Work - the likeness of Divinity within humanity

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

May day: Celebrating St. Joseph the Worker

May 1, 2020: Genesis 1:26-2:3; Matthew 13:54-58

May day, for a Christian holds much more than mere glorification of work. This is because of the very nature of God that sanctifies this essential aspect of human existence. The first reading underlines the fact that the work of creation is an essential image of God and goes on to imply that right from the origins, it has formed a characteristic part of humanity, which holds the likeness and image of God.

St. Joseph pictured as a worker, the working hand and the leader of the Holy Family, is not merely an imagination but a practical possibility and the Church today capitalises on this possibility to draw inspiration from a saint who reminds us of this essential element of our human existence and the way to go about it with serenity and simplicity. 

Work is a participation in the Creative initiative of God. Work can never be a slavery; it can never be carried out solely for an external gain or out of external pressure. Work when it is done merely for the material returns, it becomes a commodity and that is where exploitation and alienation begins. Every person has the right to work and the duty to do his or her part in the upkeep of our common home, not in damaging it to ruin. How lovely it would be when every person does what he or she can to make this world a better place..that would be paradise, the garden of Eden, the Reign of God here and now.

Today, let us promise to respect the dignity of labour and look at our opportunity to contribute through work as a personal participation in the image and likeness of God and in God's creative mission.

Drawn by your Daddy!!!

WORD 2day: Thursday, 3rd week in Easter time

April 30, 2020: Acts 8: 26-40; John 6: 44-51

The readings taken together have a wonderful message for us... if we are Christians, it is not by chance; it is by choice... not ours, but the Lord's. You did not choose me, I chose you, says the Lord. The Lord has chosen each of us by name and if only we are aware of it and convinced of it, we shall see an immense difference in the quality of our daily living.

We have come to know our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, drawn by God our Father and Mother in heaven! It is the Lord who has willed to draw us to Godself. Our 'yes' at Baptism and a reassertion of it at Confirmation are our response to this initiative of God. The point of discussion is, whether we are faithful to the yes all our life, at every moment of our daily life.

Especially at moments when we see we are surrounded by tests and trials, sickness and death, fear and threats, oppressions and corruption, decadence and exploitation, anxiety and helplessness, boredom and hopelessness,...we are called to remember that we are all drawn by the Almighty, that we are being guided by the Lord who has drawn us all in name of God. Will our lives today manifest that difference, making the world understand the power we possess in our call?

But that difference does not come just in an instant. It is a long journey in itself. The Bread of life and the Blood of the new and everlasting covenant, are the nourishment in this journey. All through the journey the Lord accompanies us and instructs us... if we really listen, we will soon realise how special we are; and how we are drawn by our daddy!

Testimonies of true joy!

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 3rd week in Easter time

April 29, 2020: Acts 8:1b-8; John 6: 35-40

There was great joy in the city. In spite of having to desert their hometowns and go into diaspora, the community of believers bring joy wherever they go. Earlier we read, that the apostles where flogged for having preached Christ and when they left, they went with joy because they were able to suffer for Christ. How was it possible for them! It was because, they carried the Risen Lord in their hearts. 

The resurrection experience filled the apostles, the disciples and all the believers with joy, with a joy that could not be replaced by anything else under the sun. The words "Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ" (Rom 8:35) was a concrete life experience of the early Christians. The source of this experience is the total and loving self giving of the Lord. 

Jesus was so filled with his Father that in his total self-giving he rejoiced and brought joy to all around him and to the entire humanity. Imitating their Lord and Saviour, the first Christians were filled with Christ, and in their self-giving to each other and to God, they brought true joy and eternal hope to each other. We are today called to accept the challenge of living our Christian vocation, even in these moments of crisis and anxiety, emanating divine joy, in our joyful and loving self-giving. 

How joyful is our testimony as Christians, today? 

The height of discipleship

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 3rd week in Easter time

April 28, 2020: Acts 7:51-8:1a; John 6:30-35

We are given the picture of the martyrdom of Stephen... the height of discipleship, giving one's life up for the sake of Truth. The real courage that is exhibited in the passage of today, where Stephen dares to say what he saw and heard, or what he was given to see and hear. 

The Gospel presents the same courage manifested by Jesus, challenging the Scribes and the Pharisees and offering himself as the bread of life; infact, Stephen is presented to us as an ideal disciple who did what Jesus did, who lived the way Jesus lived and who died the exact way Jesus died. The cue is the prayer: "Into your hands I commend my spirit". While Jesus makes that prayer to the Father, Stephen makes it to Jesus: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit". This, incidentally, is the first prayer that we see, addressed to Jesus, in history. 

The height of discipleship consists in the courage to imitate the master in every little detail...in our life, our prayer, our convictions and our priorities. Today surrounded by a health crisis, what is our mental disposition? 

A disposition of fright would right away disqualify us from being convinced disciples. A disposition of rash and ruthless denial of reality and insensitive breach of the consensus for common good, again is a disqualifier for a disciple of Christ. Instead, sensitivity to the suffering, faith to see the presence of God even amidst the darkness that surrounds, the readiness to state the facts and stand for truth, the compassion to look not only at our need and our boredom but at the needs and anxieties of the hapless lot, and finally the trust in entrusting ourselves and the entire world to the Will of God - these would be true signs and the height of our discipleship today.

