The ABC of Holy Trinity

Solemnity of the Holy Trinity: 22nd May, 2016

Pro 8: 22-31; Rom 5:1-5; Jn 16: 12-15

We celebrate the feast of the Trinity today! The Solemnity reminds us of, not only who our God is, but also who we are! 

We ARE a communion! Just as our God is a communion of three persons - Father, Son and the Spirit, we who are created in that image and likeness, are a communion too. We are neither body living in the spirit, nor a spirit residing in the body... we are a being created in such a communion of our natures that we are one, just as the three persons of the trinity are one. It is high time we undid the contrasts between the body and the soul and the mind! We are communion, we ARE Trinity.

We BELIEVE in communion, not in contestation. The three persons of the Trinity live in communion with each other and there is an eternal self giving that takes place among them, by which they stay as ONE. We believe in communion, dialogue, sharing, sacrifice and selfless service. Only that would make us One people of God.

We CLING to the Trinity, because in the Trinitarian God we have everything we stand in need of. The Father gives us love and mercy in abundance. The Son gives us the light and truth to live by. The Spirit gives us companionship and good counsel.  All that we need to live our life to the full is given by the Trinitarian God. 

As we celebrate this wonderful solemnity, let us take to heart the call and the challenge given to us by the Holy Trinity... to be, to believe and to cling on to the Most Holy Trinity.

WORD 2day: 21st May, 2016

Reign of God is a Child's Play

Saturday, 7th week in OrdinaryTime

James 5:13-20; Mark 10:13-16

When we call something a child's play, we intend to say it is an easy task, a no taxing job, an uncomplicated project! Today Jesus calls the Reign of God a child's play...but meaning to say how difficult it is for the grown ups to reach! 

The qualities that are underlined here by the first reading and the Gospel are: innocence of heart, unsophisticated dependence on God and non judgmental relationships! These are the very things we lose as we grow up. Remaining a child in these will make us part of the Reign of God...that is why it is a child's play, not a grown up's game! 

Can we grow up to be childlike?

WORD 2day: 19th May, 2016

On a Slippery Ground

Thursday, 7th week in Ordinary Time

Jam 5: 1-6; Mk 9: 41-50

Where your treasures are, there your heart will be, Jesus warned us well. The Word today insists that our treasures cannot be in our money bags or safety lockers! Wealth, of course is a blessing, the same can become a curse too, if it is not kept in its place! 

At times, unfortunately not merely at times but very often today, we see that persons with money are able to get what they want without much ado! Even the judicial system lets them roam free despite their wrongdoings, merely because they have the money-power! Persons think they have everything when they have the money...but for how long? Is that money going to take us all the way? By the time we realise we have over-depended on the wealth that we possess, we would be in a position already when we would not be able to undo our past mistakes! It is high time we understand that, placing our entire confidence on the wealth would make us tread on a slippery ground. 

WORD 2day: 18th May, 2016

Poor in spirit depend on God

Wednesday, 7th week in Ordinary Time

Jam 4: 13-17; Mk 9: 38-40

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:3). How do we understand the expression 'poor in spirit'? The Word today has a simple description: they depend on God. Two traits that are enlisted as opposition or rebellion to God are Pride and Jealousy! Pride claims illegitimate credits for things; Jealousy detests anyone being better in comparison to me.

James hits out against pride, which claims that we are in control of our entire life! I know of a person who has written down what he would be doing the next 25 years in succession! One thing is to have a plan, while it is totally another matter to be too sure about taking control of everything! 

Jesus speaks of jealousy in subtle manner, without hurting the sentiments of his own apostles. He instructs them about not monopolising the role of being God's instruments! Anyone could be used by God, just as you could be! When you are used by God for God's purposes, rejoice and be glad. When someone else is used by God, give praise to God all the same! This comes from two important qualities we need to develop: stop comparing and place God at the centre, not yourself!

When we work out of these two temptations: of pride and jealousy, we would be well on our way to sanctity...for that is a sign that we depend on God, that we are poor in spirit, and the kingdom of heaven belongs to us!

WORD 2day: 17th May, 2016

The Battle Within

Tuesday, 7th week in Ordinary Time

Jam 4: 1-10; Mk 9: 30-37

The discussion continues on yesterday's theme: the battle within. Both James and Jesus through the Word today, speak to us of the important battle that is waging within us, which determines much of the battles around us. The self seeking, self centered and self focused egoism, twists and twirls all our priorities and thus wrongly motivates our choices. 

The worst of the conditions that we find today is the way the society prioritises. What is wrong if one thinks of one's own self fulfillment? The justification in terms of god-given capabilities and bringing them to their perfection is another rationalisation of this ego feeding. The Self or the Ego is being enshrined at the centre of human life as the most sacred thing that has to be preserved, promoted and pleased! Is this not idolatry? Some are so worried about use of images and icons as being idolatrous, while they make of themselves saviours, mouth pieces of God, indispensable dispensers of the god-element, the doorways to god and so on...

The question is clear today: have you compromised on the place given to God in your life? Is God the first priority in your life? Is God, God's plan and God's will the most important criterion in all the choices you make? If it is so, then you are on a winning streak in the battle within... Kudos! March on! 

WORD 2day: 16th May, 2016

Witness, come what may

Monday,7th week in Ordinary Time

Jam 3: 13-18; Mk 9: 14-29

Just the day after we have reflected upon the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, James speaks to us of these signs that we need to manifest to the world around us. Those who see us should see the Spirit present within us. We are called to be witness to the Lord, not merely through the spoken word and declared messages but through life and signs we give on a daily basis.

