Renewing Christian Hope: Choosing to Change!

THE WORD IN LENT - Wednesday, First week of Lent

February 24, 2021: Jonah 3: 1-10; Luke 11: 29-32

Waking up a sleeping person is not as difficult as waking up someone who pretends to sleep. Lent is all about conversion; and conversion is something absolutely personal. External signs of it are appreciable, but they are not all. At times we can have splendid external signs of religiosity and concern for others while they may merely be hypocrisy and hidden agenda. But the good or bad news is that, God knows our innermost thoughts and yearnings. That is the source of Christian Hope too!

We create and maintain whatever image we would like with those around us, but with God it is always the truth and nothing but truth. It is the absoluteness of Truth that gives us hope. Christian Hope is not a false consolation towards something that does not exist; it is all about the truth, the Truth that God is. When we are with the Truth, we have hope that one day everything will change for the good. And that change begins from within each of us.

Jesus in the Gospel, gives the Jews, the so called chosen people the challenge of the simple people of Nineveh. Even today, the highly sophisticated, the so called devoted, and the self proclaimed Spiritual Masters are given the challenge of the simple and unsophisticated persons who convert, who change in the heart of their hearts toward God. They would be much greater and much closer to the Reign of God than the so-called VIPs! 

Conversion is a matter of the heart... an internal and absolute choice for God. God has never given up hope on us and expects that we will keep growing in true Christian living. Lent is an apt time to make that choice, a personal, internal and sincere choice to change... to change our thoughts and our ways. 

Growing in True Faith: Rethink Prayer!

THE WORD IN LENT - Tuesday, First week of Lent

February 23, 2021: Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 6:7-15

Prayer is a fundamental act of a believer. However, the way we understand it can differ quite drastically. Apart from the clarity that prayer cannot be mere favour list made to God and apart from the comprehensive understanding that prayer should essentially include an act of contrition, that of thanksgiving and of praise along with the petitions made, prayer should be understood basically as a relationship with God. 

My simple personal definition of prayer is, "living our life with God"; with God, every moment of it - joys and sorrows, failures and successes, temptations and threats, difficulties and dreams! All this, with the confidence that the Lord is with me and that God's ways are best that can happen to me at anytime.

Asking for and clamouring for something is very much like a child's relation to his or her father or mother! That is never bad, but remaining all one's life at that level would leave us childish, and not child-like. We need to move to the next levels of submitting into the hands of the Lord; abandoning ourselves to the eternal Will and the powerful Word of the Lord. This we will be able to do only when we trust the Lord as our Father, as someone who protects us always and rescues us when we are in distress.

Let us rethink our outlook on prayer - it is not begging God; neither is it making a wish list to God nor counselling God as to what is best to be done! Prayer is a loving entrustment of ourselves into the hands of God, our loving Father and Mother. Is there a need to rethink your prayer?

As a Rock-based Community

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

February 22, 2021: Celebrating the Chair of St.Peter

1 Peter 5: 1-4; Matthew 16: 13-19

Today we celebrate the pastoral responsibility that the Lord places on the successors of St. Peter - You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. 

The First reading has a few remarkable elements that seem to explain perfectly the role of Papacy: 'presbyter among presbyters', 'not lording over the people', 'being example to the flock'! This is the meaning of guarding the Church against the gates of hell. binding on earth what is against the Kingdom of heaven and loosening on earth all that will build up a community that is worthy of the Lord who has called and commissioned that community. 

This is exactly what Pope Francis is trying to do: stressing the Collegiality of the Bishops as Bishop of Rome, not lording over but challenging everyone with his very life. Restraining from making a hero-idol of himself, but putting the concerns of the people and the suffering world first in the order of importance. 

It is important as a Church that we begin to hearken to his passionate call to live as light of the world and salt of the earth, spreading love and hope to those around us. We have a duty to pray for the Holy Father, as there are so many forces today in the World that wants by all means to destroy the Church and its moral authority on the planet today! And very specially when there are forces from unexpected quarters and in least foreseen forms trying to do away with that rock-based people of God, the Church. 

But let us not fret; the Lord has promised that the gates of hell will never prevail over the Church. In stead, let us strive to remain worthy of that promise, by being communities of genuine faith and integral living. Let us proclaim with all our heart, with the great disciple: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!

On a Pit stop on our Way!

Realise, Renew and Resume!

