Repent from childishness to child-likeness!

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Second Friday

December 13, 2019: Remembering St. Lucy

Isaiah 48: 17-19; Matthew 11: 16-19 

Read the Life of St. Lucy

If we had noticed carefully these days, there is a constant reference in the Gospel this week to John the Baptist. From last Sunday, the Gospel and the preface keep presenting to us the figure of John the Baptist, to challenge us regarding how prepared we are for the Coming of the Lord! 

Today we are made to reflect on the difference between "being childish" and "being child-like." Unless you become like a child you will not enter the Reign of God - but that in no way means you remain childish! Jesus gives a simple example - being childish is being so centered on yourself that you wish everything around you happens as you wish and everyone does what you wish... and said literally, that every one dances to your tunes!

Being childlike, instead, is being prophetic, being like the persons of God who abandon everything into the hands of God with total confidence in God and in God alone. One such example we have in St. Lucy the fourth century martyr whom we celebrate today - a life of total abandonment into the hands of God, as a child into the hands of its father or mother!

Another quality of typical children - that they are single minded. You tell them, 'do this', they are all taken up with that until they do that - their entire mind is occupied with that. Look at the mindset of John the Baptist... or Jesus for that matter... so single minded in their faithfulness to the One who had sent them. Another prophetic character in them.

Let us be like children, let us be child-like; let us single mindedly walk in the path God has planned for us, with our hands in the hands of God. Let us not remain childish, looking for our immediate happiness but grow to be child-like, prophetic and God-loving. Let us Repent from childishness to child-likeness!

Repent and trust in the hand of the Lord!

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Second Thursday

December 12, 2019: Isaiah 41: 13-21; Matthew 11:11-15

News about violence everyday, cry of injustice and unfettered exploitation of the weak, persecutions in the name of religion and venomous maligning of persons and groups owing to the religious and moral values that they hold on to, conniving laws and strategies in the making, outright squashing of truth with might and muscle - these are what we hear on a daily basis these days. Jesus seems to tell us, that this is nothing new! "Since John the Baptist came, upto this present time, the kingdom of Heaven has been subjected to violence", he says. And the first reading adds hopefully, inspite of all these, "Do not be afraid, I shall help you." 

The image that we can behold and ruminate, is that of a child holding the hand of the father or the mother, and braving the whole world around. There may be a whole world of strangers around and some of them may be intending to hurt or harm too, but the child is blissfully secure in the hands of the Father or the Mother... that is what a Christian should be!

Let us never forget that one quintessential truth of Christian faith: we are never alone! The Lord promises today: I, the God of Israel, shall never abandon you! We are preparing to celebrate this truth; that God came to dwell with us. And ever since, God has been with us; and God shall never abandon us! This is one important truth to which we have to repent very often, because we forget it, drift away from in and in the meantime deny it by our actions and choices!

Let us heed the voice of the Lord today, remind ourselves of the ever-present hand of God and Repent and trust in the hand of the Lord!

Repent and be renewed in the Spirit

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Second Wednesday

December 11, 2019: Isaiah 40: 25-31; Matthew 11: 28-30

There's a legend said of the eagles, that they have 70 years of life! But to reach that seventy they have a decisive phase to go through... in their 40s, they say, their talons lose their flexibility and become useless, their beaks become bent and unable to pick any prey. They become weak and malnourished because their prowess is all blunt, with such talons and beaks. What do they do? That is where the beauty lies - they go to a high mountain by themselves pluck out their talons one by one and break their beaks down against the rocks, and wait till they grow back; when the new talons grow they pluck every feather and wait... wait till the new ones grow... with new feathers, new sharp talons and new strong beak, they take off, for a new lease of life! A new life, a renewed life!

What an imagery for the season of advent... to wait on the Lord! Waiting here is not a passive waiting, it is an active renewal, as we said of the eagle... repenting of our ways to put on new life! And those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles! The readings today are profusely filled with hope, a hope that comes from the abundance of love that the Lord has for us! 

It is strengthened by that love, that we can run but still not get weary; even if we are weary, the Lord again invites us, come to me all who are weary, for I shall give you rest. When we feel burdened and stressed, let us picture before our eyes, the Lord with his open arms, like the open wings of the eagle...inviting us into God's love, into God's protection, into God's peaceful presence!

