WORD 2day: 1st June, 2017

Expect the Unexpected - with the Spirit

Thursday after Ascension Sunday

Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; John 17:20-26

Jesus prays that we be one in the Spirit, that we become one people under one Lord, by the action of the Spirit. The Spirit unites, binds, builds! But we see in the first reading, the Spirit inspiring the Apostle to say something that divides the Sadducees and the Pharisees...just like the division that happened at the tower of Babel. Here the Spirit seems to divide, but dividing the evil and making it powerless before the good. After all the risks, dangers and resultant suffering when Paul straightens up, the Spirit tells him: it is not over, you have yet to bear similar things at Rome. The Spirit always surprises us...when we are ready to be surprised, when we expect the unexpected and carry out exactly what the Spirit wants us to, we will surely be powerful witnesses to all the world.

WORD 2day: 30th May, 2017

Glorifying, in the Spirit

Tuesday after Ascension Sunday 

Acts 20: 17-27; Jn 17:1-11

People long  to be glorified today. The giant flexes and the wall paintings so keen about names and faces, the schemes announced and credits misappropriated... these are effects of this longing for glorification. Jesus declares, 'now is the time for the son of man to be glorified'... Paul looks for a glorification too; but this is a glorification  in the Spirit.

Jesus gets ready to take up the cross and Paul says the Spirit has foreshown  him sufferings and persecutions. Glorification in the Spirit would be accepting the will of God in total surrender, without trying to change it or adapt it to our convenience. The Spirit alone can empower us towards such a disposition.

WORD 2day: 29th May, 2017

The Graduation time

Monday after Ascension Sunday

Acts 19:1-8; Jn 16: 29-33

It is graduation time now...you ask a child this season - which class are you studying? You would get a typical reply, something like: fourth to fifth. smiling? Yes...it is graduation time.

In the Word today we see people graduating to the next levels...Paul introduces Apollos and others to the Holy Spirit; Jesus finds his disciples finally beginning to believe him. The call is the same to us today: as we have celebrated the feast of Ascension just yesterday, to graduate. To grow into people of the Spirit. The journey is begun, we would travel till coming sunday, reflecting towards being people of the Spirit. It is graduation time, we have to grow to the next level. We cannot just remain moderate and nominal Christians, we need to be Spirit filled Christians. Are we ready. Let us begin that week long journey today...towards being Spirit filled Christians!

Gone... to be with us!

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Acts 1: 1-11; Eph 1:17-23; Mt 28: 16-20

Just after the vigil mass of Ascension, a youngster came over to me with a question. She said, 'Father, why did the disciples just let Jesus go? They should have created a ruckus and made sure Jesus couldn't go. I would have done it, if it were me!' I thought it was a good point for me to start explaining what Ascension of Christ truly means. Jesus has not abandoned us, as he himself had promised. Jesus' ascension does not mean Jesus has gone away but Jesus has gone up to be with us more than before. If Jesus had continued to stay on in that incarnate form forever (just an hypothesis), he would have remained in Jerusalem, Judea and the surroundings. But Jesus went up to the Father and thus he has begun to stay with every one worldwide. As Jesus promises in the gospel today: I shall be with you till the end of times. To be with us, Jesus had to go; he went, that is what we celebrate today: the Ascension.

Going to the Father did not mean for Jesus, distancing himself from us! It was a way of involving himself more into our lives. To be close to all, and not just to a few! Jesus goes, so that he can be everywhere and with everyone and always! 

Going to the Father did not mean for Jesus, forgetting his self emptying! Jesus gave up the status of being God and emptied himself. Going back to the father is not taking up once again the Godhood but becoming the mediator. We have a mediator par excellence!

Going to the Father did not mean for Jesus, that he is done with the humanity! Jesus continues to challenge humanity to grow up, and follow him to the Father's house. Jesus gives us a roadmap, a precedence, a clear plan of life. Keep growing until you ascend to the Father.

WORD 2day: 27th May, 2017

Coming and Going - should it affect?

Saturday before Ascension

Acts 18: 23-28; Jn 16:23-38

Past two days have been totally different days in the past three years, for me personally. I had handed over a ministry that was entrusted to me three years ago, to another confrere of mine. I remember, when it was handed over to me - my predecessor was going; I was coming in. Now it is my turn to go, and there is someone else who has come in. Paul went and Apollos came. Aquila and Priscilla were there to accompany both of them. Coming and going are natural truths of life, and should they affect. In some places it does and that is a sad part of affairs.

