The Godless and the Thoughtless!

THE WORD IN LENT

Friday, 4th week in Lent - April 1, 2022
Wisdom 2:1,12-22; John 7: 1-2, 10, 25-30

Enduring all odds is a necessary quality for a servant of God. If only a person wants to remain faithful to what the Lord has called him or her for, the person has to grow tough from within. One cannot allow something to affect him or her so easily, if the person wants to go all the way with one's vocation, the call to be a minister of God, or a person of God, or simply to be a child of God.

Endurance means the capacity to dedicate oneself for a cause and to stand by that cause come what may. Here we are speaking of the Lord's chosen ones and their capacity for total dedication. There are two types of situations that can make one lose one's endurance: the opposition of the Godless and the indifference of the thoughtless.

The Godless interpret everything that you do in their own sense and malign your name and whatever you are upto. The first reading says, their malice makes them blind to anything that is godly. They are those who confuse the everyday failures of the human beings with the eternal nature of God... they cannot look beyond what is happening here and now and they get lost in making their present moment as pleasing to themselves as possible, that they lose a holsitic vision of life. 

The thoughtless are the so called 'religiously diligent' people but who are lost in their own world, who wish that everyone fits into their framework of understanding; they try to fit even God into their own framekwork. Jesus is struggling against these in the Gospel today.

We may be faced with the Godless who oppose us, malign us, persecute us...are we going to give up being messengers of the Lord? We may be surrounded by the self righteous lot who find fault merely because we do not fit into their frameworks...are we going to lose heart? If we are broken because of these experiences, that would be a fragrant offering we can give the Lord but we need to endure! The worst of everything is if we ourselves fall into one of the two categories - the godless or the thoughtless. Let us beware! Let nothing disturb us and let us never be weary of doing good (2 Thes 3:13).

Testimonies through endurance and faithfulness

THE WORD IN LENT 

Thursday, 4th week in Lent - March 31, 2022
Exodus 32: 7-14; John 5: 31-47

The Gospel today is a very dense passage where Jesus speaks of his testimonies to himself and to God who has sent him. In the extensive discourse, what he wants to highlight is that we know, we understand, we come to believe, but we fail to stand firm for long on these counts. A bit of a trouble, or a small delay in favours, or an untoward incident that breaks our plans, or an unexpected turn of events that gets us into crisis, take us away from God in no time. We see people going away from God, denying God, or creating their own gods when things do not go the way that they wanted.

The call is to be testimonies to the Lord and to what the Lord wants to accomplish in and through us. The recent events between Russia and Ukraine are disturbing but in those we have great tales of endurance and testimony. 

How ready and willing are we to hold on to what God wants from us? How daring are we to stand for what is Godly, instead of what is most convenient? The loud and clear critique of the Holy Father against the war and its justifications, is a strong message to the world, not to be wavering in our standing by the Lord. However faithful and merciful the Lord is, we find ourselves wanting in our fidelity to what is really good and what is truly from God. 

The Word today inspires a few other questions: how enduring are we in our commitment to the Lord? How prepared are we to hold on, in the face of struggles? How forgetful are we about the great things that the Lord has done for us all through our lives? How persevering are we to wait for the wonders that the Lord has in store for us!

The call is to believe in the Lord and to check how much our thoughts and words bear testimony to the Lord, the Lord who is forever faithful!

The Word Judges

THE WORD IN LENT

Wednesday, 4th week in Lent - March 30, 2022
Isaiah 49: 8-15; John 5: 17-30

We know God is merciful, but mercy is not devoid of justice; it is infact the perfection of justice! Hence Mercy cannot become an escapism on my part. Can I deceive the Lord who knows me through and through? Can I escape from the Word which cuts through right till it divides the soul from the spirit and the joints from the marrow?

God's mercy is there for the taking! Yes, it is freely given without any conditions, but I should be in a position to make it my own, and that responsibility is upon me. The Word today points to us how the Lord is so enthusiastic about saving us and intervening into our lives for our wholeness, at the right and the appointed time. It also adds, that we will be judged on the degree of our diligence in this regard, our diligence of cooperating with God merciful will.

How readily do we turn to God in times of tests? How early do we spot ourselves straying away from the path? How mindful are we about what we are called to do, in order to prevent unnecessary developments in life? As a way to keep ourselves from going astray Don Bosco would often say, do what you are supposed to be doing with a sense of diligence and that will take you steadily on your way towards sanctity.

Realsing that I am called, knowing what I am expected to do, understanding the purpose behind the calling and being diligent in carrying out God's will for me at every single moment... that is the way we live as the people of the Word, because it is the Word who judges us!

Living waters flow on

THE WORD IN LENT

Tuesday, 4th week in Lent: March 29, 2022

Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12; John 5: 1-3a,5-6

We have a wonderful imagery today to ponder over: the flowing water that enlivens! Ezekiel speaks of it and John presents it; Ezekiel underlines the presence of the flowing water by the Temple while John points out the very presence of Christ as the life giving spring!

For that man who had been waiting for years to get into that life giving water, the fact that Jesus approached him was like the waters came to him, instead of he going to the waters. But it is not all that comfortable, when the waters really flow! That is why Jesus asks him that question: do you want to be well again?

We may think it is a dumb question to ask - but it matters! What if the man was comfortable drawing pity from the others? What if the man gained much more than what he could have with his limbs alright? Hence, the need for Jesus to ask him, if he really wanted to be healed! It is our choice to be healed, to be well, to be wholesome!

