Glowing for the love of God

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

June 20, 2020: Remembering the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Isaiah 61: 9-11; Luke 2: 41-51

Following the Sacred Heart, we remember the Immaculate Heart - so fitting and meaningful a tradition! The Heart of Mary, immaculate originally by the grace of God, but manifests more than that... a total dedication to God and the role God has to play in the salvation history of human kind.

The heart of Mary gives us three lessons to live by.

1. The heart was pierced by sorrows as Simeon predicted. In the book of Lamentations, we come across the picture of the lamenting daughter of Sion and Mary is prefigured in this imagery. But no matter how much the heart was was pierced and hurt and tortured, it always glowed for the love of God and the fulfillment of God's will.

2. The heart of Mary was absolutely open to the working of the Spirit and it was at the beck and call of the Word. We see this right from the moment she heard the greeting from the angel. Openness to the Spirit is a matter of the heart and Mary exemplifies it to the utmost.

3. The heart of Our Blessed Mother was filled with 'God-thoughts' and that was because she kept everything that was happening in her life in her heart and pondered over them. She recognised, acknowledged and accepted interventions of God in her life, and found herself being moved and animated by the Lord, the Lord's Word and the Lord's Spirit.

Imitating Mary, let us open our hearts to God, glow for God and allow ourselves to be guided by the Lord and we will experience strongly the presence of the Lord in our hearts. May the Immaculate heart of our Blessed Mother be a guide post on our journey towards the merciful heart of God, our Father and Mother. 

Love made Flesh

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

June 19, 2020: Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Deuteronomy 7: 6-11; 1 John 4: 7-16; Matthew 11: 25-30

Today we celebrate the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the fount of love, the most symbolic expression possible of our relationship with God. The great devotion that we have for the Sacred Heart, has come from and passed through immense experience of God's love in a concrete manner. Sr. Margaret Mary Alacoque was chosen as the champion and apostle for this devotion and today we have a treasure in its form, to reflect upon, to learn from, and to attach ourselves to.

The Sacred Heart symbolises...

1. Covenant: God's initiative in love towards humanity, towards you and me. The heart reminds us of the covenant we have with the Lord - to belong to the Lord, to be people of the Lord! "It is you that the Lord our god has chosen to be God's own people out of all the peoples on earth," says the first reading. 

2. Compassion: God's continued relationship, filled with compassion towards us. The compassion which calls us to 'come and rest'; the wounded, scarred, pierced heart, that offers to heal, soothe and fill our hearts. "Come to me," calls the Lord and promises, "I will give you rest." 

3. Commitment: God's invitation to imitate the total, self-giving love of God. Loving one another is a commitment, not merely a sentiment or a wishful feeling. It is a concrete commitment towards the over-all well being of each other. Only when we love, are we born of God's love; if not, our very sonship or daughtership in relation to God becomes null and void. Anyone who lives in love lives in God, says John in the second reading today. 

Love made flesh, Most Merciful Sacred Heart of Jesus, fill us with the same love that your heart burns with - Amen.

Prayer of the Persons of God

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

June 18, 2020: Sirach 48: 1-14; Matthew 6: 7-15

Elijah and Elisha - they have been churning our minds these days! Wondrous deeds, challenging words, and above all, demanding prayers! There is a characteristic difference in the prayers that persons of God make and that is what Jesus tries to teach us today. Prayer is not about begging God for things that we badly need, it is discussing with God my Father and Mother, the concerns that fill my mind at a point of time.

The Our Father is one such prayer, a prayer of a person of God; a prayer that puts God at the centre and not my needs; a prayer that is bothered not so much about receiving the blessings as about being blessings to others; a prayer that does not seek a secure life but a sincere life; a prayer that is not all about bringing pleasure and happiness to myself, but that which educates and forms me to find my real happiness and pleasure in accepting whatever it is, from God's hands. The prayer of a person of God, is born out of one's life and renews one's life, at one and the same time.

Prophets are persons of God, par excellence. They stand for God, they speak for God and they challenge us on behalf of God. Jesus was a challenging prophet too, and that is why he calls us all to be prophets like him. And in being prophets, the first call is to be persons of God, to be persons who come from God, persons who think in terms of God, persons who strive to grow in the mind of God. And the prayer that they make will manifest this reality without any doubt. 

Let our daily life be in imitation of these prophets, these persons of God; let our daily prayer be a prayer of a person of God.

To stay clear of trivialities

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

June 17, 2020: 2 Kings 2:1, 6-14; Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18

The only condition placed before Elisha, that he may receive a double share of the Spirit possessed by Elijah, was that Elisha should see Elijah being taken away by God. What does it really mean? The challenge here is not to miss what is central  to whatever we are involved in, being distracted with the trivialities.