When will it affect anyone's coming or going? When it is Doer-centered, anything that is done will be affected by the coming or going of the one who does. One may be a better doer and the other a different kind of a doer - it will surely affect if this is the center of the considerations. How talented or not a person is, how capable or not a person is...these are the considerations that will affect. 

It will affect also when it is Action-centered. Being action centered is the priority or prime importance given to what is done. Though we do not give the centrality to who is doing, but to what is being done, still what is being done depends much on how is it being done. The results matter and the dividends matter. Should these matter or affect when it comes to what the Lord wants us to do, when we have been called by the Lord.

When the Lord calls, it is for Ministry. What is central here is not the you or me who is called; nor is it what I do or how I do. The central consideration is what does God want here and now. This is God-centered: there is no place for the ego of the doer or the success of the action. It is not a project to be done and reported, it is a Ministry to be lived and here it does not matter who comes and who goes...what matters is what God wants. Let us do all the good that we can!

WORD 2day: 26th May, 2017

The path of perfect perseverance

Friday before the Ascension Sunday

Acts 18:9-18; Jn 16:20-23

Today's Word led me to think of two phrases quite familiar in everyday parlance. The first one is 'the path of least resistance' - In the name of being natural and spontaneous, going with the trends, keeping with the times, the numerous compromises that are made and values that are lost belong to this thinking.

The second phrase quite equally popular is 'the path of least persistence' - advocating the theory that there is no virtue in insisting on making something work, while in practicality it does not. It is the famous mindset of trying out. Just give it a try, and that is all about life. The first failure, people quit.

The path of least resistance or the path of least persistence seem to be the trends of the world today. But the Word today, insists on the path of perfect perseverance. It is the path of least resistance to the Will of God and the path of least persistence to one's own whims and fancies. 

We see the Apostles and the their disciples do that...when the Lord instructs them to do something they offer no resistance at all. With all the sufferings that come their way, they keep persevering, though they certainly had moments dark and dangerous. Nothing stopped them because they were on the path of perfect perseverance.

WORD 2day: 25th May, 2017

Sorrow or Joy - what is your choice?

Thursday before Ascension Sunday

Acts 18: 1-8; Jn 16: 16-20

What would be your choice, your natural spontaneous choice: sorrow or joy? Of course, we would choose joy or that is what we think. Today, there is so much sorrow in the world because we think we choose joy, while in fact we are constantly adding to our sorrows. Is that confusing? Not really. It is an easy perspective that the Word offers today to understand our situation today. Let us contrast these as the perspective of the world and the perspective of the Word.

The perspective of the world says, with a faulty understanding of the phrase 'here and now', choose what gives you utmost happiness at any given moment and that will add to your joy. This is why people end up frustrated, ruined and wrecked in their life, making all the wrong choices possible, adding to their own woes and to the others'. The disciples could not understand what Jesus was telling them, because they only had a limited perspective of the here and now, until the Spirit arrived to open the eyes and their hearts.

The perspective of the Word says, have the ultimate Joy, the Joy that the Lord alone can give, in your mind. You would then be ready to choose at a given moment even a bit of pain and struggle, because you know you have a joy, a glory, an eternal happiness that awaits you! Look at Paul, Aquila, Priscilla, Titus Justus... they were wantonly choosing trouble and opposition, because they had their ultimate joy in perspective. Paul said that emphatically: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us (Rom 8:18).

Now let us consider that question again- what is our choice: sorrow or joy?

CELEBRATING MARY, THE HELP OF CHRISTIANS

Being Christians Today - A Feast day Assurance 

Feast of Mary Help of Christians: 24th May, 2017

Mary Help of Christians, is a title that has been attributed our Blessed Mother right from the second century, but got its prominence in the 16th century and made popular in the 19th century! Looking at the historical significance of the title directly connected to the 16th century battle of Lepanto and the exile of the Pope in the 19th century, we tend to think today, that this title comes alive as the battle against the Christians is thickening all over the globe. The vandalism reported in one of the Indian Churches two days back, is just one of the many that are continuously going on in India. The Manchester blast that happened two days ago is nothing but a sign of growing apathy against this faith! In India we are marching towards a future that holds for us more and more troubles and testing, hypothesizing with the present run of the course. Mary Help of Christians, is a title that is apt today and it calls for three immediate actions on our part as Christians:

UNITE as Christians under One Lord who has called you! 