Let us accept this invitation in this season of wait, to Repent and be renewed in the Spirit!

Repent and feel the love of the Shepherd

THE WORD IN ADVENT - Second Tuesday

December 10, 2019: Isaiah 40:1-11; Matthew 18: 12-14

The image we are given to contemplate today is that of the good shepherd with a lamb in his bosom, caressing it with compassion and love! That is what we are in the hands of God. 

It is an humbling experience everyday to realise how much the Lord loves us - in spite of our weaknesses and limitations, repeated failures and endless mistakes. It is enough to contemplate this picture when we feel we are overwhelmed with struggles and surrounded with troubles, we will feel the warmth of his embrace and the consolation of his whispers; despite the enemies that surround us, we will feel a sense of security; and there we will find the strength to begin anew and resume our walk with the Lord. 

"The grass withers, the flower fades"... our life is like that and our promises are so frail. "But the Word of our God will stand for ever" and we are never lost, for the good shepherd will always come in search; will always find us and will gently lead us on! The first reading brings to us this promise and the psalms sings the joys of it. The Gospel instead presents the image to be kept in mind.

The image to be remembered is not only the Good Shepherd who goes in search but also the lamb who lets oneself be found and who cuddles into the warm hands of the caressing Lord. The sacrament of reconciliation, the reconciliation of hearts with the brothers and sisters, a reconciliation to the justice of the Reign as we remember the World Human Rights day - these are concrete itineraries to make our way right back to the Lord. 

Let us Repent and feel the love of the Shepherd!

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF MARY

December 9, 2019: Reminders from the Solemnity

Genesis 3: 9-15, 20; Ephesians 1: 3-6, 11-12; Luke 1: 26-38

We celebrate the Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Mother today, 
yesterday having been a Sunday of Advent.

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Mother - the dogma of faith that Mary, from the moment that she was conceived in her mother's womb, was preserved without the stain of original sin. The celebration of today has 3 reminders for us:

Reminder 1: God's plan for each of us is eternal! God chose to preserve Mary even before she was born, from the moment of her passing from non existence to existence! How true when the Word says, 'You know me even before my bones were being formed in the womb of my mother.' God knows each of us and has a mysterious plan for us from eternity. Is it not true that God has chosen us before the foundations of the world, as St. Paul says.

Reminder 2: It was indeed a grace that Mary was spared from the stain of original sin, but she on her part remained faithful, sinless and wholly belonging to God all her life that she brought this grace of holiness, right upto the end of her life when she was found worthy of another grace - that of Assumption. We were freed from the bond of original sin too, at our baptism. Is it not our duty to bring this baptismal innocence right through to the end of our life that we can find ourselves in the company of saints and angels in union with God almighty!

Reminder 3: For Mary it was a remote preparation to behold the Son of God within her in God's own time. The feast occurs during Advent and reminds us that we are in that place too... to prepare ourselves to behold the Son of God, who wishes to be born in our lives this Christmas.

The Message is clear: God has chosen me from eternity to belong to God. It is my faithful response to this call that will determine my status as God's son or daughter. When I listen to God's word and live by it, God dwells in me, God's word will be born in me, making me the dwelling place, the tabernacle, the temple of the Living God!

REPENT TO THE SPIRIT OF THE REIGN

THE WORD IN ADVENT

December 8, 2019 - Second Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15: 4-9; Matthew 3: 1-12

Repent, for the Reign of God is near! A clarion call from the prophets today, to prepare ourselves in a worthy manner to receive the King. 

The King whom we await is someone different, some one unique, and has a style and outlook totally different from all other rulers that we know of! He does not force himself on us; when he passes by if we are worthy to receive him, he will enter, remain with us and rule in our hearts, our homes and our land! If not, he passes by, and we are the losers... for the axe is already placed at the roots and the worthless shrubs will stand no ground. The readings today instruct us through the great prophets Isaiah and John the Baptist and Apostle Paul, as to our disposition to receive the Reign; they invite us to possess the Spirit of the Reign!

The Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, piety and reverence of the Lord - that is the Spirit we should possess to be people of the Reign. The Reign will come, the Ruler will appear, but the question is, you and me: will we be prepared to receive it today! 

