The Maiden and the Salvation Plan

Instrument, Ideal and Icon!

March 25, 2022: Solemnity of Annunciation of the Lord
Isaiah 7: 10-14, 8:10; Hebrews 10: 4-10; Luke 1: 26-36 

Annunciation is the second exception given us in this lenten journey to celebrate, because this is a key commemoration in relation to the eternal plan of Salvation. To the question whether this is a Solemnity of the Lord or of Mary - we should say "both"! Though it is in fact a solemnity of the Lord (the annunciation of the birth of the Lord), it can well be an invitation to look at our Blessed Mother in the light of the Salvation Plan that the Lord had made for us from all eternity. 

Mary as an Instrument of Salvation - In her wholehearted and trusting 'yes', Mary entered into the special category of collaborators with the Lord in the plan of salvation for the entire humanity. To the extent that some theologians for ages have been claiming the title 'co-mediatrix', the role of Mary in the climax of the Salvific Plan of God, is unforgetable. She is chosen by the Father, as the Mother of God, a singular privilege that none can deny or negate! The invitation is that we give her the due recognition and love her with an immense gratitude for her obedient surrender to the Salvific plan of God. 

Mary as the Ideal of Salvation - In her distinctive and characteristic relationship with her Son, Mary has become a model, an ideal of those who are saved by the Son of God. Mary is certainly the first fruit of the Salvation that Jesus the Christ brought to us human beings. In her assumption we see a great model that she sets, the ideal that she presents, as to what salvation does to us - the rising to incorruptibility! She has been our forerunner in obtaining the fruits of the salvation, in and through Jesus Christ, and passing it on to us, his brothers and sisters. The invitation therefore is to imitate her, in following her Son, as she herself became the most ardent disciple and apostle of her Son. 

Mary as the Icon of the Saved humankind - In her total submission to the Holy Spirit, our Blessed Mother has played to precision her role, not only as the biological mother of the Saviour, but also as someone who heard the Word, beheld the Word within her and lived the Word in her daily life. She not only brought forth the Word into the world, but also lived by the Word all the time that she was in the world. She is given to us in the Holy Spirit, as our intercessor, who can teach us to pray and take our prayers to the presence of the Lord! She is the handmaiden of the Spirit and remains an icon for the entire humankind, assuring every one the salvation that was brought to the world by her Son. 

Let our prayer today be: Mary our Mother, in your humble submission to the Will of God, you brought us Salvation; grant that we may dare to submit to God's will that we be enjoy our salvation, and be instruments of that salvation to all those around us, and to the entire world. Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 

Taking goodness for granted!

THE WORD IN LENT 

Thursday, 3rd week in Lent: March 24, 2022
Jeremiah 7: 23-28; Luke 11: 14-23

One of the dangers that we run into in our day to day life is, taking the goodness of the Lord for granted. The Mercy of the Lord is endless and immeasurable. Yet there is every chance that I may deprive myself of this boundless mercy - yes, it is I who deprives myself of it!

What do you think? A pot kept on an open terrace, after a full day of heavy rain, will it be filled with water? There has been a heavy shower and for such a long time, but still it depends so much on the pot - whether it was kept open or closed, whether it was kept upside down or in its proper position! This is how it is with the mercy of the Lord. It is there for our taking, but if we miss it, we are depriving ourselves of it.

At times in our priorities and choices, we relegate the aspect of staying worthy of the Lord's mercies to such a despicable position that we go far far away from God and have our own existence, independent of God. The fact is that we cannot go too far, for wherever we go, the Lord is with us. Yet, we take that presence, that love and that mercy for granted. Such a painful experience of rejection, that we give the Lord. 

Is this not what the Lord shared already through Hosea (in chapter 11), 'the more I called them, the more they went from me'; 'my people are bent on turning away from me'...what an expression of pain from the Lord! This is what happens with us when we take the goodness of the Lord for granted. We not only reject the goodness from the Lord, but we also place ourselves in a position where we run the danger of ruining our entire existence and its purpose, in our obstinacy and arrogance. And finally we do all we can to blame it on the Lord, saying the Lord punished me or the Lord took his anger out on someone!