We may blame people around, the situation around, the events and experiences, and remain in self pity! That will never lead us to wellness, health or wholeness. If we really want to live our life to the full, we need to receive the flowing grace willingly. It might require of us certain changes...which may not be comfortable - the man was asked to pick up his mat and walk... all this while people were carrying him around! Are we prepared for the inconveniences of grace?

The Lord reaches out to us, flows into our lives to enliven us and Jesus invites us to become the waters (or the sources) that enliven people around us, that we reach out to others and flow into their lives, enlivening them! If we have the living waters within us, that is the bountiful grace of God within us, we will flow on... because living waters, forever, flow on!

Yielding to Grace

THE WORD IN LENT 

Monday, 4th week in Lent - March 28, 2022
Isaiah 65: 17-21; John 4: 43-54

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

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

When I am ready to allow Grace to operate in Lord's terms, it means I have total confidence in the Lord, and I am not using the Lord as a standby. It is a sign that I have surrendered to the way God has planned things for me, not stubborn that what I think has to happen and in the way that I want it to happen. Above all, it very clearly expresses the fact that I am nothing in front of the Lord who is omniscient and omnipotent, apart from being someOne totally in love with me. 

Yes, Yielding requires three major qualities of Faith: Confidence, Surrender and Humility. It is to say wholeheartedly : 'God is in-charge!" The best prayer is what the Lord himself has taught us: Your will be done! That is yielding to Grace.

THE CALL TO CELEBRATE

Realise, Return and Rejoice!

Fourth Sunday in Lent - March 27, 2022

Joshua 5: 9-12; 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21; Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

Rejoice O Jerusalem and all who love her rejoice! Right at the entrance antiphon, the Liturgy today makes its central theme crystal clear – The call to Rejoice, because we have a promised land! From the desert to the mountain and the holy ground, we are called to fix our gaze on the promised land! It is a call to Celebrate, because we have the promised land, the grace of  returning to the Father’s house, the great gift of returning to the Mother’s heart of the Lord, to feel the sweet embrace of the forgiveness that God wishes to offer each one of us! 

Jesus narrates a beautiful story today, a parable par excellence that speaks to us of that house, that heart and that embrace... that promised land in the merciful presence of the Lord.

Our life of faith has to be a celebration, a perennial joy, a loving experience, a journey with our hand in the hands of God. What a joy to have a God who is so close to us, so close to us that the very moment we wish to return to God, we bounce right into God! From the call that we received last Sunday, the call to bear fruit, the whole week Jesus has been teaching us of the fruits that we have to bear – the fruit of communion, the fruit of forgiveness, the fruit of love, the fruit of humility and so on. When we take to heart the call, and embark on that journey, there would sure be moments of fall and failure. Jesus assures us today – the worst issue is not to fall, but the worst is not knowing that you have fallen.

The first step towards a true Christian life is the REALIZATION of who we are. With the life situations, the daily choices and commitments, it is possible that I forget who I am. The First reading today pictures to us God calling the people of Israel through Joshua, to realize who they were and all that God had done for them! That exactly is the first line of action that Jesus gives us today through the example of the younger son in the parable. We read that ‘he came to his senses’... that is, he finally realized who he was! Pope St. Leo the Great would say, "O Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God's own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God." The message is clear – to become aware of my dignity as a Christian and to remember who I am.

The second step is presented in the second reading, where St. Paul reminds us that God has reconciled to Godself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. It is infact an invitation to RETURN to God, reconciled to God, to our brothers and sisters in God. In doing that we become new creatures; in returning to God we become newly born. Jesus recounts the father in the parable as saying about the younger son who had returned to the father, that he was dead and he is come alive, that he was lost and is now found! So, the call is to return to God. If we truly realize who we are, we cannot but return to God, because we cannot stay away from God. St. Agustine’s words, “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace” are words of beauty and wisdom which makes us understand that we are made for God and our hearts would always be restless, until they rest in God. Let us Return home, let us Return to the bosom of God. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the direct highway to the heart of the One who waits for us eagerly for ever right at the door post to spot us from far, to run to us and embrace us. James says that in such simple words – Come close to God, God will come close to you (Jam 4:8).

The Realisation and the Return to God create an atmosphere of joy that one cannot hide. That atmosphere is the state of life to which Jesus calls us today as the third line of action. “REJOICE in the Lord always, I repeat, Rejoice,” cries out St. Paul (Phil 4:4). Christian life is a celebration, a celebration of every moment, a celebration of every experience be it ordinary or extraordinary. In the parable Jesus speaks of two decisions that were made – the first one was, “I will arise and go to my Father”, a decision that leads to celebration, joy, happiness and rejoicing. The second decision was that of the Elder son – He was indignant and he refused to enter the house!

The Choice is ours dear friends! What decision would I want to make? To arise and go to God and thus run towards a Celebration or become angry, upset, unforgiving, unloving, grumpy, jealous, and cold towards my brothers and sisters and refuse to enter the house, thus remaining in sadness and grief. Let us pay heed to the call, the call to Celebrate – to celebrate the love and the mercy of God, to celebrate our faith and celebrate our brothers and sisters in faith! 

With the younger son of the parable, let us arise, let us go to God and let us celebrate life in the Father’s house!

Being Spiritual: to love and to love more...

THE WORD IN LENT

Saturday, 3rd week in Lent - March 26, 2022

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

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

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

Being Spiritual means to understand within me what the Spirit wants of me and to lead my life in the Spirit's path. The Spirit of the Lord wants us to grow more and more loving and less and less judgmental. The Holy Father seems to be repeating this time and again! It is so difficult a teaching because we are so filled with self-love, to exaggerated levels and according to the trends of the world, nothing seems an exaggeration when it comes to self-love... what a disaster! We have totally misunderstood what it means to be human. 

