A Negotiating God!

WORD 2day: Monday, 13th week in Ordinary time

July 1, 2019: Genesis 18: 16-33; Matthew 8: 18-22

The first reading of today is a bit confusing! It presents a scene which looks as if God is waiting to destroy and Abraham is trying to appease the wrath of God. Though apparently that is how it is narrated, the message communicated is quite different. Sodom and Gomorrah were cities filled with filth and sinfulness, wickedness and devilishness and on account of these, they were cities that were running themselves into destruction! It is like the ecological crisis and the nuclear risks that we have created today! One day or the other we are bound to reap its fruits! 

The Wisdom of God in warning against this and pointing the right way is either rejected or belittled. The natural law and the divine law that is imprinted on our spirits, is the only guarantee towards a peaceful life. But we have ruined our prospects disrespecting and discarding any law that comes from God! When Jesus discourages one from following him and chides the other for not following him, he knows exactly what is good for each of them. God has set laws and order, keeping in mind the needs, wants and requirements for peaceful living of the entire humanity. In human pride, irrational greed and ruthless selfishness, we have made a mess of the world entrusted to us. 

The warning is to all of us today, if we do not mend our ways and return to the ways of the Lord, we are leading ourselves and our world into destruction. As he did with Abraham, the Lord is negotiating with and through every good willed person even today!

NO TURNING BACK

Leave, look and live...

June 30, 2019: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kings 19: 16b, 19-21; Galatians 5: 1,13-18, Luke 9: 51-62

To follow or not to follow: that is the question!

Today, following is a term which is found all over. You can decide to follow someone on Facebook, on Twitter, on Google Plus, on WhatsApp... here, to follow is to get to know all that the person is doing and have your own comment to pass or your like button to press, or not! Following, in Jesus' terms, is not that simple! When Jesus tells you, Follow me - that is a serious affair. The Readings today lay bare to us the elements of a real following, following in Jesus's terms. 

First of all to follow Jesus, is to leave your past behind!

There can be no compromise, no mere walking the line, when it comes to following Jesus. I am challenged to go all the way. Today, Elisha is given as the model for us - he kills the bulls and burns the yoke, and follows Elijah - a call for us to leave our past behind and follow Jesus. It is a symbolic act and St. Paul develops that same symbol for us in the second reading - never to return to the yoke that Jesus has freed us from! The yoke of slavery to sin, to worldliness, to love of comfort. We are called to leave behind these yokes and walk in the liberty that Christ gives us. It is Faith that helps us to make this leap. Whole of last week, we have been reading about Abraham, who took that step in faith, he left everything and walked in the way that God showed him.

The second element of the following is to look to the future!

To leave behind something that we have always held on to, is not that easy. One needs an impetus to really take that decision. Jesus offers us the impetus in the Reign of God. Jesus calls us to be sons and daughters of the Reign, to look forward with Hope the coming of the Reign, and not just that, but to proclaim, promote and make present that Reign wherever we are. That is the meaning of being a follower of Christ, who lived and died and rose again to make us the liberated Children of the Reign. To go and Proclaim the Reign is the mandate that Jesus gives each of us and He expects that we do it everyday, through our words, our gestures, our attitudes, our priorities, in short, through our testimony. Amidst the crisis and the gloom that we find ourselves in, we are called to remain people of Hope and announce a future that is found only in the Lord!

Thirdly, to follow Jesus is to live the present in His way!

Leaving the past and looking to the future, is to ensure that we live our present fully and in the way that God wants us. St. Paul underlines the mode of living when one chooses to follow Christ. It is to walk by the Spirit, to be led by the Spirit! It is love of God, through love for one another, loving one another, reaching out to the needy - all done in Love.

It is not an easy journey, following the road map laid out here! It throws numerous challenges. Jesus does not hide anything. He says everything in clear terms - if you wish to follow Christ you may not have anywhere to lay your head; you will have to lose things that you consider dear, you will have to walk towards your own suffering! In spite of all these, there should be NO TURNING BACK... If you turn back, you are not worthy of the call that you have received. The trophy is only at the end, the finish line is the last part of the race, the end finishes the journey... our job is to keep on walking, to keep on running, to keep on journeying with the Lord... that is truly following the Lord.

As I thought of this no turning back I was reminded of the famous story told of Hernán Cortés, the Spanish Conquistador, about burning the boats. When you decide on your target, there should be no turning back, no second thoughts, no rethinking absolutely! That is the true sense of following the Lord. May be to end the reflection you can hear that story narrated by Andy Andrews: Burn your Boats

Sent and Delivered

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

June 29, 2019: Celebrating the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul

Acts 12: 1-11; 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16: 13-19

Feast of Apostles Peter and Paul. Being an apostle is no privilege, it is a challenge; living my life as an apostle is no accomplishment, it is a duty! That is why Paul said, "Woe to me if do not proclaim the Gospel"(1 Cor 9:16) and Peter said , "we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). 

