Be Yielding

Journey to Holiness: Don't be stubborn with Grace

April 1, 2019: Monday, 4th week in Lent

Isaiah 65: 17-21; John 4: 43-54

At times we speak of Grace as some'thing' to be received from God: terms like more graces, special graces, immediate graces, etc. betray such an understanding. The most Christian understanding of Grace would be the continual proximity of God. The Lord promises us to be with us and the Lord is always faithful to this promise. The challenge is that we realise this presence and feel it concretely. When we do that, everything turns new - the earth, the heaven, the life, the experience, the persons around, the problems that persist... everything is renewed! But the need is that we YIELD!

The Gospel today brings out this message very subtly. The Court Official's petition for a favour was a bit irritating for Jesus - Jesus expresses that but the official finds favour when he yields to the terms of Jesus: 'You Go and your son will live'...the man turns and walks! He wanted grace, the proximity of Jesus, but he willingly yields to experience it in the Lord's own terms. If I remain stubborn as to what I want to experience and that I must experience it in my own terms, then I restrict the great wonders that can happen around me. 

Yielding requires three major qualities of Faith: Confidence, Surrender and Humility. It is to say wholeheartedly : 'God is in-charge!"

Holiness tip for today: Take your life to the Lord, every situation that needs the Lord's presence, and surrender it to the Lord- that's the best type of Prayer.

Holiness: GROWING THROUGH PROMISES

Milestone: The PROMISED LAND

March 31, 2019: Fourth Sunday in Lent
Joshua 5: 9-12; 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21; Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

On our journey to holiness, after understanding the milestones of the desert, the mountain and the holy ground, we arrive at the next in line: the Promised Land. This is the foundation on which our Christian life is built; the foundation of hope!

I remember it was during our Novitiate year, we were suggested to follow a spirituality of identifying ourselves with one of the plants or trees that stood in our campus and observe its growth and reflect on our own growth in relation to it. Looking out of the window from our study hall, there was a  tree which was almost dead, its bark dry and dark. But I had chosen that tree, because I was drawn by the small little shoot that jetted out right on top, tender and green! I was so happy to see how life can come out of such tough situations! The very next day I saw someone had cut the tree and the tree lay down flat on the ground! I was so grieved and feared what sign the Lord is giving! When I spoke to my Spiritual Director, he said not to lose hope and to look out for another plant or tree. But I had made up my mind never again to try this exercise on myself anymore. After a fortnight or more one fine morning as I sat in the study hall and just casually looked out, my eyes widened as I saw the dry bark of the tree on the ground, but a new leaf that had just sprung up from that so-called dead bark! Oh what a message of Hope that was: trusting in the magnificent promises of the Lord!

Behold I make everything new, the Lord promises! The Lord is continually making things new. Our task is to Trust in the Lord! The First reading speaks of the trust that the wandering people of Israel had and how that Trust did not fail. They eat the produce of the land they were promised! The Manna stopped that was not sad...because there was something better given to them. To trust in the Lord even amidst discouraging moments of inhumanities that we find around or in spite of the sinful tendencies we identify within us, is a special ability. It is this trust that inspired the prodigal son to gather courage to come back to his father.

The Manna stopped yes, but they were to Taste a different bread, the bread of the Mercy of the Lord. They tasted and they gave praises to the Lord: Taste and See that the Lord is good.That was something new and far more greater than what they had tasted till then. The younger son had truly tasted his father's love, that he knew how great it was and returned to that taste. 

Tasting the never-failing promises of the Lord is a tough call. At times we fail, due to our arrogance, impatience and insensitivity and trample upon the life-giving promises, not really mindful of the fruits they can produce within us. Look at the elder son in the parable narrated by Jesus today: he is no different from the younger son; in fact he is far worse than his younger brother. The younger son was physically away, but the elder son was spiritually so far away from the Father: he had been calculating, expecting, comparing, grumbling and grudging all work! How sad, that he was so near the Father yet so far. He was trampling down the life giving promises of his father... just like we do, when we do not taste the mercy of the Lord enough to freely and generously share it with others, with everyone else, laying conditions and clauses that would exclude all those whom we intend to. Would that really help us grow? Growing through the promises of the Lord means, trusting in those promises and tasting them so much that we would never trample them under the foot of our arrogance or indifference, but always grow worthy of them.

On our journey to holiness let us trust in the promises of the Lord and grow through them, tasting them and inviting everyone else to taste them in and through us.

