St. Alphonsa of Immaculate Conception

28th July, 2015: Remembering First Woman saint of India

St. Alphonsa's life has any number of elements that one can highlight as a model of belonging totally to God...and that is why she has been raised to the Altars, from amidst us. She was almost a contemporary to us; she lived from 1910 to 1946. Within the short span of these 36 years she has set an example so brilliant.

Three things that stand out for me in the life of this Saint:

1. Her determination to belong to God:

She would say from the age of 7, when she received the Lord for the first time in her heart, she belonged to Jesus and took him as her Divine Spouse. The seeds of her vocation had already begun to sprout in that tender age. That is why when she was 13 when they tried to get her married, she tried all her best to turn that proposal down, even to the extent of injuring herself thinking that would stop the probable suitors. They tried to trick her into marriage even after she entered the convent, when she was a postulant, with the knowledge and cooperation of her formator, but nothing could succeed before her determination to totally belong to the Lord.

2. Her total acceptance of life from the Lord:

She knew she was to accept the life that the Lord gives her, come what may. Be it suffering or pain or insults or disease, she never complained. Already when she was 3 months old she lost her mother and she grew under the care of her aunt who was rather strict and unduly demanding. She never complained all her life about it but considered it a formation in humility, patience and endurance. She underwent great sufferings right from her 20 years, but with her perpetual profession came an extra dose of suffering. From her perpetual profession she says it seemed that she was given a part of the Cross of Christ! 

3. She suffered with joy:
She always wished that she could learn to suffer with joy and the more she suffered the more she thought that her divine spouse was fulfilling her wish, forming her to suffer with joy. A day that she had no suffering, she thought, was a day lost in her life. For her suffering was her way of being united with her beloved soulmate, Christ her Lord. From her childhood she had come across sufferings, one after the other, more and more, but nothing could stop her from loving the Lord more and more intimately. 

The following were her words, as she started her postulancy when she was 18...
I do not wish to act or speak according to my inclinations. Every time I fail, I will do penance... I want to be careful never to reject anyone. I will only speak sweet words to others. I want to control my eyes with rigour. I will ask pardon of the Lord for every little failure and I will atone for it through penance. No matter what my sufferings may be, I will never complain and if I have to undergo any humiliation, I will seek refuge in the Sacred Heart of Jesus

These were not mere sentiments, they were convictions, they were her very way of life!

Let us pray to this sister of ours:

Oh Blessed Alphonsa, you have been graciously chosen from our midst to be united with Jesus Christ, our Saviour, in the misery of his passion, death and resurrection. You have grown to the heights of holiness and have been crowned with heavenly glory.

Help us in our trials and tribulations. Oh, daughter of sufferings, obtain for us the grace to lead a holy life, following your example, in total submission to the will of God. Be with us, transforming all our sorrows into a holy sacrifice in union with Christ Crucified, in reparation to our sins, for the sanctification and salvation of the whole world. Amen.

WORD 2day: 27th July, 2015

Steadfastness in times of trials

Monday,  17th week in Ordinary Time
Exodus 32:15-24,30-34; Mt 13: 31-35

For the sake of Moses the Lord spares Israel inspite of their offence. Aaron was not able to withstand the pressure from the people to make for them a god. Moses and Joshua rescue the situation with the steadfastness they possessed.

Now the question is, where do I find myself: one of those who lack the patience to wait on the Lord and decide to create their own gods - gods  of our egos,  of our money,  of our affections and so on?  Or do I find myself in the place of Aaron giving into pressure from the majority. ..and not holding on to what is right and just. Or do I form that steadfast minority,  the small mustard seed,  the tiny portion of the yeast, the minority who remain faithful to the Lord come what may!

Moses and Joshua were capable of a faithfulness that the entire people were unable of. The reason is,  they had seen and experienced and witnessed to how good the Lord was. If we need to stand strong in times of trial we need to build up a strong relationship with the Lord in our regular days and convince ourselves of how good God is. If only we realise the crown that awaits our steadfastness (cf. Jam 2:12)

Hand in hand with God

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 26th July, 2015

2 Kgs 4: 42-44; Eph 4: 1-6; Jn 6: 1-15

The times are bad...those are the words that we hear from almost all contexts today. Economic or Cultural or Moral or Political or Religious... every corner human existence seems to echo this judgement invariably. Need, misery, unbalanced growth, neglect of a majority, domination of a few, loss of meaning and a sort of helplessness that fills the minds of every person with good will... that is what the scene looks like today!

