August 2, 2023, Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time (veil)

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"Then the children of Israel would see that the skin of Moses' face was radiant; so he would again put the veil over his face until he went in to converse with the LORD.”

When Moses unveiled his face after conversing with God, the Israelites saw the glory of God's light shining through him. He was so radiant that he had to veil his face, but when he talked to the Lord, he would remove the veil. He conversed with God face to face.

Many of us would have watched the short video 'The Veil Removed'. It is a powerful vision of how Holy Mass looks like if our eyes could see the supernatural and spiritual. If you have not watched it, do check it out.

‘The veil removed’ reminds me of the way we celebrate Mass in my home church in India. My home church is the Syro-Malabar Catholic church which follows a variant of the East Syriac rite in our liturgy.

The liturgy celebrated according to this rite, retains the rich tradition and symbols used since the early days. In our churches, the sanctuary is always covered with a thick long curtain, or veil, from the ceiling top right to the floor. Only during Mass, just before the Liturgy of the Word, the curtain will be drawn and opened for all to adore, worship and express great reverence.

After Mass, the altar is again veiled by the curtain. Only the sacristan and priest are allowed to go near the altar at other times. Thus, the altar is kept sacred, just like the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem temple. The only opportunity to see the altar and the sanctuary is during Mass.

Catholics in Kerala have a deep respect for the altar because we believe that only priests and angels are allowed to enter the sanctuary. In the Oriental traditions, the altar servers represent the angels in heaven.

Here, and in many other countries following the Roman rite, we are so privileged to be able to see the altar every day, any time. It is like Moses removing his veil when he talked to God.

However, it seems that this privilege has been abused and taken for granted in this country. Unrestricted accessibility runs the risk of becoming mundane and uninspiring to unappreciative minds. We need to learn to respect what is Holy, to perceive heavenly realities represented in earthly symbols.

Are you aware that every time we come before the altar of the Lord, we come into the sacred real presence of God? 

We are stepping onto holy ground. When we receive holy communion, we are not just receiving the body of Christ for ourselves, but we enter into communion with the rest of the church and with all of heaven to become one body. No veil can separate that. Amen


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Homily: August 11, 2025 Monday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Greatness of God)

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“Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it. Yet in his love for your fathers, the LORD was so attached to them as to choose you, their descendants, in preference to all other peoples.” The greatness of God is truly, completely beyond our full understanding, in fact, it is even beyond our partial understanding. What we know of God is probably just a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the true greatness of God. The people who lived during the time of Moses had only a minimal understanding of who God is because God had only revealed a little about Himself. Divine revelation is gradual. Even if He had revealed everything about Himself, no one would be able to grasp it all. First, God revealed Himself to Abraham and his immediate descendants. Then, through Moses, He revealed Himself to an entire community. Finally, in the fullness of time, through His Son Jesus Christ, God revealed Himself to the whole world. I...
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Homily: August 10, 2025, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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Homily: August 6, 2025, Feast of the Tranasfiguration of the Lord

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(Holy Family School Mass)   “While he was praying, his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.” Today we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus. Transfiguration means a complete change of appearance into a most beautiful, glorious, spiritual state. Jesus’ transfiguration shows us that although He has taken on human nature, He is also at the same time truly God. Do you remember who were the three disciples who went with Jesus up the mountain when He was transfigured?  That’s right. Peter, James, and John. And how do you think they felt when they saw Jesus shining with glory? Oh yes, they were afraid, because they had never seen anyone shining so brightly before, it does not happen to human people. But then later they felt great too! That’s why Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here!” He even wanted to build three tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. In those days, people do live in tents, not for camping. So Peter thought they...
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Homily: March 22. 2025, Second Saturday in Lent (Bashan and Gilead)

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Homily: January 23, 2023, Monday of the Third week in Ordinary Time.

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 “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” This is applicable to any kingdom, any organisation, any group, and of course, it applies to church, the kingdom of God here on earth as well. We see decline and weakening of organisations where divisions exist. Is the church, the kingdom of God here on earth divided or united? In this so-called modern society, it is not difficult to see many divisive opinions and views. Many people strongly advocate abortion, same-sex marriage, and other behaviour which the church has explicitly identified as unacceptable. Yet these people claim to be catholic. They justify their arguments based on their own ideologies and political principles, not on the church’s teachings. And there are church leaderships who keep silent regarding these issues for fear of losing popularity. Yes, God forgives but we cannot take God’s mercy for granted and live like ...
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Homily: December 8, 2022, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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 ‘The Lord God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?”’ This is the first question God asked man after he committed sin. God surely knew what happened. He gave Adam and Eve all freedom to do as they please, requesting only one restriction, yet they failed Him. He should be upset, He is justified to be furious, He has every right to question and reprimand them, instead he asked, “where are you?” Through this we can see that although God disapproves of sin, His bigger concern is when we hide from Him and persist in darkness. He calls us our from hiding, into His light. Human beings are the crown of God’s creation.  He yearns for us to be in His light, in His presence, always. And all through history, God does not change His position, He does not run away, He remains always available, reachable and near. We are the ones turning away and increasing the distance from God. Fulton Sheen rightly said, “Ever since the days of Adam man has been hiding from God and saying ‘God ...
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Reflection: April 18, 2025 Bridge Churches stations of the cross on good Friday.

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"Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' He replied to him, 'Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'"  The good thief asked only to be remembered, but Jesus, always faithful to His promises, responded with the gift of eternal life. Jesus was nailed to a cross, like a criminal, with two real criminals by His side. He had once been surrounded by thousands who needed His healing, followed by many who wanted to hear Him, and accompanied by friends who loved Him. But now at the final hour of His suffering and dying, they had all left Him. This is what many of us fear, to be forgotten and left alone at our dying moment. Let us look at the situation of the two thieves crucified beside Jesus. As thieves, they probably lived in poverty, anxiety and constantly hiding. They might not have family or friends since they work in darkness. Now caught and condemned, they too are in the last hour of their lives, about to die. Yet,...
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