WORD 2day : 1st August, 2015

A Righteous Celebration

Saturday,  17th week in Ordinary Time
Leviticus 25:1,8-17; Mt 14: 1-12

Inspite of all the talk about recession and tough times,  celebrations do not seem to have reduced or stopped. Especially in the religious realm, celebrations find their importance and significance intact. At times they are exaggerated too to the extent of being detested.

Today the Word presents to us two modes of celebration: one, an exploitative celebration that is irresponsible, insensitive and a mere show of arrogance; the other,  a righteous celebration. Let none of you wrong the neighbour but fear the Lord your God,  instructs the first reading of today, which is all about jubilee among the people of God.

A celebration that is godly should not be at the cost of the other, but for the sake of the love for the other. Celebrations should reaffirm the meaning and joy of living. That is why everyday eucharist is a celebration, a reminder of the life that we are called to live in the Lord, in communion with our brothers and sisters. !

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

31st July 2015: Remembering St. Ignatius of Loyola

Lev 23:1,4-11,15-16,27,34-37; Mt 13:54-58

Moses, Ignatius and Jesus

We are reading these days at the Eucharist about Moses and the interventions that God made through Moses, the great prophet of God. Today we celebrate another prophet, Ignatius who has some characteristics that he shares with Moses.

Moses was a timely intervention that God had prepared for the sake of God's people. Ignatius was a timely intervention too; he comes in at the disturbed times of Reformation and initiates a Counter Reformation that revolutionises the whole Church and calls her to renewal.

Moses had a history of killing a person; but that was an outcome of the fundamental feeling for the oppressed people that was hidden in his heart and God makes use of that to raise him up as a prophet who would stand by God's people. Ignatius was a soldier, who had ambitions of rising in power and position; but God makes use of that warrior's spirit to raise a soldier of God, who would combat the wiles of the evil one and defend the Church, the people of God.

Moses gives rise to a new community of people, the hebrews who were bound by the Ten Commandments, the sign of their covenant with the Lord. Ignatius gave rise to a new company called the Company of Jesus, later called the Society of Jesus, who bound themselves to total obedience to the Holy Father and resolved to stand by the Church and defend the Church at all cost. 

Today Jesus extends to us the same call, the call to be prophets. He warns us, it is not an easy call. It involves struggles which one cannot imagine. It involves rejection, insults and sometimes even persecution as we see it all the time around us. Jesus does not want to deceive us into some dreamland, he calls us today to live a life of commitment and conviction and warns us of all the consequences of such a choice. Are we ready?

WORD 2day : 30th July 2015

Set Apart

17th week in Ordinary Time
Exodus 40:16-21,34-38; Mt 13: 47-53

Moses did exactly as the Lord had directed him. The first reading begins thus.  And that is what set Moses apart! Joshua would soon be following suit.  We are constantly being judged. ..not by God nor by the world but by our very actions and our choices. We are set apart as people of God but that is no guarantee that we will remain so forever. Just as we were set apart we could be set aside too, again depending on our choices and our readiness  to do as God directs! The Lord is present among us,  as pointed out by the tabernacle that Moses made. It is a clear message sent to the people and to us: God dwells amidst us;  God is with us. God shares our lives. We are set apart to do exactly as God directs. If we fail we would be consequentially set aside! Wish to be in the net? Or to be cast away?

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

29th July, 2015: Remembering St.  Martha

1 John 4: 7-16; John 11:19-27

Woman called Martha,  she had a sister called Mary and a brother called Lazarus...these are the details given to us by the Gospels taken together.  

Three elements highlighted by the Word in her life:

1. She invited Jesus... there was a woman who invited Jesus to her home, reads the episode at Bethany. Inviting Jesus into our homes,  is a Bethany theme we can reflect on today.

2. She loved Jesus, she loved her sister and her brother. Martha was a person of love. Her hospitality to Jesus,  her missing of Lazarus and her relationship with her sister Mary. ..these are imitable signs of God's love made tangible in her life.

3. She believed in Christ. She did not take Jesus for granted. Her familiarity with Jesus did not make her forget the fact of who he was. She held Jesus always high and believed in him.

