The splendid gift of truly seeing!

WORD 2day: Thursday, 8th week in Ordinary Time

June 1, 2023: Sirach 42: 15-25; Mark 10: 46-52

To truly see the nature and observe all that it points to, to truly see the creation and the creatures and all the marvels they possess, to truly see the process of change and rejuvenation inbuilt in the nature and drink in their splendour, to truly see all that happens around one and sense the lessons that they offer... it is a splendid gift! Not all possess it.

Today, we can without exaggeration join Bartimaeus and ask the Lord that we might see, see truly, observe clearly, listen intently, understand deeply and find the splendour of God's presence with us and within us. Within us because we are, each of us is, the most marvellous of all wonders that God has created and the most precious of all places where God resides. With us because God is ever present with what and who surround us. 

Without God's grace, we cannot see that presence and receive God's directions for our daily life. To see a teary eye and read the helplessness in it; to see the troubled spirit and hear the cry for understanding; to see the disturbed minds and understand the yearning for true love... it is an essential and lovely gift that we can ask God for: the splendid gift of truly seeing!

God in the midst of us

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

May 31, 2023: Mary and Elizabeth - the Feast of Visitation
Zephaniah 3: 14-18a; Luke 1: 39-56

We celebrate the feast of the Visitation of our Blessed Mother to Elizabeth. When Mary entered Elizabeth's household, there was a sense of God that was felt, for two reasons. The first, Mary was carrying Jesus within her and the effect was felt! The second, Mary herself was transformed into the presence of God for Elizabeth!

The first reading today turns our attention to the words of Zephaniah explaining what the Lord in our midst is doing: God exults, God renews and God dances!

God exults in the wonderful gifts that we are to Godself.
God renews those parts of us that are not as good as they can be!
God dances with joy over everything that we are able to do in God's eternal plan.

Anyone who expresses this exultation of the Lord, this call for renewal and the rejoicing of the Lord in God's children, is a reminder of the presence of God.

In fact when Elizabeth says, 'what have I done to deserve that the Mother of my Lord should visit me!', she becomes the reminder of the presence of God to Mary! When Mary turns to Elizabeth and says, 'My heart exults in the Lord and my soul rejoices in the Lord my saviour', she becomes the reminder of the Lord's presence to Elizabeth and to the entire household!

We are called to be reminders of the presence of God, to be the presences of God to those around us. When we exult in the Lord, when we do our part to renew those around us, correcting them with care and love, when we rejoice in the goodness of others and the good things that happen to them, we become God's presence amidst God's people!

Can we be today, God's presences wherever we are!

Honest and Unattractive Marketing

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 8th week in OrdinaryTime

May 30, 2023: Sirach 35: 1-12; Mark 10: 28-31

After a long and eventful period, we resume the ordinary season...with green around the altar. In our ordinariness we have very many lessons to learn and great strides to make in our growth as children of God and disciples of Christ! 

Buy one get two; pay less get more; paisa vasool; bonanza... these are well known marketing techniques followed by the business brands, big or small. At the most the attempt to be sincere would be marked with an asterisk in smallest font size possible and stated "conditions apply" - all of these, attempts to hide what it really costs, in having best of things.

We see today Jesus, who seems to be inviting people promising them hundred fold of what they give up - that seems to be a good marketing technique! But it ends when he adds in the offer: 'persecutions and death' too as inevitable part of the package - plain and clear! The First reading too promises sevenfold of what we offer to the Lord, but insists: 'offer no bribes, these God does not accept! Trust not in sacrifice of the fruits of extortion.'

Jesus' style seems all an unattractive type of marketing... but honest. The fruits of discipleship is all made known to us... and along with it, what it truly costs. Will that kind of a propaganda attract many; yes, many among those who honour honesty and dare to pick up the cross! Are we in that number?

Mary, the Mother of the Church

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

Monday after the Pentecost - May 29, 2023
Genesis 3: 9-15, 20; John 19: 25-34

We celebrate a memoria today, instituted just six years ago in the Church's liturgical calendar, to be celebrated on the day following the Pentecost Sunday - the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church! The positioning of the feast is very crucial: the day after the Pentecost, to prolong the celebration of the Pentecost and to remain with the extraordinary event that took place, resulting in the genesis of the Church!

Mary is indisputably the Mother of the Church for the following three reasons:

1. Mary bore Jesus, the head of the Church: As the mother of the head of the Church, she naturally becomes the mother of the body of Christ - the Church. As she gave birth to Jesus and nourished him, so does she nourish each of us in our faith in Christ her son. As she brought up Jesus in wisdom and grace, so does she watch us mature in our faith and hope. As she cared for Jesus and protected him from all worldly perils (be it fleeing to Egypt or going in search of Jesus at Jerusalem), so does she care for us and protect us. THE PATRONESS AND PROTECTRESS OF THE CHURCH.

2. Jesus nominated her as the mother of his followers: While Jesus was about to culminate his divine moment of sacrifice to the Father, on the Cross, he deliberately nominated Mary as the mother of his followers! He looked at John, the beloved disciple who represented every beloved of Christ who would form his Church, and said, Behold your Mother! That was a parting gift, a final gesture of love and care towards his loved ones on earth. As Mary went home with John that day, so does she come home with everyone who accepts this gift from Jesus, she is there to guide us and accompany us. THE GUIDE AND MODEL OF THE CHURCH.

3. Mary was there holding the Apostles together, at the descent of the Spirit: Mary was one of the first members of the Church, right at its origin. Just yesterday we celebrated the birthday of the Church - I wonder how some conveniently forget one important person who was at the centre of it all. How can there be the Church without Mary! She was united, in fact she united the disciples in prayer until the Spirit came! The Holy Spirit was no stranger to Mary. Her faith journey began with the rendezvous with the Spirit. Mary unites us as one of us and as a person filled with the Spirit! A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH AND A SPIRIT-FILLED PERSON.

