Be Obedient

Journey to Holiness: Dare to submit do God's will

March 25, 2019: The Solemnity of Annunciation 

Isaiah 7: 10-14, 8:10; Hebrews 10: 4-10; Luke 1: 26-38

Obedience can take various degrees to it: the first is, doing what is said. Doing what is said is not entirely easy, unless a person is so dull headed that he or she has no idea or nothing to do on one's own. Obeying commands, keeping the rules, fulfilling the requirements - these fall under this category.

The second degree is that of doing what is intended. This goes a bit beyond the first, in as much as the person who wishes to obey, is interested in knowing what is intended by what is asked of the person. It is not merely obeying rules but understanding the intention behind the rules; it is not merely fulfilling the requirements, but knowing what the purpose is behind the requirement; it is not merely carrying out what is said, but being interested in doing what is not said. This is more meritorious than the first and basic degree of obedience.

What Jesus teaches us and what we celebrate today in our Blessed Mother is the third degree of obedience. This is not merely doing what is said or what is intended, but living one's life according to what is wished, willed and planned by someone who wishes your good. This is the most matured obedience in the Spirit: a will and choice to submit to the will of the One who has created and called and commissioned me with this life. At times I would not even know what is expected of me, most of the times I may not know what would be the real outcome of it, but in spite of all these, I make an absolute choice and say: 'I am yours; I come to do your will; be it done unto me according to your Word'. That requires an assistance and strengthening from the Spirit of courage and childlike trust.

The Solemnity today affirms that this obedience leads to Salvation, salvation which means fullness of life, fullness of joy and fullness of meaning. 

Holiness tip for today: Dare to submit to God's will, obey!

Holiness: GROWING TO BEAR FRUIT

Milestone: The HOLY GROUND

March 24, 2019: 3rd Sunday of Lent
Exodus 3: 1-8, 13-15; 1 Corinthians 10: 1-6, 10-12; Luke 13: 1-9

We have crossed two milestones - the desert and the mountain, on our journey to holiness. Our lives cannot be imagined without these milestones, those moments of trials and those experiences of glory! The next milestone is that which gives meaning and significance to both of the preceding milestones. Whether it is a trial or temptation or a success or achievement, it makes sense when we realise, we stand on a holy ground! That is an inescapable truth we need to acknowledge, if we have to really grow in our holiness and grow up to bearing fruit.

Bearing fruit is an inevitable call; I have to by all means, show a difference in my life. If I do not show that difference, that bit of growth that comes from an authentic eagerness towards perfection, I cannot claim that I belong to God, or that I am from God, or that I have an ongoing rapport with God. I have no excuses to make and that is what the Word today establishes without doubt.

I have no excuses because, I am accompanied with daily miracles by the Lord. As the Lord accompanied the people of Israel as a cloud and the pillar of fire, the Lord accompanies me with daily miracles in my life. I may or may not recognise the countless miracles that happen all around me but they are constantly there. The daily dose of life, the air that I breathe, the vital sustenance that is ensured...what are these but miracles. The guidance that I receive from daily experiences, the indications that I am given to regulate my life, these are miracles that I keep experiencing from the Lord's accompaniment. Holy Ground is where I get to meet my God, those moments when I realise the presence of God, those experiences where God reveals God's name, those events when I come to grips with Divine within me, those persons who reveal in someway the goodness of the Lord. The most challenging fact is this: wherever I am is a Holy Ground, because God, the I AM, is constantly there with me!

I have no excuses because, I am alerted by regular warnings. Even as I choose to do things that do not really go well with the call that I have received from the Lord, I am warned from within. Even as I see people fumbling and falling, mistaking and missing their way in life, I am given with warnings to change my life, lest I go far far away from the Lord. At times I squander the warnings I receive as I am busy judging people, branding them and writing off their destinies unduly. I need to begin to take the cues all around me and be attentive to the warnings that keep coming my way. Being grounded in my life will take me a long way, for the Holy Ground offers me the right vision and understanding, right nourishment and remedies.

