WORD 2day

31st October, 2013

Nothing can separate me from the love of Christ; no one can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus - the most energising words of St. Paul. St. Paul, the apostles and the first Christians learnt this from Jesus himself. If God is for me, who can be against me - that was the confidence of faith that defined the courageous choices that Jesus made. Neither Herod, nor Pilate, nor the high priests or the chief priests, nor the impending death, nor the rejection of the crowd - nothing mattered to him, because he knew that the One who sent him, loved him! However, there is warning for me today: there is only one who can separate me from God's love - Myself; there is only one thing that can separate me from the love of Christ - My ego! If I choose not to belong to God, if I choose to reject God's love, I separate myself from God. How much God wishes to gather me into God's arms, but I rebel!!!

WORD 2day

30th October, 2013

To be saved, is a grand spiritual preoccupation. All religions and faiths, is in answer to this preoccupation. The readings today address the question with two simple propositions: the first, "God's love guarantees that you will be saved" and the second, "Take care that you do not create for yourself a situation of impossibility of being saved". In simple words: the readings tell us- being saved should not be our preoccupation! Our preoccupation should be to live our life according to the promptings of the Spirit within us, living everyday in the presence of the Lord, going about our duty with utmost interior joy and total dedication to Truth. The rest happens by itself and we will find ourselves in front of that narrow door...and we will enter and our hearts will rejoice in the salvation of the Lord!

BL.MICHAEL RUA

A boy who grew with Don Bosco...

in all its sense...he grew 'with' him,

spiritually and charismatically...

he grew to be literally 'another Don Bosco'...

the boy who grew up with Don Bosco at Valdocco, 

became his double at Mirabello...

he was called 'the living rule'...

but there was nothing missing in him, 

that made him the warm father that Don Bosco was!

During the preparations towards 

the bicentenary of Don Bosco's birth...

Rua offers us a great inspiration 

towards understanding Don Bosco! 

Above all, it is all about,

BEING ANOTHER DON BOSCO TODAY! 

AND IN OUR OWN WAY! 

WORD 2day

29th October, 2013

Longing for a brighter future is a human reality. Within the framework of faith this ordinary human reality takes the form of Hope. If faith is a total childlike surrender to God, hope is the blind joy that fills the heart. Even in a moment dark and grim, this joy lights up life. Haven't we seen persons who have faced years and years of struggle, who have experienced tragedies after tragedies, but still strong and serene? Those are real saints for they live in a spirit of hope, in holy patience that St. Paul speaks of. We need a very special spiritual capacity to behold the Reign of God - it is patience in problems, endurance in trials, optimism in setbacks ... a certainty, that in everything, simple little things or great grand events, it is God who is in charge. That in one word is, hope!

WORD 2day

28th October, 2013 : Remembering the Apostles Sts. Simon and Jude

The memory of the Apostles takes us back to the original experience that gave rise to a new movement, a new family around the person of Jesus of Nazareth and the wondrous experiences with him. Being Christians does not only mean to have a set of beliefs and practices related to them. It means, that we belong to that movement, that family, that household... we are all members, fellow citizens, brothers and sisters with the apostles and saints. Jesus called the Apostles by name, that they may pass on that experience of belonging to the household of God, to others right to the end of the world! And we have been the beneficiaries... we have been built together as the dwelling place of God, the Temple of the Spirit. United in our hearts, with genuine love that goes out to each other, as brothers and sisters we are invited to become Temples, where persons can come in to feel the presence of God.

EMPTINESS - where God Encounters!

27th October, 2013 - 30th Sunday in the Ordinary Time

You cannot fill a cup that is full ...

God is not partial, God knows no favourites says the first reading but all the while speaking of a God who takes his stand by the poor, the widow and the orphans, the oppressed and the lowly. There is no paradox here, neither is there a partiality. It is natural that water flows where it is low. Isn't it true that we can fill only that which is empty! 

Today we are reminded of the Spirituality of Emptiness! Emptiness, is not merely an absence of things. Emptiness is not merely a state of something not being there. If it were so, it is so easy to reach that state - all that you need to do is remove what is there! Instead, emptiness is a positive reality. Emptiness is where God encounters us!