How close are we in our lifestyle to Jesus, our Lord and Master?

The Face of an Angel

WORD 2day: Monday, 3rd week in Easter time

April 27, 2020: Acts 6:8-15; John 6:22-29

The readings today remind us of our vocation and gift. 'What are we called to?', that was the question that the people meant when they ask Jesus in the Gospel today, "what can we do to accomplish God's works?" "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent": that is our vocation, that is our gift! 

Vocation, because it is our life task, to know the Lord, love and accept him as our personal saviour and testify to him unto death. Being a vocation, it is a task at all times, notwithstanding whether they are good or bad. More precisely, specially at trying times, because it is a challenge to remain faithful to the Master!

It is a gift, because in doing it, we become children of God (cf.Jn 1:12). It is a state of grace where we turn into co-heirs to the Reign (cf Rom 8:17), and we acquire the face of angel - as it is said of St.Stephen in the first reading today. 

Our faith and our commitment to faith adorn our face with a light and beauty that makes it look 'angelic'... let us realise our hidden face of an angel; let us preserve and persevere in growing to the full stature of the angels - close to God and ever at God's service!

GOD REVEALS... AND WE?

Receive, Realise and Respond

April 26, 2020: 3rd Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14,22-33; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35

Christ is the fullness of Revelation of God. What God has been revealing through various means and varied persons, God finally revealed in fullness through God's own Son and there is no other revelation that is fuller than this. However, Revelation has not ended with it. It goes on even today, it continues, it progresses! What is most important is what we do in the face of this continuous, progressive revelation.

There is an entire mindset and disposition that comes into play when we reflect on this aspect of revelation! First of all, one has to believe that there is an ongoing revelation from God - that God speaks today, here and now! Not that everything is said and done, recorded and sealed and there is nothing new to know! God reveals, in and through each and every thing that happens to us and around us. At this point of time there is a global happening that is filling the minds of every one invariably... the health emergency that the entire planet is facing. Apart from the great sadness and suffering that it is causing to persons and communities, there is a revelation here in too...this is where our eyes of faith have to become sharper to observe and understand, look and learn, spot and personalise.

Secondly, when we say God reveals in situations, it is not that God creates a situation so than it could be revealed... let us not give into that naive interpretation that is doing the rounds (in fact every time a so-called natural disaster strikes this interpretations is revived). It is so unintelligent and unChristian to say God sends some disasters to remind the human beings how they have gone astray! The term so-called natural disasters is purposefully used here, because how many of these natural disasters are really and literally "natural"...if only we analyse them enough, we would see that ultimately they were human-made, the cause be greed, exploitation of the resources and insensitive approach to the common home, the planet earth and the universe. It is never that God sends disasters... God sends reminders and messages through persons who speak up and protest and call the attention of the world. But we are so negligent of these sign right upto the moment when the disaster breaks open! How blind are we to neglect the induced climate change that is ticking the globe's way to annihilation. How hard headed are we to believe that using an extra automobile or cutting an odd tree in a locality or polluting a little rivulet in the vicinity would do nothing to the global wellbeing! 

Having these reflections at the back of our mind...let us listen to the Word giving us three commands this day: Receive, Realise and Respond to God's Revelation - only then shall you be truly considered God's own people! When God reveals Godself and the essential truths to live by in our daily life...

...We receive. The disciples as they walked, when the Lord offered to walk with them, they accepted it, they received him. When Jesus began to speak to them about a lot of things that have happened they listened with patience, they received it. When they found Jesus had something divine to offer them, they invited him to stay with them, they received him in their house. Today as the Lord offers us revelations, we need to be in a position to receive, to welcome the message, to really listen and truly see what the Lord wants to communicate.

...We realise. Once Jesus broke the bread, they realised it was the Lord. Once we experience a unique sign from the Lord we would realise that it is the Lord who is at work. The Lord communicates himself to us, we need to realise how great we are to receive it and realise how wonderful it is to have the Lord with us. We need to realise our own frailties, faults and most of all the responsibility that we have right now, right here - to do whatever we can, however small it might be!

...We respond. The disciples as soon as they realised it was their Master, they could not wait, they left and returned to where they started from, to meet the apostles. They didnt mind the distance they had covered, nor the effort or the tiredness, they wanted to respond wholeheartedly and they did it. Responding to the revelations of the Lord, many a times, will demand much from us and we need to be prepared. We need to be prepared to put ourselves into some inconvenience, some suffering, some challenge and some call to reach out and to change our ways.

Even today, in and through the proclamation of the Word, through the experience of people shared, through the events that take place around us, through the majesty of the nature and power of the miracles, the Lord keeps revealing Godself to us. Let us not give into naive interpretations and fictional narratives! Let us get truly in touch with the Lord and sit at the Lord's feet, ready to receive, realise and respond to God's self revelation with love, faith and hope.

