dear WORD2day Readers...

we shall not be meeting through the sharing of the Word till 3rd of March...
However, we shall be united in prayers!

in Christ...

antony christy sdb

HOLINESS - the identity of the people of God

23rd February, 2014: 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

What makes one a Christian? Take a pause and answer this question within your hearts!

Is it Baptism? Yes, ofcourse, but only if it were received with a personal choice and every promise given at the proper moment is lived to the full everyday of one's life. 

Is it being enrolled in a parish? Yes, but only if the belonging to the parish makes one feel one with the Universal Body of Christ, the Church. 

That which makes of Baptism efficacious, our belonging to a parish meaningful, and makes us truly Christians is our realisation of our identity as people of God - a realisation that has to be manifested in our personal holiness and in our holiness as a community of believers.

Holiness is not a super-human quality. It is definitely not alien to being human. Because it can be seen at our very origin. God made us in God's own image and likeness says Genesis (1:27). So, holiness is our original nature, not sinfulness; Holiness is the core of our being, not sinfulness. Sin and Sinfulness have come to mar and obstruct our original nature. This is why to the chosen people, God says through Moses, "Be holy, because I the Lord your God am Holy." Because I am holy you can be holy too. Yes, dear brothers and sisters, we ought to be holy because we are FROM GOD.

Holiness is our choice, a choice made not once for all, but at every moment, at every circumstance, at every crisis. It is a choice made for God, because we realise and gratefully acknowlege choice that God has made for us. You did not choose me, I chose you, says the Lord (Jn 15:16). It is the Lord who had chosen us. It is not that we loved God but it is God who loved us first, reminds us St. John (1 Jn 4:9,19). God has chosen us and God has loved us abundantly! And our response is Holiness, because we belong to God, we are OF GOD.

Holiness is not an act, it is an attitude; it is not a set of actions but a habit; it is not merely an appearance but an internal becoming! holiness is a daily effort to become more and more like God. it is returning to the image and likeness of with which we were formed in the love of God. In our words, thoughts, acts and choices of daily life we are called to become LIKE GOD.

Our Blessed Mother and the Saints are our models and Jesus is our Way. St. John traces that course for us when he says, 'we will be like him because we will see him as he is" (1Jn 3:2). We are called not to be merely good people but God's people. Every word and act of our's has to reflect God's presence to those around us. 

We are People of God and our very identity is Holiness. If we miss out on holiness we lose everything. We are from God, We are of God and We are called to become like God because we are the people of God. Because we are the temple where God chooses to dwell, we are the presence of God that the world so badly needs today! 

WORD 2day: 22nd February, 2014

Celebrating the Chair of St.Peter

Today is the day when we celebrate the pastoral responsibility that the Lord places on the successors of St. Peter. The First reading has a few remarkable elements that seem to explain perfectly the role of Papacy: 'presbyter among presbyters', 'not lording over the people', 'being example to the flock'! This is exactly what Pope Francis is trying to do: stressing the Collegiality of the Bishops as Bishop of Rome, not lording over but challenging everyone with his very life. Restraining from making a hero-idol of him, it is important as a Church that we begin to hearken to his passionate call to live as light of the world and salt of the earth, spreading love and hope to those around us. We have a duty to pray for the Holy Father, as there are so many forces today in the World that wants by all means to destroy the Church and its moral authority on the planet today! The Lord promised that the gates of hell will never prevail over the Church, but we need to remain worthy of the promise, by being communities of genuine faith and integral living.

WORD 2day: 21st February, 2014

Live what you believe!

"There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Reign of God come in power!" The Reign of God coming in power...when does this happen? It happens when faith and works unite in one single act of living. As long as that "faith-works" divide, translated as 'religiosity-social concern' conflict or 'contemplation-action' controversy or 'personal salvation-social commitment' confusion, still exists the Reign of God will be a mere talk. When Pope Francis appealed to the world on the 47th World Peace Day this year, not to be satisfied with policies and principles but to get down to daily living and build a world of fraternity, it was the same claim as James: faith without works is dead! What we believe has to be lived. To take up the Cross and follow in Christ's steps, is not an easy decision. But there is nothing less than that expected of us. Jesus is categorical - If anyone wants to follow me, let him or her do this. When the gap between what we believe and live, the distance between what I preach and practice, the space between the private life and the public manifestation, become lesser and lesser, the Reign of God grows stronger and stronger. There can be no threat more powerful than this to the corrupt world order!

