CHRISTMAS NOVENA - Day 8: O Emmanuel

23rd December: O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Based on the famous prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, the title Emmanuel is the key to the mystery of incarnation. The presence of God with the people was the greatest of the promises that they could experience. Be it with Abraham or with Moses or with Joshua or with the people who were walking in the desert, one of the prominent promises that God gave was to be with them! Christ comes as the fulfilment and the most complete expression as that promise: as God among us.

The symbol is the virgin with the child in the manger. It is not just any child, but the promised salvation of the God of the universe, the king who has come to meet his subjects to make them co-heirs to his throne. The manger is a lovely symbol that unites the heaven and the earth, the Divine and the human!

The presence of the Lord is salvific; one who has experienced it cannot remain silent - he or she has to go out and share it, make every one else experience that presence! This is the crux of evangelisation: it is not proselytisation, not sheep stealing and increasing the numbers within a fold. It is sharing that salvific presence that one has experienced, from the Lord. The first call is to experience the God-with-us, the presence of the Lord with us, and the call that follows is to share that presence with those around - that is salvation.

The prayer is to the Lord our God to save us by God's saving presence... in simple words it is a beseeching to stay with us, to live with us. to sanctify us, to make us worthy of God and of God's great big family.

The Reign - an attentive beholding!

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Fourth Tuesday in Advent - December 23, 2025

Malachi 3: 1-4, 23-24; Luke 1: 57-66

We are in the last step of preparation towards the commemoration of the great Incarnation moment! Just as our 24 day long preparation towards this feast this year, the original incarnation event had its preparation too, only that it was a bit longer, longer by let us say a few centuries... yes, there was a patient and compassionate preparation on the part of God... preparing God's people generation after generation to behold that peak moment of revelation. 

The preparation, which Malachi compares to the skillful precision of a silversmith, was so patient that some were not strong enough to wait; it was so compassionate that it did not leave out even those who did not have the strength. Yes, the Lord prepared with everyone in embrace; no one is  left out of that compassion. 

The preparation of God was so attentive - no one, no detail was left unattended, just as a silversmith cannot afford to take his or her eyes off the precious metal that is being worked on. God had the divine eyes fixed on each of us, with love and understanding, preparing each of us. We see that in the Gospel today...how every one was being prepared - John the new born, his parents, those around - everyone; the whole creation is gearing up to behold the coming of the One, the One Saviour, the Son of God. 

For us, the pilgrims of hope, for whom the hope is the Reign, the Reign is being prepared with attention, patience and compassion... just as the Lord who is preparing it with attention, we are called to behold it with attention. There could be experiences and responses that can make us lose the attention and focus on other matters that may not be proportionately important or urgent! The Word calls our attention today, towards an attentive beholding of the Reign. 

Inversion - the Reign-version

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Fourth Monday in Advent - December 22, 2025

1 Samuel 1: 24-28; Luke 1: 46-56

We are in the last days of preparation towards the great event of Christmas, the commemoration of the Incarnational moment. The incarnation is in fact an inversion, an inversion willed by God. The Word presents to us the significance of this inversion as Reign-version! 

The Reign, the hope of the pilgrims, is in fact, a logic of inversion: the poor empowered, the lowly raised, the weak strengthened, the hungry filled... the Reign is the inversion of the popular world order, the so-called normal of the world, the common logic approved - all for the sake of establishing the sovereignty of God. 

This inversion is the fruit of the Lord's promise - we see this expressed in the first reading with Hannah's song, that great song expressing the praises of the Lord, lovingly and gratefully adapted my our Blessed Mother in her magnificat. 

The inversion is the sign of Lord's supremacy - the last word is of the Lord. There could be people and the whole society holding up a system, but what really matters is what God has willed. When the system and the Divine will do not coincide, there is always a conflict that humanity experiences and a crisis it has to handle. 

The inversion is the Lord's marvelous ways -  the incredible ways of the Lord, the inconceivable grandeur of God's plan, the mystery of God's design is the real structure of the Reign. The Reign is not just an extension of what we think is good or better... but it is an inversion, it is a total and absolute shift of excellence proper to God's ways!

The Root of Jesse... is a symbol of radicality of God's promise... which is certain to come true. It may delay, but shall not delay anymore... it shall certainly come alive in the Word becoming flesh.

CHRISTMAS NOVENA - Day 7: O King of Nations

22nd December: O King of Nations

O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone making both one:
Come and save the human race,
which you fashioned from clay.

Based on Isaiah 9:6, 2:4 and 28:16, the King of the nations is a yearning of the people of Israel. They wanted Yahweh to be their king always, even when they had a human king ruling them. That is why they did not give in to the Emperor worship that was so widespread in the dominant cultures of their times. God is the king, forever and over all!

The Symbol is the crown, and some times even the sceptre, that signifies the central place that God has in our personal and universal history; and the authority that rests solely with God. Remember the feast we celebrate just before beginning the advent, that is on the last Sunday of the Ordinary time - that is the adaptation of the same theology of Israel, into the Christian way of life.

Today power is misused for manipulation and arriving at hidden agenda; power which is given to certain persons for the sake of furthering the care of humanity is used to destroy the very humanity. Who is to be blamed? Those who manipulate it? Yes, of course. But what about those who let them do it? those who keep silent when it is done? If it is true that we have accepted God as our King, Christ as our King, it means we have accepted Truth, Justice, Love and Peace. Anything that, or anyone who goes against these, just cannot be sided with - it would be a wrong allegiance, a slavery!

The prayer is to save the human kind, from slaveries of sin and death to the freedom of the children of God, for that is what we are, children created in the image and likeness of God. It is to grow in this identity and dignity that the coming of the Lord invites us.

KEEP CALM AND ENTER THE REIGN

Listen, Liken and Live...