A 'Go' that binds

THE WORD AND THE SAINT 

April 25, 2020: Celebrating Mark the Evangelist

1 Peter 5:5-14; Mark 16:15-20

Certainly the words of St. Peter in the first reading will speak immediately to the situation today: you will have to suffer only for a little while: God of all grace who called you to eternal glory in Christ will see that all is well again; he will confirm, strengthen and support you (5:10). A message of hope! But that is not the crux of what we celebrate today; it is Mark, the evangelist. 

Mark comes out as a dedicated young man convinced of his call and enduring in his response. The apostles and disciples were extremely different from each other in their calibre and character. But what bound them together was the 'Go' that they received from the Lord. It was the commission from the Master that kept them  going. We see generations of them following each other in responding whole heartedly to the project entrusted. 

To Go, meant to go to the unknown lands, to meet unknown people, to get into unknown territories, to get out of one's comfort zones. This is exactly what the Holy Father keeps insisting - a Church that is on its move, a Church what has hearkened to the command of its Head, a Church that is continuously trying to make newer sense of this world and of living life to the full. 

Mark becomes the representative of the generation that immediately followed the 12 and Mark leaves indelible trails by his commitment and dedication. He was the first one to record a written account as a Gospel, say the researchers and he did this mostly from the teachings and sermons of Peter, the elder brother among the apostles. 

The call is to the young today: can you dedicate yourself to the commission from the Lord... to Go!

Gamaliel and the Miracle of Multiplication

WORD 2day: Friday, 2nd week in Easter time

April 24, 2020: Acts 5:34-42; John 6:1-15

Gamaliel proved a true God-fearing man and his words become a miracle. Try and notice the beautiful connection made in the Liturgy of the Word today: there is the multiplication of the loaves reported in the Gospel but we see that unfolding in reality in the Acts, in the form of the multiplication of the Christians. From a mere handful, the people of the Way begin to grow in leaps and bounds. 

More than the miracle itself, what led to the miracle claims our attention here. The miracle happened because of the following three reasons:

- the Apostles and the band kept God and God's Word above everything else, even above their own lives. They were ready even to lay down their lives, instead of giving up on proclaiming the Word. They openly declared they would obey God, even if that meant their lives!

- the Apostles and the people considered it God's mission and not their own enterprise; they gave the entire credit to God. This is what is proved by Gamaliel's statement. If it were their own making and their own plan, it would have crumbled in  no time. It was God's plan and they persons involved recognised it and readily accepted it, the consequence being the great fruits they saw in such a short time.

- the Apostles had no other hidden agenda, for instance their own glory, making a living, or creating a following for themselves. They surrendered themselves totally to the Lord and they were multiplied, multiplied far beyond their own expectations. 

God's Word, God's plan and God's glory - these are the sources of invincible strength that one can have in life... and a Christian with these is indeed a great witness unto the Lord.

We and the Holy Spirit...

WORD 2day: Thursday, 2nd week in Easter time

April 23, 2020: Acts 5: 27-33; John 3: 31-36

The presence and coming of the Spirit and witnessing to the Lord and his resurrection, are very closely knit and that is what the Word brings out today. If we have to witness to the salvation that we have experienced in the Lord - firstly, it is possible only with the Spirit: for no one can proclaim that Jesus is Lord except through the Spirit. Secondly, it is the Spirit that makes the witness efficacious. 

When we submit to the Lord, the Father fills us with the Spirit says Jesus today in the Gospel...and that is what is needed utmost in our lives. It is happily surprising to see the way the Apostles looked at, understood and related with the Spirit... in the Word today we have an interesting and inspiring episode. 

The Apostles declare, 'We and the Holy Spirit are witnesses to these things!' It was not so easy for them to witness to the Lord until a particular point of time in their lives, when everything changed. There was something within them, with them and around them, that made them extraordinarily strong, fearless and passionate about the Lord. It was so clear for them that it was the Spirit. Indeed, for them the Spirit was someone who lived with them, within them - just like anyone of them. That is why they spoke of the Spirit as one who lived with them, to be taken count of: we and the Holy Spirit.

Today, our Christian witness would go a long way in bringing the Lord to the people and bringing the people to the Lord, if the Spirit becomes our constant life companion, as someOne who lives with us!

Conformity or Conflict? Conviction or Convenience?

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 2nd week in Easter time

April 22, 2020: Acts 5:17-26; John 3:16-21

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light; whoever lives the truth comes to the light! Light is given as an imagery of openness, transparency, outspokenness, integrity, conviction and courage. Darkness is hiding, double play, people pleasing, hypocrisy, convenience and comfort seeking.

The world contains four categories of people in relation to right things. 

The first category are those who do the right - they are people of Light, courageous and convinced. The second category are those who assist those who do the right - they are people for the the Light, convinced and seeking the truth! 

The third type are those who hinder anyone doing the right, these are people tending towards darkness and they stand for spreading that darkness. There is the fourth category, and the worst - they are those who are involved in doing the evil directly and acting against any light! We find all the four categories referred to in the readings today. 

The primary call we have today is to analyse our choices, our preferences and our priorities and see for ourselves, sincerely, to which of these four categories we would belong. Secondly, there is a lesson for us today, that while we strive to be people of the light and do the right, we can come across persons of all the four categories. What would our reaction be? What would guide our response in situations such as these... 

