The Uncompromisable Christian Priority

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

April 30, 2022: Acts 6: 1-7; John 6: 16-21

Jesus was with the disciples, speaking to the people all through the day and after having fed them and been in all that din, he sends the apostles away to the other shore but he himself goes alone to pray. Something that we cannot miss to see about Jesus: he was very firm on his priority!

The Apostles, as they began their ministry amidst the new found faith, they had their model clear and straight: Jesus! Their priorities were challenged at every step and thoroughly. But they had a Master and Friend who never gave up on his priorities. Added to that he never judged them on the basis of his priorities, though he constanly challenged them on it. 

The first reading brings to our attention, one of the occassions where the apostles seem to have kept that uncompromisable priority, they learnt from Jesus: the primacy of God. When there were so many important things to do, all of them good and all of them for the right ends, they knew they cannot consider less the priority of praying and preaching. That was uncompromisable for them.

Nothing can substitute our personal relationship with God: we may claim to be working for God and working in the name of God...but a personal relationship with God is not the same as all of those! How many persons, congregations and communities of faith have really lost their basic orientation, getting lost in a sense of activism. Our priority for the primacy of God cannot waver, cannot be compromised! It is a fundamental relationship that gives the essential sense of our life ...the human-divine relationship, the chief priority of a Christian life.

Levels of Spiritual Growth

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

April 29, 2022: Acts 5: 34-42; John 6: 1-15

In undertaking spiritual acts we can notice ourselves at three different levels: the first is the level of Human Approval. Doing things in order that others see and look up to me. Jesus was upset with the Pharisees and the Saducees because they were at this level and refused to grow up. That is a clear message to us, not to go by the approval or disapproval of the crowd, or recognition or criticism of the circle around.

The second is the level of Self Edification: This may look good apparently, but it is not good enough says the Lord. The disciples and apostles were mostly at this level originally. They did nothing for public approval, but they wanted to gain every personal mileage out of the things that were upto. They wanted seats of authority, they wanted to bring down fire and brimstone on people, they resisted anyone else using Jesus' name to cast out demons...the tendency of self edification is found in us too. Going to Church everyday for Eucharist, praying everyday regularly, keeping all the holy routine strictly...these can be ways of my self edification; that I feel happy that I am doing all that I can do! That is not bad, but for Jesus it is not good enough.

Jesus challenges us to a third level - the sense of Divine Purpose. I do something because God wills that I do it and I am certain there is a Divine purpose to it. When I have this sense of Divine Purpose, I will not clamour for my glory, I will not be upset when people don't give me my due credit, I will not be looking to prove myself to anyone! God knows me through and through and has a plan for me. I carry it out for God's glory and for my salvation. Gamaliel refers to that sort of a spirituality and Jesus lives it in action. After that great sign of the multiplication Jesus could just move on because all that he wanted was that God be praised.

Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam - all for the greater glory of God! That could be our password to growth in our spiritual accomplishments.

The Holy Spirit and We...

WORD 2day: Thursday, 2nd week of Easter

April 28, 2022: Acts 5: 27-33; John 3: 31-36

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

Secondly, the presence of the Spirit is desired and felt only by those who are passionate about witnessing to the Risen Lord! The more passionate a person is about witnessing, the more filled with the Spirit is he or she and that is seen and experienced by the world around. What matters here is the heart, the readiness, the willingness and the eagerness to witness to the Lord. The disciples in their fear and trembling after the crucifixion had to be prepared, before they could receive the Spirit - the preparation was the increase of their readiness and willingness to witness to the Risen Lord. 

When we submit to the Lord, the Father fills us with the Spirit says Jesus today in the Gospel... and that is what is needed utmost in our lives. It is happily surprising to see the way the Apostles looked at, understood and related with the Spirit: They were comfortable enough to say, "We and the Holy Spirit" are witnesses to these things! For them the Spirit was someone who lived with them, within them!

Today, our Christian witness would go a long way in bringing the Lord to the people and bringing the people to the Lord, if the Spirit becomes our constant life companion! Are we in as much communion with the Spirit to say, "the Holy Spirit and we..."?

Conformity, Conflict, Convenience and Conviction!

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

April 27, 2022: Acts 5:17-26; John 3:16-21

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light; whoever lives the truth comes to the light! Light and darkness are the two extremes presented for our imagination, but not just that. There are a so many between these two... the shade, the dim glow and so on. The Word infact presents to us four categories of people in relation to right things. 

The first category are those who do the right, the second category are those who assist those who do the right, the third are those who hinder anyone doing the right and the worst are those who are involved in doing the evil! We find all the four categories referred to in the readings today. 

God calls us to love and serve, and has showed by example this divine style of life - in relation to this light, this ideal vocation, the apostles and the disciples were those who did what the Spirit said; the people and persons like Nicodemus, were those who supported and stood by the right things; the officials and the captain who acted against the apostles were those who hindered the right thing to be done; and finally the high priest and the Sanhedrin who contemplated evil in their minds and translated it into acts. We have two reminders from this situation, for our personal lives. 

The first call for us is to analyse our choices, our preferences and our priorities and see sincerely to which of these four categories we would belong. The second lesson for us is that while we strive to be people of the light and do the right. In our circumstances we would certainly come across persons of all the four categories: what would our reaction be? Conformity? or Conflict? or Convenience? or Conviction? - what would guide our response in such situations?

Life in the Spirit

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

April 26, 2022: Acts 4:32-37; John 3:7b-15

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

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

The effect and the source of looking at the other, thinking of the other, or being concerned about the other, is identified in the Word today - it is the capacity to have a common point of reference, a singular sense of focus, and a common vision that takes the whole people of God forward together. The concern for the other or the empathy with the other cannot be an extraordinary quality with regard to a disciple of Christ - it is infact the distinguishing mark of a Christian and of a Christian community. Hence, not having that is a lack, a deficiency, a lacuna, an imperfection in Christian terms. 