UNTIE the knots that keep you locked from each other and establish seamless relations!

UNDERSTAND the true faith and its holistic meaning, beginning to live your faith everyday!

May Mary Help of Christians, help us Christians today, to live true to our faith!

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #7

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #7: FRUITS ARE TO NOURISH OTHERS!

Fruits gain nothing for themselves.  

Having borne the fruit, what is there for the tree to gain, much worse what does the fruit have to gain? Nothing, absolutely nothing - but that is the most beautiful meaning in the entire phenomenon of bearing fruit. After all that effort and self conditioning and maturation, the fruit is the manifestation of the fullness achieved. But at that moment if we raise a question, what after all is the gain for the tree or a doubt what really has the fruit to achieve further - we are at a loss. It is all about self-giving, total self-giving. Jesus emptied himself, became like us, accepted death, death on a cross, was crucified... after all the centuries of preparation, is this the best that the Lord can do? Yes, of course, this is the best that the Lord could do... give of Himself, give Himself, give Himself totally!

When we bear fruit, that is, when we have reached a certain capability of contributing to the others and to the common, we die to be noticed, we yearn to be appreciated, we look for what we can gain or establish by whatever we can contribute. Within the Spirituality of bearing fruit, this part of looking for dividends is totally out of question. What remains for you to gather after you have borne the fruit that you ought to: - nothing. But that nothing is everything. 

Bearing fruit, is not for my sake. It is for others, whether they deserve it or not, whether they recognise it or not, whether they value it or not. Giving of my self,my being, my entire life, is the maturity the Lord wishes to see in us. To bear fruit and not look for recognition, to give and never to expect anything in return, to love and never long to be loved... that is the climax of the entire process of bearing fruit. The Lord awaits our growing up!                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                          

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #6

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #6: FRUITS ARE TO BE PLUCKED!

Don't think they will be there forever.  

To bear fruit, fruit that will last - that is our call. Fruit that will last does not mean, fruits that will remain in the tree forever, unplucked or unpicked. If they remain so, what is the use of those fruits. Fruits are to be plucked, to be gathered and to be consumed! Can the tree claim the fruit to be all its own, merely because of the time taken and the effort put in? Can the tree have a say on who should pluck and who deserves not? After the tree has produced the fruit, it has no control over it. It is for public consumption and there are so many others who would be determining the rest of the issues. Is this not what Jesus meant when he instructed us with such clarity: when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, 'we are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done' (Lk 17:10).

There are two things here that I need to accept and understand. The first fact is that I cannot decide who should pluck the fruit that I have borne or how it should be used. The tree, like it is said of the rain, does not check whether the recipient deserves it or not. With the fact that I have borne the fruit, my task is almost done, the only thing remaining being the fact that I need to give that fruit away for consumption. 

The second fact that needs my attention is, that my task is not over with bearing one fruit. It is here I begin to understand the true meaning of 'the fruit that lasts'. Bearing fruit does not become an isolated action performed or a particular activity carried out but it has to become by attitude, my life style, my programme of life. I cannot stop with producing one or a few fruits - I need to bear endless number of fruits and all these fruits are to be plucked.   

Let us make that prayer of Christ sound deep in our hearts 'Here I am Lord, behold I come to do your will'...Let me bear fruit in abundance and readily allow it to be  plucked! 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #5

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #5: FRUITS ATTRACT STONES!

People care little about the tree. 

Good fruits invite not only worms, but also stones. If worms are signs of dangers from within, stones are attacks from outside. When the tree bears fruit as a sign of its maturity, the tree will attract attention from passers by, from people who are looking for some benefits, from people who wish to make use of the resources wherever they are. 

Can the tree complain about people who are throwing stones at it? Goodness is prone to attack. Goodness disturbs people, specially the so-called "normal" people. When the entire society looks at convenience and comfort, the fruit bearing people look for convictions and character. No one looks at the breaking branches or the tearing leaves. No one cares about the amount of time taken to produce a fruit, the stages that it has passed through and all the effort that had gone in to bring that fruit to that fullness. 

