The Heart Affire

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

June 28, 2019: Ezekiel 34: 11-16; Romans 5: 5-11; Luke 15: 3-7

One of the striking elements of the image of the Sacred Heart is the flame that accompanies it. That is the only thing that this naive generation has left out, from the Sacred Heart, when they adapted its symbol to indicate the love between two people! The heart with an arrow piercing it...you have seen it for sure, haven't you!

But this flame is a special symbol of the Heart of Jesus and it has three significant messages and challenges to give us:

1. Sacrificing: the flame establishes that the sacred heart is a sacrificing heart, not an expecting heart! The flame burns and it consumes the heart...the love that Jesus has for us consumes Jesus...the sacrifice on the Cross, the giving of Jesus' body and blood  -they are all clearly evidences of this quality of the heart of Jesus. How sacrificing is our love?

2. Seeking: the flame is also characteristically something that seeks to reach out. Look at a fire as it burns will it remain in just one spot and be satisfied? No. It seeks. Jesus seeks, seeks to reach out to us, seeks to warm our hearts, seeks to enlighten our paths, seeks to ease our troubles, seeks to meet our needs as a Shepherd seeks the troubled sheep.

3. Shining: the flame is radiant. It shines forth, it shines to invite us to follow the model. The shining flame is an open challenge - can you be like me, can you love like me, can you care for the others like me, can you be sacrificing like me, can you seek to serve others, can you be affire as I am, passionate about filling this world with true love and make it a better place, a heaven on earth, the Reign of God here and now!

Integral Choice for God

WORD 2day: Thursday, 12th week in Ordinary time

June 27, 2019: Genesis 16:1-12, 15-16; Matthew 7: 21-29

Not everyone who says Lord! Lord!, really belongs to the Lord! There is an invitation today to check... between authenticity and duplicity. 

Let's talk of three categories of persons - Pretenders, Performers and Professionals! 

Pretenders are those who try to be something that they really are not, but everyone can see it so obviously that they actually are pretending. These are amateur actors, but they can perfect themselves in the act. 

The Performers are those who perform to the occasion, to the audience, to the moment. Though they are not actually what they act to be, their performance comes very close to reality. 

The Professionals are those who live the character they want to be for the short moment to such a perfection that people begin to equate the character and the person! 

We could be any of these three in our Spirituality - trying to pretend to be someone that people see so clearly that we are not; or performing at certain moments with perfection that comes with practice and repetition; or being professionals who can be taken so easily to be what they appear to be, though it may be solely for certain punctuated moments. None of the three is SUFFICIENT to be an authentic disciple of Christ... What he wants is an integrity where there is no pretension or performance or professional role playing. 

Integrity that Christ demands, requires a ready acceptance of the crosses that come my way once I have chosen a definite way of walking with the Lord. Abraham is given as a model today, as one who struggled his way all through with contradictions, conflicts and difficult choices to make, but he remained faithful. The key is Integrity in the choice for God!

The tree and the fruits

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 12th week in Ordinary time

June 26, 2019: Genesis 15: 1-12, 17,18; Matthew 7: 15-21

Abraham was a man of God, he was the father of the covenantal people! Abraham listened, obeyed, believed and remained loyal to the Lord who called him. Thinking in terms of a tree and its fruits, the Covenant the Lord made was the tree and Abraham's life choices were the fruits. 

The eternal covenant that is made in the blood of Jesus Christ, is the guarantee of the grace and the gift of faith within us. While it is God's action that God has transformed us into God's children in our baptism, our daily life and regular choices have to bear fruits that will make it visible to the world and to ourselves. 

An anonymous author reminds us, 'you may be the only gospel that some one reads! So be careful with the way you live your life!' I am a Christian not merely in my activities and responsibilities; but in every choice of mine, every thought and expression of it, every word and deed at every moment of my life. 

I remember a question once a preacher posed during a retreat, 'if today they detain you for being a Christian, will they find enough evidence in you to implicate you?' A powerful question, extremely simple in its categorical demand that before you call yourself a Christian, prove it to yourself and to others!

Fairness and Justice - a sense of God

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 12th week in Ordinary Time

June 25, 2019: Genesis 13: 2, 5-18; Matthew 7: 6, 12-14

The Word today has a theme that repeats itself over and over again; a theme that is fundamental to understanding what faith is. Abraham, often figured as the father of faith, offers us today a beautiful role model in two of his choices. The first choice is to give up his claim as the elder brother, and allow Lot to make his wish. Lot takes the greener, wealthier and the promising part! The second choice was to walk in the way that the Lord showed... and in these two choices we see the first steps of Abram, towards becoming Abraham!!!