Fourth Sunday in Advent - December 21, 2025

Isaiah 7:10-14;  Romans 1: 1-17; Matthew 1:18-24

We are on the fourth Sunday of Advent already, and the great event of Christmas is just around the corner! It fills us with a child-like excitement and that is pure and holy joy... may it fill our days and our hearts. However, it should fill us also with an anxiety - not about the loads of work and errands that rest yet pending... but about how prepared are we internally and spiritually. How has these three weeks that we have come by, served the purpose of preparing ourselve towards receiving once again the great message of Incarnation? Having raised that initial question, let us look at the wonderful message that the Word has to offer us today!

We have read and reflected on the readings of today, be it the first or the Gospel, over and over gains these days! Because that is the message in the air... that the coming of the Lord, the great prophesied, pre-announced, long-awaited coming of the Lord is at hand. As pilgrims of the Reign... we have been preparing for the coming of the Lord as the coming of the Reign... what do we really do, as the Reign draws close at hand? Keep Calm, says the Word... Keep Calm and Enter the Reign!

Yes, what is expected of us is not a clamorous running hither and tither, in the name of getting ready to receive the Lord or the Reign... in fact, both are already amidst us. What we need to do is, keep calm and recognise them. Keep calm and enter the Reign, gradually, peacefully, serenely but determinedly. This message is given to us by the instrumentality of two wonderful personages in the Readings today - David and Joseph!

The name of David is heard in all the three readings today... David becomes a key figure whenever we enter the season of advent, and whenever we speak of the kingship of Christ or the coming of his Reign. Apart from so many things that David was known for... one of his personality traits that stands out is the way he faced crises: be it his personal crisis of fall from grace and return to God's favour, or the threat in his young age when Saul was after his life, or the entire episode of coup d'etat organised against his by his own son Absalom. They were intense moments of uncertainty and terror, but David never lost his heart or his mind. He was firm and recollected, even on the run. The reason: he stood on the promises of the Lord. And the Lord, remained faithful to the promises right unto the end!

Joseph, the son of David - that is how the Angel addresses him, is prepared today for the upcoming great event. Mary, we saw right at the beginning of the advent, was prepared already and here, Joseph is made ready too! Only thing that remains is, the entry of the King, the baby-king! The Joseph-David connection is not merely a name-sake, or a genetic connection. It is about the personalities. Joseph, just like David, handled crises with ease, peace and trust. Be it the moment when he found out that Mary was with a child in her womb, or when he had to scout around with an any-time ready to deliver pregnant wife on a mule, or when there was a rumour that the king was out to kill his new born baby boy...Joseph handled it all with a calm that was incredible. The reason: he stood on the promises of the Lord - the virgin shall conceive and bear and son, and you shall name him Emmanuel.

The promise was not so much about the 'virgin who shall conceive a son', as about 'Emmanuel'. Yes, the real promise is the second part... Emmanuel - God is with us! God is with us, so we can face any situation. That is what St. Paul declares in the second reading offering "peace and grace" in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and a descendant of David. Here is the King, here is the Reign... all that we need to do is keep calm and enter that Reign, in grace and peace. 

The time is ripe. We are called now to calm down, silence our minds and our hearts and become aware of the preciousness of this moment. The Lord is close. The Lord is here. The Lord is with us - Emmanuel. In these last three days, calmly, peacefully, gently, can we behold the Lord, behold the Reign and realise the presence and the promise come true!

How do we do it? First, let us listen to the Lord! Isaiah says that with firmness in the first reading: Listen, house of David... do not try the patience of God. God continues to speak to us, communicate with us and reveal Godself to us...can we just stop our fretting, and Listen?!

Secondly, we are called to liken ourselves to God... to the son of God who comes to reveal to us the way we can live the Reign, make it present and manifest it to the world around us.  St. Paul reminds us of this fact in the first reading. He says, we are "called to belong to Jesus Christ" (v. 6); we are "called to be saints" (v. 7a)... in short we are called to grow up in his image, in the image that he revealed to us, the Imago Dei.

Thirdly, we are called to live for God. That is the concrete way of making the Reign come, that is the only way of entering the Reign. Just as David and Joseph did in their lives, becoming stupendous instruments in the hands of God, towards bringing God's Son into the world, so are we called to become instruments in bringing the Reign of God into the world. 

Hence, getting closer and closer to the great commemoration of the Incarnation event, the liturgy today gives us a strong, challenging message: Keep calm, and enter the Reign.

CHRISTMAS NOVENA - Day 6: O Rising dawn

21st December: O Rising dawn

O Morning Star,
Splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Based on Isaiah 9:2 and Isaiah 60:1-2, the title in Latin O Oriens, actually means literally O Rising Sun or Dawn, but for poetic sense translated as Morning Star, refers to the power of God's light to lead us from ignorance to knowledge and from mere knowledge to enlightenment.

The Symbol is the Rising Sun, which dispels the darkness of the night and wakes the light of the morning, inviting all to life and activity. The coming of the Lord for us is a wake up call, an invitation to live as people of the light and not of darkness!

Today we see people disputing with each other, clamouring to be right in contrast to another, remain divided among themselves because of their allegiance to someone or some ideology - are they really certain where lies the real truth? Even within the Church today we see people polarising themselves, unnecessarily for the sake of some ideologies and philosophies - Apostle Paul warned us long back - do not be deceived by all these ideologies and philosophies, cling on to Christ and Christ alone is the enlightenment of God, who can clarify the real truths of our life.

The prayer is for enlightenment, that in these times of confusion and crisis, confounding choices and staggering philosophies, we might remain always in the light of faith, that not only helps us see the Lord, but see with the eyes of the Lord (Lumen Fidei).

CHRISTMAS NOVENA - Day 5: O Key of David

20th December: O Key of David

O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;
you open and no one can shut;
you shut and no one can open:
Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,
those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Based on Isaiah 22:22, Isaiah 9:7 and Isaiah 42:7, the reference is to the sovereignty of God's Reign. That the throne shall have no end is a Messianic prophecy that, God will be established the Lord of history! Liberation of the oppressed and the fullness of life of all, is the sign of the Reign.