WORD 2day: 19th February, 2014

To see like a disciple! 

We are reflecting on the letter of St. James these days, starting from this Monday, till the end of next week. James has written a letter that is incredibly practical and down to earth. Today he explains to us who is worthy of being referred to as a 'religious' person, or a faithful, or in familiar words - a disciple of Christ. We have various indications like, slow to anger, slow to speak, quick to hear, attentive to the Word and particular about its practice, and so on. But the crucial characteristic that he points out is, care for the orphans and widows, empathy with the weak and the suffering. These come naturally when we learn to look at persons as persons; not as things to be used or cases to be dealt with or problems to be solved or burdens to be borne! That is the education that Jesus wants to give us - that we graduate from looking at persons as trees moving, things existing or means to our own end; to looking at persons and observing their needs and aspirations, joys and sorrows, longings and yearnings, problems and prospects - as persons in their entire sense, with respect for their uniqueness and love for what they are.  James would insist much on this, as we would see in the coming days, because for the Master, the persons who bear the image of God were the sure source through which God shares. Let our eyes be open that we see in every person around and recognise our brother and sister...making ourselves worthy disciples of Christ, worthy to live on the Lord's holy mountain.

WORD 2day: 18th February, 2014

Do you still not understand?

How agitated Jesus gets today with his disciples! Jesus expects them to rise above the ordinary or the normal. As Jesus warned us this Sunday: if our perfection does not surpass those that of the scribes and the pharisees, that is if we do not rise above the 'usual' way the world looks at reality, we will not be considered fit for the Reign of God! The so-called normal attitudes of the world, the value systems propagated as "normal" by the world, the life style of the so called successful that stands counter to what the Gospel teaches... these are the temptations that we have today! Ofcourse, they do not come from God, reiterates St.James. Our desires, temptations, sin and resultant death: this is the cycle that Jesus wants us to understand, resist, surpass, and triumph over. None of us can ever say after an act of unrighteousness, that we were not at all aware of its nature! Let us not deceive ourselves! We know what we are surrounded by, we know what we go through on  a daily basis and we know what is appreciable and what is not worthy of our call to be children of God. Inspite of all the graces that we have received and the gratuitous gifts that we have received from the Lord, if we still insist on giving up on our call to commitment and righteous living, we will soon hear that question addressed to us by Jesus: do you still not understand?

WORD 2day: 17th February, 2014

The Lord, our Rock!

During his life and ministry, Jesus was convinced that he had nothing to prove! He was what he was - the Son of God, the Word Incarnate. He spoke what he believed and lived what he spoke. That gave him an authority that the Pharisees and the Scribes could never understand. It came from his holistic self-understanding, an understanding in terms of the ONE who had sent him: "For I and the Father are one", he declared (Jn 10:30). Many a times we identify ourselves with the riches we have, the social status we enjoy, the titles and the offices we hold, the adulation from others and the image that others have of us. These are like the drooping flowers and the fading beauty, reminds St.James. Our identity rests in one thing that never changes: the truth that we are sons and daughters of the One God, that we are created in the image and the likeness of that One God who has loved us into existence. When we get this fact imprinted in our hearts...no trial or doubt, no suffering or shock will ever affect our perseverance (Jas 1:4). Let our life be founded on that unshakable foundation, the Lord, our Rock!

La Scelta, la Legge e la Perfezione Cristiana

6˚ domenica del tempo ordinario: 16 febbraio, 2014

La scelta è il tema centrale che attraversa le letture di oggi! E c'è un altro tema dominante che qualifica questa scelta - che è la legge o i commandamenti. Legge per il popolo di Israele era il modo di vivere ordinato dal Signore. La legge era per loro la garanzia di rimanere il popolo di Dio, era la loro parte di eseguire l'alleanza che il Signore fece con loro: io sarò il vostro Dio e voi sarete il mio popolo! Parlare o agire contro la legge era per loro una cosa grave e punibile. C'è una discussione su altri due temi - "perfezione" e "sapienza" nella seconda lettura. Intrecciando tutti questi, Gesù nel Vangelo ci presenta un atteggiamento perfetto e saggio verso la legge. Egli ci invita a una scelta personale, convincente ed impegnative.