Be Spiritual

Journey to Holiness: it is to grow more and more loving

March 30, 2019: Saturday, Third week in Lent

Hosea 5:15 - 6:6; Luke 18: 9-14

Being Spiritual at times is confused with being self-righteous! Being self-righteous involves a large dose of judgement of the other. When you judge, you do not love. So being self righteous you begin to love the other lesser and lesser, and yourself more and more! It is a kind of narcissism (a pitiable condition of excessive self love). Whereas today the Word invites us to love, more than to sacrifice; to get to know who the Lord is and who we are in relation to the Lord, than making our spiritual efforts mere rituals. 

Being Spiritual truly should mean growing more and more loving. More loving towards God and more loving towards those around us. Growing more loving means, that we grow more and more open, to sincerely appreciate the other in their goodness, to sensitively confront the other in their shortcomings, to readily accept my own limitations with gratitude when pointed out, to reach out to the other in whatever way I can even if it costs me a bit.

Being Spiritual means to understand within me what the Spirit wants of me and to lead my life in the Spirit's path. The Spirit of the Lord wants us to grow more and more loving and less and less judgmental. The Holy Father seems to be repeating this time and again and in fact this quality is the crux of Christian love.  

Holiness tip for today: Relate lovingly, become conscious of your tendency to judge and grow more and more loving!

Be Loving

Journey to Holiness: the typical Christian life style

March 29, 2019: Friday, Third week in Lent

Hosea 14: 2-10; Mark 12: 28-34

The twofold love that Jesus speaks of today is a message that we are used to hearing so much - Love of God and love of the neighbour. But what makes the difference here is the first reading which provides a slightly different context in which we read the commandments from the Lord. What is the context: Hosea speaks of returning to the Lord. 

The whole of Lent is a time we reflect on returning to the Lord, repentance and reforming our lives. Jesus seems to suggest, be truly loving and you would have returned to the Lord much faster than you imagined! Loving God and loving neighbours is the Christian lifestyle and it provides the fundamental way to reach the Lord. Here we can make two statements and that will explicate the teaching clearer:

You make all your sacrifices, give all the alms that you can, spend all the time that you find in prayer and adoration, speak about God and be passionate about your religious duties, but if you do not love your brother and sister, beginning with those in your family- you are far from a truly Christian life.

Instead, you find it so hard to fast or so difficult to mortify yourself, you find it difficult to find even half an hour together to sit in front of the Lord and you find it so difficult to go to Church... but you love your brother or your sister genuinely, with a sincere heart and godly sense... you are so close to the Lord and the Lord's way of life!

Holiness tip for today: Be loving - in your thought, word and deed, love everyone whom you meet, offering it up to the Lord consciously.

Be Judicious

Journey to Holiness: do not take goodness for granted

March 28, 2019: Thursday, Third week in Lent

Jeremiah 7: 23-28; Luke 11: 14-23

One of the dangers that we run into in our day to day life is, taking the goodness of the Lord for granted. The Love of the Lord is endless and immeasurable. Yet there is every chance that I may deprive myself of this boundless love - yes, it is I who deprives myself of it!

What do you think: A pot kept on an open terrace, after a full day of heavy rain, will it be filled with water? Though there might have been a heavy shower and for such a long time, yet it depends so much on the pot - whether it was kept open or closed, whether it was kept upside down or in its proper position! This is how it is with the merciful love of the Lord. It is there for our taking; but if we miss it, we are depriving ourselves of it.

At times in our priorities and choices, we relegate the aspect of staying worthy of the Lord's mercies to such a despicable position that we go far far away from God and have our own existence, independent of God. The fact is that we cannot go too far, for wherever we go, the Lord is with us. Yet, we take that presence, that love and that mercy for granted and in fact, a painful experience of rejection do we give the Lord. Is this not what the Lord shared already through Hosea (in chapter 11), 'the more I called them, the more they went from me'; 'my people are bent on turning away from me'...what an expression of pain from the Lord!

Holiness tip for today: Let me evaluate my priorities in life and pray for those who are bent on turning away from the Lord! 

Be Blessed

Journey to Holiness: obey the Lord and receive life

March 27, 2019: Wednesday, Third week in Lent

Deuteronomy 4: 1, 5-9; Matthew 5: 17-19

Life is a gift, it is not something that we earn for ourselves! If it is a gift it is received; if it is received it is given! Life is given; if it is given, it is given for a purpose! The most loving sign of God's care for us is expressed in God's words through Jeremiah: 'For I know the plans that I have for you!' (Jer 29:11). 