Just imagine in this context, being spiritual! Being spiritual, or being persons of the Spirit, is to love and to love more and to love like the way God loves us!

The Maiden and the Salvation Plan

Instrument, Ideal and Icon!

March 25, 2022: Solemnity of Annunciation of the Lord
Isaiah 7: 10-14, 8:10; Hebrews 10: 4-10; Luke 1: 26-36 

Annunciation is the second exception given us in this lenten journey to celebrate, because this is a key commemoration in relation to the eternal plan of Salvation. To the question whether this is a Solemnity of the Lord or of Mary - we should say "both"! Though it is in fact a solemnity of the Lord (the annunciation of the birth of the Lord), it can well be an invitation to look at our Blessed Mother in the light of the Salvation Plan that the Lord had made for us from all eternity. 

Mary as an Instrument of Salvation - In her wholehearted and trusting 'yes', Mary entered into the special category of collaborators with the Lord in the plan of salvation for the entire humanity. To the extent that some theologians for ages have been claiming the title 'co-mediatrix', the role of Mary in the climax of the Salvific Plan of God, is unforgetable. She is chosen by the Father, as the Mother of God, a singular privilege that none can deny or negate! The invitation is that we give her the due recognition and love her with an immense gratitude for her obedient surrender to the Salvific plan of God. 

Mary as the Ideal of Salvation - In her distinctive and characteristic relationship with her Son, Mary has become a model, an ideal of those who are saved by the Son of God. Mary is certainly the first fruit of the Salvation that Jesus the Christ brought to us human beings. In her assumption we see a great model that she sets, the ideal that she presents, as to what salvation does to us - the rising to incorruptibility! She has been our forerunner in obtaining the fruits of the salvation, in and through Jesus Christ, and passing it on to us, his brothers and sisters. The invitation therefore is to imitate her, in following her Son, as she herself became the most ardent disciple and apostle of her Son. 

Mary as the Icon of the Saved humankind - In her total submission to the Holy Spirit, our Blessed Mother has played to precision her role, not only as the biological mother of the Saviour, but also as someone who heard the Word, beheld the Word within her and lived the Word in her daily life. She not only brought forth the Word into the world, but also lived by the Word all the time that she was in the world. She is given to us in the Holy Spirit, as our intercessor, who can teach us to pray and take our prayers to the presence of the Lord! She is the handmaiden of the Spirit and remains an icon for the entire humankind, assuring every one the salvation that was brought to the world by her Son. 

Let our prayer today be: Mary our Mother, in your humble submission to the Will of God, you brought us Salvation; grant that we may dare to submit to God's will that we be enjoy our salvation, and be instruments of that salvation to all those around us, and to the entire world. Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 

Taking goodness for granted!

THE WORD IN LENT 

Thursday, 3rd week in Lent: March 24, 2022
Jeremiah 7: 23-28; Luke 11: 14-23

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

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

At times in our priorities and choices, we relegate the aspect of staying worthy of the Lord's mercies to such a despicable position that we go far far away from God and have our own existence, independent of God. The fact is that we cannot go too far, for wherever we go, the Lord is with us. Yet, we take that presence, that love and that mercy for granted. Such a painful experience of rejection, that we give the Lord. 

Is this not what the Lord shared already through Hosea (in chapter 11), 'the more I called them, the more they went from me'; 'my people are bent on turning away from me'...what an expression of pain from the Lord! This is what happens with us when we take the goodness of the Lord for granted. We not only reject the goodness from the Lord, but we also place ourselves in a position where we run the danger of ruining our entire existence and its purpose, in our obstinacy and arrogance. And finally we do all we can to blame it on the Lord, saying the Lord punished me or the Lord took his anger out on someone!

One who is not with me is against me, the Lord reminds us. One who does not recognise the goodness of the Lord rejects it and keeps oneself away from it. Let us not harden our hearts!

Walking in the path laid out...

THE WORD IN LENT

Wednesday, 3rd week in Lent - March 23, 2022

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

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

There are times when the way shown agrees with my wishes and I am enthusiastic about it. But when the way shown does not agree with my whims and fancies, I begin to whine and complain! How childish of me! However, that is the reality, and I need to be aware of this tendency of mine, interpreting everything to my convenience and justifying all my negligences with reasons and excuses. 

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

It is in obeying the Lord that I find the fullness of my life, my life is from the Lord and its purpose is known to no one better than the Lord.

A holy heart is a grateful heart!

THE WORD IN LENT

Tuesday, 3rd week in Lent - March 22, 2022

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

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

The parable that Jesus narrates today is a such a beautiful depiction of how we behave at times: receiving in such abundance but so calculative while giving! The man was forgiven an amount that was equal to 15 years wages while he refused to forgive one day's wages someone owed! What a contrast that Jesus presents here... Be mindful of how good the Lord is to you and your goodness will be automatically increase. 

In the first reading we see a cry for help to the Lord but even in that dire situation we do not see or feel any desperation on the part of the one who is making the invocation. There is only trust that stands out. That is a heart that was so mindful of all the good that the Lord had done till then. 

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

The Naman Challenge!