Note that the three reasons that we just saw, are all from the Word of God, so faithfully cherished by the Tradition of the Church. The Feast that has been instituted recently is not merely an invention of fantasy - but a profound reflection on the Word and its impact on our faith. Let us cherish out Blessed Mother, the Mother of God, Our Mother and the Mother of the Church!

SPIRIT UNITES

Principles of Unity: Communication, Conciliation and Christ

Solemnity of Pentecost: May 28, 2023
Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; John 20:19-23

We are people of the Spirit - that is the reminder we are given with today, the day when the Church was born! We are people of the Spirit - in contrast to the people of the world (if at all we can make that distinction). But being people of the Spirit is not merely a namesake understanding. Our life has to show that we are people of the Spirit. 

What does it mean to be people of the Spirit? The fruits and the gifts of the Spirit that we are well aware of, inspires in us a lifestyle that is ideal and an inspiration to everyone around. If we are truly the people of the Spirit, it has to be seen; seen in our daily life, our daily choices, in our very way of life. Infights, ego clashes, misunderstandings, jealousies, misgivings, hidden agenda, exploitation of persons, manipulation of vulnerabilities - these are signs of the lack of Spirit, or even a spirit that is against the Holy Spirit of God. The sad fact is that even some so-called spiritual people give into these deficiencies and that is a clear sign that they are 'spiritual people' only in their name and title.

First and foremost, we need to understand that the Spirit inspires love; love inspires unity; unity is the fundamental mark of the people of God, the people of the Spirit. Let us have a look at the event of Pentecost that we celebrate today and that which is narrated in the first reading. The coming of the Spirit cause three movements: first the movement of the Spirit from within the apostles and disciples - they who were all absorbed in themselves go out of themselves and reach out to others; the second movement is beyond all limits - the limits of fear, the limits of ignorance, the limits of weakness, the limits of timidity; the third movement is the stirring all around - not just the apostles, every one who heard them speak were moved by the Spirit to understand the message that was spoken! These are the very same movements that the Church and the world needs even today and the Spirit alone can cause them, for the good of everyone, for the good of humanity, for the good of the universe! Today we need to feel moved from within from egocentricity towards benevolence. We need to move beyond limits that we set for ourselves, the limits of creed, colour, language and other communal polarisations, towards the feeling of One humanity. We badly need to feel the stirring from within to understand the obvious message that is written all around us in the events and experiences like poverty, disease, climate crisis, eco-imbalance, criminalities and violent terrorism, towards humanity, compassion and true love for each other.

Apart from the traditional fruits and the gifts of the Spirit, there is a nature that the Spirit instills in those persons within whom the Spirit resides. This nature is the very essense of the Spirit: Oneness. The unity and love between God the Father and Mother and the Son of God, is the Spirit. Spirit is the communion! Spirit is Union of hearts! Spirit is the principle of Unity! And there are certain principles of unity that the Spirit ensures in a Spirit-filled person.

The first of those principles of unity is Communication. Simple blocks in communication among persons are the primary cause of big unresolved issues. Husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters, kith and kin, friends and neighbours - when communication stops, understanding disappears. Communication stops due to blocks like prejudice, taking the other for granted and ego trips. Even when one talks, the other doesn't really understand because the other is listening from his or her own prejudice or pre-understanding. When each one hears only what one wants to hear, there is either lack of communication or gross miscommunication!

Spirit enables communication - which is fundamentally and literally, 'making something common' or 'rendering something common to'. Communication means that some thing that has been known to me, I make it common between you and me, which means you and I share a common space from where we are able to understand each other, speak to the other and listen from the other, without creating any blocks or transformers in between us. The Spirit makes us communicate - I and the Father are One said Jesus, and said, the Advocate that the Father sends will receive everything from me and make it known to you! The Spirit makes us communicate, that we are able to find that common space between us where we are able to see what the other sees, hear what the other says, and feel what the other feels.

Conciliation is an important principle of unity. We are human persons, each with our own limitations and weaknesses. We cannot avoid misunderstandings and misgivings, little or grave, but what is detrimental here is, not being ready to find a way out of these misunderstandings and misgivings. A truly Spirit-filled will take the initiative of reconciling with the other. He or she will not look for reasons to blame the other or excuses to prolong the stand off. The Spirit-filled persons will find ready reasons to reconcile, to rebuild relationships and build up the Body of Christ.

Look at the recent events in the world scenario - the whole world is reeling under the pandemic and there are those who are waiting, striving and fighting hard to pin the blame on someone and call for a 'retaliation'! Blaming the other, calling names, fiery talks, unfounded accusations, underground instigations: these will take us nowhere! When shall we understand this? Are they truly Spirit-filled persons who spit fire and cry vengeance? Pope Francis, unfortunately right from the beginning of his Papacy, has had to confront already so many moments of crisis and standoffs among world leaders and international powers. Every time, he has insisted with the leaders 'to be responsible, to be promoters of peace and not war'! That is the sign of a truly Spirit filled person.

Christ is the invincible principle of unity. The Spirit unites us in the Lord. We become One, one in the Lord, one body of Christ and this is possible only through the Spirit. This oneness has to be felt at all levels and it is a sheer gift of the Holy Spirit. Let us begin with the personal oneness - the oneness that is seen within a person; where words and actions are one; where hidden thoughts and outward speech are one; where inner convictions and external expressions are one! Another level is interpersonal oneness - the oneness of hearts and minds among persons in relationship; families, spouses, friends, communities etc. The next level is the communitarian oneness - the oneness of the people of God; feeling compassion for the other, respecting and being open to the other even though he or she is different from me, and has convictions and beliefs different from mine.