Is it not therefore essential for us to examine our daily choices: do they reflect a life in the Spirit? Or are we still living a life from below? Let us be born from above, let us be born of the Spirit - that is the sign of the disciples of the Risen Lord. 

God working with us!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

April 25, 2022: St. Mark the Evangelist

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

‘The Lord worked with them’ reads the last verse of the Gospel today! The Apostles had this privilege it looks like, as we read the Acts and the letters…the Lord worked with them. The words, I will be with you till the end of times, was not merely words or a ideology; it was a concrete experience of the Early Christian Communities. Specially, the apostles are found to be so fiery, fearless and focused because they saw, experienced and were convinced that ‘the Lord worked with them.’ 

St. Mark, apart from being the evangelist that he was, represents the generation that immediately followed the apostles and received the Christ-ian heritage – a reminder for us that even today, if we are conscious and convinced, the Lord works with us! There is no reason to be afraid, apprehensive or alarmed about the situation around or the worsening situations from within. Because, the Lord works with us.

What does it mean to believe that God works with us? On the one hand, it is to surrender ourselves to the will of God for the works of the God. "Bow down, then, before the power of God now, and he will raise you up on the appointed day," says St. Peter whose ardent disciple Mark was. As a young disciple of the second generation, Mark insists on this in his proclamation reflected in the Gospel. 

On the other hand, directing all our works, all our aspirations, all our undertakings and all our endeavours towards the Reign of God... thus making the presence of God felt in and through all our words, deeds and works. "In my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover," - all works and signs towards the Reign of God, the epitome of the experience of God working with us!

MERCY - A CHRISTIAN LIFESTYLE

Idenity, mark and testimony

Second Sunday in Easter Time - April 24, 2022

Acts 5: 12-16; Revelation 1: 9-13,17-19; John 20:19-31

This Sunday is liturgically called the Low Sunday which marks the end of the Easter Octave. "Eight days later", indicates the Gospel today; it was a week later that Jesus appears to all the eleven, including Thomas and patiently, mercifully and lovingly leads them to true faith. The feast of Divine Mercy was instituted and fixed for this day by the late Pope John Paul II, who was canonised (declared a saint officially) on this Sunday eight years ago! Along with him a Pope so much loved for his compassion and mercifulness towards everyone, Pope John XXIII was raised to the altar too. All of these give us one strong message today: MERCY! 

The first reading speaks of how the early community of Christians becomes a mighty witness to the Lord. They were the epitome of the command that Jesus gave, 'be merciful as your heavenly father is merciful'. Mercy becomes their way of life, or rather their renewed way of life. As a mark of being a Christian, mercifulness to each other specially to those in need, becomes the point of attraction for many...and as the reading goes - the Lord added to their number everyday! 

Mercy, we know, is the high point of Christian identity. But what matters most is how it is lived on a daily basis. It begins with our life at home: with our dear ones, elderly parents, sickly loved ones, troublesome children, rebellious youngsters... how is our relationship? What level of patience and acceptance do we manifest? At a larger level of the society and the human history, how do we choose to resolve issues and claims - can we be really called Christians if we resort to war, violence and killing? 

The Second reading speaks to us of the source of mercy, God the father of Jesus Christ who in mercy sent the only Son for our salvation! This is probably the unique place where the Lord refers to himself in the risen form: I was dead and now I am to live for ever and ever and I hold the keys of death... This is a very strong manifestation of God with us, not just in the incarnate form, but in the resurrected form - that is, in all splendour, glory and might. Once we realise that, our whole life changes, thinking of our blessedness and our unworthiness of this mighty presence of God with us. 

The Mercy of God is given to us as the example and the measure of our "genuineness of faith"! Preaching and believing in high ideals of love and compassion, if we but hate people and divide families, envy others and detest their well being... we are far far away from God, the God of Mercy and compassion. Jesus' encounter with the disciples after his resurrection manifests a special quality of mercy... it is an encounter that is full of unlimited forgiveness and unconditional love! There is no demand that the disciples have to render an account for having abandoned Jesus at the crucial moment of suffering, for having betrayed him or having denied him! All that Jesus does is, tell them he is with them and invite them to be his witnesses throughout the world. 

That is the mercy of God embodied, incarnate, which dwelt among us in flesh and blood and dwells among us today in the Resurrected Lord and in the Spirit. This experience cannot be a frozen, static and documented fact; it has to be a vivacious, dynamic, lived and shared goodness. 

Mercy, hence, has to be lived today in forgiveness and love; there can be no place for grudge and grievance, envy and slander, cheating and stealing, killing and enmity. There is no need for us to justify ourselves or be ashamed of our weaknesses... God knows everything and wishes only our child like readiness to recognise and accept God's merciful love.

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

The Easter People: companions of the One who was sent

EASTER OCTAVE 2022

Saturday, April 23: Acts 4:13-21; Mark 16:9-15

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

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

The two fold call that we have today is, firstly, to identify ourselves as companions of Jesus, to know that we are walking everyday with the Lord, that we are not alone on our life's journey and that all that happens in our daily experience has a tremendous impact on ourselves and others - not because of us, but because of the one who walks with us, the One whose companions we are. 

Secondly, the call is to 'proclaim'...to begin with, through our mindsets, attitudes and lifestyle and then explicitly through our words and speech. These words need to soon convert themselves into works, works not understood as big mighty deeds of valour and strength, but a committed life style that reaches out, or in Pope Francis' terms "goes out"!

But the crux of it all is the statement that the apostles make at the Sanhedrin, "it is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard"! There was an inner urge and compulsion for them to speak out, reach out and go out! 

The question to us is: have we seen and heard, that is, experienced Jesus personally? Is it a compelling need for us to speak of Jesus to others? Are we really filled with the zeal to stand for Christ and speak of Christ today? Do we feel ourselves companions of the One who came in the name of the Lord?

