To Rest in Peace

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

October 1, 2020: Remembering St. Teresa of Child Jesus

Job 19: 21-27; Luke 10: 1-12

RIP - is a well known sign/acronym that we see, use and sometimes fear! It is expanded as Rest in Peace popularly, though that is not exactly the expansion! The real expansion is from Latin, Requiescat in Pace, which is translated also as rest in peace and made so popular in English that we have come to equate the abbreviation with that. But why this discussion now? Simply to understand the meaning of that all-famous and all-important Christian wish: to rest in peace! Yes, it is wish and prayer, but what should it truly mean?

There is another phrase in Latin which goes - dormit in pace, which means sleeping in peace, which has more directly to do with death and the state after death. Instead, requiescat in pace does not refer only about a state after death - it would mean remaining in peace! Or in the words of the Gospel today: peace remaining with you! "And if a person of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on that person; if not it will come back to you!" There is a sort of disposition that is needed, if we wish that peace remains with us.

There are those of us who wish for peace and calm - but we do nothing to make that happen, or we do just the opposite, in such a way that even the little peace that we have, finds its first way out from within and around us! So much of expectations we build, so much of ego we develop, the extreme levels of unnecessary ambitions we pile up, the sense of competition that we nurture, the jealousies we accumulate, the anger we bottle up, the judgements we harbour, the prejudices we possess... all these will never allow us to remain in peace, or never allow peace to remain in us! 

The Little flower (St. Teresa of Child Jesus) whom we remember today reminds us of that child like attitude, which makes us persons of peace, persons who are disposed to peace that wishes to remain with us. She would say: 'what matters is not great deeds, but deeds with great love'! The Little way that she proposes is simply a total, loving and radical surrender into the hands of God; allowing God to work on us and being ready to dispose ourselves to divine peace. 

It is not resting in peace after our death that should be our primary motive, because that will happen only if we can rest in peace or remain in peace here and now, with ourselves, with others and with God. Let us wish each other and pray for each other, that we here and now, rest in peace!

Is it right to say: Man proposes, God disposes?

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

September 30, 2020: Remembering St. Jerome

Job 9: 1-12, 14-16; Luke 9: 57-62 

Man proposes; God disposes - we have heard this often. In times such as now...for instance the whole of 2020 so far has turned our life upside down, we had plans and projects for the whole year chalked out...where have they ended up! Amidst such feelings...it seems much more justified to repeat that statement - human beings propose and God disposes! But just take a moment and reflect: is it not unfair to state it that way, because it is God who is the Master; God proposes! Let us try to understand this perspective. 

It should be God who proposes, not we! The best thing for us is to accept that proposal, without minding the momentary inconvenience it may cause. Lord's ways are unique and the best thing that can happen to us is God's plan. When we wish to propose, plan, manipulate, twist and twirl, pull and push our way to what we wish to do or achieve, there are so many things that override. That is what has happened to humanity today. Job, in the Word today explains how a radical surrender into the hands of God is the best way or the only sound way of living human life. 

St. Jerome whom we remember today reminds us of an effective and necessary means to that surrender - the love for the Word of God. He was a man who dedicated his entire life to the Word of God. 'Not knowing the Scripture, is not knowing Christ,' he said! The Word of God is the closest aid to decide what we should and should not do, what we should be and should not be, what we choose and what we should not, in our daily life! That is one prominent place where God proposes!

We see a collection of episodes in the Gospel today, which illustrate this truth. What we are called to do is not great work, but God's work. It is the Lord who created us and it is the Lord who commissions us! At times we think we are the masters of the things that we are involved in, but it is the Lord who is using us and if only we become aware of it, great will be our happiness! 

It is good to rethink our logic of proposing and waiting for God to approve or disapprove...is it not better to allow God to propose, be attentive to that proposal and live by it! Be attentive when God proposes and that is the best thing that can happen to you!

See Angels! Be Angels!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

September 29, 2020: Celebrating the Archangels - MGR

Daniel  7: 9-10, 13-14 (or) Revelations 12: 7-12; John 1: 47-51

Celebrating Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael (MGR) gives us an opportunity once again to remind ourselves of the significance of the angels within the Christian tradition. Angels in the Old Testament were considered the extensions of God... when the angels came, they said, 'the Lord visited' them: take the case of the visitors to Abraham (Gen 18) or the case of Jacob fighting with the man of God (Gen 32) etc. Michael, as the strength of God; Gabriel as the messenger of God and Raphael as the healing of God, is a well known understanding of the Angels and their functions.

Celebrating the Archangels today gives us two lessons - To See the Angels and Be the Angels:

To see the angels, is to see the hand of God at work in our everyday experiences, not to be blind to the daily miracles that happen around us. It is a special grace to perceive it and God is active on our side all the time; it is left to us to acknowledge it and gain the advantages of it.

To be the angels, is to be extensions of God's presence to the others, to be extensions of God's love to the others. When we stand by someone in trouble, when we side with the oppressed and the victimised, when we speak out for the truth and bring God's message to people, when we empathise with those who are suffering and bring healing to them, we are being angels to those persons. That is our call, to be angels to the others, specially the needy and the weak. 

As we thank God for a special presence that God makes us feel, let us also resolve to experience that presence and be that presence to the others, in short, to see Angels and to be Angels, to the needy!

The Naked Truth: God alone is!

WORD 2day: Monday, 26th week in Ordinary time

September 28, 2020: Job 1:6-22; Luke 9: 46-50

Naked I was born, naked will I die! God gave and God has taken it back. Blessed be the name of the Lord... Job is given by the Word today as the brilliant example of a child of God! His properties burned, he remained calm. His cattle were taken, he bore it all. His servants were killed he held on to the Lord. His children died altogether, he broke down but in the bosom of the Lord! That was Job, of whom the Lord was proud of. 

Aren't we facing a situation similar these days, in many of our close quarters...with families, friends, acquaintances, affected by this treacherous pandemic, losing dear ones, losing jobs, losing security, losing peace of mind...left with no certainties, even the basic certainties of planning a month ahead! But how do we face them all?

