WILL THERE BE LOVE WHEN THE MASTER COMES?

WORD 2day: 31st August, 2017

Thursday, 21st week in Ordinary Time

1 Thes 3:7-13; Mt 24: 42-51

The Word today speaks of perseverance in faith, until the master comes. One sign that is provided as a sign of persevering faith is that of true and sustained love for each other. Paul prays that the Thessalonians grow in their love for each other and for the entire humanity. Jesus speaks of loving service to each other as the way to be prepared, alert and awake when the Master comes. 

The cry of war all around, the recurring acts of terrorism in various parts, persecutions and inhuman treatment of human persons in the name of caste and creed, dehumanisation of masses in the name of development, institutionalisation of religions and ritualisation of faith - all these are totally not in keeping with the love that Jesus proposes as the touchstone of true faith. Infact, the way things go, we should very seriously ask ourselves, 'will there be love left when the Master comes again?'

If at all we wish that there be, we need to transform ourselves and grow into radical agents of love wherever we are.

SEPULCHERS OR TREASURIES

WORD 2day: 30th August, 2017

Wednesday, 21st week in Ordinary Time

1 Thes 2: 9-13; Mt 23: 27-32

A friend of mine once shared with me something that made me sad. He said, "I had great respects for priests, until I began to work in an institution run by priests. I could not withstand more than six months there. I wish I never went to work there!" When I asked him for a reason, he gave me half a dozen of those and they were all to do with values that were being compromised on a day to day basis. 

St. Paul challenges the Thessalonians, and even others to probe into his life and find out the true witness that he has always lived to be. That needs true courage, which comes only from an integral life. That is why I see the Word today proposing to us two imageries - Sepulchers and Treasuries. Sepulchers as we see at places, are beautiful, aesthetically adorned with marbles and designs but if we open them, they will be all full of decayed flesh and dry bones. Whereas Treasuries may look old and antique but the more deeper one gets, greater is the sense of wonder.

What does my life look like: a sepulcher or a treasury? Shouldn't I start working on myself?

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

To please God not the world!

Remembering the Beheading of John - 29th August, 2017

1 Thes 2:1-8; Mk 6: 17-29

Pleasing others - is it a virtue? To be pleasing to others is one thing, but to please others is a dangerous choice. To please the other would mean being ready blindly to do whatever is to their liking, to their desire, to their pleasure. This can give rise to a malady which can range from a mere timidity to a dire slavery. Can I do something, merely to please someone? Can pleasing someone become an absolute for me? The only person whose will or desire can never, ever go wrong is God. And therefore, if at all I decide to please someone it can be God and no other. That is what Paul declares in the first reading today: we are here to please God not human beings. 

This is the challenge that the prophets and the martyrs down the history have lived for and died for - to please the Lord. When I begin to please others, please rules for rules sake, please the society for human respect, please people for favours and recognition, I cast my personal dignity at stake. John the Baptist died because he refused to please Herod. Jesus died because he refused to please the High Priests and the Chief Priest, the King or the Governor; the only person he was ready to please was his Father Almighty. 

Let us dwell on this question today: who am I longing to please? How far will I go to please the Lord?

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Conversion: Turning to God

Celebrating St. Augustine - 28th August, 2017

1 Thes 1:1-5,8-11; Mt 23: 13-22

Yesterday we missed the opportunity of celebrating St. Monica the saintly mother of the saint whom we celebrate today - Bishop Augustine of Hippo. Monica and Augustine give us a great example of a Christian Family and our call to sanctity as a family. Augustine reminds us of St. Ambrose the Bishop who converted Augustine, the effect of the Word and a conversion that was true in all its sense. 

India has once again ventured into the path of raking religious sentiments, pitching various groups against each other, in the name of the anti conversion bills. The latest incident of it has happened at Jharkhand on 1st August, and already two cases of violence have erupted. They call it anti-conversion bill. Are we out to convert everyone? What is after all the meaning of conversion? These are the questions we need to raise and the Word and the Feast today speak to us of it. 

Conversion comes out of prayers, tears and relationship with God from within, not out of force or compulsion from outside. Conversion is not about change of name and change of the place of worship, it is primarily all about, the change of heart, a change that takes one closer to understanding what God really wants of him or her. Conversion is not about the external practices, religious ceremonies and meaningless rituals, it is all about integral living, genuine love and humble submission to God. This is what Augustine shows by his very life, to us. This is what St Monica achieved in her son. This is what St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan imprinted strongly in Augustine's mind. This is what the Lord wants us to know too: integral living, genuine love and humble submission to God. On these counts each of us requires this conversion constantly to turn to God always. 