Looking around we see that selfishness and greed, jealousy and competition is the order of the day. Hardly anyone wishes to do anything if that does not bring them dividends at least in some measure or kind. Abraham's dealing with his brother Lot and the suggestion of doing what you would wish others do to you, are narrow doors. Those won't be the kind of behaviour that the mainstream humanity will choose spontaneously today. 

Faith is all about the choices we make on a daily basis! To fret or not to, to despair or not to, to forgive or not to, to love or not to, to give or not to, to proceed or not to, to let go or not to, to remain serene or not to - these are choices that we have to make everyday, at various moments of our waking hours. And at the end of the day, we can surely evaluate whether we have walked through the narrow gate or the broad gate during the day. And the next day is yet another opportunity to begin anew, with all the choices once again in front of us!

Faith is a habit of choosing to do what God wants, choosing to walk the way that God shows, choosing the narrow gate that is tough and less trodden, in simple terms, choosing to walk with God... but as disciples of the Lord, our choice has to be precisely this: a choice for fairness and justice, that would be the right sense of being a person of God. 

We are not here by chance

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

June 24, 2019: Birthday of St. John the Baptist

The Gospels narrate a long list of similarities between the stories of John and Jesus... the apparently 'impossible' conditions in which the mothers conceived, the direct intervention of God in the conception, the apparitions of the angels to the fathers, the prior choice of the name of the child to be born - one simple message is the image of John the Baptist as the precursor of Jesus. But the birth narratives of John and Jesus, together have another important message to reveal to us and that is, we are not here by chance! 

We are part of a complex plan, an eternal design of God. We are willed into existence by God; we are loved into existence, by the Creator! We have a purpose, because God knew us right when we were being formed in the womb of our mothers! We have a special mission because, it is the Lord who has called us by name, even before we were born! We are chosen in the eyes of God, because as St. Paul says, God has chosen us before the foundations of the world in Christ Jesus, to be holy and blameless! 

We are created, called, commissioned and destined to usher in the Reign of God, as John announced the coming of  Christ. Let us become aware of our call, our purpose and our destiny, which is much larger than the petty preoccupations of our daily worries!

THE FEAST OF SELF GIVING

Solemnity of Corpus Christi - June 23, 2019

Genesis 14:18-20; 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26; Luke 9: 11-17

I am the bread come down from heaven, one who eats of this bread will have eternal life!

It is the feast of Self-Giving...total self giving of the Lord who came down from heaven!

The Word has prepared us during the week towards this great celebration...

Giving...

I can give to receive...not just a mundane reception of a return for my giving; but I can give to receive something spiritual, to receive, may be, a blessing from God , to receive an affirmation from the Divine Giver... Melchizedek brought out bread and wine and Abraham gave him the one tenth... all in view of receiving the divine protection.

There was only one who gave, only to be received... notice, it is in passive! He gives, it is upto me to receive or not!!! He gives, to be Received.

The Lord gave the body and the blood and said...do this in remembrance of me... not just to remember him but remember to do what he did, in remembrance of him... to give of myself as he gave, in remembrance of him... He gives, to be Remembered, that he has invited me to give as he gave!

Yes, the Lord invites me to give, as he invited the disciples to give the people to eat...'give them some food yourselves'. It's only when we give the people in need, we remain the Lord's disciples. To make us learn that we need to give always of ourselves to the others in need, He gives, to Remain within us... He comes to us to transform us into Himself, to be givers, to be givers who give of ourselves to others, without passing the buck to someone else.

Yes, the Lord, everyday gives himself to me and so...

HE LIVES IN ME...

Priorities and Perspectives

WORD 2day: Friday, 11th week in Ordinary time

June 21, 2019: 2 Corinthians 11: 18, 21-30; Matthew 6: 19-23

Look to Him and be radiant, inspires the Psalmist today. Eyes... Looking... Seeing... are part of the glossary on one hand today. It is all about our priorities and perspectives we have in life, that is, the point of view from where we wish to understand our life and everyday events. 

On the other hand we have two more terms that orient us to the theme - treasure and boast! To treasure or to boast of something, means to value something dear! To value something dear, defines your perspective on life. What I value, what I treasure, what I boast about, will determine what I want to define my life as! Depending on that which I boast about, my life and its significance assume depth. 

This is exactly why Jesus invites me to guard my eyes, to be careful with my perspective on life, my way of looking at my priorities and things that I give importance to. There could be a great model in St. Paul who enumerates the possible things on which he can boast about, but chooses from them to boast on things that showed his weakness, because he would say in the very next chapter, 'when I am weak then I am strong' (2 Cor 12:10). 

The humble and saintly parish priest, St. John Maria Vianney would say, "if people would do for God what they do for the world, my dear people, what a number of Christians would go to heaven!" It all depends on what one's perspective is, what one sees to be important, what one sees to be one's treasure and worthy to be boasted about! How true!

