PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is communion

The WORD in LENT - Fifth week, Saturday

April 1, 2023: Ezekiel 37: 21-28; John 11: 45-56

The Word today offers us a clue to understand the central mission of the Son of God. As God announces it so explicitly through the prophets, what God wishes is to gather into one all the dispersed children of God, dispersed geographically, spiritually, economically, politically and in every other way. Jesus is the son of David, promised in all eternity to gather not merely the two nations (Judah and Israel), but all dispersed children of God into one. 

The call is ours too: to be agents of unity and harmony, uniting people in love and building a humanity that is joyful. If we are against such unity, even if merely in thought or merely in single instances, we are not in line with the mission of the Saviour. He would say, 'if you don't gather with me, you scatter!' (cf. Lk 11:23; Mt 12:30). 

The simplest and the plainest definition of peace is co-existence. Though that is not the ideal of all ideals proposed by peace, it is something fundamental to peace - to live together, to gather all in one, to have the possibility of co-existing. Each of us, in every way we can, is called to do all that one can towards bringing true peace, harmony and love, wherever we are. Lent is a time when I can have a look at myself and judge how disposed I am towards bringing this peace and harmony - in terms of faith, it is communion.

Where I am, in what I do, in my thoughts and in my choices, beginning from the immediate context of my family and community, do I really act as an agent of communion? Or am I dividing people, segregating people, antagonising persons, and destroying peace? That is the ultimate question that this Peace-Lent leaves us with to reflect on as we enter into the Holy Week tomorrow, because peace is communion. 

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace entails suffering!

The WORD in LENT - Fifth week, Friday

March 31, 2023: Jeremiah 20: 10-13; John 10: 31-42

Jeremiah is indeed a perfect foreshadow of Jesus, except in one case! He was in distress too, just as Jesus, for the sake of the will of the One who called him and had sent him; he was cornered for nothing and taken to task for his dedication to the Lord and to the mission handed to him by the Lord. When they persecuted him with their hatred, he cried out to the Lord to come to his assistance and vindicate him in the presence of these people.

In contrast to Jeremiah, Jesus does not wish to see the vengeance that the Lord would take on those who did not heed his call, those who were persecuting him for wrong reasons, those who refused to see such an obvious point that he was mking amidst them, by his words and deeds. Jesus always wished that they turn to him, believe in him, in his words and in his works and realise that he is in the Father and the Father is in him. 

Both Jeremiah and Jesus, give us one message: there can be no peace without suffering! They give this message in the very example of their lives, in distress for the Lord. Blessed are those who hunger for justice and peace, for they shall be filled; Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for their's is the kingdom of God. Being in distress for the Lord, for the Lord's purposes, is a crucial way to peace, and that would indicate an obvious truth - that peace entails suffering!

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is Eternity

The WORD in LENT - Fifth week, Thursday

March 30, 2023: Genesis 17:3-9; John 8: 51-59

Though they claimed to be people of the covenant, they did not grasp the real meaning of the covenant that the Lord had made with them. They considered it to be only a material blessing, giving them prosperity and posterity. Jesus tries to drive home to their minds the holistic difference that the Lord makes in our lives, in and through the covenant: the covenant actually makes us like God - eternal and all spiritual. 

Whoever keeps my word will never see death, declares Jesus. Never seeing death, or becoming immortal or eternal like God, is to participate in the very nature of God. That is what our covenant with the Lord makes of us - immortal, eternal, spiritual beings destined for the Glory of God. This is what Jesus wishes to introduce us into - that would fill us with a peace that is eternal. 

In Jesus we have a profound reality to observe and accept: that God wants to share with us God's very nature -the nature of eternity, the aspect of timelessness, the fact that our earthly life is just a tiny part of the entire existence we possess, in the mind of God earlier and in union with God later. If we accept this perspective, we would understand the folly of an exaggerated insistence and dependence on material prosperity. In this vision, we would be able to understand what Jesus meant when he said, before ever Abraham was, I am! 

Are we ready to understand the true meaning of the covenant we have with God or are we picking up stones against it? Oh, what a peace that God has in store for us, a peace that is eternity!

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is Freedom!

The WORD in LENT - Fifth week, Wednesday

March 29, 2023: Daniel 3: 14-20,24-25,28; John 8: 31-42

Truth will set you free; true love will set you free; it will make you experience that freedom even inside a furnace - what a strong message from the Word today, and this is the foundation of true peace too! A truth that sets you free! 

The Word speaks of the power of truth to set persons free. Faithfulness to One God was an act of truth for the Jews - because that is what they experienced and they never wished to compromise on  that. Today we see the story of the three men inside the furnace - the icons of this uncopromising dedication to truth... in and through their faithfulness to God. They were ready to lay down their lives. In stead they set ablaze the fire of faithfulness in the others.

Jesus shows the same faithfulness in his fearlessness. He speaks against the compromises the Jews continue to make and accuses them of being slaves to their own compromises. In fact compromises lead to bondages, while truth leads to freedom and peace! It is easy to win a so-called peace with compromises, but that would not last long and even as much as it lasts, it would not be true peace. It would be a state of inner restlessness and turmoil, enough to ask someone who has lied for the first time. The problem is we get so used to this inner turmoil and compromises that we are deceived by psuedo-peace very easily.

We have our daily furnaces in our lives, to prove our faithfulness to God, our uprightness in truth. The offer is clear and open: I will set you free, truth will set you free, Lord declares. The real source of peace is here, for peace is freedom!

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is looking up to the Lord

The WORD in LENT - Fifth week, Tuesday

March 28, 2023: Numbers 21: 4-9; John 8:21-30

They thought they were finishing his story off. Little did they know they were giving rise to an all new history. The Lord was lifted and as he had said, he drew all to himself when he was lifted. 