They are apostles because they were "sent" in God's will to be the stones on which the communities of believers will be built. Everyone baptised is called to be an apostle, and the way to be an apostle is outlined so vividly by Peter and Paul today... to proclaim the Gospel even at the point of death; and to be stones on which the community will be built and not be the crack from which the community will be divided! 

Killing the apostles pleased the Jews - those were the times when the first apostles braced themselves to stand for the goodnews of Christ. They found themselves at the point of being sacrificed, but nothing discouraged them from bearing witness to Christ and his message! It is a fight, a race - not just a glamorous show to be an apostle today. The lion's mouth, the evil that surrounds and the powers of death are certainly to be found, when I begin to understand, accept and live fully my call to be an apostle... but at no point will the Lord's deliverance be lacking! 

When I decide to run the race, to fight the good fight, 'the Lord will rescue me from every evil and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.' 

The Heart Affire

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

June 28, 2019: Ezekiel 34: 11-16; Romans 5: 5-11; Luke 15: 3-7

One of the striking elements of the image of the Sacred Heart is the flame that accompanies it. That is the only thing that this naive generation has left out, from the Sacred Heart, when they adapted its symbol to indicate the love between two people! The heart with an arrow piercing it...you have seen it for sure, haven't you!

But this flame is a special symbol of the Heart of Jesus and it has three significant messages and challenges to give us:

1. Sacrificing: the flame establishes that the sacred heart is a sacrificing heart, not an expecting heart! The flame burns and it consumes the heart...the love that Jesus has for us consumes Jesus...the sacrifice on the Cross, the giving of Jesus' body and blood  -they are all clearly evidences of this quality of the heart of Jesus. How sacrificing is our love?

2. Seeking: the flame is also characteristically something that seeks to reach out. Look at a fire as it burns will it remain in just one spot and be satisfied? No. It seeks. Jesus seeks, seeks to reach out to us, seeks to warm our hearts, seeks to enlighten our paths, seeks to ease our troubles, seeks to meet our needs as a Shepherd seeks the troubled sheep.

3. Shining: the flame is radiant. It shines forth, it shines to invite us to follow the model. The shining flame is an open challenge - can you be like me, can you love like me, can you care for the others like me, can you be sacrificing like me, can you seek to serve others, can you be affire as I am, passionate about filling this world with true love and make it a better place, a heaven on earth, the Reign of God here and now!

Integral Choice for God

WORD 2day: Thursday, 12th week in Ordinary time

June 27, 2019: Genesis 16:1-12, 15-16; Matthew 7: 21-29

Not everyone who says Lord! Lord!, really belongs to the Lord! There is an invitation today to check... between authenticity and duplicity. 

Let's talk of three categories of persons - Pretenders, Performers and Professionals! 

Pretenders are those who try to be something that they really are not, but everyone can see it so obviously that they actually are pretending. These are amateur actors, but they can perfect themselves in the act. 

The Performers are those who perform to the occasion, to the audience, to the moment. Though they are not actually what they act to be, their performance comes very close to reality. 

The Professionals are those who live the character they want to be for the short moment to such a perfection that people begin to equate the character and the person! 

We could be any of these three in our Spirituality - trying to pretend to be someone that people see so clearly that we are not; or performing at certain moments with perfection that comes with practice and repetition; or being professionals who can be taken so easily to be what they appear to be, though it may be solely for certain punctuated moments. None of the three is SUFFICIENT to be an authentic disciple of Christ... What he wants is an integrity where there is no pretension or performance or professional role playing. 

Integrity that Christ demands, requires a ready acceptance of the crosses that come my way once I have chosen a definite way of walking with the Lord. Abraham is given as a model today, as one who struggled his way all through with contradictions, conflicts and difficult choices to make, but he remained faithful. The key is Integrity in the choice for God!

The tree and the fruits

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 12th week in Ordinary time

June 26, 2019: Genesis 15: 1-12, 17,18; Matthew 7: 15-21

Abraham was a man of God, he was the father of the covenantal people! Abraham listened, obeyed, believed and remained loyal to the Lord who called him. Thinking in terms of a tree and its fruits, the Covenant the Lord made was the tree and Abraham's life choices were the fruits. 

The eternal covenant that is made in the blood of Jesus Christ, is the guarantee of the grace and the gift of faith within us. While it is God's action that God has transformed us into God's children in our baptism, our daily life and regular choices have to bear fruits that will make it visible to the world and to ourselves. 

An anonymous author reminds us, 'you may be the only gospel that some one reads! So be careful with the way you live your life!' I am a Christian not merely in my activities and responsibilities; but in every choice of mine, every thought and expression of it, every word and deed at every moment of my life. 

I remember a question once a preacher posed during a retreat, 'if today they detain you for being a Christian, will they find enough evidence in you to implicate you?' A powerful question, extremely simple in its categorical demand that before you call yourself a Christian, prove it to yourself and to others!