The Easter People: self-challenging witnesses

EASTER OCTAVE 2022

Thursday, April 21: Acts 3: 11-26; Luke 24: 35-48

Have you noticed a mistake already in this post... actually it is not in this post but yesterday's. Yesterday's post was already reflecting on the readings of today! Though we regret that mistake, we take it as a providential opportunity to dwell more on a topic so important: our call to be witnesses - that is the crux of the Easter People.

"You are witnesses", declares the Lord in the Gospel and "We are witnesses", proclaims Peter before the people, in the first reading! Being witnesses, as reflected already yesterday is a fundamental trait and a defining character of Easter People. 

Let us look at a phenomenon which is not rare in almost all cultures - consider for instance, a new convert to Christianity (or to the Catholic Church). He or she is enthusiastic about everything and to some extent even "overdoes" in his or her practices of piety - or atleast this is how the so called "long time" catholics judge them. And some of them very soon find their spirit dampened or look to switch to some other Christian denomination for a better experience or more vivacious expression of their new found faith! Judging no one involved in this phenomenon, all that we can say is: there is every chance that we lose sight of our call to be witnesses to our faith! How can we not get to the point of losing this passion to witness?

We are Witnesses! We would become witnesses only when we have seen, we have experienced, we have been touched and we are so affected that we want to shout it out!

Can I claim that I have seen the Lord? Do you think it is difficult to see the Lord?

Can I say that I have experienced the Lord? Have you really capitalised on the continuous presence and protection of the Lord?

Do I feel touched by the Lord? What does the Lord mean to my daily life?

How much am I affected by the Lord? How are my priorities and principles shaped and transformed by the Lord?

These are some self ruminations that can make us true witnesses. Are we ready to take up the challenge of being witnesses to the Lord?

The Easter People: corner stones who depend on the Corner Stone

EASTER OCTAVE 2022

Friday, April 22: Acts 4:1-12; John 21:1-14

In whose name?...that is the crucial question today in the readings. The question lingers on even today, as each of us live our Christian call. The first reading presents the wondrous doing of God, and how the rejected stone turns into the corner stone.

There is a twofold lesson offered to us as Easter People: to grow to be cornerstones and to recognise our corner stone!

We are called to imitate the life of the Corner Stone, becoming ourselves corner stones to the Reign that the Lord wishes to establish within us and through us. Just as Jesus lived to do the will of the one who sent him, we are called to discover the unique plan that God has for us and live it to the full.

Secondly, we need to readily recognise the corner stone of our lives, the Risen Lord Jesus! That feeling, "it is the Lord" and the readiness to jump into the waters of daily life to encounter the Risen Lord standing on the shore, are but just two of the many compelling examples that the apostles and their early communities give us.

When we live our life "in His name" on a daily basis... we not only recognise the corner stone of our life but also train ourselves to be corner stones that create communities of joy and hope, wherever we are! Hence, coming back to where we started... 'in whose name' is still the crucial question. Let us ask ourselves: living our daily life with its share of cares and concerns, doing all that we do on a daily basis or on demand, holding on to something in all these and creating a safe structure for ourselves... in all these and in all that we do, we do it all, in whose name?

The Easter People: unfailing witnesses

EASTER OCTAVE 2022

Wednesday, April 20 - Acts 3:11-26; Luke 24:35-48

You are witnesses of these things...says the Gospel today. We are witnesses of the great works that the Lord has done in and through us! The readings today give us three steps towards being witnesses. It would do us good to reflect on these steps.

The first reading reports the discourse of the apostles to the Jews gathered in Jerusalem after the cure of the crippled man. This is the first step: to see our history through the eyes of faith. To see through the eyes of faith, we need to identify the eyes of the world. To have a perspective that is different from the so called 'normal'...the Apostles has just gained that vision after having experienced the resurrected Lord. 

The second step is to be challenged by understanding history from the perspective of faith. The apostles who deserted Jesus, hid themselves away and looked to escape into their past, were challenged by the Risen Lord as we see in the Gospel. And they accepted the challenge and understood everything that happened from the perspective of faith. The new perspective they had acquired, served not only to judge others and rate them in their quality, but it serves to challenge themselves. 

The call, thirdly, is to challenge the others towards a commitment of faith! What Peter does today is not to accuse the Jews of anything, but challenging them towards a personal experience of the Risen Christ and only through that we can become real witnesses.

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

The Easter People: one people in One Father

EASTER OCTAVE 2022

Tuesday, April 19: Acts 2: 36-41; John 20:11-18

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

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

And in the Father, through Christ we are made into one people, brothers and sisters in the one Father who has made us, loved us, redeemed us and continues to sustain us. We remain the people of God, only as long as we remain one people, brothers and sisters, united in Christ and related to the Father. 

The Easter sign is this capacity to see beyond all differences and find our oneness in the Lord who is Risen and the Father who sent him. 

The Easter People: people of hope!

EASTER OCTAVE 2022

Monday, April 18 : Acts 2:14, 22-33; Mathew 28:8-15

Easter people are people filled with hope, a hope that never fails. They are people of hope, precisely because there are so many things around them, that are against them. They are people of hope, not because it is easy for them to be so, or it is convenient to hold on to hope that to face reality. No. They are people of hope because they knew there is no way to really have their way, unless there is something, or someone, totally beyond them comes in to intervene! 

They had already suffered so much but the plotting and scheming was still going on. In spite of the plotting against the resurrection of Christ, Jesus never gave up, until the plotters in their desperation give up these attempts. And the believers were showered upon with grace after grace.

Monday of the Easter Octave, we hear the plan of those who wanted Jesus dead and gone, and now to deter any further spread of the Good news of Christ. The implication for the believers was exactly the opposite of what the plotters wished... it was a concrete attachment to the Lord, the Lord of hope. 

The message given to us is strong and clear: in spite of all those who would plot our downfall or await our failure, we are called to grow in love, the love that can offer hope to the world. That is how we can grow into true people of hope - giving hope to a world that is so wounded and tired, of hatred and greed, jealous and pride. Only when we grow to be people of hope, can we claim to be the Easter People. 