Emptiness can be due to a lack! The first reading speaks to us of the oppressed, the widows and the orphans...persons who lacked, who lacked their rights, who lacked some on to lean on, who lacked people who cared. God encounters us in that state...that is a condition! A condition in which one knows that one lacks, when one knows that he or she is not complete. In our inabilities, in our lacks when we turn to God, and accept God as the one who can fill me... God fills me! 

Emptiness can be a lifestyle! One can have, one can possess, but still can decide to live in a state of emptiness, not giving into attachments and bonds that can cripple one's existence. God encounters him or her there, in that emptiness. That is not a condition, but a choice! St. Paul, speaks in the second reading of how he had emptied himself for the sake of the Word, for the sake of the Lord, for the sake of the Lord's people. It is a lifestyle ... a mindset...the mindset of Christ... For he did not consider equality with God as something to be held on to,...but emptied himself (Phil 2: 5-7) - the lifestyle of Christ, the Son of God! Emptying yourself is a choice to allow God to fill you!

Emptiness is liminality! Liminality is a word that is used to mean, 'to stand at the threshold', a state of passage, a state where one is changed from what one was, but has not yet become what one is yet to become! One is not complete yet, but he or she is well on the way to being complete. We can be reminded of the words that St. John writes, 'We are children of God, what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is' (1 Jn 3:2). When we empty ourselves, we are moving towards being complete. When we are too conscious of being so complete and perfect, we actually are closing ourselves in and we become dead. The more we empty ourselves, the more God fills us!

O God, who alone is complete...
behold my emptiness, and make me ever conscious of it,
that I may be filled, filled by you,
to become complete, just as you are...
... so ready to empty myself for the others, 
that I may be once again be filled by you, who alone is complete!

WORD 2day

26th October, 2013

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, declares St. Paul. But the real question is, what does it mean to 'be in Christ'? To be in Christ, does not simply mean, I am born a Christian, or I am baptised into the Church...it means to be in the Spirit, to live according to the Spirit, to walk according to the Spirit, to set our minds on the Spirit, and above all, to bear fruit in the Spirit. Because it is by the fruits you will know the tree!(Mt 7:20) It is not upto me to judge someone good or bad; to condone or condemn someone. Every sad or sorry end of someone is a clear warning to me, to check the path that I am on; to check the fruits that I bring forth. Everyday is another opportunity that the Lord gives, to turn around and bear fruit! The readings seem to scream at us: "Bear fruits worthy of repentance. ... for the axe lies at the root of the tree!" (Lk 3:8,9)

WORD 2day

25th October, 2013

For I do not do the good I want; but I do the evil I do not want - we all know well when we falter, as the psalmist words it, "for I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me" (Ps 51:3). Sin, that St. Paul speaks of today, is something that I do, or I give into consciously. None of us can feign ignorance and Jesus explains precisely that today in the Gospel: knowing exactly what is coming up the horizon! If only I am more sensitively aware of what happens within me at a moment, to what I am committing myself to, of what I am giving into, of what I am permitting into my mind, my thinking and my life... I can preserve myself from so much of pain and patch up. The statutes are present within me in my heart, the Saviour abides ever at my side...all that I need to, is turn to the Lord and to the Word of the Lord to be assisted, strengthened and saved! Let us be ever alert, not to fall prey to the evil; the fall may be slow and gradual but 'we will not be released until we pay the last penny!'

WORD 2day

24th October, 2013

With hearts set on fire... that is the way to live an authentic Christian life, invites the Gospel today. Fire can symbolically mean light that dispels darkness; one can choose either to live in the light or slumber in the shade - "the work of each will become visible,...because it will be revealed with fire"(1Cor3:13) says the Word. Fire can symbolise the purifying fire which tests the genuineness of our faith, faith which is more precious than gold(1 Pet 1:7). It is all about choices! The choices we make, define the persons that we are. Every moment of our life, in our words, in our acts, in our thoughts, in our priorities, in every little decision that we make, we are making choices, we are continually defining who we are, to ourselves first of all and then to the world. Its a choice fundamentally - for death or for life! When we choose things that are ungodly we choose death. When we choose righteousness, the way of the Light, the fire of the Lord, we choose eternal life in Jesus Christ. The question is, are our hearts on fire?