The Reign is not merely plenty and prosperity, it is not merely a state of pleasurable feeling with nothing to worry, at times we imagine so. As St. Paul would define to the Romans, the Reign is Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17); it is this Reign that the prophets announced; it is this Reign that Jesus inaugurated through his life and mission; it is this Reign that we are commissioned to make present in the world today - it is Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit!

"Bear fruits worthy of Repentance" cries the voice in the desert. Our King is a righteous king, righteousness shall be his girdle says Isaiah. Unless we turn to righteousness, make our paths straight, leave the acts of darkness and live as people of light, going about our daily duties with diligence and dedication, we shall never be part of this Reign. The Spirit of Righteousness, is an hallmark of this Reign and it is this spirit that will show us the right way, the right sense and the right direction to take in life.

"Live in harmony with each other" reminds the Apostle. In his days righteousness shall flourish and peace abound, because our King is the Prince of Peace. We are challenged to be peacemakers in our daily life - when so much of competition and corruptions abounds, while people deceive and denounce each other, amidst the political forces that want social unrest and antisocial elements that brood over hurt and harm, we are called to hold together the frail humanity, in peace and serenity, by our thoughts, words and choices all governed by love, the love of God. The Spirit of Peace, would be a distinguishing mark of this Reign and shall hover over our days, healing the hurts and binding us in forgiveness, to build up the Reign of peace and serenity.

We shall give praise to the Lord among the peoples and Sing to the Lord's name, for the Lord comes to Reign, and we are called to be part of the Reign. Righteousness and Peace fills us with joy, the joy of the Lord, the joy of the Spirit, the joy that comes from an endless hope that the Lord fills us with. It is not merely a situation of having no problems, but a sense of inner strength to face everything with the help of the God of endurance and encouragement. The Spirit of Joy is the Spirit of the Reign. That is why the Holy Father Pope Francis repeats so often - a Christian can never be sad, a Christian has to be joyful, because in spite of all the problems of our life, we have the Lord with us! The Spirit fills us with joy, a joy that wells from within us, from that core of our being where God dwells.

Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit - that is the Reign of God... that is the Spirit of the Reign. The Ruler comes...let us make the paths straight, let us imbibe within us the Spirit of the Reign...and we shall welcome the King, we shall inherit the Reign!

Note: This year 8th of December, the Solemnity of Immaculate Conception is celebrated on the 9th as the Sunday of Advent normally takes precedence...

Return! To the Voice of the Lord!

THE WORD IN ADVENT - First Saturday

December 7, 2019: Remembering St. Ambrose
Isaiah 30: 19-21,23-26; Matthew 9:35 - 10:1,5,6-8

God is Gracious, God is Compassionate - that is the key to behold the message of the Word today. Jesus chooses his apostles and sends them out - because he had compassion on the people. Jesus sends the apostles out because there was so much to be done, so much tears to be wiped, so much guilt to be washed, so much suffering to be allayed, so much love to be shared, so much hope to be spread, in order that the Reign of God may truly come. 

The Lord sends you and me today - to go out and share love, spread hope, and build the Reign of God. Do we have doubts as to what we can really do? Never mind, for we will hear the voice of the Master behind us, 'This is the way, walk in it!" (Is 30:21). And that's the voice we are called to be - how can we be, unless we first listen to it ourselves! Hence the call: to return to the voice of the Lord!

The Lord depends on you and me... to take God's compassion to the the needy and the suffering...yes the harvest is plentiful, there is so much to be done! There are people, multitudes who are longing for those words of consolation from the Lord, who are looking for the strength from the Saviour, who are searching for a voice that would lead them on. The Lord depends on you and me... if we are lost to return to that voice; if we are safe, to be that voice to those who are still seeking. 

As God chose Ambrose from the crowd, with just a voice of a child crying out his name, to be raised into a great pastor in the Church, to win over later,  a great saint like Augustine for the Lord, so does God choose you and me today! Yes, it is you and I who have to do it... take the Reign of love and compassion to our brothers and sisters! To hear that Voice and to spread that Voice... for that, first we need to Return, to the Voice of the Lord!

Return! To your senses!

