Joseph Osho

  2023 IS ABOUT TO BEGIN   EXAMiNE YOUR CONSCIENCE! Jn 2:18-21 Jn 1:1-18 We are about to begin a New year. The the year 2023. There is something always new about every Year. There is hope and freshness it brings to our minds on how to start it with new vigour and aspiration from the Holy Spirit. We thank God for his mercy.  It is often said that the headstart is the best start and God is the beginning and end of all. At the beginning of a new year ( though not advent season) of the secular calendar, we have readings that centers on God as the source of all things and our relationship with him. God loves us and he is ready to protect us.  In Genesis, we see the creation story in which darkness gives way to light and the world unseen gives birth to the realities that we see. Throughout the ages, God sent his prophets to proclaim his word of truth and light for righteous sake. We have an insight to the mystery and beginning of creation with the prologue of John’s gospel...

  Holy Family! Make our family like yours!  Ecclesiasticus 3:2-6,12-14 Matthew 2:13-15,19-23 Today we celebrate the feasts of the holy family comprising of the God-man Jesus Christ, His Most Holy Mother Mary, and her chaste spouse St. Joseph. Our world today is desperately in need of the intercession of the Holy Family.  God directs the heart of St. Joseph as we see the gospels. God speaks to him in a dream and directs him on his future. He was prompt in obedience and sought the interest of the rest of the family. He trusts and obeys God’s command. I am again reminded of how the relationship must have been between Joseph and God. There is no question of the dream, there is no hesitancy. Joseph gets up and goes to Egypt. During all of the bumps in the road of Joseph and Mary, the birth in a manger, the flight into Egypt, they remain strong in their support and protection of their precious family. Why are people not loving today as they should? Why do we have a lot of disin...

  Behold this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel-Simeon (Luke 2:34) 1 John 2:3-11 Luke 2:22-35 In today's first reading from the first letter of St. John, we see the message of walking in the way of Christ through the commandments. The two commandments that Christ gave to his Apostles and us; To love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  The message goes on to speak about what it means to walk in the light and what it means to walk in the darkness. In today's gospel, Simeon, a man waiting in the Temple for the Messiah is blessed by God to be able to see the true Light before he died. He spent his life waiting patiently for that moment. Christmas is a reminder for us that the Light has come into the world and that we can choose to walk in the Light or to choose the path of darkness. Simeon’s prophecy that the heart of Mary”s soul will be pierced through and her heart will be turned open when watching her only son...

  The blood of Jesus set us free; making us innocent children of light 1 John 1:5-2:2 Matthew 2:13-18 At Christmas, we see that Christ is our light. He is the light of the world that shines through our darkness. The brilliance of colorful lights and candles continue to shine throughout our streets,neighborhoods, homes and churches.  Remembering in today's liturgy, the tragic deaths of the Holy Innocents who died at the hands of a devious tyrant; we recall the dark day's many people's past and present experiences because of rampant corruption and evil. There is so much trouble in the world. There is so much darkness present in our world these days. It seems wars, famine, droughts, homelessness, poverty, racism, and daily violence in our neighborhoods and cities can be close and overwhelming!   In today's first reading, we are told that God is light and in him, there is no darkness. Jesus brings light to any darkness we may be experiencing! The opportunity to spend qua...

Come and see! 1 John 1:1-4 John 20:2-8 Christmas season is a season of our Lord’s birth and the hope that His birth brings to us. At Christmas, we see God making use of what human beings considered as insignificant to be relevant, barreness turn to fruitfulness, Insignificant Bethlehem, in a violent world dominated by Rome is were the saviour is born of a virgin, and the lowly shepherds were to be the ones to announce the good news to the world as instructed by the angel. St. John in his prologue affirms that those who accept Jesus as Son of God, God makes them children of light.  How anxious are we to encounter Jesus? Today we celebrate one of the most unique the apostles St. John was one of the apostles to embrace Jesus and the last to die for his sake. He was chosen by Christ together with Peter and James to see the Transfiguration and the Agony in the garden of Gethsemane. He is the one who rests his head in devotion to the sacred heart of Jesus at the last supper. With St. Joh...

  Lord! Receive my Spirit   Acts 6:8-10,7:54-59 Matthew 10:17-22 Are you afraid to bear witness to the gospel because of persecution?  St Stephen, one of the first deacons of the Church was the first Christian martyr. He was a man filled with holy Spirit and wisdom such that his challenges could not face him in their arguments, He was an arch deacon ready to live the gospel and the time of persecution and to face trials for the sake of Christ. People are being persecuted all over the world today in Syria, Palestine, Europe, America, and our cities, towns, and villages all for the sake of Christ. This is what Jesus has commanded those who love him to do. To face challenges and to love in a godly way is what Jesus required us to do. Stephen knew that the Holy Spirit was with him and granted him counsel and fortitude so he lived validly the gospel truth and preached it. We are powerful more than we know of ourselves thanks to the spirit of the lord that rests upon us. Facing...

  MERRY CHRISTMAS  On Christmas day what headline might we write to announce the most momentous events in all history? Messiah born in a Manger, Saviour of all national born in Bethlehem, or a homeless family found in a stable.  When God the Son was born, at a particular place, at a particular time, of a particular woman, a new start was given to humanity.  All its long history of sin, its long cavorting escapade of persistent foolishness, all this was generously cancelled out.  It’s as if the Divine Artist looked down on the blurred canvas which He had seen defaced for so many generations, and said, “Enough! This ruined world, this tragic farce, has gone on quite long enough.  Let us begin again.  But this time, this time, I myself will go down among them. I shall visit my people.  I shall walk among them, as one of them, in their littleness.  I shall be like them, and in their flesh I shall teach them my ways.  I will unite myself with...

Homily for the Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Year A 2022 *To Save Us*  Friends, I wish you all the joy and blessings of Christmas. In today's celebration, we are presented with three powerful lessons from the Christmas story. The first lesson is contained in the name of the child, Jesus, which means he is to save us from our sins. What sins? Topmost on the list is self-centeredness. We live in times when the words "altruism and sacrifice" rarely come up in conversations. Self-expressivism is the in-thing. And there is nothing wrong with expressing oneself. Even God expresses himself in the Christ-Child. What is wrong is the idolisation of the self. When the self becomes the centre and the determinant of all things, the other doesn't seem to matter. Too often than not, it is all about "me." He doesn't love me. She doesn't love me. My parents, siblings, friends, and colleagues don't love me. Have we ever asked ourselves if we lov...