God has a plan, God has a purpose, all that I need to do is just walk in the way that the Lord shows! There are times when the way shown agrees with my wishes and I am enthusiastic about it. But when the way shown does not agree with my whims, I begin to whine and complain! How childish of me!

Obeying the Lord will not be a grudging act, if only I understand it is the Lord who gives me life and God alone knows what I can make of it. Once I begin to absolutise my wishes in life, set up my own races, create my own pathways, hold on to my own goals as if nothing else matters in life, I am bound to undergo frustrations and failures. But the moment I surrender my life in the hands of the Lord and wish to live the way that the Lord leads, seek after goals that the Lord sets, achieve purposes that the Lord offers me, then I will have life, in all its fullness. It is in obeying the Lord that I find the fullness of my life.

Holiness tip for today: Listen to the Lord, hear his commands, obey them and you will have life, life to the full!

Be Grateful

Journey to Holiness: A grateful heart is a holy heart

March 26, 2019: Tuesday, Third week in Lent

Daniel 3: 25, 34-43; Matthew 18: 21-35

One fundamental quality of people who are evil, who plot the ruin of others or who do not love others enough, is ingratitude. Showing mercy to others will be a natural and spontaneous outcome, if a person is mindful of all the good that he or she has received. St. Paul would ask a very poignant question: 'what do you have that you have not received?" (1 Cor 4:7) If we have received so much good and we acknowledge that we have received them all, will we not be considerate that we have to reciprocate the same to others around me: that is the connection between being grateful and being good.

The parable that Jesus narrates today is such a beautiful depiction of how we behave at times: receiving in such abundance but so calculative while giving! The man was forgiven an amount that was equal to 15 years wages while he refused to forgive one day's wages someone owed! What a contrast Jesus presents here... Be mindful of how good the Lord is to you and your goodness will be augmented. In the first reading we see a cry for help to the Lord but even in that dire situation we do not see or feel any desperation on the part of the one who is making the invocation. There is only trust that stands out. That is a heart that was so mindful of the good that the Lord had done till then. 

A truly grateful person will grow easily to be holy. Gratitude is, never to take anything for granted: once a person acknowledges every small good that the Lord does to oneself, the person will grow conscious of how indebted one  is. That is the beginning of the commitment to repay the goodness of the Lord: can we really do it? The starting point of holiness has to be this: because God is so good, I have to be good; because God is so forgiving, I have to forgive; because God is so holy, I have to be holy!

Holiness tip for today: Thank God, thank God every moment of the day, for we can never thank God enough.

Be Obedient

Journey to Holiness: Dare to submit do God's will

March 25, 2019: The Solemnity of Annunciation 

Isaiah 7: 10-14, 8:10; Hebrews 10: 4-10; Luke 1: 26-38

Obedience can take various degrees to it: the first is, doing what is said. Doing what is said is not entirely easy, unless a person is so dull headed that he or she has no idea or nothing to do on one's own. Obeying commands, keeping the rules, fulfilling the requirements - these fall under this category.

The second degree is that of doing what is intended. This goes a bit beyond the first, in as much as the person who wishes to obey, is interested in knowing what is intended by what is asked of the person. It is not merely obeying rules but understanding the intention behind the rules; it is not merely fulfilling the requirements, but knowing what the purpose is behind the requirement; it is not merely carrying out what is said, but being interested in doing what is not said. This is more meritorious than the first and basic degree of obedience.

What Jesus teaches us and what we celebrate today in our Blessed Mother is the third degree of obedience. This is not merely doing what is said or what is intended, but living one's life according to what is wished, willed and planned by someone who wishes your good. This is the most matured obedience in the Spirit: a will and choice to submit to the will of the One who has created and called and commissioned me with this life. At times I would not even know what is expected of me, most of the times I may not know what would be the real outcome of it, but in spite of all these, I make an absolute choice and say: 'I am yours; I come to do your will; be it done unto me according to your Word'. That requires an assistance and strengthening from the Spirit of courage and childlike trust.

The Solemnity today affirms that this obedience leads to Salvation, salvation which means fullness of life, fullness of joy and fullness of meaning. 

Holiness tip for today: Dare to submit to God's will, obey!

