To be the compassion of God...

WORD 2day: Monday, 14th week in Ordinary time

July 4, 2022: Hosea 2:16, 17c-18, 21-22; Matthew 9: 18-26

We begin to hear from Hosea from today... and Hosea brings out an intense dimension of God's love towards us. He offers the analogy of a spousal love to the relationship between God and God's people. A reminder to us, of the how compassionate God is towards God's children.

Jesus brings out the same compassion in his own way, his heart goes out to the woman with the suffering and his tender love reaches out to the girl on the death bed. The readings present to us Jesus, as the compassion of God and in doing so has an underlying commission to us. We are called and challenged to be the compassion of God in our own way, wherever we are and in whatever we do.

In these times when the very meaning and implications of love is misunderstood, misinterpretted or insensitively neglected, when faithfulness and mutual commitment in family living is more and more under crisis, when possessions and positions mean much more than persons... the message is truly challenging - to be the compasion of God to others. 

A prerequisite would be that we first open ourselves to that compassion of God... like that lady who sought to touch at least the elm of the garment of Christ! She knew touching Christ or Christ touching her would change the entire life for her and she believed so firmly in that. The world today needs to have this openness to God, to open ourselves to the touch of God! We too, with all our pious practices and devotions, may forget to really open the core of our hearts to the Lord. If only we allow the Lord to touch us, we shall be transformed into the Lord's compassion for everyone around us.

Today, let us be conscious of every moment when the Lord gives us an opportunity to be God's compassion to others in our own way. Though little deeds, they might go a long way in making the day blessed for us and for the others.

HE CAME... HE DIED!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

July 3, 2022: Celebrating St. Thomas the Apostle to India

Isaiah 52: 7-10; Ephesians 2: 19-22; John 20: 24-29

The one who said, "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (Jn 11:16)...
went all the way in his life for his Saviour...
and upto India, he came, and he died!!!

The Apostles are the foundations of our faith says the reading and the liturgy proclaims the same truth too! Celebrating St. Thomas today, the diverse legends notwithstanding, we thank God for this great Apostle, specially for having brought Christian faith to the South of India. 

"Bringing Faith", "Passing on Faith", "Transmitting or Communicating Faith" - these terms puzzle me. Faith is a gift from God, a grace, an inspired response given by a person to the Self-revealing God! If so, can faith be 'brought', 'passed on' or 'transmitted or communicated'? The question does not in anyway negate the process that is referred to here with gratitude and recognition of history; instead it offers an opportunity to bring forth a nuance that dazzles within it.

Transmitting faith or Communicating faith, means primarily testimony of one's faith, that inspires faith in others! The testimony of one's personal response to God, that inspires the others to respond likewise! The Apostles' way of transmitting faith was that, they responded to the God who revealed God's self and in that response they challenged all who were around to respond to the same Lord!

The story told of St. Thomas and his evangelising activity in the southern part of India, is basically a testimony lived and held out as a challenge. The Challenge is not merely to accept the testimony, but to become a testimony ourselves and continue being the salt and the light of the earth! 

Feast of St. Thomas leaves us with three lessons...

1. We are One Church built on the Apostles.

The feasts of the apostles, any apostle for that matter, is a reminder of the essential unity that has to exist within the Church. As Paul so vehemently opposes (cf. I Cor 1:10-13), right from the earliest times division has always been a dreaded scandal within the Church. In spite of this reality, the divided body of Christ today drains the Church of its witnessing power and evangelical authority. 

2. The Church in India has a special responsibility. 

The Church in India, boasting a direct handing over of faith by an apostle, has a special responsibility towards establishing the Reign of God on earth. It is unfair to claim privileges but refrain from the duties that come with it. Every person who has received the gift of faith in this country of ancient heritage and culture, has to stand firm in witness to the Gospel thus received challenging the society towards a holistic transformation, ushering in the Reign of God here and now. 