The Gospel places the same condition before us. The actions that we do will have their true value depending on the fact whether the centrality of the right element was ensured. What we do, will be judged only by the central motivation behind what is done and an unassailable focus that has to be in every thing that we do and we are in our life.

Praying, fasting and alms giving are the three actions mentioned in the Gospel today and they together epitomise the entire religious practice of a Jew. The point is: not to miss what is central to it in getting distracted with the trivialities of human recognition and immediate rewards. Yes, they are trivialities - human recognition and immediate rewards. But these have today taken the centre stage, leaving behind the real centralities.

In our relationship with ourselves, with others and with God, we are invited to pay attention to the most central of all concerns: to do what is most pleasing to God at a given instant. Any other concern is only a triviality, however good and  practical it could be. The spiritual prudence that Jesus teaches us today is to stay clear of the trivialities and place God at the centre and at the core.

The Father's Perfection

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

June 16, 2020: 1 Kings 21: 17-29; Matthew 5: 43-48

Coming to the end of the Beatitudes, Jesus today summarises the beatitudes into just one evocation: be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. And what does that perfection consist of? The essence of it is Love, an unconditional love, a limitless love, a non-judgmental love that respects the inner self of a person and the person's true intentions!

The first reading is an extreme type of an example for God's love and mercy. As the psalms and other books in the Old Testament describe, God always manifested Godself to be slow to anger, abounding in love, ready to forgive and longing to remain in relationship with humanity. Though Ahab's acts were so gruesome, the mere fact that he repented for those and felt sorry for his foolishness, turned the entire issue upside down. Ahab finds favour in the eyes of God, Ahab becomes lovable all over again. Definitely not a solitary case in the history of humanity!

The message is pretty clear. For anyone may it be, the merciful Lord awaits and awaits with an ever burning love, to get us all back into Lord's own embrace for eternity. But this getting back will not happen automatically. It needs more attention to basics through developing traits such as personal integrity, spiritual identity and sense of belonging to the Reign. 

Above all these, we are challenged today to possess the epitome of Christian life style: Love, the Father's Perfection!

That Extra Mile

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

June 15, 2020: 1 Kings 21: 1-16, Matthew 5: 38-42

Jesus presents to us the most impractical of all his teachings... showing the other cheek, giving more of what you are deprived of, and walking that extra mile with the one who tries to take advantage of me. This was in fact the teaching that inspired the "satyagraha" movement of Mahatma Gandhi.

The first reading presents us with the exploitative element that is always present giving us the opportunity to practice our virtues and attain our salvation. At times the evil around us threatens to take the better of us, but the Word today reminds us of a fundamental attitude we are called to: "do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom 12:21).

Looking at the evil that is present, the treacherous exploitative forces around and inhuman policies that deprive the innocent and vulnerable of their ordinary life and its possibilities, there are so many who are prone to adapt the same methodology to fight back: perpetrating evil by violence and killing, justifying exploitation of another category of people by the so-called deprived or making rules and policies that seem to salvage the situation for some but put the rest of the humanity into a sense of hurt and revenge. What is the real solution: it is nothing other than true love, a love that is modelled after the mercy of God, revealed in Christ.

That we can identify ourselves as disciples of Christ, we are expected to be spiritually prepared to allow ourselves be taken for granted without letting the goodness within us go down the drain; we are called to be who we are - good and loving - regardless of what others are! It is of course difficult and demanding...but that alone can make a difference in the world - that extra mile.

SACRAMENT OF THE SELF-GIVING GOD

The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

June 14, 2020: Deuteronomy 8: 2-3, 14b-16a; 1 Corinthians 10: 16-17; John 6: 51-58

It is a beautiful day to think of the most loving mystery of our faith: the Lord becoming our nourishment! God feeds his people and moreover, God feeds the people with God’s own self! What a mystery and how loving to think of it!

One of the most beautiful and meaningful tabernacles that I have seen, I picture it so well in my mind, has a metal carving of a pelican mother, pecking her breast to tear her flesh open and feed her young ones with her own blood dripping from her body. Such a beautiful image to refer to Sacrament contained in that sanctum sanctorum. It is from the famous Christian legend that made the early Christians adapt that symbol for Christ himself.

Jesus' act of giving his body and blood to the believer is in keeping with the identity of the God whom the people of Israel always believed in and experienced. The God of their faith was signified in that act and that is why, when he declared, 'I am the bread from heaven, and those who eat of me shall not die', the people were shocked; some were enraged, many others deserted him! It was indeed a hard teaching for them. But it was a fact: Jesus did give himself, his body and his blood for the everlasting life of the whole world (cf. Jn 6:51). In this act of giving his body and blood, Jesus reveals to us three profound dimensions of God.