Fairness and Justice - a sense of God

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 12th week in Ordinary Time

June 25, 2019: Genesis 13: 2, 5-18; Matthew 7: 6, 12-14

The Word today has a theme that repeats itself over and over again; a theme that is fundamental to understanding what faith is. Abraham, often figured as the father of faith, offers us today a beautiful role model in two of his choices. The first choice is to give up his claim as the elder brother, and allow Lot to make his wish. Lot takes the greener, wealthier and the promising part! The second choice was to walk in the way that the Lord showed... and in these two choices we see the first steps of Abram, towards becoming Abraham!!!

Looking around we see that selfishness and greed, jealousy and competition is the order of the day. Hardly anyone wishes to do anything if that does not bring them dividends at least in some measure or kind. Abraham's dealing with his brother Lot and the suggestion of doing what you would wish others do to you, are narrow doors. Those won't be the kind of behaviour that the mainstream humanity will choose spontaneously today. 

Faith is all about the choices we make on a daily basis! To fret or not to, to despair or not to, to forgive or not to, to love or not to, to give or not to, to proceed or not to, to let go or not to, to remain serene or not to - these are choices that we have to make everyday, at various moments of our waking hours. And at the end of the day, we can surely evaluate whether we have walked through the narrow gate or the broad gate during the day. And the next day is yet another opportunity to begin anew, with all the choices once again in front of us!

Faith is a habit of choosing to do what God wants, choosing to walk the way that God shows, choosing the narrow gate that is tough and less trodden, in simple terms, choosing to walk with God... but as disciples of the Lord, our choice has to be precisely this: a choice for fairness and justice, that would be the right sense of being a person of God. 

We are not here by chance

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

June 24, 2019: Birthday of St. John the Baptist

The Gospels narrate a long list of similarities between the stories of John and Jesus... the apparently 'impossible' conditions in which the mothers conceived, the direct intervention of God in the conception, the apparitions of the angels to the fathers, the prior choice of the name of the child to be born - one simple message is the image of John the Baptist as the precursor of Jesus. But the birth narratives of John and Jesus, together have another important message to reveal to us and that is, we are not here by chance! 

We are part of a complex plan, an eternal design of God. We are willed into existence by God; we are loved into existence, by the Creator! We have a purpose, because God knew us right when we were being formed in the womb of our mothers! We have a special mission because, it is the Lord who has called us by name, even before we were born! We are chosen in the eyes of God, because as St. Paul says, God has chosen us before the foundations of the world in Christ Jesus, to be holy and blameless! 

We are created, called, commissioned and destined to usher in the Reign of God, as John announced the coming of  Christ. Let us become aware of our call, our purpose and our destiny, which is much larger than the petty preoccupations of our daily worries!

THE FEAST OF SELF GIVING

Solemnity of Corpus Christi - June 23, 2019

Genesis 14:18-20; 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26; Luke 9: 11-17

I am the bread come down from heaven, one who eats of this bread will have eternal life!

It is the feast of Self-Giving...total self giving of the Lord who came down from heaven!

The Word has prepared us during the week towards this great celebration...

Giving...

I can give to receive...not just a mundane reception of a return for my giving; but I can give to receive something spiritual, to receive, may be, a blessing from God , to receive an affirmation from the Divine Giver... Melchizedek brought out bread and wine and Abraham gave him the one tenth... all in view of receiving the divine protection.

There was only one who gave, only to be received... notice, it is in passive! He gives, it is upto me to receive or not!!! He gives, to be Received.

The Lord gave the body and the blood and said...do this in remembrance of me... not just to remember him but remember to do what he did, in remembrance of him... to give of myself as he gave, in remembrance of him... He gives, to be Remembered, that he has invited me to give as he gave!

Yes, the Lord invites me to give, as he invited the disciples to give the people to eat...'give them some food yourselves'. It's only when we give the people in need, we remain the Lord's disciples. To make us learn that we need to give always of ourselves to the others in need, He gives, to Remain within us... He comes to us to transform us into Himself, to be givers, to be givers who give of ourselves to others, without passing the buck to someone else.

Yes, the Lord, everyday gives himself to me and so...

HE LIVES IN ME...

Priorities and Perspectives

WORD 2day: Friday, 11th week in Ordinary time

June 21, 2019: 2 Corinthians 11: 18, 21-30; Matthew 6: 19-23

Look to Him and be radiant, inspires the Psalmist today. Eyes... Looking... Seeing... are part of the glossary on one hand today. It is all about our priorities and perspectives we have in life, that is, the point of view from where we wish to understand our life and everyday events. 

On the other hand we have two more terms that orient us to the theme - treasure and boast! To treasure or to boast of something, means to value something dear! To value something dear, defines your perspective on life. What I value, what I treasure, what I boast about, will determine what I want to define my life as! Depending on that which I boast about, my life and its significance assume depth. 