WORD 2day

23rd October, 2013

Being slaves of righteousness - it is a wonderful figure of speech that St. Paul uses to communicate the level of virtuousness that we need to arrive at. Because, more is given to us (for God did not spare anything for the love God has for us); and so more is expected of us! The Lord in his turn speaks of the same with the help of a parable. Jesus speaks of various categories of persons today: those who do not know what is right and so fail to do it, they are helpless  and will receive the light; those who do not know what is right but still do it, they are fortunate and so are blessed; those who know what is right but still do not do it, they are slaves to unrighteousness and they bring upon themselves needless grief; those who know what is right and are particular about doing it - they are the righteous, they are the people of the light, they are the sons and daughters of God... they are the really 'Blessed'! Which category do I belong to?

Bl. Pope John Paul II

22.10.2013

We thank God for
Pope John Paul II...
as the Church celebrates
the memory of the Blessed today.
By now its certain,
that this will be the last time he will be remembered as Blessed..
Next year by this time we will have...
Pope St. John Paul II.
May he pray for us...

WORD 2day

22nd October, 2013

Be Awake! says the Lord today. St. Paul reminds us, that death has come from sin; Sin comes through disobedience and disobedience does not, for sure, come all of a sudden. It comes, either from a conscious rebellion or a habitual disregard. Conscious rebellion is not as dangerous as a habitual disregard. A feeling of monotony, getting used to things done on a regular basis, fixed schedules of prayer and customary acts of piety, usual persons and daily routines - these are the sources of habitual disregard. It is a kind of a slumber, a slumber with which we carry out our tasks and duties... be they spiritual or otherwise. The Lord invites us today, to be alert, to be awake, to be diligent even in the most ordinary of the daily tasks that we carry out - so that when the Master comes we are prepared to receive, whatever time it is. Keep alert, warns St.Peter, the devil your adversary is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8).

WORD 2day

21st October, 2013

Storing up treasures for oneself versus being rich toward God - is the contrast that the Gospel presents us! Being rich by the standards of the world, or atleast having more than just enough, seems to be the driving force for a big majority today. Storing up wealth, is not easy - work, fatigue, stress, competition, strain, pain, sacrifice, fight, strife... it involves all these and more. Being rich toward God - consists of just one thing, one single thing - to remain still in God's presence! Through darkness and cloud, through storm and turbulence, 'be still and know that I am God' (Ps 46:10). Abraham, through all moments of probable doubt and hopelessness, "grew strong in faith as he gave glory to God" says the letter to the Romans. That was reckoned to him as righteousness! Through our daily work and responsibilities, concerns and discouragements, struggles and temptations, let us learn to 'be still' and 'grow strong in faith'! Let us be ever convinced that God is capable of doing what God has promised. 

With HANDS RAISED unto the Lord!

20th October, 2013: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Work as if everything depended on you; Pray as if nothing depended on you, goes the popular saying. Today we have a wonderful image to place before us, as we go about our daily life. Moses on the hill overlooking the battle, with hands raised unto the Lord! The Battle belongs to the Lord... all that we need to do is keep still, the Lord will fight for us says the book of Exodus (14:14). 

We are called to live our life with our hands raised unto the Lord! 

Living with hands raised unto the Lord is a gesture that means to abandon everything into the hands of God. It is a total personal abandonment to the Lord, that the Lord may guide us and that the Lord may fight the battle for us! Many grow weary of struggles and temptations in life... when Moses' hands were raised, Israel won! The book of Proverbs tells us, 'the horse is made ready for the battle; but the victory belongs to the Lord!'(Prov. 21:31). When we learn to abandon ourselves in the hands of God, we will see the wonders that can happen.