Today too, as always, the blood of some innocent children of God is being spilled for no reason, or for some petty selfcentredness, but it is not a signal of the end of the Reign of God. In stead, let the world beware that the Lord is being lifted up. And when the Lord is lifted up, he will definitely draw people to himself.

All that we need to do is like Jesus himself guarantee that we do not act as we like but according to the will of the One who had called us. As Jesus himself testified it was his doing the will of his Father that gave him the meaning of his life. As the Scripture points through St. Paul it is the obedience to the Father that placed Jesus above every being on earth and gave him the name that is above every name ( Phil 2: 8-11). Jesus was lifted high in his choice for the will of God. 

When we decide to do the will of God, we shall be lifted too! But that does not mean, we will have a great time, appreciation and affirmation, celebrations and jubilations... it means that we will be denounced, tortured, and even killed. That is being lifted, a very painful process - but the only process that will render us true children of God, the only process that will guarantee authentic peace, the only process that will fill us with peace and make us instruments of that peace for the world. 

Are we ready to look up to the Lord, lifted high, with a heart to let ourselves be drawn by him, and be lifted as he was?

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is siding with the weak

The WORD in LENT: Fifth week, Monday

March 27, 2023: Daniel 13: 1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62; John 8; 1-11

Susanna's story in the first reading and the story of the woman in the Gospel accused of adultery brought to Jesus, are two grand examples of the fact that God takes side with the weak and the vulnerable. At times the so-called just and righteous would wonder what is wrong with God, the way God takes sides with the so-called sinners and the undeserving! But if they were truly just and truly righteous, that is if they were really Godly, they would do the same too - side with the weak!

It would be the same with us: If we were careful not to side ourselves with the self righteous and self proclaimed just ones, we would easily understand our call to play God's role in the situations we find ourselves in: the role of taking sides with the weak, the vulnerable, the little ones of the Lord! That is the root of true peace. 

The difference between the above mentioned two camps is this: one is obssessed with condemning, the other is moved by compassion. It is compassion that is Godly and we need to grow seriously out of a vindictive spirit, if we want to put on the mind of Christ. 

True Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things (1 Cor 13:7).

PEACE IS TOWARDS NEW LIFE

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Fifth Sunday in Lent 

March 26, 2023: Ezekiel 37:12-14; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45

The signs of life are newness, change, growth, freshness and development. We are called to be People of Life. Being people of life is not easy today, because we live in a culture of death. Death is signified by a state of stand still, a state of no change, a state of decay, a state of giving up, a state of discouragement. The world today is filled with these signs - everyone seems to be giving up very easily. People see corruption and mismanagement, but they give up that nothing can be done - this becomes the source of a restlessness. People see sinfulness and decadence, but give up saying that is the order of the day- that proves to be a distinct origin of peacelessness. Can these be signs of a people of life? Can a Christian take this stand towards life?

The Word this Sunday invites us to be People of Life... because we are children of the God of Life. God gives us life and constantly renews us. In the first reading, we are invited to reflect through Prophet Ezekiel, the gift of Life that is given to us by the very author of life, that is God. In faith we have a relationship built between God and us: You shall be my people and I shall be your God... that is the alliance that God has made with us, and is faithful to. You shall be my children and I shall be your father and mother; You shall be my flock and I shall be your shepherd; You shall be my beloved and I shall fill you with my love... says the Lord. 

That promise of life is a source of peace, the depth of true sense in life. Today the Lord promises us amidst all the darkness of the world and the shadow of death, to fill us with God's Spirit and make us live. As those dry bones, gathered together and stood up to life, so can we rise up in this world as people of life, living a life of Faith.

We are constantly challenged and threatened by the darkness that surrounds us, as the darkness that surrounded Lazarus in the tomb. Lord it's been four days since he has been laid there, they said. Four days... the Jews believed that from the fourth day after death, the process of decay began. The decayed body comes to life, the situation of total hopelessness is brought to life by the Hope of Resurrection... Jesus declares, I am the Life and Resurrection. In Baptism we are all united to the death of Christ on the Cross, and that gives us the hope of sharing the Resurrection of the Lord. 

Resurrection is the promise of the deepest of all peace, the eternal peace that God alone can give. That promise rests on the call that we have received to live as People of life, people who look to the light, people who look up to resurrection, people who are filled with joy and optimism, people who live a life of Hope.

If we are people of life, it has to be seen in our daily life... we cannot live a life that is like anyone else and call ourselves people of life. We cannot grumble and mourn like everyone and call ourselves people of life. We cannot give up and groan like the rest of the world and call ourselves people of life. We cannot just succumb to sinfulness and evil and still call ourselves people of life. St. Paul in the second letter makes it clear to us...we are to live our life in the Spirit, not the life of flesh. Life in the Spirit is filled with light, radiance, joy and above all, Love. The Spirit of the Risen Lord has to fill our life and thus we will be light to the nations, witness of God's love to the people around, testimonies of the Resurrection that is promised to us and signs of the eternal life that we are called to. 

That is the guarantee of peace, our own and that of the whole humanity. The foundation is love...to live a life that is filled with love, love for God who loves us abundantly and love for our brothers and sisters, with respect and dignity to each and every child of God. We will stand for, radiate and uphold life as people of life, living a life of Love.

Let us heed the call that the readings give us today: to be people of life, in faith, in hope and in love. Turning to the God of life in faith, beholding the gift of life and resurrection in hope and living a life in the Spirit, in a true sense of love... is a sure way to peace at heart and peace of the humanity.

God Begins - God enters our lives!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

March 25, 2023: The Solemnity of Annunciation
Isaiah 7: 10-14, 8:10; Hebrews 10: 4-10; Luke 1: 26-36

I remember as a boy, having just entered the seminary, I was taken up by the subtitle in the prayer of the Angelus: God Begins -  the Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary! It is a stark reminder of the fact that our God is not merely a God who responds... but God begins, God reveals, God initiates, intervenes at the right time even without an asking. That is why St. John proclaimed, we love God because God first loved us (1 Jn 4:19). 