There is a concrete lesson that Jesus wishes to give us in the Gospel ...realise with all these crisis reminding you, that your ego, your social status, your position and power, your possession and your attachments... nothing can stand the test of time. God alone will. Whether we believe or not the Lord is. Whether we praise the Lord or not, the Lord is worthy of all the praise in the world. Whatever we do and whatever we are involved in, even without our own full knowledge of it, we are serving the purposes of the Lord. Ultimately that which is going to prevail is God's will. God alone is almighty and God's purposes alone give meaning to anything that exists. 

The truth finally is, who ever we are and whatever we have, everything will pass. The naked truth is, God alone is, God alone will forever be.

PUTTING ON CHRIST

Doing, being and remaining good!

September 27, 2020: 26th Sunday in Ordinary time
Ezekiel 18: 25-28; Philippians 2: 1-5; Matthew 21: 28-32

Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus! That is the invitation, the Word today offers us! In short, it can be understood, in Paul's own terms: to put on the mind of Christ. The readings also offer an itinerary, a graded way of putting on Christ, putting on the New Man, to have the mind of Christ! It is a three level progress that is presented to us, as a vocation, a project, a programme of life and a plan of growth.

The first level of putting on Christ is DOING good: to do good, however easy it could be, has to he a choice. One has to choose to do it. Of course, nothing is automatic. The choice a person makes at a particular situation, before a set of options, is what would determine the kind of action that would follow. Even what we call a spontaneous reaction, is not absolutely spontaneous...how is it possible that one person reacts to a situation completely in a completely different way form another, even at a spur of a moment! It is because even the so-called spontaneous reactions are nothing but choices made again and again over a number of times, that it looks automatic that one chooses to react in such and such a manner. 

The point here in doing good is, what one does gets noticed, appreciated or criticised, analysed and evaluated. Especially in receiving those appreciations and recognitions, Jesus would conclude that you have already received your reward. Hence, doing good, or choosing good because you wish to be accepted by others, appreciated by all and recognised for your goodness would already strip you of its merits. According to the mind of Christ, doing something externally is good, but not good enough. Absolutising external signs was considered by Jesus plainly as hypocrisy! 

The second level of putting on Christ is BEING good: doing good alone is not enough according to the mind of Christ. An excessive insistence on doing things, can easily lead to hypocrisy, legalism and ritualism. And so, we are called to be good, that our actions flow out of the person that we are; that from our internal goodness people experience a goodness that brings them to experience the goodness of God. Ezekiel points out in the first reading today that God does not see one's actions but the inner disposition from which those actions proceed. 

Is it not true that we may be doing the best of things at a given time, but a wrong intention or a imperfect motivation behind that action, can make the whole affair totally unchristian. That is why, though doing good is so important, being good becomes something very crucial. At times we may not be in a position to do good at all - for example, when someone comes to share with you their burdens, you may not me in a position to help them all: may be a economic crisis that you cannot help them out of it, or a spiritual crisis which you yourself are facing, or a family crisis where you have nothing much to do, or a professional crisis where you have no means to be of assistance... it really does not matter, as long are you are good, you are compassionate, you are listening with real empathy, you are feeling one with the sufferings of the person, you are whole heartedly atleast wishing that the person soon gets out of the problem or crisis that he or she is caught up in. That is being good in your person, in your heart, though you really may not 'do' anything good!

The third level of putting on Christ requires not only that we are good, but we REMAIN good. It is a reminder that our goodness has to be something that is sustained and not sporadic, constant and not conditioned! To remain good, is a challenge. At times we can be good and do good; but to remain good always is a demanding task; but putting on Christ means precisely that. Here we are dealing with the grace of perseverance. One may attempt to be good occasionally, but is hard to persevere in being good. 

Looking at the parable from the Gospel today - saying 'yes' to his father, the son fails to do what he accepted to do: it is like the seeds that fell among the thorny bushes or those which fell on the shallow rock. The initial fervour dies and soon every thing becomes so monotonous and meaningless. Instead, with the grace of perseverance, every new day is a renewed challenge to remain with the Lord, to remain good, to really put on Christ. My enemies may surround, every action of mine may be misunderstood and misinterpreted, every thing that I am involved in may be proving a great mountain to be crossed over...it does not matter, I shall not be moved; I shall not leave my itinerary of goodnes; I shall remain good! How prepared are we to say that?

Putting on Christ is a matter of doing good, but more than that it is being good, being good all our life and every moment. Are we ready to take up the task? We would do the right thing to pay heed to the life task that God gives us through St. Paul today: Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus!

Live, love and experience God

WORD 2day: Saturday, 25th week in Ordinary time

September 26, 2020: Ecclesiasticus 11:9 -12: 8; Lk 9: 43b-45 

Life is short and life is limited, but it offers ample opportunity to do things that are remarkable. It never forces anyone, leaving far behind anyone who complains of a life of boredom and monotony. For a Christian, life cannot be boring because he or she has a life task to accomplish and daily directions to carry out, from the Lord. That is why St. Paul would write saying, "do not grow weary of doing right" (2 Thess 3:13). 

But that kind of a life, lived in reaching out, doing good and spending oneself to the full, might invite criticism, jealousy, opposition, persecution and even crucifixion! But what matters is to do the will of God, and do it willingly. 

There was a video few years ago doing the rounds, shot live and uploaded by someone - a video of a boy who was eaten by a white tiger, in a zoo. All that time that the boy was going through the trauma of hanging between life and death, caught in the confinement set apart for the tiger. But what did the crowd do? What did the officials do? Yes, there was a crowd there, screaming and going mad, and a few among them recording it on their cell phones... video graphing what...the boy being torn into pieces? What did they really do to save that boy? It was a crucial time, a crucial issue of life and death, a crucial moment of taking decisions and making choices. It can really traumatise a sensitive conscience looking at that video; but imagine the trauma that boy would have gone through!

Life is short and life is limited; let's live it to the full, let us do all the good that we can to every one around. Let us not waste our life in envying, calumniating, gossiping, judging and spreading hate! Let us live to the full, love each other and experience God close to us!

