THE SPY WEDNESDAY

Wednesday of the Holy Week: 1st April, 2015

'One of the Twelve'...not necessarily just one of the twelve as the Gospel begins today, but almost all of them were proving traitors in there own turn. They were anywhere between mere onlookers and involved game players, when it came to the climax of Jesus' ministry: the passion and death! It begins of course, with Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve!

At times people say Judas just played a role that he had to! Let us not be carried away by that type of an interpretation, because Judas had the time and the freedom to choose otherwise. Jesus had given him ample chance to fall in line and think as Jesus would have it: in terms of God's will and not our own schemes!

Just today, I read a quote from the famous writer Paulo Coelho: a mistake repeated more than once is a decision. Out of our deliberate choice, out of our habit or out of a psuedo inability to decide otherwise, we make wrong choices sometimes and those choices are actually moments when we turn traitors!

As the letter to the Hebrews challenges us: are we ready to fight sin to the point of shedding our blood? (cf. Heb 12:4).

THE PREACHING TUESDAY

Tuesday of the Holy Week: 31st March, 2015

'Hear me', 'Listen' calls the first reading today. This day, Jesus spent with his disciples and all those who were following him into Jerusalem from far and near... He taught them not because they were going to transform themselves ultimately, not because they were deserving of all his kindness and concern for them. No, definitely not! He did know how weak their flesh was in spite of the spirit that yearned to be strong. 

Today the challenge to us is to weigh our spirit and our flesh, our daily life and its priorities, against the love of God. Jesus not only knows the persons who will be soon turning against him, but that does not stop him all the same from loving them, speaking to them and being compassionate about them.

How much quality time do you spend with people who genuinely care for you?

THE CLEANSING MONDAY

Monday of the Holy Week: 30th March, 2015

'Six days before the passover', begins the Gospel today. And today was the day when Jesus entered the Temple of Jerusalem, and chased out the merchants and the money changers, expressing his burning zeal for the house of the Lord! That was the climax of the clash between him and his enemies, they thought he has reached the blasting point and they wanted to contain him as soon as possible! But Jesus knew where it is all leading.

The Cleansing Monday, invites us to look at things that we need to cleanse our soul of. We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and does it need a cleaning at present? Right note to begin this journey of the week... by cleansing and preparing ourselves for all the events!

FIND YOURSELF IN THE CROWD

PALM SUNDAY 2015: 29th March, 2015

Beginning a journey with the Lord

The day marks the beginning of a journey with the Lord: as a crowd of people, a crowd of people with so many mindsets...

There were those who were there to find fault with him and arrest him...

There were those who were there curious to see some spectacle of signs...

There were those who were there to see if what they heard about this man called Jesus was really true...

There were those who were there who did not have a clue as to what was happening, they were carried away by the crowd...

There were those who were there enjoying the fun of the crowd, and having a great time of festivity...

There were those who were there who had made it from far places, merely to see if they can catch a glimpse of Jesus whom they heard of...

There were those who were there who had followed him right from Galilee, who were unable to leave his side because of the personality that he was...

There were those who were there who were so involved in his teachings, who found his words too precious to be missed...

There were those who were there who were part of his life, they shared his everyday and shared his every dream...

There were those who were there who were concerned about him, aware of the impending danger, but still wanted to be there for him...

Now...take a look within..where do you find yourself in this crowd?

What is your mindset today... as we begin this week long journey with the Lord? It is going to be a trying journey, a journey of sorts, a journey which is going to be a real challenge! Where do you find yourself? 

THE WORD IN LENT -39

To gather into one

Fifth week in Lent: Saturday, 28th Mar, 2015

Ezek 37: 21-28; Jn 11: 45-56

Going around places these days with a team of people, putting up an hour long lenten programme, I consider it a moment of pride and never miss out on the opportunity of introducing the volunteer team, and of it a very special person in the team! The person is a brother in Christ from a Pentecostal Church! We have another person, in fact a pastor, from a mainline non catholic church. And our team is a Catholic organisation!

The readings today seem to give us a clue to understand the mission of the Son of God. As he himself announces, it is to gather into one all the dispersed children of God, dispersed geographically, spiritually, economically, politically and in every other way. Jesus seems to be the son of David, promised in all eternity to gather not merely the two nations (Judah and Israel), but all dispersed children of God into one. We are called to be agents of unity and harmony, uniting people in love and building a humanity that is joyful. If we are against such unity, even though merely in thought or merely in single instances, we are not in line with the mission of the Saviour. He would say, 'if you don't gather with me, you scatter!' (cf. Lk 11:23; Mt 12:30). How much am I ready to do, by way of bringing true peace, harmony and love, wherever I am?