THE WORD IN LENT

Monday, 3rd week of Lent - March 21, 2022

2 Kings 5: 1-15; Luke 4:24-30

The age of social media had familiarised us to a culture of challenges... the kiki challenge, the ice-bucket challenge, the 10 year challenge etc... are some which have become famaous of late. What do they intend...they propose a goal to achieve that ordinary seems difficult or ridiculous. They have nothing much to change the quality of life or make a person more enriched than before, unlike the true challenges that helps one to grow!

Today we have Jesus throwing a challenge at us: the Naman Challenge we could call it. The background information for the challenge is given to us by the first reading which speaks to us of Naman, the commander from Syria who travelled all the way to Israel, crosssing over territories and tributaries...because he wanted to find the Prophet, who would heal in the name of the Lord.

The crux of the challenge lies here: to look at Naman who went all the way, without minding the distance and the effort because he heard from a slave girl that there is a prophet in Israel who has the gift from God, to heal him of his skin ailment. The longing for fullness of life drove Naman all that distance. The trust Naman had in the word of that slave girl, took him miles to meet the Servant of God. The deep seated desire of Naman to be cured, made him take up that tedious journey, which otherwise would have been needless and valueless. The challenge involved is: how desirous am I for a wholesome life; how much do I long for the life-giving touch of God? 

The challenge gets more intense, when Jesus underscores another distinct fact: Naman went in search of the man of God; whereas for you, the Son of God has come in search of you! The same is true with us - while it is a challenge to long for the Word of God, the challenge is more intense when the Word comes to us every day, and we are called to receive the Word, listen to the Word and transform our lives - everyday more pure and more holistic. Are we ready for the challenge, the Naman Challenge? 

TO BEAR FRUIT

Because we find ourselves on a holy ground!

Third Sunday in Lent - March 20, 2022

Exodus 3:1-8,13-15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6,10-12; Luke 13:1-9

During a summer, almost a decade ago, I was helping out in a parish in the south of Italy. The Parish Priest was out on his vacation. Those days I would spend time with a few elderly people who were very interested to discuss some issues on God, the Holy Bible and so on, after the morning Mass. Once in the group, a person asked me, does God have a name? I immediately said, "yes..Jesus Christ, the name above all names!" She immediately said,"No, what about God the Father...is there a name?" I cited to her the first reading that we have today, where God reveals God's name... I AM - the one who was, is and will always be for eternity. The elderly lady was so thrilled about it. She kept telling herself, God's name is I AM. when the parish priest returned and I was preparing to leave one of the following days...she told the Parish priest, "you know, God's name is I AM. I got to know from the guest priest!"  The Parish Priest was upset with me. He told me, "Did you tell them that! No, it is not right! That is Yahweh, the God of the Jews. Not ours!" I don't know how you would react... but I cannot forget the remark of that parish priest, 'that is the God of the Jews'... I did not want to pick a discussion with the parish priest, who was certainly not prepared for it, at that time.

'That is the God of the Jews', yes, and that is the God of Jesus Christ. That is the Father of Him who revealed to us in fullness, who God is. Today, as St. Paul tells the Corinthians, we all drink from that Rock, the Rock that gives us God to drink. He, the Rock, calls us today to recognise the real God, whom he came to reveal. In the Gospel today, to his disciples, he clarifies their age old concept of God - that God punishes, that God is wrathful, that God takes God's anger out on the people. Let us be clear, Jesus did not reveal a new God, a different God - but he revealed a different understanding of God, he revealed a new face of God, a face that was being smudged by all the legalism and ritualism of the time - the face of a God who loves unconditionally, who waits patiently, who gives innumerable chances, who however eagerly wants and desires to see you and me bear fruit.

That is the central message of the Liturgy of the Word today - the call to bear fruit. In the first week, we were called to choose God amidst the tests in the deserts of our life; the second week called us to climb the mountain and be transformed in order to belong to God. Today the Word challenges us to bear fruit, because we find ourselves on a holy ground. The Word outlines to us the way to bear fruit - a three point itinerary.

The first challenge is to RECOGNISE GOD - God who is present to us on a daily basis with the superabundance of love. This recognition consists of doing away with all misconceptions of God, not being swayed by the varied conspiracy theories of the New Age! It is to see God and feel God, to realise that we are on the holy ground! We have a treasure that not all are gifted to have - the revelation in Jesus Christ. But it is not for, in any way, judging others or looking down on others, but to recognise the presence of God in our day to day life.

The second challenge is to REMAIN IN GOD - to remain rooted onto the ground, to hold firm to the Father and Mother who has loved us into existence, to love the Son of God who has won us over with his sacrificing love, to listen and pay heed to the Holy Spirit who guides us every moment of our life. To be conscious that the ever surrounding presence of God, calls us to remain united in God, so that every situation of our life can be faced and encountered with that enlightening presence, that warns us of the weaknesses, failures and tendencies to go away from the Lord, and become lifeless, barren and dry.

The third challenge is to constantly RENEW OURSELVES - to renew ourselves constantly towards that dynamic existence that God is. It consists of not only understanding God and recognising God, but understand who we are and what we are called to, in the light of our recognition of God. It is a reminder to constantly verify if we are journeying on the way that leads to where God has called us to be, that state of life where we bear fruit, fruits that will last. We can have no excuses for not bearing the right fruits, because we are on a holy ground - wherever we are is a holy ground, because God surrounds us constantly. However, tough the situation is, God's people bear fruits, fruits that last!

It is logical that if we do not recognise God, we cannot remain in God. And, if we do not remain in God, we cannot bear fruit - for Jesus tells us clearly "without me you can do nothing." If someone raises a doubt, if God will cut us off if we do not bear fruit... the same logic applies: that if we do not bear fruit, it is because we are not in God; if we are not in God, we will wither away by ourselves and there is no alternative! That is why St. Paul urges us today, "if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!"

