WORD 2day: 12th November, 2016

Goodness to strangers - How Strange!

Saturday, 32nd week in Ordinary Time

3 Jn 5-8; Lk 18: 1-8

The first reading today speaks of the Godliness in being good to strangers. But doesn't that sound strange in today's context. People find being good to the good, a little too tedious. The population of the kind that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel - those who do neither fear God nor respect people - is on the rise and with no qualms of conscience. Religious or Irreligious, educated or uneducated, male or female ...nothing serves an exception to this condition. The generation is becoming more and more insensitive. Killing for a pittance, killing for honour, killing for payment, killing for religion, killing for profits, killing for property, killing for convenience...what is humanity going towards? With all these speaking of being good to strangers - how strange! Be ready to be considered strange - that's being Christian!

WORD 2day: 11th November, 2016

Love, and do what you want!

Friday, 32nd week in Ordinary Time

2 Jn 4-9; Lk 17: 26-37

It was reported yesterday in the news that after Mr. Trump was elected President of the US, one of the highest number of searches on google was 'the end of times'. People are constantly looking out for such things - the armaggedon, the end of the world, the third world war, the second coming etc. At times they query as to what would be the best way to prepare themselves towards these phenomena. The answer is simple... go on living your Christian life to the full. How do we live the Christian life to the full? Love!

Love! That is no new teaching. It is the summary of all teachings of Christ. There is almost nothing you can do when the end comes, whenever it comes! There is nothing special that you are expected to do too, that is why the time is not announced earlier. Live your daily life in love and peace, encounter people, share your joys, reduce misunderstandings, increase genuine relationships, laugh with those who laugh and weep with those who weep, forgive and accept, in short, LOVE! St. Augustine's words are a very pertinent lesson: love, and do what you wish!

WORD 2day: 10th November, 2016

The Reign of Brothers and Sisters

Thursday, 32nd week in Ordinary Time

Phlm 7-20; Lk 17: 20-25

The Reign of God is among you, reminds Jesus. This has been a revolutionary teaching of the Lord for ages, it has incited liberation movements and over thrown some inhuman systems. Today the reminder returns - to make present, to feel the presence and to accept the obligation presented to  us by the Reign of God in our day to day life. 

One of the responsibilities of the Reign is to look at everyone as brothers and sisters and not in terms of subject or as objects. Even if it is a servant or a slave, look at the person, accept the inherent dignity of the person and give them their due without grudging. Let go of divisive mentalities and competitive spirits, look at everyone as a co-passenger on this journey called life. There are moments when one gives and others when one receives. One is not better than the other; both are part of the same process. 

The Reign of God is here, begin to feel it, work to make it present and spread it in spirit through everything you are involved in.

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

Maintain my Temple

Commemorating the Lateran Basilica - 9th November, 2016

Ezek 47:1-2,8-9,12; 1 Cor 3:9-11,16-17; Jn 2: 13-22

'Rebuild my house' - Francis of Assisi was commissioned. He mistook it for renovating a chapel that was in ruins...but it was a much deeper call. Today's feast and the Word resound that call once again. The Temple we celebrate here, has a threefold meaning.

First, the Temple of the Lord, the dwelling of the Holy Spirit, our body! To maintain it holy and acceptable in the eyes of the Lord, is an urgent call, given the context that is so relativistic.

Second, the Temple that is the Church, the people of God - to unite, to heal wounds and to sustain the loving relations within the people of God is another great task entrusted to us today.

Third, the Temple that is the Common Home, the earth where the Lord makes God's majestic presence felt. We are called to care for this common home and promote the divine presence and grace within this common home called the Earth.

The Lateran Basilica that is the Mother Church within the Catholic Church is a reminder of the great tradition our faith has.Built in honour of John the Evangelist, this is situated in the property of the Lateran Family and that is the reason for the name, Basilica of St. John at the Lateran. It is known to be the earliest basilica built and it was built by Emperor Constantine himself. It has been the See of Rome since then and remains so even today. The Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) is this Basilica we celebrate today. We are sustained in our faith by these memories and acknowledgement that we treasure. May grace flow from this Basilica today to touch every heart that longs for the warmth of faith.  

WORD 2day: 7th November, 2016

Leading, Leading astray and Leading together

Monday,  32nd week in Ordinary Time
Tit 1:1-9; Lk 17:4-11

The Word speaks of three aspects of leadership in a community...

First is leading,  leading after the heart of God,  being inspired by the Holy Spirit and guided by teachings of the Lord.

Second is leading astray,  where the evil one is active at play.  That has been the quality of the evil one,  right from the beginning of humanity. Temptor, as he is identified, he uses people in his influence to draw others to himself against good.

The third is leading the community together to unity,  harmony and loving understanding.  One of the most important tool in this regard would be forgiveness.  No community or family can be built without daily and unfailing forgiveness.

People of RESURRECTION

6th November, 2016: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 Mac 7: 1-2,9-14; 2 Thes 2:16 - 3:5; Lk 20: 27-38

"And I will raise them up on the last day" declared Jesus regarding those who partook of him. Resurrection is our hope, Resurrection is the foundation of our faith. The crux of the salvation that Jesus offers us is Hope, and hope is the confidence of things that we are yet to receive and the greatest of all that we look forward to is resurrection! This is what Jesus in his incarnate self showed us - he lived his life for God, he died for God and by God he was raised; when we live, we live for God; if we die, we die for God, and we will be risen in the Lord! This is the foundation of our faith; for as St.Paul says, "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile" (1 Cor 15:17). The readings today, help us understand what resurrection can mean to us. 