The qualities that militate against the Spirit present with us, the qualities of jealousy, pride, ambitiousness, deceitfulness and divisiveness should be driven away with prayer and fasting. Only then will out life bear witness to the Spirit of the Risen Lord. It is not as difficult as this, to fight external forces of opposition! The qualities, tendencies and priorities within us which are not proper to the Reign we are all dreaming of, are the primary forces that have to be fought against. I may resolve to be a witness inspite of those who align against me, but if I don't decide to fight these tendencies within me, I tragically fail to witness to the Spirit living within me. Can I really resolve to witness, come what may!

Being PEOPLE OF THE SPIRIT

The Solemnity of Pentecost - 15th May 2016

Acts 2: 1-11; 1 Cor 12: 3a-7, 12-13; John 20: 19-23

Being people of the Spirit is growing up to be Courageous: Models: Apostles
The apostles were gathered in the room in fright and frustration but they were made fearlessly courageous by the Spirit of the Lord. They faced crowds, authorities and the whole world with a heart that would not give way to any anxiety or doubt

Being people of the Spirit is growing up to be Compassionate: Models: Early Christians
The Early Christians were one in mind and heart, they were sensitive to each other, they were filled with compassion, they were united in love! They were people of the Spirit, united in the Lord into one body, one body in the Lord! Despite all their differences they were one because of the action of the Spirit.

Being people of the Spirit is growing up to be Christ-like: Models: Disciples
The disciples together were called to grow to be like Christ. To grow to be like Christ is to grow in the image of the Lord given by the Spirit. To be disciples of Christ is to grow in the likeness of Christ, to be think like Christ, to speak like Christ, to act like Christ and to decide like Christ in every thing. Those who are in the Christ are a new creation! Those who are in the Spirit are true children of God, empowered to call God, Abba Father!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

He remained and was rewarded

Remembering St. Mathias the Apostle: 14th May 2016

Acts 1: 15-17, 20-26; Jn 15: 9-17

The place of apostle Judas was empty and they consulted the Lord as to who should fill that place! They were inspired to have the criterion that Jesus himself proposed: it has to be one who has remained! Remain in me, said Jesus. And they looked for someone who has remained with them from the beginning to the end. Mathias (for that matter even Justus and so many others) had never aspired for anything. They could have had no clue about it. But they remained with Jesus and after Jesus had gone, with the rest of the band of followers.

Mathias looked up to nothing except that of being with Christ and he was rewarded for it with a responsibility. He never chose or claimed or aspired to be an apostle, he was chosen to be, because he remained in His love.

This is what the Lord invites us to: to remain in his love and to love each other with the same love as a sign of our discipleship. Surely the Lord will choose to use us as His apostles. 

THE WORD AND THE DAY

All for the love of HIM

Friday after the Ascension Sunday

Acts 25: 13-21; Jn 21:15-19

Today we have a list of things to remember, but let us do it in the light of the Word. In Jerusalem, Paul underwent troubles to the extent of being killed. Now he is getting ready to go to Rome... all because he wants to go all the way in bearing witness to the love that he has for the Lord. 

If you love me show it in your life says the Lord to Peter, in your life lived for others, in your life lived for the Word, in your life lived totally for the love of HIM. It is easy to brush this aside as a spiritualistic statement; but if we take it seriously, everyday is an opportunity to bear witness to the love I have for the Lord, everyday can become an experience of growth in my relationship with the Lord!

Today is the Feast of St. Mary Mazzarello, a saintly young girl who turned into a mature and seasoned leader by her mere dedication to grow in this love of the Lord. Everything you do, do it for the love of God, she would say! Her yearning for sanctity, the right persons she met in her life (Fr. Pestarino and Don Bosco), and the extraordinary love that she had for the Lord took her all the way to her sanctity.

Another capsule of memory reminds us of Our Lady of Fatima...a great revelation of the Mother of God inspired again by the love that she has for her Son and for the children she has begotten because of her Son! The Fatima phenomenon has been a great mysterious show of God's love in the past century and it continues to be so! May our blessed mother continue to guide and encourage us.

Yet another event we cannot miss from our mind today is the 35th year of the Assasination Attempt on Pope Saint John Paul II. Ali Agca, who shot at the Saintly Pontiff was chosen specially to accomplish that task and naturally he was a sharp shooter. But when he missed that aim, he was intrigued and when Pope John Paul II went to meet him in the prison after his surgery and recuperation, the first question Agca asked was: "how come I missed that aim!" And the smiling Pope retorted: "You chose the right gun and the right spot but you chose the wrong day!" 

WORD 2day: 11th May, 2016

Praying Together

Wednesday after Ascension Sunday

Acts 20:28-38; John 17:11-19

One essential characteristic of people of God is the quality of praying together! Jesus and Paul lead the people of God into prayer. Prayer is fixing God at the centre of our lives - both personal and collective. Both Paul and Jesus seem to suggest to us yet another important fact about common prayer: when every individual places God at an unquestionably central place in his or her life, the entire community would have God at the centre of its existence. Whereas the other way around is not so warranted. Merely because I belong to a community or a family or an organisation that has God at the centre, I cannot take for granted that God is at the centre of my life too! Does that set us thinking...