The feast of Annunciation is a splendid manifestation of this nature of God, the nature of intervening at the appointed time. In this solemnity and from the Word we listen to today, we see three people involved here, who are, each in their own inimitable manner, signs of a holistic life giving message to humanity. 

First, the Angel: Angel Gabriel stands for Faith - an Angel is a concrete sign of God's relationship with us. Angels are God's spokespersons, God's messengers and God's extensions who make present God to us in concrete ways possible. Our Faith is that God continues to live with us, even amidst all the worldliness that we are surrounded by. And the Angel Gabriel today, in bringing the message to Mary, brings us too the message of the nearness of God, the all loving presence of God. 

Secondly, Mary the young virgin: Mary stands for Hope - She shines as a concrete sign of our relationship with God. Mary stands out as a great witness of God's hope, to the hopeless humanity of all ages. Indifference and Individualism marks the humanity of today and Mary's 'yes' is a revolution that spells hope to the world and to the entire humanity. If she can, in her yes, give herself totally for the redemption of the world, can we not in our own way, offer our lives for our brothers and sisters? That is the mission of hope. 

Thirdly, the Child that is promised: Jesus who is conceived stands for Love - He has been the most concrete sign that God still loves the World. God has not given up on us and God will never do! A love that is ready to give totally of Itself (Rom 8:32). The Child that is promised is a sign of God's everlasting and unconditional love that gives life and light to the otherwise darkness filled world today.

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is living to the full

The WORD in LENT - Fourth week, Friday

March 24, 2023: Wisdom 2: 1, 12-22; John 7: 1-2, 10, 25-30

People need no special reason to reject or condemn some one... it is enough that he or she is different from them. The passage from the book of Wisdom, though written hundreds of years before Christ, seems to fit in exactly to his life, as if it were a direct prophecy about Christ's life and its end. If we really look a little more deep, it may suit many others of our times too... persons who stand for truth, persons who are ridiculed for their commitment, persons who are threatened for their integrity in character, persons who are left to suffer just because they are sincere and genuine, and so on. Yes, it will fit into the life of anyone who wishes to live the purpose of one's life to the full.

There is a contrast that struck me, as I reflected on the readings of today: in the first reading there is a repeated usage of the phrase, "let us" - let us lie in wait, let us test, let us condemn and so on; while in the Gospel there is a repeated referrence of Jesus to himself - you know me, one who sent me, I have come from etc. The contrast can give us an insight into distinguishing conformity and integrity - the conformity to the collective evil around and the integrity of the persons of God who have their identity in God. 

Integrity of the persons of God, like Jesus, lies in the capacity to live our life to the full, and be reminders of it to everyone around! It does not matter what surrounds me or who surrounds me, I need to resolve in the Lord to live my life to the full. Jesus knew that he will be soon laid hands upon, but that would not stop him from being what he were, or doing what he did! It is so important that we understand our real identity with such clarity, to be as strong and determined as Jesus was. That alone can enable and empower us to live to the full, for peace is in fact, living to the full.

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is testimony!

The WORD in LENT - Fourth week, Thursday

March 23, 2023: Exodus 32: 7-14; John 5: 31-47

The Gospel today is a very dense passage where Jesus speaks of his testimonies about himself and his identity, his testimony about God and the mission that the One who has called and sent him. In the extensive discourse what Jesus wishes to highlight is that we know, we understand, we come to believe, but these do not stand firm for long. 

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, takes us away from God. We see people going away from God, denying God, or creating their own god or gods when things do not go the way that they want. Is this my way of thinking too?

Here we are reminded, that our call is to be testimonies of the Lord and of what the Lord wants to accomplish in and through us. All over the world, we have any number of cases of persons who are persecuted, tortured, oppressed and even killed in the name of the faith and of the testimony they offer. But what stands out is the endurance of these persons and communities. Their struggles and deaths give us pain, but remain a great testimony, a testimony of peace!

The Holy Father calls them, 'the martyrs of our day'. The challenge is, how enduring are we in our commitment to the Lord? How prepared are we to hold on to our faith, in the face of struggles? How persevering are we to wait for the wonders that the Lord has in store for us! That will decide how much peace we would have and how much peace we would promote!

One good spiritual exercise that we can think of could be - to become aware of our words and our actions, and check how much of our thoughts and words bear testimony to the Lord, for peace is testimony!

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is to love like God

The WORD in LENT - Fourth week, Wednesday

March 22, 2023: Isaiah 49: 8-15; John 5: 17-30

Does God love all in the same manner? Ofcourse, God is never partial but what would love mean if it is the same with everyone, everywhere! Love is always specific. If love is wishing the good of the other, how would I wish the good of someone, without knowing the specific good that person is in need of. Evey form of love has to be specific. And just so, above all, God's love is specific - says the Word today; we would do well to realise that, to feel peace and serenity within.

God's love comes to respond to the need of each one proper to the void he or she experiences in life. A mother's expression of love to a hungry child is feeding it; her reaching out to a frightened child is to caress it reassuringly! God's love is such, declares the Word today: even if that mother were to forsake, God would never forsake us! What a peace-filled affirmation it is, however simplistic it may sound!

It takes special effort to respond to each one, proper to his or her need. The needs of each person vary, at times to the extent of one clashing against the other! God alone has the capacity of reconciling all of them and making the right thing happen at the right time - is that not the definition of peace - right thing happening at the right time, in the right order. St. Paul paraphrased this in his letter to the Romans: all things work together for good to them that love God, to those who are called according to God's purpose (cf Rom 8:28). 