However the fruit has to remember that if it were still an unripened raw matter, no one would even care a bit for it. The stones received, though it may cause some pain, they were truly marks of recognition of the fruit as to what it is.

Stones of jealousy, stones of criticism, stones of persecution, stones of hurdles - stones abound in types and number. Remember, if there are no  stones coming your way, it is an alarm that you are too far from all that you are called to be. If there are no stones thrown at you, you might be so scarcely inspiring to people around you. If there are no stones hurled at you, sadly you might be in such weak position to make any difference. 

Grow to the full. Be all that you can be. Make a difference and expect stones anytime. 

Someone throws a stone at you, what do you do? Give them fruits! Yes, the trees give fruits to those who throw stones. They don't throw stones back. Be filled with such goodness that you give out goodness, whatever the other throws at you. 

Consider Paul, the Apostle par excellence. Even after he found the Lord and encountered him, he had the choice of remaining safe and secure going around only where he is accepted. He knew people were throwing stones at him and the stones were increasing by the day. But nothing stopped him. Woe to me, he thought, if I do not preach the good news. Inspite of all the stones that are thrown at you, be good. Do good. Grow good. 

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #4

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #4: FRUITS ATTRACT WORMS!

The worms know which ones to attack. 

Good fruits invite worms, for the worms know which is the best and they attack that first. How many times have you been surprised by a worm when you reached right through the fruit with your knife. The worms can eat the fruit from within. It is not a sign that the fruit is bad, but that the good fruit has been invaded. 

After all the long and tiring process of bearing fruit, finally when the fruits begin to appear, there can be these worms that attack from within - the worms of misconceptions, the worms of decadence of values, the worms of discouragements, the worms of temptation, the worms of negativity and the worms of compromise.

Now the question is, what would you do when you see the worm? If you value the fruit really and you are well informed, you would try to work that worm out of the fruit and make the most of it. That is exactly what you need to do when you find these worms within you. Don't be harsh on yourself. It is unfortunate that you let these worms grow within you; sad they invaded you! But remember they are from within you and therefore you and you alone have the power to work them out of your lives. 

Work them out of your life with determination. Stop judging yourself and calling names. That is of no use. Look at the way to eliminate them from your life, letting your sweetness remain. You are basically a fruit; you are basically good! You are not the worm. The worm needs to go, not you! So rout them out of your life, now!

Consider Judas and Peter - they were good fruits! When they found the worm within them, they reacted in two different ways. One judged himself, condemned himself and lost his total self. The other noticed the worm, understood its nature, worked it out of his life and became a better fruit - so nourishing and so healthy. 

Though you spot a few worms at times within you, you are a good fruit. Believe in yourself and get rid of the worms!

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #3

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #3: TAKE YOUR TIME; BUT BE AT IT!

Premature fruits are not good. 

You are chosen, chosen to bear fruit. Bearing fruit is not an easy task, the Lord knows it. Do not grow impatient with yourself. Take your time to bear fruit. The Lord does not say, bear fruit fast; He only says, bear fruits that will last. So, taking time is nothing wrong. But, make sure you are at it. Taking time does not mean, just whiling time away, with distractions and self indulgences. 

There is no hurry... there's a time for everything. No one expects the fruits the day after he or she planted the tree! There is a process for everything. When things happen too swiftly, at the wish or command of others, at times there exists the danger that the roots are not that deep. It may last but for a while. As the Lord explained about the seeds that fall on the rocks, which grow fast but soon die dried due to lack of depth. Premature fruits, fruits forced to ripen, fruits that are artificially made to look more presentable...these are no good! Fruits that have gone through the entire hard process of being buds and flowers and raw fruit and then ripening to their fullness, would truly be tastier than the one's which have gone through a short cut. 

Focus is the key... being at it is all that matters. When you achieve something and what you achieve is always secondary to the way you achieve it, to the effort you had put in, and to the passion that you manifest throughout the process. Even if the final outcome happens to be a failure in the eyes of many, what counts is what has gone on in the process. Taking time is not giving into inaction or to lethargy, it is being patient and enduring inspite of moments of hardships, temptations and discouragements. Take time, grow strong and launch it firm - that is the formula to bear fruit.