HE IS RISEN

I will live; we shall live, because HE LIVES

EASTER SUNDAY - April 17, 2022

He is Risen! Alleluia. He is alive; He lives and therefore we shall live!

"If Christ were not raised from the dead, our faith would be in vain" declares St. Paul (1 Cor 15:14). It is an expression of our faith, a faith that is alive and active, a faith that is vibrant and vivifying.The Risen Lord gives us three important messages to celebrate today. And we will do well to keep these in our minds this day and all through our life. 

Easter is all about LIFE. Life belongs to God. God has given us life and has a specific plan for us in our life. We live our life, keeping in mind the purpose that the Lord has specified for it. When Jesus lived his life in perfect sync with the One who sent him, death became part of his life! It was not the end of his life. God raised him up from the dead! It is thus that the Lord directs our life and its purposes and brings them all to a glorious end.

Life is not just days and days of breathing and doing things here on earth - it is a call and it comes with a purpose. It is in in finding that purpose, that particular purpose, that plan and design that God has for each of us, that our life becomes meaningful. It consists in searching, in remaining alert and in beholding every experience in our daily life, from the beloved hands of God, just as Jesus did. I do not do anything on my own, it is what the Father has commissioned me and that is why, it is the Father who had the last say on his life. When this purpose is focused upon and we are able to intently look for it, our life becomes meaningful on a daily basis!

Easter is all about NEW LIFE. It is said that the greatest of all proofs for the Resurrection of Christ, is the radical transformation that was  found in the lives of the apostles. They were so transformed that they were looking like new persons, they had within them, a NEW LIFE.It is this new life that we are offered in this day, as Christ rises to new life as the Saviour of Humankind.

This is one reason, that the feast of Easter is connected very much to the young! Youth are future, the strength; they are those who keep the Church moving forward, the ones in whom the Church places her hope - says Pope Francis. The Youth have the responsibility, the duty and the obligation of bringing new life to the daily life of the Church! They need to do that the community of faith needs to empower them to do that! New life as individuals and new life as a commuity of faith, this is the Easter call. The other call that comes alive to each of us is to keep our life renewed every day in the love of God, becoming born anew everyday in the Lord.

Easter is all about LIFE TO THE FULL. I came that you may have life and have it in abundance! Life that Jesus brought us is a life to the full. In his rising he offers that life to each and everyone who claims it for oneself from the hands of the Risen Lord who stands blowing on us and greeting us: Shalom! Peace be with you! Easter challenges us towards this fullness of life, because everyday that we have is a gratuitous gift from God and our responsiblity is to live it to the full, identifying and doing away with all that can take this life away from us. 

This call to live, to live anew every day, and to live to the full every moment of our life. That is being Easter People. Yes, we are Easter People and Alleluia is our song! 

THE SILENT SATURDAY

THE HOLY SATURDAY 2022

April 16

Total silence... those 36 hours from the death on the Cross to the moment of resurrection, it was one long and heavy silence. No one knew what was happening... but within everyone tremendous things were taking place. Think of our Blessed Mother who held her dead son on her lap and now looking at her empty hands that held that treasured son of hers. Think of Peter who, inspite of all the warning, failed so miserably, denying his Lord and Master repeatedly before those Jewish men and women. Think of all the disciples, except John, who fled for their lives and gathered back in fear and trembling. Think of the women who followed Jesus who were all this while following all that happened to Jesus, so helplessly, hoping that at some time or the other something spectacular will happen and their Rabbi would be back in action - but now nothing of him except his dead body in the tomb remains. Let us not even think of Judas who chose a despicable end for himself, unwarranted keeping in mind the opportunities given to him. And those priests and scribes who were instrumental in getting rid of the rebellious Jesus, sighing relief that they had one trouble less now. Herod and Pilate, thinking still about this strange man, who seemed to be so fearless and so determined about something that they could not understand at all. And the people who followed him everywhere, some of whom cried 'hosanna', some others who shouted 'crucify him', and still others who were just following the crowd not knowing what exactly is happening. In all these minds there was a silence, but a silence so heavy, so heavy with thoughts, questions, doubts, disappointments and wonder. The Church wishes us to get into that silence and observe ourselves - what is that question or what is that thought that fills my silence?

THE CLIMAX FRIDAY

THE GOOD FRIDAY 2022

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

Climax - the Good Friday is the climax of so many experiences: the climax of the ultimate episode of revelation that God had initiated in the life and person of Jesus the Christ; the climax of the love of God expressed thus far in numerous ways and now in the highest manner possible; the climax of the self emptying that the Word went through in order to make humanity understand the real nature of God that is love, the climax of Calvary that remains the pinnacle of all sacrifices offered thus far in the entire history of life on earth. 

Today we look at the Cross with intent and with gratitude. Infact the Cross, for every Christian, is a gift, a sign and a reminder - a gift that we do not deserve in anyway but all the same given to us in the abundance of God's love and mercy; a sign of God's sacrificial love, a love that came down to live amidst us, a love that was ready to give us everything, absolutely everything; a reminder that we have been saved by a love that pardons, a love that accepts without conditions, a love that thinks only of giving and counts no cost - that which is expected of us is that we grow in the image of that love! 

Before a tree it was that humanity lost sight of its true image, that of the loving God; and it is before this tree today that we are challenged to regain that image, grow in it and become ourselves images of that love - a love that gives and forgives. 

The world today is so particular about getting, about receiving and not rarely about grabbing! Kneeling before the Cross today we are called to look at the real sense of our life - not to look to grab, but to give; not to crave for pleasures but to suffer for others' well-being; not to get attached to things and comforts but to be ready even to be nailed and crucified for the sake of God's will to be accomplished. May the Cross be our light, our way and our salvation!