The symbol is the key to signify the authority that the Lord has, in creating, changing and structuring the whole history. It also signifies the perfect control that God has over time and space, life and being, but all these understood not in terms of domination but a love that creates and sustains.

Evil is real! Let us not deceive ourselves thinking it is imaginary, no it is real and the evil one is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. This is not a matter to be worried about, as long as we commit ourselves to the One key, which alone can open or close time, space or history - the Lord! Liberation, we think has to come from afar. But it is already given to us by the Lord, we just need to choose it! When we choose the key to liberation, we choose liberation!

The prayer is for liberation... to be led towards fullness of life that is the experience of the Reign on earth. It is also a commitment to work towards, to contribute one's might and mite, to choose with all our heart and our strength, the Lord, the key to fullness, towards establishing the Reign here and now!

The Reign - constant presence of God

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Third Saturday in Advent - December 20, 2025

Judges 13: 2-7, 24-25; Luke 1: 26-38

 

Like the light that shines all over and enters every corner, does God fill this creation and especially our lives. 'Emmanuel' is the best self-definition and natural description that God can have. And what we are about celebrate in a few days, is the highest of the manifestations of Godself to humanity - and a manifestation in the most understandable terms - God becoming human, God with us, and God as one of us. 

The promise and the fulfilment - that is what we reflect today in the Word. The Reign is about the promises of the Lord, we have reflected that more that a few times this season of Advent. The promise of God's closeness to us - I shall be with you, I shall never forsake you, my hand shall not leave you... these promises are realised, not just in history, but everyday today affirms the Word.

God does not say, call upon me and I shall come... for the Lord is all the time with us. This is the reason the prophets tell us: when the poor man cries, the Lord hears; when you call upong the Lord, the Lord answers... for the Lord is right there beside us. The feast of Christmas that we are preparing ourselves towards, is a fulfilment of that promise reminding us that the presence of the Lord is a constant in our lives. 

Hence, the Reign that we wish for is not something that has to enter from somewhere! It is right amidst us as Jesus reminded us... because it is practically the presence of God with us. Being there all the time with us, to wish the Reign comes is to wish that each one realises the presence of it and regard that presence making a difference in our daily lives. 

CHRISTMAS NOVENA - Day 4: O Root of Jesse

19th December: O Root of Jesse

O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;
before you kings will shut their mouths,
to you the nations will make their prayer:
Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

Based on Isaiah 11:1, Isaiah 11:10, the title Root of Jesse, refers to the promise of the Lord to raise the Messiah from the line of David (the son of Jesse). It is a promise of deliverance that the Lord gives the people of Israel, and to everyone who believes in the Lord.

The Symbol is that of the shoot flowering... signalling the hope that the Lord offers in times when everything seems dark and dead. Look at the exodus event, the miracles in the desert, the water from the rock, the guidance by day and night - everyone of these was a sign of God's promises being fulfilled. The final fulfillment and the pinnacle of everything was - Incarnation, that which we are preparing to celebrate.

Promises of the Lord will never fail... it may look like it, but things will change. There may be enemies plotting around, there may be situations that go out of control and there may be evil all around me - I will give up and compromise when I think there is no hope. But when here is hope, when I stand on the promises of the Lord, I will never give up!

The prayer today is to reinforce that HOPE...that we may always look forward to the deliverance that the Lord can offer! Note that the readings of the liturgy too relate to the same sense of hope in the Lord who accomplishes marvels for us! Never let anyone rob you of your hope, reminds our Holy Father.

The Reign - Promise of New things!

THE WORD  IN ADVENT

Third Friday in Advent - December 19, 2025

Judges 13: 2, 7, 24-25; Luke 1: 5-25

Today the Word presents to us two promises made... both of which amount to a categorical sense of the Reign! The are promises of the Reign... promises of new things that God is doing for each of us. 

First of all they are promises of dignity - be it Samson's mother or Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist, they were subject to disregard and despise in the society for no fault of theirs. Their very dignity was at stake due to what they were not able to accomplish - an undue expectation justified by the society... the promise they receive amounts to clear them from that cloud of objectification, offering them a sense of dignity before the world. This is typically a Reign-promise.

Secondly, it shines out as a promise of fullness - regardless of what the society labelled them or pressurised them with, there would have been a sense of incompleteness within them, an aspiration that they could not realise, although "normally" they should have been able to. A sense of incompetence, or a sense of being less-fortunate would have tormented them. The promise that comes today, offers them the hope of fullness, a sense of accomplishment. We see another characteristic of a Reign-promise - offering the possibility of fullness, a sense of fulfilment. 

Thirdly, the promise grants them a new identity: from a woman not even named in the passage, she is raised to an identity of the mother of Samson, a great Judge over Israel; from a title of being a barren woman, Elizabeth becomes the mother of the one who was called "the greatest of all born of women". A Reign-promise changes one's identity, enhances it and takes it a totally new plane. 

The Reign is a promise in itself - offering each of us, especially those who are in an earnest seeking, a sense of dignity, a sense of fullness, a new identity, the identity of being new creations. Yes, the Reign is in itself a promise to humanity, a promise to each of us - a promise of new things!

CHRISTMAS NOVENA - Day 3 : O Adonai

Day 3 - December 18: O Adonai...

O Adonai, and leader of the house of Israel
who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

Based on Isaiah 11:45 and Isaiah 33:22, the title Adonai, refers to the Lordship of Yahweh, that the people of Israel always stressed on. From a generic universal history that yesterday's "Wisdom" reminded us of, today's "Adonai" comes down to the particular experience of Exodus, the watershed of the Spirituality of the people of Israel.