Let us accept the call of the Word today, recognising God in our daily life, remaining in God every moment and renewing ourselves constantly, to bear fruit, fruit that will last.

St. Joseph - a Saint for our times!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Solemnity of St. Joseph: March 19, 2022
2 Sam 7: 4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22; Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a.

There are a few things that we can observe and admire in Saint Joseph, and above all propose for the world torn today due to egoism and arrogance.

The first is the fact that he was an example of a person who was never dominated by his ego. If he were egoistic, he would have denounced the girl whom he was to marry, when he found her pregnant. If he were egoistic, he would have thrown the dreams and the visions that God gave and done what he willed. The very fact that we do not hear anything in particular about Joseph in the Gospels is already an evidence to the fact that he lived his life without any attachment to his ego.

The second admirable aspect is the quality of listening... when Mary narrated the visit of angel Gabriel he listened, when the angel came and delivered him the message he listened, when the boy Jesus spoke in the temple, his mother questioned him, but Joseph listened!

The World today is in need of these two qualities... to live without egoism and to be ready to listen to the other! Imagine if today the world possessed these two qualities... why should they try to prove their power over the other and for that kill thousands of innocents and affect the well being of so many for decades to come! Imagine if today these two qualities reigned in Christian families and religious communities, what a witness of the Reign of God that would be! Imagine if these two qualities were found in today's individuals, specially individual political leaders who are out of their minds today and international agencies which are stagerring in their choices and priorities, what a world of peace we would create.

Let us imitate St. Joseph in these two qualities - the Spirituality of a Egoless personality and that of a Listening Mentality. Pushing our Ego aside, lending a listening ear to God and to God's people, let’s walk together as people of God, let’s build together the Church of God and let’s profess our faith, loud and clear through our everyday life, with the inspiration and intercession of St. Joseph, a saint for our times.

Truth and the Reign

THE WORD IN LENT

Friday, 2nd week in Lent: March 18, 2022

Genesis 37:3-4,12-13, 17-28; Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-56

People of the Reign can be judged with their relation to the Truth. Truth shall set you free, the Lord said, and it is Truth that shall set you up as a person of the Reign or otherwise! We can have only two dispositions to Truth - one, for it and the other against it. There are no other dispositions in between! There is no neutrality when it comes to Truth; we know well which side we belong to! No one else needs to judge us. 

Look at the episode of Joseph in the first reading - who is more culpable in his regard: those who said, come on let us kill him, or those who wanted to sell him away and not do any harm to him or Rueben who wanted to save him later but remained silent all through what happened to him? Today, regarding the political crisis that is going on in Ukrain, how many of us have taken such stands - some standing with the bloodshed, some trying to see what are our losses and gains in this event, and others standing as by standers hoping for some miraculous way to intervene! Truth hurts - we are either on the side of Truth or against it!

When we are with the Truth we are people of the Reign, and if we are not ready to take the stand for the Truth, we are against it and we cannot be people of the Reign; the Reign that has been entrusted to us as baptised children of God, shall be stripped from our hands and given to those who are more compassionate, more committed to Truth and pure in heart - with no compromises and no fake neutralities. 

When someone, or something, makes us aware of the fact that we are full of compromises and we are truly not for Truth, we still try to silence those facts, oppress those voices, suppress those opinions and eliminate those persons! But let us remember, the stone rejected by the builders shall become the keystone and the Reign shall certainly be built - and we shall be the least there, if we do not stand by Truth. 

Where is the meaning of my life?

THE WORD IN LENT

Thursday, 2nd week in Lent - March 17, 2022

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

Where lies the meaning of my life? The society today, the culture today, would easily answer that question. In your social status, in your educational qualification, in the position you hold, in the role you play in your context...and above all, in the money that you have and the riches you possess! Is it not this, that we inculcate in the minds of our younger generation - we insist so much on educational qualifications; we absolutise career; we idolise comfort and riches... do we insist to the same level, on our relationship with God, our faith life and our life in communion with each other? Is it not already an indication, as to where we have hidden the secret of the meaning of our life?

No wonder, humanity is on the run looking for comfort and pleasure, riches and treasure, position and status, popularity and public honour... there are those who are ready to do anything for these and similar goals set by the standards of the world. In the meantime, we not only miss, but trample on so many things: love, compassion, peace, serenity, relationship, sensitivity to the other, respect for the other, ability to reach out to those in need, the possibility of creating a situation of peace and harmony! This run never ends, until the very lives end. If at all this run is abrupty stopped by some mishap, the person suddenly wakes up to the reality of nothingness and meaninglessness! That is life today, in a gist.

For those who have grown with the right perspectives in life - first things first: with God, faith and the original elements of our existential selves - things seem so different in comparison to the hectic and tumultous life of the majority. But the sad part is, that these who have had the right perspectives are made to suffer, feel so bad for their right choices! But do not worry... the Word says... you are like the tree by the waterside, and one day you will bear that fruit that you are called to. All that I need to be mindful today is this question: where really is the meaning of my life?

The logic of the Reign

THE WORD IN LENT

Wednesday, 2nd week in Lent - March 16, 2022

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

However simplistic it may appear, we cannot but contrast between the two logics that are at play in the Word today. One is the logic of the world, which wants everything in its own terms, everything under control and everything serving oneself. All that we do, whether we do it as a competence to be remunerated or a service rendered to the society, has to bring its dividends according to the logic of the world. If I did something, however small it could be, for the society, I need to have its recompense by all means! This is what the society holds and justifies - and it seems in all ways logical.

