Divided lives and Devilish intents

WORD 2day: Saturday, 5th week in Ordinary time 

February 14, 2026 - 1 Kings 12: 26-32, 13: 33-34; Mark 8: 1-10

For the people of Israel there was no difference between their political life and their religious life. For them everything was just one - an integral mode of living as people of God, forever the people of the Covenant: 'I shall be your God and you shall be my people'. But at a certain point, as we read in the first reading today, the misery befalls them - Politics and Religion part their ways. 

Something that happens further makes things worse: using religion for political ends or politics for religious reasons. It becomes almost an unjust alliance, and remains so even to this day! That could be history... but the alarming fact is that it can happen in our personal lives too: the division between our religious life and our civil life, and worse still if we use one for the manipulation of the other. 

Jesus is totally against this division and considers it always an hypocrisy. One cannot call oneself a shepherd and still remain untouched by the miseries of the people. We see how sensitive he was, and how he taught that to his disciples. One cannot call oneself a 'Christ-ian' and live a life that is totally insensitive towards others. One cannot call oneself a child of God and look down on his brother or sister, or much worse ill-treat, exploit or oppress them. If one does that, he or she is giving into idolatry, claiming to belong to Christ but divided within oneself, externally professing Christ but totally against Christ at the level of the inner self.

Pride, Rebellion and Hearing God's voice...

WORD 2day: Friday, 5th week in Ordinary time

February 13, 2026 - 1 Kings 11: 29-32, 12:19; Mark 7: 31-37

The readings today speak of two kingdoms... one that was ending and the other which was rising. Prophet Ahijah instructs Jeroboam about the role that he has to play in the fall of David's kingdom. And in the Gospel we see the people who rejoice at the coming of the Kingdom (Reign) of God: "the deaf hear and the mute speak" they exclaim - that phrase was symbolic and indicative of the Reign of God to the people of Israel. 

The message is obvious - it is an invitation to turn away from a tendency of human pride and rebellion and place the absolute dominion always in the hands of God. Right from the beginning (explained by the stories of Adam and Eve, the tower of Babel and so on), the ruin of humankind has been due to human pride; that has always been, indeed, the entry point of sin into humanity has been rebellion. 

It is in that rebellion and pride that we make gods for ourselves - making gods of our own ego, of our successes, of our plans and projects, of our prospects and the social ladders, of our attachments and cravings. At times, only when drastic things happen we realise our folly! Unfortunately that realisation too is short-lived... just round the corner we begin to accumulate weight on our heads... going around with haughty heads and stiff necks!

The Lord says to us today: I am the Lord you God, hear my voice! We would repeat that in the responsorial... let it remind us of what Jesus wants to do to us. "Be opened" he says, not only to our ears, but to our hearts that we would listen to God's voice. Because it would do so much good to us, if we make it our habit to hear the Lord's voice and live by it everyday.

Saints who surprise God!

WORD 2day: Thursday, 5th week in Ordinary time

February 12, 2026 - 1 Kings 11: 4-13; Mark 7: 24-30

The most dangerous character of sin is, it takes over "little by little," that all too soon we find it too late for an escape! Solomon, seemed to be the sign of God's glory in the early days of his kingship (just yesterday we reflected on it, as to how international his fame had become), but soon finds himself at a point of no return, because he had given away his heart "little by little" to ways that took him away from God! 

We know sin can be, in very simple words, understood as a rebellion against God... a lack of surrender into God's hands. If so, then the remedy would be: a childlike surrender into the hands of God; following God unreservedly as did David (1Kgs 11:6); a faith that becomes a humble surrender to God's Will, like the Syrophoenician woman that we see in the Gospel today. 

This simple woman we encounter, becomes the prototype of the numerous saints who manage to surprise God... they surprised God by their total, absolute, unprecedented surrender... like St.Paul, or the early martyrs, or the later saints like John Maria Vianney, or Maxmillian Kolbe, or great models like Bishop Oscar Romero, Sr. Rani Maria... the list goes on, and the challenge is that we add our names to that list. 

Let our surrender to the Lord be so total, that in God's pleasant surprise miracles begin to abound. Yes, we are called as God's beloved children, to surprise our loving God, by our surrender... that will be the real meaning of growing in holiness.

Living at the core of our beings...

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 5th week in Ordinary time

February 11, 2026 - 1 Kings 10:1-10; Mark 7: 14-23

"That they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father", said Jesus to us last Sunday (Matthew 5:16). Today we see Solomon exemplifying this claim to honour. We read that the Queen of Sheba, looking at the wisdom and splendour of Solomon, said "Blessed be the Lord your God!"(v.9). 

Let us reflect a little on this experience. What actually matters is not what is seen merely on the outward appearance, for we cannot put up a show all our life. Just imagine, if we have to create an image of ourselves just for the sake of the others and live up to it all our life - how tiresome and fatiguing it can be! 

