest, began working with lepers on Molokai, a small Hawaiian island.

Father Damien found a source of fresh water in the mountains and developed a system to bring it down to the colony. He built the first sanitation system and clinic. He and the lepers constructed a chapel for worship. Each Sunday Father Damien would begin his sermon with these words: “You lepers know that God loves you.” This went on for years. Finally, one Sunday Father Damien began his sermon this way: “We lepers know that God loves us.” Father Damien had contracted leprosy. Yet he went on loving and serving until his death in 1898. —

Even as Father Damien cast his lot in with the lepers, Jesus, Emmanuel, invested Himself totally in us sinners: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed” (Is 53:5), and all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (Mt 1: 22-23). (Dr. William R. Bouknight).

God bless,
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

Message from Fr. Eslin Pereira...

“SUGARLESS SWEETNESS” We are in the new age of sugarless sweetness, fatless oil, painless gains, profit without hard work, cashless money (shares) loveless families and so on; and I can see Christmas without Christ (“happy holiday instead of ‘Merry Christmas”). All the above mentioned go normal to the bigger crowed of the society which is not the point of discussion in this article but just a personal observation. The thing is, we as believers in Christ and coping with the religious sentiments and practices, the reality would not be much different if we gauge only on external activities for the celebration and less to do with the real interior preparation of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus, with the accent of His second coming.

Last Sunday we celebrated the ‘Gaudete Sunday’ the third Advent Sunday that expresses the joy of anticipation at the approach of the Christmas celebration, the joy of the nearness of the Lord’s Nativity the prince of peace. A joyful expectation needs to be a knowledgeable truth cherished in the heart. The more we know Christ and believe in Him the more we would be anxious in beholding Him on His Day. When a person is drowning in the sea and not knowing to come out of it, his thoughts would not be on his properties, his assignments, or any other matter except to breathe and to escape from the mishap; similarly, when we are so engrossed in the joy of Christmas, Christ would be our focus and all ‘others’ as secondary. A few questions to put us on track in celebrating this Christmas in a rightful manner could be:

“Who is Jesus to me? Why do I celebrate his birth?
What brings joy to Him?
What do I need to celebrate Christmas?”

God bless,
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF 

Message from Fr. Eslin Pereira...
“…IN WAITING FOR YOU”

Advent is a season of waiting in hope for the coming of the Lord. St. Jose Maria Escrivá said, “to begin is easy; to persevere is sanctity” (St. Jose María Escrivá, The Way, 983). Just think of some things that we often start with great zeal: regimens of exercise, diets, projects to repair things in our homes that need attention. Yet, we all know how difficult it is to remain steadfast in the tasks of our daily lives. Too often we abandon tasks, projects, promises, and resolutions. We abandon them because of a lack of strength.

Our perseverance in faith and our preparation for the Lord’s coming, of course, is far more important than any of our other worldly tasks. Though the consequences of growing weak in our resolve to go on a daily run may not be soserious, there are eternal consequences of growing lax in our “resolve to run forth to meet your Christ” (Collect, First Sunday of Advent). We need to be warned about the cost of half-hearted repentance and lack of perseverance. None of us desires to be the bad tree or chaff that is thrown into the fire. (Mt 3:11–12).

To produce good fruit, witnessing to how we have been transfigured by the presence of Christ in our lives, we must persevere in faith and in our preparation for the Lord’s coming. The Catechism gives us some basic advice about how to persevere. We read, “to live, grow and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; it must be “working through charity,” abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church” (CCC:162). We certainly cannot persevere on our own. As St. Augustine teaches, “the perseverance by which we persevere in Christ even to the end is the gift of God” (Augustine, On the Predestination of the Saints, 1). That is why we must beg the Lord for it in prayer.
With perseverance we will not only come to the joy of the celebration of the Lord’s Nativity in a few weeks, but we will also enter the eternal joy of the Lord’s Presence when he comes again and takes us to Himself.
So, we pray with St. Thomas Aquinas, “Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for  ou, and a hope of finally embracing you.”