TO BE KEY PERSONS UNTO THE REIGN

The Role, Wisdom and Personal Knowledge of God

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - 27th August, 2017
Is 22: 19-23; Rom 11: 33-36; Mt 16: 13-20

Look around the world today - what do you observe in all fields? There are nations threatening each other to prove who is superior to whom. There are corporates clashing with each other to claim the topmost slot in the economic world. There are factions and groups in the name of religion and ethnicity and race, making of humanity a worthless value to uphold. There are those in the garb of god-men fending their own nests and exploiting every one else for it. There are politicians who pose to be liberators of the masses while they are hand in glove with every agency that goes diametrically opposed to the common mass. What is all these manipulation about? What are they trying to prove to themselves and to the world? With this as background let us approach the Word today.

One image that dominates today's liturgy of the word is the image of the Key...every person, every entity, every nation, every society, every corporate wants to be a key entity in its field. That is what we saw in the entire list of examples we just enumerated. But, in truth, becoming conscious of one's mission and situating it within God's plan is the real secret behind being key persons in the eyes of the Lord. Every prophet, we see in the Old Testament, is enamoured by the love of the Lord and surrenders totally to the Spirit shining as a key person within the believing community. I have observed in persons within some of our Christian communities that I have served, a similar urge to be key persons! Our tasks of being part of the Parish Pastoral Council, the cooperators to the animating nucleus of the Parish at the zonal or the division levels, are some key roles that people aspire for today. The call is be key persons, yes; but not unto our own glory but unto the Reign that the Lord wants us to build here on earth. 

To be a key person is to realise your GOD GIVEN ROLE: 

Being key persons unto the kingdom would mean, we understand our key role from the perspective of God. At times politics enters the religious ambit and shatters every bit of truth that can exist. Lack of focus and confusion of meanings are the outcomes of such an influx and personal integrity is left at stake. The Lord reminds us in the first reading that it is the Lord who robes one with or strips one of authority.

To be a key person is to be GUIDED BY WISDOM:

Wisdom is not merely knowing; it is knowing that one knows and knowing what is to be known at a particular point of time. It is, more than capacity, a grace! A key person unto the Kingdom should be equipped with wisdom much more than anything. To make the right decisions at the right time and to make the right changes at the right time towards an authentic growth towards being true people of the Reign, the key persons, if not all, should be guided by wisdom.

To be a key person is to have PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF GOD:

The Gospel today gives us the ultimate criterion to be key persons unto the kingdom: it is to know God, on a personal basis. To have encountered God, experienced God, tasted God, felt the concrete presence of God is one of the fundamental criteria to play any key role in a community of faith, a community of people of God. Mere borrowed experiences and brainwashed theories cannot make one an authentic key player within the community of the Reign. 

Each of us can turn to be a key person unto the Kingdom, if we realise the God given role that we have, be guided by Wisdom and yearn for a personal knowledge of God in our lives. The more key persons there are, the more the Reign can be established on earth.

UNDERSTANDING GOODNESS

WORD 2day: 26th August, 2017

Saturday, 20th week in Ordinary Time

Ruth 2: 1-3,8-11, 4:13-17; Mt 23: 1-12

Goodness is Godliness. Last week had been marked by various acts of terrorism in places like Spain, Ireland and so on. And today I am looking at news coming in from India, the riot that is claiming lives and properties, riots against the verdict convicting a rapist, just because he claims to be a god-man. The Word reflected from this background raised a fundamental question within me - how do we understand goodness?

Is goodness the external appearance of a person sporting conventionally respected images - as a god-man, or a social worker, or a poor-lover, or a cause-believer...these externals do not suffice. And not all are deceived by it, ofcourse some are!

Is goodness all about the deeds and functions? People who wish to create a public image that they are good, try to buy up people by their good deeds and heroism. But is that enough sign of true goodness? Hidden behind the good deeds and acts of people there are agendas and schemes that no one even guesses. 

Goodness is all about the basic nature in a person, that is not even seen by the others. Then of what use is it, one could ask. It is nothing to prove to anyone, it is just being good at the core of one's being. That will never change, even if the situation around and the persons around change, for the worse or for the better.

Keeping these in mind, can I really judge who is good and who is not? No one can. I can only say whether I am good or not. But it is so important to ask myself: Am I really Good?

LOVE AND BELONG TO GOD!

WORD 2day: 25th August, 2017

Friday, 20th week in Ordinary Time
Ruth 1:1,3-6,14-16,22; Mt 22: 34-40

Approaching today's readings with the question, 'how does one become a son or a daughter of God' - today, there is an example and a theory! The example is that of Ruth and the theory is presented to us by Jesus himself in the Gospel. 

Ruth, a moabite, who lost her hebrew husband but still becomes a part of God's salvation plan and becomes one of the few women referred to in the long history of the Israelites. How does it happen? The answer is, true and selfless LOVE. Love is the only way one can become a child of God, as John puts it so simply in his letter - 'Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God' (1 Jn 4:7). John learnt it from his master and beloved friend, Jesus who dared to synthesise the whole of the law and the prophets (that is, the whole of Hebrew Scripture) into two directives, which actually amounted to just one command: LOVE. 

Let us love one another and be God's children.

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Will you be found under the fig tree?