St. Alphonsa of Immaculate Conception

28th July, 2015: Remembering First Woman saint of India

St. Alphonsa's life has any number of elements that one can highlight as a model of belonging totally to God...and that is why she has been raised to the Altars, from amidst us. She was almost a contemporary to us; she lived from 1910 to 1946. Within the short span of these 36 years she has set an example so brilliant.

Three things that stand out for me in the life of this Saint:

1. Her determination to belong to God:

She would say from the age of 7, when she received the Lord for the first time in her heart, she belonged to Jesus and took him as her Divine Spouse. The seeds of her vocation had already begun to sprout in that tender age. That is why when she was 13 when they tried to get her married, she tried all her best to turn that proposal down, even to the extent of injuring herself thinking that would stop the probable suitors. They tried to trick her into marriage even after she entered the convent, when she was a postulant, with the knowledge and cooperation of her formator, but nothing could succeed before her determination to totally belong to the Lord.

2. Her total acceptance of life from the Lord:

She knew she was to accept the life that the Lord gives her, come what may. Be it suffering or pain or insults or disease, she never complained. Already when she was 3 months old she lost her mother and she grew under the care of her aunt who was rather strict and unduly demanding. She never complained all her life about it but considered it a formation in humility, patience and endurance. She underwent great sufferings right from her 20 years, but with her perpetual profession came an extra dose of suffering. From her perpetual profession she says it seemed that she was given a part of the Cross of Christ! 

3. She suffered with joy:
She always wished that she could learn to suffer with joy and the more she suffered the more she thought that her divine spouse was fulfilling her wish, forming her to suffer with joy. A day that she had no suffering, she thought, was a day lost in her life. For her suffering was her way of being united with her beloved soulmate, Christ her Lord. From her childhood she had come across sufferings, one after the other, more and more, but nothing could stop her from loving the Lord more and more intimately. 

The following were her words, as she started her postulancy when she was 18...
I do not wish to act or speak according to my inclinations. Every time I fail, I will do penance... I want to be careful never to reject anyone. I will only speak sweet words to others. I want to control my eyes with rigour. I will ask pardon of the Lord for every little failure and I will atone for it through penance. No matter what my sufferings may be, I will never complain and if I have to undergo any humiliation, I will seek refuge in the Sacred Heart of Jesus

These were not mere sentiments, they were convictions, they were her very way of life!

Let us pray to this sister of ours:

Oh Blessed Alphonsa, you have been graciously chosen from our midst to be united with Jesus Christ, our Saviour, in the misery of his passion, death and resurrection. You have grown to the heights of holiness and have been crowned with heavenly glory.

Help us in our trials and tribulations. Oh, daughter of sufferings, obtain for us the grace to lead a holy life, following your example, in total submission to the will of God. Be with us, transforming all our sorrows into a holy sacrifice in union with Christ Crucified, in reparation to our sins, for the sanctification and salvation of the whole world. Amen.

WORD 2day: 27th July, 2015

Steadfastness in times of trials

Monday,  17th week in Ordinary Time
Exodus 32:15-24,30-34; Mt 13: 31-35

For the sake of Moses the Lord spares Israel inspite of their offence. Aaron was not able to withstand the pressure from the people to make for them a god. Moses and Joshua rescue the situation with the steadfastness they possessed.

Now the question is, where do I find myself: one of those who lack the patience to wait on the Lord and decide to create their own gods - gods  of our egos,  of our money,  of our affections and so on?  Or do I find myself in the place of Aaron giving into pressure from the majority. ..and not holding on to what is right and just. Or do I form that steadfast minority,  the small mustard seed,  the tiny portion of the yeast, the minority who remain faithful to the Lord come what may!

