WORD 2day: 13th November, 2014

To be or not to be... a Reign-person.
Phlm 7-20; Lk 17: 20-25

Paul does not request or exhort Philemon to forgive and accept Onesimus. He almost commands and takes for granted that it is done. This is because forgiveness, love and union of hearts are no more options to choose from. They are to be the very way of life, because: the Reign of God is amidst us.

Misunderstandings between husband and wife, misgivings between the families, the bitter experience of past, nothing of these can give me an excuse to remain stubborn in my shell and refuse to build communion. That would be considered an anomaly.  There is no more a sense magnanimity in forgiving... it is after all what I am expected to do, the normal way of being... because the Reign of God is within me!

In short, there is no choice between living a Christian or not on a daily basis... I am either a Reign-person or an anti Reign person... the choice is mine!

WORD 2day: 12th November, 2014

Taking God for granted!?!

Ti 3:1-7; Lk 17:11-19

Speaking on the eve of his 97th  birthday, one of our elderly Salesian priests here said the other day, "you will not understand the difficulty of living this old...everything, every little thing is difficult. Even putting on a shirt or a pant is such an herculean task. With the missing balance, even using a toilet or washing the face is such a problematic affair!" As he went on, I really felt so guilty for the number of things I have been taking for granted on a daily basis! 

We have today a typical event in the Gospel where there are the majority who take things for granted, but that one spiritually sensitive person who returns to the Lord to tell him, that it really made a difference what the Lord had done to him. This quality of not taking God for granted has to come from, not taking people around me for granted. That is what the first reading tells me. If the latter does not happen, the former will only be an external show, an hypocrisy. Let us recognise persons, accept persons, appreciate them and affirm their presence, thank God for them, and take care of them. We need to be not only sheep of the Divine Shepherd, but also His hands and legs in reaching out to the needy. However, it is easy and pleasant to proclaim that the Lord is my shepherd, but to recognise it truly in concrete terms and submit to the shepherding of the Lord, it is not an easy task.

WORD 2day: 11th November, 2014

My real worth: where do I get it from?

Ti:2:1-8, 11-14; Lk 17: 7-10

Where does one's real worth come from? From merely your age or the social status that is offered to you or from the great successes that you parade to the world? As a person your true worth comes from within you, say the readings. 

It comes from within, meaning, each of us understands what one is called to, what our commission is and live it on a daily life, without making a fuss out of it. At times we do a little that we do, and go about trumpeting it all around. Worse still some times we do not do anything much but go around building it up as if we have moved mountains. 

And the worst of all is doing everything that we do, merely to be noticed and praised and given the social recognition that I am an important person in the vicinity. Christian life is all about living the essential goodness that we have within from the very fact that we are children of God and never expecting to be lauded for what we do, because what we do is what we have to do! Jesus puts it so plainly in today's Gospel (Lk 17:10). 

WORD 2day: 10th November, 2014

Towards Living Faith

Titus 1: 1-9; Lk 17: 1-6

Jesus throws challenge after challenge at his followers: to correct one's brother or sister who is erring, to readily forgive brothers and sisters, not to cause a brother or sister to sin or to falter... the challenges seem so demanding but just one prayer that the disciples make sums up all that it takes to face these challenges and live up to them. The prayer: "Lord, Increase our faith" (Lk 17:5). 

Faith is the answer to all these, because faith is not merely something that we possess, but a relationship to which we commit. It is a personal relationship with God, a total personal response to a God who reveals Godself in unconditional love and absolute concern. It is something in which we continuously grow, being mindful of the danger anytime retract into ways that are not worthy of the one who has created us, called us and commissioned us! Faith, if really living, will find a solution to many a problem in today's life, because it is fundamentally a God-inspired way of life.

                                                                            

The Temple that You are!

The Solemnity of the Dedication of Lateran Basilica: 9th November, 2014

Ezek 47: 1-2, 8-9, 12; 1 Cor 3: 9c-11, 16-17; Jn 2: 13-22

Temple. Temple of the Lord. Temple of the living God. Temple where lives God. That temple you are! And it is from here the Lord wants his glory to be spread far and wide, from the temple of our selves, from the altars of our daily struggles and sacrifices. The Lord's zeal for the temple flairs up today and that temple is not the structure that stands in places, but the persons that we are. 

The dedication of the Basilica of St John at the Lateran gives us a great opportunity to reflect on the decadence of the divinity that resides within humanity. But before go to discuss that, let us say a word on the Basilica itself.

The Basilica and the feast: 
The feast that we celebrate today is the remembrance of the dedication (on 9th, Nov, 324 AD) of the Basilica that stands on the property which was called 'Lateran' because it belonged to that family but acquired and given by Emperor Constantine to the Church earlier. The Church which was built was dedicated to the two great John's of the Gospel: John the Baptist and John the Evangelist! This Basilica is one of the so-called Four Major Basilicas of Rome (the other three being those of St. Peter, Mary Major and St. Paul outside the walls). There is yet another importance attached to this Basilica because this is the Cathedral, that is the Official seat of the Bishop of Rome, that is none other than the Holy Father himself. Hence this is called the Papal Cathedral, and not the all-famous Basilica of St. Peter! 

