BEING SAINTS

It is not just becoming saints...

November 1, 2023 : All Saints Day

Revelations. 7: 2-4,9-14; 1 John 3: 1-3; Matthew 5: 1-12a.

O when the saints, go marching in,

I want to be in that number! -

... a simple but profound thought in those familiar lines of the song. To be saints: that is God's call to each of us. At times we think, becoming saints is reserved for a select few. May be the long and tedious process of canonisation of a person in the Church, makes us feel that way. But the fact is, each of us, all of us is called to be saints. St. Paul states that in clear and unequivocal terms in his letter to the Ephesians (1:4), Thessalonians (1 thes 4:3), and other places.

The question sometimes is, whether it is, being a saint or becoming a saint! We are created in the image and likeness of God (says Genesis 1:27) and this image and likeness of God is a "given", a nature that we have within us, as a gift. We are reminded of this image and likeness at our baptism. All the we need to do is to remain with that image in our lives. The beautiful symbol used in the rite of baptism, where the priest hands over a white cloth to the child and entrusts the task of bringing it, as it were, unsullied, intact in its purity to the end of days.That, dear friends, is the call - "to be saints"...and not merely to 'become' saints.

The readings today, develop the same thought in three wonderful dimensions:

Being Saints means... being aware of who we are! O Christian, realise your dignity! We are children of God, reminds St. John in his letter, in the second reading. God has chosen us from eternity, before the foundation of the world! This is an initiative from God our Father and Mother, who creates us and wishes that we share in God's love and ever remain in God's image and likeness, as children of the loving God.

Being Saints means... being washed by the blood of the Lamb! The Image of God within us, sometimes is disturbed, smudged, smeared or sullied by the choices we make misusing the human freedom that is granted to us. The evil one will be more than happy when we lose heart at such moments and give up. The Son of God, our Saviour Jesus Christ shed his blood that we may have victory over sin and death. In that blood we are saved, and in that blood we are made clean, each and every time we turn to the Lord in genuine repentance and willingness to regain our original image. Saints are those who have their garments washed in the blood of the Lamb, says the second reading.

Being Saints means... being 'blessed' in the eyes of the Lord! And the only way to be 'blessed', is to live by the promptings of the Spirit who dwells within us. Paying attention to the indwelling Spirit, we will know what it means to be blessed - to be poor in spirit, to be meek, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, to be peace-loving - these are ways of being persons of the spirit. In the ordinariness of our daily life, we have to be persons of the Spirit, looking at the reality different from the way the self seeking world teaches us to.

God's initiative in the call that I have received; Christ's redeeming act of Salvation; the Spirit's indwelling presence that guides me on a daily basis - these are compelling reasons why I need to think seriously about, not merely becoming a saint one day, but being a saint everyday, in my own way!

Hope - confidence in the goodness of God

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 30th week in Ordinary time

October 31, 2023 - Romans 8: 18-25; Luke 13: 18-21

Longing for a brighter future is a human reality. Within the framework of faith this ordinary human reality takes the form of Hope. 

If faith is a total childlike surrender to God, hope is the blind joy that fills the heart in that surrender. Even in a moment dark and grim, this joy lights up one's life. Haven't we seen persons who have faced years and years of struggle, who have experienced tragedies after tragedies, but have still remained strong and serene? Those are real saints for they live in a spirit of hope, in holy patience that St. Paul speaks of.

We need a very special spiritual capacity to behold the Reign of God - it is patience in problems, endurance in trials, optimism in setbacks ... a certainty, that in everything, simple little things or great grand events, it is God who is in charge. That in one word is, hope! 

Hope is not a great sign or a grand manifestation. It is a subtle disposition and a tiny little spark. Like the mustard seed or the yeast in a dough, it is an elusive attitude, but inevitable to become truly children of God. Yes, it is hope that makes us truly children of God because Hope is the unassailable confidence in the goodness of God.

Never slaves, but heirs!

WORD 2day: Monday, 30th week in Ordinary time

October 30, 2023: Romans 8: 12-17; Luke 13: 10-17

The point of discussion in the Word today is the difference between slaves and heirs, and their respective traits.

A slave is governed by fear, is ruled by law and bound to restrictions. A slave cannot think beyond oneself. Gaining favours by pleasing the one in command is all that is there on the slave's mind. A slave, even when he or she is doing everything for the other, is all the time self centered, thinking all the time of how one will be judged or considered by the one in control.

An heir, instead, is governed by freedom, is guided by love and empowered with spontaneity. Freedom rules out restrictions, love transcends fear and spontaneity despises calculations. An heir never schemes! He or she just lives, lives every moment, lives in freedom and lives in total self responsibility.