In God's own time...

 WORD 2day: Friday, 25th week in Ordinary time

September 25, 2020: Ecclesiasticus 3: 1-11; Luke 9: 18-22

Two great enemies to spiritual health, as spiritual masters point out are: Anxiety and Curiosity! 

Anxiety is against faith because it points to a lack of trust in the Lord. You are worried about the future, it is justified to the extent that it helps you to prepare, plan and project some of your actions, habits and decisions towards making positive changes in what is to come, within your powers. But after that limit, it becomes a unwarranted worry and a burden taken upon oneself, as if every depends on you and you alone!

Curiosity is lack of patient acceptance of the present. You have a task at hand and you are involved in it...but your mind is all the time preoccupied on finishing it and seeing its outcome, than on really applying yourself whole heartedly to it. You are involved in preparing for an examination, you are more interested to know what questions will be asked of you. You are working on a project, but you are more interested in knowing whether it will end up to be a success or not. Curiosity is again a denial of the fact that every moment of your life, you are receiving it from the Lord, in faith.

To both these - anxiety and curiosity, and to many other spiritual ailments the corrective given is Surrender! In simple terms, surrender can be described as the assurance that in God's time everything will happen. Patience, trust and the unfailing confidence in God's goodness, are the ingredients of this mentality of surrender. Especially when things aren't going the way we would want them to, we need this quality to remain sane and secure. Doesn't that speak to the kind of experience we are having these days?

In the Gospel today, we find Jesus as a personification of this quality. He was neither curious nor anxious about his mission on earth. That is why he was more interested about their personal conviction than the public opinion; and he was stern that they don't go about frenetically spreading their conviction and forcing it on people, but to let them arrive at that conviction through their own experience too! 

That serenity on Jesus' part comes from the attitude of Surrender, an assurance that everything will be made beautiful IN GOD'S OWN TIME.

From vanity to sanctity through sanity

 WORD 2day: Thursday, 25th week in Ordinary time

September 24, 2020: Ecclesiasticus 1:2-11; Luke 9: 7-9

TINNUTS... have you heard that sigh from anyone? And what does it actually mean? Too simple to be intrigued, the expansion of it goes this way: There Is Nothing New Under The Sun - TINNUTS. The first reading today speaks of vanities in life. Labour, dreams, experiences, senses...everything is a vanity if they are not in the right perspective... because there is nothing new under the sun and you are going to do nothing new after all your striving and struggling! 

Continuing in the same line, the Gospel presents to us a personification of vanities, Herod! Herod had every opportunity to realise the vanity with which he was living, but he made no use of those. He even put an end to them. That would surely affect him all his life. That is why the Gospel says, "he kept saying, I beheaded John." How many such personifications we find in today's context - you turn your television sets on...there is a parade of these personifications of vanity, from all around the globe! The present COVID crisis has done its best in putting in a pin through our bloated balloons of vanity...but no lessons seem to have been learnt by humanity at large.

Now, stop! Before judging them all in such terms, let us have a good look at ourselves and our immediate surrounding! In our families where relationship should govern but selfishness takes over... between spouses, between parents and children, between siblings! In work places where formalities reign supreme and vanities and self glories are idolised! How genuine are we...and how sane and simple we strive to be?

Are there vanities which surround us today? Aren't there opportunities offered to realise them and to do away with them? From Vanity to Sanity...that is the primary journey we are challenged to make, so that we shall feel ready and prepared to embark upon the extraordinary journey towards sanctity! That is our itinerary: from vanity to sanctity, through sanity!

In plenty and in want...

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 25th week in Ordinary time

September 23, 2020: Proverbs 30:5-9; Luke 9: 1-6

What would be your reaction if you hear a young person, in a prosperous turn of his career telling you, "I am resigning my so-called promising and colourful job." And you ask him the reason and he says: " they are paying me unreasonably high!" Strange! Would it be not? It was possible half a decade ago, in a booming kind of a situation. Though today, this may not be possible at all, with all the crisis and economic strain around, the first reading speaks of a mindset of this sort- a man who wants to live neither in want nor in plenty. Not in want, because he will not think of shortcuts to get rich; nor in plenty, that he does not forget the one who gives. 

Jesus knew that mindset! He instructs his apostles on being a messenger of God... the crux of his instruction is not merely about whether to have or not to have, whether to possess or not to possess, but it is all about depending on God or not, and how dependent do you feel on God and how dependent on other forces of push and pull around you! 

Poverty within the worldview of the Reign of God, in terms of Jesus' thinking, is a fundamental dependence on God. Being grateful for what God gives, and being expectant like a child to be given things in love. With that mindset, everything is appreciated as a blessing and not to have is not a cause for lament.You know you will be given at the right time, and you know the One who gives is all the time watchful over you. 

It is more than what proverbs suggests, while the passage from the proverbs carries a tinge of cynical realism, the Gospel offers a proactive sense of dependence out of true human freedom, that defines a true disciple and a dedicated apostle. Clearly St. Paul makes a choice for the Gospel mentality, the mind of Christ: to learn to live in want and in plenty, because we can do anything through the one who strengthens us (cf. Phil 4:12,13).

The Right thing to do...

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 25th week in Ordinary time

September 22, 2020: Proverbs 21: 1-6, 10-13; Luke 8: 19-21

Doing the right thing is better than sacrifice says the first reading today. And the right thing is imprinted in our hearts. That is a simple but profound question each of us has to constantly ask ourselves- what does my heart say? what does my inner being say? Because, there is someone so great who resides there in profundity. 

The Word of God, comes to us through various ways: direct proclamation is just one among them. There are situations and persons whom we come across who bring us a challenge to face and respond to. The Word of God comes along, instructing us what is right and what is to be avoided. And before anything else, there is the inner voice within us, that "sound of sheer silence" (1 Kgs 19:12), which tells us at the right moment the right thing to do. 

