WORD 2day: 1st July, 2016

Searching for the Word

Friday, 13th week in Ordinary Time
Amos 8: 4-6, 9-12; Mt 9: 9-13

Searching for the Word, that is the quality presented today as a distinguishing trait of a person of God. A person who is far from God, will not conveniently keep away from the Word of God because it would disturb his or her peace. But when that happens his or her life drifts away from truth, from its origin, from its very meaning. That is what Amos warns the people of God about. Whereas, when a person is close to God, longs for God and earnestly seeks for the will of God, he or she will find that life giving Word right at their doorstep. 

The Lord declares today, only the sick need the doctor. Let us be aware that only those who accept their sickness will seek the doctor and only those who want a way out of their sickness will do the needful to grow wholesome. The Word of the Lord contains life, life in its fullness... let us make it a sincere habit to search for the Word.

WORD 2day: 30th June, 2016

In or Out - it's your choice

Thursday, 14th week in Ordinary Time

Amos 7: 10-17; Mt 9: 1-8

The Word today presents to us varied pictures of people going in and out : in to captivity, out of slavery to sin, in to their own doom, out of disease and handicaps... but the choice was always theirs.  It is the same with us today: we can choose to remain in our weakness and godlessness, satisfied with little we have. The Lord has so much in store which we miss entirely because of our stubbornness. 

I am reminded of that picture that is quite popular... a little girl with her tiny doll refusing to give it to Jesus kneeling before her. She is totally unaware of the jumbo size teddy doll that Jesus is holding behind his back, all for her! What is my choice: holding on to the little I know or allowing the Lord to lead me by hand, teach me everyday and enrich me with his wholeness?

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

Peter, Paul and Francis

Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul: 29th June, 2016

Acts 12: 1-11; 2 Tim 4: 6-8, 17-18; Mt 16: 13-19

Why is this twinning...Peter and Paul? Because they were two solid pillars of reference in the early Christian Community. The Tradition of Papacy is a combination of both these apostles: Peter referring to the governance and the Paul referring to the doctrines! Both of these are equally important as roles of the Holy Father. This is the reason, this day is celebrated in many places as the "Pope's Day"

It is a day to celebrate the great God-given gift of Pope Francis! We are aware of the numerous forces that are up in arms against the present Holy Father many from the other denominations and some even from within the Catholic Church. But at a closer study and understanding it is easy for one to realise the amount of good that the present Holy Father is doing to the Church and to the world in the name of the Church.

Pope Francis seems a beautiful combination of Peter and Paul - making his mark in the governance of the Universal Church and bringing the deep doctrines to makes sense of the ordinary day to day experiences. Today, let us keep the Holy Father in our special prayers!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Meeting God - the Moment of Truth

Remembering St. Irenaeus - 28th June, 2016

Amos 3: 1-8, 4:11-12; Mt 8: 23-27

Amos poses a series of questions all amounting to make us aware of the real meaning of trying situations in life. When everything goes well and we are in perfect control of our lives, we can experience a joy that can make us grateful to God. In moments of crisis or moments of trouble and want, how do we respond: that is the moment of truth, the moment of reckoning, the moment that reveals my true inner worth. In these moments the joy that the Lord can give comes in the form of that serenity which is true and deep -a serenity that characterises the saints like Irenaeus whom we celebrate today.

Peace or problems, joys or sorrow, confusions or turmoils, the serenity remains when we learn to meet God, at those moments of truth! We need to grow over the habit of doubting and questioning the presence and the power of God amidst the varied types of struggles we find ourselves through. I am always reminded of that story of the little girl who brought lunch for her dad who was digging a well and was almost a 40 feet below in  the pit. When she told him that she wants to come where her dad was, the dad said 'just jump and I will catch.' She retorted, 'but i cannot see you its all dark in there!' The dad from within shouted back, 'but I can see you clearly from here, just jump'... and she jumped into her dad's arms!

WORD 2day: 27th June, 2016

Is God on your  priority list?