Moses and Joshua were capable of a faithfulness that the entire people were unable of. The reason is,  they had seen and experienced and witnessed to how good the Lord was. If we need to stand strong in times of trial we need to build up a strong relationship with the Lord in our regular days and convince ourselves of how good God is. If only we realise the crown that awaits our steadfastness (cf. Jam 2:12)

Hand in hand with God

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 26th July, 2015

2 Kgs 4: 42-44; Eph 4: 1-6; Jn 6: 1-15

The times are bad...those are the words that we hear from almost all contexts today. Economic or Cultural or Moral or Political or Religious... every corner human existence seems to echo this judgement invariably. Need, misery, unbalanced growth, neglect of a majority, domination of a few, loss of meaning and a sort of helplessness that fills the minds of every person with good will... that is what the scene looks like today!

What am I going to do? That is the most pertinent question at the moment. Am I going to give in to that sense of helplessness and hopelessness. That cannot be a Christian attitude, says the Word today. I need to work hand in hand with God and things will surely change. I am fond of a movie titled, I am Gabriel, which begins and ends with the same shot - a shot of village name board. In the opening shot the board reads, 'where good things never happen' and the closing shot has the same board and the same reading, with that "never" erased! Where good things happen! Nothing much has changed; just a word removed and the entire sense changed. Even in that village during the movie, nothing much happens but the entire village goes through a revival! How do we revive the earth, and the humanity... by acting hand in hand with God.

GIVE... a heart to give - that is the essential correction needed for the humanity today. We need to have a heart to give, to give with all our heart. That is what God does. God gives, and gives, and gives! When we begin to grow within us a heart to give, truly give not merely of what we do not want, nor of what is excess with us but of ourselves and of what we actually need and of all that we have, that is Giving after the heart of God. God is essentially a Giver! Elijah is ready to Give, Jesus wants to Give, God is every ready to Give! Do I have the heart to Give?

OTHERS...an eye for the others - is the radical perspective that needs to guide the humanity today. People have ceased to think of the other. Whether a daily scene of jostling in the public places like railway stations or bus terminuses or the national politics and policy lobbying...every where humanity has grown cold to the other, thinking only of the self, only of the petty private interest. Even when they think of the common good, they think of what is common to a small circle to where they belong, and not the Greater Common Good...the good of the whole humanity, the good of the wholeworld - Lokasamgraha, Sarvodhaya, vasudhaiva kutumbakam,  Universal brotherhood and Sisterhood, the care for the Common Home...these have become merely wishful thinking!

DO... determined to do - is the fundamental mindset that will redeem the situation today. At times the good willed persons can lose heart seeing the enormity of the opposition. But that will only be a curse on ourselves. The Word today presents to us the determination of the man who brought the barley loaves to Elijah, Philip who brought the boy with the few loaves to Jesus...they knew what they were doing actually is nothing before the task that lay before them, but they were kind of determined about what they were doing. The One Lord who takes care of everything, the One Lord who is aware of everything, the One Lord who just waiting for us to do our part and take our responsible place in this humanity, will see to the needed revival. The Lord will provide the change that is needed for the times, but the times require that we act hand in hand with God. 

In Giving, in being sensitive to the Others, and in being determined to Do..., we act hand in hand with God, infact we initiate the very thing that God wants to do.

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

25th July, 2015: Remembering St.  James the Apostle

2 Cor 4: 7-15; Mt 20: 20-28

Today in talking about vocations to priesthood and their formation,  they categorise the vocation into normal vocation,   late vocation and so on!  A normal vocation would mean a young boy having the aspirations of becoming a priest joins the Apostolic School and gets gradually initiated into the process and grows to be a candidate for this way of life. A late vocation would mean a youngster who has already strong convictions towards becoming a priest,  after much thought and experience decides to join the process of preparation.

Looking at James and his brother John in the Gospel today,  even we tend to be embarrassed at their ambitious spirit,  just as the other 10 were upset! But Jesus is not upset. There is no sign of it though he should be the first to be upset about it. Looks like Jesus is considering them as normal vocations that have to gradually grow into perfection as opposed to a strong and convinced vocation like St. Paul who would discard everything else as rubbish when it comes to gaining Christ (cf. Phil 3:8).

But the beauty of St. James is in the fact that he grew,  he grew in his understanding and came to the level of giving up his life for Christ: drinking the cup that He drank! The Lord does not expect us to be perfect but to be sincere,  sincere in our efforts towards perfection!

