SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #7

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #7: FRUITS ARE TO NOURISH OTHERS!

Fruits gain nothing for themselves.  

Having borne the fruit, what is there for the tree to gain, much worse what does the fruit have to gain? Nothing, absolutely nothing - but that is the most beautiful meaning in the entire phenomenon of bearing fruit. After all that effort and self conditioning and maturation, the fruit is the manifestation of the fullness achieved. But at that moment if we raise a question, what after all is the gain for the tree or a doubt what really has the fruit to achieve further - we are at a loss. It is all about self-giving, total self-giving. Jesus emptied himself, became like us, accepted death, death on a cross, was crucified... after all the centuries of preparation, is this the best that the Lord can do? Yes, of course, this is the best that the Lord could do... give of Himself, give Himself, give Himself totally!

When we bear fruit, that is, when we have reached a certain capability of contributing to the others and to the common, we die to be noticed, we yearn to be appreciated, we look for what we can gain or establish by whatever we can contribute. Within the Spirituality of bearing fruit, this part of looking for dividends is totally out of question. What remains for you to gather after you have borne the fruit that you ought to: - nothing. But that nothing is everything. 

Bearing fruit, is not for my sake. It is for others, whether they deserve it or not, whether they recognise it or not, whether they value it or not. Giving of my self,my being, my entire life, is the maturity the Lord wishes to see in us. To bear fruit and not look for recognition, to give and never to expect anything in return, to love and never long to be loved... that is the climax of the entire process of bearing fruit. The Lord awaits our growing up!                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                          

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #6

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #6: FRUITS ARE TO BE PLUCKED!

Don't think they will be there forever.  

To bear fruit, fruit that will last - that is our call. Fruit that will last does not mean, fruits that will remain in the tree forever, unplucked or unpicked. If they remain so, what is the use of those fruits. Fruits are to be plucked, to be gathered and to be consumed! Can the tree claim the fruit to be all its own, merely because of the time taken and the effort put in? Can the tree have a say on who should pluck and who deserves not? After the tree has produced the fruit, it has no control over it. It is for public consumption and there are so many others who would be determining the rest of the issues. Is this not what Jesus meant when he instructed us with such clarity: when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, 'we are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done' (Lk 17:10).

There are two things here that I need to accept and understand. The first fact is that I cannot decide who should pluck the fruit that I have borne or how it should be used. The tree, like it is said of the rain, does not check whether the recipient deserves it or not. With the fact that I have borne the fruit, my task is almost done, the only thing remaining being the fact that I need to give that fruit away for consumption. 

The second fact that needs my attention is, that my task is not over with bearing one fruit. It is here I begin to understand the true meaning of 'the fruit that lasts'. Bearing fruit does not become an isolated action performed or a particular activity carried out but it has to become by attitude, my life style, my programme of life. I cannot stop with producing one or a few fruits - I need to bear endless number of fruits and all these fruits are to be plucked.   

Let us make that prayer of Christ sound deep in our hearts 'Here I am Lord, behold I come to do your will'...Let me bear fruit in abundance and readily allow it to be  plucked! 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #5

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #5: FRUITS ATTRACT STONES!

People care little about the tree. 

Good fruits invite not only worms, but also stones. If worms are signs of dangers from within, stones are attacks from outside. When the tree bears fruit as a sign of its maturity, the tree will attract attention from passers by, from people who are looking for some benefits, from people who wish to make use of the resources wherever they are. 

Can the tree complain about people who are throwing stones at it? Goodness is prone to attack. Goodness disturbs people, specially the so-called "normal" people. When the entire society looks at convenience and comfort, the fruit bearing people look for convictions and character. No one looks at the breaking branches or the tearing leaves. No one cares about the amount of time taken to produce a fruit, the stages that it has passed through and all the effort that had gone in to bring that fruit to that fullness. 

However the fruit has to remember that if it were still an unripened raw matter, no one would even care a bit for it. The stones received, though it may cause some pain, they were truly marks of recognition of the fruit as to what it is.

Stones of jealousy, stones of criticism, stones of persecution, stones of hurdles - stones abound in types and number. Remember, if there are no  stones coming your way, it is an alarm that you are too far from all that you are called to be. If there are no stones thrown at you, you might be so scarcely inspiring to people around you. If there are no stones hurled at you, sadly you might be in such weak position to make any difference. 

Grow to the full. Be all that you can be. Make a difference and expect stones anytime. 

Someone throws a stone at you, what do you do? Give them fruits! Yes, the trees give fruits to those who throw stones. They don't throw stones back. Be filled with such goodness that you give out goodness, whatever the other throws at you. 

