ABSOLUTE ALLEGIANCE TO THE ALMIGHTY

4th Sunday in the Ordinary Time: 1 February 2015

Dt 18: 15-20; 1Cor 7: 32-35; Mk 1: 21-28

It was a home for street kids. As I entered, a calendar caught my attention. It had the words running thus: with the young missionaries of hope and joy. I hoped to see some young religious in formation or some people getting ready to go on a mission. But the picture that accompanied it was more surprising. It was a click of a bunch of street kids with eyes all shining and faces beaming with smiles. They had called them 'missionaries of hope and joy'. Today's first reading came alive to me when I saw this. When the Lord said,  the Lord would raise a prophet as good as moses and that prophet was not only Jesus who did great wonders when he was still alive but in and through Jesus,  it is you and I who are called to be prophets today, here and now. 

The second reading points to us the way of being powerful prophets of God...and the way is,  an absolute allegiance to the almighty. To profess our allegiance to God with nothing to distract us,  nothing to preoccupy us,  nothing to hinder our speaking God's word or doing God's works. I am sure as you read this,  if you are in India,  you are reminded of the recent episodes of the ban on Uma Sankar IAS and the response he gave to that. Nothing can stop me from proclaiming the Word of God.

  

The Gospel presents to us the model par excellence of a prophet of God: the very Son of God who professes and practices such a perfect allegiance to God that every one who saw him,  heard him was either taken up or threatened.   His was an authority that came from his personal integrity and flawless faithfulness to God. 

Our absolute allegiance to the almighty will make us like children who trust and depend totally on their parents. At times even a blind following of the directions given by God would suffice for us to work on our Sanctification and that of those around us. 

HAPPY FEAST

WORD 2day: 30th January, 2015

Patient Endurance and Hope-filled Efforts

Heb 10: 32-39; Mk 4: 26-34

A few days back there was a cartoon sent via the social network, with a man digging a tunnel in search of precious metals and at a point he decides to stop his pursuit. The cartoon allows the viewers alone to see that the man was just a few inches away from the treasure hidden away in the ground! "You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised", says the Word today. 

We cannot be like the nursery kids on a class project of growing a plant in the pot. From the time they plant a seed, they would keep returning to the pot every other minute to see if something has grown. The Reign of God grows in silence and obscurity; you will never know it is there around until you really believe it to be. That is why Jesus declared, 'the Reign of God is amidst you; within you' (cf. Lk 17: 21). 

In patient endurance and hope-filled efforts one will unlock the levels towards a fuller realisation of the Reign which is already there growing within us, among us and allover us! 

DB NOVENA - DAY 9

Don Bosco Novena - Day 9
30th January, 2015

DB NOVENA -DAY 8

Don Bosco Novena - Day 8

29th January, 2015

WORD 2day: 29th January, 2015

Rouse each other to love

Heb 10: 19-25; Mk 4: 21-25

The first reading today has a call that summarises our Christian vocation to the full. To love is an undeniable vocation we have;  to inspire each other to love and goodness is the complete understanding of it. This is why the Lord speaks of the imagery of light: to be lighted to light up. It takes a lot of effort to truly love; to rouse others to love it takes much more effort, a lot of sacrifice and a great amount of dedication. Yes! but the key is here, the Lord puts it neatly: the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you!

DB NOVENA - DAY 7

Don Bosco Novena - Day 7
28th January, 2015

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

28th January, 2015: St. Thomas Aquinas

Heb 10: 11-18; Mk 4: 1-20

St. Thomas Aquinas, the saint we celebrate today can be easily considered the most important of all the theologians who have explained the Church's teachings. He has written an incredibly voluminous literature, expounding the truths of faith. But at the end of it all, when he had an intimate experience of God, he exclaimed that all that he had done till then were almost rubbish!

The readings today speak to us of living an acceptable life in the presence of God. It is never the case that the Lord rejects us or finds us unacceptable; the Lord said he had come to call the sinners and not the righteous! But the fact is we alienate ourselves from the Lord by the very choices we make on a daily basis and at every moment of decision making.

We may easily complain...the situation around is bad or that the conditions of life are not conducive. But we are asked to do the best without any compromise, wherever we are or in whatever condition we find ourselves in; the rest the one who has called us will take care. We can plant, water and take care, it is the Lord who gives us the growth!

