THE WORD IN ADVENT - DAY 4

Kingdom Task:  See the Lord

Celebrating Apostle St. Andrew

Rom 10: 9-18 ;Mt 4: 18-22

Come follow me,  he said and they did.  Andrew and Peter,  James and John,  they saw the Lord in that person who called them.  The Lord calls us today - to follow him closely... can we see the Lord coming in search of us.

We are lost in our daily duties,  family concerns,  debt issues,  social crisis and personal plans.  But the Lord comes:  can you leave these and come with me,  to live a life after my purposes.  Can you see the Lord calling you today?

THE WORD IN ADVENT - DAY 3

Kingdom Task: See beyond what you see

Is 11:1-10; Lk 10:21-24

If the Lion has to eat hay with the ox, it has to see beyond the ox as its prey; if the cow has to be neighbours with the bear, it has to see beyond the bear as a threatening beast; If we have to see the Lord amidst us today, we have to see beyond what we apparently see: Look at our brothers and sisters and see people who seek our love; look at the poor around us and see the hearts that yearn for warmth; look at those who may be in disagreement with us and see people who may be right or who may need to be affirmed.

The task is to see beyond and that is a challenge! Waiting for the Lord does not mean we wait doing nothing, we wait with our eyes wide open to see things which we have not seen thus far, to see those aspects of our brothers and sisters that will allow us to perceive the Lord.

THE WORD IN ADVENT - DAY 2

Kingdom Task: See God's Glory

Is 4: 2-6; Mt 8:5-11

Waiting for the Lord is not merely a passive waiting; it is seeing God's glory manifest in everything that surrounds us, seeing God's glory in the persons and events around manifested with such radiance. 

Seeing God's glory is a spiritual task, a task that is preceded by a disposition that is favourable. The Coming of the Lord is not merely a job of the Lord; we need to be awake to experience, express and share this wonderful fact of the Lord's nearness.

RETURN to the REIGN of God

First Sunday of Advent 2016

Is 2: 1-5; Rom 13:11-14a; Mt 24:37-44

Let us begin with wishing each other a blessed New liturgical year! And right at the outset the Lord invites us today, to RETURN to the REIGN of God. The Church is the sign and the sacrament of the Reign of God. We are the Church, the people of God! Therefore we are expected to be the signs, the bearers, the heralds of the Reign of God today to the world. And how can this happen if we are not people of the Reign, if we are not mindful of ushering in the Reign of God here on earth, or making the Reign felt concretely, if we do not really believe in what Christ said: 'The Reign of God is amidst you!' (Lk 17:21) Hence, the invitation today, to return to the Reign is basically a wake up call, to wake up to the reality, to wake up to our real identity, to wake up to our dignity as the People of the Reign and to live up to that identity on a daily basis.

It is an invitation to CLIMB the mountain of the Lord... yes, to walk in the way of the Lord, to walk in the light of the Lord...as the first reading repeats in different words. It is fundamentally an invitiation to climb, to go up, infact to grow up. We are invited to go up, grow up, above our tendencies of conflict and our feelings of rivalry and jealousy, above our petty considerations of ourselves and self centered striving for pleasure. It is a call to transcend what is popularly considered to be 'desirable' and reach the thinking worthy of the Reign - where swords can turn into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks; where all manipulation and exploitation will give into genuine love and sincere goodwill for the other.

It is an invitation to CONDUCT ourselves worthy of the Reign. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, invites us St. Paul. And in doing it, let's not wait for an opportune moment... for "now is the acceptable time, now is the time of salvation!" (2 Cor 6:2). Waiting for another moment will be a mistake, a blunder, a foolishness on our part. Let us make the choice, a choice for God, a choice for the light, a choice for the good, a choice to be awake, a choice to be the people of the Reign. Let us not blame the world, the society, the times... the choice is ours, and let us make it now - To accept the invitation of the Lord and "walk in the light of the Lord"(Is 2:5). We will find the joy that the Lord can give, the joy that the Light can shed, the joy that cannot be taken away from us, and in that joy we will find the Reign of God amidst us!