Believing in Christ, has to unite us not divide us. As St. Paul would complain, do not say, I belong to Paul, I belong to Apollos or I belong to Cephas...saying thus you are dividing the Lord. Today the factions that we have among the believers and the way one group vies with the other to increase their numbers or prove their strength is an outright counter witness to the One Lord and that is why, a divided church is the greatest scandal in the world. If we truly believe in One Lord and pledge our allegiance to that One Lord, where does the division and fight come from?

A true sign of a Spirit filled persons is the person's longing for unity and his or her concrete initiatives towards unity. Are we truly persons of the Spirit? Then let it be seen in our oneness of heart and mind, in our love and compassion for the other, in our respect and loving coexistence with the others, who are different from ourselves! May the Spirit unite us among us and unite us with God, the Father and Christ, the Son and Saviour.

Winding up to begin anew

WORD 2day: Saturday before Pentecost

May 27, 2023: Acts 28:16-20, 30-31; John 21: 20-25

As we have a close look at the readings today, we get a sense of winding up... be it in the first reading or in the Gospel. A type of, 'and-they-lived-happily-thereafter' narration! 

The Acts of the Apostles, which itself as a book is in its closing verses, presents Paul who seems to settle down for good in Rome as an honoured guest in house arrest. It says he welcomed all who came to visit him and continued to proclaim the Reign of God...with complete freedom and without hindrance. 

In the Gospel we see Jesus who seems to be bidding his final goodbye as also the book of John comes to an end. The closing lines say it all, that what has been recording is only a fraction of all that took place, which were really creating new history. However, there is an end to the epoch. 

The end is for a new beginning... the Church awaits the all important feast of the Pentecost tomorrow, an outpouring of the Spirit that led to a renewed life and radical witness -  a new beginning at the end of an epoch making series of events with Christ Jesus. The Christ-event takes an eternal turn at this point.

The message today is our call to 'follow Christ' in season and out of season, whether we are free or captive, whether we live or die, whether we eat or drink! Good news has to be announced by all means and the responsibility is ours, irrespective of our state of life or situation at present. 

How prepared and willing are we, to begin anew every time it is possible?

The Challenge of Christian Leadership

WORD 2day: Friday after Ascension 

May 26, 2023: Acts 25: 13b-21; John 21: 15-19

Jesus seems to be preparing the second level of leadership. Peter he had appointed already before he goes and Paul he seems to be taking to the all the ends of the earth that he may bear witness, true to his promises. We find in this phenomenon, a very important insight that Jesus offers into Christian leadership; it does not consist in power and position but in bearing witness and serving the community of faith. 

Infact, from a Christian leadership perspective, every baptised person is called to play a role as a leader: in witnessing and serving! When Pope Francis speaks of the "Missionary Church" or the "Church that goes forth", we see this perspective underscored with clarity and challenge.

Today looking at our communities, be it parish communities where the laity wish to scheme their way to positions of honour and fame, or the members of the religious congregations or the clergy playing dirty politics and divisive games for their selfish motives... true understanding of Christian leadership seems to have taken a back seat. 

The Gospel Acclamation reminds us today that the Spirit will teach us the truth and all the truth. May the Spirit of the Lord rekindle our faith and lead us towards true sense of Christian leadership.

That we may be one, in the Spirit

WORD 2day: Wednesday after Ascension

May 24, 2023: Acts 20: 28-38; John 17: 11b-19

From parting mood to prayer mode... today the readings capture both Jesus and Paul praying for and praying with, their beloved followers. They invoke the Spirit who unites and warn the followers of the spirit of discord, prolonging in us the reflection of yesterday!

The passages today give us a cue as to how we can discern the right move in the face of differences among us. Be it in a family or in a community of faithful, given the fact that we are thinking individuals, there is bound to arise differences of opinion. As long as they are from the Spirit these differences will only lead to growth and renewal. 

However, we are warned against the differences caused by the ravenous wolves and treacherous beasts. Ruled by ego and dominated by envy, these differences are aimed at destroying the unity of the people of God. And certainly, they do not come from the Spirit of the Lord. 

What comes from the Spirit unites us, for the Holy Spirit is the Spirit that makes us one! The call is that we remain in the Spirit and remain united in love above everything else. May we live worthy of the prayer that Jesus made for us: that they may be one!

The Spirit of Oneness

WORD 2day: Tuesday after Ascension

May 23, 2023: Acts 20: 17-27; John 17: 1-11

We see both Paul and Jesus in a parting mood; Paul is sensing an imminent trouble and Jesus is sure of a fast approaching end. But both have a sense of fulfilment, having completed the task given to them. Apart from that, both have a note of passing on the mission to those around them - Paul to the presbyters and Jesus to the apostles. There is one thing in both cases that ensures the continuity: the One Spirit.

The One Spirit because it was the same Spirit that was in Jesus, which Jesus gave to his apostles, that was given to Paul and then Paul to the elders...the Spirit of courage and strength, the Spirit of truth and love; as Paul would explain in 2 Tim 1:7, the Spirit of power, of love and of self discipline. Power, which makes us fearless; love which makes feel for the others; and self discipline which enables us to do the will of the One who calls us, come what may!

The One Spirit also because it was the Spirit of Oneness, which had to unite the disciples of Jesus althought they were persons of varied temperament and background, which had to unite the people around Paul who were so divided and had so little in common that could bring them together. However, the Spirit brought them together, built them into one and made them One people... One people of the Spirit of Oneness. 