The Symbols are burning bush, to remind the experience when Moses surrendered to Yahweh and the stone tablets of the commandments, the symbol of Israel's surrender to Yahweh. What is stressed is the Lordship of Yahweh, which is the key to the God-experience of the Israel and our faith-experience today.

The Lord of Israel, our God is Supreme over all beings of the earth or the heavens, the Lord of history and the Lord of the future. This is nothing that God would insist on holding on to, because God stands to gain nothing whether we accept or reject God's losrdship; it is we who stand to gain or lose! When we accept the Lordship of the Creator, we find meaning, significance and purpose in everything that happens in our life; when we do not surrender, every bit of what happens can become a concern and a cause for sadness and dissatisfaction. Hence the call is to Surrender, to the lordship of the Lord.

The prayer today is that of a SURRENDER... into the redeeming power of God, to be led by the Lord's hands always - from darkness to light, from folly to wisdom, from death to life!

Branches of justice...all for the Reign!

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Third Thursday in Advent - December 18, 2025

Jeremiah 23: 5-8; Matthew 1: 18-24

Getting closer to the great event of Christmas, the Word introduces  us to the person of Joseph - the son of David, the heir of David chosen for the coming of the Son of God, the just man chosen for the rise of the branch of justice from David. 

The name of David repeats itself in the Word today - and we know the significance of that person in the history of Israel... apart from Moses whom God called a "friend", David is the only person that God expressed a sense of belonging calling him "my servant" (see 1 Kings 11). Because, in spite of his weaknesses and fragility, David's filial attachment to God never diminished from the beginning till the end. That is why he shines as the epitome of God's promises.

The virtue of justice is referred to constantly today - not in the sense of justice and injustice but in the sense of being virtuous. Here it means being attached to God, choosing God above all, and doing everything from the perspective of God, the summum bonum. Virtuosity hence is godliness, that is being mindful of God and being led by God in all.

Joseph is brought to light against this background - that of David and that of justice. Joseph, the son of David, just man: just man because he was totally by the side of God. What God wanted he carried out, not counting the trouble nor seeking his comfort or convenience. He knew he was on the right, when he was on the side of God. 

As pilgrims of hope, with the Reign as our hope, we are called too - to choose the Reign, to stand by the Reign and dedicate our life and mission, all for the Reign.  

WISDOM - the Promise of the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Third Wednesday in Advent - December 17, 2025

Genesis 49: 2, 8-10; Matthew 1: 1-17

The joy of the Reign consists in the unfailing promise of God, the eternal faithfulness of God - the Sacrament of this promise is the Wisdom that comes as a fulfilment of the promise to the generations... Jesus Christ who comes in our midst, as one among us, born in the lineage of the humans to save the entire humanity, beyond any lineage or generation! 

Wisdom of the Most High, who comes to teach us the way of truth is the eternal promise of God. The Reign is this promise made concrete... it may look utopian or too ideal to be true, but it is the test of truth that we have; the proof of our faith; the exercise of our hope. It is the promise of God, that God will never leave or abandon us, especially when the times get rough or tough. 

The Genealogy presented in the Gospel passage today, leaves us wondering whether it can really be true - the continuity that is observed here. But that is not the message! The message is - what is happening is the fulfilment of the word of the Lord, the Wisdom that alone can save humanity was promised at the beginning and it is here, very close to us, right amidst us. 

The moment we accept the sovereignty of Wisdom, and acknowledge the presence at work amidst us, we shall experience the joy of the Reign... the salvific experience of the God with us. Wisdom is the way of truth, and we are given with the possibility of accessing it - that is already a great sign of hope, a great promise of the Reign. 

CHRISTMAS NOVENA - Day 2 : O Wisdom!

Day 2 - December 17: O Sapientia...

O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High

reaching from one end to the other,
mightily and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.

Based on Isaiah 11:2-3 and Isaiah 28:29... the antiphon recalls the most popular attribute given to the Spirit of the Lord and the Word of God which is seen active in creation and order of the universe. It is this Word, who becomes flesh to dwell among us (John 1:14).

The Symbol used is often...the eye within the triangle, which symbolises the Omniscient God...the Wisdom of God. The Jewish or the Davidic lampstand (with 7 sticks) is used to refer to the Wisdom of God which has accompanied the people of God right from the origins of history!

Wisdom, we know is slightly different from knowledge and could be even considered a level higher, because even a person who lack the so-called knowledge may possess the finest wisdom, while a person with all possible knowledge may prove miserably unwise! Wisdom would be that capacity to not just know, but to use what we know at the right moment in the apt manner. In our daily decision-making it amounts to actually, prudence!

The Prayer today is for PRUDENCE... to be guided always by the Lord, the Lord who dwells among us.

CHRISTMAS NOVENA - a tradition so lovely

Day 1: December 16

Novena...'O' Antiphons...Oh what a Tradition we have!!! 

Naturally the last days of the Christmas preparation are a great excitement...

The Church has a beautiful tradition of
the Novena in preparation of this wonderful festival of LOVE...

And within this novena...
leaving out the first day and the last day...
there are 7 verses from the prophecies from the Old Testament (Isaiah)
which announce the coming of the Lord's Messiah...they are named "O" Antiphons.
each of these antiphons, so meaningful and beautiful...

We pray them as Antiphons before the Gospel at the Eucharist these days...
those who pray the daily prayer of the Church (Breviary) pray it in the evening
with the hymn of our blessed mother, the Magnificat.

16th of December begins the Novena...
on this day, the antiphon, though not an O Antiphon...
sets the tone for the next 9 days...

WE BEGIN A SPECIAL SEASON OF WAITING FOR AN IMMINENT COMING OF THE LORD

The Choice for the Reign: Internal and Integral

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Third Tuesday in Advent - December 16, 2025

Zephaniah 3: 1-2,9-13; Matthew 21: 28-32

The Joy of the Reign is a choice to be made, the Word told us yesterday. Today, the reflection continues to establish and impress on our minds that this choice has to be necessarily internal and integral! Internal, because no amount of external appearance can manage to delude God to conviction; Integral, because a choice one makes has to remain coherent with his or her entire life! 

