St. Monica and the Grace of Tears

August 27, 2024: 
Remembering St Monica, the Saintly Mother

Monica, this saintly Mother has always been a point of great admiration in Christian hagiography. What a great example we have in her, as a mother and as a child of God!

There are three lessons that this saintly mother can teach us:

1. The grace of tears:

Pope Francis encourages people to pray for the 'grace of tears' when pleading to God to help others, when recognising their own sinfulness, when contemplating the greatness of Christ's love and when experiencing God's mercy. Monica had the grace of tears and she prayed with tears every time she prayed for her husband and her son.

2. The power of tears:

When the widow of Nain cried, the Lord could not resist his compassion for her. He was moved to the point of a miracle. Just so, Monica saved her son, by the sheer power of her tears. What if we realise, that our tears can save, atleast ourselves!

3. The witness of tears:

Tears become a witness, witness to the love of God. The genuine tears of a loved one speaks volumes about the immeasurable love that God has for a person. Tears are not signs of weakness, they are signs of inner strength to remain with a person who is suffering or struggling!

Let us pray for the gift of tears, as Pope Francis recommends!

As people incapable of deceit

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Celebrating St. Bartholomew, the man incapable of deceit
August 24, 2024 - Revelations 21: 9-14; John 1: 45-51

The twelve - Jesus' choice of the twelve was very conscious and reasonable. Be it any of the twelve, even regarding Judas Iscariot, Jesus had a special reason for their choice. He gives the reason for the choice of Bartholomew (said to be Nathaniel whom Philip introduced to Jesus): a man without guile or a man incapable of deceit. That is one splendid attribute of a disciple.

We are called to be disciples of Christ too... can we merit such an appreciation from Jesus as he had for his apostles? 

The colour red that we use to indicate the specific role the apostles play within our faith, is also a reminder to die with Christ so that we may rise with Him. This reminder of death, is in fact reminder of a life, a lifestyle that does not count anything - neither struggles and persecutions, neither death nor defeat - when it comes to our fidelity to God.

Fidelity to God is a matter of integrity and authenticity; it cannot be a mere appearance! That is precisely why "not being capable of deceit" is an essential trait of an authentic apostle. If we have to grow to be true apostles, we have to be incapable of deceit.  Let Bartholomew inspire us to live a life that makes us worthy be called persons without guile, people incapable of deceit

The Dry bone syndrome

WORD 2day: Friday, 20th week in Ordinary time

August 23, 2024 - Ezekiel 37: 1-14; Matthew 22: 34-40

The world is experiencing a time that is strange in all its sense and meaningless in its totality. There is some invention or development every single day in the field of social networking, making it easier and easier to stay in touch and communicate to each other. But the paradox is that world is growing colder by the day towards those who are suffering, those who are struggling, those who are left without hope, those who are exploited and targetted, denied their rights, robbed of their dignity and incessantly dehumanised. This is an experience that we can call the dry bone syndŕome. 

Bones strewn all around but having nothing to do with each other. Bones so dry and lifeless that they lack any sign of hope. Persons everywhere bumping into each other and crisscrossing without limits, but no one wishing to enter meaningfully into the life of the other. Isn't it right to call this a dry bone syndrome?

The Spirit, the breath of the Lord that the Lord commands Ezekiel to prophesy about, is directly the Spirit of the Lord, the love for God and the love for one's neighbours. It is Love that can give life to this heap of dry bones. It is the love that God lavishes upon us and the realisation of it, that can urge us to love others (2 Cor 5:14).

From Good people to God's People

WORD 2day: Thursday, 20th week in Ordinary time

August 22, 2024 - Ezekiel 36: 33-28; Matthew 26: 1-14

The Word today seems to underline the urgency of responding to God's invitation - the invitation to be God's people. The urgency in no way does away with the demands of the criteria. The demand is not just to be good people, but to be God's people. 