Monday, 14th week in Ordinary Time

Amos 2: 6-10, 13-16; Mt 8: 18-22

Is God on my priority list? This is the question that came to my mind when I dwelt a little on the readings today. The question does not mean, do I go for the eucharist everyday nor does it mean do I read the Bible every day nor whether I spend a fixed time in prayer everyday! It means, whether God really matters to me, whether what God wants absolutely matters to me, whether God is the first on the list of criteria that would affect my choice or decision making. If it is so, the way I live by myself, the way I relate to persons irrespective of who they are and to what strata of society they belong to, the way I look at the world and the reality around me, would be totally different. God may be one of the important considerations in my life, but that will never suffice. God has to be by priority - the first criterion and an absolute criterion!

The Follower

Free... Firm... Focused.

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 19: 16b, 19-21; Gal 5: 1,13-18, Lk 9: 51-62

WORD 2day: 25th June, 2016

The Devastation Notwithstanding

Saturday, 12th week in Ordinary Time

Lam 2: 2, 10-14, 18-19; Mat 8: 5-17

Destruction, devastation, desecration, disease and death bed...these are the situations elaborated in the Word but alongside there is an insistence on mercy, healing, forgiveness, faith and trust! This is what we need to keep in our mind- all the possible devastation notwithstanding, the Lord is with us, for us and the Lord loves us. What can separate us from the love of God, St Paul would question in his letter to the Romans (8:38,39). Absolutely nothing can separate us from the Love of God that is poured on us through Jesus Christ, nothing except our own obstinacy! Let's beware!

WORD 2day: 20th June, 2016

The Splinter and the Log

Monday, 12th week in Ordinary Time

2 Kgs 17: 5-8, 13-15,18; Mt 7: 1-5

Judging someone is totally unChristian says the Word today. Seeing a splinter or a log depends on also how close we are when we look at it. We can make a log of a splinter, or we can make a splinter of a log...what matters is not what we judge some one to be, but the very act of judging. It is against love and I cannot but recall Mother Teresa's perfect summary of God's loving mercy: when we judge we have stopped loving!

IDENTITY

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Zech 12: 10-11, 13:1; Gal 3:26-29; Lk 9: 18-24

Who do you think you are? Who do people think you are? Who do you appear to be, for those who look at you? These are different versions of that pertinent question that JEsus wants us to ask! 

The Word today invites us to seek and find this identity through, in and with Christ; that is how we would be wholly Christians! 

Through Christ: Zechariah reminds us how the people were transformed into a people of the covenant, into people of God through David to whom the promise was given. Jesus comes in the same line to seal that covenant for eternity with his own blood. Through Christ we are made people of God - our fundamental identity.

In Christ: Going deeper, we are not just any people, we are not just a crowd of people who belong to God...but we are Children of God. We are given this power (Jn 1:12), this grace of being new creations (2 Cor 5:17) in Christ who makes us Children of God, sharing his heir-ship with us.

With Christ: The call thus is to stay on with Christ, live with Christ and strive with Christ, towards building the Reign of God here on earth. That we can do only by our total self giving as Christ himself showed us in his life and invites us to imitate. With Christ we are made Messengers of that Good News, the good news of the Reign of God initiated by the Son of God for the sake of the People of God. We are prophets, messengers, apostles of that Reign, with Christ.

WORD 2day: 17th June, 2016

Treasures and Pressures

Friday, 11th week in Ordinary Time

2 Kgs 11: 1-4,9-18,20; Mt 6: 19-23

We hear of people all stressed and pressurised today - but for what? Wealth, earning, spending, adding to comforts, having things that they wish to have, hoarding bank balances and shares...all for what? To die early and leave behind everything? I heard recently someone sharing this wit, or rather wisdom: at the funeral of a wealthy woman, there were two of her close friends whispering to each other. "How much really has she left behind?" The other replied, "everything!" That is life.

Athalia worked her way up only to be put to the sword in an unceremonious manner! We offer our life, our relationships, our simple joys and peaceful mind as a sacrifice at that the altar of wealth and position, only to realise we have lost everything in the craze of hoarding wealth.The world today has to take note of this, for it is already too, too late!

WORD 2day:16th June, 2016

True Greatness in Utter Simplicity

Thursday, 11th week in Ordinary Time

Sir 48: 1-14; Mt 6: 7-15

Elijah is singled out in the book of Sirach, among the 27 great persons of God praised for their life and accomplishments. Elijah wins that place in his simplicity, in the simplicity with which he trusted in the Lord, the simplicity with which he carried out every single command or wish  of the Lord, that simplicity with which he endured his hardships, knowing certainly that the Lord is in control of everything. That was his true greatness.