Zephaniah speaks about the famous inversive logic of God - the haughty shall be no more, the humble shall find their voice, the remnants of Israel shall begin to shine and the suffering servant shall rise in glory. It is an apt manifestation of the presence of God - for in that presence, there are no rich and the poor, the oppressed and the oppressors, the powerful and the simple... they are all reconciled in Christ - in the Reign. 

However, that requires a choice, a choice made for God... and that choice as we have already said, has to be internal and integral. It cannot be a choice out of force, fear or some sort of luring with the fortune. It comes from an internal choice, that does not care about what others think or say, how they judge or what they comment. It does not even count whether there will be a blessing as a consequence of my choice. The Choice has to be drastically internal, personal guided by a sense of clarity and dare. 

The choice thus made, has to be integral, because it cannot be conditional or provisional, nor can it be  partial. It cannot be changed when conditions change nor can it be true for some parts and not applicable for the others. The choice has to affect my entire life. I cannot go by convenience, comfort or compliance. It has to be a convinced, radical choice which I am prepared to carry out come what may. That is the reason Jesus declared, one who puts his hand to the plough but turns back, cannot inherit the Reign of God.                                                   

The Joy of the Reign: a Choice against the Ego

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Third Monday in Advent - December 15, 2025

Numbers 24: 2-7,15-17a; Matthew 21: 23-27

Balaam praises the Lord for what he sees, while not all really see what he saw! That is being a prophet... prophets are those who are gifted to see beyond. They are able to see something that we do not see, because they choose to see. They choose to see what the Lord wants them to see, not merely what they are able to or what they wish to see! A star from Jacob and sceptre from Israel... is the sign from the Spirit of what the Lord was doing for God's people. 

The joy of the Reign to which we are called this week, comes not from just situations that change or settings that favour - but from a definitive choice; a personal choice to accept and acknowledge the Divine, as we were instructed by the Word on Sunday. Most of the times the block to the joy that God wishes to grant us is - we ourselves, our selves, our self! 

We see that explicated in the Gospel today - the scribes and the pharisees come asking Jesus about his authority. They are not worried about the rightness or wrongness of his works, the rationality of his behaviour, the truth or not in his teachings... they are worried about his authority. They were feeling threatened, their authority at stake. They saw Jesus overturning the so-called order that they had created in their own authority... in fact that overturning order was the recognition of the order of God, the authority of God. 

To choose God over one's own Ego; to choose what God wills and not one's own wish; to obey God's command and not one's own whims and fancies; to choose the Divine plan in spite of the difficulties involved and inconveniences foreseen... that is choosing the joy of the Reign. It is ascribed as the joy of the Reign, because it has to be differentiated from the popular understanding of joy which is doing what I like and the way I like. The joy of the Reign, instead, is a choice against the God... the choice for God's ruling.  

REJOICE AND BE THE REIGN

Accept, Acknowledge and Announce

Gaudete Sunday - December 14, 2025

Isaiah 35: 1-6a, 10; James 5: 7-10; Matthew 11: 2-11

We reach the third Sunday of Advent, and we know the special significance of it. While the first Sunday invited us to 'stay awake for the Reign,' and the second Sunday called us to 'dare to behold the Reign,' the third Sunday deepens the call, and bids us to "Rejoice and Be the Reign"! It is a necessary growth process to shift from looking for the Reign out there, to Being the Reign, or growing to be the Reign. It takes a mighty commitment, but before that it requires that we joyfully accept the Reign and acknowledge its presence; thus our life shall become a joyful proclamation of the Reign that we behold and that we are!

To Accept the Reign is to see the signs and attribute them to the Lord's doing. It requires optimisn and hope to look at what is around and accept it as our context... while we see what dominates is a negativity, lamentation, blame game, self centredness and dissipation. The Lord declares - happy is the one who is not scandalised to accept me as the Lord and Saviour - that is where the Reign begins. To look around and pick up from the numerous possibilities, the possibility that is inspired by faith, that is, those which are inspired by presence of God and our rapport with God. 

To Acknowledge the Reign is to accept that the Reign has come, and to see the Reign already at work. The Reign is not a finished reality that would come into our world! That would be a faulty idea, when it comes to the mind of Jesus - the Reign is amidst you; the Reign is you. That is what Jesus would say. Get up, pick up your mat and walk; your faith has made you whole; go, show yourself to the priests... these were his statements, where he underlines the 'already and not yet' that his revelation stood for. The Reign is already here, and that which is not yet fully here, because I need to grow into it. The call and the challenge is therefore to become the Reign, to be the Reign. But how do we do it?

By our transforming love for the other... making the voiceless speak, making the weak strong, making the faint hearted pick up courage, making the insensitive feel the other, making the indifferent warm up their hearts... in short, by filling this world with the joy of love, the amoris laetitia! Filling this world with joy, would require that I possess that joy and that is why the prophet today cries out: rejoice! Paul in his letter to the Philipians would resound it: again I say, rejoice! Rejoice always, without ceasing because the Lord is with us and he come once again to be with us. We are people of the Reign and the Reign cannot be made present here on earth, except through us. When we are filled with that joy and we grow to be the Reign, we become the proclamations of the Reign.

To Announce the Reign - that was the mission of Christ, and that is the mission that Christ has left us too. To announce is not merely by words, we know. It is the announcement through the very persons we are, our ideals, our priorities, our values, our life, our choices, our entire being. Hence the call to BE the Reign... of course, it is a process, a process of growth, a process of self-transformation, a process of bulding up humanity, a process of spreading love and the joy of loving! The world stands in need of this love today, in need of genuine love that centres on the other, the others, the Other - that is the key to understand the Reign! 