Jesus proves to be the rightful heir, experiencing God as 'Abba' and feeling the need to render every child of God, wholesome in everyway. Laws and regulations did not matter to him; threats and warnings looked despicable in his sight. The greatest of all good news is, Christ has given us the same Spirit that was in him, that in our spirit we may be convinced that we are rightful sons and daughters of the merciful God. 

We are never slaves, we are rightful heirs of God, children chosen and beloved. 

The Family and the Household

THE WORD AND THE SAINTS

October 28, 2023: Remembering the Apostles Sts. Simon and Jude

Ephesians 2: 19-22; Luke 6: 12-16

The memory of the Apostles takes us back to the original experience that gave rise to a new movement, a new family around the person of Jesus of Nazareth and the wondrous experiences with him. Being Christians does not only mean to have a set of beliefs and practices related to them. It means, that we belong to that movement, that family, that household... we are all members, fellow citizens, brothers and sisters with the apostles and saints. 

Jesus called the Apostles by name, that they may pass on that experience of belonging to the household of God, to others right to the end of the world! And we have been the beneficiaries... we have been built together as the dwelling place of God, the Temple of the Spirit. 

United in our hearts, with genuine love that goes out to each other, as brothers and sisters we are invited to become Temples, where persons can come in to feel the presence of God. Celebrating today the feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, we are called to feel one with each other, under that experience that unites us - the experience of belonging to Christ. 

When we stand united, we are built into the dwellings of God, for the Lord had assured: We shall come to them and make our home with them (Jn 14:23).

Alert and Awake; Humble and Holy!

WORD 2day: Friday, 29th week in Ordinary time

October 27, 2023 - Romans 7: 18-25; Luke 12: 54-59

For I do not do the good I want; but I do the evil I do not want - we all know well when we falter. As the psalmist words it: "for I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me" (Ps 51:3). Sin, that St. Paul speaks of today, is something that I do, or I give into consciously. 

None of us can feign ignorance and Jesus explains precisely that today in the Gospel: knowing exactly what is coming up the horizon! If only I am more sensitively aware of what happens within me at a given moment, to what I am committing myself to, of what I am giving into, of what I am permitting into my mind, my thinking and my life... I can preserve myself from so much of pain and patch up. 

The statutes are present within me in my heart, the Saviour abides ever at my side... all that I need to is turn to the Lord and to the Word of the Lord to be assisted, strengthened and saved! 

Let us be ever alert, not to fall prey to the evil; let us be humble to accept it when we actually fall; the fall may be slow and gradual but 'we will not be released until we pay the last penny!' Alert and awake, humble and holy - that is our call!

With hearts set on fire...

WORD 2day: Thursday, 29th week in Ordinary time

October 26, 2023: Romans 6: 19-23; Luke 12: 49-53

With hearts set on fire... that is the way to live an authentic Christian life, declares the Gospel today. 

Fire can symbolically mean light that dispels darkness; one can choose either to live in the light or slumber in the shade - "the work of each will become visible,...because it will be revealed with fire"(1Cor 3:13) says the Word. 

Fire can symbolise the purifying fire which tests the genuineness of our faith, faith which is more precious than gold(1 Pet 1:7). It is all about choices! The choices we make, define the persons that we are. 

Every moment of our life, in our words, in our acts, in our thoughts, in our priorities, in every little decision that we make, we are making choices, we are continually defining who we are, to ourselves first of all and then to the world. Its a choice fundamentally - for death or for life! When we choose things that are ungodly we choose death. When we choose righteousness, the way of the Light, the fire of the Lord, we choose eternal life in Jesus Christ. 

The question here is, are our hearts on fire?

Integrity: being slaves to righteousness

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 29th week in Ordinary time

October 25, 2023: Romans 6: 12-18 -18; Luke 12: 39-48

Jesus continues his instruction as to how we need to be prepared for that hour of reckoning at any point of time in our life. Infact, Jesus is ridiculing all the funny discussions and calculations about when that hour will come - some self proclaimed eschatalogical quacks make much ado of the end and its timings and miss the entire point that Jesus is driving home here. No matter when and where, you know what to do and why to do it. Take care how you do it - not seeking human attention but going by merely God's approval. 

There is a discussion in the world today: who is more corrupt and who is less corrupt. This is the kind fallacy that Jesus is questioning. You are either corrupt or not corrupt! Where does this more and less corrupt come from? When we speak so much against people of corrupt nature, it could be politicians or leaders or officials or persons in authority, we may be stating facts but are we justified to speak so? Aren't we corrupt too in our own way? Even doing something good for the sake of being praised is a form of corruption. 

This is what we call Integrity where I don't need an external recognition; I have developed an internal system of convictions and criteria that makes me almost a "slave" to Righteousness... doing nothing but good, speaking nothing but good, thinking nothing but good, no matter how unlikely the returns are, or what the consequences would be. I am good and righteous and there is no need of a because!

Being awake! Being passionate!