This is the very same simplicity that Jesus lived and taught us...the Our Father is an epitome of simplicity prescribed to us not only as a prayer, but as a way of life, as a Spirituality that comes very close to the mind of Christ. How simple are our prayers? How simple is our faithful trust in the Lord? How simple is our relationship with God on a daily basis...that would be our way to true greatness!

WORD 2day: 15th June, 2016

Asking for the Spirit - a double share!

Wednesday, 11th week in Ordinary Time

2 Kgs 2: 1,6-14; Mt 6: 1-6,16-18

Elisha asks for a double share of the Spirit that Elijah had...Elijah does not say it is impossible. He only says it is difficult. But lays down a condition. The rest is history.

We can ask Jesus a double share of Spirit. He is ready to give us... again a condition is in play. If you want a double share of the blessing...you have to make a double share of your effort. Doing good is one part; being spiritual is one part; being holy is one part; being virtuous is one part. Never expecting anything in return for these is the second part! Am I ready?

WORD 2day: 14th June, 2016

Loving those who don't deserve

Tuesday, 11th week in Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 21: 17-29; Mt 5: 43-48

We all have a list of people who do not deserve our kindliness, our compassion, our understanding or our love. We come to that conclusion after a series of experiences with them and ordinarily speaking that conclusion would seem to everyone as just and understandable. The Lord says, convert that list into your priority list, start loving those in that list - start loving those who do not deserve to be loved according to your judgment. Are you crying: Oh that is not possible? The Lord says, then you are no different from those who are far away from the Lord. If you are to be known as children of God, start loving those so-called undeserving persons, with genuine love in your heart!

You have examples: look at the first reading today. The Lord loves Ahab...however cruel and ruthless he had been...the Lord forgives and loves. He might have been undeserving but the Lord loves! Why go so far: each of us, let us consider our own life - are we really deserving to receive all the love that God showers on us?

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Extra Miles Yes; but No Compromise

Celebrating St. Anthony - 13th June, 2016

1 Kgs 21: 1-16; Mt 5: 38-42

Ahab seems a strange man! One would  get confused whether is a virtuous man or a villainous man when they see his profile as it appears in the book of Kings. He never seems to be doing evil, but remains still the cause and the source of a series of evil acts. He seems to have some kind of a fear of God but it finally amounts to a pseudo reverence to God, as he approves of the evil done by others and draws heavily from those.

We have another man to think about today, infact to celebrate! St. Anthony of Padua, a man who was ready to go any extra mile...he was ready make all sacrifices for the sake of the Word, but never ready even for a slightest compromise. There is an interesting episode of St. Anthony here in Chennai, India.

The statue of Anthony at George Town, Broadway, sports a beard unusual of the typical image of St. Anthony. So there goes around a legend that it was not Anthony at all, and that it was some other saint (probably St. Cajetan) that is placed there and people have mistakenly identified it as St. Anthony and that now there is no possibility of reverting things and so on. The episode I referred to is about a discussion we had at table with a veteran who has been in this Shrine for a while: He just asked a question - the  so-called statue has child Jesus in its arms - has anyone seen the image of Cajetan with child Jesus? - has anyone seen any saint other than Joseph and Anthony, who have child Jesus in their hand, ofcourse not to mention our blessed mother?

That set me thinking...St. Anthony has a singular grace of holding the Child Jesus in his arms...that was because he was worthy of it, a man of no compromise but full of compassion and passion for God and passion for God's people!

FORGIVEN - faith and faithfulness!

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 12th June, 2016

2 Sam 12: 7b-10,13; Gal 2: 16, 19-21; Lk 7:36 - 8:3

We are FORGIVEN...
the first reading says...we are forgiven because God is faithful!
the second reading says...we claim that forgiveness through our faith in Christ Jesus!
the Gospel says...we are forgiven so that we can imitate the faithfulness of God and follow God's call.

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

A Good Man of the Spirit: Celebrating St. Barnabas

11th June, 2016: Acts 11: 21b-26, 13:1-3; Mt 10: 7-13

Barnabas exudes some excellent traits that are essential for a Christian Apostle or a Christian leader today:

1. A Good Person: To be called 'good' in the Word of God, is a great matter of fact. Only a few in fact are given that attribute...we could count them on our fingers ...like Moses, David and so on. Barnabas joins that list!