All that we need to do is first of all, be attentive: attentive to the Word that comes across to us. Have you had experiences of what they call 'the inkling' or 'a feeling' as they put it in simple words...as you are about to do something or take a simple decision, you get a feeling within...or you are about to close your room and get out and you feel a kind of reminder of something...but you just carry on with what you are doing...only later regret that you did not pay attention to what was flashing across in your mind? That is what it means... that we need to pay attention to that soft, gentle inner voice!

Secondly, be sincere: sincere to admit that we have received the word and to recognise the demands that it places. At times because of the demands that the Word places on us, we pretend not to have heard, or not to have understood the real meaning of the Word. It would serve no purpose and we in fact deceive ourselves by doing it. 

Thirdly, our task is to be diligent, in carrying out amidst all struggles, what the Word tells us. We are in no way equating that inner voice to God..all that we wish to see is how the Lord can use such a subtle thing to communicate to us. And should we not be grateful for it and be diligent in doing what we ought to?

The Gospel today assures us that when we do all the three we would be considered not merely disciples, but mother, brother, sister, in short, coheirs with Christ to the Reign of God. But when we stop short of them, we would be deceiving ourselves warns the letter of James (1:22). So, the right thing to do... we have always known it, within us!

The call to be One

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

September 21, 2020: Celebrating St. Matthew the Apostle

Ephesians 4: 1-7,11-13; Matthew 9: 9-13

One Lord, One faith, One baptism, One Spirit... Paul stacks up the meaning of the feast today, in describing his own wish for his children. Yes, every time we celebrate the feast of an apostle we are celebrating our call to be One! The division within the Church is because the sense of this Apostolic succession is lost somewhere, the link broken somewhere for those who deserted the lineage! 

That was an ecumenical point of view and important, of course. But more important is a socio-existential point of view of the Church today. The Feast of Matthew and the reminder from the scene of his call, give us this message with an enviable clarity: We are called to be One - are we?

How many categories we have created for ourselves to stand divided - denominations among churches, divisions within churches based on rites and languages and even caste - the worst of its kind! Churches sealed and communities shattered due to caste clashes and rites controversies - is that the Church that the Master wished for? Is that a Church at all? 

Matthew, when he was called, left everything on the table and followed Christ. A lot of things were at stake for him when he made that choice - he cannot turn back, he will have people on his back, he will have to answer so many people, he will be criticised by many, he will be branded by the world as 'out of his mind', he would be going behind a person about whom he can only pretend to know until the person himself reveals with clarity - how many things against that choice that he made! But still he made that choice - to leave everything and follow Christ. Leave everything, follow Christ and still hold on to the difference that some were fishermen and others household Jews over whom he had authority, the Roman authority given him, the authority to extort taxes... sounds so imbecile, doesn't it?

That is how it sounds when some one claims he or she is a follower of Christ and still holds on to divisions, stratifications and classifications, superiority over another, tolerating imposition of inferiority...how infantile and illogical of us! 

The question is, can I today, leave everything, everything - my desires, my identities, my attachments, my clingings, my holdings, my support system...everything! Can I leave them all, and follow Him, to become one with him and one with my brothers and sisters in him?

O LORD! I SEEK!

Seeking today and seeking with hope!

September 20, 2020: 25th Sunday in Ordinary time

Isaiah 55: 6-9; Philippians 1: 20c-24, 27a; Matthew 20: 1-16a

It is your face O Lord that I seek, prays the Psalmist (cf 27:8). Seeking the face of the Lord is the sweet task given to a lover of the Lord. But the Lord declares, I have not told you to seek me in vain, as if I were absent from you! The Lord is always with us and the Lord's countenance sheds its light upon us and that is the joy of our Christian living. But on our part we need to seek, not because the Lord hides, but we hide from the Lord. Adam and Eve, hid themselves and the Lord had to seek; Abel was eliminated and the Lord had to seek; that is the kind of God we have - the one who seeks! On our part are we open to the Lord? With this opening question, let us listen to what the Word has to tell us this Sunday. 

Seek the Lord, says the Word today. We are called to seek the Lord, seek the Lord above all else! Lord awaits to shine forth on us, however it is the need of ours to seek. St. Paul tells us in the second reading today, it becomes even a longing to end this existence on earth so that one could get to the Lord, that we may behold the face of the Lord! But it is not ours to decide, we are expected to live our earthly sojourn as long as the Lord wills it for us; but even within this sojourn the Lord will enable us to behold the Lord's face, if we seek it.

This seeking is not about merely searching, it is longing, it is yearning, it is getting in love it the face of the Lord, never leaving the presence of the Lord, wishing to have the Lord with us all the while in our daily life, never leaving the side of the Lord come what may... it is there that the problems crop up. We get too busy to seek the Lord, too occupied with other things to think of the Lord, too attached to so many things, persons and ideas to give the Lord the highest of priorities in life, too flimsy in our seeking of the Lord that any simple distraction on the way can take us away, like the insects picked by a flying bird! Are we seeking the Lord's face?

Seek the Lord, today! says the first reading and the Gospel parable too. The urgency of seeking the Lord is expressed so well and so plainly by Isaiah, when he urges that we seek the Lord while there is still time! Instead of just standing around and staring at things that will do no good, and focusing on elements that would lead us no where, it is important that we seek the Lord and seek the Lord today, here and now! It is a call to make a choice, to make up our minds, to discern our ways and set on a determined seeking!

The today we just heard is the most demanding part of the exercise! Yes we are ready to seek the Lord's face, but at a later phase in life, definitely not today! There could be three reasons in our minds to justify this: first, that there are more important things to do and it is a waste of time seeking the face of the Lord when there are things that I have to get going with; second, that it looks so outdated to do that, to speak of things that pertain to God and spiritual life and stuffs like that (as the youth lingo goes); third, that it is anyway a futile exercise because finally it is we who have to live our daily life here and now! Look at these reasons! Where is God in my priority list? What matters to me - pleasing the world around or really listening to the inner voice within me? Do I even imagine that I can do all things by myself? It is high time, TODAY, to just stop and ask myself: how long am I going to just stand and loiter around in my life...is it not time to get to work at the Lord's vineyard?