DB NOVENA - DAY 6

Don Bosco Novena - day 6

27th January, 2015

WORD 2day: 27th January, 2015

The one absolute: God's Will

Heb 10:1-10; Mk 3: 31-35

Yesterday I was talking to a group of children about 'Vocation' and I was trying to drive home to them the fact that every one of us is called, each of us has a vocation; that we are all here on a purpose and God wants us to achieve that purpose. One smart boy raised a question: but how will we know what God wants us to do? 

Truly speaking, can we ever know for sure, what God wants of us? 

If we can stay tuned to God's voice and God's promptings, we would at any given moment make choices and decisions in keeping with God's will for us then and there. What is needed for this is a disposition that the readings today give us: Behold, I come to do your will. It is this readiness to do God's will that makes Mary the first disciple of Christ, more than merely the biological mother that she was to Jesus! The fundamental disposition is to never lose sight of that one absolute, in relation to which all our choices and decisions have to be made: God's Will, and a total surrender to it.

DB NOVENA - DAY 5

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Sts  Timothy and Titus: 26th January, 2015

2 Tim 1: 1-8; Lk 10: 1-9

Timothy and Titus are two models we are presented with today.  They were both finds of St. Paul on his journeys. Inspiring the listeners to make a life choice is a special gift that some are given with. St. Paul possessed this and used it well for the Reign of God. Timothy and Titus join the great band of apostles that Jesus initiated.

Today the call remains open. The Reign is yet to be made visibly present in the world today. Every baptised person is entrusted with the task of establishing the Reign of God and what is your response? Do examples such as Timothy's and Titus' impel us towards action?

DB NOVENA - DAY 4

Don Bosco Novena- Day 4

25th January

The Call, Consecration and Commission!

25th January, 2015: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jon 3: 1-5, 10; 1 Cor 7: 29-31; Mk 1:4-20

The Lord calls each of us, consecrates us to Godself and commissions us to live as God's messengers: that is the crux of true Christian living. 

At times we live our Christian life as if we have nothing binding us with regard to our faith. Our faith in its very nature is binding..it is primarily a Call, not a choice!

Yes, we are called...Faith is a gift, a given, a call! Every person, whether he or she takes it seriously or not, every person baptised is in fact called; called to be children of God, to be co heirs to the Reign of God: but that does not come without a cost. That call comes with a commission: to go and speak, share, announce and proclaim the Good news of the Lord. The Lord equips us for that commission with the consecration that God accomplishes in us! 

The Call requires a response; the consecration involves a drastic renunciation and the commission demands a dedicated obedience. Jonah, St. Paul and the first four apostles are given to us an example of all these three elements of being a messenger of God. Jonah is willing to respond to the call but not willing to renounce his will. God gives him a crash course on true obedience and wins him over. St. Paul says yes to the call and shines as a resounding role model with his drastic renunciation which he recommends to our consideration today. The first four apostles too are immediate in their following of the Call, because their renunciation was total. 

All these for one reason: to take the Word of God to those whom God wanted them to! 

Today the Church reminds us that we have, everyone of us, received a specific call: to take the Word to whom the Lord sends us: it could be to your own family members, or neighbours or colleagues or other friends or strangers. What enables us is our spirit of renunciation of anything that binds -career or social image, loved ones or friends- so that we are free for the Reign of God. The Commission is to take the Word far and wide...the primary means of doing it being our personal life of witness! 

Let us take the call seriously, submit ourselves to God that God could consecrate us to Godself and carry out the commission given to us, taking care to become the message ourselves!

DB NOVENA - DAY 3

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

24th January, 2015: St. Francis De Sales
Heb 9: 2-3, 11-14; Mk 3: 20-21

Shall we go out of our mind? 

They considered Jesus out of his mind, because of the zeal that he had for the Kingdom of God. There are many others in history who were called thus - crazy,  mad, obsessed, etc. Today we celebrate the feast of St. Francis of Sales,  a person so filled with the love and tenderness of God. He has inspired many a person in history;  the two major congregations founded on his spirituality-the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales. The call today is to go out of our mind,  to go crazy with the zeal for the Reign of God... Shall we?