THE WORD IN LENT -38

In distress for the Lord

Fifth week in Lent: Friday, 27th Mar, 2015

Jer 20: 10-13; Jn 10: 31-42

Jeremiah seems a perfect foreshadow of Jesus, but in one case! He was in distress too for the sake of the will of the One who called him; he was cornered for nothing and taken to task for his dedication to the Lord and the task handed to him by the Lord. But differing from Jeremiah, Jesus does not wish to see the vengeance that the Lord would take on those who did not heed the call, those who were persecuting him for wrong reasons, those who refused to see such an obvious point made by Jesus' words and deeds. Jesus wishes that they turn to him, believe in him, in his words and in his works and realise that he is in the Father and the Father is in him. Both Jeremiah and Jesus, give us an example of persons in distress for the Lord: Blessed are those who hunger for justice and peace, for they shall be filled; Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for their's is the kingdom of God. How prepared and ready are we to be in distress for the Lord! 

THE WORD IN LENT -37

Understanding the Covenant

Fifth week in Lent: Thursday, 26th Mar, 2015

Gen 17:3-9;Jn 8: 51-59

Though they claimed to be people of the covenant, they do not grasp the real meaning of the covenant that the Lord had made with them. They considered it to be only a material blessing, giving them prosperity and posterity. Jesus tries to drive home to their minds the holistic difference that the Lord makes in our lives, in and through the covenant: the covenant actually makes us like God - eternal and all spiritual. Whoever keeps my word will never see death, declares Jesus. In Jesus we have a much deeper reality to observe and accept: that God wants to share with the God's very nature -the nature of eternity, the aspect of timelessness, the quality that our earthly life is just a part of the entire existence we possess, in the mind of God earlier and in union with God later. If we accept this perspective, we would understand the folly of an exaggerated insistence and dependence on material prosperity. Are we ready to understand the true meaning of the covenant we have with God or are we picking up stones against it?

GOD BEGINS...

Feast of Annunciation: 25th March, 2015

Is 7: 10-14, 8:10; Heb 10: 4-10; Lk 1: 26-36

Even as a  boy, I was always taken up by that subtitle in the prayer of the Angelus: God Begins! Our God is not merely a God who responds...Our God begins, God initiates, intervenes at the right time even without an asking. That is why St. John proclaimed, we love God because God first loved us (1 Jn 4:19). The feast of Annunciation is a splendid manifestation of this nature of God, the nature of intervening at the appointed time.

We see three people involved here, who in unison give the humanity a holistic life giving message. 

The Angel: stands for Faith - a concrete sign of God's relationship with us. Angels are God's spokespersons, God's messengers and God's extensions which make present God to us. Our Faith is that God continues to live with us, even amidst all the worldliness that we are surrounded by.

Mary: stands for Hope - a concrete sign of Our relationship with God. Mary shines as a counter witness to the hopeless humanity today. Indifference and Individualism marks the humanity of today and Mary's 'yes' is a revolution that spells hope to the world and to the entire humanity. 

The Child: stands for Love - a concrete sign that God still loves the World. God has not given up on us and God will never do! A love that is ready to give totally of Itself (Rom 8:32). The Child that is promised is a sign of God's everlasting and unconditional love that gives life and light to the otherwise darkness filled world today.

THE WORD IN LENT -35

When the Lord is lifted...

Fifth week in Lent: Tuesday,  24th Mar, 2015

Num 21: 4-9; Jn 8:21-30

They thought they were finishing his story off. Little did they know they were giving rise to an all new history. The Lord was lifted and as he had said,  he drew all to himself when he was lifted. Today,  as always the blood of some children of the Lord is being spilled for no reason,  but it is not a signal to the end of the Reign of the Lord. Let the world beware that the Lord is being lifted up. And when the Lord is lifted up,  he will definitely draw people to himself.  

