BEGINNING IN GOD'S NAME...

2014... a treasure... wrapped and pressed into our hands...

We have today a wonderful gift that the Lord offers, wrapped and pressed into our hands...the gift of 365 beautiful days! And what better way to start the day than with the Blessings from the Lord:

The Lord bless you and keep you!

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

The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace! (Num 6: 24-26)

It's all about the fullness of time...

At the appointed time the blessings come our way...

When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman...

so that we might receive adoption as chilren... (Gal 4:4,5)

And as we begin this New Year...

let us do as the Shepherds did...

Glorifying and Praising God

for all that we have heard and seen...(Lk 2:20)

for all the good that we have experienced during the year and 

for all the good that is in store for us this NEW YEAR...

and may be an apt prayer for today could be:

God grant me 

the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the Courage to change the things I can, and

the Wisdom to know the difference!

THANKS to everything that has been...

AMEN to everything that is in store!

WELCOME 2014

Welcome...2014...here for your download!!!

WORD 2day: 31st December, 2013

O sing to the Lord a new song!

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). 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...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. Let us prepare ourselves in thanksgiving to receive an all new grace from God's hands!

WORD 2day: 30th December, 2013

One who does the will of God, lives for ever!

The feast of the Holy Family is just over, 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). 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! Faith is not acquired once for all; every day we must grow, 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 don't grow and become strong in faith, it is me who is to be blamed, is it not?

LESSONS FROM THE HOLY FAMILY

29th December, 2013: Solemnity of the Holy Family

Increasing number of Homes for the Aged, Orphanages, Day care centres and Night shelters for the kids on the streets, alarming rate of divorces and split families, the ridiculous family feuds and meaningless stand offs among the relatives within a family... these are no strange scenes today in a Christian Community! And much more, these are vivid testaments of a collapsing Christian faith. The Christian faith is a faith of a Community, from the earliest times known it is experienced, lived and shared in a community; and the basic unit of the community is the family. That is the reason for using the beautiful term, 'domestic church' referring to the family. It is there, that the Church grows from a seed to a seedling and then to an orchard of God's love. The Solemnity today, intends to rekindle in us our respect for families, our commitment to living our faith in our families and as families to become the nuclei of God's love that can give birth to a whole new world, a world of love, peace, joy and fellowship.

The Holy Family of Nazareth presents to us a wonderful project towards this dream:

To the Families: BE GOD CENTERED! 

The first reading invites us to reflect on the fact that a Christian Family is constituted by God. It is not merely the man and the woman who come together to make the family, but it is the Lord who brings them together. The second reading affirms the same in the words of St. Paul, who elsewhere points out that marriage should lead to mutual sanctification of the partners (1 Cor 7:14). As long as God is the centre of a family, the family will remain united, bonded in the love of God.

God was at the centre, in the Holy Family... God commanded, the family carried out. They listened to God, obeyed God and took directions from God. Do we as a family, listen to God and take directions from God?

To the Individuals: BE FAMILY CENTERED!

The individualistic and materialistic tendencies of the society at large, have begun to affect the individual families drastically. Individuals within a family, far from thinking of the well being of the other, have begun to calculate the gain they have from the rest of the family and stoop to dirty levels of hurting the other for one's own good! 

The Good of the Family was the uppermost criterion in the Holy Family... Mary did not mind the running around, be it when she was still carrying or after the delivery; Joseph did not mind taking up the burdens of transferring them every time; all that was in their mind was the Good of the Family and Jesus was no exception as Luke says in his Gospel, "he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them' (Lk 2:51). Do we as individuals, place the good of the others in the family before my own interests?

To the Churches: BE COMMUNION CENTERED!

The Local Churches, that is the parishes, are essentially God's Family of families. In the wise and eternal plan of our loving Lord, the Universal Church in the world is the communion of Churches in various nations, namely the dioceses; the Diocesan church is the communion of the local parish churches; the Parish church has to be the communion of the domestic churches, that is the Family! All of us united in the name of the Father, Son and the Spirit, who invite us to form one, big, universal family of loving hearts - that family which is called the REIGN OF GOD. 

The Holy Family did everything with just one objective in mind: that God's will be done. Mary said that to Angel Gabriel: Let it be done unto me according to your will, and ever since she did nothing but obey the Lord with thanks, praise and reflection in her heart. Joseph carried out every command that was given to him without speaking a word of doubt or objection - all for the will of God to be done. Do we as part of the parish church, do our part to grow in our communion with each other, towards forming one, big, God's family - the Reign of God?

Let us take to heart the lessons from the Holy Family today...and as families be God centered, as individuals be Family centered and as a Parish be Communion centered.