One who is not with me is against me, the Lord reminds us. One who does not recognise the goodness of the Lord rejects it and keeps oneself away from it. Let us not harden our hearts!

Walking in the path laid out...

THE WORD IN LENT

Wednesday, 3rd week in Lent - March 23, 2022

Deuteronomy 4: 1, 5-9; Matthew 5: 17-19

Life is a gift, it is not something that we earn for ourselves! If it is a gift, it is received; if it is received, it is given! Life is given and if it is given, it is given for a purpose! The most loving sign of God's care for us is expressed in God's words through Jeremiah: 'For I know the plans that I have for you!' (Jer 29:11). God has a plan, God has a purpose, all that I need to do is just walk in the way that the Lord shows! 

There are times when the way shown agrees with my wishes and I am enthusiastic about it. But when the way shown does not agree with my whims and fancies, I begin to whine and complain! How childish of me! However, that is the reality, and I need to be aware of this tendency of mine, interpreting everything to my convenience and justifying all my negligences with reasons and excuses. 

Obeying the Lord will not be a grudging act, if only I understand it is the Lord who gives me life and God alone knows what I can make of it. Once I begin to absolutise my wishes in life, set up my own races, create my own pathways, hold on to my own goals as if nothing else matters in life, I am bound to undergo frustrations and failures. But the moment I surrender my life in the hands of the Lord and wish to live the way that the Lord leads, seek after goals that the Lord sets, achieve purposes that the Lord offers me, then I will have life, life in all its fullness. 

It is in obeying the Lord that I find the fullness of my life, my life is from the Lord and its purpose is known to no one better than the Lord.

A holy heart is a grateful heart!

THE WORD IN LENT

Tuesday, 3rd week in Lent - March 22, 2022

Daniel 3: 25, 34-43; Matthew 18: 21-35

One fundamental quality of people who are evil, who plot the ruin of others or who do not love others enough, is ingratitude. Showing mercy to others will be an automatic outcome, if a person is mindful of all the good that he or she has received. St. Paul would ask a very poignant question: 'what do you have that you have not received?" (1 Cor 4:7) If we have received so much good and we acknowledge that we have received them all, will we not be considerate that we have to reciprocate the same to others around me: that is the connection between being grateful and being good. 

The parable that Jesus narrates today is a such a beautiful depiction of how we behave at times: receiving in such abundance but so calculative while giving! The man was forgiven an amount that was equal to 15 years wages while he refused to forgive one day's wages someone owed! What a contrast that Jesus presents here... Be mindful of how good the Lord is to you and your goodness will be automatically increase. 

In the first reading we see a cry for help to the Lord but even in that dire situation we do not see or feel any desperation on the part of the one who is making the invocation. There is only trust that stands out. That is a heart that was so mindful of all the good that the Lord had done till then. 

A truly grateful person will grow easily to be holy. Gratitude is, never to take anything for granted: once a person acknowledges every small good that the Lord does to oneself, the person will grow conscious of how indebted one is. That is the beginning of the commitment to repay the goodness of the Lord: can we really do it? The starting point of holiness has to be this: because God is so good, I have to be good; because God is so forgiving, I have to forgive; because God is so holy, I have to be holy!

The Naman Challenge!

THE WORD IN LENT

Monday, 3rd week of Lent - March 21, 2022

2 Kings 5: 1-15; Luke 4:24-30

The age of social media had familiarised us to a culture of challenges... the kiki challenge, the ice-bucket challenge, the 10 year challenge etc... are some which have become famaous of late. What do they intend...they propose a goal to achieve that ordinary seems difficult or ridiculous. They have nothing much to change the quality of life or make a person more enriched than before, unlike the true challenges that helps one to grow!

