Love, the loaves and the waves!

WORD 2day: Wednesday after Epiphany

January 7, 2026 - 1 John 4: 11-18; Mark 6: 45-52

The Word in the Gospel today raises a strange question within us... what is the connection between the loaves and Jesus walking on the water? How is it that Mark says they were dumbfounded at seeing Jesus walk on the turbulent waters because they had not still seen what the miracle of the loaves meant. 

Feeding the hungry in the wilderness was a Messianic Sign; and what is it but a child's play for the Messiah to walk on the water or calm the sea! Walking on the waters too resembled the walking through the waters, yet another messianic sign. But for Jesus none of these signs mattered. If they did, he would have taught his disciples to walk on water and to multiply loaves.

What mattered to Jesus was only one and that is what he taught them. That is the mind of Christ that is so vividly pictured in John's words: one who loves, lives in God and God lives in him! 

Love alone matters, neither the loaves nor the waves!

God is Love! Who are we?

WORD 2day: Tuesday after Epiphany

January 6, 2026 - 1 John 4: 7-10; Mark 6: 34-44

The image of God among God's people was continuously evolving... in the beginning they thought God was a demanding task master, but later understood God was loving too; first they thought God was an angry God, but later they found that God was slow to anger, abounding in love; first they thought God was an uncompromising God but later they understood God was merciful too! The evolution finds its climax in Christ, who reveals God as absolutely compassionate, profusely loving, immensely forgiving and unconditionally accepting!

Knowing God to be such a person, is in a way a great news for us; but at the same time a big challenge. A great news because we are cared for and protected in that unbelievable love. A challenge because, if we are children of that God, we need to be defined by who God is. 

Our God is love; hence we are called to be children of love! From the way we understand God to be, or the way God reveals Godself to be, we are defined as to who and what we are! From the way we live our life, the world should be able to understand the kind of God we believe in. This is what is called the integrity of faith: the correlation between our faith and our living!

Now that Jesus in his compassion and in his mercy, has revealed God as love, let us ask ourselves... who are we?   

Love, life and the Lord

WORD 2day: Monday after Epiphany

January 5, 2026 - 1 John 3:22 - 4:6; Matthew 4: 12-17, 23-25

Testing the spirits, apostle John speaks of in the first reading today! Today this is so important a task for us to do, for so many of our own children of God are drawn away by spirits that are so selfish and ungodly. 

How many times we have encountered faithful, vociferouslt complaining, 'I saw a video of a preacher of one of the denominations spreading calumny against the Holy Father and calling him names! How can he do that?' We can only smile at them and say, 'there were those who calumniated against Jesus himself, they killed John the Baptist and thwarted the first Christian community with the same calumny... so my dear brother or sister, why worry?'

However, the Word today gives us a special task: to test the spirits... and not to accept everything that seems to be showy. How do we test? There are three criteria that can be culled out from today's readings:
1. Love: Is what is told and done, done out of true, genuine and authentic love, or for selfish motives?
2. Life: Is what is spoken and what is initiated, life promoting, life enhancing and life giving?
3. Lord: Is what is being aimed at truly Lord oriented, or is it self oriented, or purse oriented, or kith and kin oriented?

Don't be deceived by flowery words and fiery speeches; don't be carried away with the show of crowd and technological cloud... be guided by the One True Spirit of the Lord: be firmly founded on Love, Life and the Lord.

CELEBRATING THE SELF REVEALING GOD

Seek, See and Shine

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord - January 4, 2026

Isaiah 60: 1-6; Ephesians 3: 2-3,5-6; Matthew 2:1-12

The only possibility of knowing about God is through God's own self revelation! God is no simple object to be discovered or invented; God is a person whom we should get to know. Knowing God is possible only through the self revelation of God in history, in the Word, in our day to day experiences and in ways known only to God. 

Today we celebrate that one event, that one life, that one person - JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, in whom God revealed Godself fully, completely, definitively and super abundantly! The revelation has been going on even before Christ, through prophets and judges (Heb 1:1), through chosen men and women. The revelation goes on even today in our everyday life, through the Word and the traditions, through day to day experiences, through holy men and women who have gone before us and those of our times. These revelations find their fullness in the Paschal Mystery, that is: the birth, life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God.