It is an invitation to CELEBRATE the Reign of God amidst us, not waiting to reach the end but celebrating it all the way. Advent is not a preparation towards a celebration, it is a celebration in itself, a celebration of the peace, the prosperity, the security and the salvation that the Lord brings us. The Reign of God becomes a reality when we celebrate our love and joy together as brothers and sisters in the Lord. This is the meaning of the phrase, All the way to heaven is heaven! As we pray in the responsorial psalm, we are walking, walking towards the Reign, but all through the way we are called to celebrate the Reign of God..celebrate the love we share, celebrate the equality we have, celebrate the justice we stand for, celebrate the brotherhood and sisterhood that we work to establish forever - that celebration is returning to the Reign!

As we begin the year, and the wonderful season of Advent, let us pay heed to the invitation from the Lord - to Climb the mountain of the Lord, to Conduct ourselves worthy of the Reign and in that joy, to Celebrate the Reign of God, every day in our relationships in our family, in our communities, in our parish, in our localities and wherever we are. May the joy of the Gospel, the joy of the Reign, fill our hearts all through this new year. 

WORD 2day: 26th November, 2016

Alarming but Life-giving!

Saturday, 34th week in Ordinary Time

Rev 22: 1-7;  Lk 21: 34-36

We are on the last day of the liturgical year, from tomorrow we begin a whole new cycle. Last day, last days, last chance and last moments...these are words with a bit of alarm inbuilt. Jesus does shake us up a little, warning of things that will happen in the last days. Alarming yes, but at the same time life giving says the Word today. 

If we are prepared, holding on to the Lord and living in perfect communion with the Lord, then we need not be alarmed, we can remain firm with our heads high, we can rest assured whatever time it be, our experience will only be life giving. When there are, or there have been, compromises in our way of life and our choices, then the alarm is natural and eventual. With a filial love in the Lord, let us continue to live our daily life worthy of our Lord and we shall encounter Him with love not fear. 

Remembering Ven. Mamma Margaret

25th November, 2016 -
160th Anniversary of the death of Mamma Margaret, the Mother of Don Bosco.

This day is traditionally set apart to pray for the deceased parents of salesians. 

This year this practice makes an all new difference to me...

For all the deceased parents of Salesians and those in the Salesian Family...

Eternal Rest grant unto them O Lord; 

May the Perpetual Light shine upon them. 

May they rest in peace - Amen

WORD 2day: 25th November, 2016

Heaven, Earth and the Word

Friday,34th week in Ordinary Time

Rev. 20: 1-4,11- 21:2

We have heard the usage in english, 'he moved earth and heaven to achieve something'. Moving heaven and earth is symbolically used as doing even what is impossible. Heaven and earth become a kind of immovable reference points naturally. Physics, Kinetics, Geography, History ...all of these subjects and others take heaven and earth as reference points to make possible an explanation for their theories and principles. Today the Lord says, these are not truly the unchanging reference points, they cannot be. 

The true reference point for our life, for our actions, for our choices has to be the Word. For those who hear the Word, keep it in their heart and live by it will find a place in that New Heaven and New Earth... the heaven and the earth may keep becoming new and newer, it does not matter, as long as what matters to us is the Word and being faithful to it. That is our constant, unchanging and never ending  reference point!

WORD 2day: 24th November, 2016

Victory and Power to Our Lord!

Thursday, 34th week in Ordinary Time

Rev 18:1-2,21-23,19:1-3,9; Lk 21:20-28

Reacting to the first reading of today, many take off with imaginations and guesses as to who is the whore and who is the condemned. There are so many of the non-catholic denominations today who point an accusing finger with a heartless judgement : the Catholic Church is the Babylon of the Apocalypse! That is definitely not the purpose of the descriptions in the book...not solving some mystery puzzle!

The simple message is a challenge to make a choice, a choice for God. Amidst all the dreadful things that happen around, we are called to remain firm in the Lord. Amidst all the inexplicable evil around, we are called to side with the truth and fearlessly face the consequences. Amidst all the dark powers that seemingly dominate the scene, we are called to firmly believe that the victory and power belong to Our Lord!  