Consider Jesus of Nazareth - how he was silent and patient those thirty years and how that silence and patience paid off, making his last three years such world-changing, epoch-making years! It is like the childbirth, the child has to come by itself to see the world - that is normal. Taking one's time is not a loss of focus on the mission begun, but it is a deepening and nurturing the decision to bear fruit and to worthily prepare ourselves for the same. 

We are called to bear fruit; let us take our time but never lose the focus, be at it!

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT -#2

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #2: YOU ARE CALLED TO BEAR YOUR FRUIT!

Do not try to bear some other fruit. 

You are chosen, chosen to bear fruit, chosen to bear your fruit, not someone else's. At times I refrain from bearing my fruit considering it immaterial - how do I come to that conclusion? By one of the most detrimental of all habits: comparison. No one in the right sense will expect a peach from a mango tree or an orange from a vine branch! Each tree has its own fruit to bear and that is what is expected of that tree. Just because a tree bears tiny cherries, it does not become in any way less valued than a tree that bears a mega size jack fruit. As Mother Teresa would put it, it is not so much how big are those things you do that matter, but how much love you put into them, that truly matters. 

The second malady that affects one in bearing one's own fruit, is that which is called 'the pleaser phenomenon'. When one wants to bear a fruit, merely because someone wants them to, they are giving into pressure or into the pleasure of pleasing people. A person who does something, however good that action could be, merely at the behest of someone else, has already lost the merits of that action. 

Do not think demeaning oneself is a virtue; it is not. Neither would demeaning others be a virtue. Accepting oneself and others as they are, that is the right perspective in life. 

Consider John the Baptist who with no feeling of regret announces that he is not the expected Messiah. He neither wanted to bask in a borrowed glory nor did he shy away from the limelight in preparing the way. He bore the fruit that he was to bear and today stands a great icon of having lived his life to the full, having borne a fruit however insignificant, the fruit that he had been appointed to bear. 

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #1

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #1: YOU ARE A CHOSEN TREE!

Remember you have said Yes.

You are chosen, chosen to bear fruit. Not all trees bear fruit. And trees don't always bear fruit. If you are chosen, you have to bear fruit. If you are able to bear fruit, it is a candid sign that you are chosen. Never forget the fact that you have said 'yes' to the Lord, when the Lord chose you! Look up to the great people who had said yes, and they were conscious that they were chosen! Think not that you have chosen to bear fruit, infact you cannot. The Lord has chosen you to bear fruit. Though it is to your credit that you bear fruit, the merit is not all yours, remember the One who had chosen you. If I count the cost, and due to it fail to bear fruit, I have forgotten that I have been chosen. If I have been chosen, I bear fruit, that is not a reason for pride, but woe to me if I dont bear fruit. 

Consider Mary the Mother of God - how she said a 'yes' and she remained faithful to it. She continued to bear fruit till the end, right upto Calvary. She is a great example who bore fruit and remained always contemplating the will of God, which had chosen her to bear fruit. 

WORD 2day: 17th MAy, 2017

Focusing on the key element: to Remain

Wednesday, 5th week of Easter

Acts 15:1-6; Jn 15:1-8

To be circumcised or not to be: that seemed to be the issue for most of the Jewish Christians, including a few disciples. But for persons like Paul or Barnabas or even Peter or James, it was a non issue! For them something else mattered. 

Paul said that plainly when he exclaimed, 'For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything' (Gal 5:6).  Then what really mattered to him, he is vociferous about that too: 'for His sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ' (Phil 3:8). 

Remaining in Christ, that is what really matters. Rituals, practices, piety and devotions - all of them make sense only in relation to the proportion to which they help me remain with Christ. Even the most regular of all practices would mean nothing if it does not help me remain in Christ. 

Remaining in Christ is a challenging task indeed - it may at times prove boring and monotonous and not immediate in its results - but it is the key to being disciples of Christ. Let us focus on the key element: Let us Remain in Christ.

WORD 2day: 16th May, 2017

Let not your hearts be troubled

Tuesday, 5th week of Easter
Acts 14: 19-28; Jn 14: 27-31

You will have enemies in abundance, yet let not your hearts be troubled. There will be opposition from every side, yet let not your hearts be troubled. People may plot and contrive against you, yet let not your hearts be troubled. Being untroubled amidst all troubles- the disciples had perfectly understood what the Lord had said... they were unmoved in the face of all persecutions because they had something that the world could not give.

