THE WORD AND THE SAINT

The Glory and the Cross

Celebrating St. Jerome - 30th September, 2017

Zech 2: 5-9,14-15; Lk 9: 43-45

For a true Christian glory and the cross have to coexist constantly. One cannot lose himself or herself in the glory of a moment, being misled into orientations that do not help their ultimate salvation. At times this is seen very much in people who are in a position to claim glory from things that happen around them. Think of the parish priests and other pastors who are so keen on putting up buildings and structures that would speak of their glory, to a detrimental effect on their pastoral care of the people entrusted to them! Don't be carried away, Jesus warns the disciples. He says, beyond this glory and praise, there is suffering which is the only way to salvation. Striving for it, taking control of our passions and inclinations, making choices that are difficult and never losing sight of the ultimate goal towards which we are all traversing, are the essential marks of a true Christian. Even amidst the glories that come along, these orientations should never be lost. 

Looking at the Saint we celebrate today, St. Jerome, was a contemporary of St. Augustine and had written as much as Augustine himself. The first translation of the entire Bible into Latin was by Jerome. A queer fact I was fascinated looking at some of the paintings of Jerome was, that we see a skull all the time around him, either on his bed or on his working table. And what was the reason - that which we are reflecting on from the readings: to never lose sight of the ultimate goal we are moving towards. As a hermit, Jerome often reminded himself of death and that is the symbolism of the skull. He would remind himself that death is always around and he cannot lose his orientation in life. He fixed his eyes on the will of God and fulfilled it to perfection, putting up with numerous difficulties for the sake of the Word and the Will of God. 

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

Angels - Manifestations of God

Celebrating the Archangels - Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

29th September, 2017 - Dan 12:7-12; Jn 1: 47-51

Angels are extensions of God, they are the concrete manifestations of the presence and interventions of God. This is what the Word tells us. If we really understand them so, let us look at the kind of manifestation that the Lord gives us. 

Michael is the Strength of God, the power and the sovereignty that God has. Who looks upto power and strength? Those who are weak, those who are downtrodden. God manifests, through Angel Michael that God stands by those who are weak and exploited.

Gabriel is the Good News of God, the message of joy and salvation. Who is in need of a good news? Those who find themselves in need, enslaved and suffering, heavy laden and hopeless, look up to the Lord for a ray of Hope. 

Raphael is the Healing of God, the compassionate touch of God. Obviously, those who need a healing are those who are sick, those who find it hard to live their life to the full. God chooses to reach out to the sick, the sinners, those who are struggling to remain true to their calling. 

God expresses to the world, and today's world should take it seriously, that God stands by, stands for, stands with the downtrodden, with those who are in darkness and those who are spiritually and physically sick.

We are called today, not only to see and to celebrate the Angels climbing up and down the ladder of God's mediation, but to be Angels ourselves. That is, to stand by the downtrodden, the desperate and the diseased. They need the Lord and we need be the Lord's manifestation. Can we?

Reflect: House in Ruins

WORD 2day: 28th September, 2017

Thursday, 25th week in Ordinary Time

Hag 1:1-8; Lk 9: 7-9

It is important to know that the house is in  ruins and more important to know the reason. The world today is experiencing that ruin in  many realities. The wounded peace, the wrecked ecology, the neglected humanity, the despised helpless, the insensitive power centres... these are the experiences of ruins. If we carry on our lives paying no attention to these, but trying to live our religious lives as mere ritual requirements, we will be like Herod who was more curious to see Jesus than earnest to see himself in the light of Jesus. 

Today, to reflect on our house of ruins is not merely to criticise ourselves or everyone else who is around, but to look at ourselves in the light of Jesus and his Mystical Body. The Mystical Body of Christ is the communion of believers, the communion of human persons, a true communion of heart and spirit. Are we building up such a presence amidst us? If not Jesus' body, the house is in ruins! It is important that we know that the house is in ruins and more important that we analyse to see where really lies the problem. 

A bit of sincerity and a lot of dedication will set this house back in order -let us better Reflect!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Set out... Restore the Ruins!

Celebrating St. Vincent de Paul - 27th September, 2017

Ezra 9: 5-9; Lk 9: 1-6

Look at the world today- you have enough to criticize, enough to lament and enough to detest. But that is not what a disciple of Christ could do at his or her best. The Lord invites and challenges us to 'Set out to restore the ruins'. God called in history people like Moses, Ezra and Nehemiah, the other prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus himself, Francis of Assisi and many others like the saint of today, Vincent de Paul. Just as much does God call you and me today, in our own way to restore the ruins and certainly not to add to them.

Even in and through our facebook messages, whatsapp forwards, blogposts, tweets and circulated mails we are called to restore ruins and not create more havoc. There are enough hate-spreaders, we need not add to those numbers. Our justice need not be a justice of an uncharitable self righteousness; it has to be a charitable holiness. Even when they reject you, move on shaking the dust off your sandals, the Lord suggests. 

It is not so easy in a world so dominated by egoistic agenda, divisive mentality, exploitative mindset, vindictive perspectives and inhuman developmental processes! We tend to play it according to the tunes of the majority and rationalise ungodly leanings. Can we truly found ourselves on evangelical charity and fend for the weak, stand by the oppressed and think from their grounds? Vincent de Paul stands out as a great model in that.

