WORD 2day: 27th March, 2014

RELEARN THE ART OF LISTENING

Listening is not merely hearing; it is a basic openness of heart, a capacity of the mind to perceive the situation as it is, understand its demands without prejudice and respond to it in sincere commitment. Hardening of the heart leads one to see everywhere and in every person, what one wishes to see, instead of what is really there. The people were so hard hearted that they dared call Jesus, 'possessed' and that too, inspite of seeing all the incredible signs, inspite of listening to those powerful words and wondering from where on earth Jesus had received those words of wisdom, inspite of seeing the dumb speak, the deaf hear, the dead come to life! Our life can become worthy and acceptable to the Lord, only if we RELEARN THE ART OF LISTENING, and remain with an open heart to perceive God, an open mind to understand the Lord's messages and an open Spirit to carryout every one of those directions that God gives us in the core of our being, on a daily basis.

WORD 2day: 26th March, 2014

RELEARN THE REAL SENSE OF LAW

Law is a simplified code to live one's life to the full. But if law were to hinder one from living one's life or hinder someone else from living his or her life to the full, it is a clear sign that the real sense of law is lost! In the name of being forward thinking we cannot in anyway throw away the norms and laws that guarantee a meaningful personal and social life. Infact, each of us has this law embedded in our hearts, as the responsorial psalm reminds us; and our responsibility is to recognise, realise, RELEARN and respect the meaning, the role and the real sense of law in our hearts towards living our daily life in fulfillment of God's unique plan for each of us.  

Plan, Project and Proclamation

Solemnity of Annunciation: 25th March, 2014

God's salvific plan is an eternal design in God's endless love for us, the children of God. The feast of Annunciation is beautiful reminder of how every little thing that happens fits into the wonderful design of God. Inspite of the undeserving nature of persons as depicted by Ahaz episode in the first reading, inspite of the impossibility of conditions as expressed by Mary in the Gospel scene, inspite of the improbability of human calculations as evinced by the example of the aged Elizabeth, God's plan of salvation works, and works for the good of those who love God (cf. Phil 8:28). That which makes it possible is the willingness to carry out God's will. St. Paul affirms in his letter to the Romans, as one man's disobedience brought death into this world, so does one man's submission to God's will bring salvation to the entire human race! (Cf. Rom 5:19) Mary, is presented today as the type, the model, for human cooperation! We see in Mary's 'yes', the human version of the obedience of the Word Incarnate: "Behold, I come to do your will". She brings much more closer and makes it more compelling on us, to listen to God's word, treasure in our hearts and carry it out to the details, to be persons totally dedicated to live the will of God on a daily basis. In God's eternal plan, there is a project made for each of us and every time we cooperate with the plan of God, we proclaim in our own way the majesty of God's love for humanity, as does Mary today in her fiat.

WORD 2day: 24th March, 2014

RETURN TO THE CHILD IN YOU

All that Naaman had between him and his cure, was his ego! All that the people had between them and accepting Jesus as the Christ was the same ego and its senseless stubbornness. All that we have today between us and our inner joy, is our ego and its hardheadedness. When Naaman cleared himself of his ego and plunged into the humble waters of Jordan, the first reading says, "his flesh became again like the flesh of a little child and he was clean." Jesus invites us precisely to this: to RETURN TO THE CHILD IN US; 'unless you become like little children, you cannot enter the Reign of God', is Jesus' stand (cf. Mt 18:3). When we are capable of undoing the ego and train our hearts to thirst for God, as the responsorial psalm reminds us, we will inherit the Reign of God.   

தாகத்தோடு வாழ...

மூன்றாம் ஞாயிறு...23 மார்ச்சு

LEARNING TO LIVE WITH THIRST

Lenten Project 2014: Sunday #3 - 23rd March

Life is beautiful, no doubt; but it never lacks its share of problems, difficulties, confusions, traps and temptations. The beauty lies precisely in the manner in which a person lives these moments more than the happier ones. Anyone claiming to be a person of faith, has to manifest a level of maturity that shows him or her capable of living with a constant thirst. The liturgy today invites us to reflect on this aspect of one's faith life - learning to live with thirst. 

Life has its own patches of dryness and no one's life is an exception to it. The dryness is more severe in some, when compared to the others. What matters is not actually how much more or how much less, but how a person handles with one's own share of dryness. Handling aridity in life is a faith-skill. We see the people of Israel in their driest patch of their history - the sojourn in the desert. They are brought forth from slavery across the Red Sea, with great and mighty signs and wonders. But once in the desert, they complain for every little thing lacking patience to the core. They long for the onions and garlic of Egypt, they long for the flesh and meat they once had in plenty, they fret that they are without a drop of water! It is easy to laugh at them or judge their impatience, but we will do well before that to think of ourselves and our lives. Issues in the family, the employment issues, the financial crisis, the relationship issues, sickness, misunderstanding... as soon as a problem begins in our lives don't we begin to complain too? The Lord teaches us - to TURN TO THE ROCK, when struggling to handle aridity in life. Dying without water, the people get water from the least expected source... in the dry parched desert and worse still, a dry boulder of a rock in that desert. If we turn to the Lord, our Rock... we will see solutions to our problems, clarity to our confusions, help in our difficulties, from the least expected quarters. Let us turn to the Rock.

