Just like a mist!

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 7th week in Ordinary time

February 23, 2022: James 4: 13-17;  Mark 9: 38-40

We are just like the mist; here we are now, and then we are gone! It would  be interesting to turn to the episode of the tower of babel in the book of Genesis... these human beings, if only they were eternal and had endless powers, the world would have been a much dangerous and treacherous place! In spite of being limited and conditioned, how much pride and ego rules our day! Pride and Egoism, are two enemies of simplicity of spirit. 

Pride, is considering oneself greater than the rest, with despise and sometimes even a sense of malice. It can lead to an harmful mentality that can range from looking down on the other, to killing the other! Pride is one of the deadliest of the feelings that can deprive humanity of its serenity and joy.

Egoism, is the tendency to look at everything from the point of view of one's own advantage. For those who are filled with it, no one exists who is more important than themselves. Me, mine and my own, these are the only categories that would make any sense to them. With this one makes himself or herself the world, and closes oneself from the other or the others!

Explained in such hard terms, these may seem some grave psychological problems, but the danger is that, they can be found in each and everyone of us - what differs is the levels of it and the way we are aware and responsible about it. The Word invites us today to make a serious examination of consicience in the presence of the Lord, and see how much of pride and egoism, we have permitted within our hearts. 

May the Spirit of the Lord help us to understand the futility of these tendencies, because we are just like a mist, here today and gone tomorrow. 

Shepherd, Example and Rock

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

February 22, 2022: Celebrating the Chair of St. Peter

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

This is the Chair of St. Peter, above
one of the principle altars
in the Basilica of St. Peter, Vatican.
It is a symbolic reminder
of the Petrine Authority
that has been handed down from age to age,
despite all forces and events
that have vowed to impede it.

Celebrating the Chair of St. Peter is not celebrating the person of Peter, but the authourity given to Peter. This is a fundamental truth of the Catholic Faith, that we are all given with a Shepherd, an example and a Rock on which we are built together as one body of Christ. 

The imageries that are presented today for the authority of St. Peter are very significant, for us today as Catholics. 

First as Shepherd, Peter was called to gather the flock, strengthen their faith and keep them together as one people. Every time there is a rebellion againt the Petrine chair, or the Holy Father, there is a threat to the unity of the Church. Those who cause this division in anyway are responsible and answerable in their conscience to the Head of this one Mystical body. 

Secondly, as an example, as the witness of Christ's suffering and as an elder among elders, Peter's presence was a mediating presence - between the Son of God and the sons and daughters of God. We are all co-heirs in him, but in becoming that we are combining within us, just as Christ did, our human nature and our divine calling. And the Holy Father is given as a sign of that example...a constant reminder for us to keep striving towards our eternal homeland. 

Thirdly, as a Rock, Peter was deliberately asked by Jesus: 'I have prayed that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren' (Lk 22:32). As the Holy Father repeats it often... it is not that he or anyone in that office is a saint already, far from it. And that is exactly what the Church is - a community of weak and sinful persons - but we are all called to be people of a counter culture. The Holy Father becomes the rock, the foundation which enables us to stand firm and strive always to be true witnesses, inspite of all our faults and negligences. 

Today we have a duty to pray for the present Holy Father, as the days go by the forces against this rock, are increasing and growing more vehement. It is certainly not a call to be afraid or frightened, nor is it to spread some curious and dramatic predictions. It is a reminder to unite as a community of people of God, not a simple civil society. The difference lies in prayer! Prayer for our faith, prayers for each other, prayers for the Christian community as a whole and prayers in a special way for the Holy Father, Pope Francis. 

About prayer and wisdom

WORD 2day: Monday, 7th week in Ordinary time

February 21, 2022: James 3:13-18; Mark 9: 14-29

Jesus speaks today of those demons which can be sent out only through prayer and fasting! And it looks like James is naming some of those demons... jealousy and ambition. These are prsented by James as the opposites of wisdom. It is against wisdom that comes from the Spirit to have jealousy and ambition - how true!

Jealousy is a misunderstanding of oneself, in relation to others. It is a constant comparison with the other and a feeling of incompleteness which is imaginary and negative. What can one really do to fill in that incompleteness, which is actually not there! It is a very foolish question, isnt it? That is why it is against wisdom. 