Epiphany is a celebration and a thanksgiving to the Self revealing God who deigned to reveal Godself in the person of  Jesus Christ, our Saviour. This feast of revelation reminds us of three realities of our faith:

SEEK... to know God: One has to seek, to know God; there should be a yearning within, in order to encounter God. The wise men from the east got wind of something special that was in store and they sought to know what it is. They were wise men, but they wanted to know more and more! 

Faith has to be deepened; there should be a yearning within us to grow more and more in our relationship with God. It is true that the fullness of revelation dwells in Christ, the Son of God...but I have to seek to personalise it, to encounter that revelation and relate to it in first person. I cannot rest with second hand experiences and age old narratives, I need to seek to experience this revelation of the Lord in first person, and truly behold it myself!

SEE... to find God: One has to see, to find God; God is always present with us, all that we need to do is see! 'Lift up your eyes round about, and see' says the first reading. The wise men found the star, they saw an invitation in it. They found the way and the saw a direction there. They found the baby, and they saw someone special that God was preparing there. 

We find so many around us... but we need to see the face of God in them: in our brothers and sisters; in those who are suffering and toiling; in those who are exploited and crushed; in those who are treated with disdain and burdened with pain; in those who wake up every morning not certain of the next; in those who have so many worries and concerns in life that they can never think of living the present moment! We need to see God, in the innocent love of a Child; in the tender touch of a mother; in the brimming eyes of a caring person; in the everyday miracles of life. Once we see God in these, we will surely find God concretely present in the Church, in the celebration of the sacraments and in our prayer moments. 

SHINE... to show God: One has to shine, to show God; we are called to become instruments of revelation ourselves. 'Arise! Shine!' calls the first reading. St. Paul speaks of how the Lord made him an instrument of revelation to the people! When we seek God and manage to see God, we begin to shine. That is why Isaiah says, "then you shall see and be radiant"...the very seeing makes us radiant, makes us shine! 

Our Faith is not something merely to be understood and believed, but it is to be lived and be shared. Revelation is at one and the same time a grace and a challenge. A Grace, because it is gratuitous and comes from God. A challenge because, once we get to see God, we have to shine; shine and announce God; shine and share God; shine and show God to the world, to all who are in darkness, sadness and gloom! Especially today, when the world is eager to celebrate anything that is not God and wants to do away with anything that is connected to God... if I believe in the Lord, I have to shine, I have to shine to show God to the world.

The Self revealing God invites us to SEEK, SEE and SHINE.
To accept the invitation is an act of FAITH; a beginning of a journey, a journey that lasts the whole lifetime - every day of which we are called to Seek the Lord, See the Lord and Shine for the Lord!

Resembling God

WORD 2day: 3rd January, 2026

1 John 2:29 - 3:6; John 1: 29-34

The Holy Spirit,  in the form of the dove testified on behalf of Jesus that he was the Son of God. We are made the children of God and the same Spirit testifies for us too. We would be identified as children of God if and only if we resemble God our Father and Mother. That is what John says in his epistle today: we resemble God and that is what we are expected to be in this world.

Resembling God in our being: would mean being loving beyond all expectations, being forgiving beyond all grievances, being welcoming beyond all petty differences and being generous, beyond all calculations.

Resembling God in our doing: wound mean having thoughts that God would have, saying words that God would give, doing things that God would rather do, in short, remaining with the lord- in every thought, word and deed.

Resembling God made easy: Christ had come to live amidst us to show us how we could resemble God in our lives. It is something that he did not just speak of but showed us in his person and life. Out choices and our values should begin to resemble those of Christ. It is a life long journey that our call as Christians proposes to us. Let us embark on that journey as firmly as possible.

Jesus has shared with us that name above all name that he was given by God - if we have to be worthy of that Holy name of His, let us resemble him. Let us resemble God!