Living with hands raised unto the Lord is to reach out to the Lord with all our heart. It is like the antenna that stretches to connect, to receive and to communicate. That is in short, 'prayer' - to connect, to receive and to communicate. Let us pay attention to the term that seems common in today's readings: pray without ceasing tells Jesus presenting to us the image of the widow; proclaim in season and out of season instructs St. Paul; and the first reading presents to us Moses unwilling to grow weary of having his hands raised unto to the Lord. A two fold call here: first, not to grow weary... like the widow to go on in trust, with our hands raised unto the Lord; second, when a brother or sister seems to grow weary, to rush to their side like Aaron and Hur and to be with them and to raise our hands in unison unto the Lord. A praying person builds a praying community of brothers and sisters, genuinely concerned about each other!

Living with the hands raised unto the Lord is to be filled with hope in the Lord. Like it happened to the widow, it may look like you might never get justice. Like it happened to the Israelites, it might look like you are losing the battle. Things may continuously go wrong, people might endlessly misunderstand you, nothing might seem to be going the way you wished it would..."But as for you, continue, in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it"...from Jesus himself who hoped in the One who sent him, from our Blessed mother who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken by the Lord! "Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of our hope" reminds Pope Francis.

Every day of our life, every moment of our day, let us resolve to live with our hands raised unto to the Lord in a holy abandonment, in a loving union and in an unfailing hope... so that when Our Lord and Saviour comes he will still find faith here amidst us! 

WORD 2day

19th October, 2013

Jesus speaks of sin against the Holy Spirit in the Gospel today (Lk 12:10; also look up Mt 12:31-32). This is one of the most frequently asked questions among the youth at discussions. Moral theologians and Scripture Scholars have tried to make sense of it and one familiar interpretation given is this- the sin against the Holy Spirit, considered 'unforgivable' by Jesus, is the sin of presumption! Theologically, presumption is a vice against the virtue of hope; in simple words it is giving up hope! When one gives up hope, he or she crosses the human limits to decide that God is incapable of acting on his or her behalf and at that point the person loses any kind of needed disposition to receive anything from God, including forgiveness! It is not that God does not want to forgive, but the person has removed himself or herself from the possibility of receiving it. The first reading says of Abraham, that "hoping against hope, he believed"(Rom 4:18)...and thus he received all that blessings that he did! Our faith should be founded on Hope, and that is the fundamental attitude of a person of the Spirit.

WORD 2day

18th October, 2013 - Remembering the Evangelist St. Luke

Luke alone is with me...writes Paul. One salient feature that is often pointed out about St.Luke's gospel is the contrasting images that he uses in his narration...the beatitudes and the woes, Martha and Mary, the prodigal and his brother, the rich man and Lazarus, the good thief and the bad thief... these are typical to Luke! The message is obvious: he challenges his readers with absolute choices - for or against the Lord; with or away from the Lord! A value that he seems to have lived in his own life - he chose to remain with Paul in his difficult ministry! The radical choices that a disciple had to make according to Jesus in the Gospel today, were very clear for Luke and he made those choices his own! The memory of St.Luke invites us to make an absolute choice for God: on a daily basis, at work and at home, on the streets or in a public transport; in company or alone - we are what we choose to be! Let us fearlessly choose to belong to the Lord, always!

WORD 2day

17th October, 2013: Remembering St. Ignatius of Antioch

One is justified by faith apart from the works of law - this was, is and will ever be a point of contention. In the Old Testament times it was a contention between the 'conservative' and the 'progressive' rabbinic schools; in Jesus' times between him and the Jewish religious heads; in the times of the early Christians it was a contention between those who followed the Pauline theology and those who believed the theology of James; today it continues between the Catholics and the non Catholics! Needless to say our point of reference is Jesus: 'Don't put your trust in your capacity to achieve things and to gain control or dominance', warns Jesus, 'become like children!' That is primacy of faith! He also declared, 'when you did this to one of these little ones, you did it to me!' That is the necessity of works! What Jesus taught against was, empty ritualism, legalistic spirituality and hypocritical religiosity! St. Ignatius of Antioch, whom we celebrate today says that in very simple words, "it is not that I want merely to be called a Christian, but to actually be one. Yes, if I prove to be one, then I can have the name."