3. Doubts don't matter as long as the Lord remains close to us.

Thomas was not only the one who wanted to touch the wounds that nails made and put his hand into the hole on Jesus' side, but he was also the one who said, "let us also go, that we may die with him" (Jn 11:16). His personal attachment to Jesus covered up for his obstinacy not to believe when the rest of the apostles reported Jesus' resurrection. In our lives too, when doubts assail, when clouds gather over our heads and we tend to be overwhelmed by them, the only thing that can sustain us is our personal relationship with Jesus! 

May St. Thomas show us Christians in India, the most fitting way of living out the Gospel in our context, so that we may be ambassadors of the Reign of God, here and now.

The Reign Perspective

WORD 2day: Saturday, 13th week in Ordinary time

July 2, 2022: Amos 9: 11-15; Matthew 9: 14-17

The times are dull and dreary, the situation is grim and gloomy, the future seems bleak... this is how the situation was explained by the readings all this week and these are not feelings totally strange to us... with the pandemic still lurking round the corner and the ongoing war situation and all the socio-political turmoil that is created out of nothing! But can we be so negative and hopeless?

Christian hope is that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. The last word is always the Lord's. Amos, who has been pronouncing such vehement warning all this while, comes out with a hopeful projection of the future today. In fact some scholars say, that this part of the text could be actually an interpellation into Amos' text...it does not sound Amos they say!. However, the readings today point to the fact that things can and will change for the better. There will be plenty, there will be justice flowing like river and righteousness like an overflowing stream, in short, there will be the Reign of God established for sure!

But, we should be prepared for it. We should be prepared to have a new mindset, a totally new perspective, an absolutely different value system! Cosmetic changes will not work...patchworks will not be sufficient...little additions here and there, simple deletions at places will not suffice... these adjustments will only make the situation worse, more confused and totally disoriented. What will help is only a radical transformation in Christ. It is what St. Paul would say, 'do not be conformed to this world, instead be transformed in Christ Jesus' (cf.;Rom 12:2); 'those who are in Christ are a new creation' (2 Cor 5:17). 

And for this we have put on the mind of the Christ (cf. Phil 2:5) and that is a radically new mindset, a totally new perspective, an absolutely different value system: namely, the Reign perspective!

Mercy is our communion with the Father

WORD 2day: Friday, 13th week in Ordinary time

July 1, 2022: Amos 8:4-6, 9-12; Matthew 9: 9-13

I desire mercy not sacrifice. There is a particular perspective that a Godly person alone can have: the perspective of God. For God, every one is same; every one is a child to be loved. Why doesn't God punish? Why are evil ones not destroyed yet? These are some questions that some always pose! 

At times we like to see the untoward things that happen, as punishments from God... though infact it is we who cause ourselves the hurts and injuries. Our God is a God who loves mercy. When we make choices that are inhuman, when we hold on to priorities that are ungodly, when we act on criteria that are unjust, we drain ourselves of the divine presence that is within us and that surrounds us, because we withdraw from God, hide from our maker as Adam and Eve did in the garden of eden. And the result: famine, famine of the divine presence, famine of the Word, famine of the light of God.

The Lord calls us as he calls Matthew, to leave the table and follow Him; to leave our ungodly priorities, unjust criteria and inhuman choices and follow the Lord. When we follow the Lord, what would matter to us will be mercy, and mercy alone. It is our choice to make, a choice in our daily life, in our everyday experience, in our thoughts, words and actions.

Being Godly is being merciful. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy; in God's own mercy, the Lord will deliver God's word to us. There will be no famine of the Word of God; we will be in perfect communion with the Lord! Let us be merciful as our Heavenly Father is merciful.

To be or not to be... a prophet.

WORD 2day: Thursday, 13th week in Ordinary time

June 30, 2022: Amos 7: 10-17; Matthew 9: 1-8 

To be or not to be, that is the question, that is the essential problem of every being, specially eveyr human being who wants to makes sense of one's being. For a Christian, for a person of God, for someone who knows and realises his or her special call, this is a fundamental challenge to face. To be or not to be a Christian, to be or not to be a child of God, to be or not to be a prophet. 