La fede è una scelta ...

La fede non è un salto nel buio, si tratta di una scelta consapevole! Come afferma Lumen Fidei n.3, la fede non può essere associato con l'oscurità, invece la fede è una luce che illumina uno a scegliere, di scegliere di credere in Dio, di scegliere di vedere Dio vivo nella propria vita. La prima lettura d’oggi ci presenta la stessa prospettiva, abbiamo la scelta tra l’acqua e il fuoco, tra il bene e il male , tra la vera gioia ed i piaceri fugaci, tra il giusto e il conveniente, tra la convinzione ed il compromesso, tra la vita e la morte! La scelta è nostra! Non possiamo cavalcare sulle spalle di tradizione e costume, e giustificare le nostre azioni e le abitudini. Dobbiamo crescerci! La nostra maturità deve essere vista nella sapienza che possediamo . È Dio che ci dà questa saggezza, ci ricorda San Paolo. Gesù s’incarna la saggezza e presenta la stessa a noi nelle sue parole: non sono venuto ad abolire la legge, ma a portarla al suo compimento.

Una scelta al di là della legge ...

Gesù dichiara che i suoi discepoli dovrebbero fare una scelta non contro la legge, ma al di là della legge! Egli dà un nuovo significato alla legge, e presenta il modo di andare oltre, modo di trascendere un mero legalismo servile e raggiungere alla perfezione di santità, attraverso l'amore e la compassione. Le parole di Gesù: "Avete inteso che fu detto ... ma io vi dico", sentito più volte nel Vangelo di oggi ci presenta Gesù come il nuovo Mosè, e descrive la comunità dei discepoli come il nuovo popolo di Dio! «Ecco io faccio nuove tutte le cose», rivela Gesù ( Att. 21,5). La nuova legge... oggi come ci facciamo a capire la nuova legge, la legge oltre la legge. La nostra vita non comprende soltanto di evitare il male, ma è molto di più profondo e significativo. È di vivere, di amare, di relazionarsi, di fare il bene, di maturare, di essere felici, di rendere felici gli altri e cosi insieme come comunità di figli di Dio, di rinnovare il mondo e riempirlo di gioia.

Rispettare la legge ...

Gesù insegna le persone oggi non di andare contro la legge ma di capire che cosa significa veramente, rispettare la legge. Per Lui, di obbedire alla legge non era quello di obbedire alle parole della legge, ma di obbedire al Signore della legge! È stato così anche per il popolo di Israele, avessero obbedito alla legge come un atto di obbedienza a YHWH. Ma al questo punto quando il Signore della legge era con loro, loro non se ne rendono conto. La Parola ha vissuto e si è venuto in mezzo di loro, ma loro non l'hanno accolta. Il pericolo per noi è lo stesso: che possiamo essere per definizione il migliore dei cristiani - manca nessun giorno la Messa, regolare con la lettura della Bibbia e la recita delle preghiere, rigoroso con il nostro digiuni e l'astinenza, visitando molti santuari di pellegrinaggio possibile – ma dobbiamo stare attenti... ci può essere che perdiamo il punto centrale. Questi sono buoni ma non abbastanza non sufficienti- la Parola ci istruisce : Amare Dio e obbedirlo consiste... nel amare la Parola, e nel vivere secondo essa, non essendo soltanto ascoltatori della Parola, ma quelli che la mettono in pratica(Gia 1.22), per dire SI alla Parola significa essere pronti per affrontare tutte le conseguenze che c’è e vivere con entusiasmo nonostante di esse. Il nostro SI alla Parola deve essere la nostra scelta, la nostra scelta di andare oltre la legge e obbedire al Signore della legge , per vivere e riempire la terra con amore e compassione, per sfidare gli attuali standard del mondo verso creare un mondo nuovo, un cielo nuovo e una terra nuova! 