WORD 2day: 23rd November, 2016

Perseverance...Ready!?!

Wednesday, 34th week in Ordinary Time
Rev 15:1-4; Lk 21: 12-19

Perseverance in terms of targets and achievements in the world is holding on endlessly. The same, when it comes to our relationship with God is giving up limitlessly. It is to give up totally into the hands of God, regardless of the successes or failures, gains or losses, happiness or sadness, prosperity or misery! 

Faith is all about giving up everything and walking with our hands in the hands of God. Indeed it's a challenging feat. Specially considering the fact that today there is a great pressure laid on people to hoard up things, keep striving to prove oneself, ensure one's career or well being in competition with each other...the times are difficult. It takes true faith and strong hope, to remain calm and unperturbed even amidst such tribulations. That is true perseverance! Ready?

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

The Harvest of Faith

Celebrating St Cecilia- 22nd November, 2016
Rev 14:14-19; Lk 21:5-11

Harvest is joyful but it involves sickles and winnowing chaff. Harvest is a welcome end but anyway it's an end.  Harvest is the end of a process of growth but it is a moment when one shall be judged to be gathered or to be thrown away!

It is the same with faith... that too is an harvest.  We keep growing.  All absurdities and adversities notwithstanding, we grow but it is upto that moment of reckoning when we shall be judged worthy or not,  for  the king who has chosen is to belong to him.

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

Chosen, Marked and...Given?

Presentation of Our Blessed Mother -21st November, 2016

Rev. 14: 1-3,4b-5; Lk 21:1-4

We are chosen and marked with the names of Our Lord and His Father, the mark that we received at Baptism and renew at every sacrament we receive! We are chosen, in the name of the Lord to bear the name of the Father. We are marked to represent the Lord here amidst other people and bring to fulfillment the plan that the Father has for the entire universe! We are chosen by the Father and marked by the Lord...What should our response be?

Our Blessed Mother answers that question perfectly: Total Self Giving, that should our response be! Whatever little we have, whoever little I am, I am called to give that totally into the hands of the God and miracles will happen. As long as I keep something of me in reserve, I prevent the free flow of grace. When I give myself without reserve and when I offer myself totally...wonders begin to happen, God's plan begins to unfurl, love begins to flow and mercy finds no bounds!

There is no doubt, I am chosen, I am marked...but the question is, have I given myself? And how much of myself have I given?  

JESUS CHRIST IS KING

And I am His Ambassador

Solemnity of Christ the King : 20th November, 2016

Closing of the Year of Mercy

2 Sam 5: 1-3; Col 1: 12-20; Lk 23: 35-43

Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever! Jesus Christ is the king - yesterday, today and forever! We celebrate the Kingship of Christ this Sunday - what a wisdom for the Church to invite the faithful to end the year with their King. And next Sunday we begin a new liturgical year. Today, the readings invite us to reflect on the kingship that Christ holds and the way he exercises it! St. Paul summarises the entire feast in just three verses in the second reading - Col 1: 17,18,20.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together(Col 1:17). The first reading establishes the kingship of Jesus in the line of David - God makes David the king of Israel and promises that his line will never end. Infact, in God's mighty plan, the kingship seems eternal, without beginning or end, for God places David a king, to rule in God's name and for Israel it was always Yahweh, who was the King! Every leadership in Christian community therefore derives from God; it is an invitation, a commitment to act on behalf of God, at the service of God's people! Jesus Christ is King, Jesus Christ has been king from eternity, as the first-born of all creation, to him all glory and majesty!

Through him God is pleased to reconcile all things on earth or heaven (Col 1:20). The verse speaks to us of a future, of the universal harmony in One Lord, One God, the new earth and new heaven where only Love will reign, that is, only God will reign, for God is love (1 Jn 4:8). Jesus Christ is King, Jesus will be forever the king. Everything, everyone is moving towards that union with God, in Christ our Lord. It fills us with a hope, despite all the tribulations we go through here and now. But it is not automatic, it all depends on the choices we make today. If we choose the Lord, we endear the Lord. On the contrary, if we choose the passing glories and fleeting pleasures of the moment, that is what we will have. As St.Paul instructs us elsewhere, if you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit (Gal 6:8).