Seek the Lord with Hope, says the parable that Jesus presents. Don't worry even if you have wasted your time till now, make up your mind right now and seek the Lord with hope; do not think if the Lord will accept you or not. First of all, the Lord has not rejected you from the presence of the Lord in order that you need to wonder whether the Lord will accept you back. If at all you found a gap between the Lord and you, it was you who withdrew from the Lord and not the other way. Because the Lord's love is unconditional, and the Lord does not love us to the extent that we deserve it. If only the Lord were to calculate how deserving we are, how many of us can really stand before the Lord and claim the love of God for ourselves? "But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us"(Rom 5:8). 

That love with which the landowner gives the same wages to the first and the last, to those who slogged and those who just stepped in...that is very intriguing and apparently unjust in our logic. But that is what the Love's logic is all about - it does not calculate, it does not weigh the deserving and the non-deserving, it does not wait for an opportune moment to do good. This Love is the hope that Jesus gives us: at no point of time does God reject you! Let us repeat that as often as possible: at no point of time would God reject me! Anytime is good time to return to the Lord and enter his vineyard! Seek the Lord with Hope and you will definitely find the Lord seeking you out in the crowd, in the din and dark that you have created around yourself! 

The Lord is with me, the Lord lives with me, moves with me and sustains me! But it is up to me to seek that presence of the Lord, seek that grace of the Lord and seek that face of the Lord so that the light of God's countenance may illumine my daily life! Seek, Seek today, Seek with hope, and the Lord will find you!

Sowing, growing and what is in between...

 WORD 2day: Saturday, 24th week in Ordinary time

September 19, 2020: 1 Corinthians 15: 35-37, 42-49; Luke 8: 4-15

The Word today speaks of sowing and growing, and what goes on in between these - dying and being reborn! Dying and being reborn, is not merely an other-worldly experience as we immediately tend to think. It is a daily experience - think of the breathing process... every time we breathe out it is an experience of death (that is why it is called 'expiration' - breathing out) and every time we breathe in again, it is a new lease of life that we take in. Every night we go to rest, the entire system of our body comes to rest, it can either get to a halt or replenish itself - that is a daily miracle. Scientists say about 300 million cells die every minute in our bodies and equal numbers replace them! But with regard to our spiritual regeneration, how prepared are we to die and to be reborn?

The aspects of dying to ourselves and being reborn in Christ is a criterion for Christian living (cf. Rom 6). Many of us who claim to be followers, disciples and apostles of Christ, still refuse to die to certain tendencies, elements within our selves, which militate against the Spirit of the Lord who wants to dwell within us, for we are called to be the dwelling place of God, the temples of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 3:16, 6:19).

Of course, there are situations that are against our becoming totally the dwelling place of God: like the parched land or the scorching heat or the choking thorns. It could be a dry patch in life, or a difficult phase, or an intense suffering, or a repeated pounding of physical or spiritual pain. That is everyone's experience (of course, the intensity varies) and hence, cannot be ever a valid reason for our personal lack of commitment to belong to the Lord and for our lagging in efforts to grow closer to God. 

God has sown. God has called us and chosen us and appointed us, each in our own life and in our own context. What matters now is our personal commitment, perseverance, and loving decision to belong and to grow into the image and likeness of the One who has caused us and called us. What is in between sowing and growing is our effort, our commitment, our willingness to die and to be reborn!

The Resurrection Effect

WORD 2day: Friday, 24th week in Ordinary time

September 18, 2020: 1 Corinthians 15: 12-20; Luke 8: 1-3

The Word today points to an identity that is so fundamental to a follower of Christ - the Resurrection Effect! 

The first of all effects that Christ has on his followers is the Resurrection effect. It is a life filled with hope! If Christ were not raised from the dead, our faith would be in vain - declares St. Paul today. We are filled with a hope so great that nothing, not even death can take away the meaning of our life. Especially today when we are faced with a life threatening situation and a crisis that eats into our peace of mind and serenity, it is essential to reinforce this source of meaning in life. The pandemic experience can result in two extremes - one, looking at everything as meaningless and flimsy...that would be hopelessness; or, looking at everything with a sense of fear and trepidation... that would be overcrowding our minds with anxiety and nervousness. Both of these are, as said already, extremes. The point of serenity lies in hope - that is a resurrection effect. 

Secondly, we find today Jesus amidst the first community that he himself had initiated, the proto community, the seed that he planted - the Twelve, and some women! That is another resurrection effect - the fruit of rising above all the pettiness of the world, discarding the divisions, despising differences of gender or geography, and becoming one people! We are all baptised into the one Spirit - Jews or Greeks, free or slaves, we are all filled with the same Spirit, St. Paul would instruct (1 Cor 12:13). The resurrection effect is uniting, synthesising, harmonising and creating communion, and never division and discrimination. The capacity for communion and solidarity - that is another resurrection effect.

Today, let us look at our faith communities - it could be our family, our religious communities, or parish communities: is it one body? Is it united in the Risen Lord? Is it truly 'following' the Lord? Does it have the 'mind' of Christ? Are we really Resurrection Community, Resurrection people, with the Resurrection effect?

Humility and Gratitude - signs of a spiritual person

WORD 2day: Thursday, 24th week in Ordinary time

September 17, 2020: I Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 7: 36-50

By the grace of God I am what I am, declares St. Paul in today's first reading. That statement brings out two salient features of a truly Spiritual person. The first is Humility; the other quality which flows from it, Gratitude.

Humility is a sign that one knows oneself, understands oneself, places oneself in the right perspective and accepts what the Lord has called one towards. It is not abasing or belittling oneself - that would be a misunderstanding of the virtue. Humility is knowing who one really is, accepting it wholeheartedly and striving to grow into what one is called to be! Where does this clarity come from: from the very source of our being. Yes. humility is looking at oneself from the perspective of God, from the eyes of the One who made, who loved us into existence!