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 29th week in Ordinary time

October 24, 2023 - Romans 5: 12,15,17-21; Luke 12:36-38

Be Awake! says the Lord today. St. Paul reminds us, that death has come from sin; sin had come through disobedience and disobedience does not, for sure, come all of a sudden. It comes, either from a conscious rebellion or a habitual disregard. However, conscious rebellion is not as dangerous as a habitual disregard. 

A feeling of monotony, getting used to things done on a regular basis, fixed and routine schedules of prayer and customary acts of piety, usual persons and daily duties - these are the sources of habitual disregard. It is a kind of a slumber, a slumber with which we carry out our tasks and duties... be they spiritual or otherwise. 

The Lord invites us today, to be alert, to be awake, to be diligent even in the most ordinary of the daily tasks that we carry out - so that when the Master comes we are prepared to receive, whatever time it is. Keep alert, warns St. Peter, the devil your adversary is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8). 

Just a curious thought to add: the easiest way to keep awake is to refuse to sleep! To refuse to sleep is to keep busy, keep at something constantly. What keeps you busy is what you are passionate about. And so, being passionate is being awake!

Faith versus Foolishness

WORD 2day: Monday, 29th week in Ordinary time

October 23, 2023: Romans 4: 20-25; Luke 12: 13-21

Ultimately it is my faith that is going to make a difference, says the first reading. And the Gospel corroborates the fact saying, 'if i don't realise that, I am getting more and more foolish!' 

Death is a normal and logical certainty and in the face of it, what would anything other than my relationship with God matter to me. The source and destiny of my existence is God and God alone can make any difference to my being in the final analysis - whether in this world or in the existence to come. 

Many of us, not only fail to recognise this fact but we deliberately refuse to admit its validity. Pride and Selfishness make one see nothing but himself or herself. Lack of profound understanding of things that happen around, makes one think he or she is capable of anything in this world, until that bubble is burst in a tragic moment! 

A bit of realism and humility will bring every one to this thinking but the sad fact is that it takes a whole lifetime for some of us to come to that realisation. If we have arrived at it already, it is a reason to thank God, for having inspired us early. Let us strive grow in that realisation, becoming more and more founded on our faith, and less and less foolish in our life!

Faith that speaks and acts!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 28th Week in Ordinary time

October 21, 2023: Romans 4:13,16-18; Luke 12: 8-12

Jesus assures us, true faith speaks for itself. We need not hunt for ways and means of explaining and defending our faith; it is mostly self evident and self explanatory. We don't need mighty big formulae to hold on to a faith... all we need is the realisation of the constant and unceasing presence of the Lord with us and within us.

When I am convinced of this presence I can hope against hope as Abraham did. Such a faith speaks on my behalf, clarifies things for me and others, and acts in my favour in the ultimate analysis. Internally it strengthens me and outwardly it makes me a role model. It cannot be otherwise - that I put up an appearance of being a role model, while there is still aspects to be strengthened within me. 

There is a beautiful insight, that hope none of us miss, in the Word today, the readings taken together. While Paul speaks of God as one who raises the dead to life and calls to life those which do not as yet exist, Jesus speaks of that one sin that cannot be forgiven, the sin against the Holy Spirit. They both are referring to the same, while the former cites a positive explanation, the latter provides a note of clarification. That is where the insight lies:

The sin against the Holy Spirit is the lack of hope, which is a concrete expression of lack of faith leading to a life that ultimately lacks true love! Let nothing perturb you, if you are really a person of faith!

Let our lives be filled with a faith that speaks and acts!

The gift of faith and what we do with it

WORD 2day: Friday, 28th Week in Ordinary time

October 20, 2023: Romans 4: 1-8; Luke 12: 1-7

Faith is a gift, a gratuitous gift from God! My part is to grow in it. The more I grow in it, the more I realise how undeserving I am of it.

Abraham was granted this gift and he grew tremendously worthy of it. Paul was granted this gift and he fought a brave fight to become worthy of it. Jesus accuses those who throw those pearls of faith to the swines of their ego and self centered thinking. If I have received this gift of faith, should I not be grateful for it and mindful enough to keep growing in it. Can I be boasting about it and mindlessly acting contrary to it? 

Jesus warns us about something that would not look apparently like an aberration of faith, but in fact leads us gradually away from what true faith is all about - 'the yeast' of the Pharisees, that Jesus mentions in the Gospel today. At times people think they are treasuring that faith, but actually trashing their faith by becoming self righteous and so judgmental about others. They grow so intolerable towards others that they think they possess the whole truth and no one can dare differ from them. 

Taking my faith to be a reason for my pride, judging everyone else who does not partake of it; calling names at people who have a faith different from mine merely because of the difference and treating them with despite; making faith a means to make my living instead of making it my life and journeying genuinely towards my eternal life...these are somethings that I need to be on the guard about! 

Faith is a gift given to me and I need to grow in it every day, every moment.