Encountering Christ today

WORD 2day: 2nd January, 2026

1 John 2:22-28; John 1: 19-28

The identity of Jesus as both God and Human was a major issue of controversies in the early Church. The first reading we have today is an indication to such feuds that existed. What matters, as John so rightly points out there, is not the philosophical and theological justification of who Jesus is; but the personal experience of the person of Christ, an encounter with Christ.

John the Baptist foretold the coming of Christ and pointed out when Christ really came. His prophetic gift gave him the privilege of understanding Jesus and identifying Jesus when he came. There were many who saw what John saw, heard what John heard... but they did not identify Christ. Even John, at a certain point, sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he were the Christ. And Jesus sighed, "happy is the one who never doubted the Son of Man."

Today we would do well to pray for this grace... to identify Jesus when he comes so that the encounter may enrich our life and bring meaning to it. In varied ways, in our neighbours, in our brothers and sisters, specially in those who are in dire need and helplessness, we are challenged to encounter Christ who is God but who had deigned to assume our nature and live in the poor and the oppressed! 

The New year that has just begun offers a great scope for the encounter - provided we remain open inspite of the tough times we have had and trying times that may come our way. These situations notwithstanding, we are called to meet Jesus, encounter Christ, in our lives today! 

PRESENCE, PEACE & BLESSING

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God - World Peace Day - New Year Day

January 1, 2026: Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2: 16-21

It is a fresh start, a new year, a treasure of 365 days!

It is a Gift, a gift in all ways: precious, beautiful, wrapped and presented. First of all, it would be too rude not to receive it as a gift. Secondly, it is wrapped...and it is important that we receive it with a sense of wonder, surprise and gratitude. Trying to know everything, in the name of predictions and presumptions, would strip it of its wonder! To approach it with a wry and dry mentality will make it devoid of its surprise. Let us approach it with gratitude and a sense of childlike curiosity, prepared to receive the gift on daily basis, one day at a time!

The greatest gift we can have, that with which we begin every new year, is the loving presence of God! The babe in the manger is a the highest gift that we can have. The Emmanuel, God with us, is the most precious gift that we can behold. That the Lord is with us fills us with hope: that whatever it be as the year unfolds day by day, we would never be alone facing it. We have the Lord with us, all the time, every day and every moment.

The gift of the new born Saviour is what we celebrate today: Mary, the Mother of God! The Mother of God is a gift, a reminder and a challenge to us. The Mother of God, is a gift: God gives her to us as a protector, a guide, a refuge as we begin this new year, with all its surprises. The Mother of God, is the reminder of the Word made flesh, the Lord who has cast away all distance and difference and become one like us, just to show us how much God loves us. The Mother of God is a challenge, a challenge to give, to give endlessly. She gave herself, when the Angel approached her! She gave the world the Son of God, born of a woman, when the fullness of time came. She gave that child to the Lord, offered him in the temple and offered him to the Father's work! She gave her young son, for the sake of the salvation of the world. She gave up everything and gave everything! She stands as a challenge for us today, to give, to give and never to count!

The gift of an year! This year, which is given into our hands today, as a gift hamper, will be filled with peace if we live it in the way that the Lord wants us to; after the example of our Blessed Mother. She said that yes, and she said that for her whole life, not knowing what it meant and where it will lead her. All that she was assured was, the Lord was with her. We are assured too that the Lord's presence will go with us, that the Lord's countenance with shine on us. Let us begin with hope and that will give us peace.

The gift of peace! Peace be with you - that is the message that the Holy Father gives us on this 59th World day of Peace... he wishes the world a peace that is "unarmed and disarming". Pope Leo in his message reflects: "Goodness is disarming. Perhaps this is why God became a child. The mystery of the Incarnation, which reaches its deepest descent even to the realm of the dead, begins in the womb of a young mother and is revealed in the manger in Bethlehem. “Peace on earth,” sing the angels, announcing the presence of a defenseless God" -  there lies the key to peace. Not in threatening the other with economic or emotional sanctions... but in being defenceless in our choice for good, for the good of the other, and the for the good of all. The choice has to me personal, absolute and sincere! We have a whole year to practice this choice, haven't we?