At some point or the other, to someone or the other, the truth will be known and that will be the ruin of everything. Instead, Jesus invites us to an authentic living that is built from within, from those which comes out from within - our thoughts, our attitudes, our priorities, the words and thoughts we entertain, the feelings and impulses we give into, the kind of persons we identify ourselves with, the sort of people for whom our hearts are moved, the readiness with which we go out of ourselves in true love and selfless compassion. 

Let us pay attention to our interiority. The core of our self defines who we are, and at that level of our being, we cannot deceive ourselves! Let our hearts enshrine the presence of the Lord and let that presence illumine every bit of our life.

External Expressions and Internal Dispositions

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 5th week in Ordinary time

February 10, 2026 - 1 Kings 8: 22-23,27-30; Mark 7: 1-13

Still keeping with the theme of yesterday, the first reading presents to us Solomon who brings to light the relationship that lies between the absolute importance of the temple and the folly of limiting God's presence to the temple. They are two elements of a devotion that is matured, worthy of being called an adult faith. 

Jesus speaks of the same too, but from a different perspective. He brings out a contrast between an external expression and an internal disposition: here we are not looking at mutually exclusive choices to be made but a mature balance to be achieved. 

External expressions without deep internal dispositions will turn into mere ritualism and legalism; while mere internal dispositions without right external expression will lead to a cold individualism which is totally 'unchristian'! Very shortly we shall be stepping into the season of Lent - a noted time for expressions of piety and spiritual manifestations. We run the risk of turning all these into empty practices, if they are not really accompanied by a transformed internal disposition of humility, hospitality and holiness.

Let our internal disposition be challenged and transformed on a daily basis towards a continuous maturity that leads to a meaningful living of our faith.

Can God's presence be felt?

WORD 2day: Monday, 5th week in Ordinary time

February 9, 2026 - 1 Kings 8: 1-7, 9-13; Mark 6: 53-56

The Ark comes to the Temple; and Jesus comes to his people - where does the link lie here? Obviously, it lies in the fact that the people of God are the true temples of God! Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?, asks St. Paul (1 Cor 3:16). Specially the needy and the poor, the sick and the suffering, the lonely and the unloved... they are the temples where we can encounter God face to face. 

Jesus does not depreciate the importance of the Temple when he said: a day will come when you will worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth (Cf. Jn 4:23,24). He invites us to look at a new perspective. Building churches are important but it is more important to build the Church, that is the people of God. 

Celebrating the feasts and solemnities are important, but it is more important to celebrate persons and ensure humanity, happiness and wholeness to every person. What would we have gained if we spent tons of money on a well organised festivity, if we had not touched even one needy person, or made happy one grieving heart, or given joy to one drooping spirit? 

Wherever Jesus went, people went and God's presence was felt; wherever the apostles went, people went and God's presence was felt (compare with Acts 5:12-15); wherever we Christ-ians go, God's presence should be felt! Wherever we go, is God's presence being felt?

THE LIGHT OF FAITH

Be illumined! Illumine!

February 8, 2026: 5th Sunday in Ordinary time
Isaiah 58: 7-10; 1 Corinthians 2: 1-5; Matthew 5: 13-16

"The Light of Faith: this is how the Church's tradition speaks of the great gift brought by Jesus": so begins the encyclical Lumen Fidei, issued by Pope Francis in 2014. Light is an image very often presented in relation to faith, the faithful and the life of a faithful. It is an explicit call by the Lord right from the Old Testament times that the people of God have to be light to the nations (Is 42:6). With Christ's call today to be light of the world, it becomes an inevitable criterion to be identified as Christ's disciple or not!

Faith as Light: The first reading reminds us of a Zen story that we would have heard, of the Master who asked his disciples: When do you think it is dawn? The disciples attempted various responses, like - when we see the difference between a tree and a pillar; when we can identify a black thread from a white, and so on. The Master, discontent with everything, finally said: it is dawn, when you look into the eyes of the one next to you and see your brother or your sister!

The first reading tells us exactly that... when you accept the gift of faith from the Lord, your eyes are opened that you can see into the eyes of those around you and see your brothers and sisters; in their suffering and in their pains, you can feel your heart weeping and your eyes welling. We are reflecting today on the theme of LIGHT... the light that illumines us, the light that makes us see the real meaning of life and the true sense of being human. What can do that task better than our faith - Faith, is the light that illumines us, a light that directs our journey of life, a light that opens our minds to see clear and live upright. It is the Light we are offered by the Lord, as a gift!

The Faithful as Light: Once we accept that gift, the gift of faith from the Lord, we as faithful, we become the Light! Receiving the light, we become the Light. The Lord sets us as the light to the nations, the light to the world, the light on the lamp stand, the city on the hilltop! Our faith does not rest on human wisdom, or logical reason, or scientific thinking, or systematic and mind blowing theologies! Our faith is primarily founded on the power of God, reminds St. Paul in the second reading today.