2. A Person of the Spirit: He was filled with the Spirit and that was again another great trait of an Apostle. Barnabas, along with Paul, though he was not with Christ was accepted into the ranks of the Apostles because of the passion he had for Christ and the Good News!

3. A Person of Faith: A person who had an intimate and solid relationship with God and made it his priority in life. Antioch witnessed his attachment to the person of Christ; no wonder people who followed Christ were called for the first time 'Christ-ians', there at Antioch.

4. A Person all for God: Barnabas brought Saul into the band of Apostles and when Paul became more popular and more vociferous, that did not disturb Barnabas. There is a clear sign of an ego under perfect control. That is so essential for a Christian Leader today.

5. An Obedient Servant: Barnabas 'stayed' and 'was sent'...He just followed orders, orders from the Lord, through the needs of the times! When he had to stay, he stayed! When he was asked to go, he went! For him what mattered was, what the Lord wanted.

WORD 2day: 10th June, 2016

Silence: the voice of a sound soul

Friday, 10th week in Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 19: 9a,11-16; Mt 5: 27-32

The Lord speaks not so much in a loud thunder or in a raging fire, but in the silent whisper in the depth of one's heart, where one knows for oneself whether he or she is right or wrong, virtuous or not, authentic or not! That is the moment of truth when one encounters the Lord in the sound of sheer silence. I can proclaim something and live something totally different, I might preach something and believe in something totally opposite, I might profess something but internally be absolutely without any conviction...my heart is my judge, my soul is my mirror, my Lord is the only one who scrutinises me in silence, in silence which is the voice of a sound soul!

WORD 2day: 9th June, 2016

While you are still on the way!

Thursday, 10th week in Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 18: 41-46; Mt 5: 20-26

The connecting thread between the first reading and the Gospel today is what one can do while he or she is still on the way! While you still have the time and the opportunity, better reform your life, warns the Word today. At times we keep postponing our decision to turn good, and finally find there is no time or possibility, or that things have gone too far or we have already started facing the consequences of the erstwhile mistakes!

Why waste time while you know it is not going to help in the long run? Unnecessary cravings, unrealistic dreams, uncharitable priorities, ungodly presumptions, unfriendly attitudes, unholy practices...everything has to end! The Lord wants us to make a choice, clear and concrete, for the sake of the Reign. Seek ye first the Reign of God... hasten to choose the Reign, lest you fail to belong to the Reign. Decide and Stand up for the Reign, while you are still on the way!

WORD 2day: 8th June, 2016

Holding on to the Lord

Wednesday, 10th week in Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 18: 20-39; Mt 5: 17-19

Faith is holding on, it is holding on to the Lord against all odds. Hence perseverance is the capacity to hold on for a longer time. Today we witness some spectacular events in Elijah's lifetime, because he alone held on to God! One person's faith saves and revives the faith of the entire people... when we hold on to God, we hold our fellow persons up.

Holding on to God is not an easy thing anyway. Just because it is challenging the Lord does not make it easy...it is tough all the same. It is not merely to call out, 'Lord! Lord!" but it is to keep the Word of the Lord, to live by the commands of the Lord. When we do that we hold on, if not we fall. 

How prepared am I to hold on to the Lord?

WORD 2day: 7th June, 2016

The unspent jar and the unquenchable light

Tuesday, 10th week in Ordinary Time

1 Kgs 17: 7-16; Mt 5: 13-16

Today we read an episode so interesting and fabulous...the jar that would be never spent! That was because the widow was ready to give even the little she had, knowing well what it would cost her and her little son. She gave and she was blessed. She gave not merely from what she had, but all that she had. 

Jesus teaches us of another type of giving... giving not merely from what we have and not even giving all that we have, but giving others what we are! We are called to be light and to share that light with the world. We are called to shine, to enlighten the lives of people, to show them the path to the Lord... to be light in all ways possible. 

Our light should shine for others, not for ourselves - certainly not to showcase our own greatness and so called achievements! When it shines for others, it will never be quenched!

My 40 years with You!

6.6.2016: this day that year!