Peace, a peace that the Lord alone can give.  A peace that no one can take away. A peace that shines  amidst darkness. A peace that does not arise from compromise and convenience but from conviction and commitment. A peace that is a result of truth and integrity. A peace that is not an external silence but an internal tranquillity. A peace for which it is worth even giving up our life.

The key to grow towards it is, not to let our hearts be troubled!

NOVENA TO MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

15th May to 23rd May:

NOVENA TO 

MARY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS(As recommended by St John Bosco) 

*1. To Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament*

O Most Sweet Jesus, You delight in being with the children of men and being the food of their souls. Grant we beseech You that through the merits of St. John Bosco who did so much to spread the love of frequent Communion, we may receive what we humbly pray for with all the fervour of our souls.

*Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be* with the ejaculation, *Blessed and praised every moment be the most Holy and Divine Sacrament.*_

*2. To Mary Help of Christians*

O Most Holy Virgin, Help of Christians, who worked and continue to work so many wonders through St John Bosco, grant we beseech you that through your goodness and through his merits, we poor sinners may receive the graces we ask for with all the fervour of our souls.

*Hail Holy Queen,* with the ejaculation, *Mary Help of Christians, pray for us.*

*3. To Saint John Bosco*

O St John Bosco, offer our prayers to Jesus and Mary and grant that through your intercession we may obtain an ever increasing love for Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and Mary, Help of Christians. Amen.

*St John Bosco, pray for us.*

WORD 2day: 15th May, 2017

The plot, the power and perseverance

Monday, 5th week of Easter

Acts 14:5-18; Jn 14:21-26

The Jews and the non Jews together plot to get rid of the apostles but what triumphed was not the plot but the power of God. The Power of God was more and more getting manifest in the life and works of the apostles and they were bearing an unimaginable witness to the Christ-experience.   

What did the apostles do to acquire such power as to stand before the authorities and systems which seemed so frightening earlier - it was due to their perseverance. They were threatened, they were beaten up, they were arrested and they were flogged, but nothing could stop them for living their life for the Lord and for the Lord's message.

The plots will abound even in our life, but if we are strong in our mind and heart, these plots will be overcome by the power of the Lord, invested within me by the Lord. Make us strong O Lord.

CHOSEN TO BE A PRIESTLY PEOPLE

Chosen to belong forever

5th Sunday of Easter: 14th May, 2017
Acts 6:1-7; 1 Pt 2:4-9; Jn 14:1-12

God “chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before God in love” (Eph 1:4). That is our identity; we are a chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation, God’s own people in order that we may proclaim the mighty acts of God, the God who has called us from darkness into his marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9). 

What is my identity of myself?

Are we merely people who are looking upto God for some favours? People who wait on God to come and solve our everyday problems? People complaining to God about those around us who are not living upto our expectations, disappointing us, troubling us, not understanding us or causing us grief? Can we take a breath and imagine what identity God has invested in us and to what level we have diluted in our daily living of our faith.

We are Chosen…

It is not by chance that I am a Christian, I am chosen. Recently, Anandhi (name changed) a girl of another faith, came to me asking to be prepared for baptism. She was in love with Alfred (name changed), a Catholic and wanted to marry him in the Church. After all the preparation, finally I asked, “Who brought you to this intention of receiving Baptism?” Without hesitation, Anandhi said, “Alfred.” I smiled at her and took the opportunity to tell her, ‘It is truly Christ who has brought you to Baptism’. It is the Lord who has chosen us dear friends and it is not the other way around: “You did not choose me, but I chose you”, says the Lord (Jn 15:16). It is the Lord who has chosen you and me, and all that we need to do is happily walk holding his hand.

We are Chosen to belong…

Last week we celebrated the Good Shepherd Sunday and we prayed for Vocations to Priesthood and Religious Life. That is a special call, a call for a ministry, just like Stephen and the 6 others are chosen today in the first reading for a special task – that is what we call Ministerial Priesthood. But there is another call that is universal… that is the call to Royal Priesthood… each and every one who is chosen in Christ, who is washed in the waters of baptism, is called to this priesthood. Yes! We are all priests unto the Lord! We are Chosen Race, Royal Priesthood… We have a special call to belong to the Lord. That is the crux of this priesthood. The ordained priests are ordained for a special ministry, while all of us share in the priesthood of Christ. The Priesthood of Christ consists in belonging to the Father. “I am in the Father and the Father is in me” says the Lord (Jn 14:11). The priesthood that we share with Christ is to be in God, the Father and Mother; to belong to God, to be grafted on to God, to remain in God as the branches remain in the wine and give fruit.