This is exactly why Jesus invites me to guard my eyes, to be careful with my perspective on life, my way of looking at my priorities and things that I give importance to. There could be a great model in St. Paul who enumerates the possible things on which he can boast about, but chooses from them to boast on things that showed his weakness, because he would say in the very next chapter, 'when I am weak then I am strong' (2 Cor 12:10). 

The humble and saintly parish priest, St. John Maria Vianney would say, "if people would do for God what they do for the world, my dear people, what a number of Christians would go to heaven!" It all depends on what one's perspective is, what one sees to be important, what one sees to be one's treasure and worthy to be boasted about! How true!

The thorn and the Grace

WORD 2day: Saturday, 11th week in Ordinary time

June 22, 2019: 2 Corinthians 12: 1-10; Matthew  6: 24-34

The Thorn and the Grace! Both are within me, what do I choose to see? The question follows from yesterday's reflection, the reflection that the Lord is walking us through. Paul spotted the thorn that intended to hold him down and at the same time the grace at work within him. And he chose to base himself on the grace that is at work and turn the thorn into an experience of feeling the closeness of the presence of God with him. 

Each of us has a thorn, that we need to first identify - may be a habit, or a tendency, or a touchy ego, an over anxiety, an urge to prove oneself, an undue attachment, a passion or longing for something that does not really satisfy! Once we are able to name it, we have the reins in our hands. At times we might falter, but there is always the grace that lifts us up... the loving Lord who brings us up by our hands, the Lord who stays forever close to us, knowing every one of our need and every one of our problems! 

The Lord knows our weakness and the Lord knows our strengths. As St. Paul affirms, the Lord does not allow us to be tempted more than our strength (1 Cor 10:13). Hence it follows that if I tend to fall, it is not because the temptation is beyond my strength but because I have not fully used the strength that is available, the strength that comes from grace and grace alone! 

Let us focus on the grace that accompanies us every day and every moment on the journey of life, and lets turn to it for guidance and light, without any hesitation or fright!

Be ONE... Be not deceived!

WORD 2day: Thursday, 11th week in Ordinary time

June 20, 2019: 2 Corinthians 11: 1-11; Matthew 6: 7-15

One cannot but admire the pastoral heart of St. Paul, in today's first reading. A heart that bleeds to see his own people, his 'children' as they were, being assailed by other preachers, other gospels and other attractions, so easily and so readily! What about today, when I see my brothers and sisters so readily falling for eloquence in preaching, vivacity in worship, emotional satisfaction, logicality in reasoning, the capacity for quoting from memory, the free flow of words and phrases that are so beautiful and soothing to hear... it bleeds even today! 

I, personally, have often been remarked by persons as being too conservative or fanatic about the Catholic Church... this is certainly not about that! It is about calling God, OUR Father and Mother... being ONE REIGN OF GOD, doing as brothers and sisters TOGETHER the will of God on earth as in heaven; it is about forgiving the shortcomings of others in the community, the shortcomings of the community itself and staying on, as one community, facing the struggles and temptations as ONE community, overcoming all evil! 

Let us not today get lost in the beauty and the splendour of the Lord's Prayer - that is not the message of the Word... it is all about being a community that is worthy of praying that prayer!  Evangelii Nuntiandi, the Apostolic Letter of Pope Paul VI (art.no.77) says, "the division among Christians is a serious reality which impedes the very work of Christ." Being of one heart and one mind, believing in the One Gospel that is handed down to us, is the highest witness we can give the world today, in every sphere of life! 

The Call to Sacred Interiority

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 11th week in Ordinary time 

June 19, 2019: 2 Corinthians 9: 6-11; Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18

I know a person, a good friend of mine,  who is a trainer. He does the training of the younger cadets of the organisation that he was trained in. He distributes training kits and accessories on his own cost to those young trainees and does not receive any payment for his services other than the train ticket for his travel up and down! This has been going on for quite a few years now and I have not revealed his identity because he will not like it absolutely!

The true value of whatever we do depends more on 'why' we do than on 'what' we do. What we do, will vary according to our ability and the context-provided possibilities. But the why, will never change whether what I do increases or reduces. What I wish to reap I will reap; if it is popularity or publicity that I wish,  exactly that I shall reap! If it is true satisfaction and divine interior joy that I wish, precisely that the Almighty will grant! 

Interiority - that is the key word today, while the world keeps shouting out to us, "Get Noticed!" Much of the Spiritual journey is made in the portals of interiority. The capacity to live on the basis of one's personal convictions formed out of concrete experiences and wise judgements, guided and illumined by the inner light of the Spirit of God, is what we understand to be Interiority. 

Cheerful  giving, silent piety, hidden alms, secret sacrifices, tranquil spirituality... these are a few signs of interiority that readings point out today. Few more we could think of are hopeful spirit, realistic optimism, humble gratitude, genuine fellowship, unconditional forgiveness, simple behaviour, reflective thinking, compassionate listening, and so on. A person of interiority is like a still spring and a silent stream, they appear still and silent, but there is life within them. They look quite and ordinary, but within them resides the powerful Spirit of the all powerful God. Does it sound too philosophical? Yes, interiority takes you by force, it drags you in and tethers your mind around something that you cannot speak enough about. That is why great sages of our tradition have spoken very little and mostly in aphorisms; that is why Jesus spoke always in parables and metaphors. Let this call guide our day today - the call to a sacred interiority!