WORD 2day: 23rd January, 2015

The Call to be people of the New Covenant
Heb 8:6-13; Mk 3: 13-19

New covenant,  new people,  new faith,  new community,  new life: for behold I make all things new. ..this is the theme that dominated the life of the early Christians. And that was what made them so attractive. All these newness is from one fundamental experience. ..The experience of a new relationship in Christ.

If a relationship with someone is taken to some newer joyful levels,  that joy betrays oral in the test of your life's conditions. If a relationship that is on,  finds a rough patch sometime,  it is bound to affect a person's entire life,  thinking,  acting and all.

How much do I value my relationship with the Lord who calls me?

DB NOVENA - Day 2

DB NOVENA - DAY 1

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

22nd January, 2015: Bl. Laura Vicuña

Heb 7: 25 - 8: 6; Mk 3: 7-12

The letter to the Hebrews gives a distinguished importance to the quality of obedience of Jesus! In fact it speaks of obedience as special ministry of the Son of God. St. Paul's letters too have the same dimension (eg: Phil 2). At times holiness does not consist in doing great things to a great effect, but in simple and humble submission to the Lord. 

Bl. Laura Vicuña whom the Salesian family remembers today, is an exemplification of this submission. She gave herself up to the Lord, to do the Lord's will and attained an extraordinary level in sanctity already at that tender age!  In Don Bosco's spirituality,  this kind of sanctity is an ordinary sight. 

And today,  we begin the Novena to Don Bosco's  feast!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

21st January, 2015: St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

Heb 7: 1-3,15-17; Mk 3: 1-6

The readings today speak of two religious disciplines that mattered much to the Old Testament people of God: the practice of tithing and the observance of the Sabbath. Both of them taken in their legalistic sense, would be practices very simple but of less significance. A tenth of your possession given grudgingly, or as in the example of Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5) trying to make it as affecting as possible, will bear no spiritual fruit. Keeping Sabbath as a day of dead and insensitive inactivity instead of holy and active worship to God, will be of no spiritual value. They key to right understanding here is, not giving of what we have, but giving of what we are: a true self giving.

St. Agnes the saint of the day, gave herself up - gave herself totally- to God and to her faith! This total self giving, her body, her soul and her heart, is what is presented to us as a challenge today. In a world that is torn between compromises and mixed allegiances, Agnes' example shines forth as a splendid beacon, beckoning us towards concrete and daily sanctity.

WORD 2day: 20th January, 2015

Faithfulness versus faithfulness
Heb 6: 10-20; Mk 2: 23-28

The crux of the the first reading today,  or for that matter even of the whole Gospels,  is the fact that God is faithful forever. God's faithfulness never ceases and the question is,  how do we find our faithfulness vis-a-vis that of God!

In demonstration of God's faithfulness,  God gives! God gives without count,  without any limit,  without restraint, without conditions,  without anything expected in return. What do we do to demonstrate our faithfulness to God?  A weekly appointment and a few fragmented moments every day and some special day's activities? All of them so legalistically followed sometimes with such insensitivity towards expressing our true love and gratitude...today let's give this dimension a serious thought: God's Faithfulness versus our faithfulness!

WORD 2day : 19th January, 2015

The New People
Heb 5:1-10; Mk 2: 18-22

When the Lord announces in the book of revelation,  'Behold I make all things new'...its not merely about some things to be made again or re-created;  it's primarily about a new mentality,  a new perspective that God wants to instil and inspire in us. The source and the spring of this new perspective is Christ himself. He is at the same time the priest and the sacrifice; the prophet and the Lord of the prophets!

Infact with a new way of relating with us,  with the unique way of sharing our very nature with us,  Christ makes us a new people! And that is what the Lord wants to see in us:our new selves -free from the shackles of the past and the prejudices of the ages-to relate with each other anew and to live each other without any conditions or preconceived notions.

Come, See and Be!

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: 18th January, 2015

1 Sam 3: 3b-10,19 ; 1 Cor 6: 13c-15a, 17-20 ; Jn 1: 35-42

The readings today remind us of our calling in our day to day living as disciples of Christ. 

The first reading  from the life of Samuel highlights the inspiration we have received. Inspiration is from within. It requires that we are attentive in order that we do not miss it. A friend of mine recently resigned his job and opted another underpaid job. I asked him why. And he said that he felt that the former job was keeping him away from the Church, eating away his Sundays and a great portion of even the other days. I asked him how  he did come to decide on such a thing. And he said, 'I just felt it'. It is significant to note that he very recently became a Catholic, inspite of a strong resistance from the rest of his family.