WORD 2day: 28th December, 2013

The Feast of the Holy Innocents

The innocents die, even today!
Due to the malice of minds and the avarice of various kinds, innocents die even today.
At the hands of the oppressive forces with heartless greed for power and dominance, innocents die even today.
By the selfish acts of the conniving perverts and the corrupt bigwigs, innocents die even today.
The authentic culture of a society can be understood by the way it treats its children, its elders, its weak and its helpless members, they say. That is why the Holy Father Pope Francis keeps insisting on our care for the children, the elders, the sick and the weak. Let not just our prayers be raised today but our commitment too towards protecting the rights and the well being of the helpless innocents! 

27th December...

8 years of priestly life...

A moment to thank the Lord...

A moment to look back at the path traversed thus far...

A moment to realise the undeserved graces that the Lord has showered...

A moment to wonder at the miracles that the Lord has performed on a daily basis...

A moment to challenge myself to grow more worthier every new day... 

A moment to recognise the faithfulness of the Lord to me...

Thank You Lord!!!

WORD 2day: 27th December, 2013

JOY - the sign of Christian life and ministry : Remembering St. John

The Christmas joy continues, even as we commemorate St.John the Evangelist today. "The Joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus," says the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (n.1). Though the Gospel reading draws our attention to the scene of resurrection, the message is all about an encounter with Christ that redefines one's life. When a person encounters Christ in all one's earnestness, there is a choice, a categorical choice for Christ and Christ's mission! As St. Paul affirms that it is no merit that an apostle proclaims the Word, but woe to him if he does not (1 Cor 9:16), today we see John explaining in the first reading: I am called to announce Christ, not merely because others will benefit from it; but primarily that my joy may be complete (1 Jn 1:4). For a Christian, a joy-filled proclamation of Christ is the only way to live his or her life - joyfully proclaiming Christ in every word, every action and every choice that is made, at every moment of one's daily life.

Love was born this day!

WORD 2day: 24th December, 2013

Needed Traits to Receive the Lord #3: AWE

Translated as fear of God, or an awe towards God, or the sense of spiritual wonder, the capacity to be open to the doings of the Lord... is the third and most important trait to receive the Lord. Very often we think of our spirituality as doing something for God - going to the Church, saying prayers, going for Mass... they are all important, yes! But more important is our openness to God, allowing God to work in us, listening to God, looking to understand what God communicates to us here and now! At times in our busy 'doing'...we forget 'to be' in the presence of God. Let us keep this as the highest priority today... as we are just a few hours from celebrating the awesome mystery of incarnation, let us stay in awe, remain in wonder at the marvels of the Lord, the immensity of the Love that the Lord shares with us this Christmas!

Novena... Day 9... O Morning Star

24th December: O Morning Star...

The 7 O-Antiphons are over with yesterday...
but the Novena ends today...with the rising of the Morning Star!

The Lord is not just near...but the Lord is here!!!
We celebrate the Rising Star, the Morning Star that announces the break of day!
The Lord comes to rule in our hearts, not just in the world...
Let us prepare ourselves..for the Lord is here.

WORD 2day: 23rd December, 2013

Needed Traits to Receive the Lord #2: READINESS

The second trait necessary is that of Readiness. Readiness does not mean a mere passive waiting... it is an active preparation, without which one would miss the moment of truth. The coming of the Lord is the moment of truth for us, and we have to be ready - which is, to be prepared in heart and mind, in spirit and in action. That is what the first reading calls us to - to be well disposed to be refined as silver is refined in the furnace, to make our life worthy of the sacred mysteries we are about to celebrate. It is like the period of pain that Elisabeth and the time of muteness that Zachariah had to go through. The sacrament of Confession is a wonderful moment of refinement, a great sign of our READINESS to receive the Lord, this Christmas! 

Novena... Day 8... O Emmanuel

23rd December: O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Based on the famous prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, the title Emmanuel is the key to the mystery of incarnation. 

The symbol is the virgin with the child in the manger. It is not just any child, but the promised salvation of the God of the universe, the king who has come to meet his subjects to make them co-heirs to his throne.

The prayer is to save us, as the Lord our God... in simple words it is to stay with us, to live with us. to sanctify us, to make us worthy of God and of God's great big family.

Novena...Day 7... O King of Nations

22nd December: O King of Nations

O King of the nations, and their desire,

the cornerstone making both one:

Come and save the human race,

which you fashioned from clay.

Based on Isaiah 9:6, 2:4 and 28:16, the King of the nations is a yearning of the people of Israel. They wanted Yahweh to be their king always, even when they had a human king ruling them. That is why they did not give in to the Emperor worship that was so widespread in the dominant cultures of their times. God is the king, forever and over all!

