Love dies for you and me!

Holy Week 2026: GOOD FRIDAY 

April 3: Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42

We are at the peak, the peak of our Christian faith, the peak of the eternal salvation plan of God, the peak of Calvary which has transformed human history forever and from eternity. From this peak today speaks to us the love of God - telling each of us: I died for you! I emptied myself for you! I gave totally of myself for you!

The liturgy today invites us to dwell on three C's...

The first is the Cross - the centre not merely of the liturgy of today, but of our entire Christian life, theology and spirituality. The Cross is the true symbol of love, not the heart with a piercing arrow! The cross is the symbol of that total self-giving, total to the extent of the last drop of blood and water. Suffering accepted for the other, suffering taken up as a mode of self-giving, suffering endured as an act of love, is salvific! This is both an inspiration and an invitation that we need to hear every time we look at the Cross. Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!

The second is the Crown - When sufferings come our way, when trials visit us in our days, when burdens weigh down our shoulders, when disease and death threaten us from the dark corners, we need to remember the crown promised by the Lord! Just imagine an athlete running a race, if right at the beginning he is given a crown and said, all that you need to do is reach the finish line... the crown is certainly yours, it is guaranteed! That is actually a real Christian vision of life... yes, we have to run, yes, we have to toil, yes, we have to strive... but the crown is ours, already! Any crisis, any suffering, any temptation, any trial, is there just to be endured and traversed; let us remember, we are all running with the crown already on our head...if only we are ready to live through them all in faith! Nothing can overtake us, nothing can overcome us, for there is someone who has overcome everything - sins, world, even death and his crown we have on our heads, the crown of salvation. Into your hands Lord, I commend my Spirit. 

The third is Calvary - the hill of grace, the mountain of salvation! The first time I visited Calvary, I was disappointed. When the programme of the visit said, Calvary, my mind had imagined an impressive hilltop up there - but all I beheld was a dozen steps to climb with the place of crucifixion marked. We had already made the climb walking the gradually rising slope leading to the Church of Crucifixion. But that is precisely the message: Calvary is not that one hill perched high right in the middle of our life - it is one whole life, it is a lifelong experience, something that we gradually climb and come to grips with every day. Amidst the daily chores, amidst the experiences of failures and faults, amidst the trying relationships and discouraging life situations, we behold our Calvary - the hill of grace, the mountain of salvation. All that we need to do is, be ready is go through these mindful of the fact that there is God's Holy Will which is guiding us and be ready to surrender ourselves totally. Thus, we can finally say, 'it is accomplished!'

Let us heed to the call of the Cross and understand the role of suffering in our personal salvation and the salvation of the humankind. Let us behold the crown of salvation and live the mystery of Calvary every day in our lives, firm in faith, filled with hope and fired by love

Love serves in every way!

Holy Week 2026: MAUNDY THURSDAY

April 2: Exodus 12:1-8,11-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15

Love is basically a willingness to submit oneself to a way of life that wishes the good of the other. Knowing the needs of the other, without having heard from him or her is a sign of love. Committing myself for the good of the other, without ever thinking of what I would gain, is an attitude of love. Being ready to lay down one's life for the good of the other is the ultimate act of love. There can be no love better that one being ready to lay down one's life for the other and it all begins in being at the service of, the other and the good of the other. The world has grown so callous to 'the other', all that matters to one is oneself and one's own - where is love here? and where would service be here at all!

Maundy Thursday is the day on which the Lord gave us the famous mandate, the mandate of love: love one another as I have loved you; love in action - wash each other's feet; love to be identified as belonging to Christ. The day is filled with so many things to thank the Lord for. 

First of all, the Eucharist instituted today is a loving service in action, by the Son of God who gives himself up for our good. Love serves by making itself the food for the other, by destroying oneself that the other may live!

Priesthood that is initiated today is a service, a ministry of bringing the Lord to the people. It is an offering of love that persons chosen and called make for the Lord, to the Lord's people, for the Lord's mission towards the Reign of God. 

Then comes the commandment of love - the spoken words of Jesus, that would be lived out in his action of serving the disciples, washing their feet and waiting on them at the table! A love in concrete action. 

In every one of these, that which stands out is love. Love is our identity, love is our mission and love is our meaning. Love is seen in service, true and selfless service

Let us learn to love until it hurts

Holy Week 2026: THE SPY WEDNESDAY 

April 1: Isaiah 50: 4-9a; Matthew 26: 14-25

Starting Monday, we have been hearing the three songs of the suffering servant from the book of Isaiah... a set of songs that expresses the sufferings that a servant of God or the prophet of God undergoes. It becomes a prefigurement of Christ's suffering. A servant of God, even the Son of God, finds all around him, those who plot his downfall, those who want him to fail, to be destroyed: how prepared are we to face such people and still go about with dedication and commitment to the Will of God. 

Do you think it will be possible to go on loving even at these moments? It is simple to remain with the Lord and say 'I love', when things go on well; but when things do not go the way we want them? That is what led to the fall of Judas! But look at Jesus... it hurt him to have loved these people - the one who betrayed, the one who denied and those who abandoned him... but he never ceased loving them, much less react. Yes, true love hurts! But it goes on and on. 

"From that time on, he looked for an opportunity to hand him over" ...says the Gospel today. The plot thickens and the tempo builds towards the climax. There are eyes that keep watching out for the right moment to lay hands on Jesus...and the most unfortunate fact is that it is led by one from the innermost circle of Jesus' collaborators! Yes, love hurts, but the one who truly loves, never retorts!