Gratitude is an inevitable quality if one really wishes to identify oneself as "spiritual". Because a grateful heart is a holy heart, and only a grateful heart can really be holy! At times we come across persons who call themselves 'spiritual' by their self-proclaimed status or by the role that they play in the common life of the society or by the others proclaiming them so - but as soon as they begin to speak, or as soon as they begin to act, there is so much of paradox! They boast of themselves, they come across arrogant and they despise everyone who is not in keeping with their views and opinions! Can these be really the 'spiritual' people that they claim to be? This arrogance and boasting actually comes from lack of gratitude, not acknowledging the fact that they have been raised to that position despite their unworthiness by God who is the Lord of history.

Looking at the woman who was forgiven in the Gospel today, we see that she was offered a totally new life and that made her so exuberantly grateful that she did not hesitate to express it through all means she thought would help. She was really a spiritual person, not those who sat around judging her! 

The episode of this woman, the example of St. Paul and the Word altogether today remind us of a crucial truth: a humble person is spiritual and a grateful person is holy.

Love is all what matters!

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 24th week in Ordinary time 

September 16, 2020: 1 Corinthians 12:33 - 13:13; Luke 7: 31-35 

Reflecting on the famous passage from the first reading today, one can be reminded of the saying from Buddha: in the end, only three things matter, how much you loved, how gently you lived and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you! Jesus had further simplified all this and said: Love one another as I have loved you; that alone matters! St. Paul understood his Master so well, and he centred his teaching on the hymn of love that he presents us with today. St. Augustine, who was a faithful follower of Pauline perspective of Christ, surely was not exaggerating when he said: love and do what you wish! Oh! what a lineage!

In fact, the only condition that Jesus places in sharing his identity with us was LOVE. We find that in Jn 13:35, when Jesus gives us an identity card - by this they will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. We know this very well, and we do not fail to understand it too. But we hardly live it, because we stop with knowing and understanding. When it comes to interpreting and practising, we have an altogether different logic of thinking - a logic that is opposed to that of Christ!

That is what Jesus is calling 'dancing to the tunes and crying to the dirges' of the world! Yes, at times we can be deceived by interpretations and cultural fads around us. Look at how today, love is considered a relative, emotional feeling. Is it truly a 'Christian' understanding of love? Christianly speaking love is not a deceptive concept...it is an absolute criterion; love is not a mere feeling, it is a commitment; love is not about pleasing and pleasure, it is all about giving and suffering for the other! That is why St.Paul so beautifully lists the characters of true 'Christian' love. 

Those traits the Word offers us today are fool proof ways of being a Christian. Pleasing others, dancing to tunes, earning name and fame... these actually should not matter. After all, for a true Christ-ian, love is all what matters!

Remembering the Mother of Sorrows

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

September 15, 2020: Remembering the sorrows of our Blessed Mother
Hebrews 5: 7-9; John 19: 25-27

A heart pierced with an arrow is a famous symbol today, a symbol very romantic. But there was a heart that was once told: one day a sword shall pierce you! And that heart remained patient and open, and bore that piercing for the sake of that one "yes" that was pronounced at the beginning of the string of those events.

The Mother of Sorrows is an icon that challenges us to understand the meaning of Christian living. As St. Paul would say, 'the reign of God is not a matter of food and drink, enjoyment and fun, a romantic feeling or a colourful happening'. It is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 14:17). Righteousness, requires a hunger and thirst for it (cf Mt 5:6); Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit consist of doing the will of the God, come what may. 

Following immediately the Exaltation of the Cross, the feast of today, establishes the truth that, in living a Christian life, there are a certain things clearly difficult and demanding. It requires an absolute choice to live a truly 'Christian' life  to the full. Mary was not merely the biological mother of Jesus, she was the first disciple who heard what Jesus said and put them into practice - thus becoming mother even by the definition that Jesus gave: those who hear my words and put them into practice, are my mothers, brothers and sisters. 

Mary made that choice and stuck to it right from the beginning and right up to the end and thanks to that choice, she had to undergo great traumas and odds. That is what we celebrate today. In fact, this humble but great person has shown us what it means to be a disciple of Christ, the Lord of the Cross! 

May our Blessed Mother, strengthen our spirits, increase our endurance and deepen our faith, to believe in the Lord, in and through our sufferings. 

Look up and be loved!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

September 14, 2020: The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

Numbers 21: 4b-9; John 3:13-17

We have today a beautiful remembrance, the celebration of the Christian symbol of Love: the Cross. The Cross is taken more often than not, as a symbol of suffering! Yes, it was a symbol of suffering, until the loving Lord took it into his embrace, on his shoulders and climbed on it to give his life for us...all this out of the limitless love he had for us! He changed its meaning and ever since, the cross has come to symbolise love, the unconditional, limitless and boundless love that the Lord has for us.

Hence the feast that we celebrate today gives us a fundamental lesson for living our daily life: Look Up to the Lord and Be Loved!

Look Up: 

At times we are lost in the troubles that we have, in the daily struggles and everyday chores; so lost in those that we have time only to murmur, to lament and to complain. We do not have the patience and the capacity to look up! Look Up, look beyond, look upon high and you will see the horizon that will give you hope. Our troubles are big, our concerns are challenging, but the horizon is there, the silver lining is there...we have to look up to notice that. Hope is the key to Christian way of life. 

Look to the Lord:

Let us look to the Lord; it is from the Lord that our help comes! The Psalms further insist: Look upto Him and be radiant (34:5). 'Looking Up' alone is not enough, we can be deceived or distracted or misled. Looking to the Lord is the key to Christian Problem Solving. Unless through the Son of God who has come down from heaven, no one can go to the Father who is in heaven, says the Gospel today. The real solutions to our problems lie in the hands of God: it is in looking to the Lord that we will have life, life in all its fullness. It is a call to refrain from telling the Lord that our problems are big; but a call to tell our problems that our Lord is big and mighty!