Celebrating St. Bartholomew the Apostle - 24th August, 2017

Rev. 21: 9-14; Jn 1:45-51

One of the 12 foundation stones, that is, the 12 apostles rooted firm in Christ, is St. Bartholomew whom we celebrate today! Jesus gives him two compliments - one, that he was a person who had no guile in him and second, that Jesus saw him under the fig tree!

Sitting under the fig tree, had a very special significance in that context and Bartholomew is interested and curious how Jesus got to know about him and his tryst with truth.  Sitting under the fig tree would mean (as we see in Micah 4:4), meditating on the Word of God, on the things that God expects from one, and on the way one relates to his or her world. Jesus has noted it. That was surprising for Bartholomew. Jesus is ready to surprise us, are we ready to be surprised? 

Will Jesus find us under the fig tree? How much importance do you attach on a daily basis to remaining in sacred silence... or to the reading of the Word of God... or to meditation on the Word... or simply to remain in that disposition to connect to the Lord... that is why the question, when Jesus wishes to, will you be found under the fig tree?

THE LORD WHO APPROACHES

WORD 2day: 23rd August, 2017

Wednesday, 20th week in Ordinary Time

Judg 9: 6-15; Mt 20: 1-16

We can find something that is common in the two readings of today, and that is the clue to the message that is offered. The first reading narrates a parable of trees approaching various trees to rule over them. Jesus narrates a parable in the Gospel, about the land owner who approaches people at various moments of the day for work. The key is here: the Lord who approaches.

In various ways the Lord approaches us - what a marvel and what a privilege that we are approached by the Almighty. It is not that the Lord cannot do without me, but the Lord chooses not to do without me. The Lord invites me to be on the Lord's side. The Lord approaches me to be at Lord's business. Three dispositions that I should necessarily have to respond to the Lord who approaches me: Listening, to the Lord's call and heeding to the Lord's directions; Obedience, to carry out the wishes of the Lord despite the difficulties and delusions; and Selflessness, to do whatever I can for the purpose of the Reign and for the people of God, but never expecting anything as a recompense, never comparing the good times of the others with mine and doing everything for the other, for the society and for the God who wills them all. 

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

QUEENSHIP AND BEING KINGDOM-WORTHY

Celebrating the Queenship of Mary - 22nd August, 2017

Judg 6: 11-24; Mt 19: 23-30

Today's Word and the Feast are full of contrasts - the rich and the poor; the haves and the have-nots, the strong and the weak, the first and the last... it all boils down to one binary according to Christ: those who are worthy of the kingdom and those that are not! We have some beautiful icons presented today. Gideon the weakling chosen amidst the strong ones; the young man who possessed abundance of wealth but failed to inherit the Kingdom, Mary the simple and ordinary girl who is crowned the Queen of heaven and earth, a feast we celebrate exactly a week after the Assumption. 

Mary's queenship is absolutely logical. Christ is the King and we have no doubt about it. If Christ were the king, the crown prince of the World, his mother Mary is logically the Queen - that is why Pius XII instituted this feast in 1954 to let us understand that we have a great mediatrix in this simple woman of Nazareth. She is mediatrix in more than a few ways: one, by her intercession; secondly by her example; and thirdly by her challenging witness that tells us that it is possible to live as people of the Reign, children of the Kingdom, worth subjects of our one and only King, Christ our Lord. 

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Leaders Arise in God's eyes

Remembering Pope St. Pius X - 21st August, 2017

Judg 2: 11-19; Mt 19:16-22

An interesting part of the book of Judges we have today to reflect on - it gives us a pattern of Israel's relationship with the Lord, how short of memory and how terribly ungrateful they were. But the Lord does not react as humans do. Though God's people go away from him, the Lord draws them close and raises new leaders to guide them on. At the right time, the right type of leaders arise because they arise in the eyes of the Lord. It is not leadership that is vied for, plotted towards and grabbed with influences, but intended and willed by God!

That is where we celebrate Pope St. Pius X today - a papacy at the onset of 20th century (1903-1914) which made great strides by way of pastoral care of the people of God, just as the Judges were appointed for. Pope Pius X is known for three great impacts he had on the Church, among scores of others. First, he is known as the Pope of the Catechism, because he was the one who first insisted on the need of catechesis in the parishes in the vernacular language (note, it is almost 60 years before the Vatican Council II. Secondly, he is called the Pope of the Communion because, it was he who paved way for the possibility of daily communion (from the year 1904), before that it was not allowed that a faithful receives communion daily, even if he or she participates in the Eucharistic Celebration. Thirdly, it was Pope Pius X who reduced the age of first holy communion from 12 to 7 (from the year 1910), thus making the Christian community conscious of giving its children the possibility of a concrete relationship with the Saviour at the earliest. 

The Word invites us to a radical commitment to the Lord and the saint of the day challenges us to a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord. Let us heed that message: let us grow in our radical commitment to the Lord and our personal relationship with the Lord.

Am I a Pagan by the way?