The Spirit of the Conqueror

WORD 2day: Monday after Ascension 

May 22, 2023: Acts 19:1-8; John 16: 29-33

No one probably understood Jesus when he was around. They were only making their guesses, putting together things that they saw, the things they heard and the things that were being reported. Today in the Gospel, as many other times, Jesus confronts them with the truth! When the disciples presume that they knew and understood what Jesus was saying, Jesus makes them realise their folly and their weakness - not out of despise - but out of genuine concern. 

They still had not known the Spirit, as those men of Ephesus whom we come across in the first reading. Jesus introduces to them and speaks to us of the continuous presence of God, which is the indwelling Spirit. It is with the coming of the Spirit that the apostles come to understand Jesus and Him, they become conquerors.

From this day, for a week we shall prepare ourselves towards the coming of the Spirit of Christ, the paraclete promised. We are invited to contemplate this Spirit of the Lord, who will make of us too, "conquerors of the world and all its viles"!

A joy that cannot be taken away!

WORD 2day: Friday, 6th week after Easter 

May 19, 2023: Acts 18: 9-18; John 16: 20-23

The joy that things give will be gone when the things are gone. A mere feeling, or a moment of happiness that comes from an external reason and or some fulfilled desires, will last just as long as the situation does! There can be a moment soon when no traces of that joy will remain, but experience of stress and sadness may prevail.

Today the Lord promises us a joy that no one can take away from us, which no situation can diminish. The dimensions of this joy is completely different from the joy that the world and its attachments can give. This joy comes from within, not from something out there. This joy comes regardless of pleasure or pain, for it is not merely a feeling of exuberance, but a sense of serenity and security notwithstanding any odds.

The source of this joy is none less than God! The joy that the Lord gives comes from the Spirit residing within, and just as the Lord is, so is this joy: unchanging and ever present! It comes from the fact that God is with us, as the Lord promises in the first reading - with us always, strengthening and empowering us in the daily struggles of life.

Sorrow or Joy - what is our choice?

WORD 2day: Thursday, 6th week before Ascension Sunday

May 18, 2023: Acts 18: 1-8; John 16: 16-20

What would be your choice, your natural spontaneous choice: sorrow or joy? Of course, we would choose joy or that is what we think we would do. But today, there is so much sorrow in the world because we think we choose joy, while in fact we are constantly adding to our sorrows. Is that confusing? Not really. It is an easy perspective that the Word offers today to understand our situation. Let us contrast these as the 'perspective of the world' and the 'perspective of the Word'.

The perspective of the world says, with a faulty understanding of the phrase 'here and now', choose what gives you utmost happiness at any given moment and that will add to your joy. This is why people end up frustrated, ruined and wrecked in their life, making all the wrong choices possible, adding to their own woes and to the others'. The disciples could not understand what Jesus was telling them, because they only had a limited perspective of the here and now, until the Spirit arrived to open the eyes and their hearts.

The perspective of the Word says, have the ultimate Joy, the Joy that the Lord alone can give, in your mind. You would then be ready to choose at a given moment even a bit of pain and struggle, because you know you have a joy, a glory, an eternal happiness that awaits you! Look at Paul, Aquila, Priscilla, Titus Justus... they were wantonly choosing trouble and opposition, because they had their ultimate joy in perspective. Paul said that emphatically: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us (Rom 8:18).

Now let us consider that question again- what is our choice: sorrow or joy?

The Spirit of Truth

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 6th week after Easter

May 17, 2023: Acts 17:15,22 -18:1; John 16: 12-15

We reflected yesterday on the Spirit that convicts. Yes, the Spirit of the Lord convicts, because the Spirit leads us to the truth. We have all the truth right in front of us. We fail to see them and understand them; we are tempted not to see them or understand them; we choose not to see them and understand them!

When we fail to see, the Spirit gives us the wisdom and leads us to see it, leading us to light, as St Paul tries to lead the Athenians.

When we are tempted not to see, the Spirit fills us with the courage to see it, making us free and bold as children of God, as Jesus promises his disciples.

When we choose not to see, the Spirit convicts us, as we heard yesterday and makes us understand how mistaken we are. Peter, Paul, the other apostles and everyone who owes his or her rapport with God to a dramatic conversion, would vouch for this role of the Spirit.

But for all of these... I need to open my mind to the Word. If not, I will laugh at the Word or postpone listening to it, to another convenient moment, as the people do in the first reading today.

The Spirit that Convicts

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 6th week after Easter

May 16, 2023: Acts 16: 22-34; John 16: 5-11

Jesus wishes that his disciples moved on to the next level. We reflected on that message last Sunday. Jesus seems to be trying his best to introduce them to the Advocate, the Divine Counselor! Today's readings bring out one important aspect of this advocate: the aspect of the Spirit which convicts the individuals, communities and all those who truly believe.

Receiving the Spirit is not an ordinary task. It is a divine mission that the Lord promised to those who sincerely ask for it. For when the spirit comes... the Spirit would convict the person. Convicting means critically verifying one's convictions - what goes right and what goes wrong in one's choices!

What should we do to be saved... that is the question that is expressed today by the people as they listen to the Word of God. In true submission to the Word, in the Spirit, what would fill our hearts is a sense of living our life by the Word, by the choices inspired by the Word. 

In the Spirit, one question we are inspired to ask, not just today, but every day of our life is: what should I do, here and now, to be acceptable in the eyes of God?

Love that prevails

WORD 2day: Monday, 6th week after Easter

May 15, 2023: Acts 16: 11-15; John 15:26 - 16:4a

Speaking of the new believer in the Lord, a lady of considerable renown, Paul says 'she prevailed over us!' It is true love that prevails, a selfless love inspired by the newly accepted good news! The Lord opened her mind to listen to the Word and her heart to be the consolation for the messengers of the Word. The Lord provides through her.