He is the head of the body, the church (Col 1:18). The Gospel presents us a strange sort of a King. Jesus is the one who rules...who rules from the Cross as his throne, who rules with the thorns as his crown, who rules  not with the sceptre in his hands but with the marks of nail on his hands, who rules not with laws but with love, a love that abounds without any measure whatsoever. Today the ruler has appointed you and me as his ambassadors - the ruler is not understood, so will we be not understood; the ruler is not welcome into the schools and public places and the moral arena in the world today, so will we be not welcome to voice our opinions for truth and for justice. But as his ambassador, what am I doing? What am I ready to do? Yes, Jesus is King, but  I am his ambassador, wherever I am... in my service of love, in my witness of faith, in my joy of hope, in my testimony of humility, in my commitment to truth and in my yearning for justice, I have to prove myself that I am the ambassador of that Eternal King. 

Today we celebrate the Kingship of Christ - yes, Yesterday, Today and Forever, Jesus is King, but I am his ambassador. How worthy am I to the king whom I represent! How faithful and loyal am I to the King who has died for me, and who calls me to do the same! You are the people of God, Royal Priesthood says the Word, yes, that is what we are...we share the kingship with Christ - a kingship that consists in loving service to humanity and loving surrender to the Lord!

Long live my King! And let me live everyday worthy of my King!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

Peoples, Nations and Tongues:  The Church 

Celebrating the Principal Basilicas

Rev 10: 8-11; Lk 19: 45-48

Celebrating the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul, we are not celebrating merely the Church whose consecration we remember today, but the Churches built by these great Apostles - the Churches: the peoples, the nations, the tongues, the tribes, the continents, the cultures reached out to by these two pillars of the Church. The facade of the Basilica of St. Peter at the Vatican has this symbolic placement of the two gigantic statues of Peter on one side and Paul on the other - just to honour these two giants of apostolic zeal. 

Today the Church, everywhere, is growing more and more small minded and less and less "catholic" (all-embracing). The call is clear, when there is small thinking, petty divisions, in fights and clamour for prominence, it is den of robbers, not really the Church intended by the Master or His great apostles Peter or Paul. Let us rise above every discrimination and grow to be all-embracing, truly catholic and radically apostolic.

WORD 2day: 17th November, 2016

The Right Weeping - Christian style

Thursday, 33rd week in Ordinary Time
Rev 5:1-10; Lk 19:41-44

Weeping is Christian too when it is done for the right reasons.  Jesus himself wept, it is said, once for his friend and the other time for Jerusalem... both that they may be saved in the Lord.

John weeps in the first reading today that there is no one to open the scroll.  Such was his eagerness to hear the Word and understand the will  of God.  Crying,  weeping, complaining for the right reasons is commendable.  But the unfortunate fact is that we cry and weep for all wrong reasons! 

Our minds have to transcend the petty materialistic concerns and childish worldly worries.  We need to fix our gaze on the things of heaven.  Didn't the Lord instruct us: seek first the Reign of God, the rest shall be given unto you!

WORD 2day: 16th November, 2016

The courts of majesty and justice

Wednesday, 33rd week in Ordinary Time
Rev 4:1-11; Lk 19:11-28

The Word takes us  to two courts today - the court in the vision and the court in the story;  the court of majesty and that of justice.  The courts refer to a King we are preparing to celebrate this Sunday.

The king is the king of Majesty who deserves all our praise; we eternally belong to his court and our destiny is to reach  that court by our holiness and surrender.

The king is the king of Mercy who is generous in granting us favours; giving us all that we need and even more than we need to make our existence meaningful here and now that we may work our way to that court of reward.

The king is the king of Justice who looks at the effort of each of his subjects and rewards them accordingly;  expecting from us not a fixed or an exaggerated result but a result proportionate to the gifts the Lord had endowed on us - the court of reckoning.

WORD 2day: 15th November, 2016

Cold or hot, closed or open?