Signs of the Godly: Integrity, Justice and Faith

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 20th August, 2017
Is 56: 1-6,7 ; Rom 11: 13-15, 29-32; Mt 15: 21-28

A couple of days ago, I was sharing a few personal minutes with a person from an Asian country, staying here with us - a priest. Sharing about his own life he said he was ordained a priest just 2 years back. And I asked him, 'were you ordained here?' meaning to say in Italy. To my horror, he darted direct at me, 'here? among these pagans? never! ordination is too sacred to have it here!' I was really disturbed when he said this. He could have said it simply, that he had it back home. But that kind of a statement... still working on this shock, here we have today a strong reflection on that  very word, Pagan!

Pagan is a word that St. Paul uses so strongly and Jesus refers to in the Gospel. What does that word mean? Going into the etymology, it derives from the latin word, paganus which means one who lives in a village or a rustic person. Later it came to mean a 'civilian' that is one who is not conscripted into the Roman Army. When the Christian society began to use this they began to refer figuratively to those who are not enlisted into the Army of Christ. However, taking the semitic background, that is from the Jewish, Christian and Islamic history, it means those who are Godless. The essential difference is those who believe in One God and those who do not! In a final analysis if at all we want to use this word today, we could use it for those who are Godless as against those who are Godly. 

As in that horrendous example that I gave, there are Christians who consider others pagans; there are Muslims who call us Christians 'Infidels'; there are these pentecostals who look at the Catholics practically as if they were 'pagans'...now the question that we are left with is... Who is a Pagan? Infact the first reading and the Gospel clarify that term with such precision. They delineate three qualities of a Godly person, thus telling us who is really not a pagan.

Integrity: That is the first sign of a Godly person. Integrity is being true to yourself, being true to the absolute truth, being true notwithstanding in which situation you find yourself. This is the rapport that you have with yourself. If it is healthy, true, sincere, noble and critical - you will measure up to be a Godly person. If not you will find yourself far from it, though you may be claiming so before the world.

Justice: The second sign of a Godly person is Justice. Justice is giving the other what is his or her due, without grudging it. Greed and avarice, violence and corruption, exploitation and manipulation are directly against justice. Those who are the causes of it and those who are silent witnesses to it are equally perpetrators of the same. They can never be enlisted as Godly! This is all about your rapport with the others. If it is true, sincere, just and mutually upbuilding, then you are Godly, if not you are far from that category.

Faith: The third sign that the Word today gives us for the Godly is Faith. Faith is the unassailable trust we have in God arising from a strong personal relationship with God. It is the fruit of a recognition of God's goodness and God's unfailing presence with us. Unless I have a personal and intimate relationship with God, I cannot truly claim myself to be Godly. Hence this is about the rapport you have with God, true, loving, personal, humble and reasonable. If that is absent your religious practices remain mere rituals and superstitions.

So finally, dear Christian brothers and sisters, a pagan is not a non christian. Dear so-called believers, a pagan is not a non believer. So who is a pagan? 

Taking the signs offered in the readings today seriously, if I ask myself these questions today: Am I really integral? Am I truly Just? Do I have a strong personal faith? ...I would be very close to understanding myself and my spirituality. If I miserably fail in these measures, won't I have a question within me: Am I a pagan, by the way?

CHOOSE TO BE LITTLE

WORD 2day: 19th August, 2017

Saturday, 19th week in Ordinary Time

Josh 24: 13-15; Mt 19:13-15

To choose God, to choose God as the absolute, to choose God above all - these would mean today choosing to be little! Choosing to be little is choosing to be laughed at, choosing to be jeered at, choosing to be labelled 'conservative' or 'irrelevant'. I feel this much more in a context in which I find myself - the European West. This culture which was once upon a time so dominated by the God-talk, is today turning, if it has not already totally turned, Godless. It is not our task to be sitting in judgement on the people around, but to take into account our personal daily life, our personal choices and priorities, and the elements of our daily life that truly matter to us. There we will have a clue - do we want to be accepted by the world and found relevant to the times or do we want to choose to be little, to be that little flock that surrounds the Lord, like children who feel secure in the embrace of a mother? What would our choice be?

WORD 2day: 18th August, 2017

Enjoying the Fruits that we never planted

Friday, 19th week in Ordinary Time

Jos 24: 1-13; Mt 19: 3-12

Have you heard a brother of Islam speak in public, or even in a familiar gathering? Invariably every one of them will begin with terms like, 'Insha Allah' or 'Masha Allah'... They actually mean 'if God wills' and 'God has willed' respectively. As much as I admire them for this courageous reference to God in relationship to their daily life, I wonder at our own Christian brothers and sisters. How much of this sense of God would they possess and propose to the world? It does so much good to realise everything in my life comes from the Lord - in the name of the Lord, for the will of God.