God: the poor businessman

WORD 2day: Tuesday,  11th week in Ordinary time 

June 18, 2019: 2 Corinthians 8: 1-9; Matthew 5: 43-48

Among us friends we have a good laugh whenever we think of an elderly religious who was put in charge of the farm that belongs to a community. Every year at the annual audit he was used to repeating a remark, in his own inimitable modulation: "what I put I get,  what I get I put...no profit, no loss,  no problem".

If we look at the love that God had lavished upon humanity,  he would not have got back even a tiny fraction of what he has put in! Incarnation is just one of the many mighty investments that God had made on our behalf (cf.  2 Cor 8:9)... but consider the dividends! God seems to be such a bad business person and the strangest part of it is,  Jesus invites us to follow God's logic!

St. Paul presents an example of the community of Macedonia to his beloved community of Corinth. He calls them to excel in their faith, to reach the heights of authenticity in their faith. And the way he proposes is, as the people of Macedonia, to be compassionate towards the others, those in want, those in need! Paul is but reiterating the invitation of Christ to all his followers - be you perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect! And the way to perfection that Jesus proposes is in Love - a love that does not expect any appreciation in return, a love that does not expect anything in return, a love that does not expect even love in return. A tough call even for the saintliest among us - to love and expect nothing in return! 

Infact, when something is expected in return it is no love! That is why God's love is unconditional and every love that is genuine, is with absolutely no tags attached. Love is merely a giving, an offering, a self-offering. And obviously, it involves a great risk of rejection or depreciation, but that risk cannot stop me from loving. That is the point. How well said by Mother Teresa, 'Love until it hurts'. Truly Christ-ian!!!  Nothing else is fitting enough for true God's children. Let's love without counting the cost.

Contrasts, convictions and choices...

WORD 2day: Monday, 11th week in Ordinary time

June 17, 2019: 2 Corinthians 6: 1-10; Matthew 5: 38-42

The Beatitudes continue to inspire the Liturgy! As we reflected last week, the crux of the beatitudes, that is found in Mathew's fifth chapter, is the invitation to the followers of Christ to be a Contrast Community! 

We see that sense of 'contrast' flooding the readings today. Be it the first or the Gospel, the readings point to us the two choices we have in life always - inspiring the monumental words of Robert Frost - "two roads diverged in a yellow wood - and I took the less travelled by, and that has made all the difference". Mahatma Gandhi speaking of the Sermon on the Mount to Lord Irwin said, "when your country and mine shall get together on the teachings laid down by Christ in this Sermon on the Mount, we shall have solved the problems not only of our countries but those of the whole world." 

Let our life show if we are Christ-ians or not. Let my choices define who I am and what relationship I have with Christ. If I believe Christ is my personal saviour, the way I look at the world and all that happens around, will totally be in contrast to the way the mainstream of today thinks and calculates. St. Paul speaks of this in such powerful terms, a conviction that cost him everything - his career, his freedom and even his life! 

It takes courage for me today to accept, that even I have received the same saving faith, as St. Paul's, in the same Trinitarian Lord who create, calls and commissions us!   

THE ABC OF HOLY TRINITY

Solemnity of the Holy Trinity: June 16, 2019

Proverbs 8: 22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16: 12-15

We celebrate the feast of the Trinity today! The Solemnity reminds us of, not only who our God is, but also who we are! 

We ARE a communion! 

Just as our God is a communion of three persons - Father, Son and the Spirit, we who are created in that image and likeness, are a communion too. We are neither body living in the spirit, nor a spirit residing in the body... we are a being created in such a communion of our natures that we are one, just as the three persons of the trinity are one. It is high time we undid the contrasts between the body and the soul and the mind! We are communion, we ARE Trinity.

We need to continuously grow out of a dichotomous or a segmented life where there is the public life and the private life, the so-called spiritual life and the ordinary life, the life from the Christian point of view and a parallel life of the standards of the world... this is totally contrary to integrity that is truly 'christian'...this integrity can otherwise be known as Communion within a person, an undivided state of life.

We BELIEVE in communion, not in contestation. 

The three persons of the Trinity live in communion with each other and there is an eternal self giving that takes place among them, by which they stay as ONE. We believe in communion, dialogue, sharing, sacrifice and selfless service. Only that would make us One people of God.

Today the television channels have fallen into a craze - taking a current issue and calling up people from different camps of thought and making them debate, fight and contest with each other. Worse still, they name the show 'fight' or 'debate' or 'argument', parading the truth that they are more interested in contesting than arriving at a common ground that could promote happiness and fulfillment. The dangerous phenomenon is that the same kind of a mindset enters a family and issues are debated over, contested over but very rarely prayed over and discerned towards communion!