May the Lord bless you and keep you!

May the Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!

May the Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!

May your New year 2026 be filled with God's presence, peace and every blessing!

Sing to the Lord a NEW song!

WORD 2day: December 31, 2025

7th day in Christmas Octave - 1 John 2: 18-21; John 1: 1-18.

Oh what a day to sing a new song! When everyone thinks of something that is ending, the Word calls us today to sing a new song! Not that the liturgy does not take note of the last day... it does! The first reading indeed, speaks of the last days and the things that pertain to the last day! But the responsorial invites us to sing a new song!

That is truly a Christ-ian spirit! To sing a new song when every one thinks everything is coming to its end, for our hope has no end. It is a beginning for us... a new beginning, in the Lord, in whom we have "received grace upon grace" (John 1:16). Interesting to listen to the Gospel, which begins, 'In the beginning there was Word.' It is indeed a moment of faith.

Today is a day to thank the Lord for everything, for everything that we have walked through this year. Some, we may label 'good', and others we may label 'bad'... but invariably everything has happened with the knowledge of God and there is nothing more blessed than to offer everything up into the hands of God this day, as we await an all new grace from God's hands... a new year that begins at the end of this day.

With all the increasing hate-mongering and violence-inducing events around, it could be that the uppermost feeling today is one of a painful sigh or a yearning cry, but let us not let that happen. Let us not give into any kind of hopelessness today. Let us not allow ourselves to be surrounded by some fearful darkening recall of disturbing experiences from the year that is just passing us by.

Let us decide and choose to prepare ourselves in thanksgiving, to receive an all new grace from God's hands, a grace of 365 days - a brand new 2026!

One who does the will of God, lives forever

WORD 2day: December 30, 2025

6th day in the Christmas Octave - 1John 2: 12-17; Luke 2: 36-40

The feast of the Holy Family has just gone by, but the theme lingers on in today's liturgy - the first reading addressed to various categories of persons in the family, the psalm inviting the families to offer themselves to the Lord and the Gospel referring to the holy family at the temple, to offer the first born to the Lord! The cue to the message is prophetess Anna and the last verse of the first reading which says, "one who does the will of God, lives for ever" (1 Jn 2:17).

What does a family do to you? It helps you grow, grow physically, emotionally, relationally, in short, into whole human persons!

In the family, we are all called to 'grow and become strong', and to be filled with wisdom... wisdom which tells us what is God's will for us; what is acceptable and what is not, in the eyes of the Lord! What is that which helps us stay with God's will and what is that which takes us away from it.

There is yet another growth that has to be underlined: our growth in faith. Faith is not acquired once for all; every day we grow, we grow to the full into persons that God wants us to be. We have no excuse, because God's favour is upon us all as chosen children of God; if I do not grow and become strong in faith, it is me who is to be blamed, is it not?

The key to all these is perceiving, knowing and following God's will, which is simply deciding and desiring to do what would please God and God alone. That difficulties would crop when we do so, yes, it is true. But the one who does the will of God, shall live forever!

Secrets laid bare

WORD 2day: 29th December, 2025

5th day in the Christmas Octave - 1 John 2: 3-11; Luke 2: 22-35

One of the key elements of an authentic spirituality should be to lay bare all secrets. Jesus was doing exactly that, and that is one reason the pharisees and the Scribes could not put up with him.

The way Jesus did it, was by making the criteria cut and dry. He stood far from multiplying requirements and rituals. He simplified the commandments and kept to the basics. He brought everything down to one commandment and this laid everything bare. No amount of beating around the bush would matter anymore... do you love or not - that's the plain question! 

That was indeed, the only question which had to be answered and John so plainly brings it out in today's first reading. He explains lack of love as the lack of light - as darkness! It is simple according to John too... one cannot show oneself as "spiritual", as someone who loves God, except through the love for one's brothers and sisters. Love is the light that has come into the world, according to John; accepting it or not depends on each of us. 

Let your love be genuine (Rom 12): St. Paul too understood this key, the key to being Christlike!