The Message: 

Humanity is the sanctuary where Divinity resides: I need to realise that I am not merely what I see! I am more than me. There is the indwelling spirit that resides in me. The Divinity that is within me is the true dignity that defines me. First of all to think of it that the Lord chose to dwell within me; secondly to think of the mystery that I am made of! Both these should make me awestruck but what happens today is so loathsome. 

The Robbers' den and the Market place: Such a sanctuary, filled with such extraordinary truths is made into a robbers den: a place where all evil resides; and a market place: where everything goes on except what is sacred! Exploitation of persons, decadence of moral dignity, human trafficking, sexual aberrations, killing in the name of god, violating the rights of the other, scheming to wipe out the races of people, keeping quiet at the face of blatant inhumanity that is perpetrated at large, buying and selling human labour without an iota of human respect, the swelling of the moneyed and the suffering of the exploited, the arrogance of the affluent and the insensitivity towards the downtrodden, the thousands and thousands of lives of the poor over whose graves walks the so called development today... these are the crimes against which the Lord would make a whip!

Realise that Blessing that you are: Cleansing the temple, the invitation that Lord has is fundamentally to realise the divinity that resides within us and the dignity that arises from the fact. To understand that the Spirit of the Lord dwells within us and that is the true stuff we are made of. To understand that we are a blessing to many, as Ezekiel points out about the waters that flow from beneath the Temple which makes fertile every land that it flows into. To understand the ways in which this sanctuary of humanity, is profaned by values that are demoralising to the core. 

In simple words, we are called to be persons worthy of the Lord, communities worthy of our faith and societies worthy of the sacredness of the humanity. 

WORD 2day: 8th November, 2014

Wealth - the right attitude to it.
Phil 4: 10-19; Lk 16: 9-15

Wealth: is it good or bad?
Money and God...won't they go together?
Then how do we ask God for wealth and consider prosperity as a blessing from God? The readings today speak to us about the right attitude to take towards wealth.

1. Wealth is given.
It is a gift and should be treated as such. We are given and it should fill us with gratitude and not arrogance.

2. Wealth is given to be given.
It is never given for yourself...you are a custodian of what is with you. You possessing the wealth is a blessing; the wealth possessing you is a curse!

3. Wealth is given to be given to those who cannot give.
The only purpose today wealth is used, apart from fulfilment of needs, is to make more wealth. It is a sickening tendency that is the cause of the growing selfishness, cruel exploitation and demeaning inhumanities.

Wealth and power are good as long as they are instruments. When they begin to use the persons dehumanisation begins! God sees the heart, says the Gospel; and everyone will see a heart that is filled with God.

Adieu dear Fr. Cappel...

Life is such a mystery! Adieu Fr.Cappel...
We will miss you.

We will miss that hearty laughter you had...and the naughty ideas you shared!

We will miss the friendly pats you were famous for... and the affectionate queries which showed us that you cared for!

At times which were tough you stood your ground... and showed us how important  it is to just be around!

Somewhere something brings a tear to my eyes... because to me you were always, always  nice!

In the recent past I have not thot about you much dear fr... may be i   expected this moment way much farther!

Life proves itself a mystery over and over again... adieu dear fr. till we meet again.

- with love, Christy

WORD 2day: 7th November, 2014

The Unchanging Criterion
Phil 3:17 - 4:1; Lk 16: 1-8

Prudence is a practical virtue, the capacity to discern the most effective option from a set of available options. When we have Christ as our choice, there need be no confusion  regarding what to choose and what not to. When Christ becomes our absolute, our standard, our criterion, then there would be no confusions nor any more options. We would have an absolute to live by,  a standard to judge by, a criterion to choose by.

St. Paul lived by this choice and presented the same to the others. Be imitators of me as I am of Christ ( 1 Cor 11:1) said Paul as we read in today's first reading too. We would be judged truly and absolutely prudent if we choose the never failing criterion: Christ; because it is the Lord and the Lord alone who does not change. Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Heb 13:8).

WORD 2day: 6th November, 2014

In mutual seeking
Phil 3: 3-8a; Lk 14: 15-25

The initial lines of the Gospel today say it all: the tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to Jesus and the pharisees were complaining. What really matters is not circumcision or not...but the relationship one has with the person of Christ.

Past glories, handed down traditions, legalistic requirements, ritual uprightness...these will not take you that far, however good and right and just they are. All that is expected of us is to get nearer and nearer, closer and closer,  more and more in personal relationship with God. God keeps looking out for us as presented in the parables in the Gospel- the shepherd and the woman! And when God knows our efforts God doubles it up with grace,  grace which comes in terms of our relationship with the person of Christ, before which everything else is trash.

WORD 2day: 5th November, 2014

Called Christian? Better be one!

Phil 2: 12-18; Lk 14:25-33

If you call yourself a Christian you better be one, says the Word today. You want to construct a tower but you don't want to procure the material; you want to fight the battle but you don't care to gather the soldiers; you want to be called a Christian but you don't want to take in all those things that makes up that name! What a shame! 

What does it take then, to be a Christian? 
To be a light when every one around is getting used to the darkness; to carry the cross with love when every one around you is waiting to shake off even an extra speck of dust on them; to be holy and blameless while everyone around is losing the very sense of those terms. That is what it takes to be a Christian!

O Lord Jesus Christ, give us the strength, the courage and the light to walk in your footsteps, carrying our crosses and and making a difference in every life we encounter. You are our light and our salvation.