WORD 2day

16th October, 2013: Remembering St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

'For God shows no partiality' - that verse from the first reading is evidenced in the Gospel today. Jesus minces no words, nor spares no one! All that matters to Jesus is Justice and Mercy... and he pulls up every one be it Pharisees or Scribes, as Paul pulls up be it Jews or Greeks, following his Master! Justice and Mercy - purest forms of expression of God's love - is what we are called to set our minds on today! Celebrating the memory of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, we are reminded of the profound revelation of the incredible love of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus! Though God's love is a beautiful feeling of being drenched gratuitously, it challenges us - not just to reciprocate but - to act with justice and mercy towards our fellow beings, as a concrete expression of that love received and cherished! Being just, merciful and loving is the only way we can fit the description of being 'children of God'.

WORD 2day

15th October, 2013 : Remembering St. Teresa of Avila

The theme of yesterday continues today... there isn't any need for an extraordinary exercise to realise the presence of God. "Be Still and know that I am God", suggests Psalm 46 (v.10). One common word that we can find in the first reading and the Gospel today is, "fool" (Rom 1:22 ; Lk 11:40). It would indeed be foolish, if we do not really manage to experience the presence of God after all that we have been blessed with in life. Sometimes we can be led into that foolishness by our daily concerns, overwhelming troubles, endless temptations, nagging situations, seemingly insuperable burdens that tend to bog us. The readings, as well as the Mystic whom we celebrate today - St. Teresa of Avila, invite us to look within us and observe the greatness that is treasured within us, and from there we can shine forth to the world: through a thorough soul searching and a realisation of the indwelling Spirit within us! For we may be unworthy clay jars, but exactly in these has the Lord placed the priceless treasures (2 Cor 4:7)!

WORD 2day

14th October, 2013

'Asking for signs' - most of our prayers, consciously or unconsciously, are asking for signs; they are directly or indirectly asking for miracles. Is it that bad, or 'wicked' as Jesus calls it today, to ask for a miracle? Personally, I believe it is not! But what is bad and what gets on the nerves of Jesus today is the stubbornness or the blindness that does not allow one to see the miracles, the signs that are present right in front of our eyes. Those who questioned Jesus were only to look keenly into what was happening right in front of them, to understand that Jesus was the Word, the Goodnews of God prepared through the ages. This is what St. Paul tries to communicate in the first reading today. However the people demand a sign, a miracle. Today, if we yearn for signs and miracles, we would do better to remind ourselves of the famous saying (of Stuart Chase): 'For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible.' 

The great attitude of GRATITUDE

13th October, 2013: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Spiritual life is made of a set of attitudes that make up who we are! The touchstone of an authentically spiritual person lies in the virtue that the Word of God speaks to us of today: the great attitude of Gratitude... gratitude for every goodness that one experiences, gratitude to the Source of all that one has and one is - God! "What do you have that you did not receive?" asks St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 4:7).

Gratitude is born of a Humble Recognition of God! Namaan was asked to dip in river Jordan and he felt offended because his pride ruled his will. But when he listens to that word from the Man of God, humbling himself for that moment, he recognised the presence of the Mighty God. It is only when I am humble, I recognise God and that recognition of God makes me more humble! 

Gratitude is expressed in Grateful Submission to God! An authentic outcome of immense gratitude is total submission to God for the marvels that God has done to us. We see the man in the Gospel, just one out of the ten of them - "he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks" (v.16). What happened to the rest? Either they did not realise they were healed or they did not realise that the healing was a gift! This Samaritan heart realised the gratuitous miracle and recognised the hand of God - and the result was, a grateful submission at the feet of Jesus.