THE FAREWELL THURSDAY

MAUNDY THURSDAY 2022

April 14: Exodus 12: 1-8,11-14; 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26; John 13: 1-15

Farewell moment with Jesus... not just with the apostles, but with humanity. The Christ-event within Incarnation and Salvation is the watershed to understand God's eternal love for us humankind. The earthly sojourn of the incarnate Word is about to end, and it cannot end without a solemn celebration of the moment. Thus Jesus thought of a lovely farewell.

A farewell consists of three important sentiments: to relive the memory of the experiences together,  to create a memorable sign with which the experiences could be perpetrated and a contract of gratitude that would define the further course of action. We find these three so well portrayed in the events today: between Jesus and his disciples; between Jesus and us.

Memory of the past, the memory of the  glorious presence of the Lord with the people, the memory of the powerful God who made them walk through dry land in the midst of the sea, the memory of the mighty God who defeated the armies, the chariots and the horse riders... this is what the people celebrated at Pasch and Jesus wishes to redefine that memory. He wants us, whenever we think of him, of the Christ event that took place in the history of salvation, of the earthly life of the Incarnate Word, to think of the way he served us, the way he emptied himself, the way he bent down to wash out feet - that we may remember the Lord who serves, the Lord who self-empties, the Lord who gave up everything for our good!

Sign forever, that Jesus gave his discples, and to us, is his own body and blood... the sign of the eternal covenant of love. Do this in memory of me, he has said and we do it. But the question is do we do it in memory of him, or in fulfilment of some requirements? Do we do it with real memory of the love of God or as something that is to be done with a ritual rigour and performative perfection? Do we merely do it , or do we make efforts to live that mystery so great and so sweet - containing within it all the sweetness in the world and the goodness of all eternity. Eucharist is the fountain and the fullness of the meaning of our Christian life, and do we really celebrate it in its fullness?

Mandate of gratitude, that Jesus left for his followers, and for us if we count ourselves in - is to serve one another, and not expect to be served or honoured or exalted! We need to choose from our hearts to serve, knowing well not all whom we serve might deserve all that we do! Jesus knew it... he knew who would betray, who would deny and who would desert him... but all the same he knelt down in service, he promised his body and blood and he instituted them his band of apostles: you call me Master and Lord, and so am I. In as much as we do what he did, that is, in as much as we serve our brothers and sisters, beginning from our own family and our own community, in as much as we give of ourselves without counting the cost or without calculating who deserves and who deserves not, we shall be the disciples of this great Master of ours! 

Jesus has celebrated a beautiful farewell with us - making it meaningful, remains our responsibility! How prepared are we to take to heart the mandate that Jesus has given us? Can we really tell Jesus today: Master, here we are to take forward the mission that you had and the mandate that you have given us!

THE BETRAYAL WEDNESDAY

HOLY WEEK 2022

Wednesday, April 13: Isaiah 50:4-9; Matthew 26: 14-25

And from that moment, he looked for an opportunity to betray him... betrayal does not mean merely the act of betrayal but the very thought of betrayal, the very choice of betrayal, the very consideration of the possibility of betrayal. 

In our relationship with God too, it is not merely the moment of sin that breaks our relationship with God, but the very prospect of considering the choice of that sinful thought, or word, or act or decision. When we promised the Lord that we shall renounce sin, we promised to reject satan, all the works and the empty promises of the satan! Even the innermost thought or a tendency within that takes me towards sin, is already an experience of betrayal!

Sin is not merely an act, but a mindset, an attitude that leads to choices, a tendency that creates a leaning within me! What I need to be concerned about is not the occasional failures or a momentary fall, however bad it could be. Instead, I need to fear even a small deviance, even if it can be considered negligible at the moment, because in the long run it would lead me to a point of no return!

Betrayal can be checked any time in our life; all that we need to do is be attentive to the signs from the Lord, obedient to the Word of the Lord and docile to the promptings of the Spirit - we would save ourselves, because if the Lord is at my side to help, who will dare codemn me!

THE WARNING TUESDAY

HOLY WEEK 2022

Tuesday, April 12: Isaiah 49:1-6; John 13: 21-33,36-38

Listen, pay attention... insists the Word today! That was what Jesus did too, to his disciples as they sat at the table. He warned them - we see that in the Gospel today. He did not do it, in an indirect or hidden way, he did it direct and clear: one of you will betray me! He said that and gave the dipped piece of bread to Judas, saying 'what you are going to do, do quickly.'  He could not have been more clearer than this. 

Peter, who was disturbed by that declaration, wanted so much to find out who it was that would betray the Lord. And Jesus seems to have told him, it is not important to find out who it is, but it is important to make sure, it is not you! Peter seems to be too sure of himself - and Jesus warns him too, a warning more direct than the prior one - you will disown me! 

Be it Judas, or Peter, they failed to listen; they failed to learn; they failed to understand what the Lord was telling them, so clear, loud and direct. Judas, out of his hardheadness and Peter out of his over-confidence. 

The warning is also for us, in our spiritual life. In persons who speak to us, in events that disturb our minds, in decisions that cause turbulence, in choices that thrust us into doubts, in certain happenings that push us into crisis... the Lord speaks, the Lord warns! Happy are those who are attentive to the warning and change their ways. 

It is easy to fall and lie down there, complaining against the circumstances, grumbling against the others, lamenting the lost opportunities and dreaming of suppositions and hypotheses, if only we had not made those choices! What is challenging and demanding is to listen to the Lord, pay heed to the Word, submit to the Spirit and walk diligently and consciously in our daily life, towards truth, love and integrity. 

THE WELCOME MONDAY

HOLY WEEK 2022 

Monday, April 11: Isaiah 42: 1-7; John 12:1-11

Six days before the passover, that is how the Gospel begins today! If yesterday was the Palm Sunday, today is the Welcome Monday... Jesus who entered triumphantly yesterday into Jerusalem, is being welcomed into their presence today. Jesus is extended hospitality today, by the family of Lazarus. The event today and Jesus in the circumstances, give us a strong message and a sign of things to come. 