The thorn and the Grace

WORD 2day: Saturday, 11th week in Ordinary time

June 22, 2019: 2 Corinthians 12: 1-10; Matthew  6: 24-34

The Thorn and the Grace! Both are within me, what do I choose to see? The question follows from yesterday's reflection, the reflection that the Lord is walking us through. Paul spotted the thorn that intended to hold him down and at the same time the grace at work within him. And he chose to base himself on the grace that is at work and turn the thorn into an experience of feeling the closeness of the presence of God with him. 

Each of us has a thorn, that we need to first identify - may be a habit, or a tendency, or a touchy ego, an over anxiety, an urge to prove oneself, an undue attachment, a passion or longing for something that does not really satisfy! Once we are able to name it, we have the reins in our hands. At times we might falter, but there is always the grace that lifts us up... the loving Lord who brings us up by our hands, the Lord who stays forever close to us, knowing every one of our need and every one of our problems! 

The Lord knows our weakness and the Lord knows our strengths. As St. Paul affirms, the Lord does not allow us to be tempted more than our strength (1 Cor 10:13). Hence it follows that if I tend to fall, it is not because the temptation is beyond my strength but because I have not fully used the strength that is available, the strength that comes from grace and grace alone! 

Let us focus on the grace that accompanies us every day and every moment on the journey of life, and lets turn to it for guidance and light, without any hesitation or fright!

Be ONE... Be not deceived!

WORD 2day: Thursday, 11th week in Ordinary time

June 20, 2019: 2 Corinthians 11: 1-11; Matthew 6: 7-15

One cannot but admire the pastoral heart of St. Paul, in today's first reading. A heart that bleeds to see his own people, his 'children' as they were, being assailed by other preachers, other gospels and other attractions, so easily and so readily! What about today, when I see my brothers and sisters so readily falling for eloquence in preaching, vivacity in worship, emotional satisfaction, logicality in reasoning, the capacity for quoting from memory, the free flow of words and phrases that are so beautiful and soothing to hear... it bleeds even today! 

I, personally, have often been remarked by persons as being too conservative or fanatic about the Catholic Church... this is certainly not about that! It is about calling God, OUR Father and Mother... being ONE REIGN OF GOD, doing as brothers and sisters TOGETHER the will of God on earth as in heaven; it is about forgiving the shortcomings of others in the community, the shortcomings of the community itself and staying on, as one community, facing the struggles and temptations as ONE community, overcoming all evil! 

Let us not today get lost in the beauty and the splendour of the Lord's Prayer - that is not the message of the Word... it is all about being a community that is worthy of praying that prayer!  Evangelii Nuntiandi, the Apostolic Letter of Pope Paul VI (art.no.77) says, "the division among Christians is a serious reality which impedes the very work of Christ." Being of one heart and one mind, believing in the One Gospel that is handed down to us, is the highest witness we can give the world today, in every sphere of life! 

The Call to Sacred Interiority

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 11th week in Ordinary time 

June 19, 2019: 2 Corinthians 9: 6-11; Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18

I know a person, a good friend of mine,  who is a trainer. He does the training of the younger cadets of the organisation that he was trained in. He distributes training kits and accessories on his own cost to those young trainees and does not receive any payment for his services other than the train ticket for his travel up and down! This has been going on for quite a few years now and I have not revealed his identity because he will not like it absolutely!

The true value of whatever we do depends more on 'why' we do than on 'what' we do. What we do, will vary according to our ability and the context-provided possibilities. But the why, will never change whether what I do increases or reduces. What I wish to reap I will reap; if it is popularity or publicity that I wish,  exactly that I shall reap! If it is true satisfaction and divine interior joy that I wish, precisely that the Almighty will grant! 

Interiority - that is the key word today, while the world keeps shouting out to us, "Get Noticed!" Much of the Spiritual journey is made in the portals of interiority. The capacity to live on the basis of one's personal convictions formed out of concrete experiences and wise judgements, guided and illumined by the inner light of the Spirit of God, is what we understand to be Interiority. 

Cheerful  giving, silent piety, hidden alms, secret sacrifices, tranquil spirituality... these are a few signs of interiority that readings point out today. Few more we could think of are hopeful spirit, realistic optimism, humble gratitude, genuine fellowship, unconditional forgiveness, simple behaviour, reflective thinking, compassionate listening, and so on. A person of interiority is like a still spring and a silent stream, they appear still and silent, but there is life within them. They look quite and ordinary, but within them resides the powerful Spirit of the all powerful God. Does it sound too philosophical? Yes, interiority takes you by force, it drags you in and tethers your mind around something that you cannot speak enough about. That is why great sages of our tradition have spoken very little and mostly in aphorisms; that is why Jesus spoke always in parables and metaphors. Let this call guide our day today - the call to a sacred interiority!