All that we need to do is like Jesus himself guarantee that we do not act as we like but according to the will of the One who had called us.As Jesus himself testified it was his doing the will of his Father that gave him the meaning of his life. As the Scripture points through St. Paul it is the obedience to the Father that placed Jesus above every being on earth and gave him the name that is above every name ( Phil 2: 8-11)

THE WORD IN LENT -34

Condemnation or Compassion

Fifth week in Lent: Monday, 23rd Mar, 2015

Dan 13: 1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62; Jn 8; 1-11

Susanna's story in the first reading and the story of the woman brought to Jesus accused of adultery, are two grand examples of the fact that God takes side with the weak and the vulnerable. At times the so-called just and righteous will wonder what is wrong with God, the way God takes sides with the so-called sinners and the undeserving! If we were careful not to side ourselves with the self righteous and self proclaimed just ones, we would easily understand our call to play God's role in the situations we find ourselves in: the role of taking sides with the weak, the vulnerable, the little ones of the Lord! The difference between the above mentioned two camps is this: one itches to condemn, the other is moved by compassion. It is compassion that is Godly and we need to grow seriously out of a vindictive spirit, if we want to put on the mind of Christ. True Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things (1 Cor 13:7).

WANT TO SEE JESUS?

Fifth Sunday in Lent: 22nd March, 2015

Jer 31:31-34; Heb 5: 7-9; Jn 12: 20-23

The Word today has an open invitation: Do you really want to see Jesus? 

Wanting to see Jesus is a fitting exercise during the Lent; Jesus answers the question and teaches us an important lesson in knowing God and growing in that knowledge. 

It is possible at times that we say that we cannot know God, imagining God to be far away from us and from our human understanding. Jesus breaks that myth about God and brings God close to us, as close as God becoming human and living amidst us. In Jesus, God establishes what Jeremiah exclaims: that everyone will know God. Each and every one of us can know God and know God personally and intimately. Jesus makes the whole journey so easy and instead of challenging us to rise up to his level, he comes down to our status and assures us that we can have a relationship that is so concrete and real, with God.

Jesus promises us another favour: that He will draw us to Himself! I am reminded of an anecdote that I have heard when I was a boy, about that little girl who got lost on a trek into the forest.  It started to grow dark and the little girl was frightened, she hid herself behind a bush and remained there a bit scared. The father began to go in search his little one, worried and anxious. At a point, he reached the bush where the girl was hiding and as he peeped in to check that bush out,  the girl shouted with a great relief: "Daddy! I found you!" At times we think we are in search of God, or that we find God and understand God. The fact is the other way around. God is in search of us constantly. It is God who draws us to Godself. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father (Jn 6:44) Jesus had declared and he assures us today that he will himself draw us to where he is (Jn 12:32). He wants us to be where he is; Jesus wants us to share his world, his priorities, his mission and his vision of God. 

Jesus wants us to be like him, who learnt obedience from what he suffered. Lent is a time when we dwell on Jesus' suffering, not to emotionally sympathise with the suffering servant, but to understand the meaning of obedience in life, to prepare ourselves to be like Jesus, always open to the will of God and ready to surrender ourselves into God's hands. The more we surrender into the hands of God, the more serene we can become even at the face of all the trials that our life holds out to us! The less we surrender, the more anxious we become! This is why, the Lord suggests to us that we learn of him who is meek and humble of heart and thus find rest to our souls (cf. Mt 11:29). 

Let the rest of the season of lent be an exercise of this spiritual discipline to surrender ourselves into the all powerful hand of God and find rest to our worried, anxious and restless souls. And the right point to start is where we find those gentlemen from Greece, enquiring: 'Sir, we would like to see Jesus'!

THE WORD IN LENT -32

Half baked opinions and fully blocked minds

Fourth week in Lent: Saturday, 21st Mar, 2015

Jer 11: 18-20; Jn 7: 40-53

Forming opinions on persons or events without actually knowing the whole truth is a judgement, and of course would be a wrong one at that. Incomplete knowledge is dangerous, and not being aware of its incompleteness is doubly dangerous. Today we see this phenomenon at work every where: the clashes between religious fanatics, the terrifying threats of some fundamentalists, inter denominational hatred and divisions, interpersonal issues in the families...everywhere this phenomenon is at work: half baked opinions and fully blocked minds, that do not allow genuine dialogue and lead only to the slaughter of the minority by the senseless majority, or stifling of the weak by the ruthless strong!

The Word presents to us the same picture today, with Jesus taking the place of the minority, the weak, the vulnerable, the affected, the sacrificed lamb. It can be that everyday we could be sacrificing someone at the altars of our ego and our judgments...and in their persons we could be slaughtering the sacrificial Lamb over and over again. It takes courage to realise and accept the harm my half baked opinions and fully blocked mind can do, to me and to others!

