WORD 2day

30th September, 2013

"They shall be my people and I will be their God" - the crux of the faith that has been handed down to us through centuries, is this covenant that God made with our ancestors in faith. God has remained faithful ever since. St. Paul reminds us in his letter to Timothy, even "if we are faithless, he remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself" (2Tim 2:13). Being God's people means being like children - focused totally on God, taking directions from God, and always remaining open and docile to God's promptings, as do the children who are fascinated by their parents. Divisions, partisan feelings and ego trips are so alien to children that they radiate such levels of godliness. Though it may sound a paradox, let us grow up to be children, only then can we inherit the Reign!

INDIFFERENCE - the most unchristian attitude of all

29th September, 2013 - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Indifference, the worst of all vices and the most dangerous of all attitudes, is one thing that the Lord cannot bear! Woe to those who are indifferent, warns prophet Amos. And that is precisely what Jesus presents in his parable too. It is something that God just cannot stand - the Lord will 'spit you' out of his presence, if you are lukewarm! (Rev 3:16) If you have a living faith, then fight the good fight of the faith, challenges St. Paul in his letter today. 'Blessed' are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness(Mt 5:6), not those who remain in their safe havens caring nothing for anyone around. St. Paul recalls to our minds today, how Jesus bore witness to his faith and to the truth right upto his cross! "For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth," declared Jesus with a courage that disturbed Pilate.(Jn 18:37). When it came to bearing witness to truth and righteousness, or feeling compassionate for those who were helpless, or reaching out to the sinners and the outcast, or speaking out for the rights of those who were oppressed - of their right to be healed as sons and daughters of God, of their right to dignity and of their closeness to the Reign of God - Jesus never hesitated; and his true disciples would never hesitate too!

Today we are living in a world that has innumerable justifications for being indifferent towards others - one's duty and family, corrupt system and government, anti-people policies and laws,  legitimate development and technology, rapid growth and advancement - the list can go on endlessly. And it is effortlessly easy to cast the blame on some else and hide behind the mask of myself being part of the 'affected' and the 'left behind'. In simple terms, the Word challenges me today to place myself in the shoes of the rich man and look at the world around me! Have I done whatever I could in my context, for justice, righteousness, dignity of all and true freedom of the children of God. If I say, 'what can I really do?' - beware, that could be the visible trace of Indifference within!

Indifference is the most unchristian quality one can have. The readings today outline the three levels in which INDIFFERENCE grows.

FIrst Level: Indifference as a fruit of Blindness - the inability to see the suffering around, the incapacity to sense the heavy burdens that persons around me carry, the failure to feel the unseen tears of those crying out for help... these are unchristian to the core. LOOK says the Lord, perceive the suffering in the eyes of your brother and sister... even if you cannot do much, atleast be there for them!

Second Level: Indifference as a sign of Selfishness - even after seeing the suffering and the pain, if I fail to be moved, if I refuse stand by someone because I could get into problem, or because I could lose my opportunity to go ahead in life, or because I could earn enemies in the bargain, I am unworthy of being called the disciple of the Lord who died for me! THINK of the others, and not solely of yourself, says the Lord. Can I think of anything other than Me, Myself and Mine? I am my brother's keeper!

Third Level: Indifference as a form of Malice - it is a sin! "Silence encourages the tormentor; never the tormented!" says Elie Wiesel an Holocaust survivor, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He continues,"the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." How perfectly Jesus would agree to these words! For, this is what Jesus meant by that parable! You just cant be silent spectators, you just can't stand by the sidewalks and see things happen, not even sit in the stands and cheer! No... FIGHT the good fight of the faith!

WORD 2day

28th September, 2013

Praising the Lord at the marvels that happen and thanking the Lord when everything goes the way we think - they are not too difficult though even that needs a heart that is grateful and eyes that are attentive. If to be His disciples is to 'put on His mind', the real mind of Christ is revealed in His state of being absolutely focused on doing what God wants! Jesus was clear about His mission. Though the disciples were excited after the event of transfiguration and the healing of the possessed, Jesus gently but firmly brings them back not to lose track of where they are bound to, towards that moment of Truth - when Jesus would prove that nothing else matters to Him when it is the question of doing the will of the One who sent Him. When the Lord promises in the first reading, "I am coming to dwell among you", it is not a promise of absence of struggles and testing situations; but an assurance of presence, the presence of a person who knows what we are going through, who has gone through what we are going through and who holds our hand all through, whatever be the situation we are going through! 