As pilgrims of hope, reccognizant that as pilgrims our hope is the Reign, we are invited to accept and acknowledge the Reign, becoming the Reign ourselves and announcing it to the world with joy and with love!

The Zeal for the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Second Saturday in Advent - December 13, 2025

Ecclesiasticus 48: 1-4,9-12; Matthew 17: 10-13

Prophet Elijah rose like a fire, like the flaring torch... introduces the first reading today, opening a discussion on Elijah and John the Baptist in particular and on prophets in general. 

The fire of Elijah was the fire that could save us from the wrath of the fire of God according to the Ecclesiasticus... the message is: Elijah is harsh with us, so that we could save ourselves from something that could more harsh - the anger of God on injustice and inhumanities. That is the reflection to be made. Of course there is a big question here at bay, whether we should speak of the wrath of God...but let us rest it, for not losing our focus. The focus is the fire of Elijah that is for our salvation, for our wholeness, for our ultimate destiny - for the Reign. 

The fire of John the Baptist which is compared to that of Elijah is the last minute preparation for the coming of the Saviour... the moment of truth, as it were. An advent message in its core, the call is the prepare ourselves to meet the Saviour any time...and that meeting if it has to be the experience of the Reign, we need to be fired with the zeal of Elijah or John, they who burnt for the Reign. 

Be it they or prophets in general, they were all for God and God's message. They counted nothing more important than carry out the task given to them, announcing the message entrusted to them, inaugurating what we reflect today as the Reign of God here on earth. That is the call of Jesus - towards which John wants to prepare the humanity. 

Hence the concluding reflection for this week - to dare to behold the Reign is to be fired with the zeal for the Reign...if we are not fired by it, how impossible it is for us to behold the Reign, understand it, interpret it and decipher it where it is already making its inroads. Just as even the disciples who did not recognise the Elijah in John, we may fail to recognise the Reign in Jesus, or the world may find it hard to recognise the Reign in our lives... the key is this - that we be fired with the zeal for the Reign! 

Reign willed by God

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Second Friday in Advent - December 12, 2025

Isaiah 48: 17-19; Matthew 11: 16-19

Daring to behold the Reign is all about protagonism on behalf of the Reign, that is taking responsibility for it and making it present wherever we are. However, such a task runs into a danger when someone, in the name of protagonism, makes it a personal project, according to his or her own whims and fancies!

Just imagine some great political leaders today who in the name of making their country or society great, have recourse to policies that are highly personal and arbitrary - wanting to promote one's own causes, interests and popularity; much worse, to the detriment of the others and to the destabilisation of a wholesome future. Can this be justified? That is exactly what Jesus explains with that parable of the children playing in the market place - who are worried about nothing more than what they wish and desire, for themselves and from others. 

As psychology would have it, one of the marks of maturity in a person is the capacity to distance oneself from one's own subjective feelings and finding the space for the other. Spirituality would add to the other, an Other! For us in Christian parlance, it is opening ourselves to the Will of God... Reign in fact is the Will of God being done - on earth as in heaven. Is that not what Jesus taught us?

The Lord speaks to us through Isaiah today, assuring us that it is not all together impossible to know what God wants of us - because, the Lord himself teaches us, the Lord himself leads us in that way, the Lord shows us by so many different ways and means what we need to do and what we need to choose, to do the will of God. Reign of God is the will of God executed with readiness and joy... indeed, it is fullness of our lives, the radical living of what God wants of us and that fullness is truly the Reign that God has willed for all, and for each of us. 

The Rule of the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Second Thursday in Advent - December 11, 2025

Isaiah 41: 13-20; Matthew 11: 11-15

Daring to behold the Reign is, almost always, interpreted in terms of power and capability to transform. Indeed it is, but the power and the capacity here comes from a very strange source - from our simplicity and the recognizance of it... that is the real rule of the Reign. 

Jacob the worm, Israel the dust... they are not phrases that demean the dignity or identity of those who belong to the Lord, but a reminded or who we really are in comparison to the might and majesty of the Lord. It is precisely this might and power that renders us powerful and capable in the presence of the Lord. 

Jesus described this in terms of John the Baptist, who seemed powerful and tremendous in the sight of the people. Even he is null in front of the simplicity of the Reign, says Jesus, declaring the fact that the real strength of the Reign comes from the One and only Strong: the Lord of the Reign. 

We may be weak or simple, but we are reminded that the right hand of God is stretched out to us and our help comes from the Lord. The first reading repeats that and similar phrases - I will help you, I will answer you, I will hold you, I will not abandon you... these are the assurances and the promises that make Simplicity, the rule of the Reign. 

The fact to be underlined here is - the simple shall be ruled by the Reign and the simple shall be the rulers of the Reign... they are the signs of the Majesty of the Lord among us, and Simplicty shall be the rule of the Reign. 

Strive for the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Second Wednesday in Advent - December 10, 2025

Isaiah 40: 25-31; Matthew 11: 28-30

Daring to behold the Reign is the task entrusted to us by the Word this week... but the Word today assures us that we are not alone in this run! We are strengthened to strive for the Reign, because the Lord who is with us refreshes us, rejuvenates us and strengthens us. 

Strength is the single most repeated word in the first reading today - within that short passage the term "strength" and its variants are so often sighted and everytime with an innegligible emphasis. However, it has at least two major points of view - one the source and the other the offer; one the giver and the other the gift!

First is the Strength of the Lord. The Strong One of Israel is the first focus - the Mighty one, the Holy One, the Creator, the Everlasting One, the Untiring One, the Most knowing One! The Lord is strong and invincible and we need no proofs to understand it; it is an inevitable experience, whether we like to recognise it or not, whether we interpret it in terms of God or not, whether we let our humility take its precedence or not! That everlasting all knowing One has everything prepared for us and is ready to accompany us in our daily strife... but are we prepared to receive the offer, ready to behold the gift?