Ambition is a misunderstanding of oneself, in relation to God. God has a plan for me and that which will give me serenity and meaning is a happy surrender to the will of God. When that does not happen and I am all the time worried about proving myself to those around, I kill my serenity and lose my mind. Certainly, that is against wisdom of the Spirit. 

And these evil tendencies from the evil one, miliates against the Spirit within us! That which can save us and lead us to serenity, meaning and inner joy is Prayer to the Spirit and the Wisdom from the Spirit.

LOVE AND BE LOVED!

My identity, my mission and a promise!

February 20, 2022: Seventh Sunday in Ordinary time

Samuel 26: 2, 7-9,11-13, 22-23;  1 Corinthians 15:45-49; Luke 6: 27-38

The more we love, the more shall we be loved... loved by the Lord, loved by our fellow beings, and loved by the entire universe around. It is not that the Lord God lays a condition to love us, but the fact is that, we shall be able to experience the unconditional love of God as much as we are ready to love one another. Today we have an interesting set of readings, that impress on us why David was loved by God and by his people,  how God's love promises us a dignity that is incredibly immense and how love alone can set us apart as the people of God. It is not merely a romantic reflection on the value of love, but a concrete explanation of what it entails to really love!

To love is to forgive; it hurts, but it is my identity. At times love is imagined to be some kind of a pleasant feeling and ecstatic experience. But it is not all. Love involves hurts, pains and heart aches. It consists of forgiveness... showing the other cheek, blessing those who curse, and respecting those who vow to destroy you. True love hurts... not the one who is loved, but the one who loves. The one who loves, empties oneself to truly love the other. The best of example is the mystery of Incarnation itself - for God so loved the world that God gave God's only son as a ransom! Can we ask a question, 'why'? Why should God do this? The question does not stand, because it is the very identity of God. God is love. 

We are called to the same mode of living, because that is our identity too! We are created in the image of God; God is love and therefore our image, our identity is love! Anything against it is a distortion of that image. Today when forces speak against and work against the Christian people and the Church, what do we do? We love. Our identity is love. In that love we forgive, we express compassion, we spread love! Be it in the family, or in the society, we need to keep this identity very clear. We are sons and daughters of Love, and therefore, love is our identity.

To love is to give; it drains me, but it is my mission. Love one another as I have loved you, said Jesus and one of the simplest proofs that he gave for one who loves is, Giving. One who loves gives. God loved, God gave - gave everything, absolutely everything. God loves, and God gives! If we love, we need to give, give from what we have and what we are, without measure, without expectation or without any self-benefitting agenda. If I am disciple of Christ, I cannot but give. Giving is a sign of love as a mission. I am sent to give, just as Christ came to give and was sent to give, give of himself, give everything, even his life! So am I, sent to give, because I am sent to love. 

The Martyrs whom we celebrate and venerate... why do we do? Because they died? Because they suffered? Not all who are killed or not all who suffered are proclaimed martyrs...the Church has a wisdom behind to see if they were killed for the faith, if they suffered for their faith. Being killed for faith or suffering for faith means, carrying out the mission of love to the end. I am not sent merely to go and brainwash people and bring them to be baptised! I am sent to love people, to give of myself  in love for the people, to give God's love to people! We can never lose sight of this, because to love is our mission.

To love is to trust; it may look delusive, but it is a promise! When I give and forgive, when I love and do everything for the other, I have a promise that can never fail. That the Lord my God will find me modelled after the image in which I have been created. That I shall attain the fulfilment of my life and life's purpose. David seemed a loser in the eyes of his companions who were with him, for he could have killed Saul and become the king right away! Jesus speaks of allowing ourselves to be robbed, cheated, taken for granted and being treated as the evil ones wish...I may look like a loser, but I am not! I have a promise and I rest on that promise.

When evil forces encamp against us and the wild beastly powers surround us in ambush, strangely we are called to love, to forgive, to give and to do good! It could be governments, or it could be hostile groups, or private individuals or brainwashed mobs... when someone is out there to hurt us and break us, what do we do? It is a pertinent question for a true Christian and a true Christian community any time - we remain firm and continue to love! We continue to serve, we continue to give, we continue to do all the good that we can. Because we are not doing it for the recompense, or for a recognition, or for teaching anyone a lesson. We do it, because we have a promise: that the God who looks on, has a plan for us! 