Dedicating oneself for God, for God's will, for God's task is a matter of choice, not merely on our part, but on the part of the One who is at the root of everything. Every good that we are blessed to carry out is a gift from God - according to God's will and towards fulfilling God's will. At times we make choices that serve our own ego and our own personal plans. But what matters is to realise that we are eating the fruits of plants planted once upon a time and be one such - planters of the tree of blessing. The call is to realise that we are being blessed constantly by the Lord and to understand clearly what our own blessings lead us to. Challenging moments, let us get ready to brave them. Pleasant moments, let us be mindful of the fact that we are enjoying the fruits of the plan we never planted!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

WORD 2day: 17th August, 2017

The Dry Ground Phenomenon

Thursday, 19th week in Ordinary Time

Jos 3:7-11,13-17; Mt 18:21 - 19:1

The presence of the Lord with the Israelites was a solid and concrete presence - the pillar of fire and  the pillar of cloud that we have seen and today the splitting of Jordan when the bearers of the Ark step in. The presence made a great difference in the lives of the people and at times the Lord made it concrete because they were constantly forgetting the fact. Today we have the Jordan splitting itself - the upper Jordan and the lower and they saw the dry ground. It is a repetition of the experience when they crossed the Red Sea with Moses, they walked on dry ground even then. In our life too, there are experiences of dry ground - we walk through them without our feet getting wet or dirty or stained or soiled, not by our own merit but by the grand mercy of God. That is what Jesus is reminding us of - when you find fault with your neighbour, when you judge your brother or your sister, when you call them names, when you have your finger pointing at your fellow persons, remember the dry ground phenomenon. You are standing on a dry ground, your feet unsoiled because the Lord has had mercy on you. Remember, your dry ground is not your merit, it is God's mercy. When you are mindful of it, you will surely be a member of the Reign. 

He turns 202 today!!!

O Don Bosco, 

you were a perfect instrument in the hands of the Almighty

you were pliable, flexible and lovable

above all, a cheerful giver, absolutely selfless.

Father dear,

you lived just 73 years on earth
but what you had lived for is worth being spoken for these 202 years

it would be so for more centuries to come.

You turn 202 today,

your life growing more and more a challenge

specially these days when the youth need more persons like you

make us like you, your disciples too!

WORD 2day: 16th August, 2017

Moses, Joshua and You

Wednesday, 19th week in Ordinary Time

Dt 34: 1-12; Mt 18: 15-20

Today we listen to an account of the demise of Moses and the taking over of Joshua. Moses was a great prophet, an unparalleled leader, a person who related to God as if to a friend - but that does not mean he would go on forever. He faced his end. Joshua took over and there was an end to him too. None of us is indispensable - neither Moses, nor Joshua, nor you and me! We are all here to do the will of God, each one in our own way, in our personal life. And one thing that will remain to ensure continuity is the community, the faith community, the people of God! This is what Jesus teaches his followers today. The Faith Community, that is, my brothers and sisters in the Lord together as one, have an indispensable role to play. This is where the Church draws its importance. At times we belittle our faith, as if it is between me and my God. Yes, it is so, but it is between me and my God in the context of my brothers and sisters in the Lord. Know the people of God whom you live with. Love your faith community. Be responsible towards the community around you. As a follower of Christ, I am called to express and live my faith, in and among a community, given to me by God. Let love reign!

FAITH THAT LIBERATES

Favour, Faith and Freedom

Solemnity of Assumption of our Blessed Mother - 15th August 2017

Rev 11: 19,12: 1-6, 10; 1 Cor 15: 20-26; Lk 1:39-56

Assumption of Mary into heaven is a celebration of the goodness, faithfulness and mercy of God and not that of an achievement of Mary. Though it is a Marian feast, we celebrate the mighty things that the Lord had done in her and for her! The celebration and the Word calls our attention to three important terms today - Favour, Faith and Freedom!

Favour... Full of grace, filled with favours - Mary was a predilected child of God, because wanted her to be an instrument to bring salvation to humankind through God's own Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. She was granted favours in abundance. Assumption is one last favour that God showers on her at the end of her earthly journey, so occupied with doing God's will and nothing but God's will. We are filled with favours too - to be born, to have life, to be born as children of God, to be loved by God and to have the Lord's presence ever on our side. Are they not enough favours? But what we do with them is a more pertinent question.

Faith... Here is where Mary shines forth as a person. Mary was filled with favours but her merit is seen in the fact that she always remained worthy of those favours by an absolute choice for God. That is faith - that absolute personal choice for God, and God's will. Inspite of all her difficulties and struggles, she stood faithful to the Lord, choosing God above anything else. That makes her a great model for us today. This absolute choice for God, created in her an attitude that kept her totally away from anything that could separate her from God. That attitude is what we celebrate today.

Freedom... the ability Mary had to choose on her own things that were acceptable to God is that which set her apart. That is what liberated her. That is true freedom, to choose God on my own, without any force or pressure, without any fear or threat. That freedom is not merely a freedom from but it is a freedom to...freedom to live my life to the full come what may, freedom to stick to what is right in spite of the repeated despise of the world, freedom to remain with God forever! Mary used her freedom and she was liberated forever! 