The message is from the event itself - Jesus entered and he is being welcomed. Jesus entered - as we reflected yesterday, Jesus has entered fully aware of what can happen to him there in the city. In fact, it is a conscious choice that he had made. While there is a question to reflect here, how prepared are we to enter into a lifestyle that is of total obedience to God, there is another message here! When Jesus entered, they welcomed him. When the Lord enters our lives, how ready are we to welcome him! Welcoming the Lord is not a simple thing - it would cause a lot of trouble, a lot of confusion, a number of challenges in our lives. Are we prepared to welcome the Lord, inspite of the storm that it can create?

There is a sign here that Jesus draws our attention to - that the anointment with the perfume that was done by Mary was an indication of the imminent death that awaits him. Yet, he is serene, confident and unperturbed. That is the sign, specially the cause of that serenity, the source of that confidence, the reason for being so composed: because God loved him, God had chosen him and God had appointed him the sign of the covenant! The peace came from within, from the core within him were God resided, where God's love was glowing so strong. 

The journey is on... and we are called to go forward with peace, serenity and endurance! The Lord comes to us, and if we welcome the Lord whole heartedly, we shall find that deep peace which no one else can give!

THE JOURNEY IS ON...

Crowd, Crisis and the Cross

The Palm Sunday - April 10, 2022

Luke 19: 28-40; Isaiah 50: 4-7; Philippians 2: 6-11; Luke 22:14 - 23:56

The theme of 'Journey' is a prominent one in Christian Spirituality - enough to think of the Old Testament journeys...of Abraham, of Jacob, of Moses, of Joseph, of the hebrews across  the desert, of the exiled people, or think of the New Testament too... of Mary and Joseph, of Jesus walking from village to village, the disciples sent two by two...and various others! Our Christian spirituality is one long journey in itself... which contains within so many intermediate journeys... journeys that are to be made daily, journeys that are to be made according to seasons, journeys that pertain to each individual, journeys that involve the entire people of God and so on! We have today a very peculiar journey that Jesus makes, within the long journey of his life as an ever loving Son of the Father Almighty, as a faithful apostle of the Loving God, as a Lamb that goes to the slaughter house with joy to offer itself for the sake of love. 

As Jesus enters Jerusalem today, he is aware of all the dynamics that surrounds him, the destiny that awaits him, the things that he will have to encounter in the following days! How many times he would have made this journey to Jerusalem in his life - with his mother and father, with his relatives and friends, with his disciples, with lazarus and family... but this time it is not the same! He is conscious of it. In many ways it is not the same. There are three things that make this journey so peculiar for him, and not only for him, also for us to reflect on; three things that stand out in the whole event of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem that we commemorate today: the crowd, the crisis and the cross. 

The Crowd was totally hysterical... Jesus knew that crowd, he was in no way lost in the crowd, nor was he lost with the crowd. He knew that this cheer and excitement of the crowd, will soon turn into a call for his killing - after all they were just a mob. But in no way did Jesus disrespect or despise them. He genuinely accepted their celebration and enjoyed their warm reception. He loved them all and he loved the way they showed their regard for him. He loved them like a shepherd, because he knew if it were not for him, they would be like a sheep without shepherd. The lesson for us: when we do what we ought to and when we do it well, let us enjoy all the adulation of the crowd around, the appreciation of the world for accomplishments, the regard of the society for a job well done! But as Jesus, let us beware that the same crowd which celebrates will soon condemn...and we need to take the critique and denunciation, just as much as we enjoy the appreciation and adulation. And the second lesson is that we do not get lost in the crowd, be one in the crowd, get into the mentality of the crowd - so thoughtless and so blind, so mindless and so flimsy, so forgetful about the good and so aroused by the excitement of the evil. 

The Crisis that lay before Christ was gross and clear. For him the crisis was not whether to suffer or not, it was not whether to believe this crowd or not, it was not even whether to confront the priests and the scribes or not. The crisis was whether to remain or go on! With the kind of welcome that Jesus received, he could have decided to remain with that popularity and praise. But Jesus knew, the journey was on and he decides to choose obedience! That choice brought him humiliation, suffering, and finally even death! He knew it would, but he decided to go on! He used the crisis to show his obedience to the Father; he saw in the crisis, an opportunity to live his life to the full - it was in dying that he lived to the full, and gave us the fullness of life. The lesson for us: when a moment of crisis comes, when sufferings and humiliation come our way, we cannot get stuck or get lost, the journey is on, and we need to go on. And when we choose to go on with the Lord, the crises can lead to a profound experience that can change my life, bring a new sense of fulfilment to it.

The Cross is what mattered for Christ - it lay before his eyes and shed light upon all his life, upon all that he did and all that he was. The Cross is the only explanation we can find for so many things that we go through on daily basis. Be it in personal lives or in the society or the world - to the myriad of sufferings that oppress humanity, war and disease, death and destruction, poverty and corruption... the Cross has to shine through all these situations to illumine our sense of meaning in life. We need to learn from Christ to keep our eyes fixed on the Cross and journey on, because it is in the Cross that the love of God invites us to see everything from the point of view of God and of our Saviour. 

The journey is on. Jesus has begun the last lap, let us journey on with him this week. Let the lenten journey we began culminate with this journey to calvary, the journey to the Cross, that we may find there, the infinite love of God and the abundance of new life that Christ wishes to offer. The journey is on, with determination and hope, let us walk with Christ to the pinacle of new life. 

Return to the God of love

THE WORD IN LENT

Saturday, 5th week in Lent - April 9, 2022 

Ezekiel 37: 21-28; John 11: 45-56

What a contrast we are given to notice today- while God longs to give life and bring the people to new birth, the people plot to kill the Son of God and do away with him. On the mountain of the Lord, there will be no killing and no hatred! How far we are from the Reign of God when we harbour thoughts of hatred, jealousy, rancour and ruin!

Personal feuds or Political Wars, Communal clashes or cut-throat competitions... they are all against the God of love who dwells amidst us, as God once promised through the covenant made - I will make my dwelling amidst you; you shall be my people and I shall be your God! 