The first is, God as a parent: God as Father and Mother, is a fabulous revelation that Jesus has made of God. It was not entirely a new dimension; the people of Israel did experience it in an intense manner. Moses reminds them of that in the first reading... he reminds them of how God walked them through the desert and provided them with the food and drink that they needed. The provident God was actually a father, a mother, a loving parent, though the people preferred to look at him only as an awesome God and an almighty God. Jesus introduced God as "Abba", "Father", a loving parent, a lover par excellence. In giving his body and blood as food, Jesus highlights this element of God, the element of nourishment of the children, the element of feeding and the element of fending for the needs of the children.

Every time we come to the Eucharist, shouldn’t we imagine it as a child coming to the Mother asking for food! Just imagine that scene and the love that is involved in the mother giving the food and the trust with which the child asks for it. That is Eucharist. In this particular time that we find ourselves unable to approach the Lord in this Sacrament, is it not this longing that we need to nurture and treasure within us? Sad it would be if some find nothing lacking, during this experience! Loving it would be, if we long for it and every time we make a spiritual communion express our willingness to stay with the Lord and stay with the Eucharistic love always!

The second dimension is, God as a friend: There is no love greater than a person laying down one's life for one's friend (Jn 15:13). Jesus taught this model and lived it to the letter. As he shared that last supper with his friends he made it very clear to them, that it was a prefigurement of what has to happen on the Cross very shortly. The bread to become his body and the wine to become his blood... we do it in memory of him right until today, in memory of that friend-God who came down to live among us, be like us and give of himself to us.

Every time we break the bread, we are challenged to be friends of God, to imitate his sacrifice, to burn with the same love for our brothers and sisters. The second reading elaborates this. Every time we raise that cup, we are reminded of that last drop of blood that came from his side, reminded us that we are called to live not merely for ourselves, but for others, for those who are in need of love and meaning in life. It is easy to ask the Lord who is my friend…as that person asked Jesus, “who is my neighbour”…but Jesus would never answer that. Jesus would only tell me, to whom I need to be a friend, that is, to whom I need to reach out, to whom I need to give, to whom I need to extend my loving arms! What an eucharistic message that is…to constantly reach out in love!

The third dimension is, God as part of us: The most difficult-to-digest dimension is this: God as part of us, God as dwelling in us! If you eat of this body, you will remain in me and I in you, says Jesus. God wants to remain in us, to dwell in us, to form part of us! God becoming part of us!?! Isn't that kind of scandalous? But that is the truth. What a difference it will make if only we realise and believe in that truth! We will come to you and make our home with you (cf Jn14:23), abide in me as I abide in you (Jn 15:4), you will abide in me and I will abide in you (cf. Jn 6:56)... we find these repeated teachings where Jesus reveals a unique dimension of a God who wishes, longs and seeks to abide, not just with us, but IN us. If we truly understand its implications and effects, we would have attained the eternal life that Jesus promises.

Every time we get down to pray, be it in the family or as a community or personally, we need to picture to ourselves this God, God who is part of us. We are not trying to cry out to a God who is far away; we are not complaining to a God who does not know what is happening in our life; we are not trying to convince a God who does not understand what I am going through… we are getting in touch with that God who dwells within us, who is part of us, who is suffering with us, who is feeling the same loneliness as we do, who is much more close to us than we can ever imagine! Every prayer should remind us of the Eucharistic Union that we celebrate with the Lord, the Eucharistic Union that we are called to live every moment of our life, because God is PART of us.

As we celebrate and thank God for this greatest gift of all, today, let us strive to experience God as our Father, our Mother, our Friend, and above all... Our God as abiding within us. Thus shall we be transformed more and more into Him.

Speaking in Action

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

June 13, 2020: Celebrating St. Anthony of Padua
I Kings 19: 19-21; Matthew 5: 33-37

Do not swear at all; just act! Do not just promise; be righteous and noble! Do not just speak; but live! If at all you speak, let your actions speak before your words, your promises and your propaganda.

Elisha speaks in action, just like Elijah did while he figuratively communicated that he passes on the mandate given to him, to Elisha. Elisha responds in concrete by burning the plow and slaughtering the bulls... that was a response in action, commitment made visible, readiness made absolute. The episode reminds us of the famous phrase, "burning the boats", choosing a point of no return for the sake of the Lord.