I have no excuses because, I am affirmed with such abundance of love from the Lord. I am given chances after chances, offered countless opportunities and limitless forgiveness from the Lord, that I may grow over my faults and failures, towards making choices that lead me to fruits that show me to be a true son or daughter of God. At times I take God's mercies for granted; I decide to live my life the way I like instead of truly understanding the plan and path set for me by my Loving Creator. But the Lord is eternally good, endlessly patient and limitlessly merciful. The Holy Ground offers unending possibilities to life; I can never blame life, if I were up to ruin it all the time. Everything is in my hands and the Lord has given me all possible chances to grow up and bear fruit!

The Lord invites me to bear fruit, fruits that will show me to be worthy of the image and likeness that I bear; the Holy Ground holds me, sustains me and nourishes me all along. Am I ready to realize that I stand on the Holy Ground and begin to grow up to bear fruit?

Be Joyful

Journey to Holiness: You are loved without measure!

March 23, 2019: Saturday, Second week in Lent
Micah 7: 14-15, 18-20; Luke 15: 1-3,11-32

Have you had the opportunity of listening to that touching song that speaks of God's grace as, 'Oh Outrageous Grace!'...yes, there is a lot of pain, trouble and sin but a lot more of healing, love, peace and an outrageous grace. An immeasurable love, an abundant grace, limitless mercy...  that is God. What should I fear when the Lord loves me with such an immeasurable love. The Lord looks at me as a shepherd madly in love with his sheep, willing to lay down his life for his sheep, however undeserving the sheep may be.

The Call is twofold here: one, however immeasurable God's love is, I need to make myself deserving of that great love of God. If not, I run the risk of depriving myself of that outrageous love, that immeasurable mercy by distancing myself from the Father like that younger son.

The second call is to accept my brother (or sister) who fails! If I do not look kindly on the limitations of my brothers and sisters and show mercy to them, accepting them with forgiveness and forbearance, I would be standing out of the house of my Father, again depriving myself of the mercy and love I can receive without measure!

I need to be filled with joy that the Lord loves me, then nothing will disturb me! I would be ready to experience the mercy of the Father and share the same with the other. When I lack that joy, I would turn so negative that I will deprive myself of all that abundance of love!

Holiness tip for today: Rejoice, be joyful, for the Lord loves you!

Be Careful

Journey to Holiness: Expect the Master's return

March 22, 2019: Friday, Second Week of Lent

Genesis 37: 3-4,12-13,17-28; Matthew 21: 33-43,45-46

Being loved children of God does not exempt us from being careful! Taking care that we do not fall out of gear with the Master who has called us, is a legitimate concern we need to have. Within the design of the Lord there is an eternal stock of mercy, but at times we may make choices and decisions that might remove us from the whole circle of mercy!

Speaking to the Young, they ask with alarm, 'will God never punish'...'he will punish at an extreme level won't he? '...'does the mercy of God exclude punishments for sins?'...these are genuine attempts the young make to balance between mercy and justice on the part of God. It is important to tell them, 'you need not try too hard to paint God in a balanced picture'! God need not be an equal balance of justice and mercy, the Lord is merciful in God's justice too! God's justice in a way, in a great way, includes an abundance of mercy. But that in no way makes it easy for the one who decides to stay away from the mercy of God! 

Be careful to choose the mercy of God; take care to submit yourself willingly to the mercy of God. When the Master returns He must find you within this ambient of mercy, if not it would have been your fault.

Holiness tip for today: Take care of every moment and remain acceptable in the eyes of the Lord, always!

Be Wise

Journey to Holiness: Know, understand and act.

March 21, 2019: Thursday, Second week of Lent

Jeremiah 17: 5-10; Luke 16: 19-31

Every thing in this world is passing. Wealth or power or relationships or popularity - everything is just for a while. Knowing this is one thing, but living by it and making convictions based on it, is completely another. We know it well that what we gain by our effort here, lasts but sometime; still we hold on to them: our titles, our accomplishments, our status, our social image and so on. The Word today reminds us, to face facts. 

It challenges us to begin to understand what we know and act on what we truly understand. If I know nothing in this world lasts forever, I would understand it is not worth giving my life for it. If I understand it is not worth giving my life for something, I would not make that my priority over others. Where does the problem lie? Why am I lost in things that do not really matter? Why is it that I know something but still I live contrary to it?