We CLING to the Trinity 

In the Trinitarian God we have everything we stand in need of. The Father gives us love and mercy in abundance. The Son gives us the light and truth to live by. The Spirit gives us companionship and good counsel.  All that we need to live our life to the full is given by the Trinitarian God. The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are in eternal procession, teaches the Church's theology which means that every one of the three, upholds the other and empties oneself into the others for a unified, generative action.

It may sound a bit too theoretical, but in fact, it is just a life style that would create a paradise on earth wherever we are - if we trust one another and prove trust worthy to each other. That is the message, that we cling to the Trinity not just in asking for favours and fulfilling our needs but in our life style, in our way of relating to the other and making ourselves available to the other, to the community to the entire humanity and even the universe! What a challenging call it is!

As we celebrate this wonderful solemnity, let us take to heart the call and the challenge given to us by the Holy Trinity... to be, to believe and to cling on to the Most Holy Trinity.

Yes, No and New Creation

WORD 2day: Saturday, 10th week in Ordinary time

June 15, 2019: 2 Corinthians 5: 14-21; Matthew 5: 33-37

Whether we live or die, it is for Christ - an absolute allegiance to Christ is what Paul recommends as a sign of true disciples of Christ. Let your yes be yes and your no, no. Such candidness can give rise to problems and challenges. But challenges and problems would not matter as I am a new creation in Christ. 

The Newness refers to the difference in priorities - what the world finds important does not seem so to me and what the world does not bother about seems very important to me; what the world advocates to everyone as the source of happiness in life appears to me a source of sorrow and what the world wants me to avoid as a plague, becomes a way to more permanent happiness that comes from the Lord. The New priority marks the newness that I possess in Christ.

Being in Christ would mean being rooted in Christ, being built up in Christ, being born anew in Christ - making Christ's values my own, Christ's mind my own, Christ's priority my own...No one can be in Christ except through the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit that gives me the courage to maintain my yes, no and my nature as a new creation in Christ. 

Contrast Communities

WORD 2day: Friday, 10th week in Ordinary time

June 14, 2019: 2 Corinthians 4: 7-15; Matthew 5: 27-32

The discourse of the beatitudes continues! Our identity gets more and more established as 'Contrast Communities'! We are invited to choose the hard way, the unbeaten path, the lonesome road and not to follow the easy-going crowd. It is easy to make an exception now and then and stay comfortable for the moment. It is easy to give up on a person or a value or a conviction, because there are troubles and unnecessary struggles involved. But it takes courage to stick to a conviction, stand by a value and stay clear of a scandal. It calls for struggle, affliction and perplexity to remain faithful to the grace we have received in our baptismal mandate. 

I may argue that I am too weak...but it is in that 'earthen vessel' the treasure is placed. My strength and my value lies in the treasure that is within. When my gaze is fixed on the treasure, I should be able to handle the earthen vessel better. The secret lies in respecting this earthen vessel, atleast for the sake of the treasures that lie within. 

When we are filled with Christ, we are able to see the proposals of the easy-going world less luring. Yes, we live with constant temptations and afflictions, but we fight all this "so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh." That tough choice, that unswerving priority is the challenge - the call to be People of God, people of the Beatitudes, that is, to be Contrast Communities. 

The Message and the Messenger

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

June 13, 2019: Celebrating St. Anthony of Padua

Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 10: 1-9 

Let us begins with some interesting facts about 

• Born: 15, August, 1195
• Died: 13, June, 1231. He was just 36 when he died. 
• Saint: 30 May, 1232. He was not even 37 when he was canonised by Pope Gregory IX.
• His Baptismal name was Ferdinand Martins de Bulhŏes.
• He was elected Provincial of his region of Franciscan friars, but he resigned very shortly  just to be able to carryout his preaching mission.
• Patron of missing things and missing persons!
• In Padua, where the Basilica stands today, he is also prayed to, by those who are looking for the right spouse to marry, or by those married couples who have problems in their marriage. 
• The Basilica treasures the incorrupt tongue of the saint, as a relic venerated even today, as a testimony to his gift of breaking the Word.
• He was a contemporary to St. Francis of Assisi and one of the best ones at that. He belonged to the Order begun by St. Francis.
• A survey reports that after the Blessed Mother and St.Joseph, St. Anthony may be the most loved saint in the Catholic World today.

The Lord sent them two by two... here is 'a two' whom we come across today - St. Anthony and St. Francis - two who were giants of sanctity and with an absolute dedication to the Message! As messengers of the Word they were so dedicated that they transformed themselves into the message that they were proclaiming. Hence they did not need words and eloquence, their life did all the speaking. How far or close are we to the Message? 

May St. Anthony help us to treasure the Word in our hearts and live it to the full. 

The Reign: that which lasts!