Resurrection is a REWARD, a recompense that God sets before us for the commitment with which we live our life. We come from God, and it is our destiny that we return to God. We are loved into existence by God and we bear God's image in the core of our being. Every day of our life is an opportunity to cherish that image within us and bring it to fulfillment within us. Every person we come across is a companion on this journey and every situation we live through is a means to nudge towards the destiny. There are moments that are trying and those are moments to stride across, as we see in the first reading. When we find ourselves in such moments as those, when we have to choose between God and godlessness, between righteousness and injustice, between good and mediocrity - and we decide to choose God, righteousness, goodness - we can proudly say with St. Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown"(2 Tim 4:7,8).

Resurrection is RECONCILIATION, a reunion with my creator, an experience of my oneness with my God, whose child I am. In the letter to the Colossians, we are told, "you have now been reconciled in the body of his flesh, so as to present you holy and blameless before God provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in faith"(Col 1:22,23). Just this morning some one remarked to me, 'Oh after all, would we live another 25 years!' Absolutely true, that we are on an earthly sojourn and our eternal abode beckons us. That is why St. Paul prays in the second reading today, 'May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.' It is in that love of God and the faithfulness of Christ, that we are assured of 'eternal life' which is participating in the nature of God, who alone is eternal. In our resurrection we become one with God, we are reconciled to God, and we become eternal like God!

Resurrection is REALISATION, a concrete experience of what has been promised. We are called to live as the people of Resurrection. Christians are Easter People... while there is in store the eternal life that has been promised, we are invited to live that resurrection every day, every moment, specially in those moments when we are prone to hopelessness and desperation. We need to realise who we are, we need to realise who our God is! Jesus says of us - "they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection" (Lk 20:35). As Paul explains to the Romans (ch.6), we have died with Christ, in his crucifiction and we will live with him! We are called to live our lives, as people of resurrection, not losing heart on any trial, not giving up at any temptation, not desperate with any failure, not bogged down by any evil - but people filled with hope, comfort, courage, steadfastness, strength and love of God.

We are people of resurrection; let us live our lives mindful of the reward that the Lord has set before us, preserve ourselves holy and blameless to be reconciled to the Lord in eternal life and realise the fruits of that resurrection right here and now, in our daily lives.

WORD 2day: 5th November, 2016

The Master Issue

Saturday, 31st week in Ordinary Time

Phil 4: 10-19; Lk 16: 9-15

Who is your master? 

Wealth? What would you do with it when your life is gone? Wealth is useful only as much as it can give you a happiness that will not ruin the eternal joy that the Lord has in store for you. Wealth has to be your servant, serving your purposes, not your master getting its purposes fulfilled.

Goodwill of Others? What do you seek - human respect or acceptability in the eyes of God? What would the opinion of others matter, when it keeps changing according to their whims and fancies. How much do you want to change and how long and what for? For the sake of others? Or would you like to image yourself after the will of God?

Is God your Master... if so you would please God and God alone. In God we trust, we proclaim; but put our trust in so many factors. Raise that question to yourself: who is your Master?

WORD 2day: 4th November, 2016

God, glory, stomach and shame!

Friday, 31st week in Ordinary Time

Phil 3:17 - 4:1; Lk 16: 1-8

Their stomach is their god and their glory is in their shame - what words St. Paul has against those who live a life that is thoughtless and flimsy, with nothing that offers a depth to their living or nothing that adds to meaning of their lives. Hoarding wealth, seeking comfort, craving for pleasures and living solely for material satisfaction - what can that offer to one's life. Lies lead to more lies, obscurities lead to more obscurities, crimes lead to more crimes and lawlessness leads to absolute inhumanity. Compromises kill.

Being imitators of Christ, means to live with no compromises, to speak nothing but the Words of the Almighty, to think nothing but good, to do only what builds the other and the family of God, to love like God and to relate like children of God. That would be heaven...or the Reign of God on earth. Let each of us do our part!

WORD 2day: 3rd November, 2016

True Loss and Real Gain

Thursday, 31st week in Ordinary Time

Phil 3: 3-8a; Lk 15: 1-10

The World today judges everything against categories like gain or loss or profit or returns! Which is the true loss and what would be real gain - the Apostle today clarifies it in no uncertain terms. I consider everything as a loss or as rubbish, when it comes to knowing Christ, gaining favour with the Lord, growing in relationship with the Lord. The question fundamentally is about one's choices and priorities.

The Gospel clarifies the choices and priorities of the Lord...for the Lord, God's children matter the most! Whether one has been into sin all one's life (like the sheep that stray), or one considers oneself worth nothing (just a single dime), for the Lord that one person is worth the whole world, is worth giving up everything even God's only son!

True loss is the loss of relationship with the Lord and Real gain is gaining life in the Lord. Whether we live or die, we do it for Christ.

THE SAINTS AND THE WORD

The People of the Word

Tuesday, 1st Nov, 2016

Rev 7: 2-4, 9-14; 1Jn 3:1-3; Mt 5:1-12a

The seal, the scroll and the Word - the signs of the people of God presented in today's Word. The seal denotes the sovereignty of God which the saints totally acknowledge. The scroll signifies the plan of God that exists from all eternity. The Word is the life of the saints, the true children of God. 

Children of God are those who deserve that name by their life and works...not merely for namesake! Let your light shine, the Lord has challenged us.  Those who listen to my father and do what He says are those who deserve to be called children of God. 

Saints are fundamentally children of God who are recognised so because they had lived a life worthy of that title. We are given the title too; our daily duty is to grow more and more worthy of it.