The second reading instructs us how to comport ourselves while feeling the thirst. When in the thick of a problem or in the eye of the storm, where do we fix our gaze? On the problem: that will only magnify the problem. On ourselves: that will only make us more and more depressed in self pity. Instead the reading invites us to fix our gaze on Christ, on the Lord who, even while we were undeserving sinners, was ready to lay down his life for us. Such is the love of God for us and should we fret when we are in a crisis? We are invited to RETURN TO THE SPRING, to the saving grace that loves without measure, the love that has been "poured" into our hearts from that Spring. 

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of a thirst with which we should all live! It is not the thirst for a material good, a thirst for a interim peace, a thirst for a breath of relief but a Thirst for eternal life, a Thirst for perennial peace, a Thirst for fullness of life - a life-giving Thirst. He offers to give us the living water, the spring "gushing up to eternal life" (Jn 4:14). "All who are thirsty, come to me and drink" he declared elsewhere (Jn 7:37). We are called to live with that thirst, constantly longing for God. Like that deer that yearns for running streams, like the parched land that longs for rain, our soul should thirst for God, teaches the psalm (42). Let us thirst for God, let us thirst for a deeper and deeper relationship with God. let us thirst for the Spirit, let us thirst for the fruits of the Spirit, let us thirst for a life that is united with God, let us thirst for a life that is filled with God. Let nothing disturb us...let nothing separate us from God...hardships or distress or persecution or famine or perils or sword, not even death; let nothing separate us from God. Let these days of lent help us RELEARN TO LIVE IN GOD. 

WORD 2day: 22nd March, 2014

RETURN TO THE FATHER'S HEART

Faithfulness of God to God's people is expressed in God's boundless mercy. The first reading explains how it has always been so in history; and in the Gospel, Jesus presents this fact with a parable which  pictures the Father's heart with an incredible clarity: a heart that is forgiving, welcoming, compassionate, merciful, kind, unconditionally loving and absolutely faithful. When recently I shared this with a group of youngsters, one of them asked - 'but why should God forgive me and why should God be so merciful?' The answer was so simple, 'because "God is Love" (1 Jn 4:8)'. It is not merely that God loves, but the fact is, God is Love! God is madly in love with us... and that immense love is greater than any of my sin, it is greater than any force that blocks me from getting closer to God. All that I need to do is to decide like that son, "I will rise and go to my Father!"; all that I need to do today, is decide to RETURN to the Father's mercy; avail of the bountiful gift of forgiveness at the sacrament of reconciliation and be drenched in the mercy that flows from the Father's heart.

WORD 2day: 21st March, 2014

RETURN TO GOD'S WILL

A common phrase we come across in the two readings of today is, "Come let us kill him". The world today is no different - there are people who are prepared to even kill the other, for the sake of achieving their ends: be it killing them literally, or character assassination or killing the dreams of the other, killing the prospects of the other... it is a clear demonstration of obstinacy of one's personal will. However intricately we plan and however clinically we execute it, we are bound to have a restlessness in our hearts that will overtake us at some point or other in life. We will experience true peace and serenity in our hearts, when and only when, we are able to surrender our lives and all its aspects into the hands of God, and live according to God's will, bearing the fruits expected of us and bearing witness to the unconditional love of God! Return to God's will and you will rediscover the true meaning of life in God. 

WORD 2day: 20th March, 2014

RELEARN RIGHT PRIORITIES

Religious Commitment is not merely about rites, rituals, performances and practices! Christian faith is primarily about priorities. Life and all that it involves is a gift from God, and it makes meaning only as long as it is lived with that perspective clear and strong. At times the values that the times teach us, the priorities that the society promotes, makes us look at riches, comforts, social status, economic security, personal attachments as things that matter most. Taken well, these can bring us to realise, understand and cherish the giftedness involved. But taken amiss, they can confuse our priorities, as it happens with the rich man in today's parable. Jeremiah invites us to live a life as trees planted by the course of a river, to grow and flourish in grace and giftedness; and the way is to Relearn Right Priorities. Let God be the first priority in our life and we will surely be transported to the bosom of Abraham.

The Call to Serve...

Ordinations to Diaconate : 18th March, 2014

Today I had the grace of being part of the ceremony of the ordination of 9 deacons, held at Don Bosco Shrine, Ayanavaram, Chennai. It was a reminder of my call to serve, as the 9 of them were ordained deacons by Rt. Rev. Dr. Sounderraju Periyanayagan DD SDB, in a eucharistic celebration concelebrated by over 80 priests and laity of a packed church. Not to be served but to serve, said the theme that ran through the liturgy which was ably animated by the staff of Don Bosco, Kavarapettai and the hosting parish. My prayer was just this - that these words do not become just a fad or a cliche, but that I begin really to mean them. The self emptying of the Trinity, the example of the saints beginning with our Blessed Mother and the demands of the Salesian Constitution - these are the points of focus that posed a challenge to me, to renew my commitment to the Lord and the call that i have received, not to be served but to serve!