We are Chosen to belong forever…

In belonging to the Lord, in remaining with Christ, in sharing the priesthood of Christ we inherit the greatest of all patrimonies: a dwelling place in the courts of the Lord. That is what is prepared for us, that if we belong in our life to God, we would belong to God forever even in death. Christ has gone before us to prepare this place for us, and when he comes we should still belong to God, we should still be his Priestly People, that we may receive that dwelling place prepared for us!

Every day is an opportunity, through our ordinary tasks and daily duties, by our conscious choices and deliberate decisions, to deepen our belonging to the Lord, to realize we are chosen, that we are chosen to belong to God, chosen to belong forever, as a chosen race, a Priestly People!

FATIMA 100 YEARS - LET US CELEBRATE- Day 9

OUR LADY OF FATIMA - 100 YEARS

WE HAVE BEEN A NOVENA COMMUNITY THESE 9 DAYS...
LET US BRING EACH OTHER'S INTENTIONS TO THE FEET OF OUR BLESSED MOTHER
LET US ALSO CONSECRATE OURSELVES TODAY...PRAY TILL THE END...

DAY 9: 13TH MAY 2017 - 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE APPARITION AT FATIMA

LET US PRAY:

ost Holy Virgin, who has deigned to come to Fatima to reveal to the three little shepherds the treasures of graces hidden in the recitation of the Rosary, inspire our hearts with sincere love of this devotion.  

      By meditating on the mysteries of our redemption that are recalled in your Rosary, may we gather the fruits contained therein and obtain the conversion of sinners, the conversion of Russia, the Peace of Christ for the world, and this favor that I so earnestly seek of you in this novena....

   Mother most admirable and Mother most loving, in one heart and mind we surrender into your hand the intentions of every one in this novena community, praying to your with a child like trust these 9 days. Receive our intentions as we present them into your loving arms...(mention your intentions here)...Bless our families, be with our faith communities and strengthen our faith today, as we consecrate ourselves to you with love. 

I ask this of you, for the greater glory of God, for your own honour and for the good of all people. Amen

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be (three times)

Please do not forget to pray the Rosary these 9 days!

LET US CONSECRATE OURSELVES TO MOTHER MARY TODAY 

May 13, 2017 - Centenary of OUR LADY'S  Apparitions at Fatima

Taking to heart the request of Mother Mary at Fatima, to CONSECRATE ourselves to her IMMACULATE HEART, let us take refuge in Mary by consecrating ourselves, our families, friends and communities to her by using the simple formula below:

O MARY, VIRGIN MOST HOLY AND REFUGE OF SINNERS, I ACCEPT YOU AS MY MOTHER AND I CONSECRATE MYSELF TO YOUR IMMACULATE HEART. I CONSECRATE TO YOU MY VERY BEING AND MY WHOLE LIFE: ALL THAT I HAVE, ALL THAT I LOVE, ALL THAT I AM. TO YOU I GIVE MY BODY, MY HEART AND MY SOUL; TO YOU I GIVE MY HOME, MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS AND MY COUNTRY. DEAR MOTHER, ACCEPT ME AS YOUR CHILD AND BRING ME TO THE REDEEMING LOVE OF JESUS. AMEN

3 Hail Marys and a Glory be.

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

OUR LADY OF FATIMA 

13th MAY, 2017: 100 YEARS OF FATIMA
Acts 13:44-52; Jn 14: 7-14

On 13th of May 1917, Mother Mary appeared to the three children - Jacinta, Francis and Lucia and continued to do so, for 6 consecutive months on the same 13th day of the month. On 13th May 1881 John Paul II was miraculously protected from an attempt on his life. On May 13th 2000, John Paul II beatified Jacinta(she was 9 when she died)  and Francis(he was 10 when he died) ... they are going to be canonized today. Lucia died as a cloistered nun on 13th February, 2005. All miraculous events...and today is 100 years since this phenomenon ever began.