Refrain from Bloodshed

WORD 2day: Thursday, 28th week in Ordinary time

October 19, 2023: Romans 3: 21-30; Luke 11: 47-54

We are justified by faith apart from the works of law - this was, is and will ever be a point of contention. In the Old Testament times it was a contention between the 'conservative' and the 'progressive' rabbinic schools; in Jesus' times between him and the Jewish religious heads; in the times of the early Christians it was a contention between those who followed the Pauline theology and those who believed the theology of James; today it continues between the Catholics and the non Catholics! 

Needless to say, our point of reference is Jesus: 'Don't put your trust in your capacity to achieve things and to gain control or dominance, in violence or in silencing people through your vilifying judgements,' warns Jesus. All these are blood shedding... not only literally killing people by the sword. Your words and your judgments can kill people long before they actually die. You will be demanded to account for this! 

What Jesus taught against was, empty ritualism, legalistic spirituality and hypocritical religiosity, that allows one to compromise between inhuman behaviour and an unbelievably pious image, the coexistence between unjust thought process and a sweet religious conversation, the unholy alliance between dirty politics and pompous spirituality. Ignatius of Antioch, whom we celebrated a couple of days ago would say, "it is not that I want merely to be called a Christian, but to actually be one. Yes, if I prove to be one, then I can have the name." 

Let my faith and my works go together, only then can I truly refrain from bloodshed

Absolute Choice for God

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

October 18, 2023: Celebrating St. Luke, the Evangelist
2 Timothy 4: 10-17; Luke 10: 1-9

Luke alone is with me...writes Paul.

One salient feature that is often pointed out about St.Luke's gospel is the contrasting images that he uses in his narration... the beatitudes and the woes, Martha and Mary, the prodigal and his brother, the rich man and Lazarus, the good thief and the bad thief... these are typical to Luke-s narration! 

Today's Gospel too highlights one: a person of peace and a person who is not of peace; those who respond to the Lord and those who do not. It follows the same logic of the contrast... where does the contrast lie and what message does it give us today?

The message is obvious: Luke challenges his readers with absolute choices - for or against the Lord; with or away from the Lord! A value that he seems to have dominated his own life - he chose to remain with Paul in his difficult ministry! The radical choices that a disciple has to make according to Jesus in the Gospel today, were very clear for Luke and he made those choices his own! 

The feast of St.Luke invites us to make an absolute choice for God: on a daily basis, at work and at home, on the streets or in a public transport; in company or alone - we are what we choose to be! Let us fearlessly choose to belong to the Lord, always!

No excuses! Towards Integrity!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

October 17, 2023: Remembering St. Ignatius of Antioch 

Romans 1: 16-25; Luke 11: 37-41

The terminology used by Paul today sounds very practical, warning us that there are no excuses one can give for not recognising the hand of God in and through the immensity of the reality around. And added to that when it comes to me and God, I don't need to have proofs and justifications and evidences that I believe in God or not. Because God knows the innermost thoughts of mine and I need not be bothered about my presentations and formulations. This is the fundamental element of what we call 'integrity.'

Integrity is having the least discrepancy between my inner self and my external behaviour, between my convictions and what I engage myself in on a daily basis, between what really matters for me and what I present myself as to others! It is avoiding hypocrisy, staying clear of putting up appearances, or having hidden agenda. Jesus uses simple terms for that in the Gospel - inside and outside! Let both be clean he says... I can have no excuses when it comes to my inner self, for I stand convicted before God who knows the innermost thoughts.

The saints like the one whom we remember today, St. Ignatius of Antioch, were people who were incomparable in their integrity. They were ready to give of their whole self to God - not just part time and not just a stage show or a dramatic performance. When I do all that I do, with true consciousness and sincere acceptance of why I do it, I am on the first step towards integrity. I need to constantly purify myself towards that integrity that will reveal God's image within me. 

In spite of the beasts of this world, the attractions and the pressures that surround me, help me Lord to grow in my personal integrity!

The call and the reminder

WORD 2day: Monday, 28th Week in Ordinary time

October 16, 2023 - Romans 1: 1-7; Luke 11: 29-32

The first reading today speaks to us about our call to belong to Christ, our call to be holy, our obedience of faith. At times we forget this fundamental call and live our daily life in the way we like, giving into our whims and fancies. We lose track of our fundamental call and go after things that matter nothing to our salvation, some of them even detrimental to our salvation. 

We become so callous to our failures and disorientation that we do not even realise we are going farther and farther away from our destined goal: our sanctification. This does not mean that we cannot fail or that we cannot have imperfections in life, but that we cannot justify them or become indifferent to them. 