Holiness: GROWING TO BEAR FRUIT

Milestone: The HOLY GROUND

March 24, 2019: 3rd Sunday of Lent
Exodus 3: 1-8, 13-15; 1 Corinthians 10: 1-6, 10-12; Luke 13: 1-9

We have crossed two milestones - the desert and the mountain, on our journey to holiness. Our lives cannot be imagined without these milestones, those moments of trials and those experiences of glory! The next milestone is that which gives meaning and significance to both of the preceding milestones. Whether it is a trial or temptation or a success or achievement, it makes sense when we realise, we stand on a holy ground! That is an inescapable truth we need to acknowledge, if we have to really grow in our holiness and grow up to bearing fruit.

Bearing fruit is an inevitable call; I have to by all means, show a difference in my life. If I do not show that difference, that bit of growth that comes from an authentic eagerness towards perfection, I cannot claim that I belong to God, or that I am from God, or that I have an ongoing rapport with God. I have no excuses to make and that is what the Word today establishes without doubt.

I have no excuses because, I am accompanied with daily miracles by the Lord. As the Lord accompanied the people of Israel as a cloud and the pillar of fire, the Lord accompanies me with daily miracles in my life. I may or may not recognise the countless miracles that happen all around me but they are constantly there. The daily dose of life, the air that I breathe, the vital sustenance that is ensured...what are these but miracles. The guidance that I receive from daily experiences, the indications that I am given to regulate my life, these are miracles that I keep experiencing from the Lord's accompaniment. Holy Ground is where I get to meet my God, those moments when I realise the presence of God, those experiences where God reveals God's name, those events when I come to grips with Divine within me, those persons who reveal in someway the goodness of the Lord. The most challenging fact is this: wherever I am is a Holy Ground, because God, the I AM, is constantly there with me!

I have no excuses because, I am alerted by regular warnings. Even as I choose to do things that do not really go well with the call that I have received from the Lord, I am warned from within. Even as I see people fumbling and falling, mistaking and missing their way in life, I am given with warnings to change my life, lest I go far far away from the Lord. At times I squander the warnings I receive as I am busy judging people, branding them and writing off their destinies unduly. I need to begin to take the cues all around me and be attentive to the warnings that keep coming my way. Being grounded in my life will take me a long way, for the Holy Ground offers me the right vision and understanding, right nourishment and remedies.

I have no excuses because, I am affirmed with such abundance of love from the Lord. I am given chances after chances, offered countless opportunities and limitless forgiveness from the Lord, that I may grow over my faults and failures, towards making choices that lead me to fruits that show me to be a true son or daughter of God. At times I take God's mercies for granted; I decide to live my life the way I like instead of truly understanding the plan and path set for me by my Loving Creator. But the Lord is eternally good, endlessly patient and limitlessly merciful. The Holy Ground offers unending possibilities to life; I can never blame life, if I were up to ruin it all the time. Everything is in my hands and the Lord has given me all possible chances to grow up and bear fruit!

The Lord invites me to bear fruit, fruits that will show me to be worthy of the image and likeness that I bear; the Holy Ground holds me, sustains me and nourishes me all along. Am I ready to realize that I stand on the Holy Ground and begin to grow up to bear fruit?

Be Joyful

Journey to Holiness: You are loved without measure!

March 23, 2019: Saturday, Second week in Lent
Micah 7: 14-15, 18-20; Luke 15: 1-3,11-32

Have you had the opportunity of listening to that touching song that speaks of God's grace as, 'Oh Outrageous Grace!'...yes, there is a lot of pain, trouble and sin but a lot more of healing, love, peace and an outrageous grace. An immeasurable love, an abundant grace, limitless mercy...  that is God. What should I fear when the Lord loves me with such an immeasurable love. The Lord looks at me as a shepherd madly in love with his sheep, willing to lay down his life for his sheep, however undeserving the sheep may be.

The Call is twofold here: one, however immeasurable God's love is, I need to make myself deserving of that great love of God. If not, I run the risk of depriving myself of that outrageous love, that immeasurable mercy by distancing myself from the Father like that younger son.

The second call is to accept my brother (or sister) who fails! If I do not look kindly on the limitations of my brothers and sisters and show mercy to them, accepting them with forgiveness and forbearance, I would be standing out of the house of my Father, again depriving myself of the mercy and love I can receive without measure!

I need to be filled with joy that the Lord loves me, then nothing will disturb me! I would be ready to experience the mercy of the Father and share the same with the other. When I lack that joy, I would turn so negative that I will deprive myself of all that abundance of love!

Holiness tip for today: Rejoice, be joyful, for the Lord loves you!