Many ask a question, is it not too much to claim that Mary keeps doing such powerful things? Is it not a mere clamorous attribution of the catholic church? The Gospel of the day (though it is not the proper of the feast) gives us a special insight into this question. 'I tell you solemnly, whoever believes in me  will perform the same works as I do myself, he (or she) will perform even greater works'... can we think of a person who believed more than our Blessed Mother? 

She is the most favoured daughter of God and the specially chosen Mother of God. What a beautiful mystery she embodies! Let us pay heed to her message: repent, pray, consecrate yourself to God...be prepared for the worst things in the world but be assured you belong to God.

O Queen of Holy Rosary, our Blessed Mother of Fatima, pray for us. 

FATIMA 100 YEARS - THE EVE OF THE FEAST - Day 8

OUR LADY OF FATIMA - 100 YEARS

LET US FORM A NOVENA COMMUNITY...

LET US PRAY TOGETHER FOR THESE 9 DAYS...

DAY 8: 12TH MAY 2017

LET US PRAY:

ost Holy Virgin, who has deigned to come to Fatima to reveal to the three little shepherds the treasures of graces hidden in the recitation of the Rosary, inspire our hearts with sincere love of this devotion.  

      By meditating on the mysteries of our redemption that are recalled in your Rosary, may we gather the fruits contained therein and obtain the conversion of sinners, the conversion of Russia, the Peace of Christ for the world, and this favor that I so earnestly seek of you in this novena....

   Mother, the Help of Christians, in one heart and mind we surrender into your care all the pilgrims gathered at your place for the feast and all those who intend to come. Mother we unite ourselves and everyone who loves you and thinks of you this day. May all of us be protected from all evils. May we be true witnesses to the Gospel in these changing times. May our life show to the world the beauty of being the children of God and the splendour of having you as our mother and protectress.  

I ask this of you, for the greater glory of God, for your own honour and for the good of all people. Amen

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be (three times)

Please do not forget to pray the Rosary these 9 days!

WORD 2day:12th May, 2017

The Father, Son and the begotten

Friday, 4th week in Easter

Acts 13:26-33; Jn 14: 1-6

The promise of the Father and the faithfulness to the promise, the oneness of the Father and the Son, the Son leading us to the Father, the Way to the Father, the Truth of the oneness and the eternal Life that is assure in this - these are the themes presented today. They give us an important insight into our life of faith - it is not a life of do's and don'ts, nor a life of mere rules and regulations but a life of relationships!

The Father who has been so concerned about this relationship that was initiated in and through the covenant, the Son who felt so related to the Father and wanted to share the same sense of relatedness with us, the Spirit who never leaves us dwelling within us with an intimate relationship, the way of making these relationships true and concrete by our relationships with each other and finally, being convinced that all of us are related and we are marching together hand in hand towards our eternal home - the love of the Almighty! This is our faith. This is our daily life. 

Can we treasure our relationships...make them more and more sincere and loving...then we will have the Way, the Truth and the Life with us!

FATIMA 100 YEARS - UNITE IN PRAYER - Day 7

OUR LADY OF FATIMA - 100 YEARS

LET US FORM A NOVENA COMMUNITY...

LET US PRAY TOGETHER FOR THESE 9 DAYS...

DAY 7: 11TH MAY 2017

LET US PRAY:

ost Holy Virgin, who has deigned to come to Fatima to reveal to the three little shepherds the treasures of graces hidden in the recitation of the Rosary, inspire our hearts with sincere love of this devotion.  

      By meditating on the mysteries of our redemption that are recalled in your Rosary, may we gather the fruits contained therein and obtain the conversion of sinners, the conversion of Russia, the Peace of Christ for the world, and this favor that I so earnestly seek of you in this novena....

   O Miraculous Mother, you spoke to those three children and used them as your messengers to the entire world. We unite with one heart and mind to pray for our children and youth today. Protect them for all the dangers that abound today, dangers of body, mind and soul. Their future remains precarious with all the developments we see in the world today. We ask you to safeguard them from the enemy, keep them faithful to your Son always. 

I ask this of you, for the greater glory of God, for your own honour and for the good of all people. Amen

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be (three times)

Please do not forget to pray the Rosary these 9 days!