Today we see Amos being threatened and asked to quit his mission of speaking the Word. He is asked to go elsewhere and not to bother those to whom he was speaking.  Amos is relentless, inspite of knowing the danger that is imminent - that he will be killed. 

Jesus on the other hand in the Gospel is called a blasphemer, an anti-Jew, a sinner! But he knew his identity and had no need to defend himself or prove himself to them. Jesus knew he had to do what he was doing because he was not doing them by himself, but for the One and according to the will of the One  who had called him and sent him! 

The call to us is simple: Be! Be a prophet wherever you are and whatever be the situation. Be a child of God, come what may! That is your identity and your call! 

 

Brace to race; Prepare to fight!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

June 29, 2022: Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.

Acts 12:1-11; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16:13-19

Feast of Apostles Peter and Paul. Being an apostle is no privilege, it is a challenge; living my life as an apostle is no accomplishment, it is a duty! That is why Paul said, "Woe to me if do not proclaim the Gospel"(1 Cor 9:16) and Peter said , "we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). 

They are apostles because they were "sent" in God's will to be the stones on which the communities of believers will be built. Everyone baptised is called to be an apostle, and the way to be an apostle is outlined so vividly by Peter and Paul today... to proclaim the Gospel even at the point of death; and to be stones on which the community will be built and not be the crack from which the community will be divided! 

Killing the apostles pleased the Jews - those were the times when the first apostles braced themselves to stand for the goodnews of Christ. They found themselves at the point of being sacrificed, but nothing discouraged them from bearing witness to Christ and his message! It is a fight, a race - not just a glamorous show to be an apostle today. The lion's mouth, the evil that surrounds and the powers of death are certainly to be found, when I begin to understand, accept and live to the full, my call to be an apostle... but at no point will the Lord's deliverance be lacking! 

The Apostles give us a strong lesson: when I decide to run the race, to fight the good fight, 'the Lord will rescue me from every evil and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.'

Celebrating Love made Flesh

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

June 24, 2022: Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Ezekiel 34: 1-11; Romans 5:5-11; Luke 15: 3-7

Today we celebrate the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the fount of love, the most symbolic expression of our relationship with God, or rather God's relationship with us. 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. The 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! God has never ceased to remind us of the covenant that God has made with us - that we will be God's people and God will be our loving Father and Mother. How many miracles and how many signs...the Sacred heart is one such splending revelation and symbol.

2. The Compassion: God's continued relationship is filled with compassion towards us. The compassion which comes after us, not only when we are lost, but even when we decide to go aways from God. God calls us to belong to Godself, although we are lost, wounded and scarred. The pierced heart, offers to heal, soothe and fill our hearts with love and compassion.

3. The 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. God has filled our hearts with love and that love has to overflow towards others, if we are truly people of God. 

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

Not by chance; but by choice!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

June 23, 2022: The Birth of John the Baptist
Isaiah 49: 1-6; Acts 13: 22-26; Luke 1: 57-66,80

The feast today is anticipated because of a greater feast that we will be celebrating tomorrow...John the Baptist would be very happy to see this done, as it coincides with his logic: He should increase and I should decrease! That was for a lighter note! 

The Gospels narrate a long list of similarities between the stories of John and Jesus... the apparently 'impossible' conditions in which the mothers conceived - one was too old and the other was too young and still a virgin; the direct intervention of God in the conception - the news brought to Mary and Elizaeth by the angel; the apparitions of the angels to the fathers - Joseph was instructed as to what to do next and Zachariah was informed of what is happening at home; the prior choice of the name of the child to be born! One simple and strong message of all these similarities, is the image of John the Baptist as the precursor of Jesus. 

The birth narratives of John and Jesus, together have another important message to reveal to us and that is, we are not here by chance! We are part of a complex plan, an eternal design of God. We are willed into existence by God; we are loved into existence, by the Creator! We have a purpose, because God knew us right when we were being formed in the womb of our mothers! 