Build yourselves up to be God's own today!

WORD 2day: 26th September, 2017

Tuesday, 25th week in Ordinary Time

Ezra 6: 7-8,12,14-20; Lk 8: 19-21

To be God's own, to be called God's people, to truly belong to God - Jesus suggests a means: listen and live! Listen to the Lord, live it to the letter! God gives a command - build up the temple - not because God has nowhere to live, but because the people have nothing to unite them. God wants them to be united as one, under one God, under one sacrifice and under one banner, as God's own people. 

Jesus pitches for the same too: it is not about a group which is privileged, claiming honours and priced positions and hierarchical arrogance. At times in religiosity, this happens much that people of an elite group claim all the privileges and honours. The people of God are not a privileged few but the committed few, the obedient few, the dedicated few, the faithful few, the observant few, the uncompromising few - they are those who hear and practice, those who listen and live. They are those who build themselves up to be God's own. 

When we hear and practice, listen and obey that One Lord, our minds and our heart become one, we are built into one people of God. That is what we are called towards: to build ourselves up to be God's own today!

Roused in the Spirit

WORD 2day: 25th September, 2017

Monday, 25th week in Ordinary Time

Ezra 1:1-6; Lk 8:16-18

Sentiments of hatred and violence is strewn all over the news these days. Every day we rise to newer and newer challenges against peaceful life on earth. Direct killings and terrorist fundamentalism on the one side; the hidden agenda and delirious deceptions on the other side, normal peace loving human being is forced to feel out of place today. 

Do not be worried dear sons and daughters of God, says the Word today. The Lord is in control. The Lord made use of an alien king Cyrus to raise God's dwelling and God's people - the same Lord is in control even today! 

All that children of God need to do today, is be roused in the Spirit - yes, be roused in the Spirit, share the Word more and more, speak the mercies of the Lord to everyone, set the world ablaze with the love of the True God. Only then you can be called people of God. 

Be children of God, be roused in the Spirit, be lights of the world, burn bright and help people see the Truth.

BEING CHRISTIAN IS BEING CHRIST

Listen, Learn and Live

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 24th September, 2017

Is 55: 6-9; Phil 1:20-24,27; Mt 20:1-16

There is a colleague of yours who is very close to you, spends a lot of time with you and enjoys much of your favours. You come to discover that the person is spreading rumours against you and calumny against you. What would you do?

Every one in your locality consider you and your spouse, as the the best couple around. They speak highly about you. But both of you know, only both of you know, that you are not really happy with each other. What would you do?

Everyone in the ambient where you work are corrupt. They are in one way or the other people who either directly involve in corruption or indirectly promote corruption through an assistance or silence. You find yourself in the thick of this situation, what would you do?

What would you do? 

The Word today wants us to say: I would think, decide, act and live as a Christian. I would be a Christian. What does that mean: To be a Christian means to be Christ! For me to live is Christ, to die is a gain, declares St. Paul today!

I would change things, revolutionise the world, challenge the society, transform the world...these are easy statements to make. But "how" is the million dollar question. To be Christ today, the Word invites us to listen to Christ, learn what it means to be Christ and live to be Christ.

To be a Christian is to be Christ - that is the call. Limitless Forgiveness and Compassionate Challenge, Authentic love and Sincere Relationships, Integral Living and Uncompromising Values - these are the need of the hour - this is what it means to be Christ, to be Christ wherever we are, to be Christ in whatever way we can, to be Christ to the extent we can. How can I do that?

First, I need to listen to Christ, listen to Christ who invites me, listen to Christ who calls me, listen to Christ who tells me "go" into my vineyard! The Lord comes seeking for me and I need to pay heed to the Lord. The situations of difficulties, the situations of temptations, the situations of challenge are situations through which I am being called to enter into the mission of Christ, to transform the world. If I give excuses and stand by without listening to the Lord, I am already failing in my duty. It doesn't matter how much difference I make, all that the Lord wants is I make a difference. It doesn't matter how much I achieve, all that the Lord wants is that I remain faithful to whatever I can, because as Mother Teresa said, I am called not to be successful, but to be faithful.

The second is to learn to be Christ, to learn the way Christ would look at things, to learn the way Christ would approach an issue, to learn the way that Christ would act in a given situation. Seek the Lord when you still have time, says Isaiah in the first reading today. Seek the Lord means, seek to know and understand the Lord, seek to get closer to the Lord and the ways of the Lord, seek to know the difference between the ways of the world and the ways of the Lord and make the Lord's ways mine.

The third call is to live to be Christ...to say like Paul, for me to live is Christ. To live to be Christ is to have the mind of Christ. To live to be Christ is to think like Christ, to speak like Christ, to love like Christ, to suffer like Christ, to be ready to give our life for the sake of the will of God, just like Christ. It is easy for us to set this aside and say, this is too much or this is impractical. But let us also understand, in doing that we are telling ourselves, it is impractical to be a Christian, it is too much to be a Christian. All that the Lord wants to see is our sincere effort to be Christians, not merely nominal Christians but Christians true to our name - to be Christian is to be Christ!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Living in Christ and Living for Christ

Celebrating Padre Pio - 23rd September, 2017

Gal 2: 19-21; Lk 16: 24-27

Padre Pio is a prophet of our age. A man who who died just 49 years ago and was canonised just 15 years ago, he is an exceptional witness to the powerful presence of God amidst today. Padre Pio was known for his extraordinary sense of belonging to the Lord, which he wanted to instill in everyone he met. 