The call is simple - a challenge to grow in our faith, in a faith that liberates!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Half a Shekel or Life to the Full

Remembering St. Maximilian Kolbe - 14th August, 2017

Dt 10: 12-22; Mt 17: 22-27

Celebrating St. Maximilian Kolbe, is a challenge we accept to dwell on - a man who did not do anything for the sake of a rule, but for the sake of what his heart prompted him to do for the Lord who loved him. Paying half a shekel was a duty of a slave, according to Jesus. That is not what is asked of a Son or a Daughter. While a slave intends to pay the half shekel that is expected of him, the Son gives the entire life to the Lord, surrenders the totality of one's life, bringing that life to its fullness thus. 

God is not to be bribed, declares Moses. You don't try to appease God by being calculative in what you give, trying to pay your due, for your due is your life, not just some money or some fulfilment of a rule. The heaven, the earth, everything that exists therein and my very life belongs to God and what can I possibly give the Lord - nothing less than the whole of my life! 

That is why when Kolbe decided to die for a man whom he knew not, he did not consider that act a great feat. For him that was what he could do, all that he had to give at the moment was  his life and he gave it - he loved his Lord with the whole of his heart, with the whole of his strength, with his very life. I am called to give not just half a shekel, but my life to the full. 

GOD FOR ALL SEASONS

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 13th August, 2017

1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a; Rom 9:1-5; Mt 14:22-33

The mounting pressures of war and violence is felt across the globe today - irresponsible exchange of words at an alarmingly dangerous international level has made many an eye widen with stupor. The ongoing religious persecutions and inhuman fundamentalism is depraving the earth in its core. The Holy Father these days is continuously and strenuously calling for prayers and spiritual support to those who are unjustly made to suffer, those who are fighting a losing battle at the cost of their lives and their dignity as human persons. Explicit and Implicit persecutions are on from various segments of the society against us Christians for our faith and our belonging to the Church. This is the despicable scenario that fills our mind as we reflect on the readings of today.

Whether joys or sorrows, trials or triumphs, celebrations or temptations, successes or struggles, the Lord is. God is with us! God is present with us and God walks beside our tossed boats. God speaks to us in gentle whispers and caresses in our moments of discernment and decision making. In moments of struggles and strivings God is there as our stronghold. How convinced are we about the Lord's presence with us at all moments: Our God is a God for all seasons! 

However, it is our responsibility to meet God...

We are invited to meet God IN THE CALM OF OUR LIFE... At moments when everything is calm and quiet, serene and simple, we tend to miss the presence of God. Grateful hearts behold that presence instantly and childlike spirits rejoice in that quietude. The Lord invites us through Prophet Elijah to behold the Lord in the "sound of sheer silence" (as the NRSV phrases it... 1 Kgs 19:13). 

We are invited to meet God IN THE STORM OF OUR DAYS... Our lives never lack moments when storm clouds batter against our weak spirits. We shall not be moved, if we are sure of the Lord who is present with us. We shall remain strong and composed if we know that the Lord is around even if we are not able to see God because of the darkness that surrounds and because of the deafening noise that threatens. At times we may be misled to look at God and suspect God to be a ghost, that is look at things that are happening and villainise God, blaming God for every misery that is around. When things are settled, at hindsight we will recognise how good God is and how God has been with us all through those moments.

We are invited to meet God AS THE NORM OF OUR LIFE... Added to these, the Lord invites us to encounter him as the norm of our lives, special in times of trouble. The life and miracles of Christ are not merely wonders and showpieces. They are lessons to be learnt, ways to be adopted to live our life like him, with him and in him. In the second reading, St. Paul cries over the numerous signs that the Lord gave the Jews, which they utterly missed and totally squandered. Let us not miss the lessons that come through every experience that we live in our daily life. 

The Lord's invitation resounds as it does to Elijah, "Go out, stand and watch! the Lord shall be passing by! Don't let the Lord pass by." St. Augustine makes that inspiring statement in this regard: I fear the Lord, passing by. Let us behold the Lord always, because our God is a God for all seasons!

WORD 2day: 12th August, 2017

Grow Up! Will you?

Saturday, 18th week in Ordinary Time

Dt 6:4-13; Mt 17: 14-20

What do you have that you have not received, St. Paul would question us (1 Cor 4:7). Isn't it true, that we have received gift after gift, grace after grace from the Lord to begin with from our very life! The Lord has given us, filled us with so many gifts and graces, protected us thus far, provided for every bit of our need - what does he ask for in return? Nothing but faith!

Faith is my personal response to a God who reveals, gives, forgives and loves me so much. How ready, willing and prepared am I to give a personal response to my Lord. At times I am happy and satisfied with doing the minimum possible, as a requirement to be fulfilled - by way of attendance at some Church service, some fixed recitations and regular almost instinctive practices - but are they truly meant and do they come from the depth of my being? What I do in the name of faith, is it truly what I wish to be my response to the love that I don't deserve at all? 