Be Loved:

The Lord is filled with love, a total self emptying love that does not count the cost! God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that we have eternal life. The Son so loved the world that he gave everything up, and showed his love in the total self-giving on the Cross. We are promised a measure of love that no human mind can comprehend, because it is eternal and limitless. Such is God's love for us, but nothing can be done if I keep myself away from it. When I claim that love, in total obedience and surrender unto the Lord, I feel loved! When I rebel and keep myself away, I prevent myself from experiencing that love which is so present all around me. The key is allowing myself to be loved by God, seeing myself as being loved by God, identifying myself as the beloved child of God. 

As we exalt the Cross today, as we sing praises to the One who is lifted high for our salvation, let us resolve to Look Up, to Look to Him and to Let ourselves be loved! 

A LESSON ON FORGIVENESS

Memory, Meaning and Matter-of-fact

September 13, 2020: 24th Sunday in Ordinary time

Ecclesiasticus 27:33 - 28:9; Romans 14: 7-9; Matthew 18: 21-35

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

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

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

Memory keeps our humility alive... at times we prefer to forget he past, the path we have tread to reach where we have, imagining as if we the most perfect persons and most justifiable people on earth. This lack of humility makes us arrogant and self righteous and we are quick to judge others, not to understand them and be compassionate to them. Just imagine the teachers who forget their behaviour when they themselves were students, or the senior officials who forget what grievances they had to their superiors when they were subordinates...when they forget that they become equally pain inflictors as the others were. Paulo Freire in his Pedagogy of the Oppressed would reflect on how the oppressed become oppressors when an opportunity presents itself, if they were not conscientious of their experience. Viktor Frankl would speak of those in the Nazi concentration camp who were put supervisors form among their own people, who proved more cruel than the Nazi authorities. These are unfortunate forgetfulness that lead to total disaster of one's personality.

We have to forgive because our present requires it from us. We are Christians, or so we call ourselves! If we are Christians but we do not live what Christ taught and lived for, then our life has no MEANING at all. The very Meaning of the life that we are living right now, comes from the fact that we take our name from Christ himself. If so, we need to live faithful to that name.Whether we live or die, we are for Christ, we are with Christ and we belong to Christ. Only this gives meaning to our existence, or death, or sufferings or every bit of our daily experiences. Without forgiving can we call ourselves Christians?

Just give a thought to this strange fact: it is easy at times to forgive people who are our enemies, people whom we know are against us, people who are far away from us. But it becomes so difficult to forgive our own close friends, at times spouses, or parents or siblings... those who are all the time with us, persons who enjoy a great part of our confidence. We even have a theory coined for it and justify saying it is alright to forgive enemies, but not the traitors! But can we really justify this tendency to deny forgiveness? Look at the model presented to us by Jesus in his own life - he not only forgave the Jews and Romans who killed him or the soldiers who treated him with contempt, but also the closest of his collaborators who turned against him or abandoned him acting indifferent towards him. Jesus forgave Peter's denial and made him the shepherd of His flock. He forgave the rest of them who deserted him and assured them they were his beloved apostles despite their failures. He forgave Thomas' stubbornness and gave him the proofs that he demanded. Only Judas had made a hasty move to eliminate himself - that is a queer case of not accepting forgiveness, and we need to dwell on it at length, may be in some other occasion! But the lesson is very clear, isn't it: if I need to live a meaningful life, here and now, I better learn to forgive.

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

Consider some well known images... of Nelson Mandela who remained in the prison for 27 years due to racism and when he stepped out he chose to forgive and work with the authorities towards abolition of apartheid... of Gladys Staines, the wife of the slain pastor Graham Staines who was killed with two of his sons and how the woman of God announced with firmness, I forgive those who killed my loved ones... of the family of Sr. Rani Maria who was stabbed to death and the assassin who is now a Christian because he was forgiven and accepted as one among them by the family... of Pope Saint John Paul II who forgave the one who attempted to assassinate him - Mehmet Ali Agca and how the latter came back after 31 years to Rome, to St. Peter's, to John Paul the II's tomb to pay his homage. He called the late pontiff, his 'Spiritual brother', and  uttered the words, "a thousand thanks, Saint!" and "Long Live Jesus Christ"!  

Look at all these images... what do they communicate... a lesson on forgiveness! Forgiveness gives peace of mind calming our memories, serenity at heart a true meaning to our lives, and becomes a matter of fact that we are Christia-ians! This is what the Lord wants to leave us today, as a lesson for our lives. And this lesson has to be lived on a daily basis, beginning right from where we are - our families, our parish communities, our religious communities, with the spouse, parents, children, siblings, neighbours...and every one we can think of or come in touch with every day! 

Let us take this lesson on Forgiveness, that the Word gives us today, to our heart and consider seriously practicing this teaching. If not, we would remain far from what we claim to be - that is, Christians! 

Differences, disputations and dialogues

WORD 2day: Saturday, 23rd week in Ordinary time

September 12, 2020: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22; Lk 6: 43-49

We live in a world of absolute pluralism today. Gone are those days when societies in Asia like India or many such were singled out for their pluralistic nature. Not just those, but almost every society, all over the world experiences a context and culture of pluralism. Everyone finds one's neighbour different - different in his or her creed or convictions or value systems. In this regard, there are those who appreciate this fact, and there are those who find it too difficult to manage - either due to its complexities or due to their own self centered motives. 

In such a situation, what should be a true Christian disposition? Can it be one of disputation, debate or delirious defense? The result would range from a kind of disrespectful cynicism to a hateful dissent. Are those fruits proper to a tree that is Christian? It if has to be called 'Christian', how can anything be its fruit other than love:  for by this they will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for each other.

If so, what would be the right disposition? Compromise? Relativism? An anything-is-ok mentality? No, Never, says St.Paul in today's first reading. Between Controversies and Compromise, there is something called Comprehension. That, that alone is the need of the hour today. An attitude of mature Dialogue.

What would be the use of talking so much about God as love and about Christ's teachings of a forgiving and forbearing love, if we do not begin to live it, wherever we are? Will we not be foolish builders, building our beach side castles? Let us form ourselves into solid buildings of enduring love and never failing faith, that we may teach the whole world the lifestyle of true love - that would consist of celebrating difference, handling disputations and growing towards genuine dialogue!