Conformity? or Conflict? or Conviction? or Convenience? 

Life in the Spirit

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 2nd week in Easter time

April 21, 2020: Acts 4:32-37; John 3:7b-15

Unless you are born in the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God...but how do you see that one is born in the Spirit? It is only through the life that is lived. There can be no space between belief and life... we are expected to live what we believe and what we believe has to be translated into our lives. That is the essence of a Christ-like life, the formula for life in the Spirit. 

What do you call those who claim to be people of the Spirit but have their selfish interests, hidden agenda and connived plots? How about those who consider themselves 'very religious and pious' who panic at the earliest pressures, lose heart at the easiest of burdens and give up at the first of trying situations? How do you understand some one who is deemed by the society as an atheist or an agnostic, but is ready to even give his or her life for the wellbeing of the other and for the common good? Isn't there a paradox involved here? That paradox is the secret... the Spirit is like the wind that you know not where it comes from and where it goes... but you feel it, your experience it, you sense it!

Life in the Spirit has to be verified on a daily basis. As Jesus said, a tree is known by its fruits; so the signs of our life in the Spirit has to be seen in our day to day choice for love, our capacity for sharing, our willingness to give up for the sake of the Lord, our readiness to think of the other before ourselves and our sense of oneness in the Risen Lord!

Let us examine our daily choices: do they reflect a life in the Spirit? Or are we living a life born from below? Let us be born from above, let us be born of the Spirit! Let us continuously grow in our life in the Spirit.

Let the earth be shaken up!

WORD 2day: Monday, 2nd week in Easter time

April 20, 2020: Acts 4:23-31; John 3:1-8

With Christ having risen from the dead and the disciples having realised its effects, history opens to the next phase! The people of God who were made into Easter people, now get ready to put on another identity as the people of the Spirit... "a Spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline" (2 Tim 1:7). 

It is like asking the believers to grow up and take charge, not to live in the shadow of fear and timidity but to speak up with courage the Good news of the Lord. It is like we are challenged today with this crisis: how are you going to rise up from here? what is this contagion and the resultant suffering and anxiety going to do to you? Is it going to dominate you and make you a totally defeated person or are you waiting to spring back to joy, optimism and renewal? 

If we have to come back with new life, that needs a transformation - a real, total, concrete personal transformation leading to a transformation as a believing community. The courage and the conviction of faith of a true believer will shake the earth, describes the readings today. People have to look at us and wonder, how do they manage it: optimism in the face of suffering, hope in the face of anxiety, love in the face of all the turmoil that could come their way!

Let the earth be shaken up today, because of our convictions. Let the humanity which seems to be on a down-slide with regard to its spirit, and more regard to its values and morals, be shaken up because of our Spirit-filled lives. Let us not be overcome by evil; but let us overcome evil with Good (cf. Rom 12:21).

MERCY - THE MARK OF A CHRISTIAN

The Identity, the Source and the Embodiment

2nd Sunday of Easter: April 19, 2020
Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20: 19-31

This Sunday is liturgically called the Low Sunday which marks the end of the Easter Octave. "A week later" or "eight days later", indicates the Gospel today; it was a week later that Jesus appears to all the eleven, including Thomas and patiently, mercifully and lovingly leads them to true faith. The feast of Divine Mercy was instituted and fixed for this day by the  Pope Saint John Paul II, who was very much attached to this devotion, inspired by the Polish saint Sr. Faustina and her visions.  The central message of this Sunday is - MERCY!

The first reading speaks of how the early community of Christians becomes a mighty witness to the Lord. They were the epitome of the command that Jesus gave, 'be merciful as your heavenly father is merciful'. Mercy becomes their way of life, or rather their renewed way of life. As a mark of being a Christian, mercifulness to each other specially to those in need, becomes the point of attraction for many...and as the reading goes - the Lord added to their number everyday! Mercy is the high point of Christian identity. We do not gainsay that in anyway, but what matters most is how it is lived on a daily basis. It begins with our life at home: with our dear ones, elderly parents, sickly loved ones, troublesome children, rebellious youngsters... how is our relationship? What level of patience and acceptance do we manifest? These days with the lockdown and the quarantine, our patience must have been tested to its limit... what have we discovered about ourselves, about our levels of mercy, towards ourselves and towards others?

The Second reading speaks to us of the Source of mercy, God the father of Jesus Christ who in mercy sent the only Son for our salvation! The Mercy of God is given to us as an example and a scale to measure our "genuineness of faith"! Preaching and believing in high ideals of love and compassion, if we but hate people and divide families, envy others and detest their wellbeing... we are far far away from God, the God of Mercy and compassion. This is one of the loudest messages that Pope Francis wants the entire world to hear - you cannot call yourself a Christian nation, or Christian society, or Christian community and speak of war, division, discrimination, exploitation, retaliation and so on. What a shame to call ourselves 'Christian' and still stick to these terms of thinking and acting. Do you think blaming it on others who provoke such act or attitude, would justify this tendency in anyway?