Today, providing for the messengers of the Word, in ways truly numerous, is one way that we can make love prevail. We may have troubles from every corner, opposition from all sides and forces waiting to devour us - as we say Jesus telling us in the Gospel today. But nothing of this will block us from going ahead in our task and the challenge entrusted to us. The Lord will open minds, inspire hearts and remove blocks, that we may have all the back up needed to take the message far and wide. This has been, or this is at present, my experience too, personally! 

How many times we feel the providence of God, at the exact right moment! Persons coming to our aid, friends pitching in their bit, and so many other unbelievable ways in which the Lord provides! Are we recognizant of these experiences? Do we realise the numerous ways in which Love has prevailed in our own lives!

THE CHALLENGE TO GRADUATE

The need to move on, move in and move up!

May 14, 2023: 6th Sunday after Easter
Acts 8:5-8,14-17; 1 Peter 3: 15-18; John 14: 15-21

Our life is a process, a process of continuous growth; so is faith. Our faith is not a static assertion of some facts or some set of information, as we often mistakenly imagine it to be. Faith is a dynamic experience, a rapport within and with persons and realities around based on the relationship we have with God as its foundation. In this progress, we are called to keep moving on! This moving on need not be always moving out, it could also essentially be a moving in. And especially in faith, it is basically a call to move up, ever more closer to the One who has called us, scaling up towards our perfection. We have today from the Risen Lord, the challenge to Graduate in our life our faith!

Jesus seems to be winding up his course... and he challenges his disciples to Graduate. He does the same to us: he challenges us to Graduate, in our life of faith and not remain the same little children we began this journey as. And the challenge can be broken up into three movements - moving on, moving in and moving up!

Move on! says Jesus to his apostles and to us. In a little while the world will no longer see me, tells the Lord. He prepares to bid them farewell, telling them the current phase is getting to a close, and the new phase is round the corner; they need to get ready for it. Move on, don't get stuck - be it to good times or to trying times, don't get stuck. There were glorious times when they went around with the Lord and saw miracles and wonders, healings and resuscitations. There were tough times when they saw the very same Jesus being crucified and buried, hid themselves from the threatening powers. The Risen Lord invites them not to get stuck to any of these, for they were phases of transformation, periods of growth, through which he wanted the disciples to graduate, progress, grow up. The apostles understood this...they moved on! They were all over the place preaching Christ and ushering in the new phase that Jesus had promised them. In the first reading today we see Phillip doing that in the Samaritan quarters, opening up the Jewish world to the rest of the human kind and reaching out with the love of God, a love that was universal - that was a graduation, a moving on!

Today, we are called to move on too... from many attitudes that we developed within us with the pandemic and the lockdowns and other negative experiences we have had in the recent past...are we still stuck to those fears and anxieties? We need to move on... from our tendency to get stuck to the past, get weighed down by the negativities we have had. Let us move on; moving on is an essential mark of graduating in our faith life. Let us not get stuck to our negative experiences in life but look at them as a source of inspiration for progress, for moving on, for graduation!

Move in! clarifies Jesus. As a means and an aid to graduate, Jesus promises an advocate. I shall ask the Father and the Father will give you another advocate, the Spirit of Truth and Jesus goes on to clarify: the Spirit is with you, the Spirit is in you! The Indwelling Spirit is the Spirit of Truth that Jesus promises as the guarantee of graduation. Though graduation is moving on, it may not always mean moving out, it could be more moving in. Moving into oneself. Becoming aware of one's own innermost thoughts, attitudes, tendencies and priorities and working on them with the help of the Spirit who dwells within us to assist us and to strengthen us. St. Peter invites us to exactly this, when he calls us in the second reading to live a life in the spirit, that we may be raised as Jesus was raised in the spirit - and that involves suffering for the right, for truth, for righteousness, for justice and for integrity.

Sufferings and downfalls, sometimes can serve as a school of solitude! To enter that interior castle within our self, understanding ourselves at a closer view, analysing ourselves and growing through it... that is moving in, moving in to ourselves, moving in to our conscience, moving in to our interior self, moving in to the core of our being and becoming aware of what and who is at work there! Is it the Indwelling Spirit...that is would be a sign of graduation in faith.

Move up! invites Jesus. Move up, as an expression means to get closer to a person, in order to say something or do something! And Jesus invites his disciples to move up to the Father and experience in the Father the love that Jesus came to share with them. Jesus is challenging them, and us, to graduate to that experience where "you will understand that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you!" Naturally Jesus seems to be instructing his disciples towards the next level of their encounter. He seems to be telling them: I came in order that I may put you in direct touch with my Father, and here comes the Spirit to sustain that relationship...here you go, grow in that communion! A true graduation of faith life.

Our life of faith is not merely doing something or fulfilling some requisites, it is a relationship, a communion, an integral harmony within and without, where everything dissolves into One, True Bliss (Sat Cit Ananda). There cannot be contrasts and confusions, there cannot be competitions and compromises, there cannot be hatred or indifference... what remains in that graduated faith life is - Oneness, Love and Eternal Happiness! Love each other as a sign of your love for the Divine who loves you so intimately, unconditionally! In that love and harmony, you shall sense the indwelling divine, the Advocate the Father has given you, the presence of God within that you need to become more and more aware of.

Graduate... that is the challenge today! To graduate in our life our faith and move on to the higher plane of living your faith, to move in and find the source of true meaning within you and to move up to the Divine and establish a long lasting relationship. May the Risen Lord, the Spirit of God and the love of the Father help us grow everyday!