We can never justify our act, our choices or our priorities when they go against the call that we have from God. We are given reminders after reminders, through persons, situations, events and interventions. The models given to us today: the people of Nineveh and Queen of Sheba, are people who were so attentive to these signs and reminders that they instantly picked up the message that God was giving them. They took the utmost effort to respond to their specific call. That is the reminder given to me today: how much have I grown in responding to the call that the Lord has given me personally? The call to belong to Christ, the call to be holy, the call to my personal sanctification!

Being God's people - a sense of 'given'!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 27th week in Ordinary time

October 14, 2023: Joel 4: 12-21; Luke 11: 27-28

Joel speaks of that day of calamity that was bound to come, but adds a note of promise to God's people. The rest of the discussion is the whole dispute of the biblical history: who are these God's people? Some claim that status for themselves on the basis of their historical, geographical, ethnic and social background.

Jesus makes it clear in the Gospel today- all these details may matter but what matters most is the way you live your life on day to day basis. Life is a given and it comes with a multitude of givens that come along with it. If God has willed me to be born at this juncture - that  is, here and now... that has within it a task and a call that comes along. 

The 'givenness' of the identity as people of God, is certainly a privilege but not just that! It has to be understood without fail in terms of a task, a call ... because that is what God wants from me and in accomplishing it or committing myself to it, I become God's own! That sense of 'given' - as a privilege given and a task given - makes me conscious and faithful to the identity given me! 

To live our lives with a sense of given, that's what will make us God's people.

Catch up with the Reign!

WORD 2day: Friday, 27th week in Ordinary time

October 13, 2023: Joel 1:13-15,2:1-2; Luke 11 : 15-26

The easiest way to get rid of someone from the world is to demonise that person! This is what the Political Super Powers today keep trying. When they feel like eliminating someone, when they feel like demolishing another nation, the easiest way is to demonise them - call them names like evil, violent, terrorists, outlaws, rebels and so on - and get the whole world look at them as being personification of evil. Then what remains is to get rid of the so-called "evil".

It happens in all walks of life. Why do you think the fundamentalist pentecostal groups keep calling the Apostolic Catholic Church names and comparing it to the Antichrist? The sad thing is, there are those who care about nothing but rules and rigour, not about true faith and real experience of God, within the Catholic Church - who at times start such demonising acts, creating schismatic sentiments within the Church, opposing the Holy Father or finding fault in whatever is proposed towards more meaningful living of the Church, refusing to sit together or walk together on a synodal journey.

The Lord warns us today: you will be lagging behind, while the Reign of God would have overtaken you. Catch up with the Reign. Revelation is progressive, everyday the Lord keeps revealing to us, the way to get closer and closer to the Lord. Everything that happens, all the situations of humanity are but signs of God's revelation and a call to get closer to the Reign, by becoming more and more like the Merciful Father, Observant Son and the Illuminating Spirit of the Lord. If we lose track of it, we shall certainly lag behind. 

Come on, let us catch up with the Reign!

At the right time...

WORD 2day: Thursday, 27th week in Ordinary time

October 12, 2023: Malacchi 3: 13-20; Luke 11:5-13

Just yesterday we reflected on waiting for the answers from the Lord and today the Word continues to insist on the same: at the right time, everything will be set right!

If I want it right now, it does not mean it is the right time. If I insist on having what I want, when I want it, where is the space for the Omniscient God, the God who has a plan for eternity. Within God's eternal plan everything will have its place. It is faith alone that can help us understand and accept that. 

Our confusion regarding the thriving evil, our compassion for the suffering righteous, our helplessness before the conniving shrewdness, our anger before the insensitive power... all these should not frustrate us, if we take the God-perspective seriously. If only we can look at everything that is happening from God's perspectives we will be strengthened by that serenity that God alone can give. 

This serenity is not inactivity or passivity or incapacity or giving up... it is a hopeful surrender to the Lord that truth and righteousness alone can triumph because God is in charge! Nothing can ultimately go wrong. For a while, some forces can be at play but the final victory belongs to the Lord. This is the hope of Resurrection and we are a Resurrection People! 

Prayers, Questions and Answers

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 27th week in Ordinary time

October 11, 2023: Jonah 4: 1-11; Luke 11: 1-4

At times persons have a perplexity, that they are tempted to ask the Lord so many questions when they have difficulties! Do they really need to be perplexed about it? This is the reflection that the Word today can inspire within us.

Can we question the Lord? Is that prayerful at all? Let us think a bit: what else is prayer then? 

It is not at all wrong to ask questions to the Lord. But it is important to wait for the answer. What is wrong is, we ask questions and move away from the Lord, abandon the Lord, quit the presence of the Lord. That is the problem most of us give in to.

Ask whatever question you want to, because the Lord is your Father and Mother who loves you above all. But after asking the question, remain there till the Lord answers you, as the Lord answered Jonah today. The answer will come, now, later, much later, God alone knows when, but it will come. Because God answers prayers, that is, God answers the question your raise in prayers! God will surely answer...I need to wait!

