Are you GPS Enabled?

WORD 2day: 5th Saturday of Easter

May 25, 2019: Acts 16: 1-10; John 15: 18-21

Almost gone are those days when people bound for a place that they have never been to,  attempt to find their destinations with the help of people on the road,  bystanders, fellow passengers etc. Now a days with the smart phones everyone is GPS Enabled: Global Positioning System!

Today in the first reading we find the apostles also GPS enabled. They are instructed where to go and where not to go; and not only that what to say and what not to say, seems like an advanced tracking system. Yes, the GPS here is... God's Powerful Spirit.

In Gospel we see Jesus warning them, wherever they went there would be people against them,  because they were his disciples. But he assures that it was no reason to worry because they were GPS enabled: God's Protecting Spirit. 

To us too the message is the same: come what may,  with all the troubles and persecutions true disciples will go on and on; no political power or no manipulating system should stop us from living our life to the full, because we are are GPS Enabled: God's Propelling Spirit.

Let us pay heed to the invitation - to be disciples of Christ in our daily life with all its struggles and temptations, alarms and altercations. Let us ask ourselves: Are we GPS Enabled?

Mary our Mother and Help

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

May 24, 2019: Celebrating the Feast of Mary Help of Christians

Genesis 3: 1-6, 13-15; John 2: 1-11

Mary, the mother of God, mother of Jesus and our Mother, is manifested to us by God, in history and in events of today, as the Help of those who follow her Son, that is, the help of Christians! It is right today to have a look at the role of this Mother within the framework of our faith. 

IN HISTORY... In history we have seen persons, groups, the people of God, saints and saintly leaders of the people of God, founders of religious congregations and martyr witnesses to faith, relating in a very special and personal manner to the Blessed Mother of God. Apart from the fact that Jesus himself presented her to us as our Mother, Mary has stood by every follower and friend of her Son and proved a great protection to them in their lives. Don Bosco is one such, who experienced the constant guidance, benevolence and protection of our Blessed Mother and invoked her in this title: Mary Help of Christians.

IN THE CHURCH... As people of God and specially as Catholic Church we have a special gratitude and filial love for our Blessed Mother because we have been and we are privileged followers of her Son; yes, privileged, special and blessed! How much we have experienced this! We need to feel sorry for those of our own fellow pilgrims in faith, who miss this lovely, loving and lovable mother. The children might disregard their mother and hardly care for her, but the mother would always consider them her children, and consider so with compassion and concern.

IN FAITH... Mary, the Mother of Christ and our Blessed Mother, has an enormous role to play within the salvific plan of God. As the first reading suggests, God had in God's holy will a 'woman' who would usher in the salvation of humanity as a chosen instrument of God. St. Paul refers to this plan in his letter to the Galatians: (4:4) when the fullness of time came God sent God's son through a 'woman'... that is the 'woman' that Jesus is interacting with in the Gospel! What a lovely message from the Word, proposing to us a great model in cooperating with the eternal plan of God. The Message from our Blessed mother is a further explication of this model: 'Do whatever he tells you'.

Mary proves to be a mother and a help to those who are with Christ! The key is to be with Christ: being with, and being with Christ. Let us note the focus here. Our Blessed Mother will never be happy with us coming to her and stopping with her - she wants to and she vows to take us to the Son and that is where our salvation lies. Whether the faithful or those who shepherd the faithful - it would do well for us never to lose sight of this loving desire of our Blessed Mother, that we hold her hand and walk to Jesus. And on this journey she is certainly our mother and our help!

Here is a link to access the proper for this feast... the Mass Prayers, Readings and others (copy and paste it in the URL to find it):

http://opcalendarium.blogspot.com/2012/05/proper-mass-of-mary-help-of-christians.html 

To Remain in Love!

WORD 2day: 5th Thursday of Easter

May 23, 2019: Acts 15: 7-21; John 15: 9-11

Peter, Paul, Barnabas, James... what great names in today's first reading. All heavy weights in faith, the greatest apostles coming together to determine the future course of the Way. The Congregation that was gathered was divided. They had differences of opinions. There was a traditional group, infact James was part of it. There was a progressive group and Paul and Barnabas were championing it. Peter was the bridge, the "pontiff" - right enough! And we see James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem steering the entire discussion in such a godly fashion.

The whole argument was resolved on one fact: what is important is not circumcision nor uncircumcision (cf. Gal 5:6; 6:15) but faith working through love; what is important is REMAINING IN HIS LOVE. That is the crux of Christianity. It is not rules or rubrics, it is not law or legal fulfillments, but the love of Christ that gives meaning to our lives.

True joy that the Lord gives comes from what we are;  it comes from the fact that we are loved,  that we are accepted unconditionally and that we are united to the One who never changes! It is not the various rules and regulations that we uphold that matter but love! Love is all that matters! And in that love that God has for us,  we find our true joy,  complete joy!

 Anything inspired by true and genuine love for God and for the people of God, leads us to true life in God. Anything that divides the people of God and brings hatred among them, is not from God and is against the Spirit of the Lord. 

Keep Reflecting!   