Gratitude leads to a Faithful Perseverance in God's ways! "Rise and go your way, your faith has made you well" (v.19) says Jesus, commissioning him to be an apostle to the World. That is the commission we receive every time we experience the grace of God in our personal lives - to go into the world and share the word of God, 'that the word of God may not be fettered' (cf. 2 Tim 2:9). It is the gratitude for the goodness that we have experienced in the Lord that makes us persevere, amidst all troubles and trials we might face. Our perseverance is not so much because we are faithful to the Lord, as because the Lord is faithful to us, reminds St. Paul in the second reading (2 Tim 2:13). 

A grateful heart is a humble heart and a humble person will ever be a faithful person and faithfulness gives one the courage and strength to persevere. Learning to look at our daily life and recognise the miracles that happen in abundance; putting up with daily crosses with the image of the Crucified Saviour in our hearts; placing ourselves each day at the feet of Jesus to be sent into the world as messengers of his loving Word - that is growing into Spiritual Persons. Let us heed the call of the Word today, to increase our sense of gratitude and grow into authentic spiritual persons! 

WORD 2day

12th October, 2013

"To hear the word of God and keep it" , invites the Liturgy. Today, as the Holy Father calls the whole Church across the globe to join in praying through our Blessed Mother, with the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Fatima reaching Rome and the Holy Father getting ready to consecrate the whole world to her maternal care (on Sunday, 13th), it can be looked at by some as undue and exaggerated. 'Henceforth all generations will call me blessed', sang Mary when she heard the Word of God and said 'yes' to it. And Jesus reiterated it, that Mary was 'Blessed' not merely for having borne him physically and nursed him, but more for having heard the Word of God and unconditionally submitted herself to it. Thus Jesus opened the invitation to all - it is possible for anyone, just like Mary, to become 'Blessed'. All that you need to do is: hear the word of God and keep it.

WORD 2day

11th October, 2013

The Day of the Lord - in the history of the people of God - has had quite a few interpretations. The most common of those during the Old Testament times, was what we find in the first reading today - a day of doom, a day of destruction, a day of final judgement! Jesus, spoke of not just the day of the Lord, but the days of the Lord, the coming of the Reign of God! The sense of judgement persisted, but the fear of destruction or doom gave way to the need to take a stand, the urgency to make a choice - for God or against God! The day or the moment that we make a choice for God becomes for us the day of the Lord! When that choice for God becomes persistent and absolute, that is the Reign of God. Am I ready to choose God, and choose God alone? Am I prepared to stand up for God? If yes, I become a son or a daughter of the Reign.

WORD 2day

10th October, 2013

'Why do the just suffer and why do the evildoers prosper?' - this has always been an unresolved question in history. There is yet another fundamental question that is subtler and more crucial and that is - what is good and what is evil; what it means to be righteous and what it means to be wicked. Both these grand queries are reflected upon in today's readings which give us the criteria to be acceptable in the eyes of God: To give the first place to God and things that pertain to God and to trust in God with no doubts whatsoever! When these criteria are lived in our daily life, there will be no necessity for the questions we mentioned a while ago! The first will take care of the greed and manipulation that governs the world today; and the second will make us humble to receive everything from the hands of God, so that we look at ourselves and at each other as brothers and sisters of the One Father and Mother!

WORD 2day

9th October, 2013

The readings today call our attention to how bewilderingly gracious God is! Even in the Old Testament times when people thought of God in terms of one who punishes the wrongdoers, the theology that we see in the first reading today was quite strong: 'thou art a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love' (Jonah 4:2). To our human minds, as was the case with Jonah, it can appear sometimes to be undeserving, confusing and sometimes even absurd! A personification of that absurdity is Jesus himself - God's only son whom God did not spare, because "God so loved the world" (Jn 3:16)! And "while we were still sinners Christ died for us" (Rom 5:8). Jesus' words, teachings, prayer, everything was aimed at just one thing: to reveal the goodness, the graciousness and the bewildering and 'absurd' love of God for God's children!