THE WORD IN LENT -31

Doing away with persons

Fourth week in Lent: Friday,  20th Mar, 2015

Wis 2: 1a, 12-22; Jn 7: 1-2, 10, 25-30

People need no special reason to reject or condemn some one... it is enough that he or she is different from them. The passage from the book of Wisdom,  though written hundreds of years before Christ, seems to fit in exactly to his life, as if it were a direct prophecy about Christ's life and its end. Just take another look, it seems to fit into many others' lives too... D.K. Ravi IAS, who was found dead just 4 days back, Srinivas, Satyendra Dubey, Manjunath and so many others who have given their lives for having been what they were, in our own nation. Others who are fighting to be what they are, like Sagayam IAS and others... the passage seems to fit in! 

Yes, it will fit in to the life of anyone who wishes to live the purpose of one's life to the full. Like Jesus, we are called to be persons who live our life to the full, and be reminders to everyone to live their's. Jesus knows that he will be soon laid hands upon, but that would not stop him from being what he were, or doing what he did! It is so important that we understand our real identity with such clarity, to be as strong and determined as Jesus was. May the Lord fill us with that understanding!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

He did as the Lord commanded him

Feast of St. Joseph: 19th March, 2015

2 Sam 7: 4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22; Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a.

St. Joseph  is presented in the Gospels often as a modern icon of the ancient fathers -Abraham, Jacob, David and others! The readings today bring out the same theme, as they dwell on the ancestry and the promises fulfilled. Apart from various other similarities that we can find, one striking similarity between the Fathers and St. Joseph, is that of their readiness to do what the Lord commands. 

Joseph seems to have had no objections whatsoever to carrying out the projects handed on to him by God- a perfect attitude of faith, the attitude of total surrender and absolute trust. The Holy Family was in safe hands because he did not allow his ego to dominate but allowed the Lord to be the center of his household.

May St. Joseph teach us these three things for our daily living: - Listening to God and living by it; - Letting God have His way in whatever it may; - Loving those entrusted to us by the Divine Providence, with a love that is committed and selfless.

THE WORD IN LENT -29

To each proper to their need

Fourth week in Lent: Wednesday, 18th Mar, 2015

Isa 49: 8-15; Jn 5: 17-30

Does God love all in the same manner? Ofcourse, God is never partial but what would love mean if it is the same with everyone, everywhere! God's love is specific says the Word today. God's love comes to respond to the need of each one proper to the void he or she experiences in life. A mother's expression of love to a hungry child is feeding it; her reaching out to a frightened child is to caress it reassuringly!  God's love is such, declares the Word today: even if that mother were to forsake, God would never forsake us! it takes special effort to respond to each one proper to their need, at times the needs of each persons vary, at times even clash one against the other! God alone knows the trick of reconciling them and making the right thing happen at the right time. After all, is it not true that, all things work together for good to them that love God, to those who are called according to God's purpose (cf Rom 8:28)? 

THE WORD IN LENT -28

Flowing in to enliven!

Fourth week in Lent: Tuesday, 17th Mar, 2015
Ezek 47:1-3,9-12; Lk 5: 1-3a,5-6

We have a wonderful imagery today to ponder over: the flowing water that enlivens! Ezekiel speaks of it and Luke presents it; Ezekiel underlines the presence of the flowing water by the Temple while Luke points out the very presence of Christ as the life giving spring! For that man who had been waiting for years to get into that life giving water, the fact that Jesus approached him was like the waters came to him, instead of he going to the waters. The Lord reaches out to us, flows into us to enliven us and Jesus invites us to become the waters that enliven people around us, that we reach out to others and flow into their lives, enlivening them!

FIGHT GLOBALISATION OF INDIFFERENCE

LENTEN MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS - LENT 2015

Here is a power point presentation of Pope Francis' Message for Lent 2015
Prepared this to present for a reflection..
thought i could share it with those who would like to use.