Conflict Resolution - the Christian Mode!

WORD 2day: 5th Wednesday of Easter

May 22, 2019: Acts 15: 1-6; John 15: 1-8

We see a conflict arising in the Early Christian Community - two factions: the Conservatives and the Progressives. When the conflict arose, they immediately fall back to the roots, they come together and resolve it. The moment conflict arose they thought of getting together and not splitting into groups - that is a Christian Attitude.

A truly Christian attitude of conflict resolution is an attitude of unifying, a promotion of solidarity, a strengthening of bond and an assurance of fellowship. The growing number of denominations and divisions within the so-called Christian Community, is a counter witness, says the erstwhile encyclical Evangelii Nuntiandi. The greatest scandal to the world is a divided Church.

It is not so difficult for us to get back to our communion even amidst all conflicts because we are all branches grafted on to a single vine: Jesus Christ! I am the vine says Jesus today, inviting us all to resolve our differences in him. A beautiful tamil hymn on love has an admirable phrase which expresses the following sentiment: let us respect the differences and live in harmony! (வேற்றுமை நிலைகளை மதித்திங்கு ஒற்றுமையுடனே வாழுவோம்) 

The more we are ready to get back to Christ and remain united in the One Lord, the more Christian we remain. Moments when I begin to contemplate division, I am disregarding the vine I am grafted on to. Remaining in Christ is a challenging task indeed - it may at times prove boring and monotonous and not immediate in bearing the results that are expected - but it is the key to being disciples of Christ. It can prove effective in any sort of conflict resolution. 

Fear versus Peace

WORD 2day: 5th Tuesday of Easter

May 21, 2019: Acts 14: 19-28; John 14: 27-31

The other day there was a forward that someone sent, a lady speaking about an alleged intellectual subversion that is happening in India. And her entire argument was that the intellectual cream of the nation is getting together under the patronage of Non-Hindu forces and subverting the entire Hindu Rashtra, and that the dream of Hindu Rashtra is being squashed to nothing. All we could see there was FEAR... clearly a fear that she intended to drive home into the minds of the listeners, giving the example of South Korea which was just 4% Christian in 1900, 18% in 1970s and over 40% in 1990 and she likened that fact to Kerala in India! Very evident, she was working on fear: one, an unfounded fear that she was attempting to establish; and the other, a fear she wanted the simplistic population to be affected by. We see the same in the first reading today - the Jews feared the rising acceptability of the new Way that they witnessed.

On the other hand we have the apostles in the same scenario: Paul and Barnabas and even others. They were calm and composed, fearless and daring, unmoved even in the face of death. What we see here is all PEACE. 

The Word teaches us today, the opposite of Peace is Fear! Where there is fear there is no peace! When fear disappears, Peace reigns. Jesus was about to go, not on a pleasant journey but on a trial and a real suffering unto death, but there is absolutely no trace of fear in him. The reason: he loved his Father and he was convinced his Father loved him! And he wishes that his disciples loved him much, and believed in his love for them. 

When we love God, and when we are convinced of the love that God has for us, we will have a Peace that no fear can take away! Peace be with you!

Phase 2: the plot, power and perseverance

WORD 2day: 5th Monday of Easter

May 20, 2019: Acts 14: 5-18 ; John 14: 21-26

Jesus initiates the next phase... he promises his Spirit who will reside in our hearts and instruct us of the right thing to be done at the right time. The Spirit of truth and counsel, the Spirit of strength and determination. It is the Spirit that makes them so strong and powerful even in the face of the plotters and persecutors! 

The Jews and the non Jews together plot to get rid of the apostles but what triumphed was not the plot but the power of God. The Power of God was getting more and more manifest in the life and works of the apostles and they were bearing an unimaginable witness to the Christ-experience.   

What did the apostles do to acquire such power as to stand before the authorities and systems which seemed so frightening earlier - it was their perseverance. They were threatened, they were beaten up, they were arrested and they were flogged, but nothing could stop them for living their life for the Lord and for the Lord's message.

The plots will abound even in our life, but if we are strong in our mind and heart, these plots will be overcome by the power of the Lord, invested within me by the Lord. Make us strong O Lord.

AGENTS OF NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH

Behold, I make all things new!

Fifth Sunday of Easter: May 19, 2019

Acts 14: 21-27; Revelations 21:1-5; John 13: 31-33,34-35

- The times are bad; there is evil every where. Why is there so much of killings and violence; war and terrorism; where is humanity going today?

- Bomb blasts, terrorist attacks, political unrest and threats of nuclear war – what is brewing in today’s world?

- Poverty, misery, hunger and starvation – is it true that the world does not have enough for all? These have become common starters for a discussion today!

‘He will dwell with them and they shall be his people’, reminds the Second reading today… As people of God, what is our responsibility? It is to listen and believe in the words the Lord says today – Behold I make all things new! We cannot give into desperation! No, we cannot! “Never lose hope, Do not let yourself be robbed of hope!” cries our beloved holy father, Pope Francis. Yes, our call is to assist the Creator to make all things new – to behold a new heaven and a new earth! 

