EXTRAORDINARY MISSIONARY MONTH - 4 OCTOBER 2019

COURTESY: Don Bosco Network - South Asia - Mission Office, Delhi

EXTRAORDINARY MISSIONARY MONTH - 3 OCTOBER 2019

COURTESY: Don Bosco Network - South Asia - Mission Office, Delhi

EXTRAORDINARY MISSIONARY MONTH - 2 OCTOBER 2019

COURTESY: Don Bosco Network - South Asia - Mission Office, Delhi

EXTRAORDINARY MISSIONARY MONTH - 1 OCTOBER 2019

COURTESY: Don Bosco Network - South Asia - Mission Office, Delhi

Becoming truly Christ-ian

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

October 4, 2019: Celebrating St. Francis of Assisi

Galatians 6: 14-18; Matthew 11: 28-30

St. Francis has been identified as the person who imitated Christ the closest! His greatness lay in his simplicity, his humility and his love for poverty! That is why when the present Holy Father chose to follow his model, the whole world could not resist taking notice of him...that was nearly 6 years ago! Today, when he continues to the depths of living the values that Francis imbibed from Christ - there is so much criticism, misgivings, name-callings and even threats of schism from some sides!

Where does this challenge come from? Where does the simplicity and humility, singleness of focus come from? Is it a mere showmanship? If so... it just cannot last long! For St. Francis, it came from his realisation of the fact that he was sent; that he was called, called with a specific mission, at a specific time and in his specific context! 

We hear St. Paul speaking of his call and his times: I bear the marks of Christ on my body. Some bible scholars even wonder if St. Paul was given the gift of the stigmata, because of these words from him. But about St. Francis, it is historical that he had them - it was certainly not as much an honour or privilege, as pain and suffering! But that was the call... they bore it for the love of Christ and Christ's mission with which they were sent.

Today, as we thank God for this great Saint from Assisi, let us pray specially for the Holy Father, and for the entire Church which is so battered by all sorts of forces at present. The Word has a promise for us: if we realise the fact that we are specially called and sent by the Lord, we will naturally realise how humble and underserving we are! From that humility and meekness, will surge a sanctity that can make us become living Christs today - that is, becoming truly Christ-ians!

The Joy of the Sent

WORD 2day: Thursday, 26th week in Ordinary time

October 3, 2019: Nehemiah 8:1-12; Luke 10: 1-12

The joy of the Lord is your strength (Neh 8:10), exclaims the first reading today. No doubt, prosperity and progress are a blessing from the Lord. They are great sources of happiness and joy. But they are not the fundamental sources of true happiness and true joy, and certainly not the only sources! 

Today there is almost a racket created and promoted by some self-appointed god-men, who seem to be marketing God and the goodies from God... 'you donate, you shall be blessed', 'you come to this fellowship and all your troubles shall be over', 'you join this church and you shall become prosperous and debt-free'... Prosperity Gospel, in short runs the danger of commodifying God, making God a means towards well being. What is God - some kind of an ATM or a vending machine?

That which gives true and complete joy is the Word of the Lord, the precepts of the Lord, the teachings of the Lord - the holy Will of God. "I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete" (Jn 15:11) said the Lord. 

Jesus' words today make it plain to the world, and particularly to us - what we might imagine to be important - comforts and career, ego and impressions, status and social image - may not be important at all in the final analysis. That which can really give us joy is, to know what the Lord wants from us and live according to that! Because it is the Lord who created us, has called us and sent us.

Let us remember - we are SENT into the world!

The Guardian Angels and We children

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

October 2, 2019: Thanking God for the Guardian Angels

Exodus 23: 20-23; Matthew 18: 1-5,10

One of the earliest things we are taught as children is about the presence and the guidance of the Guardian Angels - whom we celebrate today! Somehow, personally, every time that I have heard of the guardian angels since childhood, I have felt a kind of childlike sentiment within me! 