Praying can very well be asking questions, but only when I am determined to get an answer from the Lord, whatever time it takes! For God's is the kingdom, God's is the power, God's is the glory for evermore!

Listening and Doing

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 27th week in Ordinary time

October 10, 2023: Jonah 3:1-10; Luke 10:38-42

Is listening better than doing? What about that young man that Jesus spoke to, who came to Jesus and asked a question about being saved and Jesus looked at him with compassion and explained? He listened... was that enough? Or what about that son, in Jesus' parable, who listened to his father with such eagerness, saying 'yes' even before he could finish telling him to go to work in the vineyard? He listened too... was that enough? Today Mary is listening... is that enough?

Is Martha less than Mary for doing so many things, all for Christ? What is the problem here? Martha's doing was like the doing of the Hebrews, all for God but nothing with God! Whatever you do, do it with God... listen and do! That is the point Jesus was arriving at. Like the people of Nineveh, who listened and acted, Mary was listening to act, listening to do, listening to transform herself!

Neither listening alone nor doing alone will make a difference in our lives, says the Word today. Listening and Doing is what we need to learn. Listening alone will make us useless. Doing alone will make us place the work of God prior to the God of work. So the right Christian attitude will be listening and doing - a doing that is born out of listening and a listening that moves us towards doing!

Love alone is the answer

WORD 2day: Monday, 27th week in Ordinary Time

October 9, 2023: Jonah 1:1 - 2:1, 11; Luke 10: 25-37

Humanity has so many questions - why are the evil people thriving; why are the innocent suffering; why are there exploitations in the world; who is cause of the misery of the poor; why is there so much of violence and killing; what makes people turn against each other... how many questions we face in our daily life in today's world. Yes, Humanity has all these questions, but Love alone is the answer!

People may turn evil, but they were created out of love and they are called live with that love, in joy and fulfillment. When they make mistakes, it begins to affect the other, finally there will be a time when it comes back to them. Self centered exploitation of the other is a deprivation of love and violence and killings are but inevitable consequences of these. 

If Love is felt to be present around, if Love is felt in each one's heart, if Love is found to animate every relationship, if true Love of God governs the whole world, misery, violence, killing, poverty, suffering, injustice, exploitation and every shade of sadness and grief will be wiped out. Will it happen? 

Let us remember, to every single problem on earth, even with us and among us, Love alone is the answer!

SALVATION BY DEFAULT?

Autosave and Autorecovery, yes... but Salvation not automatic!

October 8, 2023: 27th Sunday in Ordinary time
Isaiah 5: 1-7; Philippians 4: 6-9; Matthew 21:33-43

'Are you saved?' - this is one disturbing question that has to be removed from the non-catholic, pentecostal lexicon! We often see this phrase on the lips of the non-catholic, specially those who belong to the pentecostal sects and varied denominations other than the mainline churches. That question, should kind of intrigue us, and at the same time challenge us! Let us understand this first. 

Salvation: as sons and daughters of Christ, we should be confident of it, because the Lord has saved us by his blood. That is why that question should intrigue us! But can we take 'being saved' for granted, that whatever I may do or not do, I will be saved? That is a true challenge that this question inspires, but answers have to be sincere and genuine; and such sincere and genuine answers will of course lead to transformation, both personal and universal! Though it lacks wholeness and truth in its entirety, the point that these denominational brethren try to make is the second understanding we just referred to. How challenged do we feel about receiving the salvation from the Lord? Are we eager to be SAVED? 

Look at that question once again - to be saved! In today's computerised digital language we can imagine an explanation in these lines: do you want to be saved - don't expect that to happen by default! Every time the computer asks you, do you want to save? And you need to say, yes! Allegorically, even in our spiritual parlance, there is no Salvation by default! 

It is true that there is an Auto-save Option at work - Yes, the very fact that we are the chosen children of God we are automatically saved! God has chosen us and named us after Godself, and made us God's own people. As Peter would say "once you were not a people; but now you are God's people" (1 Pet 2:10); we are made "children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ" (Rom 8:17)! This is what is theologically known as 'Objective Salvation'...the possibility of salvation that is open to ALL people! God wishes EVERYONE to be saved, says the Word of God (1 Tim 2:4), yes by the very fact that we are created in the image and likeness of God, we are eligible for that salvation. 

In our computer lingo, this is what we refer to as Auto-save option, but for auto-saving, something should have been done which could be saved. The Lord had made us the Lord's vineyard, but have we proved to be vineyards or are we merely a plot of useless thistles? What we sow, that we reap; the Lord has sown and looks forward to see vines; is it not justified and mandatory that we put forth our fruits? What is there will be saved...that is the auto-save option! Our efforts to live-up to our calling and our identity as children of God - that is what will define us. 