Be Careful

Journey to Holiness: Expect the Master's return

March 22, 2019: Friday, Second Week of Lent

Genesis 37: 3-4,12-13,17-28; Matthew 21: 33-43,45-46

Being loved children of God does not exempt us from being careful! Taking care that we do not fall out of gear with the Master who has called us, is a legitimate concern we need to have. Within the design of the Lord there is an eternal stock of mercy, but at times we may make choices and decisions that might remove us from the whole circle of mercy!

Speaking to the Young, they ask with alarm, 'will God never punish'...'he will punish at an extreme level won't he? '...'does the mercy of God exclude punishments for sins?'...these are genuine attempts the young make to balance between mercy and justice on the part of God. It is important to tell them, 'you need not try too hard to paint God in a balanced picture'! God need not be an equal balance of justice and mercy, the Lord is merciful in God's justice too! God's justice in a way, in a great way, includes an abundance of mercy. But that in no way makes it easy for the one who decides to stay away from the mercy of God! 

Be careful to choose the mercy of God; take care to submit yourself willingly to the mercy of God. When the Master returns He must find you within this ambient of mercy, if not it would have been your fault.

Holiness tip for today: Take care of every moment and remain acceptable in the eyes of the Lord, always!

Be Wise

Journey to Holiness: Know, understand and act.

March 21, 2019: Thursday, Second week of Lent

Jeremiah 17: 5-10; Luke 16: 19-31

Every thing in this world is passing. Wealth or power or relationships or popularity - everything is just for a while. Knowing this is one thing, but living by it and making convictions based on it, is completely another. We know it well that what we gain by our effort here, lasts but sometime; still we hold on to them: our titles, our accomplishments, our status, our social image and so on. The Word today reminds us, to face facts. 

It challenges us to begin to understand what we know and act on what we truly understand. If I know nothing in this world lasts forever, I would understand it is not worth giving my life for it. If I understand it is not worth giving my life for something, I would not make that my priority over others. Where does the problem lie? Why am I lost in things that do not really matter? Why is it that I know something but still I live contrary to it?

God alone lasts forever; and what comes from God alone matters truly. Wisdom is when I come to realise that I know this fact and I begin to restructure my life based on that conviction. The greater challenge is to resist the temptation of giving up in between and ape the standards of a lesser order. God alone matters and it is wisdom that helps me understand that.

Holiness tip for today: In God alone, put your trust.

Be Different

Journey to Holiness: Do not conform to the world

March 20, 2019: Wednesday, Second week in Lent

Jeremiah 18: 18-20; Matthew 20: 17-28

The world tells you to lead; the Word tells you, be led. The world tells you to rule;, the Word bids you, submit. The world tells you to prove yourself; the Word counsels you, be yourself. The world tells you to compete; the Word calls you, collaborate. The world tells you to be the first; the Word reminds you, be the least. The world tells you to dominate; the Word commissions you, serve. The world tells you to go up; the Word challenges you, grow up.

Do not conform to the world, lest you would not belong to Christ! You have a special task: to be different so that you inspire people to be different, and thus make a difference to this world, making it a different place to live. Yes, the crux is, be different!

Your life should make people conspire against you, because you stand out in the crowd, standing for the Reign values of righteousness, peace and joy. Serve, suffer and slog for the least, the lost and the last, you would have done it for the Lord. Power, pleasure and passivity in the face of the miseries around you, will count you among the insensitive lot. To be authentically a Christ-ian, be different. Are you ready to be branded, ridiculed, trodden upon? If yes, you are a true disciple of Christ.

Holiness tip for today: Be different, and make a difference.

Be Fulfillment

Journey to Holiness: Stand on the promises of God!

Celebrating St. Joseph, the Spouse of Mary

2 Sam 7: 4-5,12-14,16; Rom 4: 13,16-18,22; Mt 1:16,18-21,24

The Solemnity today is considered an exception granted by the Church to deviate from the Lenten sobriety. However, in our reflections on the journey to holiness it does not break the continuity, rather deepens it with the wonderful example of St. Joseph. 

St. Joseph embodied a great number of fulfillments of the Lord's promises... that is the key to understand today's Word. Beginning from the promise given to David through Prophet Nathan and ending with the interpretation given by St. Paul about those who stand by the promises of the Lord, Joseph is figured as a sign of the fulfillment of the Lord's promises. 

How does St. Joseph stand out as a sign of Fulfillment...that would be the holiness tip we take to heart today. He was Simple, Silent and Single-minded!