It is a divine quality to love, even when that love is not reciprocated, much more when it is repaid with indifference or hurt! But if we believe we take after the Lord, that we are created in God's image, that we are brothers and sisters of Christ, then as Mother Teresa would often say, we have to love until it hurts.

Let us learn never to give up on God!

Holy Week 2026: THE PREACHING TUESDAY

March 31: Isaiah 49:1-6; John 13:21-33, 36-38

"Though I thought I toiled in vain... yet my reward is with the Lord", this feeling expressed by Isaiah in the first reading fits perfectly the state of Jesus' mind, as he bids a bitter farewell to his disciples today. Arriving at the fag end of his ministry, Jesus knows what is in store and prepares himself for it. Judas' betrayal, Peter's denial... he foresees everything and forewarns them too, but everything in vain. However, he knows that in everything God works for the good of those who love God (cf. Rom 8:28). 

Just after the cleansing of the Temple and the controversy created by it, Jesus is found preaching at the Temple, for the last time. The Jews, the high priests and the scribes, have always challenged Jesus regarding the authority with which he is doing all that he does! Jesus does not care to prove his authority, not because he could not but because it was so obvious. His words were accompanied with signs, his teachings were authenticated with his living and no one needed any proof for Jesus' authority. The problem was that they were not ready see the obvious truth. But Jesus' love does not let him lose heart...he goes on. That is true love - it never gives up. 

These days, experiencing a totally strange holy week, a holy week in quarantine, there could be anxieties, helplessness, doubts and fears in the minds of all...but let us remember, Love never gives up. God has never given up on us and we shall never give up on God, if we truly love God. Let us learn to see and believe the presence of God amidst whatever the situation be.

Believing involves repentance! Believing comes from a conviction, from an experience. Repent and believe - that was the invitation with which the Lent began! 

How far have we progressed in it?

Let us cleanse our love for each other...

Holy Week 2026: THE CLEANSING MONDAY

March 30: Isaiah 42:1-7; John 12:1-11

The flame burns more vigorously as it is about to quench itself, they say. The perfume spreads itself more vivaciously when it is about to vanquish itself. The love for his father and the passion for his mission, burns ever brighter as Jesus nears the cross. Jesus is about to enter into his last few days, and more and more begin to believe in him and come to him. Even while these happen, the stubborn heart of Judas does not give way, the plotting spirit of the high priest and scribes does not change!

This day within the Holy week is called the Cleansing Monday, as we see Jesus after entering Jerusalem, paying a visit to the Temple and cleansing it! Don't make my Father's house a den of robbers, he cries. As the scripture says, the zeal for his house consumes him, the love for his father consumes him, the love for his mission consumes him.

All the good that Jesus did, all the signs that marked his mission did not manage to convert that one section of the people, because they had their hearts hardened and their eyes blinded. May we hear today the yearning cry of the Lord to true conversion. May we make up our mind to truly break away from some act or tendency that we habitually fall in. As Jesus cleanses that temple, the invitation to us is clear: our body is the temple of the Lord, is it maintained as the Lord's dwelling place or has it turned into a robber's den. Isn't it time for us to take note of it and cleanse it for all its impurities. Our love for the Father, for the Lord and for being the dwelling of the Spirit, should consume ourselves!

True love consumes oneself, true wish for the wellbeing of the other shall lead a person to consume oneself. That is what is happening with the Lord - and are we ready continuously cleanse our love for each other, for the whole humanity, for God, so true as we are prepared even to be consumed ourselves!

FIND YOURSELF IN THE CROWD

Beginning a journey with the Lord

March 29, 2026 - Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of a journey with the Lord, that is why the procession at the beginning of this celebration takes on an added meaning…to symbolise the journey we take on: along with a crowd of people, a crowd of people with so many varied mindsets...

Let us just have a look…

    - there were those, who were wondering whether he would come or not, for the festival;

    - there were those, who were there to find some fault with him, in order that they may arrest him;

    - there were those, who were there just curious to see some spectacle or signs;

    - there were those, who were there to see if what they heard about this man called Jesus was really true;

    - there were those, who did not have even a clue as to what was happening, they were carried away by the crowd;

    - there were those, who were there enjoying the fun of the crowd, in the spirit of a carnival, and having a great time of festivity;

    - there were those, who had made it from far places, merely to see if they can catch a glimpse of Jesus whom they heard so much of;

    - there were those, who had followed him right from Galilee, who were unable to leave his side because of the personality that he was;

    - there were those, who were so involved in his teachings, who found his words too precious to be missed;

    - there were those, who were an integral part of his life, they shared his everyday and shared his every dream;

    - there were those, who were there who were concerned about him, aware of the impending danger, but still wanted to be there for him...

How many different mindsets!

Now... just pause a while… and let us take a look within us… where do I find myself in this crowd today?

What is my mindset today... curiosity, boredom? monotony? Blind excitement? Let us remember that the week-long journey with the Lord is going to be a trying journey, a journey of sorts, a journey which is going to be a real challenge!

Among the crowd that we find around Jesus today, where do I find myself?

Life-giving death: new life, life to the full, eternal life!

Conversion – from death to life

THE WORD IN LENT 2026 – SATURDAY FIFTH WEEK

March 28 – Ezekiel 37:21-28; John 11: 45-56

Our Lenten journey of Listening and Fasting, as a time of Conversion, has practically reached its end… because from tomorrow we begin the Holy Week with the Passion Sunday. In fact, it is towards this week we have been preparing ourselves these past five weeks… the immediate objective of which is to contemplate the passion and death of the Lord. We would begin that with the solemn celebration of tomorrow…the palm Sunday, which is rightly also called the Passion Sunday.