It is also true that there is an Auto-Recovery Option at work - just as it happens when we work at a computer, at times we fail, we hang, we crash, we shut down without warning and alas, lose data! But we need not totally panic. There is an auto-recovery option that is on, isn't it? "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fallback into fear" (Rom 8:15), and that is why St. Paul advises us, "do not worry about anything" (Phil 4:6), but to cast behind us what has been and strain forward (Phil 3:13) towards that crown of salvation prepared for us! Everything will be recovered, everything will be brought back, reconciled in Christ our salvation; he is the auto-recovery option that is on (cf. Col 1:20). 

But, be attentive... if something has to be recovered, it should have been there! Again our efforts to belong to Christ (cf. Col 2:20), our efforts to bear fruit, to make most of the short time we have (cf. Eph 5:15,16)... all these count. Auto-recovery option is fine, but it is when there has been some solid work that has been done. We can cast behind our back our limitations and shortcomings, but only if there is within us an abundance of good will to belong to God and a unquenchable thirst to unite with the Lord. The Lord is always there beside us to recover us from whatever we lose ourselves into, but on our part we are expected to have built already a relationship with the Lord, a loving relationship, a childlike relationship, so that we could keep the channel open for the love of God to act in, through and on our behalf. 

The crucial point, therefore, that we have to keep in mind is, though auto-save and auto-recovery are options, salvation is never by default! We have to work it out, on a daily basis! "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling", says St. Paul (Phil 2:24). We are called to live in a situation that is surrounded by all sorts of choices; what choices do we make? A tree will be known by its fruits, it is said; what fruits do we put out? 

We are weak, we are limited and we have our shortcomings - no one can deny that. But in spite of these, are we prepared to "overcome evil with good" without being "overcome by evil" that is around? (cf. Rom 12:21). We need to show it by our efforts and by the fruits, however small, that these efforts produce. We have to be transformed into the image of the One after whom we are fashioned. Salvation is never by defalut; it is by our choices (choice of what is true, what is honourable, what is just, what is pure and so on), and by our faithfulness to the call that we have received. 

Let us take stock of our daily living and be transformed into true and fruitful vineyards of the Lord.

To return... but how?

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

October 7, 2023: Baruch 4: 5-12,27-29; Luke 10: 17-24

'For just as you by your will strayed away from God, return with tenfold zeal to seek him' (Bar 4:28), instructs the first reading today. The key to understand the so-called discrepancy between the Old Testament thinking and the New Testament theology lies here. While we can be surprised at a 'punishing' and a 'revengeful' God that the people of the Old Testament thought of, we understand from the verses like the above that we are responsible for all the calamities that we bring on ourselves, by our priorities and choices, not only individually but also collectively - it is unfortunate that some who are innocent too face the brunt due to the rest! 

It is high time that we realise that 'blessed are those eyes that see what we see, and the ears that hear what we hear'... if only we can take the cue from things that happen around us, we will readily return to the Lord, with tenfold zeal! 

Returning is another theme that repeats itself in the Word today - first returning from places far from God and the second returning from the mission given by God: to which return are we referring to with regard to ourselves - are we far from God to decide to return to the Lord? Or are we on a mission, bearing the name of God and spreading God's mercy and love to return to the Lord for a justful recompense? 

The requirement that is crucial here - is that we see, and that we hear, and that returning to the Lord is possible only in true faith!

Integrity or Shame?

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

October 6, 2023: Baruch 1:15-22; Luke 10:13-16

Everyone has always, the choice to make between Integrity and Shame. There is a tendency among people to believe that is more important to be careful, than to be right. That is a dangerous tendency.

People choose to be right not because they are convinced of being right but because they do not want to get into trouble. Be it obeying traffic rules, or paying tax returns, or keeping to the social agreements or carrying out one's assigned duties - in everything of this sort, people choose to do things in order to avoid consequences than to be true to their selves and to their calling. 

Can we follow the same logic with the Lord who knows even our innermost thoughts, our unsaid words and our hidden motives? Here arises the whole concept of integrity: being right for the sake of being right, doing something because it is right than because it is acceptable, living out of conviction than in view of convenience. 

Obeying God has to come out of conviction, that is integrity. If I make use of the name of God and the practices pertaining to God for social acceptability or for my hidden agenda, I am far from integrity and the ultimate consequence will be shame. I live either in constant pressure of pleasing others or in constant fear of shame. 

The Word counsels us today: Integrity frees me of this because truth will set you free! Look up to the Lord and you will never be put to shame!

The Word Gladdens

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

October 5, 2023: Celebrating St.Faustina Kowalska 

Nehemiah 8: 1-12; Luke 10: 1-12

The Word gladdens the heart because the Word is the Mercy of God, the Word is the Divine Mercy that revealed itself to St. Faustina Kowalska! When Ezra proclaimed the Word, along with the other levites and the priests, the people cried, not because they were sad but because they were gladdened by the Word. When Jesus sent his disciples to carry the good news to the villages two by two, he commissioned them to cure, heal and exorcise because taking the Word meant taking gladness to the people.