God bless Pope Francis for the wonderful inspiration he keeps offering the world..
Lets join hands and FIGHT GLOBALISATION OF INDIFFERENCE

click the link below for the power point show

Presenting Pope's Message

THE WORD IN LENT -27

From sadness to gladness

Fourth week in Lent: Monday,  16th Mar, 2015
Is 65:17-21; Jn 4: 43-54

From sadness to gladness is the journey the Lord invites us to. It is surprising that many a persons find it a journey either unnecessary or unrealistic. They feel they can remain with sadness and that they are destined to remain with such sadnesses. Interestingly half of the journey consists in deciding to turn and walk,  as did the royal official in the Gospel account today. How long are we going to stand staring at problems and confusions and misgivings and misunderstandings in life?  The Lord says,  just believe and turn and walk towards the peace and serenity that I offer. Are we ready to set off with faith and hope,  on that journey: from sadness to gladness!

Undeservedly Deep!!!

4th Sunday of Lent: 15th March, 2015

2 Chr 36: 14-16, 19-23; Eph 2: 4-10; Jn 3: 14-21

For God so loved the world that God gave God's only Son, that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life (Jn 3:16)... the Word presents in this verse, the crux of the mystery of God's love! St. Paul would elaborate on this when he says, "God who did not spare God's own son, will not withhold anything from us!" (Cf. Rom 8:32). God's love for us has been so undeservedly deep! Have we ever been so worthy as to say, we deserved all the love that God holds out to us?

Undeservedly Deep Love of God, to us is a gift, a grace and a gamble!

A Gift, because I have not worked for it, I have not merited it, I have not earned it! It is given to me! It is poured into my heart. At times when we love, we expect that love in return; we are disappointed and discouraged when we do not get it in return atleast to some measure. But look at God: in the first reading we have the situation where it is said, people added infidelity to infidelity, but still God raises up a situation where people feel the amazing love of God, walking back to their freedom.

A Grace, because it is totally unexpected, illogical and beyond all rational calculations. As St. Paul expresses in the second reading, 'even when we were dead,  God raised us up to be with God's son, in eternal life...by grace we have been saved' (cf. Eph 2:5). I am reminded of an experience I had in the earliest year of my formation to priesthood, my novitiate days. During one of the morning meditations, I looked out of the window and saw a big tree cut down and the mighty bark lying dry and dead. Those were a bit trying days for me and I said to myself, I am lying around like that bark, so lifeless! Merely a fortnight later, through the same window and during a similar meditation hour, I looked out and the same bark caught my eye. What a surprise, in the dry bark from nowhere, a couple of tender leaves had sprouted! After all, I said, the Lord is able to raise a life from the lifeless! Elsewhere St. Paul would say, 'while we were still weak, Christ died for us' (cf Rom 5:6). It is totally an unexpected doing of the Lord, that I am loved! That love is indeed a grace!

A Gamble, because it is totally unconditional. God loved me not expecting that I will repay that love, not even knowing if I would choose to remain worthy of such deep love. The light is here, and it is upto us to choose the light. The salvation is near and it is upto me to subscribe to it for myself. God dares take a gamble on me, God invests all the love that God has for me, knowing well the risk involved: that I may totally turn against God. In his Lenten message Pope Francis had offered a beautiful metaphor. "In Incarnation, the gate between God and human person is opened... but the world tends to withdraw into itself and shut that door through which God comes into the world and the world comes to him." But God's love will never be surprised even if it is rejected,  crushed and wounded. So deep is that love,  so undeservedly deep! 

How God would wish we measure up to that depth in our own lives,  accepting this love in all is immensity and sharing it with our brothers and sisters in all its intensity. 

THE WORD IN LENT -25

Better than all sacrifices!

Third week in Lent: Saturday, 14th, Mar 2015
Hos 6: 1-6; Lk 18: 9-14

Sacrifices, after all,  are for the sake of humbling ourselves in front of the Lord that we may grow closer and closer to the Lord. If the same sacrifice puffs up my ego and takes me to a higher plane than my brothers and sisters from where I look down on them,  then that sacrifice not only fails to serve its purpose but takes me away from the Lord.

The Lord invites us to understand that our wish and effort to remain faithful to the Lord who has called us,  is much better than all sacrifices. Remaining faithful to that call would mean, becoming more and more like God. ... loving, compassionate and humble in our spirit!

THIS DAY... LAST YEAR...

13th March, 2014...
This day was special last year...
Pope Francis completed his one year of pontificate and
I was returning from Rome, back to India!
Thinking of one year back in India...
I thank God today for the wonderful experiences 
that the Lord keeps filling my life with!
I can never thank you enough O Lord!