Consider Paul, the Apostle par excellence. Even after he found the Lord and encountered him, he had the choice of remaining safe and secure going around only where he is accepted. He knew people were throwing stones at him and the stones were increasing by the day. But nothing stopped him. Woe to me, he thought, if I do not preach the good news. Inspite of all the stones that are thrown at you, be good. Do good. Grow good. 

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #4

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #4: FRUITS ATTRACT WORMS!

The worms know which ones to attack. 

Good fruits invite worms, for the worms know which is the best and they attack that first. How many times have you been surprised by a worm when you reached right through the fruit with your knife. The worms can eat the fruit from within. It is not a sign that the fruit is bad, but that the good fruit has been invaded. 

After all the long and tiring process of bearing fruit, finally when the fruits begin to appear, there can be these worms that attack from within - the worms of misconceptions, the worms of decadence of values, the worms of discouragements, the worms of temptation, the worms of negativity and the worms of compromise.

Now the question is, what would you do when you see the worm? If you value the fruit really and you are well informed, you would try to work that worm out of the fruit and make the most of it. That is exactly what you need to do when you find these worms within you. Don't be harsh on yourself. It is unfortunate that you let these worms grow within you; sad they invaded you! But remember they are from within you and therefore you and you alone have the power to work them out of your lives. 

Work them out of your life with determination. Stop judging yourself and calling names. That is of no use. Look at the way to eliminate them from your life, letting your sweetness remain. You are basically a fruit; you are basically good! You are not the worm. The worm needs to go, not you! So rout them out of your life, now!

Consider Judas and Peter - they were good fruits! When they found the worm within them, they reacted in two different ways. One judged himself, condemned himself and lost his total self. The other noticed the worm, understood its nature, worked it out of his life and became a better fruit - so nourishing and so healthy. 

Though you spot a few worms at times within you, you are a good fruit. Believe in yourself and get rid of the worms!

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #3

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #3: TAKE YOUR TIME; BUT BE AT IT!

Premature fruits are not good. 

You are chosen, chosen to bear fruit. Bearing fruit is not an easy task, the Lord knows it. Do not grow impatient with yourself. Take your time to bear fruit. The Lord does not say, bear fruit fast; He only says, bear fruits that will last. So, taking time is nothing wrong. But, make sure you are at it. Taking time does not mean, just whiling time away, with distractions and self indulgences. 

There is no hurry... there's a time for everything. No one expects the fruits the day after he or she planted the tree! There is a process for everything. When things happen too swiftly, at the wish or command of others, at times there exists the danger that the roots are not that deep. It may last but for a while. As the Lord explained about the seeds that fall on the rocks, which grow fast but soon die dried due to lack of depth. Premature fruits, fruits forced to ripen, fruits that are artificially made to look more presentable...these are no good! Fruits that have gone through the entire hard process of being buds and flowers and raw fruit and then ripening to their fullness, would truly be tastier than the one's which have gone through a short cut. 

Focus is the key... being at it is all that matters. When you achieve something and what you achieve is always secondary to the way you achieve it, to the effort you had put in, and to the passion that you manifest throughout the process. Even if the final outcome happens to be a failure in the eyes of many, what counts is what has gone on in the process. Taking time is not giving into inaction or to lethargy, it is being patient and enduring inspite of moments of hardships, temptations and discouragements. Take time, grow strong and launch it firm - that is the formula to bear fruit.

Consider Jesus of Nazareth - how he was silent and patient those thirty years and how that silence and patience paid off, making his last three years such world-changing, epoch-making years! It is like the childbirth, the child has to come by itself to see the world - that is normal. Taking one's time is not a loss of focus on the mission begun, but it is a deepening and nurturing the decision to bear fruit and to worthily prepare ourselves for the same. 

We are called to bear fruit; let us take our time but never lose the focus, be at it!

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT -#2

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #2: YOU ARE CALLED TO BEAR YOUR FRUIT!

Do not try to bear some other fruit. 

You are chosen, chosen to bear fruit, chosen to bear your fruit, not someone else's. At times I refrain from bearing my fruit considering it immaterial - how do I come to that conclusion? By one of the most detrimental of all habits: comparison. No one in the right sense will expect a peach from a mango tree or an orange from a vine branch! Each tree has its own fruit to bear and that is what is expected of that tree. Just because a tree bears tiny cherries, it does not become in any way less valued than a tree that bears a mega size jack fruit. As Mother Teresa would put it, it is not so much how big are those things you do that matter, but how much love you put into them, that truly matters. 