The readings that are chosen for his feast express this total insertion into the reality of God. Padre Pio lived for Christ, as he brought thousands and thousands to the way of the Lord and he continues to do it even today. The Saint also lived in Christ, so much in Christ that he experiences the Stigmata, the wounds of the Crucified Lord for 50 years in his life, from 1918 till he died. His life in Christ, transformed him into a living Christ, bearing in his body the wounds of Christ and in his soul the thirst that the Crucified Lord had for souls. 

Padre Pio was a great champion in winning souls for God, be it in the confessional or outside. Let us be inspired today, to save our own souls and to do our best in the salvation of souls.

THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH

WORD 2day: 22nd September, 2017

Friday, 24th week in Ordinary Time

1 Tim 6: 2-12; Lk 8: 1-3

Many today follow a hit and run policy with regard to sufferings and struggles, but wish to call themselves strong, mature and rational. At the most they agree that they are rebellious, but they fail to understand their weakness, those who question God during their difficulties but do not stay on long enough to get the right answers. Coincidentally, or miraculously, a person approached today telling me that it has been long since the person has left the Catholic Church, because the person  lost a dear friend just around 25 years old. The person had raised questions such as, Why this person? Why now? etc and left the Church in rebellion against God. I gently asked the following question - 'you raised a question unto the Lord, did you wait for an answer at all?'

There is nothing wrong in raising questions to God, we should be ready to wait for the response. Wait long and wait hard - that is what we mean a fight, a good fight of faith. There will a response, an answer from the Lord - but you should be there to behold that response.Then you would be in a position to say: I have fought the good fight of faith! Until then there is one thing we are called to do: to Follow the Lord wherever He leads.

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

The Call to be ONE

Celebrating the Feast of St. Matthew the Apostle - 21st September, 2017

Eph 4: 1-7,11-13; Mt 9: 9-13

One Lord, One faith, One baptism, One God...Paul stacks up the meaning of the feast today, in describing his own wish for his children. Yes, every time we celebrate the feast of an apostle we are celebrating our call to be One! The division within the Church is because the sense of this Apostolic succession is lost somewhere. That is an ecumenical point of view and important. But more important is a socio-existential point of view of the Church today. The Feast of Matthew and the reminder from the scene of his call, give us this message with an enviable clarity: are we ONE?

How many categories we have created for ourselves to stand divided - denominations among churches, divisions within churches based on rites and languages and even caste, the worst of its kind! Matthew, when he was called, left everything on the table and followed him. A lot of things were at stake for him when he made that choice - he cannot turn back, he will have people on his back, he will have to answer so many people, he will be criticised by many, he will be branded by the world as 'out of his mind', he would be going behind a person about whom he can only pretend to know until the person himself reveals with clarity - how many things against that choice that he made! But still he made that choice - to leave everything and follow Christ. 

Can I today, leave everything, my desires, my identities, my attachments, my clingings, my holdings, my support system...everything! Can I leave them all, and follow Him?

WATERING DOWN FAITH

WORD 2day: 20th September, 2017

Wednesday, 24th week in Ordinary Time

1 Tim 3: 14-16; Lk7: 31-35

At times we dwell in petty arguments regarding faith - to do this or not to do that, who is greater and who is less, what word to use in prayer and what not, which is the most fit time to do something for the Lord, which language is the most sacred language fit for liturgical celebrations, which rite is more prone to reach God faster... are not these like the lamentations of the children Jesus refers to in the gospel today: we played the flute and you did not dance; we played the dirges and you did not moan!

Paul reminds us in the first reading today, that the mystery of our religion, or the truth of our faith, the crux of our Christian life is much deep indeed. Let us not water down our faith to some rituals to be undertaken, some conditions to be fulfilled or some obligations to be respected. Out Christian faith is an entire life to be lived, in all its details, in its very depth. It is not so much what we do but what make us do what we do. It is not so much what we refrain from, but what is that which matters more, that makes us refrain from something else. 

Our faith is not about our apparent behaviour and habits, but the deep seated convictions that give rise to such behaviours and habits. 

WOMEN AND MEN IN GOD

WORD 2day: 19th September, 2017

Tuesday, 24th week in Ordinary Time

1 Tim 3:1-13; Lk7:11-17

Yesterday, I had reflected upon the leaders who are actually absent today in the world - and someone commented in return to me, 'is it not applicable to the Church and leaders in the Church too?'. And I responded saying: 'when I meant leaders, I meant leaders'. Yes, it was about leaders at all levels. And today we have a special instruction on being Christian Leaders or Leaders of a Christian community. It is not enough to be People of God, that is women and men of God, some are called to be a bit more!