THE WORD IN LENT -24

Getting nearer to the Reign

Third week in Lent : Friday, 13th Mar, 2015

Hos 14: 2-10; Mk 12; 28-34

The Word gives today the easiest way of getting nearer to God and God's Reign. It is through a life that is shared,  thanks to the pastoral courtesy of the Christian call. 'Return' is the call; to where?  To the believing community. The Lord awaits us there. Truly being nearer to the Reign would mean right relationships and mutual respect. Getting nearer to the Reign would mean,  getting closer to one another and getting more and more familiar with the One who has called me.

THE WORD IN LENT-23

With hardened hearts
Third week in Lent: Thursday,  12th Mar, 2015
Jer 7: 23-28; Lk 11: 14-23

The world today is living a life of indifference,  an inhuman and incredible indifference, so cold and selfish. That is why in his lenten message Pope Francis warned us against it. The Word today invites us to listen to the Lord speaking, speaking through the cries of the innocent victims;, the cries of the poor,  the tears of those e who have lost their dear ones to violence and crime,  the miseries of those who have never understood the meaning of enough!

Let's beware of branding the poor as lazy,  citing fate for the miseries of some in stark contrast to the filthy affluence of others,  brushing aside the sufferings of those who are victims of injustice saying we have nothing to do with it. ..when we do all these we are closing our eyes,  shutting our ears and hardening our hearts against God! With hardened hearts we will only be against God, scattering what God wants to gather.

THE WORD IN LENT -22

The Rock foundation

Third week in Lent: Wednesday, 11th Mar, 2015

Dt 4: 1,5-9; Mt 5: 17-19

The Commandments were nothing but the expressed wish of the Lord who brought the people up to their status of God's people. The Old Testament people felt assured that when they walked in the path of the commandments, they were on the right track. At times this assurance and the anxiety to hold on to this assurance made them even highly legalistic. Though Jesus stood tooth and nail against legalism, he too respected the commands of the Lord and taught his disciples how to make it humanly possible to abide by those commandments. The expressed wish of the Father, was something sacred and holy to Jesus and he declared that they are never changing, eternal and foundational for our faith. Our faith, our rapport with the Lord, our faithfulness to God has to be based firmly on something and Jesus offers the right solution: the Word of the Lord. The Word which contains the expressed wish of the Father, the word that will never perish, is the Rock foundation on which our faith has to be established! Whoever obeys and teaches these, will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

THE WORD IN LENT -21

It's our nature to forgive

Third week in Lent: Tuesday, 10th Mar, 2015
Dan 3: 25, 34-43; Mt 18: 21-35

The Word today invites us to understand the figure of the Lord as forgiving. The Lord gives and forgives;  if not,  we would die and perish. When the Lord offered us the greatest of all gifts,  God's own image and likeness,  God gave us the very nature the God beholds. We were made like God,  little less than the angels. God forgives and so we are called to forgive. It is our nature to forgive too. When we do not forgive we are negating our very nature; we become alien to ourselves,  we turn not only ungodly but even inhuman! Let us realise the image we bear and live up to that image! Let us forgive,  not just a few times or just when it is convenient but all the time,  amidst all tribulations. Seems a needed message for the present times!

THE WORD IN LENT -20

The call to reach out!

Third week in Lent: Monday, 9th Mar, 2015

2 Kgs5:1-15; Lk 4: 24-30

"Go to the existential peripheries", invites us the Holy Father repeatedly! But why the insistence? One reason I find very close is, because for God there are no peripheries! For God every one is "chosen" in his or her own way; every place is a "chosen place" in its own manner! For God each and every person is at the centre of existence, no one at the existential peripheries, where we have pushed them to. We may brand someone 'strange', 'alien', 'outcast', 'unacceptable' or 'not-worth-relating to'... but let us understand they are at the centre of the universe that God beholds. Be it the widow of Zarephath or Naman from Aram, they were under God's care! Reaching out is a marked call of Lent, to reach out to the other in need! Reaching out means expressing God to the others. When we reach out to the so called marginalised, the so called persons in the periphery, we are actually in the footsteps of the Lord who chose to be with them, chose to be one among them. Let us reach out today, atleast to one person whom we have not considered within our circles of relationships.

THE FOLLY OF GOD

3rd Sunday in Lent: 8th March, 2015

Exo 20: 1-17; 1 Cor 1: 22-25;Jn 2: 13-25

The Crucifix is the symbol of "the foolishness of God", says St. Paul today. Where does the folly lie? In the fact that God loves humanity beyond all the limitations and defects found in it. True love not only does not hurt, but also takes the hurt on itself without any complains. 