The logic of the Reing, however, is strangely different: I do everything for the othres; there may not be any recompense, rather sometimes I may be taken to task for the good that I have done; sometimes I may be punished for the sacrifices that I make for the sake of the others; I may give all the time, and all that I have, for others and finally end up with nothing but a load of criticism and opposition... yet I need to go on doing that good. That is the logic of the Reign.

Jesus had a tough time making the disciples understand it, nothing to blame them if we cannot understand it after all that has happened with the coming of Jesus and two millennia after! We still feel more comfortable with the logic of the world which says: get and forget, than with the logic of the Reign which says: give and forgive! The logic of the world says, control and dominate, while the logic of Reign says love and serve! 

It would be opportune to ask ourselves in the depth of our hearts: which logic does dominate in our hearts and in our lives - that of the world or that of the Reign. If the logic of the Reign rules my heart, I will see Reign flowering wherever I am. 

Word, life and practice

THE WORD IN LENT

Tuesday, 2nd week in Lent: March 15, 2022

Isaiah 1: 10, 16-20; Matthew 23: 1-12

What is the use of the Word, if it does not touch me? What is the purpose of all the pious practices if they do not change my life, ever for the better? What is the need in praising God and worshipping God, when we do not intend to live our lives according to the Word of the Lord? The Word of God keeps inundating our lives every day in so many ways, but if there are no effects seen in concrete, what purpose do they really serve?

The Lord today is very clear in telling us - there is only one thing that is needed in life as children of God - that we take to heart the Word of God and change our lives accordingly. There is no merit in becoming great professionals in preaching, nor ardent disciples in following a master! What matters is the Word, the Word from the Lord and living according it... the Word alone shall matter. 

Our judgement would not come on the basis of which camp we belonged to: whether we were of the charismatic fold or the contemplative type, whether we were celebrating in the old rite or in the new rite, whether we are conservatives or progressives - nothing matters, absoluetly nothing of this matters! What matters is the Word, the way the Word touches my life and the way I dedicate myself on a daily basis to the practice of what the Lord teaches us through the Word daily. 

It is not in the titles we annex to ourselves that we show ourselves to be great; neither is it in the positions we hold as a demonstration of our capabilities. It is in the level to which we allow the Word to affect our daily lives and our concrete practices, that we are judged as belonging to God or not, and that is all that matters.

What am I doing to myself!

THE WORD IN LENT

Monday, Second week in Lent - March 14, 2022

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

God favours the poor; God has not favoured these people; these are some statements we make in our limited capacity as human persons to express what God is and how God relates with us human persons! Because, as Jesus reveals to us - the perfection of God consists in the unconditional and impartial love that characterises God. Then is it wrong to say, God favours the poor or the humble or the weak?

No! It cannot be wrong, provided it is interpreted and understood right. It is not that God takes a side or favours someone, but some one by being poor, by being humble and being vulnerable, places himself or herself in a better position to experience the favours of God, the goodness of God and the protecting help of God. It is natural and logical, isnt it? That, one who is rich or powerful, is so taken up with oneself, that he or she has no space for God in life; naturally depends on oneself and not on God. 

The same logic is true about those who do good to others, or those who judge others and those who are calculative with others. They are accordingly disposed to either the goodness of the Lord or a judgement from the Master. Hence apart from the question, as to what am I doing to the other - giving them, loving them or judging them, there is yet another pertinent question one could post to oneself! That is, what am I doing to myself!

In our stubbornness not to forgive others, in my hardheartedness of hesitating to do good to others, in my arrogance of judging others, I need to really take care of one thing: what am I doing to myself?

TO BE TRANSFIGURED

From the desert to the mountain

Second Sunday in Lent - March 13, 2022

Genesis 15: 5-12,17-18; Philippians 3:17 - 4:1; Luke 9: 28-36

We found ourselves with the Lord in the desert last Sunday, and this Sunday we find ourselves with him on the mountain! From the desert to the mountain, is a journey that the Lord invites us to make, in this season of lent. It is a journey of constant and continued growth, an experience of unswerving commitment to maturity. The moment of transfiguration amidst the experience of the lent, is not merely an element of hope, but also a reminder of our strength and a challenge towards our efforts. 

First of all, let us behold the call to be transfigured - it is a project proper to the season of lent, but not just that. It is a life project given to each of us disciples of Christ. To be transfigured, not just at the end of our lives, but in and through our lives; yes, in our life and through our life. Once we behold the call to be transfigured, we are left restless, with a few questions. Can we be really transfigured? How can we be transfigured? And what do we do, here and now? We have an orientation to respond to these questions, in the Word today. 

The Final transfiguration - the element of hope: our Communion. 

This is the universal call; the promise of the Lord. Every being created has to be reconciled to God and it shall be so! In a very special manner, the beings created in the image and likeness of God have the call and the privilege to enter into a communion that is eternal and transcendental with the Creator, in Christ. This is what St. Paul affirms in the second reading, Christ will transfigure these wretched selves of ours into transfigured bodies into the Lord. He will reconcile us to God through his blood (Col 1:20) and that is a perfect communion that we await, a communion that would reflect the communion between Christ and the Father. 

That is the final transfiguration, the ultimate transfiguration. It is a promise, a hope that we have in being related to Christ. Anyone who listens to me, believes in the one who sent me, and shall have eternal life, said Jesus. That is the promise, to be transfigured, to be transported from this desert of our earthly life to the mountain of the glorious life in communion with the loving Father and Mother, God our Creator.