Joseph was simple, he never wished to complicate issues. Even when he wanted to reject Mary due to the information he had, he wanted to do it in a very unnoticed manner. He remains all through the Gospel too, an unnoticed simple saint and that is why God deigns to fulfill God's promises through him.

Joseph was silent, he does not speak even at places where he could have made some solemn pronouncements.. like after great events like, the vision to accept Mary, or the warning to run away to Egypt, or the event of finding lost Jesus in the temple. Joseph remains in holy silence just cooperating with the Will of God.

Joseph was single-minded in his commitment to carrying out what God wanted. He had no second opinions when it came to obeying orders from the Lord. It was this single-mindedness that made him receive those visions: because he was so filled with the anxiety to do the will of the Father who sent him, that he had clear directions in and through those dreams!

Holiness tip for today: Be simple, be silent, be single-minded: be fulfillment!

Be Aware

Journey to Holiness: See the truth, even if it hurts

March 18, 2019: Monday, Second week of Lent

Daniel 9: 4-10; Luke 6: 36-38

Truth is what is. It never changes according to one's convenience or inconvenience. Much of the virtues that are at stake these days can be traced back to one tendency as a source: the unwillingness to see the truth. It is not certainly an inability, but an unwillingness and in that, it is a choice, a deliberate choice for the evil.

There is a crime racket that is shaking our State (Tamilnadu) these days...and a couple of days back the mother of one of the accused (although the case of him being the accused is so evident, even from his own admission of it), spoke to the media defending her son, and maligning the name and the character of a victim. This is so typical of the world today. According to these sorts of persons, there is nothing called 'truth', what exists is only what pleases them and what does not! Can this be our lifestyle?

We need to see the truth even if it hurts. If I find myself at fault, I should be courageous enough to admit it. If I find another at fault I should be prophetic enough to point it out and Christian enough to forgive him or her. If I find it impossible to forgive another, can I ever hope to be forgiven by the Lord? How can there be two measures, one which I use and the other which I wish to be used for me by God. The measure is the same and that is truth... hence let us learn to see the truth, however tough it might be!

Holiness tip for Today: Be aware of your need for forgiveness; forgive the other!

Holiness: GROWING INTO HEAVEN

Milestone: THE MOUNTAIN

March 17, 2019: Second Sunday in Lent
Genesis 15: 5-12; Philippians 3:17 - 4:1; Luke 9: 28-36

We find ourselves at the second milestone on our journey to holiness; the second Sunday of Lent and the milestone is the Mountain! After the desert experience, the dry, the empty and the lonely experience, we are led to the mountain experience, an experience of elation, ecstasy and exuberance. We are given this experience to remain focused on the ultimate joy that is in store for us and thus never to lose hope or give up.

Mountain is an experience of joy, excitement, freshness, sunlight, and thrill. On our journey to holiness, these experiences are given as foretastes of the heaven that we are promised with. And we grow through these experiences into heaven. Mountain Experiences are foretastes of heaven, experiences closer in nature to heaven, a preparation towards heaven.

Holding on to the Lord's Covenant: We go up the mountain, holding on to the Covenant that the Lord has made with us, an unfailing security that sustains us in the uphill journey. The Covenant offers us a secure foundation on which to build our entire journey to heaven, the mountain taking us closer to heaven. The first reading today offers us the example of Abraham who founded his life on the promises of the Lord and was ready to give up everything that he had, towards ascending that holy mountain of the Lord. His confidence in the Lord and on the covenant, was rewarded though much late yet in a manner concrete and tangible. 

Keep Climbing in your Commitment: If Covenant is the gift from God, commitment is the response required from us, a way to ascend towards heaven, crossing remarkable milestones. The second reading instructs us how to keep climbing in our commitment towards being transfigured into the image of Christ himself. We know a journey uphill is always tough and demanding, but the fact is that we are being led up by someone who has come from the top and so has a first had experience of not only what it means to be up there but also what it takes to get there. Because, Christ who is from heaven has the experience of having lived through the same life that we have and having reached that heavens, promising us that the same is possible with us.

Be Transformed towards Communion: Heaven is communion, communion with the Father, the Son and the Spirit and we grow into that communion. We are drawn towards it in our daily life, through the mountain experiences of joy and esctasy - but we are not to get stuck there! Like Peter and the other disciples wanted, we might think of laying our tents there. That is not our call; our call is to be continuously transformed into the image and likeness of God, into being children of the Covenant, ever faithful in our climbing, deepening our commitment to be transfigured, that finally we get ourselves transfigured into Christ. 