WORD 2day

27th September, 2013: Remembering St. Vincent de Paul

The Lord who commissioned us yesterday,'rebuild my house', today assures us that we are not alone on the job! "Work, for I am with you... My Spirit abides among you, fear not!" says the Lord today. When we sincerely consider the mission entrusted to us, as the work of God, we would dare go to any extent in accomplishing it. No amount of struggles or sufferings could keep Jesus away from looking into what was in store for him, with serenity and faith. He rests assured that his God would vindicate him, defend him and deliver him, as the psalmist prays in the responsorial today. The readings today and the saint of today St. Vincent de Paul, remind us today that we have no reason to lose hope, no excuse to give up, even if every thing around us seem to be grim and gloomy. Let us be on the task, keep doing our bit to 'rebuild the house', rejuvenate humanity, put God into a world that tends so easily to be godless!

WORD 2day

26th September, 2013

"Rebuild my house" - the famous call that set St. Francis of Assisi in motion. We hear the same words today, not just from the Word today but also from the World today. Like Francis of Assisi who misunderstood that call and set about initially building the ruined chapel, it is possible that we limit this "my house" in the Word of God to the Church. Pope Francis has time and again warned us within this short papacy of his. When the Lord laments, "my house is in ruins" God refers to the entire humanity - is it not to dwell in humanity that the mystery of Incarnation and the story of salvation was realised? Killings in the name of God, killings for money or power, manipulation of the poor and the powerless by the moneyed and the muscled, destruction caused by greed and avarice - humanity, the house of God, is in ruins! "Rebuild my house," commissions the Lord. Am I doing my bit?

WORD 2day

25th September, 2013

Often have we heard the saying, 'God chooses not the worthy; but makes worthy the chosen'. It's true not only regarding particular individuals. To be believers in God, to be baptised into God's household, to be called 'Christians', is no achievement of ours. It is because the one who created us, has called us! 'It is not you who chose me, but I chose you' declared Jesus. When this truth really dawns on us, apart from an overwhelming gratitude, we would be filled with a docility without measure. That is what we see in the readings today. A candid realisation of being chosen inspite of our unworthiness; and a clear instruction from the Lord as to how to manifest our docility. The command, given in all detail, can be simply stated in one phrase - Be filled with God alone and fill the world with God!

WORD 2day

24th September, 2013

'House', 'Mother', 'brothers and sisters' ... today's readings present to us terms that seem to draw a highly familiar note to our faith. It is important to look at our faith and its expression in terms of living in the presence of God, living as brothers and sisters of the Lord and as brothers and sisters in the Lord, instead of duties, obligations and rituals to be faithfully carried out. The basic premise of our faith has to be a loving relationship with God which makes us related to each other, and makes us persons dwelling under the same roof - every place we encounter each other becomes a 'house of God' to encounter God in the other, alive and active, warm and vibrant. Understood thus, can faith ever divide us? And if it leads to harming the other, will it still be worthy of the name 'faith'?

WORD 2day

23rd September, 2013: Remembering Padre Pio

Today we come across an event which seemed messianic for the people of Israel, infact it is said that they began to look at King Cyrus as the promised messiah, as he gave them the long desired liberty and came forward to build their ruined temple. The message the Word has today is loud and clear - your history and geography has nothing much to decide when it comes to what kind of a person you would want to be. Being the light of the nations was a collective call given to the people through the prophets; it was also the Christian identity according to Christ - the same Jesus who proclaimed, "I am the Light of the World" (Jn 9:5), commissions us, "you are the light of the world" (Mt 5:14) and "let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaver" (Mt 5:16). St. Pius of Pietrelcina or fondly and popularly known as Padre Pio, is a prodigy in holiness belonging to our times - a shining light today bringing so many people to glorify the Lord. Let us be filled with the Light, and let our light shine and reach out - to brighten the lives of people in gloom and warm the hearts of persons who have grown cold!

Wealth, Well-being and the World

22nd September, 2013: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The week's readings have been preparing us towards today's message.