The Symbol is the crown, and some times even the sceptre, that signifies the central place that God has in our personal and universal history; and the authority that rests solely with God.

The prayer is to save the human kind, from slaveries of sin and death to the freedom of the children of God, for that is what we are, children created in the image and likeness of God. It is to grow in this identity and dignity that the coming of the Lord invites us.

Novena... Day 6... O Rising Dawn...

21st December: O Rising dawn

O Morning Star,
Splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Based on Isaiah 9:2 and Isaiah 60:1-2, the title in Latin O Oriens, actually means literally O Rising Sun or Dawn, but for poetic sense translated as Morning Star, refers to the power of God's light to lead us from ignorance to knowledge and from mere knowledge to enlightenment. 

The Symbol is the Rising Sun, which dispels the darkness of the night and wakes the light of the morning, inviting all to life and activity. The coming of the Lord for us is a wake up call, an invitation to live as people of the light and not of darkness!

The prayer is for enlightenment, that in these times of confusion and crisis, confounding choices and staggering philosophies, we might remain always in the light of faith, that not only helps us see the Lord, but see with the eyes of the Lord (Lumen Fidei).

WORD 2day: 21st December, 2013

We saw a list of 5 dangers of missing the Lord who comes to visit us... from today the Liturgy points to us 3 necessary dispositions to behold the coming of the Lord!

Needed Traits to Receive the Lord #1: EAGERNESS

Looking forward to meet the love of your life - that is the kind of disposition required if we really want to behold the coming of the Lord. The Song of Songs expresses the longing that one has for the beloved. It's like that innocent sweet child who asked her father at the end of her busy day of birthday celebrations, "Daddy, when will my birthday come again?" That eagerness, that longing, that yearning like the parched land for water, like the deer for the running streams, like the drowning person for a breath above the waters... that is the requirement if we really want to encounter the Lord who visits us this Christmas!

WORD 2day: 20th December, 2013

Danger of missing the Lord who comes #5:

When troubles surround or challenges abound, we try to manage our lives with our own strength or seeking those who can give a solution, notwithstanding the fact that they themselves are persons with similar problems and puzzles. Fortune predictions, numerical calculations, geographical adjustments, material omens... how many substitutes we run to, instead of the Lord almighty who alone has the ultimate power! Ahaz represents that world of reducing the Lord God to our thinking, our calculations and our predictions! But Mary stands a model for a silent acceptance of the marvels of God which are beyond any of our imagination, even at the most trying moment of our lives. 

The readings today warn us of the fifth danger of missing the Lord who comes to visit us: Reducing God to human thinking, that when God acts in history we do not even notice the wonder of God's presence.

Novena... Day 5... O Key of David...

20th December: O Key of David

O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;

you open and no one can shut;

you shut and no one can open:

Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,

those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Based on  Isaiah 22:22, Isaiah 9:7 and Isaiah 42:7, the reference is to the sovereignty of God's Reign. That the throne shall have no end is a Messianic prophecy that, God will be established the Lord of history! Liberation of the oppressed, the fullness of life of all, is the sign of the Reign.

The symbol is the key to signify the authority that the Lord has, in creating, changing and structuring the whole history.

The prayer is for liberation... to be led towards fullness of life that is the experience of the Reign on earth. It is also a commitment to work towards, to contribute one's might and mite, towards establishing the Reign here and now!

Novena... Day 4... O Root of Jesse...

19th December: O Root of Jesse

O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples; 

before you kings will shut their mouths,

to you the nations will make their prayer:

Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

Based on  Isaiah 11:1, Isaiah 11:10, the title Root of Jesse, refers to the promise of the Lord to raise the Messiah from the line of David (the son of Jesse). It is a promise of deliverance that the Lord gives the people of Israel, and to everyone who believes in the Lord.

The Symbol is that of the shoot flowering... signalling the hope that the Lord offers in times when everything seems dark and dead. 

The prayer too is to reinforce that hope...that we may always look forward to the deliverance that the Lord can offer! Note that the readings of the liturgy too relate to the same sense of hope in the Lord who accomplishes marvels for us!

WORD 2day: 19th December, 2013

Danger of missing the Lord who comes # 4:

Two women, considered and categorised as 'barren', miraculously bear their firstborns, dedicate them to the Lord! The two newborns even before they were conceived were meant to be God's messengers! What the world considers impossible, the Lord proves possible; what the world cannot even think of, the Lord has planned from eternity and executes in God's own time. When moments seem troublesome and weary, dark and dreary, confusing and out of control... we tend to give up hope, become desperate and fall into the danger of hopelessness! With the sense of desperation, one can miss the most obvious and grand signs of the magnificence of God that appears on a daily basis!