GPS Enabled!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 5th week after Easter

May 13, 2023: Acts 16: 1-10; John 15: 18-21

Almost gone are those days when people bound for a place that they have never been to, find their destinations with the help of people on the road, bystanders, fellow passengers etc. With the ChatGPT and other forthcoming innovations, GPS has by now become a minimum technology available to people. With the smart phones in every hand, persons are today GPS Enabled: the Global Positioning System - which tells us in detail where we are, where we are upto and how we get there!

Today in the first reading we find the apostles - GPS enabled. They are instructed where to go and where not to go, where to be in any given time and where not to be. They had their GPS enabled. The GPS here is... God's Powerful Spirit. 

Jesus warned them wherever they go there will be people against them, because they are his disciples. But nothing to worry because they have the GPS enabled! Here the GPS is...God's Protecting Spirit. 

Come what may, with all the troubles and persecutions the disciples will go on and on! The early Christians we see in the Biblical account could not just be stopped from living and proclaiming their new found life in Christ, because they were GPS enabled. Here the GPS is... God's Propelling Spirit.

The invitation to us is, to be disciples of Christ in our daily life with all its struggles and temptations-disciples who are GPS Enabled!

We, the Spirit and Love!

WORD 2day: Friday, 5th week after Easter

May 12, 2023: Acts 15: 22-31; John 15: 12-17

It is a fascinating point of view when we understand the formulation we see in the first reading today: the apostles when they communicate their decision after a crisis, they say, "it has seemed good to us and to the holy spirit..." The presence of the Spirit was experienced as someone who lived amidst them!

When the Holy Spirit takes hold of us, all that we do, all that we choose, all that we decide will be guided by love and love alone! The disciples, apostles and the entire early Christian community, were ready to give up their tradition, their heritage, their laws, all because they loved their new brothers and sisters in Christ. They did not want to over burden them. 

It was indeed keeping much in line with what Christ had taught. Jesus had in fact gone a step further and said: not just traditions and laws, but even your life, you should be ready to lay down! That is true love. If the Son of God has given up everything for the love that he has for us, why do we hesitate to give up anything... especially our ego, our selfishness, our vain glory, for the sake of love of our brothers and sisters!

We and the Holy Spirit, if we are in constant rapport, we will be filled with true love! If we are filled with true love, then we would make true disciples to Christ, the Son of God who is Love! We, the Holy Spirit and Love, we will make a wonderful "Christ"ian Community. Are we ready?

A Joy that is complete

WORD 2day: Thursday, 5th week after Easter 

May 11, 2023: Acts 15: 7-21; John 15: 9-11

The ultimate wish of the Lord is our joy, not a joy as that which the world promises, but a joy that is complete, wholesome, flawless and endless. The joy that the world gives is conditional, limited and time bound. It lasts for a while and leaves a vacuum when it disappears due to some reason. 

The joy that is promoted by the world is based on feelings, things and doings! It comes from what we do, what we achieve, what we prove to the world. That explains why it is so flimsy and passing. It disappears as soon as that feeling changes, or when that thing is no more, or when we fail to achieve something that we dreamt of achieving!

The joy that the Lord gives comes from what we are; it comes from the fact that we are loved, that we are accepted unconditionally and that we are united to the One who never changes! It is not the various rules and regulations that we uphold that matter, but love! 

Love is all that matters! And in that love that God has for us, we find our true joy, the complete joy!

The Key - to Remain

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 5th week after Easter

May 10, 2023: Acts 15:1-6; John 15:1-8

To be circumcised or not to be: that seemed to be the issue for most of the Jewish Christians, including a few disciples. But for persons like Paul or Barnabas or even Peter or James, it was a non issue! For them, something else mattered much more!

Paul said that plainly when he exclaimed, 'For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything' (Gal 5:6). What did really matter to him, he was vociferous about that too: 'for His sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard everything else as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ' (Phil 3:8).

Remaining in Christ, that is what really matters. Rituals, practices, piety and devotions - all of them make sense only in relation to the proportion to which they help me remain with Christ. Even the most regular of all practices would mean nothing if it does not help me remain in Christ.

Remaining in Christ is a challenging task indeed - it may at times prove boring and monotonous and not immediate in its results - but it is the key to being disciples of Christ. Let us focus on the key element: Let us Remain in Christ.

Let not your hearts be troubled

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 5th week of Easter

May 9, 2023: Acts 14: 19-28; John 14: 27-31

You will have enemies in abundance, yet let not your hearts be troubled. There will be opposition from every side, yet let not your hearts be troubled. People may plot and contrive against you, yet let not your hearts be troubled. Your situation may be difficult and hard, yet let not your hearts be troubled. 

Being untroubled amidst all troubles - the disciples had perfectly understood what the Lord had said... they were unmoved in the face of all persecutions because they had something that the world could not give. They had within them something that no one else could find or even understand. They had peace!

Peace, a peace that the Lord alone can give. A peace that no one can take away. A peace that shines amidst darkness. A peace that does not arise from compromise and convenience but from conviction and commitment. A peace that is a result of truth and integrity. A peace that is not an external silence but an internal tranquillity. A peace for which it is worth even giving up our life.

We need to grow towards that peace... and the key to grow towards it is, not to let our hearts be troubled!

The plot, the power and the perseverance

WORD 2day: Monday, 5th week after  Easter

May 8, 2023: Acts 14:5-18; John 14:21-26

The Jews and the non Jews together plot to get rid of the apostles but what triumphed was not the plot but the power of God. The Power of God was more and more getting manifest in the life and works of the apostles and they were bearing unimaginable witness to the Christ-experience.