Jesus' encounter with the disciples after his resurrection manifests a special quality of mercy... it is an encounter that is full of unlimited forgiveness and unconditional love! There is no demand that the disciples have to render an account for having abandoned Jesus at the crucial moment of suffering, for having betrayed him or having denied him!  There is no accusation that they refused to believe in Christ and his resurrection in spite of the numerous times and ways in which they had been taught about it. There is no taking to task Thomas and others who were stubborn in their unbelief even after multiple testimonies! All that Jesus does is, tell the disciples that he was always with them and invite them to be his witnesses throughout the world. That is the Embodiment of the mercy of God in the incarnate Son, the mercy which dwelt among us in flesh and blood and dwells among us today in the Spirit. Mercy, hence, has to be lived today in forgiveness and love; there can be no place for grudge and grievance, envy and slander, cheating and stealing, killing and enmity. 

In a world that is weighed down by exploitation of the weak, domination of the powers, threats of the arrogant, indifference of the affluent, selfishness of the elite - Mercy has to be exercised and manifested in our proclamation of the true Gospel: the liberation of the captives, the consolation of the suffering, the restoration of the exploited and the dignity of every human person. The Joy of the Gospel has to be announced to the whole world, calling the exploiting lot to justice and the exploited hearts to God's goodness.

At a time when persons are used and things are loved, relationships are strategised and families are sacrificed, marriages despised and commitments belittled - Mercy has to take the form of daily forgiveness and authentic love for persons, mutual acceptance of weaknesses and humble admittance of mistakes, loving care of the affected and reaching out to the weak: that is what a family is all about. It is in families that the Mercy of God has to be first infused today. The Joy of Loving each other has to fill this world with the presence of God and the real mercy that upholds personal and interpersonal dignity.

Amidst crisis that we are going through at this moment, let us not forget the various other crises we were fighting already before this COVID-19 episode began - the depleting water resource, the escalating pollution, the fossil fuel issue, the extinction of beings, the imbalanced accumulation of wealth, the deprivation of the powerless and so many others - Mercy has to take the form of loving the creation, every aspect of it, from the perspective of the Creator, the attitude of giving praise to the Lord by caring for our common home... that is true and practical Mercy.

As we celebrate the Divine Mercy of Jesus... let us understand and accept Mercy as our mark of identity as God's own children, the distinctive character of persons who call themselves Christians! Let us be merciful as our heavenly father is merciful, every day of our lives.

To be recognised as his companions

SATURDAY of the EASTER OCTAVE

April 18, 2020: Acts 4:13-21; Mark 16:19-15

"They recognised them as companions of Jesus", says a verse (13) in the first reading today. From the things that happened around them, from the words that the disciples were proclaiming and from the life that they were living, 'they recognised them as companions of Jesus.' 

Mark summarises the week after Easter in the passage that we read today in the Gospel. Again, the crux is to speak of, to announce, to proclaim Christ, whom they have experienced. Mary of Magdala 'went and told his companions'; the two of them 'returned and told'... Finally the Lord gives us the command: Go and Proclaim!

The two fold call that we have today is... 

First, to identify ourselves as companions of Jesus, to know that we are walking everyday with the Lord, that we are not alone on our life's journey and that all that happens in our daily experience has a tremendous impact on ourselves and others; that we need to be attentive to every little thing that is happening and see what the One who is with us wishes to communicate to us in and through them - specially in experiences like what we are going through these days. 

Secondly, the call is to 'proclaim'...to begin with, through our mindsets, attitudes and lifestyle and then explicitly through our words and speech. Look at the statement of the apostles at the Sanhedrin, "it is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard!" It was so strong in them that they could not but talk about it - if we do not speak of God, or manifest our attachement to God, could it be that we have really had no strong experience with God? It is an important element to think about. 

Here is the point: have we seen and heard, that is experienced Jesus personally? How compelling a need is it for me to speak of Jesus to others? Are we really filled with the zeal to stand for Christ and speak of Christ todayy? Only if we feel that strong bond with the person of Christ, will the world ever recognise us as his companions, his friends, his associates, his disciples, his ambassadors. 

In whose name?

FRIDAY of the EASTER OCTAVE

April 17, 2020: Acts 4:1-12; Luke 21:1-14

In whose name?...that is the crucial question today in the readings. The question was alive and agitating in Jesus' times, as every one kept asking him in whose name was he doing all that he was doing! The question lingers on even today, as each of us live our Christian call - in whose name do we do all that we do! 

The first reading while notifying us of how the apostles were posed with that question, explains to us how the rejected stone turns into the corner stone, a name which they wanted to wipe off from the history of humankind was rewriting history. There is a twofold lesson given to us here:

One, to grow to be cornerstones and the other, to recognise our corner stone, here and now!

We are called to imitate the life of the Corner Stone, becoming ourselves corner stones to the Reign that the Lord wishes to establish within us and through us. Just as Jesus lived to do the will of the one who sent him, we are called to discover the unique plan that God has for us and live it to the full. Just as Jesus was who he was and did what he did, all in the name of his Father - so are we called to do everything in Jesus' name, that we become, grow to be the corner stones that humankind needs today to stay firm. 