Each of us has a special mission because, it is the Lord who has called us by name, even before we were born! We are chosen in the eyes of God, because as St. Paul says, God has chosen us before the foundations of the world in Christ Jesus, to be holy and blameless! We are created, called, commissioned and destined to usher in the Reign of God, as John announced the coming of Christ. 

At times we think so light about ourselves and our life here on earth - as if we are here by chance and every thing is running by some combinations. No! Let us become aware of our call, our purpose and our destiny, which is much larger than the image we have of ourselves and our life. 

Yes, we are here not by chance, but by choice, by the loving choice of God. 

Living our life from the core of our being!

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 12th week in Ordinary time

June 22, 2022: 2 Kings 22: 8-13, 23: 1-3; Matthew 7: 15-20

By the fruits will the trees be known; by our actions will we be known! Let your actions speak for what you believe and stand witness for what you say! That was not merely the way that Jesus taught, but it was the way Jesus lived. He had no dichotomy of words and deeds, of beliefs and expressions, or of principles and practices. Thus, he was able to say, even if you dont believe in me, believe in my works (cf. Jn 10:38), because Jesus lived his life from the core of his being. 

In the core of his being Jesus knew how he and the Father were united in their vision and their mission.  In the core of his being, Jesus knew he was not alone, never! He was always accompanied by his Father and he had that strength within him. Hence, living from that core of his being, he was able to live a life that was absolutely divine amidst all challenges. 

At times what happens in our daily life is just the contrary... we live from the outermost layer of our lives. We do so many things, we say so many prayers, we carry out so many religious practices, we undertake pilgrimages and penitential practices, we frequent charismatic retreats... but the effect lasts just a few days, or at the most a few weeks. Then? What then? - that is the crucial question!

The first reading has a wonderful symbolism to offer us, in this regard: we too possess what it takes to live such a life as that of Jesus! We have to go to the core of our being, unearth the image and likeness of God that we possess at the core, and bring it to the fore, proclaiming it to the world and installing it on a pedestal from where it rules our life, shines and glows for the others! Living our lives from the core of our being: that is the key! 

As St. Augustine would often say, 'an unreflected life is a wasted life'. Let us accept today the invitation to journey to the core of our being, and begin to live our life from there, bearing fruits worthy of the One who has created, called and commissioned us!

The Narrow Gate Spirituality

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 12th week in Ordinary time

June 21, 2022: 2 Kings 19: 9-11,14-21,31-36; Matthew 7: 6, 12-14

At times when we have problems that overwhelm us, in front of which we have nothing that we can actually do, we are constricted to a choice which is not actually a choice at that point, but a point of no other choice! This is what we see in the first reading today. Hezekiah appeals to God and surrenders himself in the Temple when he has absolutely nothing else he can do, faced with a situation so grave.

The Lord asks us, why do you wait till that crucial moment when there would be no other go, when you would be constricted to absolute straits, when you would find yourself at a moment of no other choice? Right from the beginning why don't you make the right choices, absolute choices, choices that are fundamental, choices that involve no compromise, choices that take you nowhere else but towards that point that is right! In short, why don't you, right from the beginning, all your life, even at the most casual moments and not merely at crucial moments, choose God and God alone!

The world would say, a bit of compromise is no issue! And that 'bit' is what will determine everything finally. Giving in that bit will enlarge the room gradually until the space makes our life so comfortable and cozy, enjoyable and easy! But it will also let so many other things right into our lives, making it vulnerable and weak even without our notice! When crisis arises as a result of it, we might be caught unaware and cry inconsolably, finding fault with God and every thing that is godly in our life.

The best solution: switch to the Narrow Gate Spirituality. It consists of never asking myself, at any moment of life, which choice is easier, which is more convenient, which is more common, which is the way the whole world goes about. Ask just one question: what is that one thing that God wants of me, that one thing, that one choice, that narrow gate that exists, through which you would have to squeeze yourself... only a few will find it and fewer will choose it. But those who choose it, shall march right into the consoling embrace of God.