God bless,
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

Message from Fr. Eslin Pereira...
“… TO DO IN ADVENT”

At the 1 st Advent Sunday Angelus in 2021, Pope Francis says the Advent Season is about asking ourselves how to prepare for Christmas and what we can do for Jesus and others, concretely, in our lives, reported By Vatican News staff writer from 2021 which holds good for this advent in 2022.

What should we do?
Before leading the recitation of the Angelus, the Pope reflected on the day's Gospel reading, which recounted John the Baptist responding to those who went to him asking how to change their lives for the better, since their hearts were touched by the Lord. It reflects an enthusiasm for the Lord's coming and a desire to prepare themselves concretely for this joyous, life-changing experience. In the same way, we too should ask ourselves what we should do within our own lives, the Pope suggested, and reflected on what we are called to do and become.

Each of us has a mission to accomplish
The question of what we are to do recalls that's life has a task for us "the Pope said. It is not something left to chance, but rather, "It is a gift that the Lord grants us", since He asks us to discover ourselves and " to work hard to make the dream that is your life come true". We all have a mission to accomplish, he explained, and we should not be afraid to ask the Lord this question often: What can we do for the Lord, and what can we for ourselves, our brothers and sisters, the Pope asked, and how can this be translated concretely into contributing to the good of the Church and society? Advent is the time we need "to stop and ask ourselves how to prepare for Christmas" what we should do for Jesus and others. Faith is incarnated in concrete actions John the Baptist, in responding to those who ask him "what should we do?", gives each person a very concrete reply to their life situation. And this offers a precious teaching, the Pope said, that "faith is incarnated in concrete life" touching us personally and transforming our lives. In conclusion, he encouraged everyone to think concretely about what we can do, small or big, in our own lives as we prepare for Christmas. This could mean visiting someone who is alone, helping the elderly or the ill, or serving the poor or someone in need. It may also mean asking for forgiveness for our mistakes, paying a debt, clarifying a misunderstanding, or praying more. We can all find something concrete to do, the Pope emphasized, adding, "May the Blessed Mother help us!"

God bless.
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

Message from Fr. Eslin Pereira...
DO NOT BE AFRAID!

Dear Brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, we have arrived at the end of a liturgical year in which we might perhaps had
happy, sad, challenging, successful or even depressing events. They all are classified as “lessons of life”. At this juncture it would be apt to classify what are those memories that we want to carry with us into the future, in the new liturgical year. Surely, we wouldn’t want to carry things that would damage us further, or things that would derail our happiness on the path of life; surely not anger, and revengeful attitudes.

So, it becomes important to spend time on gathering the good, happy, successful, and cherished memories that can make us happy and thankful wishing them to go with us into the future. The lessons learnt from all other negative ones will surely help us to be firm in avoiding them, as they can damage us and all those who will meet with us in the family, at work, in the school or elsewhere.

I’m reminded of the experience of Moses at the burning bush when he asked God for His name, God replied “I am who I am” … “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation” (Ex 3:14-15). Self- explanatory is this passage of the scripture that make us understand that He is the God of the ‘present’. So, we can conveniently shun out the regrets of the past and the anxiety of the future; but the lessons we’ve learned are present. Let’s journey with God who is constantly present in our lives who says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; do not be afraid, for I am with you” (Isaiah 43:2-5).

God bless.
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

LIFE BEYOND DEATH

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus! We do search for the things that we’ve lost; and only when they are being cherished, money, documents, keys etc. but these are just materials. We would all the more long to have or to be in the company of the persons who are gone ahead of us into
eternal rest “only when they are being cherished”.