Secondly, we need to readily recognise the corner stone of our lives, the Risen Lord Jesus! That feeling, "it is the Lord" and the readiness to jump into the waters of daily life to encounter the Risen Lord standing on the shore, are but just two of the many compelling examples that the apostles and their early communities give us. How prepared are we to recognise our corner stone and accept Him to be truly our firm foundation: it is the Lord! How ready are we to jump into the chores and anxieties of our daily life, certain that the Lord awaits us on the other bank!

When we live our life "in His name" on a daily basis... we not only recognise the corner stone of our life but also train ourselves to be corner stones that create communities of joy and hope, wherever we are and in whichever situation we are!

A Roadmap to being Witnesses

THURSDAY of the EASTER OCTAVE

April 16, 2020: Acts 3:11-26; Luke 24:35-48

You are witnesses of these things...says the Gospel today. We are witnesses of the great works that the Lord has done in and through us! Just imagine, how many decades we will be recounting the stories of these days - the days of crisis, quarantine, the lockdown and the closure of all institutions including the churches! As trues sons and daughters of God and the disciples of the Risen Lord, we are called to witness to something different! And the readings today give us three steps towards being such witnesses. It would do us good to reflect on these steps.

To see - The first reading reports the discourse of the apostles to the Jews gathered in Jerusalem after the cure of the crippled man. This is the first step: to see our history through the eyes of faith. They were able to interpret things from the past, the things of history from a new light - the light of faith. How prepared and capable are we to see things and interpret them the true light of faith?

To be Challenged - The second step is to be challenged by understanding history from the perspective of faith. It does not begin actually with interpreting for others, but primarily from within oneself - sincerely being critical with oneself. The apostles who deserted Jesus, hid themselves away and looked to escape into their past, were challenged by the Risen Lord as we see in the Gospel. And they accepted the challenge and managed to understand, relearn everything that happened, from the perspective of faith that Jesus opened up to them.

To Challenge - The call, thirdly, is to challenge the others towards a commitment of faith! What Peter does today is not to accuse the Jews of anything, but challenging them towards a personal experience of the Risen Christ. He was mindful of the weak person that he was, the act of cowardice that he fell in to in moments of crisis - but he has risen from those moments and now he is able challenge his own brothers and sisters. We need to become aware of our moments of weaknesses, grow out of them and never cease to challenge each other to perfection - only through that we can become true witnesses.

To see, to be challenged and to challenge - that is the road map to be true witnesses!

Recognising the Risen Lord

WEDNESDAY of the EASTER OCTAVE

April 15, 2020: Acts 3:1-10; Luke 24: 13-35

To know that Christ is with you, is an incomparable potential. I shall be with you till the end of times, is the promise that Christ gives and keeps! Regardless of whether we realise it or not, acknowledge it or not, recognise it or not, the presence goes with us.  In moments such as what we are going through right now, in a situation health crisis all over the world, do we really make the effort to realise the divine presence with us!

The two disciples on the way to Emmaus, did not recognise Jesus nor acknowledge his presence. Peter and John, were mindful of the fact they had nothing much to offer on their own. The disciples walk all the way back to Jerusalem and the apostles make extraordinary things happen, the moment they become aware of the presence of the Risen Christ with them. 

But we can see what really made them realise that presence... the breaking of the bread. Just look back how during these days of the Holy week the catholic families all over the world, broke bread in their homes as a Universal Church lead by their caring pastors.... weren't they truly moments to recognise the presence of the Lord amidst us, right where we were! That is the presence that the Risen Lord wants us to experience and live by, draw strength from and share with others. 

When I know and am conscious of the presence of the Lord with me, I become capable of living life with an incredible serenity! The Lord's presence with me is a gift; recognising it on a daily basis, is my responsibility! 

My father and your father

TUESDAY of the EASTER OCTAVE

April 14, 2020: Acts 2: 36-41; John 20:11-18

"My father and your father" - what a beautiful expression to hear from Jesus today. The first reading presents repentance and baptism as a way of being accepted as children of the God who raised Jesus from the dead: Jesus' father and our father. Our faith is all about relationship: the relationship of a covenant that has been lived from eternity, between God and God's own.

There is a problem that sometimes faith can be reduced to what has to be carried out as an obligation, as demands, without really understand why something is done and what is being accomplished is the process of doing it. It is a sad situation to behold that rules and regulations take the dominant place in these considerations - and not the persons who are involved - me and my God! Me and my God - that is where the relationship begins!

There is another danger that a true Easter faith warns us of. At times our vision of God can be blurred, when we are too focused on our own whims and fancies and are stuck to our own selfish desires and decisions. Openness to hear what the Lord wants to communicate, is fundamentally the openness to a strong relationship with God, which presumes a cordial, responsible and loving relationship with each other, with one's brothers and sisters in Christ.

Fundamentally, this is what the Risen Lord and the Easter faith wishes to communicate to us: fix you gaze on your relationship with God, the person of God, the person who loves you without ceasing, the person who has given up everything for your sake - even oneself in the Son who was sacrificed. Jesus calls that person: My father and your father!

Get back to Galilee!