The Lenten journey is likened to this journey of holiness, growing through the mountain experiences into heaven. Let us resolve to never give up on this journey - neither due to discouragement nor due to presumptuous disillusionment that we have reached heaven much before actually doing so. 

As we find ourselves with the Transfigured Lord on the mountain today, let us keep in mind that we have not reached the destiny as yet. The Lord reminds us this: that it is not enough to see the Lord transfigured and be taken up by that; but it is our call to be transfigured ourselves into the Lord's image and thus grow into the heaven that is promised to us. 

Be Christ

Journey to Holiness: Love genuinely, without measure

March 16, 2019: Saturday, First week of Lent

Deuteronomy 26: 16-19; Matthew 5: 43-48

The Perfection that Christ expects from us is being like him, that is, being love! The love that we speak of is genuine love, a love that is seen even in odd times, specially in odd moments, in spite of odd times! It is not merely being kings and queens of good times! The key question here is: How enduring is your love? 

Jesus becomes the epitome of love, not because he loved us when we were waiting to love him in return; but because he loved us even when we cared the least for his love; as St. Paul observes, he died for us even while we were sinners! 

At time how calculative and how selective we become in sharing our love - is that truly Christ like? Loving genuinely, that is, without measure and without conditions; that is the call that we have today.

Holiness tip for today: Love, without calculating or measuring the cost!

Be Good

Journey to Holiness: Not just doing some good but be good!

March 15, 2019: Friday, First week of Lent

Ezekiel 18: 21-28; Matthew 5: 20-26

Doing some good now and then is not good enough, the Word challenges us to BE good, and be good consistently. 

Once having been good, does not count! Being persistent in your goodness is the challenge.

Rationalisation and Justification will not excuse you, if you cease to be good. Never tiring in doing good is the sign expected from you.

Making a show of your goodness by way of legalities and fulfillment of requirements amounts to nothing, the Lord can see through your paraphernalia and judge you by your internal self. Are you essentially good?

What you do to manifest your goodness does not matter, whether that goodness truly exists within matters much. 

Your external image of being good means nothing because the Lord knows your thoughts that pass judgments on others, your words that kill persons, your wishes that rob people of their respect and dignity. Being Good means being good at the core of your being, every bit of you being good! Yes, it is tough, but we have no choice if we want to call ourselves children of God, the totality of Goodness.

Holiness tip for today: Be good, don't be satisfied with doing some good!

Be Prayer

Journey to Holiness: Pray, with your life

March 14, 2019: Thursday, First week of Lent

Esther 4:17; Matthew 7:7-12

Be Prayer - it may sound a bit odd, but that is what matters more than saying prayers! Both, the example of Esther that is offered and the teaching of Christ on asking, seeking and knocking, reiterate that specific dimension of prayer. At times we are busy saying prayers that we do not realize our call to 'be prayer'! 

Being Prayer has two meanings: 

One, being the one who prays..."pray-er"! Bringing one's whole self into prayer that it becomes a self offering to the Lord with heart, soul, body and mind! 

Secondly, being prayer means being what we pray. If we pray for peace, we become the agents of peace; if we pray for the needy, we become the consolation of those in need; if we pray for the Church, we grow to be responsible members of the Church, and so on. 

Esther, in her act of praying was getting ready to offer herself totally despite risks, for the sake of God's people. Jesus concludes his teachings on prayer with the golden rule: do unto others what you wish be done unto you! The key is here: let us mean what we pray, and be daring enough to take up the challenge that our prayer poses to ourselves. Praying is not an easy job; it is demanding!

Holiness tip for today: Pray, with your life not merely with your words!

Be Open

Journey to Holiness: Listen to the Word all around you

March 13, 2019: Wednesday, First Week of Lent

Jonah 3: 1-10; Luke 11:29-32 

Wickedness of the generation that Jesus refers to in the Word today, is the tendency to justify, rationalise or counteract the call to conversion. It is a common experience that we see, within ourselves or around us, the numerous reasons given for justifying a wrong doing even after we know clearly that it is wrong. It is also possible to see persons who rationalise a wrong doing in the name of circumstances, consequences and customs. There are others who make sure they sideline or eliminate those people who raise pertinent questions, disturbing questions or upsetting queries. These are various ways in which people react, when they are put in the dock sometime or the other. 