Acknowledging God's personal love for each of us and imitating God in loving each one in the specific and concrete manner that we need to, is the surest way to lasting peace. Jesus teaches this from his own lifestyle as Son of God who does everything just as God and just as God commands. It is simply participating in God's love, in other words, to love like God - as a way to peace. 

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is Flowing.

The WORD in LENT - Fourth week, Tuesday

March 21, 2023: Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12; John 5: 1-3,5-16

We have a wonderful imagery to ponder over today: 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! Peace is flowing like a river; flowing out of you and me... for the Lord is with us and we are the dwelling place of God.

For the man who had been waiting for 38 years to get into that life giving water, but he could not; there were others who would overtake him, despise him and leave him behind still miserable. Now he has the water come to him. Yes, the fact that Jesus approached him was like the waters came to him, instead of he going to the waters. If you cannot not get to the mountain, the mountain shall get to you, if only you have the humility to let it pass. 

The Lord reaches out to us, flows into our lives to enliven us. When Jesus looks at us and asks us, just as he did to the man - "do you want to be well again"? "do you wish to expereince peace in life"? "do you want to be renewed this lent" - what would be our response? A direct, "yes" or "no"? Or, a lamentation on those who do not help, a complaint on the troubles we are facing and so on? 

Jesus does not wait for it when it is the rigt time. All that we need to do, is pick up our mat and walk - that we give up the old ways and move ahead, that we leave out our lamentations and complaints and reach out. Jesus invites us indeed, to become the waters that enliven people around us, that we reach out to others and flow into their lives, enlivening them! We need to flow on, we cannot get stuck, neither to our ways nor to our own selves. We need to be filled the Lord and flow on, ensuring peace in our hearts and wherever we are. 

St. Joseph - as the Word projects him

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Solemnity of St. Joseph: Silent, Simple and Sleeping!
2 Samuel 7: 4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22; Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24a.

St. Joseph occupies a huge space in the climax of God's salvific plan which was accomplished in Jesus - still he remains a quiet, noiseless and unassuming person! In a noisy world of today, which claims recognition for every little thing and clamours for attention, St. Joseph's mode of living his life, carrying out his mission and responding to his call is a lovely lesson. Apart from this, there are three dimensions of this saint that we can notice emerging from the Word today.

Silent Protagonist:

He had a very important role to play within the historical events that were unfolding in time, and he played it to perfection. The extraordinary quality that we see in this personality is his silence - how he remained recollected in his depths, to receive the directions from the Lord and execute them to the letter. The prefigurement of this image is seen in Abraham, presented to us in the second reading - how he spoke very little too; refrained from asking questions and dared to even give up his only son! Above all, he listened and obeyed! St. Joseph too listened and for that he chose to remain silent!

Simple Person:

He was simple as a person... this does not mean he had just an old fashioned dress and no sandals on feet - that is how 'being simple' is understood these days! Simple is opposed to complicated! He was not complicated in anyway - an yes meant yes and a no meant no. He thought of rejecting Mary, he was told to accept and he accepted. He thought of returning to Judea, but was told not to and he went to the district of Galilee. He was a simple man who had no air of ego around him nor any self-interests to hang on! The figure of David is presented to us in the first reading drawing our attention to a way of life that was simple. He was fooled for the exaggerated enthusiasm he had for the Lord (when he danced before the ark) but he never even bothered about it. Though the man had limitations and weaknesses within him, he had no ego absolutely. When he was pointed out, he immediately repented. He was called to be a servant of the Lord and even as a King he remained so! St. Joseph never complicated his role or his person, he remained as simple as he was called.

Sleeping Prophet:

Sleeping St. Joseph is a popular devotion by now... a renewed perspective reminded by our Holy Father. Incidently that reminds us to pray for Pope Francis who completes 10 years of his papacy today! May God bless this wonderful servant of God, who reminds us so plainly what it means to live as a Christian today - amidst all confusions and controversies - ever faithful to the call to be yeast, salt and light. Now let us get back to our Sleeping Joseph. It is not a mere novelty of thinking but an intense perspective of faith: the Lord provided for God's beloved even as they sleep (Ps 127:2). It is one lifestyle to spend sleepless nights thinking about something. It is completely a different life style to leave it to the Lord and sleep over it, for the Lord takes care of me even if I am asleep! It is a choice. It is a prophetic sleep when it is out of total surrender to the Lord - Joseph of the Old Testament, the namesake of the saint we celebrate, is a beautiful example of this lifestyle. He surrendered himself totally to the Lord and lived his life like a dream. St. Joseph too was so surrendered to the Lord that even as he slept, he felt protected and directed.

Today, let us thank God for the great gift and example of St. Joseph. Let us not only seek his intercession, but learn from his life that teaches us how to live our Christian call. May St. Joseph protect and direct us always. 

PEACE IS SEEING LIKE GOD

PEACE-LENT 2023: Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 19, 2023: 1 Samuel 16: 1,6-7,10-13; Ephesians 5: 8-14; John 9: 1-41

"We are children of the Light", the readings remind us today and invite us to live in the light, as a way to lasting peace! To awake from the slumber of the darkness, to avoid the works of the people of darkness and to acknowledge being anointed to announce the good news to the world - that is the call to be children of the light. We have the light within us, the Light of the world is with us, we are lighted to shine, we are lighted to shine as testimonies to the Light that longs to lead everyone to fullness of life, to eternal peace!

We are called to SEE. Blindness is not merely of the physical eye... blindness of the heart to perceive the something that is so apparent is the worst of all blindness. Physical blindness is a handicap, but Spiritual blindness sometimes is a choice, a choice against something obvious! Not to see the goodness of the other, not to see the good the other has done to you, not to see the great things that God has done for us, these are the blindnesses out of which the Lord calls us today. 