Wednesday, 10th week in Ordinary time

June 12, 2019: 2 Corinthians 3: 4-11; Matthew 5: 17-19

Moses allows divorce; Jesus forbids. Moses insists on the sabbath; Jesus relativises it. Moses gives cleanliness rules; Jesus despises the insistence on the external cleanliness. We can go on listing certain elements that people, not only during Jesus' time but even today, consider contrasting each other, between the law given by Moses and the lifestyle proposed by Jesus. They are not contrasting one another - the latter is outgrowing the former; the latter is letting the former evolve! 

Evolving is always towards a destined finality - and here the destiny is 'that which lasts'. It is not to lose ourselves in passing and transient concerns but to focus on that which lasts. According to Jesus that which lasts forever is the Reign of God. 

Reign of the God is that absolute criterion against which all these rules, regulations, legislations and customs shall be understood, interpreted and made sense of. Reign of God is the righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Concentrating on the interior peacefulness and happiness, leads to integrity - which is the only possibility of each of us becoming agents of the Reign of God, bringing all God's will to fulfillment. 

The Apostle of Encouragement and Consolation

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

June 11, 2019 - Remembering St. Barnabas
Acts 11:21b-26, 13:1-3; Matthew 10: 7-13

Barnabas, is a great personality we find in the beginnings of the Apostolic Communities. Three things that strike us from this person are: 

His total dedication to the Lord: He is one of the first ones mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as having had sold his properties and brought them to the feet of the Apostles (Acts 4:37). We find him as fearless as Paul in the ministry that they would for a long time do together as companions on the move. And a tradition holds that he was dragged out of the synagogue as he was disputing on the Word with the  Jews and stoned to death! He spared not even his life for the sake of the Word. 

His undisputed priority for God:  Barnabas gave an undisputed first place to God and God's Word. Nothing else came before that... the greatest enemy that vies for the place of God in our life is our SELF, our Ego and Barnabas kept it far away from prominence. As we see in the first reading today, though he himself was a famous man, a man loved by all, when he brought Paul to the limelight, he took a secondary place and never vied for name or fame! He was actually Joseph but was called 'the son of encouragement' that is, Barnabas, by the apostles! He encouraged the apostles and the people in their radical living of their vocation as God's people. Leaving our ego aside, is such an important task within the mission of following the Lord. If only this happens in our families, in our faith communities, in religious communities and every type of relationship, how concrete and challenging our witness would become! 

His uncompromising self identity that gave rise to strong convictions: It is true that it was Barnabas who brought Paul, the newly converted Jew to the apostles and it was Barnabas, and Barnabas alone who could give a leaning shoulder to Paul, true to his name which meant also 'Son of Consolation'. Not just that, when he had to disagree with the same Paul, he dared do so and parted ways! Strong personalities, with personal freedom and mutual respect - but with one single FIRE within - the fire to proclaim the Good News about Christ - to heal the sick, to raise the dead, cast the demons out, to give and give without any expectation. 

Every occasion of celebrating an apostle is reminder of how they were able to go about with nothing in their hand or in their purse for the sake of the Reign of God, with nothing to gain for themselves, but ready to give everything to others! They were making Christ present, and they were called 'Christians'... May St. Barnabas inspire us to really deserve that name 'Christians'.

Mary, the Mother of the Church

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

Monday after the Pentecost - June 10, 2019

Genesis 3: 9-15, 20; John 19: 25-34

We celebrate a new memorial today in the Church, just a year old... the very second time that we celebrate it as a Church: the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church! The positioning of the feast is very crucial: the day after the Pentecost, to prolong the celebration of the Pentecost and to remain with the extraordinary event that took place, resulting in the genesis of the Church! 

Mary is indisputably the Mother of the Church for the following three reasons:

1. Mary bore Jesus, the head of the Church: As the mother of the head of the Church, she naturally becomes the mother of the body of Christ - the Church. As she gave birth to Jesus and nourished him, so does she nourish each of us in our faith in Christ her son. As she brought up Jesus in wisdom and grace, so does she watch us mature in our faith and hope. This role was predestined for her by the Almighty from time immemorial - that is what the first reading establishes today. As she cared for Jesus and protected him from all worldly perils (be it fleeing to Egypt or going in search of Jesus at Jerusalem), so does she care for us and protect us. THE PATRONESS AND PROTECTORESS OF THE CHURCH.

2. Jesus nominated her as the mother of his followers: While Jesus was about to culminate his divine moment of sacrifice to the Father, on the Cross, he deliberately nominated Mary as the mother of his followers! He looked at John, the beloved disciple who represented every beloved of Christ who would form his Church, and said, Behold your Mother! That was a parting gift, a final gesture of love and care towards his loved ones on earth. As Mary went home with John that day, so does she come home with everyone who accepts this gift from Jesus, she is there to guide us and accompany us. THE GUIDE AND MODEL OF THE CHURCH.