The Gospel extends the invitation to come and see. The fact that we are inspired is undeniable, for every one of us is guided and led by the Spirit who resides within us (as the Second reading reminds us). But the crucial element is for us to 'see'... to take note of... to understand what we are inspired about. The invitation is to behold the message from the Lord, to make our contact with the Lord an experience and not just an appointment. 

The call to be a Christian is not a call of an individual, it is a call to be a communion of persons, to be an institution. It is a call to form One Body with the Lord - united with the brothers and sisters in love, instituted into a sign of hope to every one around who is looking out for something to hold on to in life. The world today may appear so critical about Christians, but it is only an expression of the expectations they have of us: that as one family of hope filled people, one institution of Christ filled persons, we radiate the joy that the humanity stands in need of.

WORD 2day: 17th January, 2015

Bounteous and Merciful God
Heb 4: 12-16; Mk 2: 13-17

God's love is bountiful and God's mercies never cease! God loves us not because we deserve that love but because we need that love. God's mercy is given us not because we are worthy of it but because it is God's nature to be merciful. Be merciful as your heavenly father is merciful.

The Word is the epitome of God's merciful love,  a love without conditions, a love beyond criteria,  a love that fills a person and challenges him or her to total conversion! With absolutely no demands this love leads  one to a transformation that is unbelievable. All that we need to do is dispose  ourselves favorably towards this love and surrender ourselves to it.

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

St. Joseph Vaz: First Saint of Srilanka and Yet another for India!

16th January, 2015

Just two days ago we celebrated the feast of a Blessed of Indian Origin, Bl. Martyr Devasagayam. That very day, the Lord deigned to raise to the altars another saint of Indian origin, but an apostle to Srilanka - St. Joseph Vaz,fondly known also as: Juze Vaz. Born in Benaolim, Goa, the Oratorian Priest decided to go as a missionary to a Dutch-Calvinists-controlled Srilanka,in 1687 and he stayed on there, until he succumbed to sickness and breathed his last on 16th January, 1711. He was canonised 2 days ago (14th January, 2015) in Srilanka by the Holy Father Pope Francis.

Joseph Vaz teaches us the following three qualities: unity within the Church, ardent sense of evangelisation and a great commitment to social justice. All these three have a great significance, especially today!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Martyr Devasagayam - the first Tamil to be raised to the Altars

14th January, 2015

Born on April 23, 1712, Neelakandan was baptised a Catholic in 1745, as Devasagayam and within seven years, he died a Martyr in 1752, on this day. There are still controversies regarding the way he died: some groups claiming that it was no era of persecutions and therefore his martyrdom is doubtful. But the Chruch maintains him a martyr because of the thorough study of the circumstances around his murder, by King Marthanda Varman, under whom Neelakandan was a Court Official. 

Two elements that stand out in the life of Devasagayam can be taken for our consideration: First, the fact that he was brought to Catholic faith by a Dutch General who was taken as Prisoner of War by Marthandan and later raised to the ranks of an Army Commander. The Dutch General, Eustachius De Lannoy, was an ardent Catholic who inspired a conversion in Devasagayam. This man was in no position of authority or power to influence a conversion but it was a true internal conversion, based on a personal experience of Christ's love.

The Second element is the Martyrdom itself: the determination with which Devasagayam seemed to have held on to his new found faith in Christ and decided to give up his life rather than his faith. His martyrdom, it is said, gave rise to mass conversions of people to Christianity. Do we have to doubt that, since we know: 'a grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies, gives rise to a hundred fold' (Jn 12:24).

WORD 2day: 13th January, 2015

All things subject to Him!
Heb 2: 5-12; Mk 1: 21-28

All things subject to the Lord. Whether on earth or in the world below, it is the Lord's voice that rules. Not only that the angels worship the Lord, but even the demons tremble! But we human beings, do we really understand the majesty and might? Just because God deigned to become human and dwell among us;  just because God deigned to communicate with us in ways we could connect to,  we take God for granted and take pride in it.

Even the Lord does not expect that we subject as slaves but that we love as brothers and sisters and be coheirs to God our loving Father and Mother.