The readings today indicate to us the fourth danger of missing the Lord who comes: a sense of desperation, the tendency to Hopelessness!

WORD 2day: 18th December, 2013

Danger of missing the Lord who comes # 3:

Joseph was a righteous man. His rectitude consisted of an incomparable combination of the Justice of Yahweh, that we see in the first reading and God's predilective love for the poor and the weak, that is exalted in the Responsorial Psalm. The Righteousness of God is an uncompromising stand for the truth, because of which Joseph thinks of divorcing Mary; it is also a unparalleled loved for the poor and the weak, or in Pope Francis' words, love for those in the periphery - that is what makes Joseph search for ways to spare Mary the disgrace! This prophetic righteousness causes a spiritual restlessness within Joseph, in which he is taught to see things from God's perspective. If he were a self centered, egotistic person he would have never learnt to see it that way, he would have done what he wanted and things would have been drastically different. 

The Lord comes to visit us on a daily basis as the Angel came to meet Joseph. We will miss it all, if we are filled with only ourselves, our ideas and our perspectives! Joseph warns us of the third danger of missing the Lord who visits us: and the danger is An Egoistic Perspective.

Novena...Day 3... O Adonai!!!

18th December: O Adonai...

O Adonai, and leader of the house of Israel

who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush

and gave him the law on Sinai:

Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

Based on Isaiah 11:45 and Isaiah 33:22, the title Adonai, refers to the Lordship of Yahweh, that the people of Israel always stressed on. From a generic universal history that yesterday's "Wisdom" reminded us of, today's "Adonai" comes down to the experience of Exodus, the watershed of the Spirituality of the people of Israel.

The Symbols are burning bush, to remind the experience when Moses surrendered to Yahweh and the stones of the commandments, the symbol of Israel's surrender to Yahweh.

The prayer is that of a surrender into the redeeming power of God, to be led by the Lord's hands always - from darkness to light, from folly to wisdom, from death to life! 

WORD 2day: 17th December, 2013

Danger of missing the Lord who comes # 2:

The first reading speaks of the sons of Jacob, and among them Judah who has to rule! The Gospel reading gives us the whole lineage of Jesus, the Christ who is to come! We look at those who are around us... we know them all - their history, their geography, their background... and with all these, we think we know them so much... that we can miss the Lord who wants to encounter us in them, in their words or gestures! There is a big danger that we look at some persons everyday or so regularly, that they no longer really mean anything to us. The second danger of missing the Lord who comes to us, is in the danger of Taking Persons for Granted.

Novena...Day 2... O Wisdom!!!

17th December: O Sapientia...

O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High

reaching from one end to the other,

mightily and sweetly ordering all things:

Come and teach us the way of prudence.

Based on Isaiah 11:2-3 and Isaiah 28:29... the antiphon recalls the most popular attribute given to the Spirit of the Lord and the Word of God which is seen active in creation and order of the universe. It is this Word, who becomes flesh to dwell among us (John 1:14). 

The Symbol used is often...the eye within the triangle, which symbolises the Omniscient God...the Wisdom of God. The Jewish or the Davidic lampstand (with 7 sticks) is used to refer to the Wisdom of God which has accompanied the people of God right from the origins of history!

The Prayer today is for PRUDENCE...to be guided always by the Lord, the Lord who dwells among us.

WORD 2day: 16th December, 2013

From today, we begin the intensive preparation towards receiving our King. These days we will reflect on the dangers that are there, within us, which can make us miss the Lord who comes.

Danger of missing the Lord who comes # 1:

Often we hear Jesus saying, 'let those who have ears, hear' or 'let those who have eyes, see!' The first danger of missing the Lord who comes to us, is cited in today's readings... the Lord makes us see; the Lord makes present marvelous things right before our eyes. But our eyes are closed! We see, but don't perceive; we look but we don't understand. It is not because we cannot, but because we do not want to. The first enemy to perceiving God who visits us, is our stubbornness!

CHRISTMAS NOVENA BEGINS TODAY

Novena...'O' Antiphons...Oh what a Tradition we have!!! 

Naturally the last days of the Christmas preparation are a great excitement...
The Church has a beautiful tradition of 
the Novena in preparation of this wonderful festival of LOVE...

And within this novena... 
leaving out the first day and the last day...
there are 7 verses from the prophecies from the Old Testament (Isaiah) 
which announce the coming of the Lord's Messiah...they are named "O" Antiphons.
each of these antiphons, so meaningful and beautiful...