Those who hope in the Lord renew their strength... for the Strong One offers to gift us with that strength. Espcially in our fatigue and failures, the Lord wishes to offer us the strength with which we can strive for the Reign, run and walk without getting drained, keep rejuvenating ourselves without getting consumed, arise from every single stumble and resume with the same energy, bear every burden with shoulders reinforced, and never feel over burdened or over worked, when it comes to striving for the Reign. 

Let us recognise at every turn of our life's journey, the Strenghtening hands, strengthening us to strive for the Reign. 

The Flock of the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Second Tuesday in Advent - December 09, 2025

Isaiah 40: 1-11; Matthew 18: 12-14 

One of the signs or consequences of daring to behold the Reign, is to grow into the flock of the Reign - challenges the Word today. We see three traits indicated:

The first is the capacity to console... it comes, as St. Paul would say elsewhere (2 Cor 1:4), from the consolation that we have received from God ourselves. The capacity to console those in strife is a special trait of the Reign - that we seek the suffering, the lowly, the weak at heart, the downtrodden - to seek the lost, the least and the last. 

The other trait is the capacity is to counter... it is not merely condoning everything merely because someone is suffering that amounts to the Reign. Daring to behold the Reign involves daring to call a spade a spade - to identify all that militates against the Reign and denounce them categorically. Because, with justice he will rule the world, he will judge the peoples with his truth - and his truth and justice can never permit any compromise. 

A third is the capacity to collect... or gather into the flock. No compromise does not mean lack of compassion. The categorical choice for truth and justice comes with a incomparable compassion - that is the inimitable style of the Good Shepherd, the most profound revelation of God the Father of Jesus Christ, and our own! A shepherd who goes after the sinners, denounces sin but never the sinner, rejects  compromises but never despises the weak. The Reign is all about gathering in the compassion of the Lord, the flock that depends on the Lord and the Lord's compassion.  

The Immaculate Conception

The WORD and the Feast

December 8, 2025: Genesis 3: 9-15, 20; Ephesians 1: 3-6, 11-12; Lk 1: 26-38

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Mother - the dogma of faith that Mary, from the moment that she was conceived in her mother's womb, was preserved without the stain of original sin. The celebration of today has 3 reminders for us:

Reminder 1: God's plan for each of us is eternal! God chose to preserve Mary even before she was born, from the moment of her passing from non existence to existence! How true when the Word says, 'You know me even before my bones were being formed in the womb of my mother.' God knows each of us and has a mysterious plan for us from eternity. Is it not true that God has chosen us before the foundations of the world, as St. Paul says.

Reminder 2: It was indeed a grace that Mary was spared from the stain of original sin, but she on her part remained faithful, sinless and wholly belonging to God all her life that she brought this grace of holiness, right upto the end of her life when she was found worthy of another grace - that of Assumption. We were freed from the bond of original sin too, at our baptism. Is it not our duty to bring this baptismal innocence right through to the end of our life that we can find ourselves in the company of saints and angels in union with God almighty!

Reminder 3: For Mary it was a remote preparation to behold the Son of God within her in God's own time. The feast occurs during Advent and that reminds us that we are in that place too... waiting and willing to prepare ourselves to behold the Son of God, who wishes to be born in our lives this Christmas. How well is our preparation going?

The Message is simple and clear: God has chosen me from eternity to belong to God. It is my faithful response to this call that will determine my status as God's son or daughter. When I listen to God's word and live by it, God dwells in me, God's word will be born in me, making me the dwelling place, the tabernacle, the temple of the Living God!

DARE TO BEHOLD THE REIGN

Dream, Discern, Determine...

Second Sunday in Advent - December 07, 2025

Isaiah 11: 1-10; Romans 15: 4-9; Matthew 3: 1-12

Repent, for the Reign of God is close at hand, in fact it is right in your midst; do you dare to behold the Reign? That is the question that the second Sunday of Advent raises to us. The Reign is the hope of the pilgrims… and as pilgrims we are called to develop within us the capacity to behold the Reign, the signs of the Reign, the seeds of the Reign and the possibilities of the Reign. At times, although it is right to say we await the Reign, it is more apt to say, we behold the Reign, because the Reign has been already inaugurated by our Lord, the incarnate Son, who came to live with us to make us understand that we are people of the Reign and the Reign is our hope… which is to be beheld in our day to day experiences. That, actually, is a dare… that we begin to dream, that we strive to discern and we remain determined about our hope.

 

Dare to Dream, tells us Isaiah today – the Reign is a dream! Just look at Isaiah’s words today… I personally had a very childish curiosity to see what would that scene be like, if what Isaiah explains becomes a prompt to create a AI image… just have a look at it if you wish to, on my blog: https://thots-n-lots.blogspot.com/2025/12/is-ai-ah-11.html ! It is a dream… but a dream of hope! That is what it is on the mountain of the Lord, says Isaiah and that is what our land would be, if we realise the Reign of God here and now. Is that possible? A big Yes and a sad No! A big “yes” because it is indeed possible when everyone loves the other… as St. Paul instructs the Romans, if everyone begins to respect and regard the other and remain united to the other in the Lord – it is indeed the Reign of God on earth. It would certainly be a “no”, if the forces of violence and hatred, deception and corruption, selfishness and wickedness, continue to take the world by force and rule over it.

 

The Dream requires us to Discern… “I have a dream” is a beautiful thing to say! But what kind of a dream? To be the most powerful on earth, to possess everything that I can set my eyes on, to have every one under my control and command…even these are dreams! There are those who have these dreams and they are already doing enough damage to the world. The dreams that we have, need to be discerned with the help of the Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of justice and peace, the Spirit of righteousness and wisdom! We have a clear criterion given: ‘following the example of Christ Jesus.’ The criteria of discernment presented by John the Baptist is the same again – the baptism of the Spirit and fire, brought to us by the King, who invites us to his Reign, the Reign of truth and justice, righteousness and peace, true joy and eternal happiness. It is a choice – we need to make that choice because the time is near; the axe has already been laid at the roots… if we do not bear the right fruits we shall be felled. The discernment has to lead us to a clear choice and determination!