Today we have Jesus throwing a challenge at us: the Naman Challenge we could call it. The background information for the challenge is given to us by the first reading which speaks to us of Naman, the commander from Syria who travelled all the way to Israel, crosssing over territories and tributaries...because he wanted to find the Prophet, who would heal in the name of the Lord.

The crux of the challenge lies here: to look at Naman who went all the way, without minding the distance and the effort because he heard from a slave girl that there is a prophet in Israel who has the gift from God, to heal him of his skin ailment. The longing for fullness of life drove Naman all that distance. The trust Naman had in the word of that slave girl, took him miles to meet the Servant of God. The deep seated desire of Naman to be cured, made him take up that tedious journey, which otherwise would have been needless and valueless. The challenge involved is: how desirous am I for a wholesome life; how much do I long for the life-giving touch of God? 

The challenge gets more intense, when Jesus underscores another distinct fact: Naman went in search of the man of God; whereas for you, the Son of God has come in search of you! The same is true with us - while it is a challenge to long for the Word of God, the challenge is more intense when the Word comes to us every day, and we are called to receive the Word, listen to the Word and transform our lives - everyday more pure and more holistic. Are we ready for the challenge, the Naman Challenge? 

TO BEAR FRUIT

Because we find ourselves on a holy ground!

Third Sunday in Lent - March 20, 2022

Exodus 3:1-8,13-15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6,10-12; Luke 13:1-9

During a summer, almost a decade ago, I was helping out in a parish in the south of Italy. The Parish Priest was out on his vacation. Those days I would spend time with a few elderly people who were very interested to discuss some issues on God, the Holy Bible and so on, after the morning Mass. Once in the group, a person asked me, does God have a name? I immediately said, "yes..Jesus Christ, the name above all names!" She immediately said,"No, what about God the Father...is there a name?" I cited to her the first reading that we have today, where God reveals God's name... I AM - the one who was, is and will always be for eternity. The elderly lady was so thrilled about it. She kept telling herself, God's name is I AM. when the parish priest returned and I was preparing to leave one of the following days...she told the Parish priest, "you know, God's name is I AM. I got to know from the guest priest!"  The Parish Priest was upset with me. He told me, "Did you tell them that! No, it is not right! That is Yahweh, the God of the Jews. Not ours!" I don't know how you would react... but I cannot forget the remark of that parish priest, 'that is the God of the Jews'... I did not want to pick a discussion with the parish priest, who was certainly not prepared for it, at that time.

'That is the God of the Jews', yes, and that is the God of Jesus Christ. That is the Father of Him who revealed to us in fullness, who God is. Today, as St. Paul tells the Corinthians, we all drink from that Rock, the Rock that gives us God to drink. He, the Rock, calls us today to recognise the real God, whom he came to reveal. In the Gospel today, to his disciples, he clarifies their age old concept of God - that God punishes, that God is wrathful, that God takes God's anger out on the people. Let us be clear, Jesus did not reveal a new God, a different God - but he revealed a different understanding of God, he revealed a new face of God, a face that was being smudged by all the legalism and ritualism of the time - the face of a God who loves unconditionally, who waits patiently, who gives innumerable chances, who however eagerly wants and desires to see you and me bear fruit.

That is the central message of the Liturgy of the Word today - the call to bear fruit. In the first week, we were called to choose God amidst the tests in the deserts of our life; the second week called us to climb the mountain and be transformed in order to belong to God. Today the Word challenges us to bear fruit, because we find ourselves on a holy ground. The Word outlines to us the way to bear fruit - a three point itinerary.

The first challenge is to RECOGNISE GOD - God who is present to us on a daily basis with the superabundance of love. This recognition consists of doing away with all misconceptions of God, not being swayed by the varied conspiracy theories of the New Age! It is to see God and feel God, to realise that we are on the holy ground! We have a treasure that not all are gifted to have - the revelation in Jesus Christ. But it is not for, in any way, judging others or looking down on others, but to recognise the presence of God in our day to day life.