We pray them as Antiphons before the Gospel at the Eucharist these days...
those who pray the daily prayer of the Church (Breviary) pray it in the evening 
with the hymn of our blessed mother, the Magnificat.

16th of December begins the Novena...
on this day, the antiphon, though not an O Antiphon...
sets the tone for the next 9 days...

WE BEGIN A SPECIAL SEASON OF WAITING FOR AN IMMINENT COMING OF THE LORD

THE JOY OF WAITING

15th December 2013: 3rd Sunday of Advent

An expectant couple, a lover on the park bench, a child on the birthday eve, a starved person on a set table... these are vivid snapshots of the joy of waiting! There is a pain involved, but a pain that is part of the joy. There are myriads of reasons to be disturbed and be restless about, but they are all overwhelmed by the joy that resides beneath. That is the picture that the Church wants us to contemplate this Sunday: the Joy of Waiting, for the Reign. 

This Sunday is called the Gaudete Sunday (Gaudete in latin simply means 'Rejoice')... taking off from the entrance antiphon which invites us to REJOICE, because the salvation of the Lord is near. Note the colour of the vestments today...they are not merely the violet, but purple...to add the necessary element of joy to the waiting! A Christian waiting should be joyful, the liturgy reminds us today.

The whole creation groans as with pangs of childbirth...for a peaceful, prosperous, perfect world. Every religion and every spirituality is a yearning towards that state of existence, called in various names. We believe it to be the Reign of God; "We are seeking God's Kingdom" reminds the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium(180) of Pope Francis. This waiting, this Christian waiting for the Reign of God is a joyful waiting, not a miserable waiting, not a servile waiting. The readings today bring to our attention the marks of this waiting: 

The first mark is the Assurance of Faith. The first reading is full of words like, gladness, joy, exultation, rejoicing, shouting, leaping, singing... all these words are used by Isaiah, when the people of Israel are still in Exile...but they know their liberation is imminent. What fills their hearts and their lives is faith - a joyful and total abandonment into the hands of God, one who creates and directs history. A total assurance that the Lord is for them; the Lord stands in favour of them and the Lord will lead them to the prosperity that they are waiting for. Our life, to be truly Christian, to be truly worthy of the Reign, has to be based firmly on this assurance of faith, that the Lord is with us and the Lord is for us. When God is for us, who can be against us!

The second mark of a joyful waiting is the Aspirations of Hope. The first reading, the responsorial psalm and the Gospel are filled with imageries of the lame walking, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, the dumb speaking... the aspirations of a heart, the desire for a better world, the yearning for a bright tomorrow, the thirst for justice and truth, these are infallible signs of the Reign. That is what we are invited to hope for, and only that hope will thrust us into action, into doing our little bit, our essential part in making those dreams come true! We need to be filled with that vision, to reach the promised land, each and every one of us hand in hand.

The third mark is Associations of Love. The second reading touches upon a crucial point: yes we wait, but in the meanwhile what do we do? how do we comport ourselves? There are various modes of waiting... angry and restless... anxious and nasty... irritated and tensed... But the joy of waiting for the Reign has to be a wait that is filled with a "prophetic patience", says St. James. An abundance of patience that cherishes every moment that is spent in waiting. A patience that is expressed in our loving rapport with every brother and sister. Our relationships have to express to the world that we are people with a difference, we look for something that not everyone is looking for, that we are people who have our gaze fixed on the Lord and the Lord's Reign that everyone around seems beautiful and precious in our eyes!

We are waiting... we are waiting for the Reign... but the Reign is already here, the wait is to make it more and more visible! Hence, each of us has the responsibility, to make the Reign of God felt, here and now, through living with an abundance of assurance of faith, with limitless aspirations of hope and divine associations of love with each other. The joy of waiting for the Reign, has to radiate that joy to every one, everyday in every way.

WORD 2day

14th December, 2013: Remembering St.John of the Cross

Read the Life of John of the Cross

Today we are given to reflect on three great personalities...the first one as we said yesterday, is the person of the week John the Baptist, credited by Jesus as greatest of all who are born of a woman. The second one is Prophet Elijah of the Old Testament, who is considered to be the greatest of the prophets. The third is St. John of the Cross, considered to be the greatest mystic and doctor of the Soul! Why were all these people 'great'... not because they were in power or were the most influential of their times!

The simple reason was that they were fired with love for God... Elijah shut the heavens, brought down fire, all because he wanted the people to see the glory of God! The Baptist remained a voice in the wilderness, warning everyone of their sins, ready even to die for the Reign of God. John of the Cross was a great reformer of the religious life and an ardent agent of counter reformation, standing by the Church during the tough times of Reformation, filled with the zeal for the Reign of God.