Being women and men of God is one thing, which all of us baptised are called to be. Some are more intensely called to be women and men in God, that is people who are so soaked in God that they act like God, think like God and represent God to the rest. It is a call within a call - you got to be attentive if you have that call. These are the true leaders.

There are three important qualities pointed out and elaborated in details, in the readings today. These can form a set of criteria, a touchstone for true Christian leaders. The three qualities are: Personal Integrity (it all begins there!), Selfless Service (that is the crux of it all) and Limitless Mercy (it all moves towards that, for that is the image you imbibe when you are in God). 

FOUND MISSING - LEADERS TODAY!

WORD 2day: 18th September, 2017

Monday, 24th week in Ordinary Time

1 Tim 2:1-8; Lk 7: 1-10

The Word today touches upon a crucial point for today - who is a true leader and what we need to do towards having true leaders. Look at the leaders today - one who threatens all those who are around inviting them to prove their might, one who is busy proving himself the most powerful, one who is busy promoting one's hidden agenda come what may, the one's who are more worried about their purses and positions than about those whom they intend to lead, the ones who are busy making noise without really substantialising their inner potency, the ones who have no stand on their own but try to capitalise on others' weaknesses and necessities - are these the kind of leaders we need? Or the kind of leader that the centurion proved to be?

If we need to have good leaders as such, we should first, pray for our leaders; secondly, promote such leaders, instead of losing them in time and space; and thirdly, become ourselves the type of leaders that we wish to see. What shall we engage in now?

A LESSON ON FORGIVENESS

Memory, Meaning and Matter-of-fact

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 17th September, 2017

Eccl 27:33 - 28:9; Rom 14: 7-9; Mt 18: 21-35

Today we have the most Christian of all lessons - a lesson on forgiveness. That is the key not only to a true Christian life but also to a truly happy life. 


The crucial question of the lesson today is, Why should we forgive? Why should we forgive, if someone has done harm to us? Isn't it against justice? If the one who has offended continues to offend, do I remain on the ground, receiving everything lying down? Jesus seems to be answering these questions as he speaks those words to Peter - not just seven times, seventy times seven. Jesus teaches us to forgive not just our friends but our enemies, and to pray for them. Apart from that response and teaching of Jesus, we have three reasons underlined today in the readings...

We have to forgive because our past demands it from us. MEMORY teaches us that we have to forgive. Looking at what God has done for us, the experience of our own past, where we have been excused so much, pardoned so abundantly and loved beyond all our limitations, we have no excuse; we have to forgive. Look at that man who was pardoned such a large amount by the ruler - what should he have done? Forgive, isnt it? If only he thought a bit about what he has experienced from his ruler, he would not have been so mean. It is important for us to develop this memory, the Memory of the Mercy that we have been granted in abundance.

We have to forgive because our present requires it from us. We are Christians, or so we call ourselves! If we are Christians but we do not live what Christ taught and lived for, then our life has no MEANING at all. The very Meaning of the life that we are living right now, comes from the fact that we take our name from Christ himself. If so, we need to live faithful to that name.Whether we live or die, we are for Christ, we are with Christ and we belong to Christ. Only this gives meaning to our existence, or death, or sufferings or every bit of our daily experiences. Without forgiving can we call ourselves Christians? It is easy at times to forgive people who are our enemies, people whom we know are against us, people who are far away from us. But it is not so easy to forgive our own close friends, those who are all the time with us, persons who enjoy a great part of our confidence. But Jesus stands a model even in these - he not only forgave the Jews and Romans who killed him or the soldiers who treated him with contempt, but also the closest of his collaborators who turned against or indifferent towards him. If I need to live a meaningful life, here and now, I better learn to forgive.

We have to forgive because our future depends on that, as a MATTER-OF-FACT. As the first readings says so simply and the parable Jesus narrates in the gospel points out, if we need to be forgiven, if we have to be accepted as children of God, if we have to qualify as disciples of Christ, we should forgive and there is no option to it. It is a matter of fact, there is no two opinions about it. Jesus is crystal clear, the Word is insistent and the Spirit inspires us to forgive, because only through that we make ourselves worthy of the forgiveness of God. 

Consider the well known images...of Nelson Mandela who remained in the prison for 27 years due to racism and when he stepped out he chose to forgive and work with the authorities towards abolition of apartheid... of the wife of Graham Steins who was killed with two of his sons and how she announced with firmness, I forgive those who killed my loved ones... of the family of Sr. Rani Maria who was stabbed to death and the assassin who is now a Christian because he was forgiven and accepted as one among them by the family... of Pope Saint John Paul II who forgave the one who attempted to assassinate him, Ali Agca and how the latter came back after 31 years to Rome, to St. Peter's, to John Paul the II's tomb to pay his homage. He says he wishes to meet in person Pope Francis and if Pope Francis wishes, he is ready to serve the Church as a Catholic Priest. 

Look at all these images... what do they communicate... a lesson on forgiveness! That is what the Lord wants to leave with us today. Let us take this lesson to our heart, and consider seriously practicing this teaching, if not, we would remain far from what we claim to be - that is, Christians! 