One of the most healing moments in our life could be the time of grieving over the loss of our beloved ones. They would be more real than even in life real as it is experienced in rituals done for the dead in many cultures. So, in their understanding there is no doubt that ancestors not only exist, but they are present for us. They come to us in moments of great need and trial, and they also celebrate life’s moments with us, as narrated in many stories. And therefore, what trauma, what healing, what hurt, what pain that we need to be healed from could benefit from the practice of our own unique grief ritual? We need to give space to grieve their loss. Yes, and how can the organized religious institutions, the churches, the places where we assemble to finally shed some of our arrogance, how can they help us to grieve, to lament, to begin to get free? What are you grieving that you don’t know that you’re grieving? How will you process that grief?

In our Christian understanding we belong to the communion of saints’ and rightly in the month of November, we need to remember and pray for the faithful departed by offering a mass, bringing the family together in faith to intercede for the loss of a loved one and trust in the Risen Lord that one day we all shall meet, in our Father’s House – the Heaven, life beyond death.

God bless.
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

Message from Fr. Eslin Pereira...
HEART’S HOSPITALITY

Beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus, we are heading to the end of our liturgical year, which through the guidance of the Word of God helps to evaluate our Christian values lived out in the past. Making efforts to accept the realities, we need to find means to change. We should not be separating ourselves from the suffering of the world. When we’re close to those in pain, their need evokes love in us. Very few of us have the largess, the magnanimity to just decide to be loving. Someone must ask it of us. We can read life from another perspective, when we place ourselves in situations with people who are not like us, outside our systems of success and security. The ‘needs’ we witness will pull us toward love, toward generosity and compassion. In his just mission, Jesus embodied the justice of God in his love, hospitality, truth, and grace. Revealing the justice of God, Jesus welcomed the stranger, rejected social discrimination, confronted economic injustice, spoke against institutional power, and repudiated war and violence. Carol Dempsey says that the spirit of justice is “hospitality of heart.” When we open our hearts to hospitality, we feel compelled to seek justice. When we embrace creation, the poor, our enemies, strangers, foreigners, outcasts, and others, we desire justice for them. We welcome without judging. We love our neighbors as ourselves. We reflect the justice, love, and hospitality of God. This hospitality leads us to desire and work for the flourishing, well-being, and good of others.

God bless,
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

29 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

TO BE THE EDGE OF THE INSIDE

Beloved fellow Christians,
I’m pleased to share some of the thoughts of Fr. Richard that makes me feel close to it and convinced of the same. Being made Prophets through Baptism
all of us need to pay attention to this dimension of our Christian Living.

The edge of things is a liminal space—a holy place or, as the Celts called it, “a thin place.” Most of us must be taught how to live there. To function on the spiritual edge of things is to learn how to move safely in and out, back, and
forth, across and return. It is a prophetic position, not a rebellious or antisocial one. When we are at the center of something, we easily confuse essentials with nonessentials, getting tied down by trivia, loyalty tests, and job security. Not much truth can happen there. When we live on the edge of anything, with respect and honor (and this is crucial!), we are in an auspicious and advantageous position. 

 When Jesus sent his first disciples on the road to preach to “all the nations” (Matthew 28:19; Luke 24:47) and to “all creation” (Mark 16:15), he was training them to risk leaving their own security systems and yet, paradoxically, to be gatekeepers for them. Jesus says the same of himself in John’s Gospel (10:7) where he calls himself “the gate” where people “will go freely in and out” (10:9). What amazing permission! He sees himself more as a place of entrance and exit than a place of settlement.  

The unique and rare position of a biblical prophet is always on the edge of the inside. The prophet is not an outsider throwing rocks or an insider comfortably defending the status quo. Instead, the prophet lives precariously with two perspectives held tightly together. It is a unique kind of seeing and living, which will largely leave the prophet with “nowhere to lay his head” (Luke 9:58) and easily attracting the “hatred of all”—who have invariably taken sides in opposing groups (Luke 21:16–17). The prophet speaks for God, and almost no one else, it seems.   

When we are both inside and outside, we are an ultimate challenge, possible reformers, and lasting invitations to a much larger world.

Father Eslin Pereira C.M.F.

Beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus, As we have come to the real experience of the fall a hard time to many elderly members of our parish community, I feel that this week’s message should be dedicated for them. This is an Inspirational Poem by Patricia A. Fleming\

I'M STILL HERE

• My looks are nothing special, my face reveals my age, my body shows some wear and tear, And my energy's not the same.
• Too often my memory fails me, And I lose things all the time. One minute I know what I plan to do, And the next it may just slip my mind.
• I try hard to avoid my mirror. There are things I would rather not see, and even those times when I just catch a glimpse, I can no longer recognize me.
• The things I used to do with ease Can now cause aches and pains, And the quality of the things I do Will never be quite the same.
• I always compare my older self to those younger versions of me, And I know I'm wasting too much time Missing who I used to be.
• But the thing that really makes me sad Is despite what people see, underneath my tattered, worn-out shell, I'm still the same old me.
• My heart can still feel endless love, and at times it still can ache. My heart can fill with so much joy, and then it can suddenly break.
• My soul can still feel sympathy and longs for forgiveness and peace, and there are times its light shines boldly through, and times when it longs for release. It's true, maybe now that I'm older, feeling lonely may be status quo, But it also has made me more willing to forgive and let past conflicts go.

So maybe to some I look ugly and old, A person who barely exists. I';m still quite aware of the beauty inside, and my value
should not be dismissed.
So, although not as strong and no beauty, it's true, I'm still here and want so much to live, And I know that there's no one in this world quite like me, and no one who has more to give.

God bless.
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

Message from Fr. Eslin Pereira...

27 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

…IMPERFECTLY, BUT TOGETHER

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, greetings to all! Hope and wish things are going well with all our day to day needs and responsibilities. A thought for this week I suggest the following about the “IMPERFECTION”. The spirituality of imperfection was taught by Thérèse of Lisieux as an ideal of human perfection in the opinion of Richard Rohr on the topic ‘Accepting our Imperfections’. Thérèse is one of the favorite saints, for those perhaps because of being an Enneagram Type One. The trap for the One is self- created perfectionism, which makes us dissatisfied and disappointed by nearly everything, starting with ourselves.

Thérèse guides us to embrace imperfection—our own and that of others. When her sister Céline was upset with her own faults, Thérèse instructed, “If you want to bear in peace the trial of not pleasing yourself, you will give [the Virgin Mary] a sweet home.” If we pay attention even for an hour, we observe how hard it is to be “displeasing” to ourselves! Often, this is the emotional snag that sends us into terribly bad moods without even realizing the origins of these moods. To resolve this problem, Thérèse teaches us to let go of the very need to “think well of yourself” to begin with! That’s our ego talking, not God.

Worthiness is not the issue; the issue is trust and surrender. As Thérèse understood, “Jesus does not demand great actions from us but simply surrender and gratitude.” Let’s resolve this once and for all: You’re not worthy! None of us are. Don’t even go down that worthiness road. It’s a game of denial and pretend. We’re all saved by grace. We’re all being loved despite ourselves. That’s why I can alsosay, “You’re all worthy!" But your worthiness has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with the goodness of God.

Brené Brown, a contemporary teacher who extols the gifts of imperfection, writes: “It is in the process of embracing our imperfections that we find our truest gifts: courage, compassion, and connection.”

When we can let go of what other people think and own our story, we gain access to our worthiness—the feeling that we are enough just as we are and that we are worthy of love and belonging. When we spend a lifetime trying to distance ourselves from the parts of our lives that don’t fit with who we think we’re supposed to be, we stand outside of our story and hustle for our worthiness by constantly performing, perfecting, pleasing, and proving.

There is a line from Leonard Cohen’s song “Anthem” that serves as a reminder to us when we are trying to control everything and make it perfect. The line is, “There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” This line helps us remember the beauty of the cracks. It reminds us that our imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together. Imperfectly, but together.

Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

Message from Fr. Eslin Pereira...
SPIRITUAL MATURITY

Dear parishioners, We have come to the part of the year that can depress many if not strong in mind and heart, the FALL. I remember while in Germany this would be the saddest part of the year when many elderly and sick people would not withstand the harshness or the imbalance of the temperatures and would find their way to their origins. I find the thoughts of James Finley so consoling and spiritual that I would like to share them with you. We ripen in holiness and spiritual fulfillment as we learn to sit in the sun of God’s mysterious, sustaining presence that energizes and guides our efforts, bringing us to realms of grace that are beyond, way beyond, anything we can achieve by our own efforts alone.

The lifelong process of ripening brings about a corresponding ripening of our ability to understand the fundamentals in a wiser, peace-giving manner. As a person ripens in unsayable intimacies in God, they ripen in a paradoxical wisdom. They come to understand God as a presence that protects us from nothing, even as God unexplainably sustains us in all things. This is the Mystery of the Cross that reveals whatever it means that God watches over us; it does not mean that God prevents the tragic thing, the cruel thing, the unfair thing, from happening. Rather, it means that God is intimately hidden as a kind of profound, tender sweetness that flows and carries us along in the intimate depths of the tragic thing itself—and will continue to do so in every moment of our lives up to and through death, and beyond.

As fruit ripens, it fulfills itself in reaching its full potential to nurture us and give us pleasure. Then too, there is the fruit that, in remaining unharvested, falls onto the ground and dies. The lesson here is in Jesus’ words, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it brings forth fruit a hundred-fold, a thousand-fold” (John 12:24). We believers in the Lord of Resurrection, who died (FALL) for us, find our part in the falling, rising, and giving life for others.

God bless,
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

Message from Fr. Eslin Pereira...
25 th Sunday in Ordinary Time

“MOST PROFOUND PRODUCT OF THIS WORLD IS TEARS”

Greetings and special appreciation to all parishioners for the rightful and joyful Parochial Feast the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. May the suffering of Christ on the Cross bring all of us salvation grace to imitate Him in patience, love and forgiveness. Special appreciation to all who worked for the fulfillment of the plan. I found the following reflection on God’s love made manifest by Cynthia Bourgeault so toughing and worth sharing.

CAC teacher emerita Cynthia Bourgeault suggests that the Divine attributes of love, mercy, and forgiveness are most clearly called forth in our earthly existence. She begins with the Sufi phrase “I was a hidden treasure and I loved to be known,” a mystical description of why God created the universe.

Notice that there is a subtle double meaning at work in this phrase. In order to become known to another, we must take the risk of loving that person, and this includes the real possibility of rejection and the even more painful prospect of heartbreak if the beloved is lost
to us.

Could it be like this for God as well? Could it be that this earthly realm, not despite but because of its very density and jagged edges, offers precisely the conditions for the expression of certain aspects of divine love that could become real in no other way?

Let me be very clear here. I am not saying that suffering exists for God to reveal himself. I am only saying that where suffering exists and is consciously accepted, there divine love shines
forth brightly.

Bourgeault invites us to examine this phenomenon in their own lives: The principle can be tested. Pay attention to the quality of human character that emerges from constriction accepted with conscious forgiveness as compared to what emerges from rage and violence and draw your own conclusions.

At any rate, I have often suspected that the most profound product of this world is tears. Tears express that vulnerability in which we can endure having our heart broken and go right on loving. In the tears flows a sweetness not of our own making, which has been known in our tradition as the Divine Mercy. Our jagged and hard-edged earth plane is the realm in which this mercy is the most deeply, excruciatingly, and beautifully released. That’s our business down here. That’s what we’re here for.

Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

Message from Fr. Eslin Pereira...

EXPERIENCE OF A GRAIL IN LIFE

Soul thirst for a purpose in life is our own Grail experience.
Our lives are characterized by some measure of perpetual dissatisfaction. Nothing lives up to our standards: not the church, not ourselves, not our country. There is a radical, aching longing: Ordinary life will never again be good enough for those who go through a grail experience, yet it is not
meaningless either. In my opinion, it is true; not just for a few human beings, but for most of us or all of us.