WORD 2day

8th October, 2013

To be receptive, is the call today! The people of Nineveh received the message from the Lord and Martha received the Lord himself into her house. Going further, the readings have a warning too. Just receiving the message or receiving the Lord is not all. To receive would mean nothing if we do not take to heart the message of the Lord. Receiving, showing honour and adoration to the Lord, should culminate in an attentive drinking-in of the Word from the Lord and putting it into practice. Elsewhere the Lord clarifies, not all who call 'Lord! Lord!' will be saved, but those who listen to the Word and live it in their daily life (Mt 7:21; Lk 6:46). All our practices of piety are indeed acts of giving glory to the Lord, but the Lord looks out for our daily living, our concrete relationships, our ordinary interactions, our day to day commitments and our priorities! 

WORD 2day

7th October, 2013: Remembering Our Blessed Mother of the Holy Rosary

Today is a historical day. The feast of Our Blesssed Mother of the Holy Rosary, was initially known as the feast of Our Lady of Victory, in thanksgiving for the victory in a battle at Muret (in England) in the year 1213. That marks the 800th year! After a winding history of changes and developments, it was in the year 1913 that Pope Pius X fixed the feast on October 7th! And that marks the 100th commemoration! Every time we pray the Rosary, we repeat the words from the Word of God...the Gospel today reminds us this fact! "Full of Grace", the Angel addressed Mary, and that is what she was! And that is what she is, to each of us today - a channel of grace! As the apostles found in her a source of strength and direction to remain united, until the Spirit anointed them, let us seek her company and guidance to walk the way traced by her Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ.

GROWING IN FAITH

6th October, 2013 : 27th Sunday in the Ordinary Time

It is a familiar story said of the old lady who heard the gospel passage of today and challenged the young parish priest of its practicality! And they agreed she would pray for the tree outside her window to move a bit away after a novena. Nine prayerful days passed and on the 9th day asked the parish priest, 'so what about the tree?' The lady said with a wry smile, 'I knew from day one, nothing would happen! The tree stands right there.'

The Word of God this Sunday, invites us to grow in faith! "Increase our faith", pray the disciples. We would do good to make it our prayer too, asking the Lord to increase our faith. But what is faith? "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" explains the epistle to the Hebrews(Heb 11:1). Where does this assurance and this conviction come from? From a relationship, a rapport on which our whole life is based and thus even things not seen and things hoped for, do not ever seem an impossibility. That is why our tradition defines faith as our personal response to a self-revealing God. Lumen Fidei the latest of the encyclicals states, faith is our response to the Word which engages us personally (n.8). 

Faith, being a relationship, is matter of daily experience and not just of extraordinary moments. It is easier for us, to look within ourselves and identify when this faith runs short, than to see it when it is there! Today's readings give us three indications of the lack of faith... in order to educate us towards growing in faith.

One of the familiar indications of lack of faith is Pessimism. The world today is flooded with pessimism - words like crisis, conflict, melt-down, inflation, decadence are most commonly heard terms on a daily basis. The first reading too presents a situation similar to today's -Violence, destruction, troubles, strife, contention -but it ends with that assurance: 'the righteous shall live by faith!' (Hab 2:4). Growing in faith is to fight against any pessimism creeping into our thoughts, our spirit and our outlook.

The second indication that the readings point to, is Panic. 'God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline' (2 Tim 1:7). Where there is faith there will be power, if faith is a love relationship with God, there can be no fear, 'for there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear' (1 Jn 4:18). When I begin to fear a situation or a person or a consequence, it is an indication that my faith needs nurturing.

The third indication is the reason for both the preceding ones. It is Pride. The perfect contrast to faith is human pride! If faith is surrender, pride inspires resistance. If faith is to relate, pride creates rebellion. If faith aids perseverance, pride instigates me to quit. Both pessimism and panic are in a way fruits of pride within. Humility is a fruit of faith; it is a realisation of who oneself is - a humble servant of God, with all the capabilities and limitations, working one's way towards building up the Reign of God here and now. It is Lumen Fidei again which beautifully states, 'Faith is God's gift, which calls for humility and courage to trust and to entrust' (n.14). 

Pessimism, Panic and Pride - are contrary to faith! Pessimism creates despair, panic destroys peace and pride makes me inhuman. May my prayer, 'Increase my faith' be accompanied by my personal efforts to trust, love and surrender myself unconditionally to the One who loves me so unconditionally! 