Most times, the lack of peace that we face in our heart and in our situation is our own making. It is our own way of creating a darkness all around us, that we become so incapable of seeing. Sometimes the darkness within us, surround us so much that we may find comfortable living within it. That was the problem of the pharisees and the scribes: they were so cosy in their own world but Jesus disturbed them! They thought they were peaceful and Jesus was raking up a storm; but in fact they were deceived in a false comfort and Jesus was challenging them to true peace, by opening their eyes. He called them to light, he called them to awake. The Word today, calls us to AWAKE and see the Light, shining on us! That is first step to true peace.

We are called to SEE LIKE GOD. As children of God we are called, not just to see, but to see like God. The first reading presents to us an incident where the Lord gives us a practical lesson for our life. David, the least of all in the family of Jesse was chosen against all odds to be the ruler of Israel. There are other such occasions too that we find in the Bible: Joseph the sold slave, Gideon the weakling, Esther the orphan girl and so on. The message is clear: to see like God. 

As the Lord clarifies it (1 Sam 16:7), the Lord sees the heart and not the external appearances; the Lord sees the internal disposition and not the eternal display; the Lord sees the interior openness and not a stubborn self righteousness. To see like God would mean to avoid the works of the people of darkness, who try to close their eyes to any good that someone can do because of a prejudice they have at heart; who look for any lame excuse to judge and vilify others merely because they do not like the other; who look at others as threats and wait to see their ruin. Avoid the works of darkness and put on the armour of Light!

We are called to MAKE OTHERS SEE GOD. We are anointed people of God, chosen children of God. Peter reminds us in his letter, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Pet 1:9). By our baptism we have been anointed and by the sacrament of confirmation we are confirmed in the anointing - that we are to announce to the world the good news of the love of God. That we may see and see like God, we are given the Light of the Lord. The Light shines within us with such splendour that it radiates to the world around us! We guarantee peace not just in our hearts but in the situation we live in, in the society and in the whole world. 

If we can say like that blind man in the Gospel - "One thing I know, I was blind and now I can see!" - we are testimonies to the Light that shines within us, the Light that can give meaning to the world, the Light that alone can lead us to true peace and loving communion. When we really see and see like God, the works of God will be made visible through us and that is what we are called to. Let us thank God for having given us God's light and let us be lighted to be testimonies of the the Light of the world. 

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is being Spiritual

The WORD in LENT - Third week, Saturday

March 18, 2023: Hosea 5:15 - 6:6; Luke 18: 9-14

Peace is a fruit of growing to be truly spiritual. At times being spiritual 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... and certainly that would lead to peace. 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.

Being Spiritual means to understand within me what the Spirit of the Lord wants of me and to lead my life in the Spirit's path - in peace with myself, with the others and with my Creator. 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 and infact this is one of fundamental ingredients of true peace. 

The reminder therefore today is: Relate lovingly, become conscious of your tendency to judge and grow more and more spiritual - and you will have peace!

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is loving!

The WORD in LENT - Third week, Friday

March 17, 2023: Hosea 14: 2-10; Mark 12: 28-34

The twofold love that Jesus speaks of today is a message that we are used to hearing so much - Love of God and love of the neighbour. But what makes the difference here is the first reading which provides a slightly different context in which we read the commandments from the Lord. What is the context: Hosea speaks of returning to the Lord, to the True God.

The whole of Lent is a time we reflect on returning to the Lord, repentance of our ways and reforming our lives. Jesus seems to suggest, be truly loving in your ways and you would have returned to the Lord much faster than you imagined! Loving God and loving neighbours is the Christian lifestyle and it provides the fundamental way to reach the Lord. 

Here we can make two statements and that will explicate the teaching clearer:

You make all your sacrifices, gives all the alms that you can, spend all the time that you find in prayer and adoration, speak about God and are passionate about your religious duties... but if you do not love your brother and sister, beginning with those in your family - you are far from a truly Christian life.

Instead, you find it so hard to fast or so difficult to mortify yourself, you find it difficult to find even half an hour together to sit in front of the Lord and you find it so difficult to go to Church... but you love your brother or your sister wholeheartedly, with a sincere heart, genuine spirt and a godly sense...you are so close to the Lord and the Lord's way of life!

This is an undoubtable, indisputable means to peace: Be loving!... being loving in one's thought, word and deed; loving everyone whom we meet, offering it up to the Lord consciously, as a true and living sacrifice.  

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is Listening

The WORD in LENT - Third week, Thursday

March 16, 2023: Jeremiah 7: 23-28; Luke 11: 14-23

One of the prominent 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! The first step towards that is refusing to listen! Yes, it is true... not just incapacity to listen, but refusing to listen!

Every one of us is made capable of listening to the Lord and we are offered innumerable opportunities to listen, in fact we need not make any exaggerated effort to listen! Remaining calm, recollecting within, staying still is enough for us to listen to the Word, listen to what the Lord wants to communicated and reveal. But the problem begins when we make ourselves incapable of it, by our choices and priorities. 

In these priorities and choices, we relegate the aspect of listening to the Lord, to such a despicable position that we go far far away from God and we wish to establish 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!

Precisely this fact, that God has made us for a life of union with the Lord, makes me lose my peace of mind or peace in the world, when we drift away from God and from God's voice. The call is simple but challenging - don't harden you hearts and your ears, listen and change, and through that you would have worked on your part of the Reign - that you yould have done your lot for peace. 

Peace is listening - listening to the voice of the Lord who instructs us, listening to the cries of those around who give us the opportunity to live the mercy we have received from God, listening to everything that is happening around me to know what is expected of me here and now... listening leads to peace!

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is Relationship

The WORD in LENT - Third week, Wednesday

March 15, 2023: Deuteronomy 4: 1,5-9; Matthew 5: 17-19

The Word today speaks to us of the Commandments - what were they but the expressed wish of the Lord who brought the people up to their status of God's people.  This was indeed the way that the Lord taught them to be real people of God. The Old Testament people felt assured that when they walked in the path of the commandments, they were on the right track. At times this assurance and the anxiety to hold on to this assurance made them even highly legalistic. 