Being God's people would mean being reflections of God's own holiness from within us; God wishes to display God's holiness in us... what a realisation if only we understand what God wants to communicate by this.

At times we reduce our human nature to sinfulness and wickedness, jealousy and egocentrism, lawlessness and insensitivity. The truth is not that! The truth is that we possess within us the holiness of God, the splendour of God, the glorious and majestic image of God. If only we realise it! However we may try, that task seems to be practically impossible, with all the traps and trials around in our living conditions. 

The Lord òffers to fill us with Lord's own spirit. It is only through that, one can live according to the norms of the living Lord. Let us put on the Spirit of the Lord and enter the daily banquet of the Lord...well on our way to becoming God's people, and not just good people, and much less just any people!

Living the Word from within

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 19th week in Ordinary time

August 13, 2024 - Ezekiel 2:8 - 3:4; Matthew 18: 1-5, 10-14

The first reading today has a beautiful symbolism... the Lord tells the prophet to eat the scroll and then to go and speak to the people the Word of God. The idea is clear - there is no use in knowing what the Lord says, or saying what the Lord says - what matters is living what the Lord says. 

Living the Word from within, will be possible only if the word resides within us. Hence, the call to EAT the scroll containing the Word - that is to assimilate what the Lord says and the become animated by the Word, from the core of our being.

The disciples, we see today in the Gospel, heard the word from Jesus, spoke about it, but they never personalised it. They were unaffected by the Word and that is why they were worried about who will be the greatest among them. The Lord challenges them to listen to the word, eat the word and live the word from within! Are we prepared, because the Lord calls us too!

The Right Spirituality

WORD 2day: Monday, 19th week in Ordinary time

August 12, 2024 - Ezekiel 1: 2-5,24-28; Matthew 17: 22-27

Growing in Faith is not merely growing in knowledge of something - knowing more about scriptures, knowing more about religion, knowing more about values etc. It is much greater than that, but one of the most fundamental requirement is knowing: knowing who oneself is! 

That self knowledge and self definition determines much of one's choices! The Word today reminds us of the true nature and glory that is embedded into our beings, which we very often forget, neglect and reject. 

The way I understand myself affects the way I look at others. The way I look at others determines the way that I relate to them. The way I relate to the others is plainly expressive of the kind of concept I have of God. For instance, when we look at others as strangers and foreigners then we expect that they deserve every thing that we do for them. When we look at the other always in communion with ourselves, all that we do for them we actually do for ourselves. Looking at the other as unconnected from me puts my very belief in the One God to question. 

It is high time we look at everything being one whole, connected to each other - that is true Spirituality!

Sowing and Growing

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

August 10, 2024 - Celebrating Deacon St. Lawrence

2 Corinthians 9: 6-10; John 12: 24-26

The Deacon Martyr St. Lawrence gives us the occasion to hear yet another time this classical lesson that the Lord wishes to give us: what you sow you reap; what you are, you grow to be! It is important here to notice that the crucial element is not what we do or what we become, but what we are! This is what St. Paul calls, becoming a new person in Christ. To be so transformed in Christ and into Christ, that we would be seen as Christ, as another Christ, as alter christus! 

Every Martyr gives us this lesson: to die for Christ's sake. It does not mean only dying in the sense of losing one's life, but dying to oneself, dying to one's ego, dying to one's undue attachments, dying to one's fixed ideas, dying to one's weaknesses and fixations. That is martyrdom too... a martyrdom of a totally different nature, a martyrdom that is required of everyone. A martyrdom that has to be undertaken with a sense of gratitude and cheerfulness, inspite of the inconveniences it can cause. 

What have we sown around us? What are we growing into? Let us become aware of our sensibilities and check if we are cheerful givers, who are ready to give up, in order to grow up!