What was the purpose of the passion…what did it achieve? Let us begin with that question: the first reading today answers that without hesitation – to bring everyone home and make them One People, the people of God. The discourse of the Shepherd returns, with Christ who offers himself to be that Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep, that no one of them shall be lost.

God never forgets the covenant made – I shall be your God and you shall be my people! And hence, even when we the people distanced ourselves from God and turned our backs, God’s response was to send God’s only Son, who comes as the Shepherd who gathers the flock into one. How does he do it – through his death. That is why that was a life-giving death.

A death that gives new life, new life as people of God, the redeemed of God, the flock gathered unto God; a death that brings life to the full, a life in abundance, in spite of the shortcomings and fragilities that we face; a death that takes us to eternal life, a life in communion with the Lord of life who is eternal, thus making us eternal too!

We see this prophesied today in the Word – not by Ezekiel whom we listen to in the first reading, but the high priest who despised Jesus. It is he who declares that Jesus would be the “one man to die for the people”; that Jesus was to die to gather together in unity the scattered children of God. It is this death that has given us life – new life, fullness of life and eternal life… life-giving death.

We enter into a holy season tomorrow… as we walk towards that death, the death on the Cross, that life-giving death, that leads to eternal life; the death that makes us people of God, people of life!

Life... the Word, Spirit and Truth

Conversion – from death to life

THE WORD IN LENT 2026 – FRIDAY FIFTH WEEK

March 27 – Jeremiah 20:10-13; John 10: 31-42

Our journey from death to life, is obviously as the term itself says, a life long journey, a life-journey in fact. And this is what Jesus explained to the Samaritan woman – the Lord worshipped in spirit and truth! Our reflection on Listening and Fasting… has to remind us of this life-journey as journey of conversion!

“Terror from every side!” – that is how Jeremiah explains his situation… just as it was for Jesus too, as the elders and the scribes were out to catch him for a word or a gesture that they can accuse him of. It would be so for anyone who belongs to God – the generations that we spoke of yesterday, the sons and daughters of Abraham, that is persons of faith. The reason is, the persons of faith, persons with God, are persons who stand by truth!

Be it Jeremiah or any other prophet, or be it Jesus, the problem was that they were speaking the truth, they were saying what God wanted them too. Yesterday we came across in the Gospel the controversy that they accused Jesus of speaking about himself as someone equal to Abraham – and the discussion continues today. Jesus does not evade the question, he deepens the controversy – the Father is in me and I am in the Father. For those who were scandalised that Jesus was equating himself to Abraham, to hear him speak in these terms about the Father and himself, was indeed a breaking point!  But Jesus does not mind – because he was speaking the truth.

In Jesus’ vision, this truth is the light – it makes one understand oneself and see oneself in the right light; this truth is liberty – it makes one fearlessly genuine and authentic; this truth is life – life in the Father, life in the Spirit, life eternal. It does not matter that there is terror all around, there are persons plotting against me, there are those who consider me a threat and look forward to my death – because the Spirit, the truth makes me shift my gaze from that death that surrounds to the life that is promised me! 

This has to be seen in our concrete choices, in our works, as Jesus teaches us today in the Gospel. Our works need to testify to the fact that we are from the Father, that we are daughters and sons of that merciful Father, that loving generation of God’s own. Our Life, the Word today wishes to point to us, as a watershed has to orient our entire existence, and not just ours but of every single person who encounters Christ – taking us towards life, towards Spirit and truth

Life... living to be a generation!

Conversion – from death to life

THE WORD IN LENT 2026 – THURSDAY FIFTH WEEK

March 26 – Genesis 17: 3-9; John 8: 21-30

Our reflection on Listening and Fasting… as a way to Conversion had lead us to this consideration of our journey from death to life, and we are nearing the close of this reflection! The Word today takes us back to the origins posing a fundamental question: why should we undertake this journey? Because we are called to, by the very identity that we are given with, as people of God, as people of life!

Abraham is presented to us as a reminder of our origins, when we were made the people of God, the multitude of nations who were promised to Abraham – his generations! Generations... that is indeed the crux of the message that the Word has for us. And it is nothing new to us, as an argument. We are all much attuned to this discussion of the generations… be it the custom of the surnames that we hold close to our hearts (as if it is something benign, vis-à-vis), or the idea of the clan and tribe that we identify ourselves with (which of course appears to be a bit pejorative at times with its variations like caste and other considerations!)

What is the Christ-ian sense of Generation – the roots or the identity that we would like to refer ourselves to? Jesus today speaks of this when he refers to Abraham, to a people who pride in being sons and daughters of Abraham. But in his discourse Jesus deconstructs this concept of “generation” in terms of both time and space, with his statement: your father Abraham rejoiced to think that he would see my Day; he saw it and was glad. Isn’t that drastically deconstructive?

Jesus is establishing a paradigm where time or space does not define generations – neither the chronological link in the chain of birth and ancestors, not the spatio-geographical link of socio-genetics. Jesus seems to say that the real sense of “generation” comes in those who know the Father and listen to the Word (Jesus himself) of the Father and live their lives in accordance. That is generation and that is true “life” that Jesus gives- that life which will never end, the eternal life.