On his part, Jesus, though he stood tooth and nail against legalism, respected the commands of the Lord and taught his disciples how to make it humanly possible to abide by those commandments. The expressed wish of the Father, was something sacred and holy to Jesus and he declared that they are never changing, eternal and foundational for our faith. 

Now therefore comes the central question - how to understand the law, the commandments and their significance, without falling into the trap of legalism? That is the mind of Christ, the way of Christ, the Christian approach to law! To understand the commandments, the law, as an expression of our faith, a manifestation of our rapport with the Lord, our faithfulness to the love that God has towards us, and never considering it as an oblgation or a burden or an instrument to judge the other. 

It is fundamentally the relationship that we have with God - that which determines the value and the right place of every other aspect in our life. It is this relationship that will fill us with peace - in our hearts, in our families, in our society and for the entire humanity. The right relationship that is never failing and all illumining. We are called to obey these, and teach generations to do the same! We are called to realise its value and remind and instruct each other about it. Whoever obeys and teaches these, will be in peace and will fill their world with peace! 

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is mercy

The WORD in LENT - Third week, Tuesday

March 14, 2023: Daniel 3: 25, 34-43; Matthew 18: 21-35 

The Word today invites us to understand the identity of the Lord as "mercy". The Lord gives and forgives with an abundance of mercy; if not, we would die and perish. When the Lord offered us the greatest of all gifts, God's own image and likeness, God gave us the very nature that God beholds. We were made like God, hardly less than the angels!  God gives and so we are called to give. God forgives and so we are called to forgive. God is merciful, and so we are called to be merciful too!

When we are not merciful, we become alien to ourselves - for two reasons! Firstly because we deny the very nature in which we were created, the mercy of our Creator. Secondly, because we deny the limitless mercy that we have received from God. In acting without mercy, we deny the mercy that we have received. Do we really deserve then to be called children of God, created in the image of God?

In refusing to be merciful, we turn not only ungodly but even inhuman! We ruin our peace, the peace of those around us and the peace of the humanity at large! A simple and single merciless act can be certainly correlated to the lost of world peace at the international and global level. When we are absolutely dedicated to being merciful in our limited and particular context, we have done our part in bringing peace to this world. 

What matters is that we realise the image that we bear and strive to live up to that image! Let us forgive, not just a few times or just when it is convenient to us, but all the time, amidst whatever tribulations we might be in. That seems a needed message for the present times and that is the only way to peace, because peace is mercy!

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is thirsting

The WORD in LENT - Third week, Monday

March 13, 2023: 2 Kings 5: 1-5; Luke 4: 24-30

The theme introduced by the Word yesterday, the third Sunday, carries on today! We see that in the responsorial psalm that we prayed, which connects the Word to the liturgy. Peace is thirsting - thirsting for God, thirsting for God experience, thirsting for the spiritual wellbeing. How is spiritual thirst and spiritual wellbeing correlated - that is what is explained by the readings today! 

There can be three categories of persons based on the three typologies of attitudes that they manifest, regarding a spiritual good that they are proposed with.  The first category are those who have actually no thirst! They feel fulfilled, complete, saturated and self-sufficient. Like those who have no thirst, even if they have a bottle of purest water they can imagine, would only look and stare at it, so would these! This is the complaint of Jesus against his own people: they were so used to him that they could not see the Son of God in him!

The second category is of those persons who have a thirst, but it is not the most essential need at the moment. They can manage their thirst, or stifle their need for a drink, because they have many other things that matter more to them. It refers to persons to whom the other things like the ego, the success, the need to show themselves as powerful before the world, the selfish and childish interests, matter much more than any spiritual need! They can pass by a spiritual need offered to them, until a point when they would realise what they missed and then they would regret about it. Naman was one such, but luckily his servant girl saved him from the folly. 

The third category is of those persons who have an overwhelming thirst for the Spirit. They value this thirst as the uppermost in their life and they would do anything to address that need! These are persons of the Reign who would prioritise their spiritual thirst and thus have that spiritual experience of God, that peace that God alone can give! There is no stopping them... they will have their peace, because peace is thirsting, thirsting for God, for God-experience.

PEACE IS THIRSTING FOR GOD

PEACE-LENT 2023: Third Sunday of Lent

March 12: Exodus 17: 3-7; Romas 5: 1-2,5-8; John 4: 5-42

Life is beautiful, no doubt; but it never lacks its share of problems, difficulties, confusions, traps and temptations. The beauty lies precisely in the manner in which a person lives these peculiar moments more than the happier ones. Especially, anyone claiming to be a person of faith, has to manifest a level of maturity that shows him or her capable of living with a constant thirst. Although this thirst itself is a lack of internal peace, true and wholesome peace can come only from a thirst, a thirst for God. The liturgy today invites us to reflect on this aspect of one's faith life: thirsting for God, as a way to peace!

Life has its own patches of dryness and no one's life is an exception to it. The dryness could be more severe in some, when compared to the others. What matters is not actually how much more or how much less, but how a person handles one's own share of dryness in his or her life. Handling aridity in life is a faith-skill. In the first reading today, we see the people of Israel in their driest patch of their history - the sojourn in the desert. They are brought forth from slavery across the Red Sea, with great and mighty signs and wonders. But once in the desert, they complain for every little thing, lacking patience to the core. They long for the onions and the garlic of Egypt, they long for the flesh and meat they once had in plenty, they fret that they are without a drop of water! It is easy to laugh at them or judge their impatience, but we will do well before that to think of ourselves and our lives. 