Tuesday, 33rd week in Ordinary Time
Rev 3: 1-6,14-20; Lk 19:1-10

Choices and compromises make a great difference in Christian living;  what matters is not so much what we do as what we intend to. Our heart and our intentions Master much more than acts and results.  This is both an advantage and a disadvantage for the human heart.  Advantage for those who are sincere with their efforts to remain true and dedicated to the Lord,  inspite of their shortfalls.  Disadvantage for those who create an aura around themselves as if  they are spiritual giants while there rest skeletons inside the cupboard conveniently covered off, but the Lord knows all and sees all.

Let your choices be translated into acts of commitment. Acts of grandeur lacking true internal choices cannot bear the true lasting fruits that we long for. Choices matter - are you cold or hot,  your hearts closed or open?

WORD 2day: 14th November, 2016

Good but not good enough-  see it!

Monday, 33rd week in Ordinary Time
Rev 1:1-4, 2:1-5; Lk 18: 35-43

The Lord loves us whether or not we deserve it.  But the Lord is not merely mercy but justice too!  Beginning today we listen to the Lord of justice as we begin the week running up to the feast is Christ the king.

Today the Word presents to us a Lord who is demanding and perfect... who feels all God's children are good but some are not good enough!  The question to me is,  do I belong to this category?

I should be able to see to understand if I am good enough or not!  That is a special seeing,  seeing from God's point of view,  seeing with the scale of  the just God, seeing with all my brothers and sisters in perspective,  seeing from the perspective of a goodness that is whole! 

THE END TIMES

13th November, 2016: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mal 3:19-20a; 2 Thes 3: 7-12; Lk 21: 5-19

Today is the last Sunday in the Ordinary Time, and next week we celebrate the solemnity of Christ the King and that would mark the end of the Year of Mercy too. The Word this week reminds us of the second coming of the King, that is the END times! Some get a strange a kick out of talking about the end times and spiritually terrorise those who listen to them. Just a few days now, there have been forwards on the social network claiming that the Sacred Sepulchre of Christ was opened and clouds encircled over it with trumpet blast! There have been in history, cases of people who gathered to meet the end of days, just like those who had bought trenches to secure themselves when the recent mystery stories did their rounds in 2012! Let us remember dear friends that we have been living in the end times for the past 2000 years!!! Even St. Paul had to warn the Thessalonians not to make too much of these claims!

For a true Christian what should the 'end time' mean? Should it be terrorising? Should it make one go into a delirious tantrum or a plaguing paranoia? Those are in no way Christian responses to the thought on end times. Because for the one who believes in Christ, the Lord who has overcome the world (Jn 16:33), the Lord who has gained victory over death(Rom 6:9), the end time is not dreadful, it cannot be a threatening darkness! The first reading says so plainly, "but for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays!" (Mal 3:20). 

The readings today instruct us, on how we should confront the end times. What if the end of times were tomorrow, or today or now! We have begun our life journey, a journey of perfection towards union in Christ and this journey has to necessarily end, and that end is nothing but union with Christ - how my soul should long for that: Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul longs for you, my God! (Ps 42:1) 

The first reading tells me, all that I need to do to prepare myself for the end times, is to LEND my ears to the Lord. When I hear the word of the Lord and live it with all my heart (Jas 1:22), not beset by occasional set backs but ever trusting in the mercy and goodness of the Lord, I need to fear no one; I need to fear nothing, not even the gates of hell! But the secret is the eagerness to lend my ears to the Word of the Lord.

The second reading challenges me to AMEND my ways in the Lord, go on living my every day life with serenity and peace. There is nothing to worry or fret as the Thessalonians did, for my soul finds rest in the Lord, and my salvation comes from God (Ps 62:1). All that I need to do is remain mindful of my ways! A sincere humility and daily conversion leads me to a genuine Christian life. When I begin everyday in the presence of the Lord planning my life and end it in God's presence evaluating it on the basis of God's teachings, I come to know of the things that I can be happy about and the things I need to grow in. A saint is not someone who has never failed, but is someone who has never remained the same after a failure! The secret is my willingness to amend my ways to walk in the light of the Lord.