The second challenge is to REMAIN IN GOD - to remain rooted onto the ground, to hold firm to the Father and Mother who has loved us into existence, to love the Son of God who has won us over with his sacrificing love, to listen and pay heed to the Holy Spirit who guides us every moment of our life. To be conscious that the ever surrounding presence of God, calls us to remain united in God, so that every situation of our life can be faced and encountered with that enlightening presence, that warns us of the weaknesses, failures and tendencies to go away from the Lord, and become lifeless, barren and dry.

The third challenge is to constantly RENEW OURSELVES - to renew ourselves constantly towards that dynamic existence that God is. It consists of not only understanding God and recognising God, but understand who we are and what we are called to, in the light of our recognition of God. It is a reminder to constantly verify if we are journeying on the way that leads to where God has called us to be, that state of life where we bear fruit, fruits that will last. We can have no excuses for not bearing the right fruits, because we are on a holy ground - wherever we are is a holy ground, because God surrounds us constantly. However, tough the situation is, God's people bear fruits, fruits that last!

It is logical that if we do not recognise God, we cannot remain in God. And, if we do not remain in God, we cannot bear fruit - for Jesus tells us clearly "without me you can do nothing." If someone raises a doubt, if God will cut us off if we do not bear fruit... the same logic applies: that if we do not bear fruit, it is because we are not in God; if we are not in God, we will wither away by ourselves and there is no alternative! That is why St. Paul urges us today, "if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!"

Let us accept the call of the Word today, recognising God in our daily life, remaining in God every moment and renewing ourselves constantly, to bear fruit, fruit that will last.

St. Joseph - a Saint for our times!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Solemnity of St. Joseph: March 19, 2022
2 Sam 7: 4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22; Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a.

There are a few things that we can observe and admire in Saint Joseph, and above all propose for the world torn today due to egoism and arrogance.

The first is the fact that he was an example of a person who was never dominated by his ego. If he were egoistic, he would have denounced the girl whom he was to marry, when he found her pregnant. If he were egoistic, he would have thrown the dreams and the visions that God gave and done what he willed. The very fact that we do not hear anything in particular about Joseph in the Gospels is already an evidence to the fact that he lived his life without any attachment to his ego.

The second admirable aspect is the quality of listening... when Mary narrated the visit of angel Gabriel he listened, when the angel came and delivered him the message he listened, when the boy Jesus spoke in the temple, his mother questioned him, but Joseph listened!

The World today is in need of these two qualities... to live without egoism and to be ready to listen to the other! Imagine if today the world possessed these two qualities... why should they try to prove their power over the other and for that kill thousands of innocents and affect the well being of so many for decades to come! Imagine if today these two qualities reigned in Christian families and religious communities, what a witness of the Reign of God that would be! Imagine if these two qualities were found in today's individuals, specially individual political leaders who are out of their minds today and international agencies which are stagerring in their choices and priorities, what a world of peace we would create.

Let us imitate St. Joseph in these two qualities - the Spirituality of a Egoless personality and that of a Listening Mentality. Pushing our Ego aside, lending a listening ear to God and to God's people, let’s walk together as people of God, let’s build together the Church of God and let’s profess our faith, loud and clear through our everyday life, with the inspiration and intercession of St. Joseph, a saint for our times.

Truth and the Reign

THE WORD IN LENT

Friday, 2nd week in Lent: March 18, 2022

Genesis 37:3-4,12-13, 17-28; Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-56

People of the Reign can be judged with their relation to the Truth. Truth shall set you free, the Lord said, and it is Truth that shall set you up as a person of the Reign or otherwise! We can have only two dispositions to Truth - one, for it and the other against it. There are no other dispositions in between! There is no neutrality when it comes to Truth; we know well which side we belong to! No one else needs to judge us. 

Look at the episode of Joseph in the first reading - who is more culpable in his regard: those who said, come on let us kill him, or those who wanted to sell him away and not do any harm to him or Rueben who wanted to save him later but remained silent all through what happened to him? Today, regarding the political crisis that is going on in Ukrain, how many of us have taken such stands - some standing with the bloodshed, some trying to see what are our losses and gains in this event, and others standing as by standers hoping for some miraculous way to intervene! Truth hurts - we are either on the side of Truth or against it!