God alone lasts forever; and what comes from God alone matters truly. Wisdom is when I come to realise that I know this fact and I begin to restructure my life based on that conviction. The greater challenge is to resist the temptation of giving up in between and ape the standards of a lesser order. God alone matters and it is wisdom that helps me understand that.

Holiness tip for today: In God alone, put your trust.

Be Different

Journey to Holiness: Do not conform to the world

March 20, 2019: Wednesday, Second week in Lent

Jeremiah 18: 18-20; Matthew 20: 17-28

The world tells you to lead; the Word tells you, be led. The world tells you to rule;, the Word bids you, submit. The world tells you to prove yourself; the Word counsels you, be yourself. The world tells you to compete; the Word calls you, collaborate. The world tells you to be the first; the Word reminds you, be the least. The world tells you to dominate; the Word commissions you, serve. The world tells you to go up; the Word challenges you, grow up.

Do not conform to the world, lest you would not belong to Christ! You have a special task: to be different so that you inspire people to be different, and thus make a difference to this world, making it a different place to live. Yes, the crux is, be different!

Your life should make people conspire against you, because you stand out in the crowd, standing for the Reign values of righteousness, peace and joy. Serve, suffer and slog for the least, the lost and the last, you would have done it for the Lord. Power, pleasure and passivity in the face of the miseries around you, will count you among the insensitive lot. To be authentically a Christ-ian, be different. Are you ready to be branded, ridiculed, trodden upon? If yes, you are a true disciple of Christ.

Holiness tip for today: Be different, and make a difference.

Be Fulfillment

Journey to Holiness: Stand on the promises of God!

Celebrating St. Joseph, the Spouse of Mary

2 Sam 7: 4-5,12-14,16; Rom 4: 13,16-18,22; Mt 1:16,18-21,24

The Solemnity today is considered an exception granted by the Church to deviate from the Lenten sobriety. However, in our reflections on the journey to holiness it does not break the continuity, rather deepens it with the wonderful example of St. Joseph. 

St. Joseph embodied a great number of fulfillments of the Lord's promises... that is the key to understand today's Word. Beginning from the promise given to David through Prophet Nathan and ending with the interpretation given by St. Paul about those who stand by the promises of the Lord, Joseph is figured as a sign of the fulfillment of the Lord's promises. 

How does St. Joseph stand out as a sign of Fulfillment...that would be the holiness tip we take to heart today. He was Simple, Silent and Single-minded!

Joseph was simple, he never wished to complicate issues. Even when he wanted to reject Mary due to the information he had, he wanted to do it in a very unnoticed manner. He remains all through the Gospel too, an unnoticed simple saint and that is why God deigns to fulfill God's promises through him.

Joseph was silent, he does not speak even at places where he could have made some solemn pronouncements.. like after great events like, the vision to accept Mary, or the warning to run away to Egypt, or the event of finding lost Jesus in the temple. Joseph remains in holy silence just cooperating with the Will of God.

Joseph was single-minded in his commitment to carrying out what God wanted. He had no second opinions when it came to obeying orders from the Lord. It was this single-mindedness that made him receive those visions: because he was so filled with the anxiety to do the will of the Father who sent him, that he had clear directions in and through those dreams!

Holiness tip for today: Be simple, be silent, be single-minded: be fulfillment!

Be Aware

Journey to Holiness: See the truth, even if it hurts

March 18, 2019: Monday, Second week of Lent

Daniel 9: 4-10; Luke 6: 36-38

Truth is what is. It never changes according to one's convenience or inconvenience. Much of the virtues that are at stake these days can be traced back to one tendency as a source: the unwillingness to see the truth. It is not certainly an inability, but an unwillingness and in that, it is a choice, a deliberate choice for the evil.

There is a crime racket that is shaking our State (Tamilnadu) these days...and a couple of days back the mother of one of the accused (although the case of him being the accused is so evident, even from his own admission of it), spoke to the media defending her son, and maligning the name and the character of a victim. This is so typical of the world today. According to these sorts of persons, there is nothing called 'truth', what exists is only what pleases them and what does not! Can this be our lifestyle?