February 21, 2021: First Sunday in Lent

Genesis 9: 8-15; 1 Peter 3: 18-22; Mark 1: 12-15

We have begun the season of lent, with a reminder that we are all going up to Jerusalem...and on this journey it is time to renew our faith, hope and love! The journey might seem long, but it isn't that long. In comparison to the eternity from which God has chosen us and given us this call to reach Jerusalem, it is but a short journey, however with all its twists and turns, unforeseen drops and sudden bumps, demanding climbs and treacherous slopes and added to all these the faults of out making! On this journey, Lent is like a pit stop! Yes, we are on a pit stop on our way! Pit stops do have their own characteristics and tasks, don't they?

Do you understand pit stops? On a car  race, there are these stops to change the tyre, refuel, service and get back on the track for the rest of the laps! On a journey, specially those that are long, there are these stops to relax, stretch, refuel and start again, towards the destiny. These are pit stops. The season of lent is such a pit stop that we have on our Spiritual journey and they have their own purpose and their own tasks. The readings today remind us of these purposes and tasks.

It is a stop, but with a call to REALISE!

It is a stop, a rest, a pause, a slow down, a brake-moment, but not a moment that is inactive or without anything to do. There is a call to realise! Jesus went to the desert to pray. A withdrawal, yes! But not without any purpose or not without demanding tasks! He had to face the Satan, the temptations, the challenges that he had to overcome in order to realise who he was! 

With the COVID lockdowns and the resultant restrictions, we have long been in a sort of lent! Have we really taken that time to realise the follies of times, the mistakes in our choices, the anomalies in our priorities... or are we just moving on as we have always been, with nothing new to learn and nothing new to look forward to from life? We could have used this time for an overhauling of our spiritual selves, but have we really? Or have we been so busy complaining and coping that we have failed to realise things that have to be attended to? If we feel we haven't managed much out of it, here is an added pint of time - Lent. Let us make use of it, to realise the areas in our life to work on! Jesus made use of that time in the desert, to reinforce his belonging to his Father, his commitment to his mission and his dedication to the task entrusted to him. That is why, the arrest of John did not hinder him, but pushed him forward to set his mission to a start.

It is a halt, but to RENEW and move on!

A pit stop is a halt, but not an end. It is a halt for the movement, but the work continues, there is so much of things to be done - to repair and service, to renew! Peter reminds us of our life tasks in the second reading today - to trust in the pledge we have in the Lord, to open ourselves to the Risen Lord and the cleansing waters of the Spirit, to ride on the waters of salvation towards out destiny. 

We are saved by the death and resurrection of Christ; we are won over by Christ's blood for the salvation that we are promised as children of God. But these are promises and guarantees, and not automatic processes. We have to take our decision to get ourselves washed off the dirt that we have accumulated; we have to refill the fuel of the Spirit that we have depleted within us; we have to repair the broken pieces of the ark of our salvation. We need to mend our relationships; we need to revise our priorities; we need to reconsider our paths; and we need to retrace our journey. Somewhere in the last lap we have missed our way or lost our precision, and this is the time to recalibrate the dimensions of our life. What has been promised to us on the part of the Lord, remains the same - while it is we who have to realign ourselves to the project we had undertaken at the waters of our baptism. Yes, it is a time for renewal, renewing our faith, hope and love, the real fuel for our Spiritual sojourn.

It is a retreat, but only to RESUME and remain afloat!

In the fast moving race, or in the ongoing journey the pit stop can be considered a retreat, a lagging behind, but they are essential in order to resume the rest of the journey or at least the next lap, and remain on the run till the next opportunity to retreat. Noah's Ark is a typical image of this - when he began to build that ark, no one would have understood what he was really upto. But when the floods came and the household began to float, then things came to light... it was the Covenant of the Lord.

The Lord has made a covenant with us - I shall be your God and you shall be my people. And that covenant is the greatest of all guarantees that we have in life...while my God is with me, who can be against me! At times it can happen that I falter on my way, miss the road on my journey, overstep the track on my race...but there is the time to stop, renew and most important, Resume! Looking at where I have gone wrong, taking stock of the faults that have ruined my days, understanding the choices that have costed me dearly, rendering account for the moments wasted and occasions missed to do all the good that I could...these are ways to renew myself and not moments to lose the spirit within me. Confessions, sacrifices, prayers, charity to others...these are instruments of renewal that the Lord offers. They need to goad me on to resume my journey with more intensity and vigour. Just as the Lord gave Noah and the household a brand new chance, so does the Lord give us a chance to start again, pick the pieces of our brokenness and resume our journey. The stop cannot be for long...I cannot lose myself in regret and guilt for too long, I have to pick myself up and start again, start fast, and start strong... because the journey is on, and I go to remain afloat, on the waters of the promises of the Lord.