But what did the apostles do to acquire such power as to stand before the authorities and systems which seemed so frightening to them earlier - it was simply their perseverance. They remained with the Lord, although at times they were tempted to leave and return to some other way of life. But they stuck on to the Lord.

Not just temptations, they were threatened, they were beaten up, they were arrested and they were flogged, but nothing could stop them from living their life for the Lord and for the Lord's message. Every persecution made them more strong in their commitment. They spared nothing to express their total belonging to the Lord. 

The plots will abound even in our life - from within and from around us! But if we are strong in our mind and heart, these plots will be overcome by the power of the Lord, invested within me by the Lord. All that we need to do is stay with the Lord and pray: strenghten us O Lord to stay with you.

CHOSEN TO BE A PRIESTLY PEOPLE

Chosen to belong forever

5th Sunday after Easter: May 7, 2023
Acts 6:1-7; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12

God “chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before God in love” (Eph 1:4). That is our identity; we are a chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation, God’s own people in order that we may proclaim the mighty acts of God, the God who has called us from darkness into his marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9).

What is my identity of myself?

Are we merely people who are looking upto God for some favours? People who wait on God to come and solve our everyday problems? People complaining to God about those around us who are not living upto our expectations, disappointing us, troubling us, not understanding us or causing us grief? Can we take a breath and imagine what identity God has invested in us and to what level we have diluted in our daily living of our faith.

We are Chosen…

It is not by chance that I am a Christian, that I am chosen. At times we tend to subscribe to the opinion that we are Christians merely because our parents were Christians, that every thing is by chance. It could be true that I have inherited my Christian identity from my parents, but ultimately I am chosen in and through the generations, right from eternity, to belong to the Lord who has willed me into existence.  

It is the Lord who has chosen us and it is never the other way around: “You did not choose me, but I chose you”, says the Lord (Jn 15:16). It is the Lord who has chosen you and me, and all that we need to do is happily walk holding his hand.

We are Chosen to belong…

Last week we celebrated the Good Shepherd Sunday and we prayed for Vocations to Priesthood and Religious Life. That is a special call, a call for a ministry, just like Stephen and the 6 others are chosen today in the first reading for a special task – that is what we call Ministerial Priesthood. But there is another call that is universal… that is the call to Royal Priesthood… each and every one who is chosen in Christ, who is washed in the waters of baptism, is called to this priesthood. Yes! We are all priests unto the Lord! We are Chosen Race, Royal Priesthood… We have a special call to belong to the Lord. That is the crux of this priesthood. 

The ordained priests are ordained for a special ministry, while all of us share in the priesthood of Christ. The Priesthood of Christ consists in belonging to the Father. “I am in the Father and the Father is in me” says the Lord (Jn 14:11). The priesthood that we share with Christ is to be in God, the Father and Mother; to belong to God, to be grafted on to God, to remain in God as the branches remain in the wine and give fruit.

We are Chosen to belong forever…

In belonging to the Lord, in remaining with Christ, in sharing the priesthood of Christ we inherit the greatest of all patrimonies: a dwelling place in the courts of the Lord. That is what is prepared for us, that if we belong in our life to God, we would belong to God forever even in death. Christ has gone before us to prepare this place for us, and when he comes we should still belong to God, we should still be his Priestly People, that we may receive that dwelling place prepared for us!

Every day is an opportunity, through our ordinary tasks and daily duties, by our conscious choices and deliberate decisions, to deepen our belonging to the Lord, to realize we are chosen, that we are chosen to belong to God, chosen to belong forever, as a chosen race, a Priestly People!

Joy and the Holy Spirit

WORD 2day: Saturday, 4th week after Easter

May 6, 2023: Acts 13: 44-52; John 14:7-14

The disciples were filled with joy and holy spirit, says the first reading today. It becomes hard to connect that this statement is actually the ending note of a preceding passage, that speaks about rejection and insult of the apostles by their own fellow Jews. Elsewhere too we would read that they returned happy that they were able to suffer for the sake of the name of Jesus (eg. Acts 5:41). 

This fact would however make sense once we read and understand what Jesus tells us in the Gospel today: whoever believes in me will do the works that I do and will do even greater. The apostles seem to have inherited it from their Master to consider themselves blessed for having to suffer for righteousness sake, to thirst for justice and truth, to seek the Reign of God above all.

It has become a normal experience for persons to deride when one speaks of truth, peace and justice! Be it the young or another generation, be it religious consecrated persons or parents in families, they exude a wry smile when we speak of standing by truth and standing for the right! They seem to say, that sounds good when said, but living it is not feasible. The honesty of these people has to be appreciated certainly, but an inevitable question that remains to be raised: when will we be mature enough to stand up for what we believe, and be courageous to shake the dust off our feet and keep walking towards the Reign!

Death Rather than Sin

May 6: The Inspiring Teenage Saint - Dominic Savio

Dominic Savio is called the boy with a will - yes, he was just a boy, but a boy with a great will, a great consciousness and a great conviction.

There were three things that made a great impact on Dominic Savio and drove him towards his extraordinary Sanctity.

1. His Name: Dominic knew what his name meant. It meant that he belonged to the Lord. That is why when he met Don Bosco he said, it would be a shame if he did not live a life worthy of the Lord, having a name so profound. 

How many of us are serious about the name that we have? 

How many of us know of the Patron who is given to us due to our name?

2. His Guide: Dominic instantly clung on to Don Bosco when he met him. He found in Don Bosco a sure guide to sanctity, though he met him only when he was 12. Even before he could meet Don Bosco, he had taken his famous motto, 'Death rather than sin'. But he saw that Don Bosco had a special role to play in his attainment of sanctity. Dominic was very serious about it and Don Bosco acknowledged it and accompanied the teenager all the way. 