We need to see the truth even if it hurts. If I find myself at fault, I should be courageous enough to admit it. If I find another at fault I should be prophetic enough to point it out and Christian enough to forgive him or her. If I find it impossible to forgive another, can I ever hope to be forgiven by the Lord? How can there be two measures, one which I use and the other which I wish to be used for me by God. The measure is the same and that is truth... hence let us learn to see the truth, however tough it might be!

Holiness tip for Today: Be aware of your need for forgiveness; forgive the other!

Holiness: GROWING INTO HEAVEN

Milestone: THE MOUNTAIN

March 17, 2019: Second Sunday in Lent
Genesis 15: 5-12; Philippians 3:17 - 4:1; Luke 9: 28-36

We find ourselves at the second milestone on our journey to holiness; the second Sunday of Lent and the milestone is the Mountain! After the desert experience, the dry, the empty and the lonely experience, we are led to the mountain experience, an experience of elation, ecstasy and exuberance. We are given this experience to remain focused on the ultimate joy that is in store for us and thus never to lose hope or give up.

Mountain is an experience of joy, excitement, freshness, sunlight, and thrill. On our journey to holiness, these experiences are given as foretastes of the heaven that we are promised with. And we grow through these experiences into heaven. Mountain Experiences are foretastes of heaven, experiences closer in nature to heaven, a preparation towards heaven.

Holding on to the Lord's Covenant: We go up the mountain, holding on to the Covenant that the Lord has made with us, an unfailing security that sustains us in the uphill journey. The Covenant offers us a secure foundation on which to build our entire journey to heaven, the mountain taking us closer to heaven. The first reading today offers us the example of Abraham who founded his life on the promises of the Lord and was ready to give up everything that he had, towards ascending that holy mountain of the Lord. His confidence in the Lord and on the covenant, was rewarded though much late yet in a manner concrete and tangible. 

Keep Climbing in your Commitment: If Covenant is the gift from God, commitment is the response required from us, a way to ascend towards heaven, crossing remarkable milestones. The second reading instructs us how to keep climbing in our commitment towards being transfigured into the image of Christ himself. We know a journey uphill is always tough and demanding, but the fact is that we are being led up by someone who has come from the top and so has a first had experience of not only what it means to be up there but also what it takes to get there. Because, Christ who is from heaven has the experience of having lived through the same life that we have and having reached that heavens, promising us that the same is possible with us.

Be Transformed towards Communion: Heaven is communion, communion with the Father, the Son and the Spirit and we grow into that communion. We are drawn towards it in our daily life, through the mountain experiences of joy and esctasy - but we are not to get stuck there! Like Peter and the other disciples wanted, we might think of laying our tents there. That is not our call; our call is to be continuously transformed into the image and likeness of God, into being children of the Covenant, ever faithful in our climbing, deepening our commitment to be transfigured, that finally we get ourselves transfigured into Christ. 

The Lenten journey is likened to this journey of holiness, growing through the mountain experiences into heaven. Let us resolve to never give up on this journey - neither due to discouragement nor due to presumptuous disillusionment that we have reached heaven much before actually doing so. 

As we find ourselves with the Transfigured Lord on the mountain today, let us keep in mind that we have not reached the destiny as yet. The Lord reminds us this: that it is not enough to see the Lord transfigured and be taken up by that; but it is our call to be transfigured ourselves into the Lord's image and thus grow into the heaven that is promised to us. 

Be Christ

Journey to Holiness: Love genuinely, without measure

March 16, 2019: Saturday, First week of Lent

Deuteronomy 26: 16-19; Matthew 5: 43-48

The Perfection that Christ expects from us is being like him, that is, being love! The love that we speak of is genuine love, a love that is seen even in odd times, specially in odd moments, in spite of odd times! It is not merely being kings and queens of good times! The key question here is: How enduring is your love? 

Jesus becomes the epitome of love, not because he loved us when we were waiting to love him in return; but because he loved us even when we cared the least for his love; as St. Paul observes, he died for us even while we were sinners! 

At time how calculative and how selective we become in sharing our love - is that truly Christ like? Loving genuinely, that is, without measure and without conditions; that is the call that we have today.

Holiness tip for today: Love, without calculating or measuring the cost!