We have needs, wants and desires... they are but human. When they are fulfilled we are happy and grateful; when they are not, we keep beseeching the Lord. Prosperity, from the time of the theology of the promised land, has always been looked at as a blessing from the Lord. Wealth makes our life easy and our living pleasurable. By the very fact that it is a blessing, it is obvious that it is 'given' and it is to be given. Wealth is a means provided for one not only to live his or her life, but also extend his hand to the needy, the unfortunate, the underprivileged, the have-nots, so that their life becomes blessed through one's instrumentality. Wealth, is a blessing, and more over a means, to be a blessing to the others! Prophet Amos minces no words in the first reading today. Swindling the other, manipulating the other and hurting the other for one's own well-being, is not Christian attitude; and it is no well-being at all.

Well-being is not merely one's individual pleasure and possession! Even if one possesses everything, if there is not harmony in his or her surroundings one cannot cherish those possessions. How many individuals who possess enormous riches but lack an internal serenity bear witness to this fact. How many nations today which seem rich and affluent but lack peace and security attest to this fact. Authentic Well-being is harmony in every sense, within oneself, around oneself and with the entire universe! It is the 'quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in everyway', that St. Paul speaks of in the second reading. Selfishness and Greed can never lead us to this well-being. Concern and Compassion, a collective thinking of 'all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth' - only such an outgoing spirit can grant the world, a real Well-being.

The world and the life we live today is an opportunity given to us, reminds Jesus in the Gospel with his intriguing parable of the prudent steward! Intriguing it is, because it seems to advocate slyness and fraud. But that is not the point. The focus lies on another perspective, and it is: However limited and burdensome, the present life we live is all that we have, here and now to make our journey to our 'eternal abode' pleasant and meaningful. It is said, how we live our life here will define and determine how we will exist hereafter. We have the gift and the giver: of these what matters to us, is the crucial question. It cannot be that both gift and the giver are important - one cannot serve two masters, warns Jesus. Once we give the first place to the Giver, the Eternal giver, the Loving giver, the Wonderful giver, everything else falls in place. Wealth becomes a means, Well-being becomes harmonious living and the World becomes an opportunity for us to create a paradise here and now, as we live our life in peace and harmony with our brothers and sisters!

WEALTH, WELL-BEING AND THE WORLD: the call today is to be grateful and compassionate, to be peace-loving and just, to serve the Lord and the Lord alone, in all our living days!

WORD 2day

21st September, 2013 : Remembering St. Matthew, the Apostle.UNITED NATION'S WORLD DAY OF PEACE

One body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one Baptism, one God the Father and Mother of us all: the basis of the Community that God wants to create of us all. Do not ever be scandalised if I dare say, Church is not the be-all and end-all of Christian faith. The Church is only an intermediate arrangement for us to walk the path towards that Unity that Christ has invited us to - the eternal Peace that he promises - a peace not like the one that the world offers, a peace that comes from one heart and one mind, one spirit and one humanity - the peace and unity of the Reign of God! The Apostles form the pillars to this, as they were the one's who lived close to the principle originator of this Reign. If only we have the readiness and the docility that Matthew had, 'to rise and follow' when God calls, into the vicissitudes of life, fixing our gaze on the Lord who leads, we will all be like the apostles, torchbearers of the Reign of God. Peace be with you! 

WORD 2day

20th September, 2013

Paul writes in a time when servants (slaves) were common in an affluent household. A practice seemed to have spread that the masters of the household and the slaves together accepted Christ as their saviour and their relationship turned as brothers and sisters in Christ, rather than masters and slaves! The risk within this phenomenon was that some merely as a means to do away with their status as 'slaves', decided to be baptised! It was using God as means to win other ends. That was unacceptable to Paul! Reducing God to means of attaining other ends is no Christ-like attitude. Today, the world is not bereft of this risk - of making "Godliness a means of gain" (1 Tim 6:5). Instead, like the first Christians who provided for God's work "out of their means" (Lk 8:3), money or wealth, power or position, pleasures or possessions - everything has to be at the service of the glory of God! This is possible only for those who are ready to "fight the good fight of faith" (1Tim 6:12).