OUR CHOICE: to Love and Abide by the Word

16th February,2014: 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Choice is the central theme running through the readings today! And there is another dominant theme that qualifies this choice - that is LAW. Law for the people of Israel was the way ordained by the Lord. Law was for them the guarantee of remaining  people of God; it was their part of executing the covenant that the Lord made with them: I shall be your God and you shall be my people! To speak or act against the law was for them a serious and punishable offence. There is a discussion on two other themes- "maturity" and "wisdom" in the second reading from St.Paul. Combining all these, Jesus in the Gospel presents to us a mature and wise attitude towards LAW. He invites us to Choose LAW... that is to choose to Live and Abide by the Word. 

Faith is a Choice...

Faith is not a blind leap, it is a conscious Choice! As Lumen Fidei n.3 affirms, faith cannot be associated with darkness, instead faith is a light that enlightens one to choose, to choose believe in God, to choose to see God alive in one's life. The first reading presents to us the same perspective today, we have the choice between water and fire, between good and evil, between true joy and fleeting pleasures, between the right and the convenient, between conviction and compromise, between life and death! The choice is ours! We cannot ride on the shoulders of tradition and custom, and justify our acts and habits. We have to grow up! Our maturity has to be seen in the wisdom we possess. It is God who gives us this wisdom, as St.Paul reminds us. Jesus embodies that wisdom and presents the same to us in his words: I have come not to abolish the law, but bring it to its fulfillment. 

A Choice beyond the Law...

Jesus declares that his disciples should make a choice not against the law but beyond the law! He gives a new meaning to law, and presents the way to go beyond, to transcend a mere slavish legalism and reach the heights of saintly perfection, through love and compassion. The words of Jesus, "You have heard that it was said,...but I say to you", heard repeatedly in the Gospel today presents Jesus as the New Moses, and describes the community of disciples as the New People of God! "See I am making all things new," declares Jesus by this (Rev. 21:5). The new law...today how do we understand that new law, the law beyond the law... L - to Love, A - to Abide, and W - the Word. To love the Word and Abide by it...is the new law that Jesus gives. The Word presents to us a guarantee to sanctity. To know the Word, to reflect on it and understand it, to love it and strive to abide by it, is the sure way to be real children of God, worthy people of God. Our life does not comprise merely of avoiding evil, it is much more profound and meaningful. It is to live, to love, to relate, to do good, to mature, to be happy, to make others happy and thus together as a community of God's children, to renew the world and fill it with joy.

To Obey the Law...

Jesus teaches the people today not to go against the law but to understand what it really means to obey the law. For Him, to obey the law was not to obey the word of the law but to obey the Lord of the law! It was so for the people of Israel; they obeyed the law as an act of obedience to YHWH. But when the Lord of the law was with them, and they did not realise it. The Word lived and moved among them, but they did not comprehend it. The danger for us too is the same: that we may be by definition the best of Christians - missing no Sunday Mass, regular with reading the Bible and reciting the prayers, strict with our fasting and abstinence, visiting as many pilgrim shrines as possible - but let us beware, we may be missing the point. These are good but not good enough - the Word instructs us: Love and Abide by the Word... to love the Word, and to live by it; not being merely hearers of the Word  but doers(Jam 1:22); to say YES to the Word and mean it, to face all the consequences of that Yes and live through it. Our YES to the Word has to be our choice, our choice to go beyond the Law and obey the Lord of the law, to live and fill the earth with love and compassion; to challenge the present standards of the world towards a new world, new heaven and new earth!

WORD 2day: 15th February, 2014

Can we live divided lives?

For the people of Israel there was no difference between their political life and their religious life. For them everything was just one; an integral mode of living as people of God; forever the people of the Covenant: 'I shall be your God and you shall be my people'. But at a certain point, as we read in the first reading today, the misery befalls them - Politics and Religion part their ways. Further, something that happens makes things worse: using religion for political ends or politics for religious reasons. It becomes almost an unjust alliance and remains so even to this day! That is history, but can happen in our personal life too: the division between our religious life and our civil life, and worse still if we use one for the manipulation of the other. Jesus is totally against this division and considers it always an hypocrisy. One cannot call oneself a shepherd and still remain untouched by the miseries of the people. One cannot call oneself a 'Christ-ian' and live a life that is totally insensitive towards others. One cannot call oneself a child of God and look down on his brother or sister, or much worse ill-treat, exploit or oppress them. If one does that, he or she is giving into idolatry, claiming to belong to Christ but divided within oneself, externally professing Christ but totally against Christ at the level of the inner self.