Holiness: constancy and consistency our of conviction

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

May 28, 2024 - 1 Peter 1:10-16; Mark 10: 28-31

From yesterday's call to prove our mettle fitting the Reign, follows today's call to remain holy! 

Holiness is not merely an act, but an attitude; it is not merely a behaviour but a life style; it is not doing a few things in a manner that is considered popularly to be holy, but living our life, every moment of it, in a manner that is Godly. It requires constancy and consistency which are born out of sheer conviction!

We are called to be holy because the one who has called us is Holy, reminds us St. Peter today, resounding in our hearts, the call given in the book of Leviticus (19:1). When we decide for ourselves and choose to embark upon a sincere journey of holiness, Jesus promises us beautiful things - things that make us secure, persons who love and admire us, protection of God almighty that would guide us - but along with this, persecution... and ofcourse at the end of it all, eternal life, of which we partake already here and now by virtue of our Baptism!

Hence, the choice is ours: to choose God, remain in God and persevere through all trials or to give up and choose the desires of ignorance, as explained in the first reading, and lose our original identity and the dignity of children of God! Let us remember, salvation is not some magical act that the Lord performs for us, but it is our 'growing into heaven'. It is our daily maturity, by our constant faith, persistent hope and unfailing love - it is our choice for holiness, expressed in our constance and consistency, born out of personal interior conviction!

The Test by Fire

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

May 27, 2024 - 1 Peter 1: 3-9; Mark 10: 17-27

We need to prove our mettle, to say literally, we need to prove our metal! We need to prove that we are gold, when it comes to our dedication to the Lord. The days are such that compromises are not only permitted, they are the order of the day. Having compromises that do not glare at the face, is cosidered to be a special competence to be developed in the current society. That is, one is encouraged to become an expert in compromising one's values, without making major breakages. We need to adapt to the context we live in, they say. 

But can this be ever true, with the Lord? Never! With the Lord, even a minor compromise is a major breakage. This is the challenging factor of living our faith and our call. Every faithfulness is a demand that we be tested in fire, the fire of daily struggles and unceasing temptations. What comes out is gold... the problem is many a times we do not come out, we fall and we get drowned! That is why we are warned today by the Word to be attentive

We are called to be careful, atttentive, conscious, aware and vigilant, because without our knowledge we would have slid into a situation of compromise. And by the time we realise it, we are far into it. We cannot lose our focus. Go, sell everything - that was a prerequisite that Jesus gave for following him. At times, we are ready to follow Jesus, but we wish to hold on to what we have - our ego, our self glory, our achievements, our titles, our so-called trophies - we refuse to sell them, nor give them away! We think we can follow the Lord even carrying these on our shoulders and our minds! What a folly, and we complain that people are losing their fascination with faith! May be our lives are not fascinating enough, for the others to see the gold shining!

Let us be vigilant, for the devil is prowling round like a roaring lion!