What is it that makes us so excited about Christmas? Certainly, it is the commemoration of the birth of Jesus. An event that took place 2000 years ago still continues to fascinate us. It is an event that changed the course of history. It changed the global setting. It infused new life into the world, created a new culture and formed a new civilization. It is called Christian civilization. The fact of the birth of Jesus Christ, the God-man, has certainly changed the world forever. In fact, it continues to change and transform the world. The event of Jesus continues to shape and renew the lives of people of all ages. It is determental factor that the world continues to see holy men and women from so many countries dedicating their lives exclusively for the service of God and humanity. Therefore, Christmas is nothing but celebrating the life of a man who not only made history in the heart of humanity but continues to remake history through their lives as well.

The homily was preached on the feast of St Ann on 26th July 2025.

Mass celebrated on 26 July 2025 at Fatimapura Church. St Ann's of Providence Convent, Fatimapura

Fr Prashanth Madtha SJ speaking at the Kannada Rajyotsava celebration at St Joseph's College, Hassan November 2025

At the baptism of Mikael Veigas on 13 December 2025 at Badyar

What a beautiful expression about God that we have in this Advent Season: Emmanuel—God with us! He is with us even before we came into this world. He continues to accompany us in every day of our lives, both in our joys and sorrows, struggles and strengths. As we enter into the fourth Sunday of Advent, the liturgical readings invite us to experience the presence of God with us, around us and in us. God continues to surprise us with His presence in spite of our unknowability of him in its fullest reality. What we know about God is very little, and it is through other creatures. The world cannot run automatically or preplanned. Therefore, there should be someone who is overseeing this whole creation, all that exists and all that moves. In this context, the Advent experience becomes meaningful and fruitful.

Christmas message delivered for the religious of Hassan, organized by the Hassan Joseph Nivas community

What is the factor that determines certainty? How can we be certain when someone says something that looks a bit strange or unusual? Today, fact-checking is becoming more common in the media as fake stories and narratives proliferate. There are fraudsters who often deceive those they perceive as "intelligent," "smart," and those in positions by sending links to their mobile devices via WhatsApp, SMS, or email. Many believe in these silly and most stupid things. You may not believe the person who is sitting next to you or your own colleague, but you cultivate such faith in an unknown person who is sitting somewhere else and sending fake messages, and you simply fall for that person. This issue of fact-checking is not just of today; even during the time of Jesus, people were using this element of ascertaining. We see in the liturgical readings of today, especially in the Gospel, that John the Baptist, even while sitting in prison, wants to ensure that Jesus, who is becoming a popular figure, is the right one about whom he was preaching.