The Gospel invites me to TRANSCEND all fears and trust in the Lord. Humanly speaking, I cannot end all my fears, but I can transcend every one of them. When my heart trusts in the Lord, when my eyes are fixed on my Saviour, when my hand rest in the hands of the One who leads me, I can transcend all my fears - like Peter who dared to step on to the turbulent sea and walk, like Paul and Barnabas who stood before the angry Sanhedrin and spoke, like the apostles who defied every authority and spread the message of Christ... they were all once filled with fear... they were the same weak men but with the Spirit they could transcend all fears! Nothing - no threat, no punishment, not even death - could frighten them. The secret is my capacity to transcend all fears with the Spirit of power, love and self-discipline (2 Tim 1:7). 

The End of times is near... infact we are living in the end times... it is not a matter to be spoken of in alarm or in whispers... the message of end times is, a call to lend my ears to the Word of the Lord, a challenge to amend my ways in the way of the Lord and to transcend all fears with the Spirit of the Lord! Let us live every day of our life, as if it were the last day of our life, every moment as if it were the last. Let us live our lives to the full, ever acceptable in the eyes of the Lord!

WORD 2day: 12th November, 2016

Goodness to strangers - How Strange!

Saturday, 32nd week in Ordinary Time

3 Jn 5-8; Lk 18: 1-8

The first reading today speaks of the Godliness in being good to strangers. But doesn't that sound strange in today's context. People find being good to the good, a little too tedious. The population of the kind that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel - those who do neither fear God nor respect people - is on the rise and with no qualms of conscience. Religious or Irreligious, educated or uneducated, male or female ...nothing serves an exception to this condition. The generation is becoming more and more insensitive. Killing for a pittance, killing for honour, killing for payment, killing for religion, killing for profits, killing for property, killing for convenience...what is humanity going towards? With all these speaking of being good to strangers - how strange! Be ready to be considered strange - that's being Christian!

WORD 2day: 11th November, 2016

Love, and do what you want!

Friday, 32nd week in Ordinary Time

2 Jn 4-9; Lk 17: 26-37

It was reported yesterday in the news that after Mr. Trump was elected President of the US, one of the highest number of searches on google was 'the end of times'. People are constantly looking out for such things - the armaggedon, the end of the world, the third world war, the second coming etc. At times they query as to what would be the best way to prepare themselves towards these phenomena. The answer is simple... go on living your Christian life to the full. How do we live the Christian life to the full? Love!

Love! That is no new teaching. It is the summary of all teachings of Christ. There is almost nothing you can do when the end comes, whenever it comes! There is nothing special that you are expected to do too, that is why the time is not announced earlier. Live your daily life in love and peace, encounter people, share your joys, reduce misunderstandings, increase genuine relationships, laugh with those who laugh and weep with those who weep, forgive and accept, in short, LOVE! St. Augustine's words are a very pertinent lesson: love, and do what you wish!

WORD 2day: 10th November, 2016

The Reign of Brothers and Sisters

Thursday, 32nd week in Ordinary Time

Phlm 7-20; Lk 17: 20-25

The Reign of God is among you, reminds Jesus. This has been a revolutionary teaching of the Lord for ages, it has incited liberation movements and over thrown some inhuman systems. Today the reminder returns - to make present, to feel the presence and to accept the obligation presented to  us by the Reign of God in our day to day life. 

One of the responsibilities of the Reign is to look at everyone as brothers and sisters and not in terms of subject or as objects. Even if it is a servant or a slave, look at the person, accept the inherent dignity of the person and give them their due without grudging. Let go of divisive mentalities and competitive spirits, look at everyone as a co-passenger on this journey called life. There are moments when one gives and others when one receives. One is not better than the other; both are part of the same process. 

The Reign of God is here, begin to feel it, work to make it present and spread it in spirit through everything you are involved in.

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

Maintain my Temple

Commemorating the Lateran Basilica - 9th November, 2016

Ezek 47:1-2,8-9,12; 1 Cor 3:9-11,16-17; Jn 2: 13-22

'Rebuild my house' - Francis of Assisi was commissioned. He mistook it for renovating a chapel that was in ruins...but it was a much deeper call. Today's feast and the Word resound that call once again. The Temple we celebrate here, has a threefold meaning.