Listening is a way we receive that Word and be regenerated; Fasting is the way we discipline ourselves in reflecting on that Word and making it our life… and it is in converting to this we become the sons and daughters of Abraha, the people of the Covenant, the children of God, the generations in God

The Maiden and the Salvation Plan

Instrument, Ideal and Icon!

March 25, 2026: Solemnity of Annunciation of the Lord
Isaiah 7: 10-14, 8:10; Hebrews 10: 4-10; Luke 1: 26-36 

Annunciation is the second exception given us in this lenten journey to celebrate, because this is a key commemoration in relation to the eternal plan of Salvation. To the question whether this is a Solemnity of the Lord or of Mary - we should say "both"! Though it is in fact a solemnity of the Lord (the annunciation of the birth of the Lord), it can well be an invitation to look at our Blessed Mother in the light of the Salvation Plan that the Lord had made for us from all eternity.

Mary as an Instrument of Salvation - In her wholehearted and trusting 'yes', Mary entered into the special category of collaborators with the Lord in the plan of salvation for the entire humanity. To the extent that some theologians for ages have been claiming the title 'co-mediatrix', the role of Mary in the climax of the Salvific Plan of God, is unforgetable. She is chosen by the Father, as the Mother of God, a singular privilege that none can deny or negate! The invitation is that we give her the due recognition and love her with an immense gratitude for her obedient surrender to the Salvific plan of God.

Mary as the Ideal of Salvation - In her distinctive and characteristic relationship with her Son, Mary has become a model, an ideal of those who are saved by the Son of God. Mary is certainly the first fruit of the Salvation that Jesus the Christ brought to us human beings. In her assumption we see a great model that she sets, the ideal that she presents, as to what salvation does to us - the rising to incorruptibility! She has been our forerunner in obtaining the fruits of the salvation, in and through Jesus Christ, and passing it on to us, his brothers and sisters. The invitation therefore is to imitate her, in following her Son, as she herself became the most ardent disciple and apostle of her Son.

Mary as the Icon of the Saved humankind - In her total submission to the Holy Spirit, our Blessed Mother has played to precision her role, not only as the biological mother of the Saviour, but also as someone who heard the Word, beheld the Word within her and lived the Word in her daily life. She not only brought forth the Word into the world, but also lived by the Word all the time that she was in the world. She is given to us in the Holy Spirit, as our intercessor, who can teach us to pray and take our prayers to the presence of the Lord! She is the handmaiden of the Spirit and remains an icon for the entire humankind, assuring every one the salvation that was brought to the world by her Son.

Let our prayer today be: Mary our Mother, in your humble submission to the Will of God, you brought us Salvation; grant that we may dare to submit to God's will that we be enjoy our salvation, and be instruments of that salvation to all those around us, and to the entire world. Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Look up and live!

Conversion – from death to life

THE WORD IN LENT 2026 – TUESDAY FIFTH WEEK

March 24 – Number 21:4-9; John 8: 21-30

Our journey from death to life is possible only with the One who gives us life… we are surrounded by the experiences of death, the culture of death. Just as the people of Israel for whom God did so much, but still forgot readily all the good and gave into lamentations and murmur, so do we tend to choose what is death-inducing instead of life-giving – as we reflected yesterday.

If we wish to ensure that we live, and live to the full, we need to concretely make a choice for the One who fills us with life – the Word says today: look up to Him and live. We need to look up to the Lord if we wish to really live.

Jesus describes and interprets in the Gospel of today, the experience we read about in the first reading, where the people are asked to look up at the bronze serpent and receive life. It is a symbolic prefiguring of the Saviour who would be raised too on the salvific wood, as the bronze serpent was raised on a staff.

Looking up… is the reference here that weaves the Word into one theme today, and this looking up can gives us at least three messages to reflect on:

Firstly, looking up is to surrender to the Lord above, knowing well that God alone is in control of everything. When the people were dying of the brunt of the serpents and they did not know what to day, the only recourse that could redefine their experiences was the Lord above…looking up was giving themselves into the hands of God and living our lives in mercy and grace.

A second significance of that looking up is to receive the light that can offer sense to our lives. Looking so much at our treacherous circumstances, the wars and violence, the arrogance and animosity, the avarice and egocentric tendencies, the unforgiveness and inhumanity around, we could be lost in a sense of meaninglessness in life. It is the Cross that can give us the true sense, giving us the message, that God’s love and mercies never cease. We have a reminder of that love, of that forgiveness, of that never-failing mercy in the Cross.

The third is a reminder that when we look up, we not only surrender and ask for the light of the Lord, but we behold a lesson – the only way to live, is to empty oneself. Jesus on the Cross, every time we look up, gives us a powerful message – the message of self-emptying: he emptied himself, becoming a slave and accepting death on the cross, the greatest of all life-giving acts. In a world which teaches us to seek our own well being and survival, the Lord from the Cross teaches us to empty ourselves and find life, life that is whole, life that is eternal. The Word invites us to look up and live, live to the full

Our choices: death-inducing? or life-giving?

Conversion – from death to life

THE WORD IN LENT 2026 – MONDAY FIFTH WEEK

March 23 – Daniel 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62; John 8: 1-11

Conversion, as the journey from death to life – that is the last phase of our Lenten journey that we have begun from yesterday, before we enter into the Holy week very soon! Death and life are not merely two states of the body…it is actually, spiritually speaking, state of our being or our spirits. Said in simple words, they are two ways of life.