WORD 2day

5th October, 2013

'For just as you proposed to go astray from God, return with tenfold zeal to seek him' (Bar 4:28), instructs the first reading today. The key to understand the so-called discrepancy between the Old Testament thinking and the New Testament theology lies here. While we can be surprised at a 'punishing' and a 'revengeful' God that the people of the Old Testament thought of, we understand from the verses like the above that we are responsible for all the calamities that we bring on ourselves, by our priorities and choices, not only individually but also collectively - it is unfortunate that some who are innocent too face the brunt due to the rest! It is high time that we realise that 'blessed are those eyes that see what we see, and the ears that hear what we hear'... if only we can take the cue from things that happen around us, we will readily return to the Lord, with tenfold zeal! The requirement is that we see, and that we hear - and true faith alone makes it possible!

WORD 2day

4th October, 2013: Remembering St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis has been identified as the person who imitated Christ the closest! His greatness lay in his simplicity, his humility and his love for poverty! That is why when the present Holy Father chooses to follow his model, the whole world cannot resist taking notice of him. But where does this simplicity and humility come from? Is it a mere showmanship? If so... it just cannot last long! For St. Francis, it came from his realisation of the fact that he is sent; that he is called, called with a specific mission, at a specific time and in his specific context! As we thank God for this great Saint from Assisi and pray specially for the Holy Father today, let us pay heed to the same message presented to us by the readings of the day! if we realise the fact that we are specially called and sent by the Lord, we will naturally realise how humble and underserving we are! From that humility and meekness, will surge a sanctity, that can make us become living Christ today - that is, Christ-ians!

WORD 2day

3rd October, 2013

The joy of the Lord is your strength (Neh 8:10), exclaims the first reading today. No doubt, prosperity and progress are a blessing from the Lord. They are great sources of happiness and joy. But they are not the fundamental sources of true happiness and true joy! That which gives true and complete joy is the Word of the Lord, the precepts of the Lord, the teachings of the Lord - the holy Will of God. "I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete" (Jn 15:11) said the Lord. Jesus' words today make it plain to the world, and particularly to us - what we might imagine to be important -comforts and career, ego and impressions, status and social image- are not important at all. That which can really give us joy is to know what the Lord wants from us and live according to that! Let us remember - we are SENT into the world!

WORD 2day

2nd October, 2013 : Thanking the Lord for the Guardian Angels

One of the earliest things we are taught as children is the presence and the guidance of the Guardian Angel - whom we celebrate today! Somehow, personally, every time that I have heard of the guardian angels since childhood, I have felt a kind of childlike sentiment within me! It is not childish but childlike! Without a childlike simplicity, a constant presence of someone may look like an interference, an intrusion, a policing! But when we sport a disposition as that of a child, we will find ourselves longing for that presence, we will hang on every word from the Lord and remain faithful to the Lord in obedience - as the Lord instructs in the first reading today! Unless we become like children we cannot enter the Reign of God... I remember the reflection shared two days ago, which re-echoes today: though it may sound a paradox, let us grow up to be children, only then can we inherit the Reign. 

WORD 2day

1st October, 2013 : Remembering St. Teresa of Child Jesus

Towards Jerusalem... we see the decision to go to Jerusalem, both in the first reading and the Gospel. The first reading speaks of people who wanted to go to Jerusalem, to witness the God who stood by the Hebrews through their thick and thin - "let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!" The Gospel presents Jesus who is determined to go to Jerusalem... inspite of knowing what awaits him there; to offer his life for the very people who were stubborn enough to turn their face away from him. Jerusalem - is not merely the glorious hill of the presence of the Lord but also a challenge to live up to that presence which demands from us endurance, obedience and primacy of God. It is not easy to be welcoming to the Lord - for when he comes he is very demanding! If we are determined to respond to that, as did Teresa of Lisieux, who had no aspirations what so ever other than living for Christ - and achieved it in her short 24 years! Do we dare to set our face towards the presence of God?