The first readings gives us the covenant, the contract, made between the people and the Lord; and the Gospel presents to us the atrocities humanity ventured into, disrespecting all those commandments and Jesus taking the whip against them. What was happening at the temple was an outright breach of the covenant. 

The commandments given to the people ensured the right place for God and the right place for one's brothers and sisters. Both of these were at stake in the Temple as Jesus saw it, that was the reason for Jesus' anger flaring up against them: that they pushed God out of the Temple area and they push the poor and the penniless out of the bounds of the temple area. This was unacceptable to Jesus, the prophet of God, the Son  of God, the righteousness of God! 

Today, as the Lord enters our lives, our personal lives, our family lives, the life in our faith communities, the life in our societies... what would be his reaction. Just take stock: have we given the right place to God, and the right place to our brothers and sisters? 

We know, the right place or the right perspective is not the order of the day! What is the sign that the Lord poses in front of our eyes: not the whip but the Cross, the Crucifix! That is the folly of God. The love of the Lord takes the pain on itself; the crucifix reminds us that every time we hurt humanity we hurt the Lord; the recent inhumanities perpetrated, the rising crimes against women to be seriously thought of today as we keep the International Women's Day, the hurts against the helpless children... the world stands in need of repentance and conversion!

The folly of God, the crucifix alone can drive home the true lesson: love until it hurts! Love never hurts!  

THE WORD IN LENT -18

The  Prodigal Father
Second week in Lent: Saturday,  7th Mar, 2015.
Mic 7: 14-15, 18-20; Lk 15: 11-32

I have always loved this version of the interpretation which says it was not as much the Son who was prodigal with his money as the Father who was prodigal with his mercy. I love it not merely because it sounds rather novel,  but because that seems more likely the point that Jesus wanted to draw-the unconditional and limitless mercy of God.

God offers to cast our sins deep in the ocean,  the ocean of God's  love and mercy. The Word invites us to focus on the right perspective of Christian living... an optimism of continual renewal and unconditional acceptance. Oh how blessed and loved we are!

THE WORD IN LENT -17

Do not Kill

Second week in Lent: Friday,  6th Mar, 2015

Gen e 7: 3-4, 12-17 a,  17-28b; Mt 21: 33-43, 45-47

There is a common phrase in today's readings: come let us kill him! At times we target a helpless individual just because the person is different from us or thinks different from us. Inspite of knowing well that the person is right and just, we tend to gang up against the person merely because he or she is an hindrance to our way of thinking or our way of being. Our words,  or judgements,  the remarks we pass,  the comments we circulate can be really killing the person, worse even than sentencing the person to death. Character assassinations, insensitive treatment of persons,  selfish manipulation of individuals and exploitations of all types are some ways we do away with persons around us! 

THE WORD IN LENT -16

The Blessings that Blind

Second week in Lent: Thursday, 5th Mar, 2015

Jer 17: 5-10; 16: 19-31

At times I used to wonder what mistake did that rich man do? And in what way he is responsible for Lazarus' misery? In no way is he responsible, but he is responsible for his attitude towards Lazarus. That he did not care to even see the miseries of the person right at the foot of his table, looking for the crumbs - oh, what a gross insensitivity, sheer blindness! And the worst of all, that blindness comes from his blessings, the abundance that he had for himself. The Blessings blinded him. 

Just recently someone was sharing his disappointment that some people take up to ministry in high spirits but soon with the inflow of money they lose the original spirit and make it a business. And the person concluded, the blessings blind them! St. Paul reminds us: what do you have that you have not received? (1Cor 4:7). The blessings should make us more grateful and more sensitive; it can blind us to those in need around us - within the family, in the neighbourhood, in our workplaces, in our known circles and even outside the immediate circle! 

Let our blessings make us more aware of those in need!

THE WORD IN LENT -15

The Reign Mode

Second Week in Lent: Wednesday, 4th Mar, 2015

Jer 18: 18-20; Mt 20: 17-28

The readings today present to us the stark contrast between the Jesus' way of thinking and the Worldly terms of thinking. Jesus' way of thinking is Reign mode of thinking; thinking of the primacy of God, thinking of the framework of love, thinking of the criterion of service, thinking of the fullness of life of all! The Worldly mode of thinking is thinking of one's gains at all cost, thinking of one's comfort mindless about the struggles of others, thinking of scaling the ladder and not serving my brothers and sisters, thinking of every one and every situation as an opportunity for my own gains! 