How can death be a way of life? We are very often reminded these days of our late Pope Benedict XVI, who spoken often about the “culture of death” that is trying to prevail these days. This is where death becomes a way of life… that is, a choice in life. When I choose to wish the ruin of the other, when I choose to avenge the other, when I choose not to forgive, when I choose to judge, when I choose to condemn the other, when I choose not to give the other a possibility… I choose death.

We have two persons or two cases presented to us – and a third one that is symbolically referred to – in the Word today. The cases of Susanna condemned by the sinful elders and the so-called sinful woman brought to be condemned by the elders… the Word taken together seems to suggest, it is not whether someone is innocent or someone is a sinner that matters to God: what matters to God is that persons live, they find the right meaning of their life and live, live on through the mercy of God!

We said a third one symbolically referred to: Jesus who was condemned by the elders and chief priests, to death! It is this symbolic reference that raises the real question from the Word today: what do I choose? A style of life that is death-inducing? or that which is life-giving?

A life-giving mode of living is first and foremost, choosing life – there can be no neutrality in life; either I am with life or I am against! Those who are not with me are against me; those who do not gather, they scatter! Secondly that mode ensures that I promote life in all sense – that I give myself, and the other, the possibility of new life, renewed life, a life of fullness.

The Lord we believe in is the Lord of life, not an inducer of death. That is why he said, the one who believes in me, even those he or she dies, shall live

CONVERSION... FROM DEATH TO LIFE

Revisiting the Past; Refilling of the Spirit; Rediscovering Compassion!

THE WORD IN LENT 2026 – FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT

March 22 -  Ezekiel 37: 12-14; Romans 8: 8-11; John 11: 1-45

Listening and Fasting - Lent as a time for conversion... we have reached the closing phase of this project, we began four weeks ago…today the invitation is to behold our call to journey from death to life, as a concrete form of conversion.

We are given with a powerful imagery today, the event of the raising of Lazarus to life, after three days in the tomb – firstly, it is an obvious prefigurement of the resurrection of Christ, just as that of Jonah; secondly, it is a promise to humanity that death is not the final victor in our existence; and thirdly, it is a spiritual call to journey from situations of death in our daily life, to where the Lord tells us to “come out” – to come out to life! This journey consists of three phases, indicated through some prominent phrases in the Word today.

Opening the graves – the first phase is revisiting our past. The first reading and the Gospel speak of opening the graves… the graves symbolise something that is over with, but still resting there as a reminder of what has been. If there has been anything in the past that has not been resolved, we cannot pass by. The Lord says, open the graves! Revisit your past and heal it; revisit the past and resolve the knots that exist still. The Lord is ready to be there, as we decide to revisit and the Lord understands us well, because the Lord was there even when it happened then, in the past.  

We may not be comfortable with it – saying it may smell, it may be unbearable, it may be painful or it may be festering! But the Lord does not mind, He insists. The Lord wants us to revisit our past with a lot of courage, self-respect and sense of hope. Come closer to the end of this wonderful season of conversion, we are reminded of the need to revisit our past and behold the Lord in the sacrament of Reconciliation…that Lord calls us: open the graves!

Pouring the Spirit – The second phase is the refilling of the Spirit. The revisiting of the past is not merely a psychological step, which it is of course. With the Lord beside us, it is deeply spiritual. The Spirit of the Lord has made his home in you, says St. Paul, reminding us that when we need a renewal it is not some fresh encounter with the Spirit as if we have not known the Spirit of the Lord. It is a refilling, probably because we have run out of the Spirit… the Lord pours once again the Spirit into us – a refilling that renews us.

Spirit is life, and when we are refilled with the Spirit we are refilled with life – a new life, a fullness of life, the foretaste of the eternal life that we have been promised. As Jesus said when he raised the daughter of Jairus, that she was just asleep; here too he says – our friend Lazarus is resting. So does the Lord tell our spirits - that they are just asleep and they need to be woken up with the refilling of the Spirit. It is a reawakening… the resurrection that we long for.

Mercy and fullness of Redemption – When Jesus raises Lazarus and says, unbind him and let him go…he is telling each of us how the love and mercy of God wants to unbind us and set us free, how the compassion of the Lord wants to liberate us to eternal life. The responsibility however, is on our part, to rediscover that compassion, which is always there, ever-present for our taking. We may have ifs and buts – if you were here, if the Lord were aware, if the Lord hears, if the Lord sees and so on, but the fact is the Lord is; the Lord knows; and the Lord is Compassion. There can be no change in that.

It takes our sincere effort to recognise, receive and rediscover that compassion. Just as so many around that tomb with such diverse mentalities looked on until the glory of the Lord was revealed, so shall the world and humanity stand around and look… but are we going to be in that crowd? Or are we going to confess and profess as Martha… Yes Lord, I believe, and see the glory shine in front of our eyes?

This week the Word will accompany us to rediscover what it means to journey from death to life, in the compassion of the Lord. Let us open our hearts, allow the Lord to enter and manifest his glory – that is the conversion asked of us every single day of our life.

Judgement: the darkness suppressing the light!

Conversion – from darkness to light

THE WORD IN LENT 2026 – SATURDAY FOURTH WEEK

March 21 – Jeremiah 11: 18-20; John 7: 40-52

Conversion, as the journey from darkness to light, requires that we choose light, and not the prevalent tendency of judgementalism. Yesterday, the Word warned us on judging, judging wrongly and judging maliciously. Today it goes further to talk to us about judging unjustly and a worser attitude.