Issues in the family, the employment issues, the financial crisis, the relationship issues, sickness, misunderstanding... as soon as a problem begins in our lives don't we begin to complain too? The Lord teaches us - to TURN TO THE ROCK, when struggling to handle aridity in life. Dying without water, the people get water from the least expected source... in the dry parched desert and worse still, a dry boulder of a rock in that desert. If we turn to the Lord, our Rock... we will see solutions to our problems, clarity to our confusions, help in our difficulties, from the least expected quarters. Let us turn to the Rock.

The second reading instructs us how to comport ourselves while feeling the thirst. When in the thick of a problem or in the eye of the storm, where do we fix our gaze? There could be varied ways of interpreting one's problem and seeking a way out of it. One way is to fix our minds on the problem, but that will only magnify the problem. Another way is to fix our eyes on ourselves, but that will only make us more and more depressed in self pity. Yet another way is shift our attention to something else in life, but beware, the problem will continue to be there only to return at another opportune moment to torment us. 

St. Paul invites us to fix our gaze on Christ, on the Lord who, even while we were undeserving sinners, was ready to lay down his life for us. Such is the love of God for us and should we fret when we are in a crisis? We are invited to TURN TO THE SPRING, to the saving grace that loves without measure, the love that has been "poured" into our hearts from that Spring. It is from this spring that we shall fill ourselves, our hearts and our being with that peace we are thirsting for.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of a thirst with which we should all live! It is not the thirst for a material good, not a thirst for a interim peace, not a thirst for a breath of temporary relief but a thirst for eternal life, a thirst for perennial peace, a thirst for fullness of life - a life-giving thirst. He offers to give us the living water, the spring "gushing up to eternal life" (Jn 4:14). "All who are thirsty, come to me and drink" he declared elsewhere (Jn 7:37). We are called to live with that thirst, constantly longing for God, looking for that peace that can come from God alone. 

Like that deer that yearns for running streams, like the parched land that longs for rain, our soul should thirst for God, teaches the psalm (42). Let us thirst for God, let us thirst for a deeper and stronger relationship with God. Let us thirst for the Spirit, let us thirst for the fruits of the Spirit, let us thirst for a life that is united with God, let us thirst for a life that is filled with God. Let nothing disturb us... let nothing separate us from God... neither hardships nor distress nor persecution nor famine nor perils nor sword, not even death; let nothing separate us from God. Let these days of lent help us to TURN TO LIFE IN GOD.

True peace is a thirst, a thirst for lasting good in life, a thirst for the only unchanging aspect of our life, yes, it is a unending thirst for God. The more we thirst for God, the more shall we seek peace and the more shall we be disposed to true peace. Peace be with you! Shalom!

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is belonging

The WORD in LENT - Second week, Saturday

March 11, 2023: Micah 7:14-15,18-20; Luke 15: 1-3,11-32

Yesterday we reflected on the assurance that God loves us... to say the Lord loves me is to trust in the goodness of the Lord; and to say I love the Lord is to dare to belong to the Lord. The former is far more easier than the latter which requires a great effort on my part to be true.

In the first reading today, Micah speaks to God with a right of a child who belonged to the Lord, though he acknowledges his own shortcomings. In the parable that Jesus narrates we have the younger son who fell short of perfection but soon realised that he belonged to his father. They both dare to declare to the Lord that they loved the Lord. It is from that sense of belonging to the Lord that true peace can be born. 

It was indeed very daring of the younger son to declare his sense of belonging to the father, which the elder son dared not do. He did not feel that sense of belonging to the father, though he lived all the time with the father. He was there right beside the father and had everything at his disposal, but did he have peace within! Was he capable of celebrating that moment? 

What a lesson to learn - it is not to be taken for granted that I belong to the Lord, just because I am most of the time around him. Even if I were to stray a bit away from the Lord occasionally, it is important to feel that strong sense of belonging to the Lord, only that will bring me back to him. Only that will bring peace back to my heart. 

Only in a strong sense of belonging to the Lord, can I have and celebrate the peace that the Lord alone can give! 

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is assurance

The WORD in LENT - Second week, Friday

March 10, 2023: Genesis 37:3-4,12-13,17-28; Matthew 21:33-43,45-46

"Come let us kill him" - that is the common phrase in the two readings today. There are always persons and situations which are against us, no matter where or when. And life itself is full of such varied episodes - there are ups and there are downs, there are moments of exuberance and there are moments of dullness, there are moments of strength and there are moments of trials, there are moments of grace and there are moments of crisis... how we face these varied moments, depends on the perspective we choose.

If we choose to believe that we are loved - as did Joseph and as did Jesus - whether we are in situations of want or in situations of plenty, we would have that peace that every one longs for. Peace comes from assurance! The greatest of all assurances that we have is that God loves us. The Word seems to tell us today: Be calm; you are Loved!

When we know and we are convinced that the Lord loves us, then we have peace in our hearts. And the vice versa is true too - when we learn to be calm and to surrender, we would see that the Lord loves us with an immense love and that we are called to recompense that love, pay back in fruits.

Instead, when we are not mindful of that fact - we get anxious and make irreparable mistakes. What matters is to be calm and see not only the fact that we are loved but also the fruit we need to bear: that is, to love in return and to love each other. Our life, its meaning and its peace, comes from the assurance that we are loved. And our love becomes an assurance of further peace!

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is Lord-centered

The WORD in LENT - Second week, Thursday

March 9, 2023: Jeremiah 17: 5-10; Luke 16: 19-31

Happy the one who has placed one's trust in the Lord. The Word today draws home to us an important consideration regarding peace of mind and heart, in our daily life. Let us reflect on it in three steps.

One. Peace first of all cannot be achieved, much less can it be achieved by a self centered way of life. "Me, myself and mine" can never allow me to think of the others and of their good. What matters to me would be the absolute for me: my career, my personal wishes and desires, my personal dreams etc.! The one who lives his life just at my doorstep would matter nothing to me for it is never within my perspective. Whatever peace is there, is really precarious!