WORD 2day : 24th July, 2015

Tendencies against Fruitfulness

Friday,  16th week in Ordinary Time
Exo 20: 1-17; Mt 13: 18-23

We are well aware of the expectations placed on us as people of God. As the first reading indicates we have clear cut do's and dont's ... but does that make us fruitful in our daily life? Jesus enlists four tendencies that will affect our fruitfulness:

Indifference that would make us live our lives in our own terms;

Initial Fervour that is good but not good enough;

Inhibitions that place various other expectations in contrast to God's;

Integral living of daily life that will grant meaning to everything that we are involved in.

Which of the four dominates my life as of today?

WORD 2day : 23rd July, 2015

The Lord came down;  Moses went up!

Thursday,  16th week in Ordinary Time
Exodus 19:1-2,9-11,16-20; Mt 13:10-17

Is not faith all about this. .. the Lord coming down and we going up. .. the Lord reaching out to us and we responding! In many ways the Lord attempts to reach out to us each day. And here we are busy with our petty little worlds, calling ourselves names and holding on to titles. Won't the world do mighty well if it were to listen with all its heart and look with all its attention!

Through the retreat these days; the preacher yesterday made a remark about this God who intends to reach out to us by all means. Referring to Rev 3:20, he said the Lord does not merely knock,  but he pounds on our doors! What a lovely imagery to impress on our minds the God who never gets discouraged with us,  the Lord who is unbelievably merciful and the Lord who is madly in love with us. If only we would heed!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

22nd July,  2015: Remembering St. Mary Magdalene 

Exo 16: 1-5, 9-15; John 20:1-2,11-18

Weeping blinds you...Listen and Look!

They had seen the waters standing high,  they had seen those plagues and the way the Egyptians were buried alive in the waters... but here they are once again weeping and complaining.

Mary of Magdala loved Jesus intensely. She had encountered and experienced Jesus in such close quarters but now standing right beside him she is unable to identify him;  because she is too occupied with her weeping and complaining.

At times in our lives when troubles come by and trials abound,  we fumble and falter as if we are all alone. We fail to recognise the Lord who sticks so close to us,  because we are too busy weeping and complaining.

If only we opened our eyes and saw;  if only we opened our hearts and listened;  if only we believed in the words of the Lord,  "I have conquered the world"... we would leap for joy and love to cling to the Lord. Mary Magdalene gives us a clear message: stop weeping;  weeping blinds you;  look, listen and you will leap for joy, for the Lord is with you now and always!

WORD 2day: 21st July, 2015

The Lord fights... provided we allow!

Tuesday,  16th week in the Ordinary Time
Exo 14: 5-18; Mt 12: 46-50

Between the devil and the deep sea... that was literally where Moses found himself. What could he do caught between an army that was like a sea and the sea that was swarming like a devouring army! Moses knew just what he had to do. .. Do what the Lord tells him! Because it was the Lord's battle. The Lord was fighting for them;  they had to allow it and Moses did just that. The Lord said walk and he walked,  the Lord said stretch and he stretched, the Lord said be still and he stood still drinking in the majesty and the power of God.

Listen to the words of Father and carry it out exactly as said,  and you will see the glory of the Lord unfold right in front of yours eyes, declares Jesus. Are we alright with the Lord fighting our battle?  Or do we want to fight it ourselves? When the Lord fights the victory is certain but it may involve some challenging moments when we do not make sense of anything that would be happening. But it is the Lord who fights and we will surely triumph.

The Lord is ready and willing;  yes the Lord will fight our battle, provided we allow it.

WORD 2day: 20th July, 2015

You have only to be still

Monday, 16th week in Ordinary Time
Exo 14: 5-18;  Mt 12: 38-42

The people ask for a sign and on this count people have never changed or grown for the better in history. Asking for a sign or clamoring after magics, being obsessed with persons who claim to have the ability to perform extraordinary signs... these are prevalent even today. The answer from the Lord is very simple and straightforward.