Judging unjustly is not just a wrong judgement, it is a malicious judgement, and done with a specific agenda. It is not just a mistake or a circumstantial happening. It is a strategized, well planned and executed. This happens today at many levels – socio political, economic, national, international and global.

Jeremiah, in the first reading today, is treated like a national enemy…and they judge him unworthy of living and they decide to eliminate him. The reason being, he spoke things that they did not want to hear. He criticised them for the growing callousness towards good and virtue.

Jesus is rejected, in the Gospel today, just because he does not come from where they want, rather he comes from where they did not expect him to come from. How many injustices are carried out today because of where one comes from, from his origin and his native particulars… race, region, colour, caste and what not…

The question today is: are these judgements merely wrong or malicious? Aren’t they unjust, strategic and well-orchestrated? Are we not plotting against God, pitching against the humanity that God wanted? At this level, is not this judgement, apart from missing the truth, trying to suffocate it, suppress it?

There is a worser attitude to these unjust judgements – it is justifying these unjust judgements. We find reasons and logic to all kinds of injustice that we promote or sustain… this is indeed a suppression of light. Light comes through any darkness to make things seen… bringing to the fore our mistakes and our lacks. If we are humble and sincere, we will immediately see it and admit that light to take us towards conversion.

However, when darkness takes the upper hand, there is no possibility for conversion, because darkness suppresses the light that struggles to come through. Judgement of the other is one such darkness to beware.

Judging the other: direct expression of Godlessness!

Conversion – from darkness to light

THE WORD IN LENT 2026 – FRIDAY FOURTH WEEK

March 20 – Wisdom 2: 1,12-22; John 7: 1-2,10,25-30

Conversion as the journey from darkness to light, is a definitive choice for God, but today the world seems to be tending much towards Godlessness, in every way: personal lives and morals, societal values and norms, cultural priorities and choices… in everything there seems to be a tendency towards Godlessness. However, we need not be surprised because right the from the beginning this has been a scourge of humanity.

In fact, the ancient enemy the tempter, has always found all possible means to unleash this sensation on the human race – to render it as Godless as possible. One efficient means, of the many that the Evil one has in stock, is the proneness to judge! Jesus knew this easy bait and has warned us time and again – judge not and you will not be judged. But it takes a great effort to listen to that admonition really.

We are prone to judge and that is an expression of godlessness, because in judging we are tending to play God. Our pride and self-centredness occupy such a large space that there is no much place for the other, and indeed note for God!

As if judging were not enough, as a natural and consequential deterioration of this habit or attitude we soon begin to judge people wrongly! This is the further step of godlessness, because we begin assassinating people in varied forms. We cease to see them as they are and force them into the straightjackets that we have prepared.

Worse it is to go still further and judge, not only wrongly, but maliciously – wantonly making wrong judgements and maliciously spreading them to achieve the hidden ends that we have devised for ourselves. This is an acute expression of godlessness…and we see that decried in the first reading and the Gospel today – the killing of the innocents. Does it not continue even today?

Let us not immediately point to socio-political and economic forces that are flagrantly carrying this out in our times at all levels, be it global or local; because we need to be mindful also in our own interpersonal level – at the micro contexts of our own communities and families. How many persons we judge, we judge wrongly and at time we judge even maliciously?

Can we leave that darkness and journey towards the light of innocence?

St. Joseph - as the Word projects him

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Solemnity of St. Joseph 2026: Silent, Simple and Sleeping!

2 Samuel 7: 4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22; Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a.

St. Joseph occupies a huge space in the climax of God's salvific plan which was accomplished in Jesus - still he remains a quiet, noiseless and unassuming person! In a noisy world of today, which claims recognition for every little thing and clamours for attention, St. Joseph's mode of living his life, carrying out his mission and responding to his call is a lovely lesson. Apart from this, there are three dimensions of this saint that we can notice emerging from the Word today.

Silent Protagonist: He had a very important role to play within the historical events that were unfolding in time, and he played it to perfection. The extraordinary quality that we see in this personality is his silence - how he remained recollected in his depths, to receive the directions from the Lord and execute them to the letter. The prefigurement of this image is seen in Abraham, presented to us in the second reading - how he spoke very little too; refrained from asking questions and dared to even give up his only son! Above all, he listened and obeyed! St. Joseph too listened and for that he chose to remain silent!

Simple Person: He was simple as a person... this does not mean he had just an old fashioned dress and no sandals on feet - that is how 'being simple' is understood these days! Simple is opposed to complicated! He was not complicated in anyway - an yes meant yes and a no meant no. He thought of rejecting Mary, he was told to accept and he accepted. He thought of returning to Judea, but was told not to and he went to the district of Galilee. He was a simple man who had no air of ego around him nor any self-interests to hang on! The figure of David is presented to us in the first reading drawing our attention to a way of life that was simple. He was fooled for the exaggerated enthusiasm he had for the Lord (when he danced before the ark) but he never even bothered about it. Though the man had limitations and weaknesses within him, he had no ego absolutely. When he was pointed out, he immediately repented. He was called to be a servant of the Lord and even as a King he remained so! St. Joseph never complicated his role or his person, he remained as simple as he was called.