Lord teach me your ways, we pray today! The way of faith, hope and love: the way of profound faith, the way of unfailing hope and the way of unconditional love. That will keep me moving on!

Growing in True Faith: Lord's day - taking time to love!

THE WORD IN LENT - Saturday after Ash Wednesday

February 20, 2021: Isaiah 58: 9-14; Luke 5: 27-32

Sabbath for the Jews, we know, was sacred and there was a beautiful lesson within it. People are busy making a living, that they forget truly living their life. Jesus did not despise Sabbath, but brought back strongly home the original purpose behind this observance. Jesus teaches us: Sabbath is the time taken to love - to love God and to love neighbours! It is a time to forget about me, mine and my job, and look at the Lord, the persons around me and spend time with them.

Today in our hectic lives, we are so busy running after our work, our so-called progress and our career that we lose sight of so many beautiful things in life - like a filial relationship with God, a loving relationship with our families, a rejuvenating time with our friends...even these have become some corporate affairs to be planned and executed, lacking its spontaneity and warmth. 

I remember once, ringing up to a caterer asking for a meal to be arranged for a big group of persons on a Sunday - he bluntly told me that he cannot, because it was Sunday. "It is enough you arrange it later during the day", I insisted. But he replied with the same determination and clarity of priorities, "I go to Church in the morning and the rest of the day I spend with the family, I don't take up orders on Sunday". He is not one of those top notch business persons to forego an order so lucrative, but he was clear about his priorities - he was absolute about the time set apart for God and for his loved ones.

We would do good to look at Sabbath of the Lord's day not as a legal requirement or as Sunday obligation. As Jesus insists, so does Isaiah - taking time to be with people, to spend time with persons, to share love and be rejuvenated: that is the purpose of the Lord's day. 

Sabbath or the Lord's day therefore is not one day, or certain days; it is a mindset, an attitude, a love with which we give importance to the Other and to the others. Just as this season of Lent, Sabbath should be a time taken regularly to refill our lives with love - for God and for others.

Renewing Christian Hope: Choosing Joy

THE WORD IN LENT - Friday after Ash Wednesday

February 19, 2021: Isaiah 58: 1-9a; Matthew 9: 14-15

What is the purpose of fasting... give it a thought just now, before you proceed to reflect on the Word today. Some one could think to oneself, I wish to come down by at least 10 kilos at the end of the lent! And another could say, the next forty days will help my diabetes! What is your purpose...why do you fast?

What if you fasted the whole day and because of it you get irritated and frown on every one whom you come across? What if you prayed for a long three hours and on coming out you lose your head on the first person you meet! What if you intend to give away everything you have to the poor and the homeless, but you cannot give even a sincere smile to the one living with you at home?

Fasting should make us more controlled; it should make us more detached; more calm and serene! It should fill us with joy that comes from the fact that we have participated in the sufferings of the Lord, not proud of it or haughty about it! Fasting cannot be for feeding one's ego and a means of self-justification. Fasting is a choice, a choice for joy, the joy that comes from Christ, the joy that gave the apostles the courage to go on in spite of the threats and dangers. They were filled with such hope, that no pain would make them lose heart. They were filled with joy to suffer for Christ.

How joyful am I, when I fast? 

True Christian Love: choose life and lose life

THE WORD IN LENT - Thursday after Ash Wednesday

February 18, 2021: Deuteronomy 30: 15-20; Luke 9: 22-25

The Word today sets one thinking, even a bit confusing. The first reading tells us to choose life and the Gospel challenges us to lose life! Do we choose or do we lose it? 

The confusion will be cleared and we will understand that both these injunctions - to choose life and to lose life - are one and the same, if we look at them from the point of view of love, the true Christian love!

True Christian love is about choosing and losing life at one and the same time: choosing life which is God and ready to lose our life for God, and for others in the name of God. The two pronged love that Christ stood for, advocated, lived and died for, is what is spoken of in the Word today. 

Choosing God is choosing life; not to choose God is choosing death! Losing life is being ready to give up one's life for having deliberately chosen God. Choosing life is to choose to love God; losing life is to choose to love God so much that one is ready even to lay one's life down for God and for God's purposes.