The Word gladdens one's heart so much that it changes the lives of the one's who hear and understand it. The people heard it and when they understood it they wept, out of joy and gladness for the goodness that the Lord had shown them. The same happened to Sr. Faustina... she was so gladdened by the Word that she left everything and followed the Word.

Helena Kowalska, who lived in Krakow, was 19 when she had the vision of the Crucified Lord and that was during a dance with her friends! She was transformed and that very night she left everything, her old life, her firends, her family, her place and moved to Warsaw, 85 kms away, because the Word told her. New place, strange circumstances but her heart was full of the vision and finally she landed up with the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. The reason for the choice: she knew only that she was being led there. Soon the reason was clear too. By 22 she professed in the congregation as Sr. Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament (Faustina meant 'the fortunate one') and in 1931 her visions of Jesus as the King of Mercy began. The devotion to Divine Mercy began with these visions and today we know how profound this devotion has become. 

The Word, listened to and understood, gladdens our heart and changes our lives. How attentive is our listening, how humble is our understanding and how committed is our love for the Word?

The Marks of Christ: gentleness and humility

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

October 4, 2023: Celebrating St. Francis of Assisi
Galatians 6: 14-18; Matthew 11: 28-30

Francis of Assisi is considered a man who managed the maximum resemblance to Christ in his life, not so much due to the marks of the stigmata that he received from the Lord, but more due to the marks of Christ that he lived all his life - that is Gentleness and Humility. Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart, invites Jesus in the Gospel today.

Specially today, with the rising fanaticism around the world, we are called to imitate that gentleness and humility of the self emptying Lord. We are not here referring only to the fanatic terrorists who are threatening the peace of the world, but even to the fanatics in the garb of Christians, people who are insisting on rules and rubrics, legalities and orthodoxy, the ego and hierarchy, to such an extent that mercy and understanding, dialogue and compassion find no place within the practice of faith and religion. People refuse to see the truth that dialogue is not diluting, compassion is not compromise, instead dialogue and compassion are the ways to bear Christ to the world today, a world that is so torn by fundamentalism and inhumanity.

Francis came at a time when the Church was wounded due to various spiritual calamities within the Church in the 10th and the 11th century and he treated those wounds with the compassion of the Lord, the humility of the Son of God and the peace of the Prince of Peace. He showed us that the marks of Christ that all of us can bear in our life, are exactly these: to be instruments of peace, through love, pardon, faith, hope, light, joy, consolation and new life.

May St. Francis assist us to understand the difference between true holiness and self righteousness, the distance between love and legalism and the need to grow towards becoming Christ ourselves!

Knowing God is from within!

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

October 3, 2023: Zechariah 8: 20-23; Luke 9: 51-56

Though Evangelisation is one great mission that is entrusted to every person who knows God, it is not a means to force anyone to get to know God. One cannot know God by force. In fact, attempting to make people know God by force only works against the very objective. Knowing God has to happen! It should come from within. 

The concerned person needs to feel the presence of God in and through the persons around, the situation around and the experiences that happen. Hence, evangelisation essentially is not making people know God but making people see what I have known about God, how I know God, and as what I know God to be!

Once I really experience God, know God and fall in love with God, people around me see the experience that makes such a difference for me, they wish to get to know God from me and begin to love the One whom I love, on their own. This is true evangelisation, and that comes from within because, without any doubt, knowing God is from within. 

Knowing God is not an easy task, nor is it a pleasant one at that because just as Jesus fixing his gaze towards Jerusalem, it takes us through challenges and struggles! It is a mission in itself and we are indeed created for it - to know God, to love God and to experience God from within, in the core of our beings.

God's ever present guidance

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

October 2, 2023: Celebrating the Guardian Angel
Zechariah 8: 1-8; Matthew 18: 1-5,10

The readings today speak to us of God walking with the people, being with the people, walking the people to the new land... these are experiences of God that people have had in history that is enshrined in terms of the Guardian Angels. 

In celebrating the guardian angels to whose care each of us is entrusted, we recognise and wonder at God's incessant presence and unfailing guidance! In the Gospel today, Jesus refers to that phenomenon and invites us to believe, accept and respect the presence of God through the Angels with us in our daily life. 

When we stand by the little ones, guide the confused, redirect the faltering, strengthen the tired, hold firm the drooping, uplift the downtrodden, encourage the heart broken, we would be playing Angels to these because we would be doing exactly what the Lord wants to do to them, we would be representing God's presence to them. 

This is what the Lord wants us to do: to feel the presence of the Lord when we are on a down trip, and to be the presence of the Lord when we notice someone on a losing ground. Let us believe in the Guardian Angels, experience the guardian angels and play the guardian angels!