Sleeping Prophet: Sleeping St. Joseph is a popular devotion by now... a renewed perspective reminded by our late Holy Father Pope Francis! May God grant this wonderful servant of God, who reminded us so plainly what it means to live as a Christian today - amidst all confusions and controversies - ever faithful to the call to be yeast, salt and light. Now let us focus on our Sleeping Joseph - it is not a mere novelty of thinking but an intense perspective of faith: the Lord provided for God's beloved even as they sleep (Ps 127:2). It is one lifestyle to spend sleepless nights thinking about something. It is completely a different life style to leave it to the Lord and sleep over it, for the Lord takes care of me even if I am asleep! It is a choice. It is a prophetic sleep when it is out of total surrender to the Lord - Joseph of the Old Testament, the namesake of the saint we celebrate, is a beautiful example of this lifestyle. He surrendered himself totally to the Lord and lived his life like a dream. St. Joseph too was so surrendered to the Lord that even as he slept, he felt protected and directed.

Today, let us thank God for the great gift and example of St. Joseph. Let us not only seek his intercession, but learn from his life that teaches us how to live our Christian call. May St. Joseph protect and direct us always

Made children of light and of life in the Son!

Conversion – from darkness to light

THE WORD IN LENT 2026 – WEDNESDAY FOURTH WEEK

March 18 – Isaiah 49: 8-15; John 5: 17-30

Conversion as the journey from darkness to light, cannot be taken up as a task all by ourselves, and we know that well. We are made capable of this journey by God, by God’s promises, by God’s faithfulness. We are formed by the Lord, we are made into God’s people, we are made the covenant of God – that is, we are made children of light by the Lord, says Isaiah in the first reading.

Jesus reiterates that in the Gospel, reminding us that we are made children, in the Son - in the Son who has been sent to us, sent for us, as the fulfilment of the covenant of love that God has made with us. Jesus makes us understand that we are made children of life, of eternal life by the faith we profess in Christ, the One who has been sent for our salvation.

The Word today explains to us what it means to have been made children of light and of life… it means the certainty of love, guarantee of life and fearlessness of light.

Isaiah outlines the glory of the day of salvation – when the Lord will restore the land, liberate the prisoners and do away with the darkness. He presents it in terms of the certainty of God’s love, the covenant of love that has no end. “I will never forget you” – those are truly strong words indeed, from the Lord. God remains faithful to that promise of love, by sending God’s own Son to be our salvation.

Jesus, the fulfilment of the covenant, offers us the guarantee of eternal life, provided we unite ourselves with him and in him. This is essentially the choice to make that journey from darkness to light… the choice cannot but be ours, although it is the Lord who enables us in this task. Jesus manifests his Sonship, the Sonship in which we are made children of God. This he does fearlessly, because he has the light of the will of God, and he is the light that leads us to eternal life. The light makes us fearless, fearless of anything in the world that can threaten us, fearless of anything around us that can lead us astray, fearless of anything that vies to destroy us! As long as we are determined to do the will of the One who calls us and sends us, we shall be in the light, and we shall be fearless… because we are made children in the Son.

To be enlivened by the life-giving Water!

Conversion – from darkness to light

THE WORD IN LENT 2026 – TUESDAY FOURTH WEEK

March 17 – Ezekiel 47: 1-9, 12; John 5: 1-3, 5-16

Conversion, is the internal journey from darkness to light – that is the theme the Word continues to reiterate this week! We know what it takes to undertake this journey from the obscurities of our daily life towards the light that leads us to eternity. Although we know what it takes, we are not always in a position to undertake that journey. Our fears, failures, discouragements, temptations, doubts and compromises, prevent us from pulling ourselves up and moving towards that light that beckons us.

We have a very powerful example of this in the man whom we encounter in the Gospel passage today – ill for 38 years, the cleansing water right in front of his eyes, along with his inability to get to it… we are presented with an existential problem of knowing and choosing! 

However, the Lord deconstructs that vision… the incredible and unlimited mercy of God says – what is there if you are unable to reach the healing waters, the life-giving Water is right there reaching out to you! That is the Gospel event today – Jesus, the life-giving water stands right in front of him asking, do you want to be well again? What an opportunity! All that the man manages to do is only lament that he is not able to go the waters, so unaware of who it is that stands looking over him! How many times this happens to us – when the Life-giving springs offer to renew us totally and give us a new and transformed life, we are out there asking for something so insignificant vis-à-vis the eternity.

The first reading pictures to us this in a more picturesque manner… the life-giving waters that flow from the sanctuary generating life wherever it flows, symbolising Christ who comes forth from the Father creating a new earth and new heavens as we reflected yesterday. Jesus reaches out to us and wants to enliven us in every way possible. All that we need to do is recognise that presence, allow the waters to flood into our lives and make us whole again.

The question is – are we ready to say, “Yes Lord, I wish to come alive again; wash me clean and enliven my entire self!” If we say so, we are choosing the light and leaving the darkness; we are encountering the life-giving water and being born anew! That is true conversion.

To behold the new heavens and a new earth!

Conversion – from darkness to light

THE WORD IN LENT 2026 – MONDAY FOURTH WEEK

March 16 – Isaiah 65: 17–21; John 4: 43-54

Lent as a time of Conversion, is the underlying theme during this week which invites us to rejoice. Isaiah gives us a reason to rejoice in the first reading today: because the Lord rejoices in us and the Lord wants us to rejoice in what God is creating for us – the new heavens and a new earth! That is the promise of the Lord. But every time we hear such a promise, we begin to suspect it. That is because, we do not believe.

The Word raises a very pertinent question today – do we believe when we see miracles? or we begin to see miracles when we believe? The new heavens and the new earth – the Lord deigns to create, but it remains on our part to behold it. And it happens on a daily basis… the Lord keeps offering us moments, experiences and circumstances to behold the new heavens and the new earth.