THE WORD AND THE SAINTS

We are fruits of these good trees

Celebrating Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian - 16th September, 2017

1 Tim 1:15-17; Lk 6: 43-49

We have two saints whom we celebrate today - one a Pope-Martyr, Cornelius and the other a Bishop-Martyr, Cyprian. We have three reasons to thank God today for these saints. First of all for the testimony of their martyrdom - that they lived for the Lord and died for the Lord. Second for their insistence on the Oneness of the Church - Cornelius was the first Pope to fight against a schism in the Church already in the year 251 and Cyprian wrote those beautiful lines, 'God is one and Christ is one, and his Church is one.' Thirdly, they were people who guarded the Church against the viles of the enemy - Cornelius fought against the first anti-pope in the history of the Church and Cyprian taught extensively the doctrine strengthening the faithful against straying from the truth. 

They lived, worked, suffered and died for Christ - they have left behind a great legacy as did the apostles. We are fruits of these good trees. Do we have the same good and faithfulness in us? We are called to stand of the Truth of the Lord, the Lord's people and the Lord's way of life, amidst the cries of confusion and compromise today. 

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

THE FIRST ONE TO BEHOLD THE CROSS

Remembering the Sorrowful Mother of God - 15th September, 2017

1 Tim 1: 1-2,12-14; Jn 19: 25-27

If yesterday was the glorification of the Cross, today is the remembrance of the one who beheld that Cross, standing at its foot, for the first time! The Cross was not anything new, it was a common punishment for the offenders. But for the first time, its significance changes when the Son of God takes it into his loving embrace. Suffering for humanity is nothing new, but it all depends how we behold it, in our own lives. Mary stood by that Cross, and she did not realise what it really meant. What we celebrate today is not the theological interpretation that Mary gave to the Cross - No! She knew nothing of it.

We celebrate today three important attitudes that we see in our Blessed Mother: 

The surrendering love due to which she was able to accept anything that came her way after that 'yes' she said - the struggle without a place to give birth to her son, the exile to Egypt and back, the society that did not accept her son and everything that followed.

The enduring hope with which she believed in every word that was spoken to her by the Angel. She was blessed because she believed that what the Lord promised would surely be fulfilled. Even at the foot of the Cross or after the body was laid in the silence of the tomb, she stood firm in her hope.

The unwavering faith which led her to remain silent until every sword had pierced her heart - she knew nothing can take her away from the Lord. She waited until her son won over death and made her the sign of our ultimate victory over death. Mary shines as the beacon that illumines our lives and makes us understand, the ultimate victory belongs to the Lord. 

May the sword that pierced her heart, make us meek, humble and obedient unto the Lord.

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

THE CROSS AND A CHRISTIAN

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross - 14th September, 2017

Phil 2: 6-11; Jn 3: 13-17

Reflecting on the Exaltation of the Cross, I could not take my eyes and my mind off these two persons - one a simple salesian missionary and the other a simple jesuit pope! They have lived up to their call - to be Christians, above all. 

How many of us can look at hardships in life and start counting them as opportunities to live our life to the full? How many of us can live with difficulties and still feel, every day is a blessing, a step closer to one's salvation? How many of us can look at the unnecessary burdens that are shoved on his or her shoulders and still say, these are nothing compared to the blessing that the Lord has in store for me? That would be the count of true Christ-ians among us!

The two people we see in the picture, taken just yesterday at Vatican, Fr. Tom and the Holy Father, they stand tall today as people who have exalted the Cross in their own lives. 

Look at the Holy Father's face - the bruise from the bash that he had during his visit to Columbia. There was a beautiful report after that incident saying that the incident, though painful caused no change in his plan. All the delay that it caused was for a small first aid, with ice cubes and a band-aid. The 80 year old man was back on his feet, running through the schedule with the same smile and more warmth. That is an exaltation of the Cross.

Fr. Tom Uzhunallil, a living testimony by now for the exaltation of the Cross - reached Vatican on his release after 18 months in exile and those who were with him those initial moments reported these words: all that he said was thanks, to the Lord and the Madonna! What a way to exalt the Cross!

When we come across a painful event or experience in our personal or familial or communitarian lives, after perceiving that initial pain, how long do we take to look deep and find the hand of the Lord affirming us, the presence of the Lord accompanying us and the Words of the Lord filling our lives in its emptiness? That is the mark of being Christians - the ability and the readiness to accept the cross. The Cross and a Christian cannot be away from each other!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

THE CHRIST DIFFERENCE

Celebrating John of Golden Mouth - 13th September, 2017

Col 3: 1-11; Lk 6: 20-26

There is no more Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, slaves or free persons, there is only Christ, says Paul. Christ alone makes the difference. There is no more religious or lay, catholics or others, believers or non believers, practitioners or indifferent, regular-to-the-Church or non-church-goers...nothing is going to be different because of these. There is only Christ and Christ is going to make all the difference. 

God has chosen each of us, and if God has chosen us in Christ, we have a duty to respond. It is our response that is going to make the difference. If I choose Christ, if I value Christ, if I value the call that I have received to be a child of God, I have to  show it in my life, I have to live it on a daily basis, I have to prove it at times of real crisis in my practical living. When I choose Christ the difference will be seen. 