The second malady that affects one in bearing one's own fruit, is that which is called 'the pleaser phenomenon'. When one wants to bear a fruit, merely because someone wants them to, they are giving into pressure or into the pleasure of pleasing people. A person who does something, however good that action could be, merely at the behest of someone else, has already lost the merits of that action. 

Do not think demeaning oneself is a virtue; it is not. Neither would demeaning others be a virtue. Accepting oneself and others as they are, that is the right perspective in life. 

Consider John the Baptist who with no feeling of regret announces that he is not the expected Messiah. He neither wanted to bask in a borrowed glory nor did he shy away from the limelight in preparing the way. He bore the fruit that he was to bear and today stands a great icon of having lived his life to the full, having borne a fruit however insignificant, the fruit that he had been appointed to bear. 

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #1

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #1: YOU ARE A CHOSEN TREE!

Remember you have said Yes.

You are chosen, chosen to bear fruit. Not all trees bear fruit. And trees don't always bear fruit. If you are chosen, you have to bear fruit. If you are able to bear fruit, it is a candid sign that you are chosen. Never forget the fact that you have said 'yes' to the Lord, when the Lord chose you! Look up to the great people who had said yes, and they were conscious that they were chosen! Think not that you have chosen to bear fruit, infact you cannot. The Lord has chosen you to bear fruit. Though it is to your credit that you bear fruit, the merit is not all yours, remember the One who had chosen you. If I count the cost, and due to it fail to bear fruit, I have forgotten that I have been chosen. If I have been chosen, I bear fruit, that is not a reason for pride, but woe to me if I dont bear fruit. 

Consider Mary the Mother of God - how she said a 'yes' and she remained faithful to it. She continued to bear fruit till the end, right upto Calvary. She is a great example who bore fruit and remained always contemplating the will of God, which had chosen her to bear fruit. 

WORD 2day: 17th MAy, 2017

Focusing on the key element: to Remain

Wednesday, 5th week of Easter

Acts 15:1-6; Jn 15:1-8

To be circumcised or not to be: that seemed to be the issue for most of the Jewish Christians, including a few disciples. But for persons like Paul or Barnabas or even Peter or James, it was a non issue! For them something else mattered. 

Paul said that plainly when he exclaimed, 'For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything' (Gal 5:6).  Then what really mattered to him, he is vociferous about that too: 'for His sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ' (Phil 3:8). 

Remaining in Christ, that is what really matters. Rituals, practices, piety and devotions - all of them make sense only in relation to the proportion to which they help me remain with Christ. Even the most regular of all practices would mean nothing if it does not help me remain in Christ. 

Remaining in Christ is a challenging task indeed - it may at times prove boring and monotonous and not immediate in its results - but it is the key to being disciples of Christ. Let us focus on the key element: Let us Remain in Christ.

WORD 2day: 16th May, 2017

Let not your hearts be troubled

Tuesday, 5th week of Easter
Acts 14: 19-28; Jn 14: 27-31

You will have enemies in abundance, yet let not your hearts be troubled. There will be opposition from every side, yet let not your hearts be troubled. People may plot and contrive against you, yet let not your hearts be troubled. Being untroubled amidst all troubles- the disciples had perfectly understood what the Lord had said... they were unmoved in the face of all persecutions because they had something that the world could not give.

Peace, a peace that the Lord alone can give.  A peace that no one can take away. A peace that shines  amidst darkness. A peace that does not arise from compromise and convenience but from conviction and commitment. A peace that is a result of truth and integrity. A peace that is not an external silence but an internal tranquillity. A peace for which it is worth even giving up our life.

The key to grow towards it is, not to let our hearts be troubled!

NOVENA TO MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

15th May to 23rd May:

NOVENA TO 

MARY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS(As recommended by St John Bosco) 

*1. To Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament*

O Most Sweet Jesus, You delight in being with the children of men and being the food of their souls. Grant we beseech You that through the merits of St. John Bosco who did so much to spread the love of frequent Communion, we may receive what we humbly pray for with all the fervour of our souls.

*Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be* with the ejaculation, *Blessed and praised every moment be the most Holy and Divine Sacrament.*_

*2. To Mary Help of Christians*

O Most Holy Virgin, Help of Christians, who worked and continue to work so many wonders through St John Bosco, grant we beseech you that through your goodness and through his merits, we poor sinners may receive the graces we ask for with all the fervour of our souls.

*Hail Holy Queen,* with the ejaculation, *Mary Help of Christians, pray for us.*

*3. To Saint John Bosco*

O St John Bosco, offer our prayers to Jesus and Mary and grant that through your intercession we may obtain an ever increasing love for Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and Mary, Help of Christians. Amen.

*St John Bosco, pray for us.*