All that you need to do is,  be still. The tendency to run after signs and frenetically looking for miracles should cease if we really keep growing in our faith maturity. Tear shedding statues and blood oozing artefacts cannot be the kindling factors of our faith; if only we could be still and see the works of God in our lives,  if only we could be still and observe the way the Lord accompanies us on a daily basis, in the ordinariness of our daily life, we would be filled with messages and revelations enough to fill our thoughts and increase our faith.

All I need to do today,  and everyday,  is Be Still... and know that the Lord is with me.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

WORD 2day : 18th July, 2015

HOPE: the sign of God's presence

Saturday,  15thweek in Ordinary Time
Exo 12:37-42, Mt 13: 14-21

Where God is,  there is hope.  No matter how dark it is,  and no matter how long it has been... where God is,  there is always a light at the end of everything. All that we need to do is hold on. Hold on with our judgments and actions and hold on to the finger of God. 430 years did not appear too long for the Israelites and the constant opposition did not seem a hindering block to Jesus. That was because they had hope alive in their hearts.

When God's presence is not realised or given importance to,  there is no source of constant hope. The situation around and persons around can offer me a ray of hope now or then but when I learn to see everyone of them as instruments in God's hands,  I begin to experience the ceaseless hope that God alone can give. The Lord is my hope and my song !

WORD 2day : 17th July, 2015

Mercy: the image of God

Friday,  15th week in Ordinary Time
Exo 11:10 - 12:14; Mt 12: 1-8

How do you look at the teacher who gets upset with all the e students who failed in a class test and as a reparation announces a special class after school hours for three days... it is not only the students but the teacher too, or especially the teacher who has to undergo the ordeal of that punishment. That teacher is a genuine type of a teacher who doesn't hesitate to give of oneself for the sake of the students.

What kind of an imagery do we get of the All merciful Father and Mother who instructs the people to mark out themselves with the blood and gives them God's own son's blood as the blood of redemption! It can be no other image than that of Mercy. When we are merciful we carry the image of God within us. When we lack mercy,  however sacrificing we are or however successful we are in anything,  we do not carry or project the true image of God!

WORD 2day : 16th July, 2015

Come and Go

Thursday, 15th week in Ordinary Time
Exo 3: 13-20; Mt 11: 28-30

The Word that dominates the first reading today is 'Go'... Yahweh sends Moses to the Pharaoh.  The term that stands out in the short but sweet Gospel of today is,  'Come'... the Lord invites the burdened to rest. Come and Go...may look like two opposite words but the reason given for both the movements is the same. Because I am with you, says the Lord.

Coming and going...refer to the do docility of the chosen, the willingness and readiness with which a messenger of the Lord vows to act. Every day and in ways mysterious and means ordinary the Lord keeps sending us these instructions: come,  go,  speak,  share,  remain,  endure and so on... are we prepared to listen and eager to act upon it?

WORD 2day :15th July, 2015

Who am I...

Wednesday.  15th week in Ordinary Time 

Exo 3: 1-6,9-12; Mt 11: 25-26

What do people think of me? How do I come across to people? What kind of an image do I give of myself to others? Will this make or mar the opinion others have about me? ...these are some popular considerations we have before we decide to do something! At times this consideration of human respect keeps me back from being who I am! The Lord declares in various ways today that it does not  matter so much who I am as to who is with me, who is for me!

Who I am that I should go to Pharaoh? - I will be with you, says the Lord! What makes the difference is that the Lord is with Moses. Who we are is important, but more important is who is with us! We may be merely children, but if God is with us, we can be worth all the wisest and powerful put together. Do not say you are merely a child, the Lord told Jeremiah. The Lord promises to be with us, what else do we need! If God is with us, what do we lack! If God is for us who can be against us! 

WORD 2day: 14th July, 2015

The Drama of Divine Design

Tuesday, 15th week in Ordinary Time

Exo 2: 1-15a; Mt 11: 20-24

'All the world's a stage...' said that genius of a poet Shakespeare. Though at times this thinking might lead to a tinge of pessimism and determinism, the fact is we find ourselves in the midst of a series of connected events. However, it is not that we are thrown there to fend for ourselves or find our own way out, we are sent with a purpose and disposition well imprinted in the core of our beings. True spirituality would be to find out at a given time and space, what God expects of me and without any selfish calculations carrying out that commission given to me! It is knowing, understanding and playing my part to the full within the drama of the Divine Design! 