3. Mary was there holding the Apostles together, at the descent of the Spirit: Mary was one of the first members of the Church, right at its origin. Just yesterday we celebrated the birthday of the Church - I wonder how some groups of so-called Chrsitians conveniently forget one important person who was at the centre of it all. How can there be the Church without Mary! She was united with the apostles, in fact she united them in prayer until the Spirit came! The Holy Spirit was no stranger to Mary. Her faith journey began with her rendezvous with the Spirit. Mary unites us, as one of us and as a person filled with the Spirit! A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH AND A SPIRIT-FILLED PERSON. 

Note that the three reasons that we just saw, are all from the Word of God, so faithfully cherished by the Tradition of the Holy Catholic Church. The Feast that was instituted last year, is not merely an invention of fantasy - but a profound reflection on the Word and its impact on our faith. Let us cherish out Blessed Mother, the Mother of God, Our Mother and the Mother of the Church!

PEOPLE OF THE SPIRIT

The Signs: Communion, Commission and Compassion!

The Solemnity of Pentecost - June 9, 2019

Acts 2: 1-11; 1 Corinthians 12: 3a-7, 12-13; John 20: 19-23

The Solemnity of the Pentecost- a day when we have to wish the Church, happy birthday!... and as every birthday is a day of reminder to grow up, to mature.. it is also for the Church today a day of reminder to grow up and mature as the Reign of God, the ultimate purpose of the Community of faith on earth. The Church does not exist for herself, taught Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, on 19th Feb 2012. The Vatican Council II instructed us the same truth, while saying the Church exists to proclaim and plant the seeds of the Reign of God. The reminder comes from the first instances of the birth of the Church... the event of the coming of the Spirit. Today for the Church and for every Christian to grow up and mature, the presence of the Spirit is indispensable. 

How do we recognise the presence of the Spirit? 
There are three signs today suggested by the Liturgy of the Word to ascertain the presence of the Spirit.

1st Sign: COMMUNION (I Reading)

The first sign of the presence of the Spirit is Communion. When they spoke in various tongues, every one understood in their own language. The first gift of the Spirit is the 'oneness of heart and mind' that is achieved by the gift of UNDERSTANDING. Where there is division for the sake of ego and personal opinion, where there is manipulation for the sake of having one's ways, the Spirit is absent! Any division of the hearts of the children of God is created by the evil spirit! Communion, the fruit of Understanding, does not in anyway mean a homogeneous uniformity. It is a divine blending of differences. Yes, the Communion offered by the Spirit is born out of a RESPECT FOR DIFFERENCES which are appreciated as the richness that is so natural in the very creation of God, the differences that are brought in a harmonious symphony by the Spirit. 

One who possesses the Spirit of the Lord, uses the gift of UNDERSTANDING that arises from an authentic RESPECT FOR DIFFERENCES, to bring the people of God together, as community of people with one heart and one spirit.

2nd Sign: COMMISSION (II Reading)

The second sign of the Spirit's presence is Commission. A commissioning which begins with a CALLING... as we are called into one community in the Risen Lord, called to be children of God who call out, 'Abba Father'. This calling does not end with a domestic understanding of being children cuddling at home, but a call that fills us with the FIRE OF MISSION, for we are not filled with the Spirit of cowardice to fall into fear, but the Spirit of adoption that urges us on to go forward and live a life of witness, that is bold and befitting the one who called us.

One who possesses the Spirit of the Lord, is aware of the CALLING that one has received and is courageous to bear witness to that calling with the FIRE OF THE MISSION, that burns from within as Jeremiah says (Jer 20:9).

3rd Sign: COMPASSION (Gospel)

The third and the most fundamental sign of the presence of the Spirit is COMPASSION, without which the very name 'Christian' has no meaning absolutely. Compassion is an active form of LOVE, the only expectation that the Lord has from us - to love each other as the Lord loves us. Love, is not a mere feeling but a feeling with, it is feeling with the other, what the other feels. While speaking of the Early Christians it was said they were of one mind and one heart - that was love. While St. Paul instructs, 'Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn' (Rom 12:15). That is true Christian love, that is the way that the Lord loved us. To love is to LIVE LIKE JESUS. Fundamentally, this is what the Spirit enables us to be - to be like Jesus, to live like Jesus. 

Hence, One who possesses the Spirit of the Lord, is filled with LOVE and vows to LIVE LIKE JESUS. The disciples together were called to grow to be like Christ. To grow to be like Christ is to grow in the image of the Lord given by the Spirit. To be disciples of Christ is to grow in the likeness of Christ, to be think like Christ, to speak like Christ, to act like Christ and to decide like Christ in every thing. Those who are in the Christ are a new creation! Those who are in the Spirit are true children of God, empowered to call God, Abba Father!

The coming of the Spirit was a radical change of lifestyle for the disciples and all who believed in Christ. Today, if we are to celebrate this feast with real meaning, there has to be a radical evaluation of our life style - whether we promote communion, accept our commission and burn with compassion! If we do, we are the people of the Spirit.

Come Holy Spirit, Fill us with your Fire!