What am I going to do? That is the most pertinent question at the moment. Am I going to give in to that sense of helplessness and hopelessness. That cannot be a Christian attitude, says the Word today. I need to work hand in hand with God and things will surely change. I am fond of a movie titled, I am Gabriel, which begins and ends with the same shot - a shot of village name board. In the opening shot the board reads, 'where good things never happen' and the closing shot has the same board and the same reading, with that "never" erased! Where good things happen! Nothing much has changed; just a word removed and the entire sense changed. Even in that village during the movie, nothing much happens but the entire village goes through a revival! How do we revive the earth, and the humanity... by acting hand in hand with God.

GIVE... a heart to give - that is the essential correction needed for the humanity today. We need to have a heart to give, to give with all our heart. That is what God does. God gives, and gives, and gives! When we begin to grow within us a heart to give, truly give not merely of what we do not want, nor of what is excess with us but of ourselves and of what we actually need and of all that we have, that is Giving after the heart of God. God is essentially a Giver! Elijah is ready to Give, Jesus wants to Give, God is every ready to Give! Do I have the heart to Give?

OTHERS...an eye for the others - is the radical perspective that needs to guide the humanity today. People have ceased to think of the other. Whether a daily scene of jostling in the public places like railway stations or bus terminuses or the national politics and policy lobbying...every where humanity has grown cold to the other, thinking only of the self, only of the petty private interest. Even when they think of the common good, they think of what is common to a small circle to where they belong, and not the Greater Common Good...the good of the whole humanity, the good of the wholeworld - Lokasamgraha, Sarvodhaya, vasudhaiva kutumbakam,  Universal brotherhood and Sisterhood, the care for the Common Home...these have become merely wishful thinking!

DO... determined to do - is the fundamental mindset that will redeem the situation today. At times the good willed persons can lose heart seeing the enormity of the opposition. But that will only be a curse on ourselves. The Word today presents to us the determination of the man who brought the barley loaves to Elijah, Philip who brought the boy with the few loaves to Jesus...they knew what they were doing actually is nothing before the task that lay before them, but they were kind of determined about what they were doing. The One Lord who takes care of everything, the One Lord who is aware of everything, the One Lord who just waiting for us to do our part and take our responsible place in this humanity, will see to the needed revival. The Lord will provide the change that is needed for the times, but the times require that we act hand in hand with God. 

In Giving, in being sensitive to the Others, and in being determined to Do..., we act hand in hand with God, infact we initiate the very thing that God wants to do.

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

25th July, 2015: Remembering St.  James the Apostle

2 Cor 4: 7-15; Mt 20: 20-28

Today in talking about vocations to priesthood and their formation,  they categorise the vocation into normal vocation,   late vocation and so on!  A normal vocation would mean a young boy having the aspirations of becoming a priest joins the Apostolic School and gets gradually initiated into the process and grows to be a candidate for this way of life. A late vocation would mean a youngster who has already strong convictions towards becoming a priest,  after much thought and experience decides to join the process of preparation.

Looking at James and his brother John in the Gospel today,  even we tend to be embarrassed at their ambitious spirit,  just as the other 10 were upset! But Jesus is not upset. There is no sign of it though he should be the first to be upset about it. Looks like Jesus is considering them as normal vocations that have to gradually grow into perfection as opposed to a strong and convinced vocation like St. Paul who would discard everything else as rubbish when it comes to gaining Christ (cf. Phil 3:8).

But the beauty of St. James is in the fact that he grew,  he grew in his understanding and came to the level of giving up his life for Christ: drinking the cup that He drank! The Lord does not expect us to be perfect but to be sincere,  sincere in our efforts towards perfection!