The first reading presents to us how God raised a prophet for himself amidst all odds and how Moses had it in him to protect his people because the Divine design was active in and around him. But God teaches Moses that it is not by his own might that Moses is to accomplish great things, but it is by playing an instrument in the mighty hands of God that he would make the spectacle happen. And Moses gradually knows, understands and plays his part to the full.

At times we can miss out on ever realising the plan that God has for each of us. That is a sad probability; worse still is resisting any such plan merely to have my own! That is a woe that we would bring on ourselves. Our life, its meaning and its purpose will all be at risk in that case. That is what Jesus warns us of, in the Gospel today. If only you knew, understood and played your part wholeheartedly within God's design!

WORD 2day:13th July, 2015

People who forget their stories!

Monday, 15th week in Ordinary Time

Exo 1:8-14, 22; Mt 10:34 - 11:1

Not only did the Pharaoh not know the history of Joseph and things that happened in his predecessors' times, even the people seemed to have forgotten their origins - of how they reached Egypt and why they reached there and that they were there only for a while, that the Lord had said they will move to "their" land later! They began to think Egypt was their land and they would be there for eternity. They forgot their story. The Lord had to remind them. The world today too has this spiritual amnesia! 

That is why the Lord comes with the sword, with fire... that we may wake up and wake up the world, and bring ourselves back as people who are mindful of our stories, our experiences, all that we have enjoyed from the Lord and all that we have promised the Lord and all that we have neglected so far. At times when we face turmoils, we need to turn back to our stories thus far and draw consolation and inspiration from there. In those moments of struggle we need to realise that we are afflicted but not crushed,  perplexed but not driven to despair,  persecuted but not forsaken (cf 2 Cor 4:8)... let us pay heed that we do not become people who forget their stories. 

GOD CHOSE US...

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 12th July, 2015

Amos 7: 12-15; Eph 1: 3-14; Mk 6: 7-13

To begin with, God chose us! We did not choose God! So, deserting God, or switching allegiance, looking for greener pastures, blaming monotony,  seeking thrills and demanding signs are totally unbecoming of a chosen one. Situations that are trying, opportunities that are attractive, offers that are tempting might often come our way, but the one who endures till the end takes the crown. And God chose us in Christ. Amos in today's first reading makes it clear: it is not in our greatness or in our credibility or in our self worth, but in Christ did God choose us. The reason I am chosen is because, Christ died for me!

Secondly, when did God choose me? In baptism we were buried with Christ says St. Paul (Rom 6:4; Col 2:12). Were we chosen at our baptism? But Isaiah says before I was born, while I was still in my mothers womb, the Lord called me (IS 49:1). So was I chosen when I was in my mother's womb? Jeremiah explains, before the Lord even formed me in the womb of my mother, the Lord knew me, called me and has a plan for me (Jer 1:5), to set me up as the so-called light of the world and prophet to the nations. So was I chosen, before I were being even formed in my mothers's womb? St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesisans, beats it all: God chose us before the foundations of the world. Right from the earliest moment that one can think of, I belong to God!

Thirdly, if the Lord has chosen me, for what has He chosen me: to be holy and blameless in love. To be in love, and through that being holy and blameless - that is the plan that God has for me, that is the invitation that the Lord offers me. Love and do what you like, said Augustine. When we live our lives in love, we are sure to be holy and blameless. There is no other criterion as fool proof as love, to be considered chosen or not. By this they will know that you are my disciples, by the love that you have for one another (Jn 13:35). It is only love that can make me whole. It is only love that can lead me to a life that is absolutely blameless. It is only love that can lead me to be holy! 

WORD 2day : 11th, July 2015

God cares! Do you?