Each of us can judge for ourselves, in which mode we live our life today. Or some times the modes may be off and on, that is occasionally we may have the two of them alternating between themselves; but what is the predominant mode and when are we going to clearly switch to the Reign Mode? St. Paul instructs in his letter to the Philippians: 'Put on the mind of Christ' (2:5).

THE WORD IN LENT -14

LET YOUR CHOICES BE YOURS

Second week in Lent: Tuesday, 3rd Mar, 2015

Is 1: 10, 16-20; Mt 23: 1-12

Let no one be responsible for your judgments, your behaviours, your decisions and your choices! That is what Jesus meant when he said, let no one be your father or master here on earth. For a Hebrew, father would mean that person who decides everything for you! You have nothing else to say, because the father's decision is final. The master is some one who holds a total authority over you; what he decides to be right has to be right for you; what he decides to be desirable has to be desirable for you! The point that Jesus is making here is that, a person will be responsible for one's own choices. It is no more the case that a person does something or decides on something and passes the blame on to some one else: his or her father, or generations before, or persons in authority. Let each one take responsibility for one's own choices, challenges the Word today. Your choices determine your destiny, apart from the all pervading love that is God. It is this love that has invested us with such a great personal will and freedom, using which we are challenged to choose God and all that pertains to God. 

THE WORD IN LENT -13

The Criterion from Christ

Second week in Lent: Monday, 2nd Mar, 2015.

Dan 9: 4b-10; Lk 6: 36-38

Yesterday as I stepped out of the Sacristy, after the Sunday Eucharist, a person approached me and said: "Fr., thanks for the homily today! It was really beautiful, but I am afraid too difficult to practice!" And I smiled at her reassuringly and said, "If I were to think of living my life anyway, with compromises, it would be much easier! But living a true and convinced Christian life is anyday, difficult." She smiled, and bowed for a blessing!

"To live by the law you gave us", prays prophet Daniel today in the first reading! And Jesus gives us a criterion, to follow the law. Let what you expect from others for yourself be the criterion for your dealings with others! But the difficult part follows: Jesus says, let what you expect be the criterion but not what you actually get! You may or may not get what you expect, but you have an obligation to give the others what you expect from them! What do you get in return? Does that actually matter?

An apt day to pray with St. Francis of Assisi, 'Lord, grant that I may seek to understand, than to be understood; to love than to be loved; to forgive than to be forgiven'.

BEHOLD GOD'S LOVE

2nd Sunday of Lent: 1st March 2015

Gen 22: 1-2, 9a,10-13, 15-18; Rom 8: 31b-34; Mk 9: 2-10

God's love is demonstration today and we are invited to behold that true, genuine, authentic and matchless love in the name of Jesus our Lord and Saviour!

What does the call to "behold" mean? It means to observe, understand and accept it in all its fullness. We would do well to do it today, with the help of the readings.

Observe that God's love is a love that gives: Are we ready to give? Yes...a bit of our changes in the pocket, a few of our currencies in the wallet, some of us a little more...may be our enjoyment of a movie or two during the season of lent, or our stylish make overs or things of that sort! But Observe, calls the second reading today: observe the love that God has for us. Because that love, God gave, God gave Godself; God's own son, the only Son, the Word who was One with God. 

Understand that God's love is a love that gives all: God's love is not merely a love that gives but a love that gives everything, gives all that God is...The Gospel reminds us of that: Jesus shows us and his disciples, what he has given up for the sake of the love he had for us! The first moment we find it, we feel like holding on to it. The apostles wanted to remain there...Jesus reminds us: "No... you call is to give, to give up, to give all, to give of yourself; that is my love!"

Accept God's love into your heart: To behold God's love would finally mean accept God's love into our hearts, fill our hearts with God's love! Abraham was ready even to give up his son, because he was filled with God's love; by then he had experienced what God's love means and what change it can bring about in his life. That is why he did not consider anything on par with God's love. In our life to, if we believe and behold God's love, that has to be seen. It has to be seen in our lives, our day to day relationships, our choices and our responses to events. To behold God's love is to be held by God's love and hold out that love to all whom we come across! 

May our lives be transformed, by God's love into God's love!