MONDAY of the EASTER OCTAVE

April 13, 2020: Acts 2:14, 22-33; Matthew 28:8-15

Easter people are people filled with hope, a hope that never fails. Things had gone bizarre for the disciples - the three years spent with Jesus seemed waste of time, Jesus seemed to have just disappeared into a thin air, their life seemed in danger, they looked like they were fugitives from the law, they were all quarantined as most of the world is today - afraid of something, but they know not what?

Added to the confusion, some where claiming Jesus is risen, at least his body is not in the tomb where it was placed and no one has reportedly taken it away from there... what to make of it no one knows. And there were conspiracy theories spun around it, as it is done today with people creating and spreading their own theories how the COVID crisis began and how it would end up. 

In spite of the plotting against the resurrection of Christ, Jesus never gives up! Just like he was, when he was moving around with them, Jesus keeps to his singular focus: doing the will of the Father! Until the time that people in their desperation give up all these attempts of thwarting the Truth and believers were showered upon with grace after grace. 

Monday of the Easter Octave, we hear the plan of those who wanted Jesus dead and gone, and now to deter further any spread of the Good news of Christ. What does Jesus tell them: Get back to Galilee... that phrase means... you have seen the Lord, you have seen what the Lord did in your life and in the lives of those around, you have seen the glories and the blessings that the Lord brought wherever he went - GET BACK TO IT... go be a blessing to the other, go be a beacon of hope to the world, go shine as light to those in the darkness of doubt and fear! Get back to Galilee, get back to your great time with the Lord and you will regain the strength to start your life again.

BEING EASTER PEOPLE TODAY

EASTER SUNDAY: April 12, 2020

He is risen and he goes before you to Galilee, announces the angel today! Yes, the Lord is Risen! Alleluia! And he has resumed his life… we have to keep pace with him today! The Risen Lord invites us to be Easter People Today. Amidst the cry of helplessness that arises from a world that is stricken with sickness right now, we need to cry out with hope and joy, reinvigorating the world, rejuvenating humanity. We are called to be Easter people today!

The world is in need of Easter People; if I am not an easter person there is one hope less in the world. The Resurrection of the Lord invites us to a life of difference, to know the difference, to make a difference and to feel the difference! We cannot conform to the world, the Lord calls us to a transformation of the mind and spirit (cf.Rom12:2), that we may challenge the world - that is what we have been preparing for all this lent! This non-conformity to the world is what marked the Early Christians from the rest of the people… the world recognized they were a different people, that they were easter people!

From the unreal to the Real
The world today poses promises after promises for a happy life – possessions, comforts, popularity, power, pleasure… all these are presented to us as sure means of happiness in life! But a closer look at the situation today will let us know instantly how unreal these are. They make you slog with a promise of a great future till you suddenly realize, that future never comes… you slog, slog and slog only to finally leave everything behind with a heavy heart and a resentment of the lost past. From these unreal promises, the Risen Lord invites us to the Real: to know the difference, the difference between the fleeting promises and the promises that stand forever! 

Being Easter People Today demands that we know this difference, the difference that the Lord wants to make in our lives. He has risen precisely for that, that he may make a difference! Shifting our focus from the unreal promises of an unreal happiness, the Lord invites us to focus on the Real promises of joy: that my joy may be in you and your joy may be  complete (Jn14:11). It is in living our life in union with the Lord, experiencing the love of the Lord and sharing it generously with our brothers and sisters, that our joy can be Real, lasting and permanent. Don’t you think as Easter people we have something concrete to offer to the world in this regard?

From the darkness to the Light
The world today reports darkness and darkness everywhere – Contagion, death, conspiracies, domination, superpowers, exploitation, killings, direct and indirect terrorism, crisis, abuse, deception, suicides and such news of desperation fill the dailies and the news-tubes today. There is darkness everywhere because people have gone a long way with the unreal images and misleading guideposts. But the Risen Lord fills us with hope that there could no point of no return, if we are in the Lord! There is always hope, if we as Easter People accept our call to move from the darkness to the Light. The same Lord who said, “I am the Light of the world” (Jn 8:12) looks at each of us and says, “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14). Arise! Shine! For your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you, says Prophet Isaiah (Is 60:1). 

No darkness can overcome the Easter People…we are people of the light and this light we have to let it shine, let the world see, let the world be guided. Often times, the sad fact is that we do not realize who we are and continue to lament on the darkness that surrounds, not only lament, but spread it ourselves too… there is unrest, there is crisis, there is hatred, there is desperation… yes they are there, but what have I done to make a difference! What have I changed within myself? What  have I contributed to my setting, what have I changed around me to make a difference? Without really having done anything to make a difference can I claim myself to be an Easter Person? What meaning would it have to celebrate Easter then?

From death to Eternal life
The world today is rushing into a culture of death, warned us Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, long long ago. Hopeless pessimism, inhuman utilitarianism, exaggerated materialism, heartless skepticism and limitless consumerism… these are signs of the Reign of the Evil one, of the kingdom of death!  The Risen Lord invites us from this reign of death to the glory of eternal life. An unfailing optimism, love filled relationships, balanced understanding of development and advancement, use of things and love for people…these are the signs of eternity, because they will never end. We are called to be people who feel the presence of these signs within us and witness to these infront of the world today. 