Saturday,  14th week in Ordinary Time
Gen 49:29-32; 50:15-26a; Mt 10: 24-33

Jacob and Joseph go their way back to where they belonged. And they, specially Joseph, seem to remind the rest of them that where they are is not actually where they belong - a reminder they pay no heed to. God will take care of them is the promise given them by their fathers and the people did experience that care when the appointed time came. But the question was,  did they care enough to take note of all the goodness God was showing them.

Though we rush in with joy to places where the Lord leads us, with a few cares and concerns that come our way we lose sight of the Lord who had in first place brought us there,  given us all that we have and had taken such meticulous care of us. We are quick to complain and to mindlessly question God on a few things that may seem to go out of hand. God cares so much for us remind the Gospel today;  but do we care to acknowledge and surrender to that care?

WORD 2day : 10th July, 2015

Sent with challenges. ..

Friday,  14th week in Ordinary Time
Gn 46:1-7, 28-30; Mt 10: 16-23

The readings today present two similar situations:
- they were being sent by the Lord.
- they were being sent into a tough situation.
- however they would be flourishing in those difficult terrains.
- they are sent with a promise: I will go with you! Do not worry what to say or what to do,  it will be given you!

How about reading those passages putting yourself in that place. ...
The Lord sends you into life today,  life with all its challenges and trials. ..if we remain faithful till the end, we would feel his encouraging encounter that gives us the true meaning and joy of our life here and now.

WORD 2day : 9th July, 2015

Shalom: Carrying God's Message

Thursday,  14th week in Ordinary Time
Gn 44:18-21, 23b-29, 45:1-5; Mt 10: 7-15

The Lord sends the twelve to carry his message to all the people of Israel,  a message of gladness,  healing,  restoration,  peace and joy,  in short Shalom! That is the greeting of the Jews when they meet each other. The Arabic equivalent of that is what the brothers and sisters of Islam use: salaam. This shalom is fullness of blessings that we wish for our brother or sister in the Lord,  or for that matter that is what we wish for the whole world as sons and daughters of the Good Lord. We may wonder, why the whole world. ..is it not only those who are good to me,  those who are my well wishers;  but the Lord and the Word today has it otherwise.

We are presented with the example of Joseph who in spite of all that they did to him tells the rest of the songs of Jacob,  "I am your brother"! That is the true Christian attitude expected of us. This is possible only of we look at everything from the perspective of God as did Joseph!

Let this day be another opportunity for us to carry the Lord's message: Shalom to all!

WORD 2day : 8th July, 2015

His Band... of brothers and sisters

Wednesday,  14th week in Ordinary Time
Gn 41:55-57, 42:5-7a, 17-24a; Mt 10: 1-7

The Twelve. ..that is the common element in the two readings today. The 12 tribes and the 12 disciples was not a mere coincidence, it was more than that. It was a choice to resemble because the Lord was raising a new people of God, the New Israel. And we belong to that new people,  the new band of brothers and sisters. It is left to us now to understand the importance of not deserting the band for reasons silly or serious! The sense of belonging to this band,  what we call our faith community,  that is the Church...seems to be under attack both from within and without. Can we stand up to it?  Come what may,  can we stick on and tell the world,  we are His band... of brothers and sisters!

WORD 2day: 7th July, 2015

The Face of God to behold...

Tuesday,  14th week in Ordinary Time
Gen 32: 22-32; Mt 9: 32-38

Jacob turns Israel because he beheld the face of God. He would continue to behold the face of God and become the patriarch of the chosen ones. In the Gospel,  the demoniac becomes normal again,  because he beheld the face of God in Jesus. And in all his works,  curing the sick,  eating with the sinners,  empathising with the suffering,  Jesus was empowering them to behold the face of God in and through himself. He was the face of God to behold.

Infact Jesus longs and prays that many more join him on this mission. There is no monopoly... how he wishes multitudes join him to become the face of God for the world to behold! Let us first realise the call each of us have received: to become the face of God for all to behold. And let us pray that many more authentic believers may join us: to become the merciful loving face of God for the world to behold.