 

The Discernment leads to Determination… when apostle Paul refers to “he who helps us when we refuse to give up,” he is inviting us to have the spirit of the Prophets – like Isaiah and the Baptist through whom the Word speaks to us today! Determination for the Reign, prepares us for the worst – hard realities of life as symbolized by the austere life style of the Baptist, opposition and persecution as the death of John the Baptist exemplifies and rejection and isolations as most of the prophets, John the Baptist and Jesus himself experienced in their days. Determination overcomes any possible fear or pessimism, making one go to any extreme, even unto death, as we see in the example of the prophets. It requires real determination to behold the Reign, for it is an extreme challenge to live by the Spirit of the Reign. However, it is our very identity, our call, our vocation – to belong to Christ, to belong to the Reign.

We, as pilgrims are hope, are called to realise the hope as pilgrims – that the Reign is ours and the Reign is here amidst us. We become truly people of the Reign, when we dare to behold the Reign – with our dreams, discernment and determination. 

Is-AI-ah 11

If Isaiah was an AI : 

isAIah 11: 6-8 

The wolf lives with the lamb,

the panther lies down with the kid,

calf and lion feed together,

with a little boy to lead them.

The cow and the bear make friends,

their young lie down together.

The lion eats straw like the ox.

The infant plays over the cobra’s hole;

into the viper’s lair

the young child puts his hand.

Work with the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT

First Saturday in Advent - December 6, 2025

Isaiah 30: 19-21, 23-26; Matthew 9:35 - 10:1,5,6-8

Freely you have received, freely you shall give - commissions the Lord. The Lord invites us to give, what we have received - in other words, the Lord calls us to be collaborators of the Reign. This is established in what the Lord wants us to give. We read in the Gospel today: go, cast the demons out and cure all kinds of diseases and sicknesses, because the Reign of God is close at hand. The Lord wants us to work closely with the Reign.

 

Isaiah explains that Reign in terms of green pastures, fulfilled life, abundance of light and healing of wounds. That is the sign of the coming of the Lord, the characteristics of the Reign of God. That is what we are called to construct together, to work on together, to establish together... but how are we called?

By that whisper into our ears - you will hear the voice of your Master, go to the right or go to the left, because that is the right way to go, the right choice to make, the right life to choose! The call is very clear and personal, provided we are ready to hear that voice! 

God our Father and Mother, is the example for us: the Lord is gracious to us and hears; hearing the cry of the poor, the needy and the suffering the Lord comes to their aid. So are we called to be with those who are in need, and come to the aid of those who are crying out to the Lord. How prepared and disposed are we to listen - be it to the cry of the needy, or be it to the voice of the Lord whispering into our ears, directing us what to do and where to go. 

The harvest is plenty and the time is near, we are called to work with the Reign, as the Lord wishes us to... let us pay heed and find our fulfilment in working with the Reign. 

Beginning to see the Reign!

THE WORD IN ADVENT

First Friday in Advent - December 05, 2025

Isaiah 27: 17-24; Matthew 9: 27, 31

The blind shall see, the deaf shall hear, the lowly shall rejoice, the poor shall exult… we will all begin to see the Reign – that is the promise that the Word leaves us with today! The transformation happens when we begin to see, and there are so many conditions that prevent us from seeing the Reign.

Blindness due to the haze and glaze, due to pessimism or naivety – this happens often. The haze of dust and fog which blocks our vision cannot render what is out there non-existent. The glaze of what we permit from within to remain or hang on, does not affect the quality of what exists out there.  However, what is out there becomes futile when it is not beheld. 

This is the case with the Reign, that is amidst us. It is a grace that we begin to see the Reign; your faith shall enable you to behold what is! To believe that the Lord can do it and to entrust it all in faith to the Lord, to become aware of the Lord who is right there beside us and shout out to the Lord for mercy and grace… that is what will enable us to see the Reign! 

The hope of the pilgrims is the Reign and it is ever present, provided we are ready to behold it. The more we allow the negativities of the world and the doubts within to creep up, the more we shall become callous to the Lord who wants to help us see, enable us hear and empower us to be the change that we long for. It is the lowly and the poor, the simple and the child-like who will truly behold the Lord’s actions and begin to see the Reign.  

Belong to the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT 

First Thursday in Advent - December 04, 2025

Isaiah 26: 1-6; Matthew 7: 21, 24-27

The Rock is the imagery that connects the first reading and the Gospel today, inviting us to reflect on the Reign in two respects - as the strong city built and awaiting us to enter; and as the  source of meaning and purpose of our life in its essence. 

Let us begin with that question: who can enter the Reign of God? Reign of God is the figured as the city of God - that imagery can recall to our mind the classic literature of St. Augustine where he contrasts the two cities, and invites us to belong to that city that belongs to God. It is a call for a choice - the same as what Ezekiel gives us today or Jesus in the Gospel. Reign of God is a choice we make, not a place we build. 

Secondly there is the rock, the ground, the source of sustenance, the solid foundation on which I am invited to build my life. The process is tough, challenging and discouraging - because we can see so many short-cuts and success stories right in front of our eyes! But pretty well do we know that those are just mirages, appearing so attractive and pleasing to the perception, hiding a direct portal to perdition behind them. 

The Reign is the life built on the Eternal Rock, that is our Lord. It is a life style, a culture, a shared experience built on the values and priorities of the Gospel - that of love, peace and communion. It is there that the Reign is built, as the City of God... on a rock solid ground of turth, justice and integrity. Choosing it we would step into a life of challenges and hardships, however we are called to choose, to choose to belong to the Reign!