When we are with the Truth we are people of the Reign, and if we are not ready to take the stand for the Truth, we are against it and we cannot be people of the Reign; the Reign that has been entrusted to us as baptised children of God, shall be stripped from our hands and given to those who are more compassionate, more committed to Truth and pure in heart - with no compromises and no fake neutralities. 

When someone, or something, makes us aware of the fact that we are full of compromises and we are truly not for Truth, we still try to silence those facts, oppress those voices, suppress those opinions and eliminate those persons! But let us remember, the stone rejected by the builders shall become the keystone and the Reign shall certainly be built - and we shall be the least there, if we do not stand by Truth. 

Where is the meaning of my life?

THE WORD IN LENT

Thursday, 2nd week in Lent - March 17, 2022

Jeremiah 17: 5-10; Luke 16: 19-31

Where lies the meaning of my life? The society today, the culture today, would easily answer that question. In your social status, in your educational qualification, in the position you hold, in the role you play in your context...and above all, in the money that you have and the riches you possess! Is it not this, that we inculcate in the minds of our younger generation - we insist so much on educational qualifications; we absolutise career; we idolise comfort and riches... do we insist to the same level, on our relationship with God, our faith life and our life in communion with each other? Is it not already an indication, as to where we have hidden the secret of the meaning of our life?

No wonder, humanity is on the run looking for comfort and pleasure, riches and treasure, position and status, popularity and public honour... there are those who are ready to do anything for these and similar goals set by the standards of the world. In the meantime, we not only miss, but trample on so many things: love, compassion, peace, serenity, relationship, sensitivity to the other, respect for the other, ability to reach out to those in need, the possibility of creating a situation of peace and harmony! This run never ends, until the very lives end. If at all this run is abrupty stopped by some mishap, the person suddenly wakes up to the reality of nothingness and meaninglessness! That is life today, in a gist.

For those who have grown with the right perspectives in life - first things first: with God, faith and the original elements of our existential selves - things seem so different in comparison to the hectic and tumultous life of the majority. But the sad part is, that these who have had the right perspectives are made to suffer, feel so bad for their right choices! But do not worry... the Word says... you are like the tree by the waterside, and one day you will bear that fruit that you are called to. All that I need to be mindful today is this question: where really is the meaning of my life?

The logic of the Reign

THE WORD IN LENT

Wednesday, 2nd week in Lent - March 16, 2022

Jeremiah 18: 18-20; Matthew 20: 17-28

However simplistic it may appear, we cannot but contrast between the two logics that are at play in the Word today. One is the logic of the world, which wants everything in its own terms, everything under control and everything serving oneself. All that we do, whether we do it as a competence to be remunerated or a service rendered to the society, has to bring its dividends according to the logic of the world. If I did something, however small it could be, for the society, I need to have its recompense by all means! This is what the society holds and justifies - and it seems in all ways logical.

The logic of the Reing, however, is strangely different: I do everything for the othres; there may not be any recompense, rather sometimes I may be taken to task for the good that I have done; sometimes I may be punished for the sacrifices that I make for the sake of the others; I may give all the time, and all that I have, for others and finally end up with nothing but a load of criticism and opposition... yet I need to go on doing that good. That is the logic of the Reign.

Jesus had a tough time making the disciples understand it, nothing to blame them if we cannot understand it after all that has happened with the coming of Jesus and two millennia after! We still feel more comfortable with the logic of the world which says: get and forget, than with the logic of the Reign which says: give and forgive! The logic of the world says, control and dominate, while the logic of Reign says love and serve! 

It would be opportune to ask ourselves in the depth of our hearts: which logic does dominate in our hearts and in our lives - that of the world or that of the Reign. If the logic of the Reign rules my heart, I will see Reign flowering wherever I am.