Two. Not even an other centered life would lead me to true peace, because it would make me dependent on the other, the other's choices and idiosyncracies! My values would be warped and influenced greatly by the goodness or the wiles of the other. I would relativise everything because of the other and I would have no absolute reference point to guide myself. Would that make my life truly peaceful, guess it won't.

Three. The right way to true peace is, to live a Lord-centered life. This kind of a life, Jeremiah compares it to a tree planted on the banks of a river! Maybe we can think of another imagery too - a forest of trees, each of their planted and stuck in their places, but underneath, beneath the soil, all their roots point towards, strive towards, stretch towards one direction, the same direction, the direction where there is a source of water! That is nature! That is true peace - when we stretch towards the Lord, when our life is centered on the Lord.  Here the Lord shall be the absolute reference point and nothing would be relativised. There would be absolute peace. 

It is a Lord-centered life that can take me to true peace. Let us check if we are engaged in a Lord centered life, and peace would find its place without much difficulty!

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is Courage

The WORD in LENT - Second week, Wednesday

March 8, 2023: Jeremiah 18: 18-20; Matthew 20: 17-28

We have two persons today who are well aware of their imminent death - not just death, but a killing. Jeremiah and Jesus, both of them know that people are plotting against them. But they are not in a panic, although they could be perturbed a bit in their hearts. Jeremiah expresses that in his prayer and Jesus expresses that in his further teaching! They both become for us a great illustration of the fact that peace consists of courage!

Without courage we cannot think of peace - peace is not an escapism from problems and conflicts, it is not a hide and seek! It is the capacity to face the conflicts, not in the sense of avenging the trespasser, nor in the sense of retalliating with force. It is taking on the conflicts with the faith that God is our strength, with hope that everything is within God's divine plan and with love that I would continue to serve come what may! 

Courage in terms of the Reign is not the bravery that the world advocates, where I prove myself, establish my supremacy and tell everyone that I am in control of everything. It is remaining firm in the Lord, never losing hope in the love of God and never ceasing to exude that same love in my service to my fellow brothers and sisters. Peace is born there - in that courage! 

When I see Jesus, even at the face of death, insisting on the fact that he has come to serve and shall serve without any hesitation; when I see Jeremiah, at the face of hatred, still appealing to the loving protection of God without agitation, I am given to understand that peace is born out of courage, out of the courage of the Reign - which is undoubtedly filled with faith, hope and love. 

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is Orthopraxis

The WORD in LENT - Second week, Tuesday

March 07, 2023: Isaiah 1: 10,16-20; Matthew 23: 1-12

"Do what they tell you but do not do what they do" - how would I feel if someone said this of me! However, the world is not far from saying that to us Christians. When Mahatma Gandhi said, 'I like Christ, but not Christians', what he meant was exactly this - that we call ourselves Christ-ians, but we seem to be far, far away from the way of life that Christ stood for. Look at the in-fights we have and the kind of stand we take on very many issues. Are they not indicative of this hypocritical discrepancy?

My deeds have to speak the words of faith, and my faith has to be demonstrated by congruent and consistent deeds - this is where peace shall be born. This situates us at the centre of a dialogue between Orthodoxy or right belief and Orthopraxis or right living. Believing the right thing, understanding what I believe and my earnest effort to live daily what I believe, will lead me to doing the right thing and standing by right values. And there shall be peace!

Orthodoxy and Orthopraxis are two things that cannot be separated one from the other. Humility, Mercy, Forgiveness, Compassion and True Love...if these do not describe my person, I am no Christian! The more I grow in these, the more I grow to be a Christian. Have a look at those verbs that Isaiah presents to us today - wash, clean, learn, search, help, be just, plead, come, walk and listen - that is a recipe for orthopraxis, which is an essential constituent of peace - peace in my heart, peace where I am and the world peace!

Orthopraxis, or the right way of life, gave Jesus the authority to stand up and speak, be it in the Sanhedrin or to the Herodians or before the Roman Governor. Indeed, if my Christian life has to have real meaning, I need to pay attention to my way of life, my orthopraxis, and only that shall lead to true peace!

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is Godliness

The WORD in LENT: Second Week - Monday

March 6, 2023: Daniel 9: 4-10; Luke 6: 36-38

Being compassionate, not judging, not condemning, forgiving with mercy, giving without measure... in whom do we see all these? The Gospel says that right - be compassionate as your heavenly Father; never judge or condemn because God does not; forgive because you are forgiven; give because you have been given. The message is clear: be Godly, that is the way to peace!

Humanly speaking peace is not too easy - depending on the level that we are referring to, it gets proportionately complicated. Peace does not come naturally within a person; it does not happen automatically between two person, much less between groups and much more complicated with groups with differences and diversities. In all these contexts, that which offers the possibility of peace is the Divine!

Unfortunately these days, what is seen is just the contrary. The name of God is used to divide, polarise, oppress, violate and even to kill! But is this Godliness? Is this true spirit of knowing God, relating to God and experiencing God. One who has truly experienced God, cannot hate, cannot hurt, cannot divide, cannot disrespect, cannot oppress, cannot degrade, cannot calumniate, cannot hold grudge, cannot avenge! Because God is love, God is mercy, God is compassion and God is peace!

If only God were to treat us as we deserved, just imagine our predicament. That is what the responsorial  psalm reminds us of. Prophet Daniel too reminds us of how undeserving we are of the compassion, forgiveness and the covenantal love of God. But inspite of these, the Lord has loved us and the Lord continues to love us. The call and the challenge is just one: that we become aware of the need to become more and more God-like: be compassionate as your Lord is compassionate! When we become more Godly, there will be peace all around us, for peace is Godliness.