Illumined by the Light, we become the light! Jesus declared, "I am the light of the World" (Jn 8:12); but did not stop with that. He challenges us today in the Gospel, "You are the light of the World." Every person of faith is called to be a light that is set on the lamp stand, to spread the light to the entire house, to illumine those around him or her. But it is important that we remember always that the source of our light, is the Light which illumines us all, the Light eternal of which we are rays, the eternal fire of which we are sparks.

The life of the faithful as Light: Being the light...what could that mean? It involves two important elements: One, everyone sees you; and two, one is able to see because of you! Theologians and Pastoral thinkers always raise a pertinent question, what would be the most apt mode today, of proclaiming the Good News to those who have not heard it. The answer is as simple as it is tough: "by living my everyday life!" One may wonder, but where is the proclamation here - actually, it is in the very living!

Our life cannot have two shades - personal and public, sacred and profane, spiritual and secular... If I am a Christian - I should be seen! That is the first dimension of being light - my life has to be lived in its integrity. When the light can be seen, then one can see, because of the light. When my life can be seen by the other as an open book, the other can draw an inspiration to live by, and that is proclamation; that is evangelisation; that is illumining! It is through my life, my words, my actions and everyday choices that I become a light to the other; "if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness!" and thus one will become the light in darkness to the upright.

Let us keep this light burning in our hearts whole day today, and our everyday. To evaluate our daily life and see, if we really possess the Light of Faith, if we really live our life in a manner as to become light to those around me! Let the Eternal Light of Lord fill our hearts to be illumined and to illumine!

Compassion - the quality closest to sanctity

WORD 2day: Saturday, 4th week in Ordinary time

February 7, 2026 -  Kings 3: 4-13; Mark 6: 30-34

                             

"An understanding heart to guide God's people", is what Solomon asks of the Lord... and that is what he was given! We see Jesus, who understood the tiredness of his apostles and counseled them to relax. We see Jesus looking at the people and understanding their need, their thirst, their yearning for life...he was filled with compassion! 

Compassion, which comes from the latin terms com (cum) and pati, meaning to have the same feeling as someone, is basically a deep understanding of the other! When someone next to me is undergoing a crisis, when someone in my vicinity is going through a suffering, when persons in front of my eyes are experiencing a situation that stifles their lives... can I really feel with them, can I really suffer with them? That would be compassion! 

This is the kind of sensibility that Jesus exhibits, and it is the same sensibility that Christ requires of us - if we wish to call ourselves Christians! In fact, we could without exaggeration say: Compassion is the quality closest to sanctity! 

Being Christ-ians, we cannot but be compassionate; like Solomon, we could ask the Lord for this grace, and the Lord will grant us a heart that is wise and understanding, loving and compassionate.

Making God the centre of our lives!

THE WORD AND THE SAINTS 

February 6, 2026 - Remembering Paul Miki and Companions, among them Gonzalo Garcia!

Ecclesiasticus 47: 2-13; Mark 6: 14-29

We are presented with two kings today in the readings - King David and King Herod! Of one the reading praises without end and the other... we surely know his end! Both kings over Israel... but two totally different sorts of kings. One, who listened to the prophets and the other, who killed them! Not that one was a saint and the other was a sinner... both were sinners; but what made the difference? 

While one was merely curious about the things of God, the other one - the reading says, "with his whole being he loved his Maker and daily had His praises sung" (Sir 47:8,9). The place that David gave to God, in spite of all the weaknesses he had, made him a beloved son of God. 

It does not matter what heights we reach, or what laurels we fetch, giving the Lord the first place, will set everything else right. Making God the centre of our lives, is what all the saints teach us. And that is the secret to a life, truly happy and meaningful. 

It is a wonderful element to remember today, as we celebrate day, that one of the companions of Paul Miki was of Indian Origin - Gonzalo Garcia (though his father was a Portugese), from the Vasai, region of Maharastra - first Indian to have been canonised!

Reign is all that matters!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

February 5, 2026 - Remembering St. Agatha

1 Kings 2:1-4,10-12; Mark 6: 7-13

David gives instruction to young Solomon as he is about to take over the Kingdom. Jesus gives instruction to his apostles as they are about to set out for a mission! The common element present is the instruction and there is a common thread that runs through the two sets of instructions too. For that matter the whole of the Word of God, and Jesus as the Word of God made flesh always has this ready message to give us: Seek first the Reign of God, and all other things will be given unto you (Mat 6:33). 

Persons like St. Agatha, whom we celebrate today, and many other martyrs and the first christians...every one of them was filled with this same zeal. Health. wealth, pleasure, not even life mattered more than the Reign of God for them! 

Solomon would later fall from the glory of his father, precisely because he would lose sight of the Reign that God wanted to establish - instead would be taken up with the kingdom that he wanted to build, making pacts with kings and compromising in the bargain. The reminder is for us to renew our commitment towards the Reign of God today - the Reign of justice, love, peace, brotherhood and sisterhood... in short Shalom, Wholeness, God's presence - can we make present these in our own little way today?