John Chrysostom, whom we celebrate today, was born just John. He was given the title Chyrsostom, which means "Golden Mouth" because of the way he spoke God's Word, the way he inspired others through his life so absolutely guided by the Word. He made a choice for Christ, in the midst of his early education with a climate so anti-christian and pagan, and his choice he lived for the rest of his life and was even killed for it. Let our choice for Christ make a concrete difference in our lives. Let the world around me see a difference, the Christ difference in me!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

NAMED AFTER THE ULTIMATE NAME

Celebrating the Most Holy Name of Mary - 12th September, 2017

Eph 1: 3-6, 11-12; Lk 1: 39-47

Name is identity. In the salvific plan of God, name refers to the core of one's being. the Mother of God was chosen, in Christ before the foundations of the world, to be holy and blameless - the name that refers to this identity is MARY. That name is a vocation, a call, a Divine choice, a crucial part of the Salvation Plan of God. And each of us is called, just like Mary was and we are given an identity that we draw from the One who has created us and called us. 

What is my identity, what is my name? Do I realise that I am named after the Ultimate Name on earth and heaven... the name of God! That is what Paul asserts when he says we are chosen in Christ, in the name of Christ, the name above every name that was revealed to us, that name that was borne by Mary for the entire humanity. 

The call is to live up to that name. Mary did. She was chosen and predestined and she lived upto that name by reaching out to the needy, even without being asked. This is what she is, even today. Reaching out to us in love! Let us confide in her, the mother of Christ and our Mother and she will lead us to our ultimate home. 

SUFFERING AND SISYPHUS

WORD 2day: 11th September, 2017

Monday, 23rd week in Ordinary Time

Col 1:24 - 2:3; Lk 6: 6-11

Have you heard of the Greek Mythology of Sisyphus - that is what I was reminded of when I read the passage from St. Paul in the first reading today. The Greek mythology is about the character called Sisyphus who receives a curse to push a boulder up the hill, only for the boulder to roll back to the foot of the hills. And he would begin it all over again. He would carryout that meaningless and endless routine all his existence! The existentialist, Albert Camus (in 1945) would compare that to human suffering. St. Paul's words to the Colossians sounds like it, when he says, I have to suffer for you and for the Laodiceans without having even seen your faces. But Paul never ever felt it was meaningless or endless!

What does give meaning to our sufferings? All our laws and regulations, discipline and rules, what really makes them all purposeful? It is not what, but who! It is God who renders them all meaningful and purposeful. Without God, suffering is meaningless, pointless and misery. With God suffering is salvific, purposeful and destined towards an ultimate good. It is God who renders our sufferings, our mortifications, our rules, our legalities meaningful. None of these would mean anything, even if we kept them with utmost diligence, if we do not feel close to God. With God suffering is salvific! Without God, like for Sisyphus, our sufferings are mere miseries.

SAVE YOURSELF BY SAVING OTHERS

Truth, Love and Solidarity

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - 10th September, 2017

Ezek 33:7-9; Rom 13: 8-10; Mt 18: 15-20

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” -These words of Elie Wiesel are very powerful, especially these days when everything that happens is unjust and everything just is silent. Being a Christian cannot support a choice of being silent or neutral. We have to take side and the side that we take will determine whether we are truly Christ-ian or not.

Christ came to save us, he has saved us all. But we need to claim that salvation that Christ brought for ourselves - how do we do that? By surrendering ourselves to the way of life that Christ taught us, by surrendering ourselves to the mercy God our Father and Mother and by allowing the action of the Holy Spirit to take over our lives. But we do that here and now, by our daily choices. One thing as Christians we need to keep in mind is, we cannot be saved or we cannot work on our salvation all alone. We are called to be a community of persons and we are going to be saved thus too. That is why today the Word today reminds us, the way to save ourselves is by saving others.

Truth lives. When moments of choice come, we need to abide by Truth. It is sign that we serve that One Lord and God. Because Truth is one and we need to stand by it. At times when we have to choose between values, between issues, among a few things which seem all good, we need to look for that truth that will most reflect the Lord. That is where we become the servants of God. The truth of the dignity of a person, justice, should stand aloft in our choices and we need to speak that out. The first reading from Ezekiel reminds us through the voice of the Lord - you speak or you will not be saved! Express that you stand by the Truth; the Word itself says it does not matter if the others heed to you, what matters is that you have declared your stand.

Love is a mutual debt, Paul declares. I cannot ask a question, why should I love, if I am truly a Christian. It has to be ingrained in me to love. Loving is not just saying it by words. Loving is standing by, feeling for, reaching out and doing everything possible for the well being of the other. At times when we stand by love, we may feel that we are fighting a losing batter, but I need to stick on. Because, it is only by that love that I become a true child of God. For those who love are born of God and those who do not love, do not know God, says John in his epistle.

Solidarity is the first principle of Christian living. That is in fact what makes you and me a people of God. The moment we are not in solidarity with each other, the moment we lack care and concern for each other, the moment we are unaffected by the sufferings of the other, the moment we are blind to the injustice that is perpetrated in the society, the moment we join the oppressors or those moments when our silence strengthens the oppressors we are failing to be truly people of God. When your brother goes wrong, speak to him, take a few with him and speak to him, call the entire community and speak to him and only then we are allowed to go in peace. Not until then! That is, we should have exhausted all possibilities, only then we can remain silent.