First, the Temple of the Lord, the dwelling of the Holy Spirit, our body! To maintain it holy and acceptable in the eyes of the Lord, is an urgent call, given the context that is so relativistic.

Second, the Temple that is the Church, the people of God - to unite, to heal wounds and to sustain the loving relations within the people of God is another great task entrusted to us today.

Third, the Temple that is the Common Home, the earth where the Lord makes God's majestic presence felt. We are called to care for this common home and promote the divine presence and grace within this common home called the Earth.

The Lateran Basilica that is the Mother Church within the Catholic Church is a reminder of the great tradition our faith has.Built in honour of John the Evangelist, this is situated in the property of the Lateran Family and that is the reason for the name, Basilica of St. John at the Lateran. It is known to be the earliest basilica built and it was built by Emperor Constantine himself. It has been the See of Rome since then and remains so even today. The Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) is this Basilica we celebrate today. We are sustained in our faith by these memories and acknowledgement that we treasure. May grace flow from this Basilica today to touch every heart that longs for the warmth of faith.  

WORD 2day: 7th November, 2016

Leading, Leading astray and Leading together

Monday,  32nd week in Ordinary Time
Tit 1:1-9; Lk 17:4-11

The Word speaks of three aspects of leadership in a community...

First is leading,  leading after the heart of God,  being inspired by the Holy Spirit and guided by teachings of the Lord.

Second is leading astray,  where the evil one is active at play.  That has been the quality of the evil one,  right from the beginning of humanity. Temptor, as he is identified, he uses people in his influence to draw others to himself against good.

The third is leading the community together to unity,  harmony and loving understanding.  One of the most important tool in this regard would be forgiveness.  No community or family can be built without daily and unfailing forgiveness.

People of RESURRECTION

6th November, 2016: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 Mac 7: 1-2,9-14; 2 Thes 2:16 - 3:5; Lk 20: 27-38

"And I will raise them up on the last day" declared Jesus regarding those who partook of him. Resurrection is our hope, Resurrection is the foundation of our faith. The crux of the salvation that Jesus offers us is Hope, and hope is the confidence of things that we are yet to receive and the greatest of all that we look forward to is resurrection! This is what Jesus in his incarnate self showed us - he lived his life for God, he died for God and by God he was raised; when we live, we live for God; if we die, we die for God, and we will be risen in the Lord! This is the foundation of our faith; for as St.Paul says, "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile" (1 Cor 15:17). The readings today, help us understand what resurrection can mean to us. 

Resurrection is a REWARD, a recompense that God sets before us for the commitment with which we live our life. We come from God, and it is our destiny that we return to God. We are loved into existence by God and we bear God's image in the core of our being. Every day of our life is an opportunity to cherish that image within us and bring it to fulfillment within us. Every person we come across is a companion on this journey and every situation we live through is a means to nudge towards the destiny. There are moments that are trying and those are moments to stride across, as we see in the first reading. When we find ourselves in such moments as those, when we have to choose between God and godlessness, between righteousness and injustice, between good and mediocrity - and we decide to choose God, righteousness, goodness - we can proudly say with St. Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown"(2 Tim 4:7,8).

Resurrection is RECONCILIATION, a reunion with my creator, an experience of my oneness with my God, whose child I am. In the letter to the Colossians, we are told, "you have now been reconciled in the body of his flesh, so as to present you holy and blameless before God provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in faith"(Col 1:22,23). Just this morning some one remarked to me, 'Oh after all, would we live another 25 years!' Absolutely true, that we are on an earthly sojourn and our eternal abode beckons us. That is why St. Paul prays in the second reading today, 'May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.' It is in that love of God and the faithfulness of Christ, that we are assured of 'eternal life' which is participating in the nature of God, who alone is eternal. In our resurrection we become one with God, we are reconciled to God, and we become eternal like God!