WORD 2day : 24th July, 2015

Tendencies against Fruitfulness

Friday,  16th week in Ordinary Time
Exo 20: 1-17; Mt 13: 18-23

We are well aware of the expectations placed on us as people of God. As the first reading indicates we have clear cut do's and dont's ... but does that make us fruitful in our daily life? Jesus enlists four tendencies that will affect our fruitfulness:

Indifference that would make us live our lives in our own terms;

Initial Fervour that is good but not good enough;

Inhibitions that place various other expectations in contrast to God's;

Integral living of daily life that will grant meaning to everything that we are involved in.

Which of the four dominates my life as of today?

WORD 2day : 23rd July, 2015

The Lord came down;  Moses went up!

Thursday,  16th week in Ordinary Time
Exodus 19:1-2,9-11,16-20; Mt 13:10-17

Is not faith all about this. .. the Lord coming down and we going up. .. the Lord reaching out to us and we responding! In many ways the Lord attempts to reach out to us each day. And here we are busy with our petty little worlds, calling ourselves names and holding on to titles. Won't the world do mighty well if it were to listen with all its heart and look with all its attention!

Through the retreat these days; the preacher yesterday made a remark about this God who intends to reach out to us by all means. Referring to Rev 3:20, he said the Lord does not merely knock,  but he pounds on our doors! What a lovely imagery to impress on our minds the God who never gets discouraged with us,  the Lord who is unbelievably merciful and the Lord who is madly in love with us. If only we would heed!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

22nd July,  2015: Remembering St. Mary Magdalene 

Exo 16: 1-5, 9-15; John 20:1-2,11-18

Weeping blinds you...Listen and Look!

They had seen the waters standing high,  they had seen those plagues and the way the Egyptians were buried alive in the waters... but here they are once again weeping and complaining.

Mary of Magdala loved Jesus intensely. She had encountered and experienced Jesus in such close quarters but now standing right beside him she is unable to identify him;  because she is too occupied with her weeping and complaining.

At times in our lives when troubles come by and trials abound,  we fumble and falter as if we are all alone. We fail to recognise the Lord who sticks so close to us,  because we are too busy weeping and complaining.

If only we opened our eyes and saw;  if only we opened our hearts and listened;  if only we believed in the words of the Lord,  "I have conquered the world"... we would leap for joy and love to cling to the Lord. Mary Magdalene gives us a clear message: stop weeping;  weeping blinds you;  look, listen and you will leap for joy, for the Lord is with you now and always!

WORD 2day: 21st July, 2015

The Lord fights... provided we allow!

Tuesday,  16th week in the Ordinary Time
Exo 14: 5-18; Mt 12: 46-50

Between the devil and the deep sea... that was literally where Moses found himself. What could he do caught between an army that was like a sea and the sea that was swarming like a devouring army! Moses knew just what he had to do. .. Do what the Lord tells him! Because it was the Lord's battle. The Lord was fighting for them;  they had to allow it and Moses did just that. The Lord said walk and he walked,  the Lord said stretch and he stretched, the Lord said be still and he stood still drinking in the majesty and the power of God.

Listen to the words of Father and carry it out exactly as said,  and you will see the glory of the Lord unfold right in front of yours eyes, declares Jesus. Are we alright with the Lord fighting our battle?  Or do we want to fight it ourselves? When the Lord fights the victory is certain but it may involve some challenging moments when we do not make sense of anything that would be happening. But it is the Lord who fights and we will surely triumph.

The Lord is ready and willing;  yes the Lord will fight our battle, provided we allow it.

WORD 2day: 20th July, 2015

You have only to be still

Monday, 16th week in Ordinary Time
Exo 14: 5-18;  Mt 12: 38-42

The people ask for a sign and on this count people have never changed or grown for the better in history. Asking for a sign or clamoring after magics, being obsessed with persons who claim to have the ability to perform extraordinary signs... these are prevalent even today. The answer from the Lord is very simple and straightforward.

All that you need to do is,  be still. The tendency to run after signs and frenetically looking for miracles should cease if we really keep growing in our faith maturity. Tear shedding statues and blood oozing artefacts cannot be the kindling factors of our faith; if only we could be still and see the works of God in our lives,  if only we could be still and observe the way the Lord accompanies us on a daily basis, in the ordinariness of our daily life, we would be filled with messages and revelations enough to fill our thoughts and increase our faith.

All I need to do today,  and everyday,  is Be Still... and know that the Lord is with me.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time