Today, there is so much going on in the local societies, national scenarios and international stand offs. Be it the escalating tensions between the US and the North Korea, the Rohingya Crisis, the Fundamentalism that is being unleashed, or the cases of politically powerless being exploited to the core - what is my response? Do I want to save my skin or do I look for a true salvation. If I am looking for a true salvation, I can save myself only by doing something to save the others, the oppressed, the entire world!

ALLOWING GOD TO WORK

WORD 2day: 9th September, 2017

Saturday, 22nd week in Ordinary Time

Col 1: 21-23; Lk 6: 1-5

Transforming a person is not difficult for God - Paul today reminds the Colossians how they have been transformed by God, from foreigners and enemies to pure, holy and blameless people of God. Yes, transforming a person is not difficult at all for God, provided there is a will on the part of the person to be transformed. The flesh could be weak, but what is needed is the spirit that is willing as Jesus would instruct his disciples. 

Jesus found it so hard to make the pharisees and the scribes understand the Good News that he brought with him. Not because they were unintelligent nor because they were not able to see what Jesus was trying to tell them, they were unwilling to see, they were refusing to change, they had decided not to transform themselves. 

We have today the sacraments and various other helps to pull ourselves up, make ourselves over and transform ourselves constantly in spite of our weaknesses, but we fail. Not because we cannot, but only because we do not want to, we do not will to. When we allow God to work in our lives, continuously pulling ourselves up and resuming our journey with the Lord, the Lord will surely transform us. That is the beautiful word we have in the responsorial, let us say it with faith: I have God for my help.

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

CALLED ACCORDING TO GOD'S PURPOSE

Nativity of our Blessed Mother - 8th September, 2017

Rom 8: 28-30; Mt 1: 18-23

Birthday of our Blessed Mother is a beautiful occasion to reflect our state of being called - each of us is called, called according to God's purposes. God has a purpose for which he has put me into this world at this time and at this place, in a context so specific with a purpose so specific. There can be problems, discouragements, disturbances and even disasters, but I would have fulfilled my purpose if I learn to and manage to live my life to the full, refusing to be curtailed by the negativities around me, finding always the best way of responding to the situation that I am faced with. 

When will I be able to do that: when I am convinced that there is a purpose to my life, when I believe that I have been created with a purpose, that I have been loved into existence with a magnificent plan which I may now know at present, but will slowly get to understand. Mary is a standing example for this and that is what we celebrate today - that moment when the world beheld her, her who was called into existence with a great purpose, the salvation of the universe!

LIGHT, FREEDOM AND THE REIGN

WORD 2day: 7th September, 2017

Thursday, 22nd week in Ordinary Time

Col 1: 9-14; Lk 5: 1-11

The Lord has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the Reign of the Son that God loves, in him we gain our freedom! Beautiful words that St. Paul shares with us today. He underlines the process in which we grow in our life of faith. 

Growth begins with the Light of God shed on the events of life, things we do not understand, circumstances that confuse us, failures that confound us and experiences that go beyond our control. The people who were in search and in expectation and the boatmen who failed to net any fish all night see the light in the Words of Christ.

The light thus shed leads us to a holistic comprehension of life where we grow to make choices that are Godly, choices that are acceptable to God, choices that pertain to the Reign of God. The people find solace in the words and boatmen choose to do what Jesus said in spite of their experience. The choice leads them to become what  they were called to be.

The choice for the Reign is expressed in the inner freedom that persons experience once they belong to the Reign... the freedom with which the disciples left everything and followed Christ, the freedom with which Paul became a slave to Christ, the freedom with which I am called to stand for Christ and speak up for the Reign today. 

Let us pray today that we receive the light of Christ to experience the inner freedom to belong to the Reign, in our daily life. 

SPREADING GOOD NEWS IS SPREADING LOVE

WORD 2day: 6th September, 2017

Wednesday, 22nd week in Ordinary Time

Col 1: 1-8; Lk 4: 38-44

Today's first reading sounds more like a loving letter of a member of a family to the family than a formal sharing of the Word of God. In the mind of Christ this is true proclamation - he goes to Peter's family, shares his care and love there, cures Peter's mother in law, the rest of the sick in the neighbourhood and spreads love and joy! This is what true proclamation means, unlike what some accuse the Christians of, specially in countries like India - a stealthy way of increasing numbers, or what even some Christian groups themselves feel - an itching aggression to add to their number and increase the membership of their so called church. 

Spread love, you spread the Word automatically and powerfully. You strive to spread the Word, but fail to truly love, you block the Word from really spreading. When you spread love, and spread the word about love, you spread the Word, your spread the Good News. Because, Good News is Christ and Christ is love!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

The Spirituality of keeping awake!