The Liturgy today presents to us the invitation, the challenge to assist at the creation of this new heaven and new earth amidst the cries of agony and apathy. Not only does it beckon us to the task, but outlines the way to accomplish the task – a line of action with three key elements: Primacy of God, Care of the least and the Commandment of Love. 

The First reading offers a compelling example   - the first community of disciples, existed for the gospel and lived in faith, in a spirit of prayer and fasting! Their life was a testimony to the marvels that God accomplished every day in and through their lives, because they live constantly in the presence of God. The primacy of God is in crisis today – and that explains the whole lot of tribulations that humanity faces today. Hence the first line of action is to reinstate the primacy of God. 

The Care of the least, the concern for those who are suffering, the commitment to the marginalized, the prophecy that challenges the neglected justice and denied rights – is an inalienable part of this process of creating new heaven and new earth. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more. And the Lord will do it through you and me! Every hand of a disciple of Christ should wipe the tears in the eyes of those in agony. Every word of a Christian should give new life to those who have lost hope. Every community of faith should sustain those who mourn and cry in society around itself. 

Commandment of Love, comes as the essence and the summary of the whole Christian presence. Christ speaks of the time that he will not be with his disciples and immediately presents them with the Commandment of love, as if to say – where there is love there is Christ. The corollary is more significant and consequential – where there is no love there is no Christ. “By this all will know that you are my disciples – if you have love for one another!” One cannot build the new heaven and the new earth, without a genuine Christ-like love in one’s heart.

Today there are many who propose projects and make manifestos  those who gather masses and garner public opinion, those who initiate movements and influence the society - all in the name of creating a new social order or creating a new world, in the name of progress and development. The Word today gives us the touchstone of Christian outlook - the commandment of love. St. Augustine said it in beautiful words, "Love, and do what you will. If you keep silence, do it out of love. If you cry out, do it our of love. If you refrain from punishing, do it out of love." 

Give God the primacy in daily life, Care for the least, the suffering and those in need around you, Love one another as Christ loves you - and you will be able to see the new heaven and the new earth, that is the Reign of God on earth. This is what the Lord tells you and me today!

May your Reign come O Lord!

Traces of Eternal Life

WORD 2day: 4th Saturday of Easter

May 18, 2019: Acts 13: 44-52; John 14: 7-14

These days we are listening to the Word from St. John. For St. John, Eternal Life is the concrete difference that Christ makes in our lives. John uses the term "eternal life" 18 times in his Gospel. 

What is eternal  life... is it a life at the end of this life? That's how our human mind calculates. But eternal life is life that is timeless. That is a gift that God has already placed within us. We need to grow more and more aware of it.

There are traces of the eternal within us and there are steps to become aware of it: recognising the gift that life is, is the first step, where the Giver has a big role to play!

The second step is to live life the way the Lord wants me: as we reflected just recently that the Father's commandments is eternal life. This consists of living my life to the full.

The third step is to be ready to give that life up for the sake of the One who gave that life to me. That is the highest union with life itself: the fullness of eternal life where we realise the Life within us,  the Lord within us and say like Jesus, the Father and I are one! 

The "Way" of life

WORD 2day: 4th Friday of Easter

May 17, 2019: Acts 13: 26-33; John 14: 1-6

Troubled hearts and confused minds are not so rare to find these days. The degrees may vary but every person of the times seems to be troubled with something or the other. Why are your hearts troubled and why do you go confused, asks the Lord!

I remember once in our Scripture class the professor said "the Word has the answer for everything". And a student retorted, "why then are there confusions and misunderstandings? " The Professor without hesitating replied, "that's because we don't have the right questions!"

When things seem to be going wrong, when apparently there are issues that confuse, let's ask the right questions! Who am I? What am I upto?  Where is my ultimate destiny? What is the grand perspective within which my life is unfolding?

There is answer to all these in the Word today: our Way,  the Way, is ready with an answer for everything in our life, let not our hearts be troubled.

Memories that are Salvific

WORD 2day: 4th Thursday of Easter

May 16, 2019: Acts 13: 13-25; John 13: 16-20

The Word today insists upon our memories! This was one great problem with the people of Israel - they never remembered enough all that the Lord did to them. The walk through the red sea was soon forgotten, they complained about no food; the fall of manna was soon forgotten, they detested the monotony of food; the quails were soon taken for granted, they complained about no water; the water from the rock was soon forgotten they wanted a god amidst them...that is why the Lord brings in the right corrective for them: the Covenant! The codified memory of the way the Lord loved them! 

Jesus wants to leave a memory too...he gives a way to keep his memory alive: in serving each other! 

The antonym to this memory we refer to here, is not forgetfulness but taking for granted! We get so used to things that happen around us, that we do not see anything "extraordinary" in them. Beginning with basic things like waking up to the day, and being able to breathe in and breathe out, and upto the greatest wonder of seeing the simple bread change into the body of Christ, how many things we take for granted on a daily basis! 

A holy mind is a child's mind: everything should seem new and wonderful. This is one reason I thought of wishing a person last week (on his birthday), 'have a wonder-filled year ahead'! 

Let us have a wonder-filled day ahead!