The true blessedness from God

WORD 2day: Friday, 18th week in Ordinary time

August 09, 2024 - Nahum 2:1-3, 3:1-3, 6,7; Matthew 16: 24-28

Today we hear the hope giving words of Nahum. But just a few days earlier we heard from Jeremiah a sharp criticism of the self proclaimed prophet Hananiah, saying the prophecies of prosperity can be accepted as such only after the things prophesied come to pass. However the words of Hananiah were soon proved to be mere search for popular acceptance!

Nahum's promise of the restoration of God's people comes combined with a call to be prepared, alert and girded. Jesus takes that a step forward to say, it takes a ready acceptance of the daily cross and a loving preparedness to walk in the ways of the Lord, to experience the true "blessedness" from God.

Prosperity, fame, popularity, joy, sense of fulfilment, peace and a sense of being loved... these are ofcourse signs of God's blessings...but they cannot be our focus in our daily life, instructs Jesus. When we strive to live acceptable in the eyes of God, all the rest will follow. What matters thus is... the true "blessedness" in the sight of God!

A heart worthy of the Covenant

WORD 2day: Thursday,  18th week in Ordinary time 

August 08, 2024: Jeremiah 31: 31-34; Matthew 16: 13-23

The day will come when you will not have to teach your loved ones to know God...for every one will know God in those days, promises the Lord. Jesus applauds Peter, saying his knowledge of Christ was exceptional, because it was God given! The day has come when Peter know who the Lord was, as we read in Jeremiah.

The reality is that, though God reveals Godself to us and we get to know God so intimately, our memories are so very fickle and short lived. We give into our human tendencies so easily and readily as if there were nothing so great between us and God! Our memories may be thus short, but not God's. God forgives, waits and readily renews the covenant that God has made with us.

The Lord promises to give us a new heart, a heart of flesh, a heart that takes after the sensibilities of God, a heart that sees as God does, a heart that hears as God does, a heart that feels as God does, a heart that loves as God loves... a heart that is worthy of the covenant that God has made with us.

The Remnant and the Rest

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 18th week in Ordinary Time

August 07, 2024: Jeremiah 31: 1-7; Matthew 15: 21-28

The Lord renews the covenant with the people inspite of their failures because the Lord had always loved them with an everlasting love. Today the Word warns us that those who will finally taste the fruits of God's faithfulness are the remnant and the rest of the people who come by and stick to the Lord.

The remnant are those who choose to differ from the mainstream inspired by a genuine conviction and sincere effort to be integral.

The rest are those who are least expected to be favoured in the eyes of the Lord. The world has its own criteria of judgement but the Lord has a totally different set of criteria... single minded dedication to the Lord, genuine love for God's people and authentic life after the mind of God.

Don't conform to the world; instead be transformed in Christ into new beings!

Called to burn, until consumed!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST 

August 6, 2024 - The Transfiguration of the Lord 
Daniel 7: 9-10, 13-14 (or) 2 Peter 1: 16-19; Matthew 17: 1-9

"A lamp shining in a dark place until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" - a wonderful comparison that St. Peter presents to us. It would apply to our faith, our life of witness, our trust, our commitment to the Reign of God and every bit of our faith and its expression here and now, all leading us towards that eternal glory that awaits us as children of God (Jn 1:12), co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17), people meant for the future glory (Rom 8:18).

Our Christian life is rich and its richness will be lost if we lose the sense of mystery in understanding it. Mystery is not merely something that is unknown and incomprehensible, but it is something that is beyond all our rational calculations and empirical conditions; yet it is not totally alien from our experience; it is part of our lived experience, an experience we live on a daily basis, an experience that sustains our faith and offers meaning to our life.

The feast of Transfiguration is a symbol, a prefigurement and a surety of the glory that rests within us, as children of God. However, we are warned not to lose our grip on our daily living, on our concrete initiatives towards ushering in the Reign of God in the pretext of dreaming about a future that is glorious and splendid.