As Jesus gets so irritated with the disciples today in the Gospel, so will it be if Jesus speaks to us in the heart of our hearts - when will you grow up? My Father loves you and does everything for you, keeping you as the apple of His eye. And what do you do in response? Have you truly committed yourself to an intimate relationship with my Father? 

Can we really answer those questions?

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

The Strength of True Love

Celebrating St. Clare of Assisi - 11th August,  2017

Dt 4:32-40; Mt 16: 24-28

Clare was a small girl when a young man named Francis was making waves in his hometown, Assisi. She grew looking up to Francis, an handsome, ambitious young man. She herself was a beautiful and noble girl. When Francis turned a new leaf and chose a mendicant life for the sake of the kingdom Clare followed suit. She was just 18 when she decided to follow the Lord. Her strength came from the true love that she had, whether it was for the Lord or for Francis her great role model. As Francis started an Order for the men with him, she began too for women and they grew in sanctity together in the vineyard of the Lord.

The true love that she had can be seen in three instances in her life: Her love for the person of Francis did not make her possess him but led her to the very source of love, that was God. She chose to live the way Francis lived, poor and absolutely dependent on the Lord. She faced every hardship in her life with the personal attachment she had with the person of Jesus Christ. 

The Strength of True Love is to let go, to let go of everything except the Truth that is behind everything, the Truth that God is, the person of Christ!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

The Call to Give - a life of fruitfulness 

Remembering St. Lawrence, the Deacon-Martyr - 10th August, 2017
2Cor 9: 6-10; Jn 12: 24-26



The best of all giving, is giving of oneself! Giving of one’s abundance, giving of whatever little that one has and giving even if one does not have enough for oneself – these are praise worthy in their respective order. But the highest of all giving is Self-giving. 

Celebrating the Deacon-martyr, St. Lawrence, we are reminded of the early Christian communities that were so much characterized by persons who were blessed with the special charism of Giving of their own selves, apart from what they possessed. They were cheerful givers, and so we find their numbers kept growing unprecedentedly. The very spirit that they radiated held captive those who saw them and multitudes were drawn to emulate it. They were ready and willing to die to themselves that Christ may come alive in them! St.Paul’s words were true in so many of those early Christians – “I live, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20) and “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). These were not mere catchy sayings; they were true lived experiences and we witness it in great martyrs like St. Stephen, the apostles and St. Paul himself. St. Lawrence follows suit very closely later in the third century. After all, they had but one model who had invaded and conquered their minds, hearts and spirits - Jesus the ultimate personification of self-giving - the grain of seed that chose to fall to the ground, that it may abound in its fruits: we are the fruits and let us be worthy of the grain which has borne us. 

WORD 2day: 9th August, 2017

You become what you believe

Wednesday, 18th week in Ordinary Time

Num 13:1-2,25 - 14:1,26-29,34-35; Mt 15: 21-28

'Woman, great is your faith! Let it be unto you as you have believed' said Jesus and the girl was healed, because she believed that the girl could be healed. 

'I shall do to you just as you have said' the Lord told Israel and they spent 40 long years in the desert, because they did not believe they could take over the land as the Lord directed them. 

The Word has this to declare to us: you become what you believe. Beware what you really believe! The worst thing that I can do to myself is, be negligent about the Lord with me. The Lord is with me, and if I am conscious of that presence, my attitude towards life will be completely transformed by that consciousness. If I believe theoretically in the presence of the Lord but am insensitive to it in reality, the loser is me! 

If I believe the Lord is with me, specially during moments of crisis and difficulty, I would emerge victorious in the name of the Lord. If I fail to believe in the presence of the Lord with me, great is my worry and heavy is my labour, and the result - it is all left to chances! Lord I believe and I am certain I shall behold the best you have prepared for me!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Like the Men of God

Celebrating St. Dominic - 8th August, 2017

Num 12:1-13; Mt 14: 22-36

The Word speaks of two Men of God today - not merely by the popular title but by their very life style and the way they respond to tough situations. Moses, against whom the very people whom he served grumbled, including his closest collaborators. What did he do? Held it against them? No, that was not becoming of a man of God. Even when Miriam stood affected by her own sin, he intercedes with the Lord, obtaining her health back. he proves to be a man of God.

Jesus the Son of God, the ideal man of God proves himself so, by being so unaffected even when he knew his own disciples knew him not. They did not understand him, they thought him to be an evil spirit. In spite of it, when Peter wishes to walk on the water, he gives him that privilege. He was so patient, kind and gentle with the disciples, because that is the mark of a person of God, a God who abounds in mercy and love.

The third man of God whom we are given with today, is Dominic, the 12th century Religious Founder - one who is attributed with the great miraculous event of receiving on our behalf the Marian Rosary. Dominic as the very name means, belonged to go God and lived his life for the people of God and for the spread of the Reign of God. 

The call is loud and clear - to live for God, for God's people and above all for the establishment of the Reign of God, here and now.