THE WORD IN ADVENT - First Friday

December 6, 2019: Isaiah 29: 17-24; Matthew 9: 27-31

'To see' is a spiritual quality; 'to hear' is a blessed disposition. The Word is full of these imageries today. The first reading speaks of the deaf who will hear, the blind who will begin to see, the lowly who begin to find joy in the Lord and the Gospel recounts one of those encounters where Christ gives sight to a blind person. 

In fact, 'to see' was the sign of the coming of the Lord... when the Baptist asked if Jesus was the Christ to come, Jesus responds saying, 'the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear and the dead are raised' (Lk 7:20,22)! Happy are those who are able to  see these and behold the presence of the Lord. Even amidst us, the glory of the Lord and the concerns of the Lord are ceaselessly being revealed - happy would we be, if only we take notice.

In the Reign of God, all shall possess the spiritual capacity to see and capacity to hear:  we shall all see, because we will have the light of the Lord; we shall hear because we will have the help of our God, as the responsorial psalm teaches us! It is not that the light and the help are not present at times, but that we are not present to them! Hence the call of the Advent today: to return to the Lord, to return to our senses, and see the presence of the Lord.

Yes, we will surely see the Lord face to face in the Reign, but today, in our daily life, we are challenged to see, to look, to hear, to perceive and to find the joy of the Lord in the midst of our routine... Can we, really? If we believe, we will. 

Let us grow everyday in our faith, to really sense the Lord, our light and our salvation. Let us pay heed to the invitation to Return, to our true senses!

Return! Come touch the base!

THE WORD IN ADVENT - First Thursday

December 5, 2019: Isaiah 26:1-6; Matthew 7: 21,24-27

Are you familiar with baseball rules... what is it called when you finish one full round after you leave your initial base? A Home Run! In the military parlance, a person who goes on an air raid for example is said to 'touch the base' when he or she returns after the mission or a part of it is accomplished, for now! Keeping these imageries at the back of our mind, look at the images given in the Word today.

A strong city, a house built on a rock - these are the images we are given to contemplate today. A city with its walls, bulwarks and ramparts signify the strength that each one possesses. The house built on rock signifies the security and the assurance of safety that everyone looks for. After all the battering and the hard work, after all the running and the risks, one looks forward to enter that secure gates of home, to get that home run, to touch base!

In contrast we have the house built on sand which is quick to ruin itself, assailed by the least of the batterings; a city that is unguarded which has all the possibility of attack from within, from outside and from all unprecedented quarters. Just imagine, if this is all that awaits us! The Lord has something secure, strong, firm prepared for us. But it depends if we choose that or not!

The person that we are, the choices that we make, the priorities we have, the criteria we act on, the principles we stand by... these determine whether we choose the strength and the security that the Lord can provide! When these choices, priorities, criteria and principles are all founded on the Lord and the Lord's Word, we enter a city well guarded and a house firmly built on rock. 

That is where the Lord invites us: It's time to check our choices and priorities, get them right and Return! and make a home run, touch the base! 

Return! To the Table of the Lord!

THE WORD IN ADVENT - First Wednesday

December 4, 2019: Isaiah 25:6-10; Matthew 15:29-37

The first reading in various words explains just one fact - that the Lord removes anything between us and God, that separates... the veil or the shroud, the sheet or the web, the tears, and yes, even death! What is the sign of it - that we go sit at the table of the Lord, the banquet that we are reminded of in the first reading and the responsorial psalm.

The Gospel speaks to us of the very many things that can hinder us from experiencing God: sickness, disease, hunger, poverty, crisis, concerns of daily life, our personal handicaps - all these can hinder us from feeling the presence of God with us, block our vision from looking at God's goodness, blind our hearts from living in the presence of the lord, darken our minds from giving glory to God's name! 

The season of advent invites us to come to the Lord, as the crowds came, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the dumb...so are we invited to go to the Lord with our problems, limitations, joys and sorrows...and the word says, "they laid them at his feet and he cured them!" (Mt 15:30) - so shall we do; let us lay them all, every thing that hinders us from living our life to the full, everything that prevents us from receiving the abundance of God's love, let us place them at the Lord's feet and the Lord will certainly heal us!

And then we shall join the banquet of the Lord. Seven loaves were nothing in front of that crowd, but they were transformed into a satisfying banquet. The Lord has the table set - and the Lord invites us, "Return!" Let us return to the table of the Lord!