The need to be 'trained'

WORD 2day: Friday, 23rd week in Ordinary time

September 11, 2020: I Corinthians 9:16-19, 22b -27; Luke 6: 39-42.

The readings today insist on the need to be trained in being an apostle. 

We are all apostles; each of us, by virtue of our baptism. That call is not merely a privilege, it is an obligation too, a duty and a demand placed on me. Considering it merely a matter of boast leads to some unfortunate developments within the faith community, situations such as infighting, ego clashes, jealousy, unchristian 'politricks'...and other demonic tendencies. The Gospel calls those with these tendencies: blind leading the blind and both into the pit! 

Instead, taking the call seriously leads one to a fuller realisation of the gift that it is and of the demands it places. One of the important demands is to be trained! Both St.Paul and Jesus, today speak of this training. This apprenticeship of life and life style is a task, not merely of the intellect or the skill-set... it is a matter of holistic shaping. 

It would consist of fundamentally three things: first, humble acceptance of the call to be an apostle. This would mean a balance between a boastful claim of the status of an apostle and a unwarranted debasing of oneself based on the human frailties that are common to all. 

The second need is, attentive listening to the Word that comes to us. This would mean keeping one's eyes and ears open to observe every bit of what the Lord wants to communicate through events, persons and extraordinary signs. Once we lose them, we cannot be truly messengers of the Lord, that is apostles. 

The third is, a diligent practice of the Word that is heard, seen and experienced. Hearing and not acting is lying, St. James would say. And Jesus would compare that to building your home on a loose sand - your fall from glory will be too soon, and too grave.

Falling short of these three steps in our training, would make us either arrogant bigwigs or pretentious bullies but never trained disciples and apostles. Hence the need to be trained is precisely for this singular purpose: to gradually grow into the image of the Master, who has called us! 

The crux of Christian living

WORD 2day: Thursday, 23rd week in Ordinary time

September 10, 2020: 1 Corinthians 8: 1b-7, 11-13; Luke 6: 27-38

The Word today has a practical summary for Christian living; it offers for our consideration and reflection, the crux of being a true Christ-ian: LOVE, love in all its concrete sense. In fact in the context of the first letter to the Corinthians, that we are reading these days, St. Paul is slowly building up and drawing the attention of the followers of Christ towards the presentation of the all important hymn of love, which he will do in a few chapters from here. 

Christian life has to be defined by love: love understood as sensitivity towards the weak and vulnerable; love understood as the compassion towards the needy and suffering; love understood as a non judgmental acceptance of the other; love understood as giving without counting; love understood as going an extra mile; love understood as forgiveness and love understood as relationship shared in the One God, the One Father and Mother of all. 

At times it might look very simplistic to propose love as the solution for all problems in life, but giving a serious thought to it, everything boils down to that. Love is the only answer to all problems in life, in the world and in the whole of existence. Just as in this week's general audience, the Wednesday Catechesis, the Holy Father reiterated love as the solution to all problems in the world today: be they political or international or even that of the pandemic... finding solution in solidarity! 

True love (let us not forget, only what is true, is love)... true love alone can set the world back to its perfect mode of happiness and meaning. Anything else can  find only pseudo remedies and temporary face-lifts. It is love and love alone that can offer true salvation to humankind - this is the message we as followers of Christ are called to live in our daily life, because truly, the crux of Christian living is nothing other than true love!

Never lose the Focus

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 23rd week in Ordinary time

September 9, 2020: 1 Corinthians 7: 25-31: Luke 6: 20-26

The early christian community in fact expected that they would see Jesus around, in his second coming already in their time... they were preparing for it intensely. The moment they began to realise it was getting delayed, they began to grow lax in their life of virtues! They thought, after all, it may take a lot of time... just as the waiting for the Messiah the first time took so long. 

It is in this context that Paul writes to them...about celibacy, purity and single minded dedication to the Lord. His call, in simple terms was: never lose focus, for everything will come to pass in no time! The 'long' time that you think of is very relative! But that does not in anyway exempt you from your personal life time, life choices and life tasks!

The second coming may be at an appointed time which the Lord alone knows and we wait for it, with patience and focus. But, if we believe that the second coming is a moment of judgement, that moment is here and now... for our choices every moment determine the judgement that is going to be! Every time I choose something or avoid something, I am bringing upon me a judgement by myself. That is what Jesus tells us in the Gospel: I make myself blessed or unfortunate! I need to be informed, alert and categorical about my choices - they determine what I will be judged to be. 

The crux is that I never lose the focus, even as I am involved in hectic activity! Never lose the Focus!

Happy Birthday Mamma!!!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

September 8, 2020: Celebrating the Nativity of our Blessed Mother

Micah 5:1-4a; Matthew 1:1-23

The readings chosen for the day do not speak to us directly of Mary... but they have a truth which our Blessed Mother teaches us very strongly. The truth is that of the choice that God has made of us! As St.Paul would say writing to the Ephesians, God chose us in  Christ before the foundations of the world (Eph 1:4).

The Birth of Mary signals in  utter silence the beginning of the climax of God's plan of salvation, which has been unfolding right through the entire history of humanity until then, and even now! No one knew when this girl was born, that she was destined to be that woman of whom the Son of God will be born in the fullness of time. In the fullness of time God sent God's Son, born of a woman (Gal 4:4).

That is the mystery we are. We enshrine within ourselves a marvellous design which we ourselves are not aware of. Mother Mary is a splendid example for us to learn from. From eternity God has chosen us for a particular purpose and each of us has to discern that purpose. One of the most needed and most demanding dispositions with regard to discernment of this eternal purpose of our lives is openness to God leading to a childlike docility! That is what we see in Mother Mary - a Mother who teaches us how to be worthy children of God. 

Today as we sing a happy birthday to her, our Blessed Mother will sing to the glory of the Lord for the great things God has done to her. The same things God continues to do for us and wants to do more, and here our readiness to surrender and our capacity to ponder in silence are those which truly matter.