The Interim transfiguration - the unfailing strength: the Covenant.

This is the element of help; our help that comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth, who made us  and who calls us to that mountain of perfect communion. It is a covenant that the Lord has made with us, to be our Lord forever, especially in our experience of the desert, in our earthly trials and temptations, in our moments of weakness and sinfulness. The Lord is there and we need never to doubt it. When Abraham (still Abram) is asked to count the stars in the sky, he is made to realise that even if it were difficult to understand, we have to believe in the promise of the Lord, trust in the presence of the Lord and take refuge in the protection of the Lord. 

This is the experience of the interim transfiguration, the experiences of our trials changing into moments of growth, our temptations changing into experiences of self realisation, our moments of suffering changing into experiences of internal purification. Whatever we go through in life we are called to go through it all, in the company of the Lord, in union with the Lord who is ever present with us, making even the most trying moments, a phase of learning and growth.

The Immediate transfiguration - the untiring effort: the Challenge.

This is our response to the call that we have received to be transfigured in the Lord, the effort that we make in spite of all our failures and our limitations. The apostles who were present at the event of the transfiguration of Jesus, would have had this sensation very powerful - come what may we shall never give up, we shall never leave Christ, we shall never be separated from Christ. That is why Peter did not want to give up that moment...he wanted to make three tents and stay there! Jesus teaches them, that is not what is expected of them. What is expected of us is to make our own effort, to make our own journey to that mount. We can, because the Lord is with us. We have the way prescribed to us: to listen to the Chosen One. 

This is the challenge of immediate transfiguration, to manifest our untiring commitment to remain faithful to the Lord. There are moments of splendour in our life, when we do something good, something divine, something pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. We need to value them and take all the energy needed from them. There are certainly moments of darkness, when we fail, when we falter, when we fall under the pressure of temptation. We need to rise up, look up and walk up, towards that mountain where the splendour awaits us. Our efforts cannot cease, we need to go on, right until the end! As James says, blessed are those who endure, for those who stand the test will win the crown (1:12). We can have everyday experiences  of transfiguration, when we learn in the school of the Spirit, to change our temptations into life lessons, when we convert our failures into steps to grow and our experience of sin into an opportunity to taste the mercy of the Lord. 

We are called to be transfigured. We are capable of being transfigured. And above all, we are empowered to be transfigured.  

A Covenantal People

THE WORD IN LENT

Saturday, First week in Lent - March 12, 2022

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

One of the self-identities that has come down from the earliest times of our faith, that is even from the Old Testamental times, is the fact that we are a covenantal people. What does it mean being covenantal people: it means there is a mutual pledge of fidelity between the two parties, which here are, the Lord and us. The Lord has pledged to be our God and we have pledged to be God's people. But there is one more element of a covenant - the condition of that pledge or the external sign of that pledge! In our
covenant with the Lord, it is typical love.

The love that is typical to this covenant is brought in by God, as God's very own nature, that nature in which we are called to share. It is not merely governed by a rule or a law, though it involves rules and it is a law. It is all about placing the other at the centre, placing the other before me, placing the other always in the advantageous position. It is diametrically opposed to the typical relationship promoted by the world of business and gain. 

It is not about what I gain, what I can achieve or how I can promote myself; it is about what I can give, what I can render more meaningful and how I can reach out to the other, without counting the cost or the returns. This is the typical love that is taught by God, in they way God relates to us, in the way God has revealed Godself to us, and in the way that God wishes us to live, because we are created in, and called to live by, the image and likeness God, which is love. 

There is a central reminder that is offered us, which can serve us whenever we are frustrated, whenever we are discouraged, whenever we lack the sense of our being - and it goes thus: we are a covenantal people! 

Why forgive to be forgiven?

THE WORD IN LENT

Friday, First week in Lent - March 11, 2022

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

The Lord never tires in forgiving us! But why does the Lord forgive us? Because, we deserve to be forgiven? Do we merit the Lord's pardon? Much less, can I demand the Lord's forgiveness? This is a precarious question that the psalm so clearly answers: if only the Lord treats us according our sins, how would we survive?

The Lord teaches us today, to forgive before we go into the presence of the Lord. Forgiving my brother or sister is presented as a condition to enter into the presence of the Lord; elsewhere Jesus would present forgiving your brother or sister as also the condition to experience forgiveness from the Lord. It is what the Lord has taught us to pray too: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us! 

But why forgive, to be forgiven? To answer that question, we have to answer another question: why do we not forgive? I do not forgive someone, because I feel or I am convinced that, the person in question does not deserve my forgiveness. He or she is beyond my forgiveness, too evil to be forgiven, or out of my forgiveness criteria. Here is where the message of the Word today comes down on us strongly.

If only the Lord thinks the way we think - whether we deserve or not to be forgiven; whether we are good enough to be forgive or no; whethe we fall within the forgiveness criteria of God! Let us just imagine a little, what would happen to us if we were treated by God, the way we treat our brothers and sisters! 

Forgiving the other is entering into the world of mercy of God; only within that world, our forgiveness from God makes sense! We would never deserve God's forgiveness; but when we refuse to forgive the other, we shall never be part of the mercy circle of God!

How would you like to be treated?