The plot thickens today as Jesus is marked to be put to death! Jesus knows he is surrounded by enmity and hatred, but avoids taking it in and remains the love that he is, the love that he came from, the love that he came to spread. That is why he is the Son of God, and that is the criterion he gives us to be known as children of God.

It is a direct call for each of us to analyse whether we are worthy to be called the people of the covenant, children of the God who is love, disciples of the one who offered himself as a ransom for many. How many thousands and millions are rendered homeless and how many families shattered in the last 48 days of conflict in Ukraine! This is just one of the series of unfortunate mishaps that have been going on in the world, in various parts for a long time now! O let the humanity return to the God of love! 

Let us examine ourselves, if we are truly children of that love. We will be so, if we emanate love and love alone and thus make the world a better place in whichever way we can, a place closer to the Reign of God, the God of love.

Blessed Dependence!

THE WORD IN LENT

Friday, 5th week in Lent - April 8, 2022
Jeremiah 20: 10-13; John 10: 31-42

The days are such that people clamour for recognition and go a long way to hold on to their self image and their due credits. It is not anymore rare to hear of conflicts for credits - that someone usurped it from someone else and so on. It goes even to an extent where one even claims credit for what has been gifted so gratuitously by God! 

The good that we accomplish is not totally our own for us to claim absolute credit for it. First of all it is the Lord who gives us the opportunity to do that good. Secondly it is the Lord who empowers us to do that good. Thirdly it is the Lord who clears the hoards of hurdles that could possibly arise in accomplishing the said good. 

That is why Jesus gives the people the work that he accomplishes as testifying to his origin from the Father. And Jeremiah is not stifled by the enormous attack on him... because he is totally convinced that what he does is God's work and not his own. And if God wants it done, God would have it done! 

The key here is, to acknowledge one's own dependence on God and to be convinced that it is no loss of one's self image or autonomy or self esteem, to depend on God. As St. Paul would challenge us, 'what do we have that we have not received? ' (1 Cor 4:7) And so why should we be ashamed to depend totally on God, as if it were below our dignity! 

Let us with gratitude acknowledge, that in our need we cry to the Lord and the Lord hears our voice! How blessed we are!

The Covenant and Eternity

THE WORD IN LENT

Thursday, 5th week in Lent - April 7, 2022
Genesis 17: 3-9; John 8: 51-59

Today we have the account of the Abrahamic Covenant - I will be your God and you shall be my people. And Jesus completes that account in the Gospel saying, 'whoever keeps my word will never see death'. The one who believes in the Son and does the will of the One who sent the Son, will have eternal life - this is what Jesus meant and said in various terms at various instances.

Eternal can have three meanings:

The first is Endless (anantha), that is what we are called to: though we have a beginning we are destined to an existence that is endless as we will become one with the Lord, and not just perish.

The other meaning is Beginningless (anaadhi) that is what God is: One who is without a beginning or an end.

Beyond these two meanings there is a third meaning which is very difficult for the human mind to understand. That is, Timelessness. 

Eternal means timelessness, beyond time, beyond all categories of before and after, earlier and later, and all other chronological considerations. This is what confuses the Jews. How can Jesus speak of Abraham as if he were someone who still lived? 

We can become eternal when we become one with God. We become timeless. We have nothing much to do but just obey, just carry out orders, just live on in the way that the Lord says, make choices for the Lord and the Lord's will, reject anything that detracts our life's paths. Our eternal life can begin right here, when we belong to the covenant. 

A simple but constant question I need to ask to belong to the covenant: What does God want of me at this moment? 

Freedom of the Children of God

THE WORD IN LENT

Wednesday, 5th week in Lent - April 6, 2022

Daniel 3: 52-56; John 8: 31-42

Freedom of the Children of God - is not at all a strange or new phrase for us in the Christian parlance. But at times we miss the tremendous sense it can make, when we seriously think about that fact, that we are indeed children of God. It makes us truly free, secure and sincere! 

Free because we need not think of pleasing anybody else, we need not compromise to favour someone else other than my God who is beyond anyone or anything. All the furnace around me cannot consume me. All the predators around me cannot prey on me. Because I am a child of God and even amidst the fire, the Lord walks beside me!

Secure because the one who is with me is the most trustworthy one you can ever think of - One who keeps promises, One who keeps back nothing from me for the sake of my happiness, One who treasures me, having written my name on His palm.

Sincere because I have no necessity to hold on to anything that is not true. I need not put up an appearance, I need not prove myself beyond what I really am, I need not be anxious about whether I will be rejected or sidelined, I need not bother how dire the consequences will be. I have come to bear witness to the Truth, said my Master. That is the same vocation I share.

My Lord is my Master and I am liberated, I am free and I don't have to fear anything!I say to myself: do not fear; just feel free and act sincere!

Lift up, look up and live on!

THE WORD IN LENT

Tuesday, 5th week in Lent - April 5, 2022

Numbers 21:4-9; John 8:21-30

Falling is a daily experience in our life and that is why we need to constantly rise up and move on! It is not falling but remaining fallen, out of laziness or stubbornness, that renders a person 'lost'. However the same experience of a fall, when approached with true humility and a broken heart, can become uplifting and enthuse one to live on. The difference is, we need to be drawn by the Lord, towards the Lord! No one can come to the Father, unless the Father draws them!

How can we be drawn to our God? The Word today gives us the formula: lift up, look up and live on.

Lift up Jesus, as your Lord and saviour, as the one who alone can rescue you, as the one who has the ownership over you. Declare it from your heart and surrender.

Look up, and gaze at that power drawing you to himself, realise you need the Lord and confess your dependence on the Lord. Allow yourself to be drawn into his eternal love and merciful forgiveness!

Live on! When you lift up the Lord and look up to the Lord, you will live on, you will find meaning in life beyond all the pressures around you; you will find an inner peace inspite of the turbulence that surrounds you; you will have that joy that the Lord alone can give!

