Saturday, October 8, 2016

THE GREAT ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

9th October, 2016: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 Kgs 5: 14-17; 2 Tim2: 8-13; Lk 17: 11-19

Spiritual life is made of a set of attitudes that make up who we are! The touchstone of an authentically spiritual person lies in the virtue that the Word of God speaks to us of today: the great attitude of Gratitude... gratitude for every goodness that one experiences, gratitude to the Source of all that one has and one is - God! "What do you have that you did not receive?" asks St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 4:7).

Gratitude is born of a Humble Recognition of God! Namaan was asked to dip in river Jordan and he felt offended because his pride ruled his will. But when he listens to that word from the Man of God, humbling himself for that moment, he recognised the presence of the Mighty God. It is only when I am humble, I recognise God and that recognition of God makes me more humble! 

Gratitude is expressed in Grateful Submission to God! An authentic outcome of immense gratitude is total submission to God for the marvels that God has done to us. We see the man in the Gospel, just one out of the ten of them - "he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks" (v.16). What happened to the rest? Either they did not realise they were healed or they did not realise that the healing was a gift! This Samaritan heart realised the gratuitous miracle and recognised the hand of God - and the result was, a grateful submission at the feet of Jesus.

Gratitude leads to a Faithful Perseverance in God's ways! "Rise and go your way, your faith has made you well" (v.19) says Jesus, commissioning him to be an apostle to the World. That is the commission we receive every time we experience the grace of God in our personal lives - to go into the world and share the word of God, 'that the word of God may not be fettered' (cf. 2 Tim 2:9). It is the gratitude for the goodness that we have experienced in the Lord that makes us persevere, amidst all troubles and trials we might face. Our perseverance is not so much because we are faithful to the Lord, as because the Lord is faithful to us, reminds St. Paul in the second reading (2 Tim 2:13). 

A grateful heart is a humble heart and a humble person will ever be a faithful person and faithfulness gives one the courage and strength to persevere. Learning to look at our daily life and recognise the miracles that happen in abundance; putting up with daily crosses with the image of the Crucified Saviour in our hearts; placing ourselves each day at the feet of Jesus to be sent into the world as messengers of his loving Word - that is growing into Spiritual Persons. Let us heed the call of the Word today, to increase our sense of gratitude and grow into authentic spiritual persons! 



WORD 2day: 8th October, 2016

Being Children in faith

Saturday,  27th week in ordinary time
Gal 3: 22-29; Lk 11: 27-28

Being related to God is a faith experience.  I do not call you servants but friends,  declared Jesus.  Remain in my love,  he said. I shall be your God and you shall be my people,  was the mind of God when God made the covenant with people.  Being related to God is a need, a longing,  and a recognition that gives me my identity.

But this does not come by default.  Merely because I am baptised I don't belong to Christ or I don't become a child of God.  Paul says, I need to clothe myself with Christ.  My mentality has  to change and be transformed.  That is what Jesus means when he says it is more important to hear the words of the Lord and put them to practice than to go around saying I am a Christian.

We need to become Children of God not merely by title but in faith.

WORD 2day: 12th October, 2016

Directed by the Spirit

Wednesday,  28th week in ordinary time
Gal 5: 18-25; Lk 11: 42-46

Our doings need to flow from our being.  Our being should be guided by the right spirit,  for our doings to be dignified and desirable.  When our being and our doings do not synchronise with each other,  the person turns out to be either evil or evitable.

Integrity is the most respectable of all virtues.  This is what we meant when we spoke of our being and our doings synchronizing with each other. A person who is directed by the Spirit comes out to be an integral person.

Integrity costs,  it costs a considerable bit.  Some times it costs one's comfort zone,  at times one's opportunities vis-a-vis the others who manipulate situations, and at other times it costs one's image as being successful. It is the Spirit who alone can prepare one to pay such costs.