The challenge today is offered by the people of Nineveh, as Jesus refers to! They paid attention to the message when it came, they listened and they acted upon it. If only we are to truly listen to all the messages we receive and genuinely act upon at least a half of them, we would never be called "wicked" by Jesus! The need is to be open: to be open to receive the Word, the call from the Lord towards conversion, from anywhere and from anyone. 

That call to integrity, to authentic christian living, to radical witness to the Gospel way of life, is all around us. We are called to witness to the gospel with our very lives - are we ready?

Holiness tip for today: Listen, the Lord is speaking, through everything and everyone around.

Be God's

Journey to Holiness: Believe and belong to the Lord.

March 12, 2019: Tuesday, 1st Week of of Lent
Isaiah 55:  10-11; Matthew 6: 7-15

Yesterday we were invited to reflect on 'being Godly' and today we are reminded of our fundamental nature of belonging to God: we are God's own... God's sons and daughters. 

God's Word, God's presence with us is so effective that everything can be transformed by it: but there is hitch. That is the personal freedom that God has given us, as the core element of our fundamental dignity! God will never take that for granted. Anything that God wishes to do for us: it depends on our personal choice; the use of our freedom! We need to choose it, positively and personally. 

At times we get so busy with all that we involve - things, persons, activities, dreams, plans and projects - that we forget to whom we belong. Imagine in a football game, if a player in the midfield were playing so vigorously that he forgot for whom he or she is playing...  funny, isn't it? That is what happens with us, so regularly and so unwittingly. Most of our problems in life crop up from this situation... our frustrations, our competitions, our anxiety to prove ourselves, our arrogance, our pride, our self conceit, they come from the fact that we are not mindful of the fact that we are all God's. 

God's word, God's plan, God's design, God's reign - these are the overriding principles that should govern our lives if we are convinced that we are God's.

Holiness tip for today: Belong to God, in all that you are and in all that you do.

Be Godly

Journey to Holiness: Give Unconditionally

March 11, 2019: Monday, 1st Week of Lent

Leviticus 19: 1-2,11-18; Matthew 25:31-46

Be Holy, for I am Holy, invites the Lord today. We are called not only to be God's people, but also to be Godly people.  It is not only about doing good, but doing it as God does! That is where the key is. The Word today gives us clearly what to do (the Gospel), what not to do (first reading), what not to fail in doing (Gospel) and what to abstain from (first reading). All of them put together... the call is to become like God; to be Godly.

Observe the quality that is underlined in the Word - it is about giving and not to worry about getting it back; it is about doing good and not being worried about receiving good in return; it is about loving and not insistent about being loved in return... the prayer of St. Francis strikes a lovely chord here: Grant that I may not seek so much to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love, to be forgiven as to forgive! 

I cannot have conditions, for the good that I do: how much; to whom; under what circumstances; why they and why now... these analyses will make our giving conditional. The Lord instead gives and gives, never counting the cost nor the consequences. Can I grow to be as unconditional as that - that is being Godly.

Holiness tip for today: Give, without laying conditions for it!

Holiness: GROWING THROUGH TESTS

Milestone: The Desert

March 10, 2019: 1st Sunday of Lent
Deuteronomy 26: 4-10; Romans 10: 8-13; Luke 4: 1-13

In our journey to holiness, an essential milestone is the desert and they never lack! Every person goes through these times in quite a succession! Lent is proposed to be a workshop to train us for these testing times that might come our way, all through our life and to grow through them! Today the Word gives us three lessons on confront these testing times:

1. Our Disposition: Be Prepared to Wander

The First reading invites us to understand our history! Every one who has reached some significant point with the Lord in his or her life experience, has passed definitely passed through a phase of wandering. It is an essential spiritual experience to get closer to oneself, to each other and to the One who leads us.

2. Our Approach: Never Cease to Ponder

Yes, the One who leads us into the wilderness knows what is in store! We would miss it all if we do not keep pondering on the way. Pondering is such a powerful exercise that it can make sense of everything that happens, in its own time of course. When we cease to ponder we run the risk of wandering without purpose; the point is wandering with a specific purpose, in a specific direction...which the Lord alone knows.

3. Our Attitude: Be ready to Surrender

That specific purpose, that specific direction will be revealed in time, just in time! Hence the challenge is to surrender and not to fret. Surrendering would first involve the humility of saying to myself: I am not in control of everything. Secondly it would mean lifting my eyes to accept that God is in-charge. And thirdly it is a serene acceptance of God's will with utmost cooperation on our part, not rushing through or forcing things. 

It may be tough to find times so testing, but only when we are tested, we could be sealed OK.