In practical terms, to be people transfigured is to live our lives with our eyes fixed on heaven and our feet planted firm on ground, to never lose the hope that the Lord offer in Himself and to never rest from our efforts to build the Reign of God here on earth. It is a call to burn until we are totally consumed, totally consumed for the sake of the mission that the Lord entrusts to us, consumed living our daily life to the full, empowering every person to live it to their full.

Being True Prophets

WORD 2day: Monday, 18th week in Ordinary time

August 5, 2024 - Jeremiah 28:1-17; Matthew 14: 13-21

The Word today reminds us of our call to be prophets... by the way, don't we really know that each of us baptised in the Spirit is called to be a priest, a prophet and a prince (or princess)? Of course, knowing is one thing, but being convinced of it is totally another thing.

Being a prophet is not speaking things that others would love to hear from us -like the so called fortune tellers and prediction prodigies do, to woo more and more customers. Jeremiah warns Hananiah today in the first reading against his false sense of prophecy! And we read the sad end of Hananiah. The Gospel has a symbolic message in the same lines.

Jesus chides his disciples for their lack of faith. It might look a bit too demanding on Jesus' part to expect the disciples to remain unperturbed when they are almost sinking. But the point that the Master makes is that his disciples should be perturbed by nothing, absolutely nothing!  "Let nothing disturb you", he would say. In today's world so immersed in numerous kinds of concerns, wouldn't it be prophetic to live a life so unperturbed! That would be indeed, being true prophets to this world.

Focus, Detachment and Fearlessnes

WORD 2day: Saturday, 17the week in Ordiary time

August 03, 2024 - Jeremiah 26: 1-11,16 ; Matthew 14: 1-12

Constant threat to life, drastic insecurities of life, total unacceptance from the rest of the so called normal people, pressures of helplessness... these form part of the usual plight of a prophet, not just in the days of Jeremiah and John the Baptist but even today. That explains why real prophets are a rare phenomenon. However, it is an undeniable and precarious fact that the difference between a true prophet and a self-righteous egoist is very thin and dangerously subtle.

The first element that can demarcate the two is the FOCUS. When Jeremiah spoke to the people and the princes, he never looked for support or people who can come to his defence. His focus was determinantly on what God wanted him to say and do, and nothing else. 

The second element is DETACHMENT from the result. Though the message is definitely pointed towards a change or a result, the prophet is not excessively anxious about it. At times a self righteous person can be on a ego trip claiming credits and proving his point. A true prophet desists this tendency naturally.

The third element is absolute FEARLESSNESS. A fearlessness that makes them hard people to handle for the authorities and the hierarchy. But that fearlessness comes from their unwavering trust, confidence and hope in the never failing presence of the Lord!

Hearing what I want to hear

WORD 2day: Friday, 17th week in Ordinary time

August 2, 2024 - Jeremiah 26: 1-9; Matthew 13: 54-58

An untoward development led me to read a bit about hearing and loss of hearing. The technicians explain that there are different kinds of hearing loss (deafness)... mild hearing loss, moderate hearing loss, moderately severe hearing loss, severe hearing loss and profound hearing loss! At times spiritually too these hearing losses can be calculated in a similar fashion, but we need to add one more crucial type of hearing challenge. That is, Selective Hearing Loss! Hearing only what I want to hear, or refusing to hear what I do not want to hear merely because it causes me inconvenience. This is the syndrome that we see prevalent in the people, in both the first reading and the Gospel.

When Jeremiah spoke to them about the impending danger and their need to return to the Lord, they deemed him liable to death. When Jesus spoke to them on issues that really challenged their daily life, they looked at him with suspicion and despised him for the "ordinariness" from which he hailed. They wanted to do away with him too!

The Word of God keeps rushing into our hearts. It would cleanse it, refresh it and fill it with life, if only we allow it to. If we are guarded, biased and suspicious, we would break no ground towards perfection. On this first friday of the month, let us allow the words from the Sacred Heart to fill us and challenge us, so that we may not fall prey to the syndrome of 'hearing merely what we want to hear'!