The experience of conversion is beholding this gift that God offers. To look at what God has willed into existence for us, including us. It takes to look at what God continues to offer us in God’s holy will. All these can happen only if we have enough light to behold! I am the light – Jesus declared in the Gospel we reflected upon yesterday! The question remains – Yes, Jesus has declared, but how ready am I to receive that light, to behold that light?

Jesus in the Gospel points to us how unprepared we are and how obstinate we are in refusing to see, in refusing to behold what the Lord is doing for us. There could be two major reasons for it, or three.

Firstly, our obstinacy not to see… because we want every thing the way we want, anything different we are not ready to see. That is the merit of that official who approaches Jesus – he wanted Jesus to come to his house, but Jesus told him to go and he will see the miracle… he did not insist, he turned and went, went towards the miracle and he beheld it!

The second reason is our impatience… we want things when we want it, we cannot wait for God’s own time! We want it then and there, and when it does not happen we start looking for other channels…as we surf on a TV or by now on our mobiles…and we miss the real miracles prepared for us… we are not there to behold them.

And a third reason, is the most disturbing and we need to avoid: that we are already blind, blind because we are overpowered by evil and negativity. God forbid! May this not be so in our case! Let us take to heart our call to conversion: the call from darkness to light, to behold the new heavens and a new earth.

CONVERSION… FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT!

Chosen in our nothingness; led through the darkness; towards the light of eternity!

THE WORD IN LENT – LAETARE SUNDAY 2026

March 15 – 1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13; Ephesians 5: 8-14; John 9: 1-41

Listening and Fasting: Lent as a time for conversion... we have reached the fourth Sunday of the season – the Laetare Sunday – Rejoice, is the call! The first two weeks we had reflected on the term “Listening” and the last week we reflected on the term, “Fasting”, and now we turn to the term “Conversion”! That is the call with which we began the lent – repent, convert, come back to the Lord. Beginning today these last two weeks before the Holy Week, the Word would draw our attention to this experience – the experience of conversion. We begin with reflecting this Sunday how conversion is a blessed journey from darkness to light.

We are capable of this journey from darkness to light, because we are chosen. But let us remember, as the Word reminds us today, we are chosen in our nothingness! The first reading presents us this message with such simplicity, in the figure of David the shepherd boy who was chosen to be the King of Israel, a choice that looked weird and dumb to many, including Samuel the prophet who was an instrument in that choice. It was a strange choice, because it was a choice of nothing, it was a choice that seemed so bleak as a future…but we know it did work, because it was God’s choice.

We are chosen, that does not say that we merit to be chosen; it is not because we have what it takes to make that choice go right, but merely because God’s love has chosen us. It is indeed a reason to rejoice. It is not a rejoicing in despite of others, but a rejoicing in recognition of our nothingness, which is so precious in the eyes of the Lord…Rejoice o Jerusalem, rejoice my people, rejoice my sons and daughters, the Lord invites. You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light – the reminder from Paul is a stark reminder of the fact that we have just reflected on.

The Lord does not just choose us and leave us to our sorts… the Lord leads us on. Like the shepherd leads the sheep, so does the Lord lead us on – this is brought out by two symbols that stand out in the Word today: David the shepherd boy who was chosen to shepherd the people of God, and the experience of the Lord as my shepherd. This shepherd leads us on, not merely in times of sunshine and glory, but in specially in times of obscurity and darkness. More specifically, the Divine Shepherd leads us through the darkness! None of us can escape the darkness that surrounds us; the presence of God does not guarantee us that there won’t be darkness, but that when there is darkness, we would not be alone; we would not need to fear or panic. Because the Lord leads us right through that darkness, the valley of death, the depths of darkness.

We have enough and more of this experience of darkness in daily life – the problems and challenges we face, the misgivings at home and the lack of understanding, the crises at work and tussles with persons, the temptations that assail us and the troubles we have to face, the evil that threatens us and sometimes takes over our own minds and choices… all these darknesses exist close around us. But the message is – do not fear, Christ will shine on us… we shall rise and shine with the Lord. Jesus us telling is today, do not worry – go and wash in the mercy of God… there is the great sacrament of Penance waiting for us, just for our taking. Go, wash and be light, invites the Lord, and leads us right through the darkness that wants to bind us.

Howsoever the darkness tries, it cannot overpower us, unless we allow it to. The reason is, we have the Shepherd by our side who leads us towards the light, the light of eternity! Jesus today approaches us and says the darkness that seems to be around us, is no object of fear – it will be turned into an instrument to give glory to God, when the Lord leads us to light. When we walk out of that darkness and become the light that the Lord wants us to, the world will not recognise us – just as the people who had seen that blind man in the Gospel could no longer recognise him. He was healed, he changed, and he soon came to see, not just see but see the Lord and believe in the Lord. While the Jews… they remained blind, blind to the Lord who was right there amidst them working wonders; they chose to remain blind, they chose not to walk towards the light.

Once again let us turn to that man who received sight, who became light – it meant that he had to testify for the Lord, stand up and proclaim the Good News that he had received. He brought problems to himself, but he had already moved from darkness to light; nothing could blind him anymore. That is our call too; and that is the conversion we are called to… to walk from darkness to light, the light of eternity. From doubts and despair, from discouragements and disgruntles, from obstinacy and obscurity, we are called to walk into the light. When we do that, we shall experience the One who declares, “as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” and invites us to become the light of the world.

It is good to ask ourselves today, if we would dare to say as that man in the Gospel – I know I was blind, and now I can see… Lord, I believe!