WORD 2day: 7th August, 2017

Fed Up - a frequent word today!

Monday, 18th week in Ordinary Time

Num 11:4-15; Mt 14:13-21

The very first skimming through today's Word, sent my thought whirling to so many experiences of today. Boredom of the youngsters, hatred for the routine on the part of the middle agers, taking the little but taxing sacrifices of others by the elders- these are prevalent experiences pointed out by many today. An oft-used term for this experience is feeling or being  fed up. 

The first reading has an example of what we humanly do when we are "fed up" and the Gospel portrays the true Christ-ian response. Humanly speaking when we are fed up, we grumble. Moses was no different from the people - they grumbled among themselves but Moses grumbled to God. Finding fault with God and asking God for an explanation, sometimes I tell the youngsters, is nothing wrong. But it is justified only when a meaningful warm rapport precedes it. Moses had that disposition, the people did not - that is why the former was justified, the latter were not.

However, Jesus shows a qualitative difference in the way he would respond in a situation like this: Jesus was "fed up" too, when he knew what they did to John the Baptist. He knew that was how his life would go too. When he wanted to really grieve for his cousin and great prophet, he could not. People were there too, they were every where. Was Jesus "fed up"...no, he wasn't. He went to the extent of making sure the people were fed, not fed up! 

What is important to ward off the feeling of being fed up, is to count your blessings, everyday, every little thing that comes to you! And with that mindset - you would reduce hearing: Fed Up - a frequent word today!

TO BURN TILL WE ARE CONSUMED

The Transfiguration of the Lord : 6th August, 2017

Dan 7: 9-10, 13-14;  2 Pet 1: 16-19; Mt 17: 1-9

There is terror all around, there is darkness thickening all around, there is treason and treachery plotted all around, there is deception from the evil and the majority of the world seem to be falling into it... when you find yourself in such a situation, what do you do? You burn brighter! That is what Jesus teaches us. Yes, to be extinguished by the threats around is not truly Christ-ian. 

When problems arise, when threats increase, when troubles augment, when failures mount, when enemies surround, if you are truly a disciple of Christ what do you do - you burn brighter. But things affect - it doesn't matter - you burn till you are consumed, says the Word today!

"A lamp shining in a dark place until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" - a wonderful comparison that St. Peter presents to us. It would apply to our faith, our life of witness, our trust, our commitment to the Reign of God and every bit of our faith and its expression here and now, all leading us towards that eternal glory that awaits us as children of God(Jn 1:12), co-heirs with Christ(Rom 8:17), people meant for the future glory (Rom 8:18). 

Our Christian life is rich and its richness will be lost if we lose the sense of mystery in understanding it. Mystery is not merely something that is unknown and incomprehensible, but it is something that is beyond all our rational calculations and empirical conditions; yet it is not totally alien from our experience; it is part of our lived experience, an experience we live on a daily basis, an experience that sustains our faith and offers meaning to our life.

The feast of Transfiguration is a symbol, a prefigurement and a surety of the glory that rests within us, as children of God. However, we are warned not to lose our grip on our daily living, on our concrete initiatives towards ushering in the Reign of God in the pretext of dreaming about a future that is glorious and splendid. 

In practical terms, to be people transfigured is to live our lives with our eyes fixed on heaven and our feet planted firm on ground, to never lose the hope that the Lord offer in Himself and to never rest from our efforts to build the Reign of God here on earth. It is a call to burn until we are totally consumed, totally consumed for the sake of the mission that the Lord entrusts to us, consumed living our daily life to the full, empowering every person to live it to their full. 

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

Churches, Jubilees and Hypocrisy

Celebrating the Basilica of Mary Major - 5th August, 2017

Lev 25: 1,8-17; Mt 14:1-12

We celebrate today the feast of the dedication of the Basilica of Mary Major, one of the four major Papal Basilicas in Rome. It has a great historical background as it was one of the first basilicas built in honour of Mary, Mother of God. The miracle that is said to have happened to reveal the exact spot chosen by our Blessed Mother herself, the miracle of snow in the mid summer night, gave rise to the title Our Lady of Snows! Celebrating a Church and its history is a jubilation!

The first reading speaks of another Jubilee, that the Lord wanted the people of Israel to commemorate. We get the mind of God so clearly - jubilee according to the Lord is not merely eating and drinking, the glory of the Lord in a Church is not merely about the pomp and splendour, our true faith is not in the richness of the tradition or in the complexity of heritage - it is in the compassion we have for others and the personal integrity that we manifest in ourselves. 

This is what Jesus loathed in Herod. Jesus had hardly any respect for him because he lacked integrity. He lived a life that was so far from God, from good and from truth! Building spectacular churches, celebrating splendid jubilees and organising fantastic festivities - these will remain empty noise, or hardcore hypocrisy, if we do not commit ourselves to compassion and justice! 

As we celebrate the feast today, let us ask our Blessed Mother to save us from this hypocrisy and form us into true disciples of Christ, committed to justice, truth and compassion.