WORD 2day

19th September, 2013

What matters most is the love one has for God! The world looks for reasons to despise - be it that one is small or young, or that one is evil or despicable! But what matters most before God, is the love that one has for God. Love brings forgiveness too because true love is a commitment; and love for God is in practical terms a commitment to remain with God and never to stray. When that commitment, or love resides in one's heart - one would 'pay attention to oneself and to one's teachings' and thus 'save oneself and save the hearers'(cf. 1 Tim 4:16). Do not say that you are young, the Lord warned Jeremiah! The warning is to all of us, because each of us is anointed by the hands of God at our baptism and we participate in the Royal priesthood of Christ, the high priest. It's not if we are small or if we are sinners - what matters most is the love that I have in my heart for God - a true love, a true commitment!

WORD 2day

18th September, 2013

Conformity and Compromise seem to be the most acceptable modes of social living in today's context. What if someone refuses to conform - thank one's fortunes if he or she is a success; if the person bungles, he or she is termed - 'weird', 'good-for-nothing', 'worthless', 'abnormal', 'hard headed', 'stubborn' or so on. Living by values and standing up for God, today seems to be an out-of-fashion attitude. But the only way to belong to the "household of God"(1 Tim 3:15) is by our way of living! Inspite of the pressurising crowd, the preposterous situations or the prejudiced society, one is called to remain a disciple of Christ, in word, deed and thought. It is a vocation 24/7; it is a call every moment of the day and every day of the year! Both ways are open to us : the easier option to conform to the world - dancing to its tunes or playing to its moves, or the tough call to 'put on the mind of Christ' (Phil 2:5). Paul said it plainly in his letter, "do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the ...will of God" (Rom 12:2).

WORD 2day

17th September, 2013

At times I feel that I am obsessed with the word and the virtue of Integrity. The readings today summon every person in Christian community to recognise and reassess the place and the importance of this quality in our life and community today. More than any quality of efficiency or intelligence, it is personal integrity that St. Paul outlines as the quality needed utmost for anyone who wants to serve a Christian Community. Jesus, most obviously, is the model presented to us by the Gospel. Not merely a sermon or a discourse, but we see Jesus moved with compassion for the helpless widow on the streets of Nain. The Responsorial Psalm drives home to us the crux of the message today: "He who walks in the way of integrity shall be in my service" (Ps 101:6). The less the disparity between our talk and our walk, the more is our Integrity! Integrity, infact, is the internal peace that leads to Universal Peace!

WORD 2day

16th September, 2013

In these days when the world visited the brink of another large scale military conflict, the readings today have a wonderful message - to pray for all, for the sake of peace! It is not a convenience-seeking measure but a conviction that is born out of a solid teaching that Jesus wanted to impart to the world - We are all sons and daughters of One, loving, caring God who is madly in love with us. Jesus lived that teaching by reaching out to the Roman Centurion and infact pointing out in him the excellence of faith. The present Holy Father, Pope Francis proved a true disciple of Christ, calling the whole world, all persons of good will to unite in prayer, as does the first reading today. It is important for the world to know that the one word that can heal everyone, the one word that can give peace to the whole world, the one word that can set everything right is with God! The process has to begin with us... those who hear that Word, to believe in it and entrust ourselves to living it. 'Say but one word O Lord, the world shall be healed and we shall have peace!'

LET YOURSELF BE FOUND!!!

15th September, 2013: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The First Reading warns us:

The World and our life today is filled with things, events, ideals and values that can distract us and get us lost!

The Second Reading instructs us:

Become aware of it when you are lost! St. Paul realised how lost he was! It is a grace to "come to our senses" (as the lost son came to his senses in the parable - Lk 15:17).

The Gospel presents to us:

A God who is on a constant look out; the Lord who is in search of us; the Lord who rejoices on our return! But the Lord cannot find us, unless we let ourselves be found! 

Prayer

Oh Lord, my God,

Grant that I may stick to the path you have shown;

Enlighten my mind to single out the enticements and entrapments 

that get me lost to your life-giving presence;

Infuse my heart with the humility to see the truth and accept it

specially when I find myself far from it;

Take my hand and lead me gently back to you,

however undeserving you find me to be; 

for I know you love me without bounds, 

you accept me without conditions, and 

you watch over me without denying me my freedom!

Thank you Lord, 

never let me wander too far away from you; and

help me always to let myself be found...
like the coin on the house floor, 
the sheep in the wilderness, 
and the son who came to himself...
Help me Lord, 
that when you come in search of me, 
TO LET MYSELF BE FOUND.

Amen.

A BREAK for WORD 2day!!!