The Reign of God is near...if we wish to receive it, we have to be filled with that same fire! The fire, the zeal, the yearning, the thirst for the Reign of God, which should shine through every word, thought, deed and choice of everyday life!

WORD 2day

13th December, 2013: Remembering St. Lucy

Read the Life of St. Lucy

If we have noticed carefully, there is a constant reference in the Gospel this week to John the Baptist. From last Sunday, the Gospel and the preface keep presenting to us the figure of John the Baptist, to challenge us regarding how prepared we are for the Coming of the Lord! Today we are made to reflect on the difference between "being childish" and "being child-like." Unless you become like a child you will not enter the Reign of God - but that in no way means you remain childish!

Jesus gives a simple example - being childish is being so centered on yourself that you wish everything around you happens as you wish and everyone does what you wish! Being childlike is being prophetic, being like the persons of God who abandon everything into the hands of God with total confidence in God and in God alone, like St. Lucy the fourth century martyr whom we celebrate today! 

Let us be like children, let us be child-like; let us walk with our hands in the hands of God, thus we will be persons worthy of the reign of God.

WORD 2day

12th December, 2013

News about violence everyday, cry of injustice and unfettered exploitation of the weak, persecutions in the name of religion and venomous maligning of persons and groups owing to the religious and moral values that they hold on to - these are what we hear on a daily basis these days. Jesus seems to tell us, that this is nothing new! "Since John the Baptist came upto this present time, the kingdom of Heaven has been subjected to violence", he says. And the first reading adds hopefully, inspite of all these, "Do not be afraid, I shall help you." 

The image that we are given today to ruminate, is that of a child holding the hand of the father or the mother, and braving the whole world around. Let us never forget that one quintessential truth of Christian faith: we are never alone! The Lord promises today: I, the God of Israel, shall never abandon you! We are preparing to celebrate this truth; that God came to dwell with us. And ever since, God has been with us; and God shall never abandon us!

TIMES PERSON OF THE YEAR 2013: POPE FRANCIS

We are proud of you Pope Francis!

But we hope to follow what you teach us too...
being fans to you is easier as it is easy to admire Jesus Christ as a super hero.
But to listen attentive to what you say, and hear the Word of God through you,
hear those words spoken directly to us...and dare to live it on a daily basis - yes, that is the challenge!


Anyway...Pope Francis Rocks....
he is the Time's Person of the Year 2013, and...

NANCY GIBBS EXPLAINS WHY? (click here)

WORD 2day

11th December, 2013

There's a legend said of the eagles, that they have 70 years of life! But to reach that seventy they have a decisive phase to go through... in their 40s, they say, their talons lose their flexibility and become useless, their beaks become bent and unable to pick any prey. They go to a high mountain by themselves pluck out their talons one by one and break their beaks down, and wait till they grow back; when the new talons grow they pluck every feather and wait... wait till the new ones grow...and they take off, for a new lease of life!

What an imagery for the season of advent... to wait on the Lord! Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles! The readings today are profusely filled with hope, a hope that comes from the abundance of love that the Lord has for us! It is strengthened by that love, that we can run but still not get weary; even if we are weary, the Lord again invites us, come to me all who are weary, for I shall give you rest.

When we feel burdened and stressed, let us picture before our eyes, the Lord with his open arms, like the open wings of the eagle...inviting us into God's love, into God's protection, into God's peaceful presence!

WORD 2day

10th December, 2013

The image we are given to contemplate today is that of the good shepherd with a lamb in his bosom, caressing it with compassion and love! That is what we are in the hands of God. It is an humbling experience everyday to realise how much the Lord loves us - inspite of our weaknesses and limitations, repeated failures and endless mistakes. It is enough to contemplate this picture when we feel we are overwhelmed with struggles and surrounded with troubles, we will feel the warmth of his embrace and the consolation of his whispers; despite the enemies that surround us, we will feel a sense of security; and there we will find the strength to begin anew and resume our walk with the Lord. "The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our god will stand for ever" and we will never be lost, for the good shepherd will always come in search; will always find us and will gently lead us on!

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF MARY

Reminders from the Solemnity

9th December, 2013: The Universal Church celebrates the Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Mother today, yesterday having been a Sunday of Advent.

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Mother - the dogma of faith that Mary, from the moment that she was conceived in her mother's womb, was preserved without the stain of original sin. The celebration of today has 3 reminders for us:

Reminder 1: God's plan for each of us is eternal! God chose to preserve Mary even before she was born, from the moment of her passing from non existence to existence! How true when the Word says, 'You know me even before my bones were being formed in the womb of my mother.' God knows each of us and has a mysterious plan for us from eternity. Is it not true that God has chosen us before the foundations of the world, as St. Paul says.