WORD 2day: 12th January, 2015

Call to be messengers of the Reign

Heb 1:1-6; Mk 1: 14-20

We have come to the end of the Christmas season and Ordinary season has begun; we have finished celebrating the events around Jesus' birth and we begin to remember the life and ministry of the Lord. Rightly the readings today highlight the revelation made in and through Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, the Word made flesh, as the climax of all precendent prophecies and preparations!

And Jesus begins, by proclaiming the Reign for which he stood all his life, even unto death! His message, his life and his mision was all summarised in that one reality: the Reign of God. The Lord calls us today, to make our own, the dream and the vision of the Reign of God; to be in our own way messengers of the Reign. Are we prepared to leave the nets and boats, and follow the Lord? 

BAPTISM

Solemnity of the Baptism of Our Lord

11th January, 2015

In Baptism, we are 

blessed, beloved and begotten!

Thanks be to God!

WORD 2day; 10th January, 2015

The Best man's call!

1 Jn 5: 14-23; Jn  3: 22-30.

The stage is all set for the Baptism of the Lord. We have these days reflected on all the passages around the event of baptism of Jesus! Only thing left is to celebrate the great event of Baptism itself, which we will be doing tomorrow.

Today we have the identity and role of John clarified: John calls himself the best man! What a beautiful imagery of a prophet and a minister... one who rejoices for his master! But not anyone would be chosen the best man for a bridegroom! it will be the best friend of the bridegroom who will have that privilege. And he will have the honour of staying the closest to the bridegroom all through the ceremonies of wedding!

The call is to grow in our relationship with Christ, to an extent that we would be considered close to Christ. Everyday is an opportunity to grow in this relationship. By this evening we would begin the celebrations of the Baptism of the Lord... this day, let us dwell on our baptism...and thank God for the grace given to us in baptism. Let us make amends in our breach of promises and lack of commitment to the Lord and renew our resolve to grow ever closer to Christ our Lord!

WORD 2day: 8th January, 2015

We love, because God loves us!

1 Jn 4: 19- 5:4; Lk 4: 14-22

To love, is not an extraordinary quality; for us sons and daughters of God who is love, love has to be our essential nature! The fundamental question is not whether I am ready to love or not; it is whether I am a Christian or not! If I am a 'Christ'ian, then love has to be my second nature. Where there is no love, there is no God...where there is no God, there is no Spiritual life! True spirituality is true love.

The correlation of two readings bring out to us an all important point: to love is a charism given by the Spirit to each of us; to love is a commitment on behalf of my neighbour. That difficulties and sacrifices are involved, is a matter of fact. But that in no way can take away the call that I have: to love. We love because God loved us, God loves us and God will always love us! When we don't love the other, we not only hate them, but we conceal ourselves from the love of God, which flows freely towards you and me!

WORD 2day: 7th January, 2015

God's love surrounds us!

1 Jn 4: 11-18; Mk 6: 45-52

It was a long time ago, but the experience has not left my mind. A child, hardly 2 years, had a tumour on her face,which had grown so big that it had covered the eyes and the child could not open her eyes. Admitted in the hospital the child was crying incessantly, firstly due to pain and then due to fear, remember she was not even able to see whether there was someone standing around her. Everytime the mother put her hand into the hands of the child or on the tiny body of the child, the child would calm down and sleep; but the moment the mother took the hands off or left the side, the child never ceased crying! 

The Word today reminded me of that scene: with the Lord around, it does not matter what kind of a situation, we can go through it with calm and quietude. In the absence of the Lord, even a mole hill would appear to be a mountain and a gentle breeze a storm! Let nothing perturb you, saints used to say. 

The love of the Lord surrounds us! Let us live our moments caressed in the love of God and become signs and bearers of that love to those around us. Even those who are in the thick of darkness, unable to see anything around, would feel calm and strong, if we bring alive to them the presence of God's love in those moments of their lives. If we love one another, God remains in us!

WORD 2day: 6th January, 2015

God is Love; Who are we?

1 Jn 4: 7-10; Jn 6: 34-44

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

Knowing God to be such a person, is in a way a great news for us; but at the same time a big challenge. A great news because we are cared for and protected in that unbelievable love. A challenge because, if we are children of God, we need to be defined by who God is. Our God is love; hence we are called to be children of love! From the way we live our life, the world should be able to understand the kind of God we believe in. This is what is called the integrity of faith: the correlation between our faith and our living!