Nothing should discourage us from loving, because it is our identity to love. Nothing can stop us from loving because it is the very mission that we have been sent with. Nothing needs to motivate us to love, because we have a promise, that when we love, we make ourselves loved. The more we love, the more shall we be loved... loved by the Lord, loved by our fellow beings, and loved by the entire universe around. Let us love, and be loved!

Treating as you please!

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

February 19, 2022: James 3:1-10; Mark 9: 2-13

Being called 'children of God', is a great gift in itself; what can be greater than being called so by God! Just as we heard the voice of the Lord in the Gospel declaring Jesus as the Son of God, so are we children of God... but we need to be transfigured to be declared so my God. Transfigured in the sense that we become or grow to be more and more acceptable in the eyes of God, on a daily basis,

We need to therefore, constantly check our attitudes, actions, and priorities in life. The way we treat and deal with persons around us would be the primary criterion that would determine whether we are acceptable in the eyes of the Lord. The worst of the maltreatments that we mete out to people is by our words, with the weapon of the tongue!

At times we need to ask ourselves, who gave us the permission to "treat people as it pleases us", especially when it comes to the words we use against the others. First of its kind is abusing people with our words - a violence often times underestimated but can really create havoc. A second type is the cynical criticism, that intends no good for the person but only damaging the esteem of the person. The worst of its kind is, gossip and backbiting, an hypocrisy that characterises the evil that lies within us. Once we train our tongue to speak only what is good, truthful and necessary, we would well be on our way towards being acceptable in the eyes of the Lord.

If at all we wish to be called children of God, we need to resolve on one basic principle: that you will respect every person, without any conditions or discriminations; and never to treat the other as you please!

Let my life speak!

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

February 18, 2022: James 2:14-24,26; Mark 8:34-9:1

What would your answer be, if I were to ask you: what is faith according to you? Is it some kind of a belief in a concept? Is it some kind of a memorised truth and assent to it? 

Thoelogically, faith is a response! It is a response given by a person, from within, to a revelation that God gives to a person! The classical definition is that, faith is a personal response to a Self-revealing God. If it is a response, it has to be seen as a response, it has to be seen in action; it cannot remain in the level of a mental assent or a grasp of a concept. If it remains at that stage, it would be incomplete - this is what James says in very concrete terms - If you have faith, show it in action.

Jesus too reiterates the same fact: if you have faith in me, show the world that you have faith in me. How do I show? In my way of life, in my priorities, in the perspective of my decision making, in the way I look at reality, in the way I relate to persons, in the climate that I create around myself, in the kind of society that I promote, in the kind of humanity I uphold! 

What if I claim that I have faith and I am inactive in my Christian commitment? Worse still, what if I declare that I have faith and I do things that are contrary to truth, justice and love? What if I claim to be a disciple of Christ and I act selfish and unjust, discriminatory and insensitive?

It is better that I don't claim by words that I have faith in Christ; let my actions show, let my life speak!

Thinking God's ways!

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

February 17, 2022: James 2: 1-9; Mark 8: 27-33

God's people think in God's ways! It is not enough to call myself a child of God, I need to become one! To become a child of God, I need to grow to be like God in every way, which means my words are God's words, my acts are God's acts, and my thinking is God's ways of thinking! 

Thinking God's ways means thinking love... and love is not favouritism. If I, in the name of love, love only my own and discriminate the others, am I thinking God. Today, there are any number of reasons to discriminate, divide and dehumanise people! Racist thinking, though people say is of the past, there are tendencies today so obvious and so deliberate, where people discriminate on the basis of colour and origins. Casteist thinking in the Indian context for example, as evil as, sometimes much more inhuman than racism and other discriminations. The rich-poor divide, which is increasing enormously by the day, is equally inhuman and there seems to be no way out of it. And to add to all these, with the pandemic today, there is a new type of discrimination on the basis of those who have taken the vaccine and those not! How mean of all of us!

Thinking God's ways means, thinking love; love knows no discrimination, love knows no selfishness, love knows no injustice! Love is ready to suffer for the sake of the other, even when it knows very well that the goodness will not be recognised readily. But thinking God's ways means, thinking truth, thinking justice, thinking equality... it is thinking true love!

Obey the Word or obey the world?