It has been 40 years Lord, since that day you proclaimed to the world that I was your child! Looking back today, I did not want to miss this moment to tell you Lord, I am humbled by your faithfulness! Great has been your goodness Lord. The path you have guided me through, the twists and turns you have accompanied me, the persons you brought into my life, the encounters you enabled - everything has been a revelation of your faithfulness to me! How unconditional your love has been, how immense your mercy has been, how deep your faithfulness has been - you have made me feel so great about myself. Thank you Lord for your faithfulness!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

Remembering the Immaculate Heart of Mary

4th June, 2016: Is 61: 9-11; Lk 2: 41-51

Following the Sacred Heart, we remember the Immaculate Heart - so fitting and meaningful a tradition! The Heart of Mary manifests a total dedication to God and the grand role God has in the salvation history of human kind.

The heart of Mary gives us three lessons to live by...

1. The heart was pierced by sorrows as Simeon predicted. No matter how much it was pierced and hurt and tortured, Mary's immaculate heart always glowed for the love of God and the fulfillment of God's will.

2. The heart of Mary was absolutely open to the working of the Spirit and it was at the beck and call of the Word. We see this right from the moment she heard the greeting from the angel. Openness to the Spirit is a matter of the heart and Mary exemplifies it to the utmost.

3. The heart of Our Blessed Mother was filled with 'God-thoughts' and that was because she kept everything that was happening in her life in her heart and pondered over them. She recognised, acknowledged and accepted interventions of God in her life, and found herself being moved and animated by the Lord, the Lord's Word and the Lord's Spirit.

Imitating Mary, let us open our hearts to God, glow for God and allow ourselves to be guided by the Lord and we will experience strongly the presence of the Lord in our hearts.

THE HEART AFFIRE

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

3rd June, 2016

Ezek 34: 11-16; Rom 5: 5-11; Luke 15: 3-7

One of the striking elements of the image of the Sacred Heart is the flame that accompanies it. That is the only thing that this naive generation has left out, from the Sacred Heart, when they adapted its symbol to indicate the love between two people! The heart with an arrow piercing it...you have seen it for sure, haven't you!

But this flame is a special symbol of the Heart of Jesus and it has three significant messages and challenges to give us:

1. Sacrificing: the flame establishes that the sacred heart is a sacrificing heart, not an expecting heart! The flame burns and it consumes the heart...the love that Jesus has for us consumes Jesus...the sacrifice on the Cross, the giving of Jesus' body and blood  -they are all clearly evidences of this quality of the heart of Jesus. How sacrificing is our love?

2. Seeking: the flame is also characteristically something that seeks to reach out. Look at a fire as it burns will it remain in just one spot and be satisfied? No. It seeks. Jesus seeks, seeks to reach out to us, seeks to warm our hearts, seeks to enlighten our paths, seeks to ease our troubles, seeks to meet our needs as a Shepherd seeks the troubled sheep.

3. Shining: the flame is radiant. It shines forth, it shines to invite us to follow the model. The shining flame is an open challenge - can you be like me, can you love like me, can you care for the others like me, can you be sacrificing like me, can you seek to serve others, can you be affire as I am, passionate about filling this world with true love and make it a better place, a heaven on earth, the Reign of God here and now!

WORD 2day: 2nd June, 2016

Faithful to the Faithfulness 

Thursday, 9th week in Ordinary Time

2 Tim 2: 8-15;  Mk 2: 28b-34

Even if we are unfaithful the Lord is faithful, because he cannot deny himself! God is faithfulness personified. Our faithfulness to the Lord is a response that we give to the faithfulness of the Lord. We love because, God loved us first. We are faithful because the Lord is faithful to us! Infact, our faithfulness is our readiness and our commitment to be faithful to the faithfulness of the Lord! 

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Spirit of power, love and self control

Remembering St. Justin Martyr: 1st June 2016

2 Tim 1:1-3,6-12; Mk 12:18-27

We are given the Spirit of power and love and self control, not a spirit of timidity! A spirit of negativity reigns in the world today, a spirit of vendetta and a spirit of exploitation is seen prevalent everywhere. The Word invites us today to take a look at the Spirit with which we are filled as true sons and daughters of God. Are we going to be lost in the spirit of  negativity and squander our lives finding fault with others all the time? Are we going to be pessimistic about everything that is happening around and start lamenting our times? Or are we going to stick our heads out, gird our shoulders and get ourselves ready to live our life to the full without wasting our time in criticism and judgments on others!