However, that sentiment is not childish but childlike! Because, without a childlike simplicity, a constant presence of someone may look like an interference, an intrusion, a policing! The world teaches us this attitude, insisting on 'personal freedom', 'individual privacy', 'information security' - everything taken in a highly analogical sense today!

Instead, to look at the other as a pleasant company on the journey, a person to share one's journey with, a person to rely on, someone to have recourse to in need - these involve humility that is so natural to a child, the child would never even be aware that he or she is humble, it is so natural. 

When we truly sport a disposition as that of a child, we shall find ourselves longing for that presence of the Lord, we will hang on every word from the Lord and remain faithful to the Lord in obedience - as the Lord instructs in the first reading today! 

Unless we become like children we cannot enter the Reign of God... Recall the reflection shared two days ago, which re-echoes today's: though it may sound a paradox, let us grow up to be children, only then can we inherit the Reign. 

Towards Jerusalem!!!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

October 1, 2019: Remembering St. Teresa of Child Jesus

Zechariah 8:20-23; Luke 9: 51-56

Towards Jerusalem... we see the decision to go to Jerusalem, both in the first reading and the Gospel. The first reading speaks of people who would want to go to Jerusalem, to witness the glories of the God who stood by the Hebrews through their thick and thin - "let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!" The Gospel presents Jesus who is determined to go to Jerusalem... in spite of knowing what awaits him there; to offer his life for the very people who were so stubborn as to turn their face away from him. 

Jerusalem - is not merely the glorious hill of the presence of the Lord but also a challenge to live up to that presence which demands from us endurance, obedience and primacy of God. It is not easy to be welcoming to the Lord - for when he comes he is very demanding! 

St. Teresa, whom we remember today, was aware of this challenge and willingly took it upon herself. She was ready by her heart, mind, soul and strength to remain continuously and constantly prepared to receive the Lord and remain faithful to the Lord. She died just 24, and within fifty years became a great model in the Church. While she lived, she wanted to be almost everything for the sake of the Lord's love - a contemplative disciple, an active apostle, an ardent missionary, a doctor of the Church, a martyr and even in being a martyr she wanted to be a martyr not in just one way, but in every way possible. Obviously, she was burning with love for the presence of the Lord. 

How eager and longing are we for the presence of the Lord, that is what Jerusalem signifies! Are we ready always to focus our attention towards Jerusalem - that is, do we dare to set our face towards the presence of God?

Growing Up to be Children

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

September 30, 2019: Remembering St. Jerome
Zechariah 8: 1-8; Luke 9: 46-51

"They shall be my people and I will be their God" - the crux of the faith that has been handed down to us through centuries, is this covenant that God made with our ancestors in faith. God has remained faithful ever since. St. Paul reminds us in his letter to Timothy, even "if we are faithless, he remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself" (2Tim 2:13). 

Being God's people means being God's children - and that is being focused totally on God, taking directions from God, and always remaining open and docile to God's promptings, as do the children who are fascinated by their parents. This is where the Word of God comes into play - the Word that came down to reveal the fullness of God to us, is the Word that continues to come down to us, continuously even today, to make us aware and attached to the will of God here and now. But if we do not know the Word who once came down, we will not know the Word that continues to come down even today! 

St. Jerome said that in simple terms: not knowing the scriptures is knowing Christ. Not to know the Word made flesh in time and history, is not to know the Word that comes to us here and now, because the Word is a living Word, a living person, a presence that surrounds us today, here, now, in the very context where we need to make our choices, for or against something.

To be children of God, we need to grow up! It is not growing up from being children, but growing up to be children. Children who are mindful and focused totally on God and what God wants from us, that we do not give into our divisions, partisan feelings, ego trips and self-fulfillments but always remain faithful and attached to God and God alone. Growing up to be children, though it may sound a paradox, let us grow up to be children, only then can we inherit the Reign!

INDIFFERENCE - THE MOST UNCHRISTIAN ATTITUDE OF ALL

Look, think and fight!