Do you feel the need of a Spiritual Director? 

Do you have an ardent desire to journey towards sanctity of life?

3. His Desire: Dominic wanted to be a priest. His devotion to Eucharist right from when he was a 5 year old boy, and later after his communion when he was just 7, and later when he met Don Bosco in 1854, he was determined to become a priest and serve the Lord. But the Lord willed it differently. Dominic's desire to become a priest, gave him a perspective for whole of his life. 

How many of us have clear understanding of what we wish to grow to be? 

Do we seek to know God and orient our lives accordingly?

When Dominic was just 7, as he received his first communion, he set himself this axiom: Death rather than sin. How much have we learnt God's will for us? This is God's will: your sanctification (1 Thes 4:3), reminds us St. Paul along with Dominic Savio. 

Will we dare to say with this young boy: death rather than sin!

The Father, Son and the Begotten

WORD 2day: Friday, 4th week after Easter

May 5, 2023: Acts 13:26-33; John 14: 1-6

The promise of the Father and the faithfulness to the promise, the oneness of the Father and the Son, the Son leading us to the Father, the Way to the Father, the Truth of the oneness and the eternal Life that is assured by the Son - these are the themes presented today. These themes give us an important insight into our life of faith - it is not a life of do's and don'ts, nor a life of mere rules and regulations but a life of relationships!

The Father who has been so concerned about this relationship that was initiated in and through the covenant, the Son who felt so related to the Father and wanted to share the same sense of relatedness with us, the Spirit who never leaves us dwelling within us with an intimate relationship, the way of making these relationships true and concrete by our relationships with each other, and finally, being convinced that all of us are related and we are marching together hand in hand towards our eternal home - the love of the Almighty! This is our faith. This is our daily life. This is our call, as begotten ones!

When we treasure our relationships, our daily relationships with each other, making them more and more sincere and loving, we shall experience the presence of the Way, the Truth and the Life illumining our daily life. 

Retelling the Story of Jesus

WORD 2day: Thursday, 4th week after Easter

May 4, 2023: Acts 13: 13-25; John 13:16-20

Christian faith is an experience of the community - the experience is shared in the community and it is passed on in the community from one generation to the other. Faith is also that experience that builds up the community and makes it what it is. What is experienced by one, becomes an experience of the community and what the community is made of defines what a person's experience would be. We see Jesus today, handing over his task to be continued by the disciples, the task of taking the good news further to the ends of the world. 

Taking the good news to the ends of the world is Evangelisation. One definition of evengelisation that has always been considered highly practical: 'evangelisation is retelling the story of Jesus'. That is exactly what Paul does in the synagogue in the first reading - retelling the story of Jesus from the Old Testament. Yes, tracing the roots of Jesus in the Old Testament, Paul retells the story of Jesus to make people aware how Jesus is the awaited Messiah.

Do we retell the story of Jesus whenever we get an opportunity...from our own background, from our own context, basing on our own experiences and concerns? We are all evangelisers in our own right and duty, every one of us by our very baptism. Let our words and actions, our experiences and concerns, be a retelling of the story of Jesus to the world.

Believe and Live!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

May 3, 2023: Celebrating Apostles Philip and James

1 Corinthians 15:1-8; John 14:6-14

Today we celebrate two great apostles, both of them find a prominent place among the list of apostles and have something memorable about them.

James was the first Bishop of Jerusalem and he along with his brother Jude, was called the brother of Jesus. We find the practical wisdom of James, so imbued with the Spirit of Jesus in his epistle. His insistence on integral living, his predilection for the poor, his advocacy for a life of self-control, are eminently Christian themes that we need to highlight even today. 

Philip was a person who brought a lot of people to Jesus, including Nathanael. Philip imbibed the life style of Jesus very quickly as we see him in the Gospels already, speaking like Jesus, using the phrases that Jesus used and reaching out to people as Jesus did and bringing people to Jesus, which Jesus so much loved. That is why he was used by the Holy Spirit to bring persons like the Ethiopian Minister who was brought to understand and believe in the Goodnews.

One who believes in me will do things that I do and even more than what I do, promised Jesus. These apostles, just as the entire community of the first Chrisians, give us a powerful message to consider: believing is living. They challenge us to beleive in Jesus and live like Jesus... that is the only way, that we can be worthy of Jesus. When we live by this integrity, we would be in a position to say as Jesus said of his father - the one who has seen me, has seen the One who has sent me! 

To be called a Christian - listen and follow!

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 4th week after Easter

May 2, 2023: Acts 11:19-26; John 10: 22-30

The theme we began to reflect on, this Sunday, continues these days. The Shepherd says, the sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me! Listening to the Lord would mean to drink in his principles, to put on his mindset as St. Paul would describe. To follow the Lord would mean, to live like him. Our actions have to be our witness, not merely our words and our titles.

The believers in Antioch were given the name 'Christians', because they belonged to the Lord, they listened, they followed! They were imbued with the thoughts and the teachings of Christ, and they followed Christ to the letter. The people saw in them, Christ alive and moving around in flesh and blood. The believers became live witnesses, or proofs, for the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. 

That is why, they were spontaneously called Christ-ians! Would anyone, unknown to me, looking at me  and my actions, guess that I should probably be a Christian? Not because of the cross I might be sporting, nor with the name tag that I have, but with the attitudes I manfest, the actions that spontaneously emanate from me and for the very person that I am.

I am tempted to ask myself: is it right to say that a person will do good if he or she is a Christian, or to say that anyone who does good to the other without expecting anything in return, is truly a 'Christ-ian'?