An Easter person has to be filled with life and has to fill those around him or her with life. Standing against the culture of death we are called to witness for optimism rather than desperation, to opt for love rather than exploitation, to liberate ourselves from slaveries and challenge the world to a liberated life style. The Risen Lord fills us with this life… a life that is filled with Joy, a life that is lit with Truth and a life that is defined by hope. Let us take it to the rest of the World as the disciples took the risen Lord to the rest of the world.

Being Easter people today demands that we know the difference between the unreal and the Real, that we make a difference and lead the world from darkness to Light, and that we feel the difference that the Risen Lord offers us: the promise, the gift and the hope of Eternal Life.

WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY EASTER...BE FILLED WITH THE HOPE OF THE RISEN LORD!
BE EASTER PEOPLE WHEREVER YOU ARE!!!

LOVE REMAINS

Holy Week 2020 - SILENT SATURDAY

April 11: In Sacred Silence

What happened after Jesus died and before he rose? What was he going through? 

He was silent! 
He was waiting! 
He just remained! 

This is the call of this unique day of the year in the Church: this is the only day in the whole of the Church when no Eucharist is Celebrated...the altar remains stripped, the tabernacle remains empty and the Church remains silent: waiting in patience to see what is going to happen next.

The Lord rests in the tomb this day... everything is silent! There will be a dawn very soon... but until then we are invited to Remain Silent, Remain Patient and Remain Waiting. 

It is not so easy to remain silent in a moment of crisis. Multitudes of questions, thousands of thoughts will pass by our mind breaking our silence. One could see that - in these moments of quarantine - how many issues, how many conspiracy theories, how may fake messages doing their rounds and how many stress creating discussions! Only the one who has an unwavering faith in the Lord can remain silent at these moments.

We have grown slaves to instant results. We seem to have have lost the natural patience of our forefathers, in the name of development and technology. Only the one who hopes in SomeOne greater than oneself, can remain patient and see things happen.

Compare waiting for a public utility, may be a transport or one's turn in a crowded office, with waiting for one's beloved! While former seems irritating, the latter looks exciting. The difference is the love that is involved: Only the one who loves the Lord immensely, remains waiting, for the Lord to act on his or her behalf.

Today is the day to remain...to remain silent, to remain patient, to remain waiting, because the Lord is getting something beautiful ready for us! The Lord waits...and let us wait on the Lord too!

LOVE DIES, FOR YOU AND ME

Holy Week 2020 - GOOD FRIDAY 

April 10: Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42

We are at the peak, the peak of our Christian faith, the peak of the eternal salvation plan of God, the peak of calvary which has transformed human history forever and from eternity. From this peak today speaks to us the love of God - telling each of us: I died for you! I emptied myself for you! I gave totally of myself for you!

The liturgy today invites us to dwell on three C's...

The first is the Cross - the centre not merely of the liturgy of today, but of our entire Christian life, theology and spirituality. The Cross is the true symbol of love, not the heart with a piercing arrow! The cross is the symbol of that total self-giving, total to the extent of the last drop of blood and water. Suffering accepted for the other, suffering taken up as a mode of self-giving, suffering endured as an act of love, is salvific! This is both an inspiration and an invitation that we need to hear every time we look at the Cross. Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!

The second is the Crown - do you know another word for a crown... Corona! We are so filled with this word, these days as we battle against the COVID 19 crisis, all over the world. When sufferings come our way, when trials visit us in our days, when burdens weigh down our shoulders, when disease and death threaten us from the dark corners, we need to remember this crown! Just imagine an athlete running a race, if right at the beginning he is given a crown and said, all that you need to do is reach the finish line... the crown is certainly yours, it is guaranteed! That is actually a real Christian vision of life... yes we have to run, yes we have to toil, yes we have to strive... but the crown is ours, already! Any crisis, any suffering, any temptation, any trial, is there just to be endured and traversed; let us remember, we are all running with the crown already on our head...if only we are ready to live through them all in faith! Nothing can overtake us, nothing can overcome us, for there is someone who has overcome everything - sins, world, even death and his crown we have on our heads, the crown of salvation. Into your hands Lord, I commend my Spirit. 

The third is Calvary - the hill of grace, the mountain of salvation! The first time I visited Calvary, I was disappointed. When the programme of the visit said, Calvary, my mind had imagined an impressive hilltop up there - but all I beheld was a dozen steps to climb with the place of crucifixion marked. We had already made the climb walking the gradually rising slope leading to the Church of Crucifixion. But that is precisely the message: Calvary is not that one hill perched high right in the middle of our life - it is one whole life, it is a life long experience, something that we gradually climb and come to grips with everyday. Amidst the daily chores, amidst the experiences of failures and faults, amidst the trying relationships and discouraging life situations, we behold our calvary - the hill of grace, the mountain of salvation. All that we need to do is, be ready is go through these mindful of the fact that there is God's Holy Will which is guiding us and be ready to surrender ourselves totally. Thus we can finally say, 'it is accomplished!'

Let us heed to the call of the Cross and understand the role of suffering in our personal salvation and the salvation of the humankind. Let us behold the crown of salvation and live the mystery of calvary every day in our lives, firm in faith, filled with hope and fired by love.