29th September, 2019 - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Amos 6: 1,4-7; 1 Timothy 6: 11-16; Luke 16: 19-31

Indifference, the worst of all vices and the most dangerous of all attitudes; it is one thing that the Lord cannot bear! Woe to those who are indifferent, warns prophet Amos. And that is precisely what Jesus presents in his parable too. It is something that God just cannot stand - God will 'spit you' out of God's presence, if you are lukewarm, reveals the Lord himself(Rev 3:16). 

Consider the example of that courageous teen, Greta Thunberg who is standing up to the cause against the exploitation of our common home, the universe (see the resonance of Laudato Si of Pope Francis here)! It is highly disheartening to see, even some Christians maligning her and calling her names! There are those who do that because this pointing-out-the-truth is so difficult for their agenda. But there are others who call her leftist and socialists' puppet - the question is: SO WHAT? "Let Truth come from any side"; learn to look at the truth in its face! One need not hail the girl as the saviour of the world or go behind her into the streets, but can one not see the truth that she is trying to highlight? Whom are we faking, not willing to face the truth? This is indifference to truth: one of the deadly qualities we can find in today's world!  

If you have a living faith, then fight the good fight of the faith, challenges St. Paul through his letter to Timothy today. 'Blessed' are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness(Mt 5:6), not those who remain in their safe havens caring nothing for anyone around. St. Paul recalls to our minds today, how Jesus bore witness to his faith and to the truth right upto his cross! "For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth," declared Jesus with a courage that disturbed Pilate.(Jn 18:37). When it came to bearing witness to truth and righteousness, or feeling compassionate for those who were helpless, or reaching out to the sinners and the outcast, or speaking out for the rights of those who were oppressed - of their right to be healed as sons and daughters of God, of their right to dignity and of their closeness to the Reign of God - Jesus never hesitated; and his true disciples would never hesitate too!

Today we are living in a world that has innumerable justifications for being indifferent towards others - one's duty and family, corrupt system and government, anti-people policies and laws, legitimisation of insensitive craze for development and technology, rapid growth and advancement - the list can go on endlessly. And it is effortlessly easy to cast the blame on some else and hide behind the mask of myself being part of the 'affected' and the 'left behind'. In simple terms, the Word challenges me today to place myself in the shoes of the rich man and look at the world around me! Have I done whatever I could in my context, for justice, righteousness, dignity of all and true freedom of the children of God. If I say, 'what can I really do?' - beware, that could be the visible trace of Indifference within!

Indifference is the most unchristian quality one can have. The readings today outline the three levels in which INDIFFERENCE grows.

FIrst Level: Indifference as a fruit of Blindness - the inability to see the suffering around, the incapacity to sense the heavy burdens that persons around me carry, the failure to feel the unseen tears of those crying out for help... these are unchristian to the core. LOOK says the Lord, perceive the suffering in the eyes of your brother and sister... even if you cannot do much, atleast be there for them!

Second Level: Indifference as a sign of Selfishness - even after seeing the suffering and the pain, if I fail to be moved, if I refuse stand by someone because I could get into problem, or because I could lose my opportunity to go ahead in life, or because I could earn enemies in the bargain, I am unworthy of being called the disciple of the Lord who died for me! THINK of the others, and not solely of yourself, says the Lord. Can I think of anything other than Me, Myself and Mine? I am my brother's keeper!

Third Level: Indifference as a form of Malice - it is a sin! "Silence encourages the tormentor; never the tormented!" says Elie Wiesel an Holocaust survivor, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He continues,"the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference." How perfectly Jesus would agree to these words! For, this is what Jesus meant by that parable! You just cant be silent spectators, you just can't stand by the sidewalks and see things happen, not even sit in the stands and cheer! No... FIGHT the good fight of the faith!

For the sake of the Truth, for the sake of righteousness, for the sake of justice, for the sake of the exploited, for the sake of the voiceless, for the sake of God's will on earth, for the sake of the Reign of God here and now - can I today resolve to do my little part? Do i dare to denounce my Indifference?