After such a Grail experience, the ordinary forever becomes extraordinary. God is both perfectly hidden and perfectly revealed in everything. A peak experience can be disconcerting. Sometimes we might even be ungrateful for it. We do not fit in anymore. We live the rest of our lives at a tilt, wandering. We might feel a bit off-centre. We cannot get excited about things most people get excited about. We just do not believe they are important anymore.

Life’s not about being perfect. It is about getting involved in this great wrestling match. Once we have experienced the purpose in life, that is the Grail—our soul, our True Self, God- in-us—we still fall short. We betray others and ourselves. We fail to live our own truth. We act contrary to our values and beliefs. We are hypocritical, lazy, lustful, and all the rest. But we are also trapped in the truth. As Jeremiah says, it burns within us (20:9). We know it is the truth, even though we can never live up to it. Henceforth the only sin would be to deny that it is the truth. Trying to live up to the soul thirst of our lives, the ‘purpose’ is the rest of the Grail journey. Let us peep in to reality with the purpose God has put into human history, a harmonious life.

I wish all of you, your families, and children a blessed Parish Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross!

God bless.
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF

Start of New School Year!
What do I look for?
Dear Parents! Dear Children! It is a new school year. What can we expect of it? Or how should we go about it? We do not know; it will
likely bring us its usual times of work and play, experiences of learning, newness, success and challenges, all things that are part of school life. Parents and your parish community is not out of its realms. This message in the parish bulletin brings you all, dear Children, dear parents the message that Jesus loves children in a special way and is there for each of them in all situations. It is a new beginning; the planting of a seed that will grow for a year,
the seed of fruit that will blossom in times to come. It offers new hope; Hope for good work, for successful results, For friendship, for fun, for learning. In this coming year, may there be learning, prayer, and fun. May there be hard work, faith, and friendship. May no one in school be lonely; may no one be left out in class; May no one suffer because of how others treat them. The Church with its entire force, finds itself backing up all our children to have their formal preparation for the First Communion (grade 2) and Confirmation (grade 6) with the help of their parents and the respective schools. As we begin this new school year in hope, in prayer and friendship, May God begin it with us, be with us during it, and successfully bring it to its conclusion

God bless you all.
Fr. Eslin Pereira cmf.

22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

PLEASE BE SEATED….

Dear Brothers, Sisters, and loving children, I’m pleased to share with you few reflections on the 22ndSunday of the Ordinary Time. If we go to the cinema or theatre, we are often asked if want VIP or premier seats and if we do want to sit in the most comfortable seats, it will cost us extra. Wealthy people, those who consider themselves to be celebrities and famous never sit at the back. They always sit where they will be seen, heard, and noticed.

Jesus very clearly warns us about this attitude of self –importance. Being a follower of Jesus, we are all invited to the table of the Lord as equals. None of us can really demand the best seat, as if such a thing exists or to expect special treatment; we all come before God just as we are.

When we gather around the table of the Lord, it is not only as invited guests, but as the family of God, as brothers and sisters of Jesus and as each other’s brother and sister. Being a follower of Jesus is about humility. This is not to be confused with weakness or meekness. Humility speaks of an inner quality of recognizing and appreciating who we are, the place of God in our lives and our relationship to other people.

Jesus uses the symbol of the meal to teach something about the true ‘place of honour’ at his ‘wedding banquet.’ This place of honour is not reserved for the select few. We are all invited to sit at the table with Jesus as his honoured guests.

Each time we celebrate the Eucharist, we are not only fed and nourished ourselves, we are also called to share the richness of God’s life by reaching out to others, especially those in need. We sit at the table with Jesus so we can be generous and gracious to others. This week, whose needs can I put before my own? Who can I serve this week?

God bless,
Fr. Eslin Pereira CMF