Resurrection is REALISATION, a concrete experience of what has been promised. We are called to live as the people of Resurrection. Christians are Easter People... while there is in store the eternal life that has been promised, we are invited to live that resurrection every day, every moment, specially in those moments when we are prone to hopelessness and desperation. We need to realise who we are, we need to realise who our God is! Jesus says of us - "they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection" (Lk 20:35). As Paul explains to the Romans (ch.6), we have died with Christ, in his crucifiction and we will live with him! We are called to live our lives, as people of resurrection, not losing heart on any trial, not giving up at any temptation, not desperate with any failure, not bogged down by any evil - but people filled with hope, comfort, courage, steadfastness, strength and love of God.

We are people of resurrection; let us live our lives mindful of the reward that the Lord has set before us, preserve ourselves holy and blameless to be reconciled to the Lord in eternal life and realise the fruits of that resurrection right here and now, in our daily lives.

WORD 2day: 5th November, 2016

The Master Issue

Saturday, 31st week in Ordinary Time

Phil 4: 10-19; Lk 16: 9-15

Who is your master? 

Wealth? What would you do with it when your life is gone? Wealth is useful only as much as it can give you a happiness that will not ruin the eternal joy that the Lord has in store for you. Wealth has to be your servant, serving your purposes, not your master getting its purposes fulfilled.

Goodwill of Others? What do you seek - human respect or acceptability in the eyes of God? What would the opinion of others matter, when it keeps changing according to their whims and fancies. How much do you want to change and how long and what for? For the sake of others? Or would you like to image yourself after the will of God?

Is God your Master... if so you would please God and God alone. In God we trust, we proclaim; but put our trust in so many factors. Raise that question to yourself: who is your Master?

WORD 2day: 4th November, 2016

God, glory, stomach and shame!

Friday, 31st week in Ordinary Time

Phil 3:17 - 4:1; Lk 16: 1-8

Their stomach is their god and their glory is in their shame - what words St. Paul has against those who live a life that is thoughtless and flimsy, with nothing that offers a depth to their living or nothing that adds to meaning of their lives. Hoarding wealth, seeking comfort, craving for pleasures and living solely for material satisfaction - what can that offer to one's life. Lies lead to more lies, obscurities lead to more obscurities, crimes lead to more crimes and lawlessness leads to absolute inhumanity. Compromises kill.

Being imitators of Christ, means to live with no compromises, to speak nothing but the Words of the Almighty, to think nothing but good, to do only what builds the other and the family of God, to love like God and to relate like children of God. That would be heaven...or the Reign of God on earth. Let each of us do our part!

WORD 2day: 3rd November, 2016

True Loss and Real Gain

Thursday, 31st week in Ordinary Time

Phil 3: 3-8a; Lk 15: 1-10

The World today judges everything against categories like gain or loss or profit or returns! Which is the true loss and what would be real gain - the Apostle today clarifies it in no uncertain terms. I consider everything as a loss or as rubbish, when it comes to knowing Christ, gaining favour with the Lord, growing in relationship with the Lord. The question fundamentally is about one's choices and priorities.

The Gospel clarifies the choices and priorities of the Lord...for the Lord, God's children matter the most! Whether one has been into sin all one's life (like the sheep that stray), or one considers oneself worth nothing (just a single dime), for the Lord that one person is worth the whole world, is worth giving up everything even God's only son!

True loss is the loss of relationship with the Lord and Real gain is gaining life in the Lord. Whether we live or die, we do it for Christ.

THE SAINTS AND THE WORD

The People of the Word

Tuesday, 1st Nov, 2016

Rev 7: 2-4, 9-14; 1Jn 3:1-3; Mt 5:1-12a

The seal, the scroll and the Word - the signs of the people of God presented in today's Word. The seal denotes the sovereignty of God which the saints totally acknowledge. The scroll signifies the plan of God that exists from all eternity. The Word is the life of the saints, the true children of God. 

Children of God are those who deserve that name by their life and works...not merely for namesake! Let your light shine, the Lord has challenged us.  Those who listen to my father and do what He says are those who deserve to be called children of God. 

Saints are fundamentally children of God who are recognised so because they had lived a life worthy of that title. We are given the title too; our daily duty is to grow more and more worthy of it.