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

February 16, 2022: James 1:19-27; Mark 8: 22-26

What are we called to: to obey the Word, or to obey the world? The "world" here would mean the popular tendency in the society today, to be counter-witnessed by a disciple of Christ, who is in the world, but not of the world. What kind of a witness does the world need today? That which kindles hope, that which renews faith and that which spreads love.

The world teaches to look at persons as trees, objects walking around from where I wish to get all that I can and all that I need. Consumerism, exploitation and the use-and-throw culture of the world today, looks at persons around as sources from where we can get something for ourselves. It is not that we do not know the facts - the facts of indifference and exploitation, the facts of insensitivity to the other and objectification of persons, the facts of looking at everything and everyone in terms of profit and gain! We know the facts, we see the facts, we hear the facts, but we act and live, as if we have not seen or known anything. Because that is what the world teaches... you be about your business.

The Word teaches us to look at persons as persons, plainly and distinctly, as persons with feelings and problems, as persons with needs and responsibilties, as persons with something to offer to us and also with the need to be sustained by us! Compassion, kindness, forgiveness and love - that is what the Word teaches us to offer to others. We know there is nothing that can make us people of God other than compassion; we know it is kindness and mercy alone that can make us children of God; we know that it is only forgiveness that can promote life; we know that without love I cannot call myself a Christian... but at times nothing of this knowledge makes any difference in our choices!

It is not enough to see, we need to percieve; it is not enough to hear the Word, we need to live it; it is not enough to know, we need to live by the Word. Are we ready?

Are we blind or do we wish to be blind?

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

February 15, 2022: James 1: 12-18; Mark 8: 14-21

Why is God testing me so much - have you heard people say this in their difficulties? In fact, this is one of the prominent human questions to the Divine: why me? Why Lord, why have you caused me to suffer? But it would not take long to realise how dumb such a question is, if only we sincerely give a serious thought to it. At times we blame God because we do not see! We are not able to see, but the facts are right before us. 

When an evil befalls, like a war, or a pandemic, or a disaster of many kinds, we ask: why Lord, why this? But if only we pause a while and go into the reasons and causes, would we not be able to see that it has not got to do with God, but with us, with human greed or insensitivity, personal ego or collective indifference, social evil or global exploitation. We do not see, because we are not capable of perceiving it, we are not prepared enough to understand it. 

Worse is the case when we choose not to see, when we prefer not to perceive! There are all the signs of warning about destruction and disaster, but we still choose to go ahead as if there is nothing wrong, because we do not wish to disturb the present system or structure, because we wish to shirk the responsibility from our shoulders, because we resist any inconvenience even if it is for a lasting good in the longer run! And then we find it so easy to blame it on God!

Is it not just that the Lord flings at us all those questions that he does in the Gospel today - do you not understand? do you not see? do you not hear? do you not remember? are you without perception! It is never late, and certain never too early, to take a deep look at the reality of our lives and become aware of the wrong choices and decisions we keep making. Is it so difficult to do? If so, we are either blind or we wish to be blind!

No sign, for those who do not find!

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

February 14, 2022: James 1:1-11; Mark 8: 11-13

Why does this generation ask for a sign... no sign shall be given to this generation! Actually, what Jesus means is - no sign can be given to this generation. Yes, no sign can be given to those who cannot find the signs in what is already happening all around. 

To find the signs of the presence of God and the signs of the lessons of God, one needs the wisdom from the Spirit. And those who need this wisdom, they must ask with faith and no trace of doubt! If only a person is attentive to what is happening around, to what is happening in one's own life, to the effects of the choices one  makes and to the cause of the various effects that one undergoes, he or she shall without fail behold these signs. 

If one is totally taken up with what one is attracted to, totally immersed in the events and experiences that give him the pleasures of the moment, gripped with the likes and dislikes without really attending to the messages from the Lord, the person would be destined to miss the signs. What is the use of giving him or her any number of signs? They would be speckles of sugar sprinkled onto the sea!

The pleasures of life are like the withering grass; the excitements of moments are like the drooping flowers. What looks so splendid at a moment, soon disappears into the think cloud. It is the wisdom of the Lord that makes us understand this all important lesson: what lasts is the law of the Lord, the Word that enlivens us and the Spirit that enlightens. If we cannot find ways of holding on to the teachings of the Lord, founding our lives on the Word of God, and following the promptings of the Spirit of the Lord, we shall profit out of no sign whatsoever!