Celebrating Mother Teresa of Kolkata - 5th September, 2017

1 Thes 5: 1-6,9-11; Lk 4: 31-37

I am always fond of that story said about a man who asked a Zen master, 'what would you do if the world begins to end right now?' The Master who was busy drinking a cup of tea, looked up at him and said without panic, 'I would continue to taste this tea.' That is the spirituality that Paul and Jesus speak of today. To remain awake, alert, active, always is the key to face the worst of events in life. 

Mother Teresa of Kolkata was a living example of it. The enormous work that she had accomplished in her lifetime, and against all the odds that she faced, is an everlasting testament of how alert and awake she was to do good to others. She was never taken up with the fact that she was doing a great job...she always felt she was doing what she could. But the Lord was using her mightily. Her part lay in the way she cooperated with God's will to bring about the best in any situation. The secret that helped her was, not waiting for the ideal situation to do good, but to do it in whatever way you can, whenever you can. That is why she said, 'you need not do great things for God; but do the ordinary things with great love!' 

The Spirituality of keeping awake is nothing but being alert to any situation that presents itself to do good. Whether we think it is small or judge it big, we are called to do whatever is within our capacity to make a difference in the lives of the needy and the suffering. Mother Teresa shines as a brilliant icon of God's compassion. Let us develop within us a heart for the needy, the suffering, the lonely and the oppressed -'those in the periphery' as Pope Francis would remind us.

YOU GET ONLY WHAT YOU DECIDE

WORD 2day: 4th September, 2017

Monday, 22nd week in Ordinary Time

1 Thes 4: 13-18; Lk 4: 16-30

Pscychology speaks so much about positive thinking and about the power of thoughts. You get what you have always wished for! At times by our negative wishing we lose the good that can happen to us and by positive wishing we experience things that can seem almost miracles. Is it merely will power and coincidence? Not at all, establishes the Word today. 

We are immortal, in as much as we are in Christ. This is Christian belief, but at times we do not behold or perceive ourselves to be eternal beings... we commit sins and await punishment; we give into the worldly living and await our end, a definitive end...but we can never leave. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ - tribulations, distress, persecutions, hunger, nakedness, death - nothing, absolutely nothing. But when one repeatedly laments for things that have happened in life, it is likely that similar experiences repeat themselves too. 

The simple fact that we are reminded of is, that the Lord has great things in store for us, from ordinary blessings to eternal life - what we need to do is remain firm in faith, that is, decide to magnify the Lord  for all the good that you receive, because you get only what you decide.

THE MEANING OF CHRISTIAN SUFFERING

What justifies our sufferings?

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - 3rd September, 2017
Jer 20: 7-9; Rom 12:1-2; Mt 16: 21-27

There is a craze that is now affecting India. It has already caused 130 deaths around the world, more than hundred of them in Russia alone and now allegedly more than 6 have become victims to it across India. It is called the Blue Whale Challenge, a game app that gives a 50 day challenge, ranging from simple embarrassments and self injuries to the final day challenge of committing suicide. And young teenagers succumb to it, without counting the cost. A game, an app can demand so much from them and get it done! Is this after all a cause to die for? Why are they ready to take this suffering on themselves? Some say they feel the thrill...sadistic! Some say once they get in, they are not able to get out of it, they are threatened...slavery! Some say it gives them that shot of adrenaline making them feel high...addiction! 

We have others too who suffer...we had Nelson Mandela who served a term of 27 years in prison...we have Bishop Oscar Romero who was killed while celebrating Mass...we have Maxmillian Kolbe who died for the sake of an unknown fellow prisoner...what did these people suffer for? Thrill? Excitement? Slavery? Addiction?

Today Jesus tells us, if anyone wants to follow me, let him pick up his daily cross and follow me... each one of us has his or her own daily crosses, crosses that we have been carrying for years now, crosses that are weighing on our shoulders...but why should we carry them? Why should we suffer? What is the meaning of this suffering? That is the question we will answer today: what is the significance, the meaning of Christian Suffering?  

Christian Suffering should be out of Unquenchable Passion: As Jeremiah shares his plight today - he feels he is deceived by the Lord but still he is not able to leave the Lord because he has an unquenchable thirst for the Word, an unquenchable passion for the Will of God. That is worth any amount of suffering. He knows it well. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, to them belongs the Reign of God.

Christian Suffering  is for the sake of the Ultimate Truth: The Ultimate Truth is God, God's will, the eternal design that God has in mind. Christian Suffering should be for the sake of discovering that ultimate truth, God's will - this is what Paul reminds us of in today's second reading. Even if the whole world stands against it, Truth will never cease to be. And when I decide to stand for the Truth, I belong to Christ. I have to suffer, but I stand for that Ultimate Truth.

Christian Suffering is towards Universal Good: At times people come to protest and complain only when they are affected and they have something to gain. That is a self centered suffering and falls short an important criterion to be called a Christian Suffering. To be Christian, the suffering should be towards an Universal Good. Jesus gave his body and blood, not because he had no other go, not because he felt a thrill out of it but because he fulfilled God's will for the salvation of the entire humanity, for the universal salvation of humankind. 

The sufferings we undergo in our daily life should not be merely for food and drink and for ease and comfort. It should be an expression of our unquenchable passion, for the sake of the ultimate truth that is God's will and towards universal Good that every one may know God and be saved!