Choosing life is to choose the author of life, instead of the spices of life. Those which add taste and colour to life are good but not essential to live. We would be highly mistaken if we give them the priority place in our life. Life is all about choices and choices are made at every instance in life... every word that I choose to say, every thought I entertain, every deed that I choose to do should manifest a will and a commitment to promote life, and life to the full for everyone!

Love teaches us to choose God as a way to choose life; it prepares me to lose my life for the sake of those whom God has entrusted me with, specially the most needy and the most suffering. Love makes my life precious and it is the same love that makes me capable of giving up that life! These are inevitable lessons from the Christ-ian school of love! 

LENT 2021

LENT: Living Enthusiastically the Need for Transformation

Each of us has the need for transformation...and we are reminded of it time and again, if we are spiritually awake! It is not our weakness that makes us truly weak, but our mindlessness of our weakness! That is why the Pope Emeritus often said, 'what is more dangerous than sin, is the loss of the sense of sin.' While Pope Francis incessantly recalls the absolute mercifulness of God in forgiving and extending God's hands of embrace, he repeats with equal insistence the need for conversion - conversion from godlessness to Godliness in our daily lives. 

Once again this year for the season of Lent, the Holy Father insists on the need for renewal, the need for transformation, the need to remain conscious of the journey we are called to make to the holy mount of Jerusalem, the eternal Jerusalem - the Reign of God. 

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem (Mt 20: 18)

Lent: a Time for Renewing Faith, Hope and Love

The Season of Lent this year invites us to journey towards beholding Truth in faith, towards refreshing our lives at the living waters of hope and towards nurturing love as the highest expression of faith and hope. 

The need that we have for transformation is not a guilt-ridden feeling but an enthusiastic reminder. True to its literal meaning, 'filled with God', the enthusiasm that is created is Spirit-given. Repent and believe in the Gospel! Our Transformation is a Need and it has to be Enthusiastically Lived...Living Enthusiastically the Need for Transformation, is the crux of every season of LENT. 

Happy Lent to you!

The dangerous leaven

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 6th week in Ordinary time

February 16, 2021: Genesis 6: 5-8, 7: 1-5, 10; Mark 8: 14-21

The Lord invites us, as God's people to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Another significant role the Lord assigns to us is to be the leaven of goodness; the yeast of the Reign. Jesus uses this image of the leaven - both in the positive sense of the leaven of the Reign, and in the negative sense of the leaven of the pharisees to be avoided.

Today, the Lord warns us of a danger that we become a leaven of insincerity, compromises, mediocrity and hypocrisy. Even though we may not outwardly choose to be blatantly evil, we may live a life of double or multiple standards, a life of total discrepancy; that life would not only be unfit for Reign, it would be dangerously against the Reign.

Getting into the ark of the Lord, that is the Reign of God, is not a simple matter that happens automatically. It is a series of deliberate choices to be made, on a daily basis. It does not happen by decisions others have made on our behalf (something like the parents deciding to baptise the kids), not does it happen by mere enrollment on a roll of members in a society or a community! It is a personal choice and an absolute way of life.

We are at the threshold of a holy season... the holy season of lent which begins tomorrow. What a time to impress on our minds this concrete message!

The true offering: the inner spirit

WORD 2day: Monday, 6th week in Ordinary time

February 15, 2021: Genesis 4: 1-15, 25; Mark 8: 11-13

Have you ever wondered from your childhood memories that you have heard the story as Cain brought some rotten fruits and leftovers, while Abel brought the best of the firstlings from his flock? But take a good look at the story as you read today in the first reading... there is nothing said in the Word that Cain's offering was rotten. Yes, it was not acceptable, but not because it was not of international standards or of the best known quality. 

It is the question from the Lord that gives us the reason why Cain's offering was abominable: because of the heart with which it was offered. His heart was probably filled with envy, pride and malice and that renders even the best of gifts worthless. It is not what we give that matters, but with what kind of a spirit we make the offering we make.

The Gospel presents to us another scene where Jesus is upset with the Pharisees and the Scribes. So many had asked him for healing and miracles...he had no issues with them. But today when they ask for a sign he is worked up. The reason was simple: what lay in their heart as they asked for it. Feelings of animosity, pride, envy and hypocrisy. It was not what they asked that irritated him, but what was there behind what they asked, what was there in their hearts even as they made that demand from him!

When we come to the presence of the Lord to pray, let us check our inner disposition first. Are we worthy to behold the presence of the Lord?