The Saint of today is no less an example for the same. St. Antony has a fame that makes him a favourite among most of the people of God. Leaving out the signs and wonders and miracles reported in and through his intercession, one thing that stands out in this person of God, is his complete dedication to God. He lived his entire life, for God, for God's Word and for God's Reign. A saint who not only spoke, but continues to speak in action!

Each of us is invited specifically at our own moment in history to live a call that is specific to each of us. Realising this call and responding to it with a sense of absolute commitment is the message that the readings present to us: not to reflect and come up with some sound and sweet interpretation; but to look for a way of living our faith concretely on a daily basis. Let every word be worthy of being accompanied by an admirable action; let every action of ours be inspired by the Word that has called us and commissions us. 

Let us listen to the Word, and speak the Word, above all, in action.

The Lord in the Gentle Breeze

WORD 2day: Friday, 10th week in Ordinary time

June 12, 2020: I Kings 19: 9a, 11-16; Matthew 5: 27- 32

The storm went thundering, the fire went blazing, but the Lord wasn't there! The Lord of surprises manifests himself in the gentle breeze and gives us the most powerful of all messages: "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps 46:10). We will find the Lord if only we earnestly seek. We will see the face of God, if only we seek it with all our heart. In our daily life and routine, can we truly declare, 'it is your face O Lord that I seek'!

Knowing God, experiencing God and manifesting God is not a matter of accomplishment, but a sense of simple acknowledgement. Knowing God is a grace, for we cannot know God unless God reveals Godself. It is in acknowledgement of that self revelation of God that we are blessed. Experiencing God is possible only if we are open to our daily happenings and the message they have for us. We would miss a treasure, if we fail to meditate on those daily events, even if they are just ordinary simple things! 

Apart from these, that is knowing God and experiencing God, there is something that we have to take upon ourselves, choose to deliberately do, accept the responsibility for: that is, to manifest God. To manifest God, to reveal God, to make people know God, to enable the world experience God - this is a task given to us and when we do it, we are being instruments in the hands of God. That is what we are called to, each in our own way. In our words, our actions, our choices and the way we relate to people we are called to be those who manifest God: will those who seek God, find God in us?

If that has to happen, our daily life has to be a life of simple commitment to the Lord in all its sense. The tasks we undertake, the relationships we enter into, the commitments we accept on ourselves, the daily duties we perform, the normal cares on our shoulders and our minds: these are all ways to our sanctity, provided they are done with a purity of intention that befits the Lord who has called us to all these. This is the meaning of the gentle breeze, the ordinariness of life, the simple routine of the daily existence. 

The Lord in the gentle breeze invites us to personal integrity, simplicity of commitment and purity of intention, on a daily basis, in simple things, in ordinariness of daily life. 

Being Apostles of Encouragement

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

June 11, 2020: Celebrating St. Barnabas, the Apostle of Encouragement

Acts 11: 2b-126, 13: 1-3; Matthew 5: 20-26

The spirit of the Reign is a spirit of encouragement and empowerment, it is not merely cynicism and critique. Barnabas stood for this spirit of the Reign, and that was the reason the apostles named him so - the term Barnabas, meaning 'son of encouragement' (cf. Acts 4:36). Today as we celebrate this Apostle, some one who was not among the 12 nevertheless proved himself equal even to Paul, in his passion for the Reign of God. 

Some characteristics that stand out in Barnabas are his relentless passion for proclamation, his courage to brave all odds, his capacity for being sincere even to the extent of having confrontations with his close friend, Paul (Acts 15). 

The Reign-lessons this great apostle gives us today can be three:

1. Build up persons, that is the way to build up the Reign of God.
Bringing Saul to the Christian community (Acts 9), going errand to solve the confusion within the churches (Acts 11), ready to play the second fiddle for the sake of the common mission... these were the marked traits of this apostle that built up persons around him.

2. Be faithful to the Lord, with a firm heart, that is the way to belong to the Reign.
Be it when they praised him as Zeus, or when things did not go well with the other apostles, or even when he had to part ways with Paul his close collaborator, Barnabas remained firm in what he believed to be right and God's will. That was his way of belonging to the Reign.

3. Rejoice in the matters of the Lord, that is the way to invite people to the Reign.
Barnabas, along with Paul  and later by himself, did go through tough times for the sake of the mission entrusted to him. But nothing stopped him, not even imprisonments and lashes and threats of killing deterred him from rejoicing in the Lord, for the opportunity to suffer for the Word.

Let us take these lessons to heart today, specially in moments of crisis and uncertainty, anxiety and anguish. Let us be encouraged, and be encouragements to the others today. Let us give hope to those around and remain firm in the Lord rejoicing in the encouragement that the Spirit brings us. May the apostle of encouragement, St. Barnabas intercede for us.