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

WORD 2day: 5th January, 2015

To belong and to proclaim

1 Jn 3:22 - 4:6; Mt 4: 12-17, 23-25

The texts begin to orient us towards the Baptism of Jesus, which is the next major event we would be soon commemorating. Today the Word speaks to us of two key elements: Belonging to God and  Proclaiming God! These are the two fundamental marks of identity that we should have as Christians: to belong to God and be God's children and to proclaim God and invite everyone to a life worthy of God who has gifted that life to each of us.

Belonging without proclaiming would make us dead weights burdening the faith community; proclaiming without belonging would make us false prophets and hypocrites. The order is important too: that we first belong and then we speak up. That is why we see Jesus himself first withdraw into loneliness and ascertain his belonging to the One who had sent him before he began to go around proclaiming the Good News!

Needless to say, the resonance between the personal life of belonging to the Lord and the life of commitment to ministry (ministry at various levels: family, parish, congregation, community of faith etc...)is the fundamental quality of integrity that Jesus demands of us, his disciples.

TO BE PEOPLE OF LIGHT

Solemnity of Epiphany : 4th January,  2015

Is 60: 1-6; Eph 2: 2-7 a,  5-6; Mt 2: 1-12

The Light came to the earth; the Lord came unto His own but His own received him not! We are people of the Light and that is the feast we celebrate today! The feast which reminds us that we are the people of the Revelation. God has revealed Godself to us and awaits our response.

I remember an experience that I had a few years back. Two of us were sent to pick up a priest from the railway station. This is no strange experience! How many times we would have received people in the airports and railway stations! But the twitch here was. ..we did not know the person we are going to pick up. All that we know was that we are going to pick up a middle aged priest from Mumbai who was coming to Chennai. We positioned ourselves in a prominent spot and awaited the guest as the crowd started spilling into the platform from the train. Crowds and crowds of people were passing by but we did not spot our guest. Many who were standing alongside with us waiting for their guests were gone. There was one standing beside me for quite sometime. A man with a dhoti and a white shirt with a long grey beard! He didn't even seem to be looking out for someone. The best surprise was when he asked us. ..'so are you waiting for someone from Mumbai?' We said in unison,  'yes'! And when he said. .."I am the one", we didn't know really how to react!

At times, the Lord reveals Godself but we have certain preconceived ideas that don't allow us to see the Lord. Today we are invited to be people of the light.,  that is people who live in light always,  people who are ready and prepared to receive the revelations that God wishes to give us.

The lord reveals himself to us constantly. ..first of all through extraordinary means: let's pray that God gives that gift to many of us!  But there is another way God reveals,  the ordinary means: through prayer experiences,  spiritual direction,  liturgical celebrations, etc. Let's take care when we celebrate these moments in life so that we don't miss the revelations involved.

There is the third way which is more subtle and more challenging: the Daily means.  The fact is that the Lord constantly reveals himself through every day experiences...through people we encounter, through challenging situations we face,  through successful experiments we have, through people who come to us in need,  through persons who demand our responsibility and so on. Let's open our eyes, our ears,  our hearts. ..that we may receive the Light that encounters us daily in our life.

WORD 2day: 3rd January, 2015

Resembling God
1 Jn 2:29 - 3:6; Jn 1: 29-3

The Holy Spirit,  in the form of the dove testified on behalf of Jesus that he was the Son of God. We are made the children of God and the same Spirit has to testify for us. We would be identified as children of God if and only if we resemble God our  Father and Mother.

Resembling God would mean being loving,  beyond all petty differences and being generous, beyond all calculations.

Resembling God would mean remaining with the lord- in every thought,  word and deed.

Resembling God ...let's embark on that journey as firmly as possible.

WORD 2day: 2nd January, 2015

Encountering Christ
1 Jn 2:22-28; Jn 1: 19-28

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

John the Baptist foretold the coming of Christ and pointed out when Christ really came. His prophetic gift have him the privilege of understanding Jesus and identifying Jesus when he came. Today we would do well to pray for this grace... To identify Jesus when he comes so that the encounter may enrich our life and being meaning to it. In varied ways,  in our neighbours,  in our brothers and sisters,  specially in those who are in dire need and helplessness,  we are challenged to encounter Christ who is God but who had deigned to assume or nature and live in the poor and the oppressed!