Turn to the magnificence of the Lord constantly and surrender yourself completely, you will see the way to live on, with fullness and joy!

To see God's light

THE WORD IN LENT

Monday, 5th week in Lent - April 4, 2022
Daniel 13:41-62; John 8: 12-20

We have a dramatic episode in the first reading today. Though the innocent Susanna being blamed is a lent-worthy theme, the point of reference today is Daniel. Daniel, who was illumined by the light of the Lord and filled with the Spirit, delivers Susanna from the treacherous plotters and the mindless mob. 

Daniel was capable of idenitfying that those who testified were wrong, and were ill motivated. Today the world is so full of those who testify wrong and promote evil, either knowingly or unwittingly.  It becomes so crucial today to instruct the ignorant and to illumine the confused. it is indeed listed as one of the spiritual acts of mercy and that is the call that Daniel's episode offers us today.

We are called to fight against the treacherous plotters, deceivers who lead people astray, people with hidden agenda who manipulate the weak and the vulnerable. We fight them by throwing light on the truth and standing by it amidst threats and treason. Tougher still is the other task: that of illumining the ignorant and the mindless, who do not have clear thinking of their own, who swallow all that they are told, who follow the mob so blind that they do not even know what they live for. At times some faith choices of persons too become such a following of the mob, unfortunately. 

Christ is the Light that illumines our minds, reveals falsehoods and bears testimony to truth. Christ sheds light on what we need to do, where we need to journey towards, and where we are at this moment! The call is to surrender to the Lord and pray for God's illumination, that we can see God's ways, share it with others, and let the whole world see God's light!

TO JOURNEY WITH HOPE

A roadmap to perfection!

Fifth Sunday in Lent: April 3, 2022
Isaiah 43:16-21; Philippians 3:8-14; John 8:1-11

We are at the end of such a significant week! We have loads of thoughts to reflect on and take to heart. Expectations, Celebration, Gratitude, Mystery, Wonder, were the feelings that dominated the week that has just passed! And today the dominant note is one of HOPE. The Liturgy of the Word too invites us to the same sentiment of faith. Last week the Liturgy called us to Celebrate. Every celebration is to reinforce the energy within persons or the community to go on with life – and following it right on, the Liturgy today calls us to journey on with hope. 

Holy Father Pope Francis, when he greeted the faithful, for the first time, gathered at St.Peter’s Square - he said it in simple words: “Iniziamo un cammino, il vescovo e popolo!” Let’s begin a journey as Bishop and his people! A journey, he said; a journey with hope! Our Christian life is a indeed a journey, a race towards a finish as St. Paul says.  Our lenten practices are a journey too - we have been following it: from the desert to the mountain, to the holy ground and the promised land. It is a journey to perfection. 

A Journey needs a roadmap… and today’s Word of God provides us with the Roadmap, the Roadmap to Perfection, in three ‘P’s – Persevere, Prioritize and Progress.

For the Hebrews under slavery and burdensome labour, the prospect of journeying to the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey, was a fantasy. When they actually undertook it, they could not believe their own selves. The Psalmist expresses it so well, “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Israel, it was like in a dream!” (Ps 126:1) When they embarked on that journey, it was in no terms easy… they were faced with the endless desert, with no food and no water, they were faced with a sea with freedom on the other side and death approaching them from behind, they were faced with treachery within and immorality that abounded…but those who stuck on to the journey crossed the Jordan into their promised land. 

Persevering through Problems, is an important ingredient towards success in faith. We see, in the first reading today, how this faith was rewarded for the people of Israel. The journey of Christian life is not different – with its own share of deserts and seas and temptations and death – but a disciple of Christ is called to Persevere right through these problems, and journey in faith.

What if we lose the vision, the direction, the energy… it is St. Paul again who instructs in various words… set your hearts on the thing above and on grace that Christ brings, he instructs. I consider everything as a loss, as a trash, as a garbage… because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ. The second dimension of the roadmap to perfection, is Prioritising Christ above anything or anybody else in our daily life. 

When our self considerations of comfort and career, or our considerations of attachments and allegiances become more important than God, Christ and all that pertains to our circle of faith, we can easily lose direction, lack vision and get lost in the mire of daily concerns and personal glory. What we need to do is fix our gaze on Christ, look to Him and be radiant (Ps 34:5). Thus we will journey on, with hope!

The third dimension of the roadmap is the most important! With the lost direction, with the lost time and with the negative experiences we can be caught up in the past. We see today a group of people who brought that lady to Jesus today… they were so impressed with themselves that they caught that lady sinning, they were so caught up with the law of the Moses given in the past, they were so involved in the fact that Jesus had insulted them so many times in so many ways, all things of the past… that they failed to see what was going on in the mind of that woman. The grief that was crying out from her eyes, the shame that was constricting her heart and her body, the anger that was swelling in her mind, the guilt that was tearing her apart – nothing mattered to those people who stood with stones in their hands. Jesus saw what they did not see! The person who was there on the ground waiting for the stones to be pelted, thinking to herself, it was better to die than to live, it was better to be stoned than to be looked at with the past in reference. It would have been easier for Jesus to send those self made judges away than to reassure that woman of her worth! Without a word on her burdensome past, Jesus tells her – Go and sin no more! Go… Go… Go on… To go on, with Christ in focus, to press on forgetting the past and to progress in the path of Christ…that is the call today!

With the hope that God awaits us there where we are headed to, we are called to progress. Falls, faults, failures and fake successes…let them not deter us. To rise, to restart and to resume our journey is an act of hope. That is what Jesus calls us to. To journey with hope, to never be discouraged but persevere through problems, to prioritise Christ without losing our focus, our vision, our direction, to progress constantly towards that fullness that Christ wishes to offer us. 

Like pilgrims set on a journey towards the house of grace, we are called to journey on!!! The Compass is set… Christ is the coordinate points… Christ is the direction… God our Father and Mother awaits us at home… lets journey on, in the path that Christ has traced, with joy and with hope.