THE WORD IN LENT

Thursday, First week in the Lent- March 10, 2022

Esther 4:17; Matthew 7:7-12

We often experience two contrasting dimensions within us - we are someone in front of those who are more powerful than us and just the opposite with those who are weaker; we manifest a kind of character when we are in troubles and just another when we are free and enjoying; we have a mode of thinking when we are in need and completely another mode when there is someone else in need! How integral does that render us as persons?

Esther today is in prayer before the Lord, just before to taking on the evil in the form of Haman, one who wanted to destroy all the Jews. Esther's humble submission to the Lord, wins her the strength and the wisdom to stand firm for Israel! 

Jesus is placing a simple contrast before us: if you were in a position of dominion and others are weak and vulnerable, what would you do? What if there are persons asking you for something, the needy knocking at your door, or the desperate and frustrated ones searching for meaning in life... what would you do? Will you answer them, open the door for them or help them to find meaning in their life? If you do so, it will be opened for you too, you will have an answer too, and you shall find meaning for your life too!

When you are about to choose the way you would treat someone, in thoughts, words or deed, raise this question to yourself: how would you like to be treated?

The Sign of Jonah

THE WORD IN LENT

Wednesday, First week in Lent: March 09, 2022

Jonah 3: 1-10; Luke 11:29-32

The only sign that will be given is the sign of Jonah, says Jesus. And what is this sign of Jonah. Let us dwell on it a little. The sign of Jonah is repentance! How does Jonah become the sign of repentance? 

First Jonah himself was a sign of repentance - we know how he had his own way of thinking, his own judgement of events and people. When God called him to be a prophet, he had to be formed the hard way to really think as God would think, to accept events and persons as God would have them. He repented, and he risked his life, going amidst the people and giving them the hard message that he had from God. 

Secondly, Jonah's words were a sign - the people of Nineveh saw the prophet who had come all the way to warn them with a message from God. They saw in him, a man of God; they saw in his words, the Words of God. They saw the sign that was delivered to them through the words of Jonah, and they repented... saving themselves from a disastrous end. 

Thirdly, Jonah becomes the sign of the Son of God - the event of Jonah resting in the belly of the fish for three days and rising to new life, is given as the sign of the Son of God - the life and resurrection that humanity awaits. Obedience of Jonah is the prefigurement of the Son of God who in his obedience, emptied himself totally for the Will of God, the salvation of all! In our obedience, we shall inherit what Jesus has earned for us.

The Sign of Jonah is relevant even today - the sign of repentance, so loud and clear in this season of lent. It is to pay attention the Word and to change our lives according to it, on a daily basis; to acknowledge the persons bringing the Word to us, whoever it could be "big" or "small", erudite or no; and finally, see Jesus in those who genuinely care for us - if we see Jesus we will hear him speak!

The Word, the words and our ways

THE WORD IN LENT

Tuesday, First week in Lent - March 8, 2022

Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15

We reflected just yesterday that we are called to realise the Image that resides within us - the Image of God. The Word became flesh and lived amidst us as the visible presence of the invisible God. The Word of God becomes flesh even today, the Word of God becomes life, and that is the model given to us, the lesson given today. 

The words of God are life, they are Spirit, they give life, they create, they recreate, they renew the face of the earth. No word that God speaks go waste and the Word today places the same challenge to us - do not babble, admonishes Jesus. in the Gospel today. He says, just as every word from God has its life, so should every word of ours become life - the Word we listen to, and the words we express. 

The Word we listen to comes from God and we need to allow it to have its effect within us. Opening our hearts and our soul to the Word and allowing ourselves to be formed, revived and renewed by the Word is not just a task given to us, but a privillege. Not all have that grace, but the people of God. 

The words we use, need to have life, just as the Words of the Lord. Be it to our fellow brothers and sisters, or to the Lord in prayer, every word we use has to have its life. When Jesus teaches those words of prayer, he not only taught us a prayer, but taught us a lifestyle, a way of life. It contains the crux of Christian life - that we see ourselves as brothers and sisters from One Father in heaven, that we dedicate ourselves to the Will and the Reign of God, that we fend for each other, that we forgive each other and be a source of salvation to each other. What a beautiful prayer, with not just words but our very way of life. 

Holiness - not a call, an identity!

THE WORD IN LENT

Monday, First week in Lent: March 7, 2022

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

We are beginning our first week in lent, the lenten journey is slowly intensifying and today, the Word establishes the very purpose of this lenten journey, not only that, but the purpose of our whole life as christians - holiness! The Word inspires us today with a subtle difference, but very crucial to understand. 

We know holiness is a call, a fundamental call that we have as children of God. Be ye holy the Lord says. But that is not all...there is a second part to that statement that we need to pay attention. In fact, that second part makes a crucial difference. Be ye holy, for I the Lord your God, am holy! That is all the difference we need to know and understand.

Holiness is not merely a call, it is our identity. If it were a call, we could respond to it the way we wanted: saying either yes or no. We could accept the call or deny it; we could accede to it or reject it. But it is not just a call, but an identity! We cannot but develop and grow in it. 

The Lord created us in God's own image and likeness; we bear the image of God, that is holiness, purity and the splendour of integrity. How sad, that we have to be reminded so often, brought back so frequently and dragged back to our original state so repeatedly! But the Lord does not tire of it. The Lord is never tired of us: never tires of forgiving us, never tires of showing mercy to us and never tires of calling us back to Godself!

All that we need to do is realise that our real nature is 'holiness' because the one who created us is holy, the Image in which we are created is holy and therefore we have to be holy! We have to free ourselves of all that goes against this holiness, all that takes us away from that holiness. Yes, let us remember, holiness is not just a call, it is our very identity!