WORD 2day: 6th July, 2015

The Trust levels

Monday. 14th week in Ordinary Time

Gen 28: 10-22; Mt 9: 18-26

The Word presents to us today 4 levels of trust and may be we would do well to analyse ourselves and find out where we fit in.

If I come back safe... we see Jacob still at the level of hypothesising  trust.He wishes to remain faithful to the Lord if the Lord protects him.

If only I touch the Lord... we see the woman with hemorrhage confident that she will be healed on fulfilling certain conditions, a conditional trust that operates on cause and effect logic.

Though my daughter is dead...we see that official referred to here telling the Lord,my daughter is just dead! But that she was already dead was not a problem to him, because he had placed on the Lord an Absolute Trust that nothing is impossible for God.

Where do we stand in these levels of trust in the Lord? Hopefully, we are not in the fourth category which is the people who were standing around and mocking Jesus as he entered to raise the girl...they are the heroes of the nether world.

WORD 2day: 4th July, 2015

Crooked lines and Straight stories

Saturday, 13th week in Ordinary Time

Gen 27: 1-5, 15-29; Mt 9: 14-17

The first reading today has a story that is so typical of the manipulating exploitative society of today. But the irony is, it is Jacob who cheats who finally receives the blessings and becomes the chosen one in the lineage! This is not the only one of such cases... David episode with Bethsheba, Solomon the weakling...these are truly speaking, crooked lines, but the final outcome is a straight story, a story that can never be told so neatly, with every little thing in its place; no patches, no cloggings, no spillings, no ruins...in God's plan everything is perfect. There can be any number of crooked lines but the outcome is always a straight story! The capacity we need is, to put up with the crooked lines long enough, that we stay strong until the straight stories emerge!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

My Lord and My God!

Feast of St. Thomas, the Apostle

It is a special grace given that a person is concretely offered a proof for his or her faith. Otherwise faith is a personal experience that is inspired within a person and expressed in daily life. Thomas, the Apostle occasions an event that became a unforgettable experience for even the rest of the apostles, and for the whole original community of believers. Apart from focusing on the fact that Thomas doubted and hesitated to go by others' experience, his awe and total acceptance of the Master is a great inspiration for us. That statement he makes, My Lord and My God, was a such a spiritually matured statement that could not have come merely on the spur of the moment. It is definitely a relationship that Thomas shared with Jesus, a conviction he grew in and a declaration that summarised his faith experience. Thomas excels in taking the belief in Jesus to the next level, as he addresses Jesus for the first time as "God"!

May this holy apostle inspire us to yearn for more and more personal experiences with the person of Christ that we may ever grow in our identity as the children of God.

WORD 2day: 2nd July, 2015

To Rise and Walk

Thursday, 13th week in Ordinary Time

Gen 22: 1-9; Mt 9: 1-8

What if the man had decided not to get up and walk, because he was not sure if he were able to. Nothing is impossible to God, be it forgiving sins or curing the sick, proves Jesus. Rising and Walking was a decision that man took to trust in the Lord and hope in his command over absolutely everything on earth. Abraham was just beginning to cherish his life, but he was cherishing it to the extent that he was growing unmindful of the One who gave him that life. But he was given a chance to rise and walk, to prove his trust and hope in the Lord. Today in our daily experiences we are called to rise and walk...to find Lord right beside us all through and remember for ever, "we walk by faith not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7)!

WORD 2day: 1st July, 2015

With Open Eyes...

Wednesday, 13th week in Ordinary Time

Gen 21: 5, 8-20a; Mt 8: 28-34

Hagar had almost given up. For her it was all over. She found no scope of living on and no chance of surviving that desertedness. All that while the well was just round the corner. She was so filled with self pity that she was not able to see the ample opportunity just there for hers to take. All that God did was open her eyes that she may see the well. However, finally she does see unlike the people of Gerasene who never saw till the end, who it was that had entered their village. Their self pity of having lost their swine in thousands blinded their eyes from perceiving the great and wonderful blessings that Jesus had in store for them. What a great miss it was, they asked Jesus to leave! If only they saw who they were rejecting; if only they beheld the blessings that he brought! If only they lived their lives with open eyes...