Reminder 2: It was indeed a grace that Mary was spared from the stain of original sin, but she on her part remained faithful, sinless and wholly belonging to God all her life that she brought this grace of holiness, right upto the end of her life when she was found worthy of another grace - that of Assumption. We were freed from the bond of original sin too, at our baptism. Is it not our duty to bring this baptismal innocence right through to the end of our life that we can find ourselves in the company of saints and angels in union with God almighty!

Reminder 3: For Mary it was a remote preparation to behold the Son of God within her in God's own time. The feast occurs during Advent and reminds us that we are in that place too... to prepare ourselves to behold the Son of God, who wishes to be born in our lives this Christmas.

The Message is clear: God has chosen me from eternity to belong to God. It is my faithful response to this call that will determine my status as God's son or daughter. When I listen to God's word and live by it, God dwells in me, God's word will be born in me, making me the dwelling place, the tabernacle, the temple of the Living God!

THE SPIRIT OF THE REIGN

8th December, 2013 - 2nd Sunday of Advent

Repent, for the Reign of God is near! A clarion call from the prophets today, to prepare ourselves in a worthy manner to receive the King. This king someone different, some one unique, and has a style and outlook totally different from all other rulers that we know of! He does not force himself on us; when he passes by if we are worthy to receive him, he will enter, remain with us and rule in our hearts, our homes and our land! If not, he passes by, and we are the losers...for the axe is kept at the roots and the worthless shrubs will stand no ground. The readings today instruct us through the great prophets Isaiah and John the Baptist and Apostle Paul, as to our disposition to receive the Reign; they invite us to possess the Spirit of the Reign!

The Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, piety and reverence of the Lord - that is the Spirit we should possess to be people of the Reign. The Reign will come, the Ruler will appear, but the question is, you and me: will we be prepared to receive it today! The Reign is not merely plenty and prosperity, it is not merely a state of pleasurable feeling with nothing to worry, at times we imagine so. As St. Paul would define to the Romans, the Reign is Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17); it is this Reign that the prophets announced; it is this Reign that Jesus inaugurated through his life and mission; it is this Reign that we are commissioned to make present in the world today - it is Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit!

"Bear fruits worthy of Repentace" cries the voice in the desert. Our King is a righteous king, righteousness shall be his girdle says Isaiah. Unless we turn to righteousness, make our paths straight, leave the acts of darkness and live as people of light, going about our daily duties with diligence and dedication. The Spirit of Righteousness, will show us the right way, the right sense and the right direction to take in life.

"Live in harmony with each other" reminds the Apostle. In his days righteousness shall flourish and peace abound, because our King is the Prince of Peace. We are challenged to be peacemakers in our daily life - when so much of competition and corruptions abounds, while people deceive and denounce each other, amidst the political forces that want social unrest and antisocial elements that brood over hurt and harm, we are called to hold together the frail humanity, in peace and serenity, by our thoughts, words and choices all governed by love, the love of God. The Spirit of Peace, will hover over our days, healing the hurts and binding us in forgiveness, to build up the Reign of peace and serenity.

We shall give praise to the Lord among the peoples and Sing to the Lord's name, for the Lord comes to Reign, and we are called to be part of the Reign. Righteousness and Peace fills us with joy, the joy of the Lord, the joy of the Spirit, the joy that comes from an endless hope that the Lord fills us with. It is not merely a situation of having no problems, but a sense of inner strength to face everything with the help of the God of endurance and encouragement. That is the Spirit of the Reign. That is why the Holy Father Pope Francis repeats so often - a Christian can never be sad, a Christian has to be joyful, because inspite of all the problems of our life, we have the Lord with us! The Spirit fills us with joy, a joy that wells from within us, from that core of our being where God dwells.

Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit - that is the Reign of God... that is the Spirit of the Reign. The Ruler comes...let us make the paths straight, let us imbibe within us the Spirit of the Reign...and we shall welcome the King, we shall inherit the Reign!

Note: This year 8th of December, the Solemnity of Immaculate Conception is celebrated on the 9th as the Sunday of Advent normally takes precedence...

WORD 2day

7th December, 2013: Remembering St. Ambrose

God is Gracious, God is Compassionate - that is the key to behold the message of the readings today. Jesus chooses his apostles and sends them out - because he had compassion on the people. Jesus sends the apostles out because there is so much to be done, so much tears to be wiped, so much guilt to be washed, so much suffering to be allayed, so much love to be shared, so much hope to be spread, in order that the Reign of God may truly come. The Lord sends you and me today - to go out and share love, spread hope, and build the Reign of God. Do we have doubts as to what we can really do? Never mind, for we will hear the voice of the Master behind us, 'This is the way, walk in it!" (Is 30:21) The Lord depends on you and me... to take God's compassion to the the needy and the suffering...yes the harvest is plentiful, there is so much to be done! As God chose Ambrose from the crowd to be raised into a great pastor in the Church, to win over saints like Augustine for the Lord, so does God choose you and me today! Yes, it is you and I who have to do it... take the Reign of Love to our brothers and sisters!

WORD 2day

6th December, 2013

'To see' is a spiritual quality. The readings are full of this imagery today. The first reading speaks of the blind who will begin to see, the lowly who begin to find joy in the Lord and the Gospel recounts one of those encounters where Christ gives sight to a blind person. Infact, 'to see' was the sign of the coming of the Lord... when the Baptist asked if Jesus was the Christ to come, Jesus responds saying, 'the blind see, the lame walk, the dear hear and the dead are raised' (Lk 7:20,22)! In the Reign of God, all shall possess the spiritual capacity to see; we shall all see, because we will have the light of the Lord, as the responsorial psalm tells us! Yes, we will surely see the Lord face to face, but today, in our daily life, we are challenged to see, to look, to perceive and to find the joy of the Lord in the midst of our routine... Can we really see? If we believe, we will. Let us grow everyday in our faith, to really see the Lord, our light and our salvation.

WORD 2day

5th December, 2013

A strong city, a house built on a rock - these are the images we are given to contemplate today. A city with its walls, bulwarks and ramparts signify the strength that each one possesses. The house built on rock signifies the security and the assurance of safety that everyone looks for. In contrast we have the house built on sand which is quick to ruin itself, assailed by the least of the battering; a city that is unguarded which has all the possibility of attack from within, from outside and from all unprecedented quarters. The person that we are, the choices that we make, the priorities we have, the criteria we act on, the principles we stand by... these determine the strength and the security that we possess. When these choices, priorities, criteria and principles are all founded on the Lord and the Lord's Word, we are a city well guarded and a house firmly built on rock. It's time to check our foundations!

WORD 2day

4th December, 2013

The first reading in various words explains just one fact - that the Lord removes anything between us and God, that separates us... the veil or the shroud, the sheet or the web, the tears, yes, even death! The Gospel speaks to us of the very many things that can hinder us from experiencing God: sickness, disease, hunger, poverty, crisis, concerns of daily life, our personal handicaps - all these can hinder us from feeling the presence of God with us, block our vision from looking at God's goodness, blind our hearts from living in the presence of the lord, darken our minds from giving glory to God's name! The season of advent invites us to come to the Lord, as the crowds came, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the dumb...so are we invited to go to the Lord with our problems, limitations, joys and sorrows...and the word says, "they laid them at his feet and he cured them!" (Mt 15:30) - so shall we do; let us lay them all, every thing that hinders us from living our life to the full, everything that prevents us from receiving the abundance of God's love, let us place them at the Lord's feet and the Lord will certainly heal us!

Return! To the Fullness of the Father!

THE WORD IN ADVENT - First Tuesday

December 3, 2019: Remembering St. Francis Xavier

Isaiah 11: 1-10; Luke 10: 21-24

A day to thank God for the great missionary St. Francis Xavier, who is so much connected to the growth of Christian faith in India and Japan; an evangeliser and catechist par excellence. 

Talking of faith and growing in faith, in a context like India, I have wondered often, and I am sure you have too, that at school, in the neighbourhood, as children we have always grown up with so many different people, different in their faith, different in their customs etc. but always grown up as friends and neighbours, sharing lives, sharing festivities and sharing our brotherhood and sisterhood as one humanity. From where then does hatred come, if this unity and fellowship is so natural? 

On the Lord's mountain, there is no hurt or harm, no killing or violence, no manipulation or deception. That is the fullness with which the Father made the whole world. The New heaven and New earth, has to be modelled on this - on the fullness of the Father. Hence it is not inventing something new, but going to the roots, a returning to the Father. 

This is of course found  naturally with children and those persons with a simple child-like heart. Jesus awes at these...the children and those who are children at heart: "for theirs is the Reign of God!" (Mt 19:14). Woe to those who cause these little ones to stumble, make them learn hatred and grow inhuman...(cf.Mt 18:6). To bring Good news, as Francis Xavier did, is not to brandish a brute superiority or instill a sense of inferiority and fear but sharing a sense of fullness, the fullness of the Father. It is growing to be peacemakers, children of God, persons of love... to Return to the fullness of the Father as true people of the Reign!