In Spimplicty towards Greatness

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

June 20, 2024 - Sirach 48: 1-14; Matthew 6: 7-15

Elijah is singled out in the book of Sirach, among the 27 great persons of God praised for their life and accomplishments. Elijah wins that place in his simplicity, in the simplicity with which he trusted in the Lord, the simplicity with which he carried out every single command or wish of the Lord, that simplicity with which he endured his hardships, knowing certainly that the Lord is in control of everything. That simplicity was his true greatness.

This is the very same simplicity that Jesus lived and taught us... the Our Father is an epitome of simplicity prescribed to us not only as a prayer, but as a way of life, as a Spirituality that comes very close to the mind of Christ. The simplicity that is referred to here, lies in the qualities of singlemindedness, absence of pretense and sincere surrender to absolute sovreignity of the Almighty. That is what the Lord's prayer teaches us: a whole philosophy or politics of life. Its greatness lies in its simplicity. 

How simple are our prayers? How simple is our faithful trust in the Lord? How simple is our relationship with God on a daily basis...that simplicty would be our guaranteed way to true greatness!

To stay clear of trivialities

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

June 19, 2024 - 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. 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. Praying, fasting and almsgiving are the three actions mentioned in the Gospel today and they together epitomise the entire religious practice of a Jew, not to forget even for us as followers of Christ. Jesus was not belittling them in any way but was putting them in the right perspective. The point is: not to miss what is central to it, in getting distracted with the trivialities of human recognition and immediate rewards.

In our relationship with ourselves, with others and with God, we are invited to pay attention to the most central of all concerns: that is, to do what is most pleasing to God at any given instant. Any other concern is only a triviality, however good or 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. Never to miss God on our daily journey would means that we ensure that we stay always clear of trivialities in life. 

Loving all... deserving? not deserving?

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

June 18, 2024 - 1 Kings 21: 17-29; Matthew 5: 43-48

We normally have a list of people who are our favourites and another list of those who do not deserve our kindliness, our compassion, our understanding or our love. We come to that conclusion after a series of experiences with them and ordinarily speaking, that conclusion would seem to everyone as just and understandable. The Lord instructs us today, to convert that list into your priority list, and start loving those in that list; start loving those who allegedly do not deserve to be loved according to your judgment.

We may hear ourselve saying, or even crying out, "Oh that is not possible?" If we do so, the Lord would immediately retort: you are no different from those who are far away from me! If we are to be known as children of God, we better start loving those, so-called undeserving persons, with genuine love from our hearts!

We have examples: let us look at the first reading today. The Lord loves Ahab... however cruel and ruthless he had been... the Lord forgives and loves. He might have been undeserving but the Lord loves! But why go so far: each of us, let us consider our own life - are we really deserving to receive all the love that God showers on us? Can we still speak about these categories of who is deserving and who not! Can we really maintain that list of those who do not deserve my love? 

If I do, will I ever deserve the love that God has for me?

An extra mile, yes; but compromise, no!

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

June 17, 2024 - 1 Kings 21: 1-16; Matthew 5: 38-42

Ahab seems a strange man! One would get confused whether he was a virtuous man or a villainous man when they see his profile as it appears in the book of Kings. He never seems to be doing evil, but remains still the cause and the source of a series of evil acts. He seems to have some kind of a fear of God but it finally amounts to a pseudo reverence to God, as he approves of the evil done by others and draws heavily from those. 

The Gospel today recommends us to go the extra mile for the other's sake! But can that mean doing anything to please the other? That is not what it means! There can be no compromises when it comes to certain values or certain decisions to be made in life. A true Godly person would be one who is ready for any sacrifice for the sake of the other, keeping to what the Word demands, but never ready even for the slightest compromise on what the Word teaches as values of living as a child of God. 

Ahab might not have done evil, but he had made compromises! Whoever knew it or not, he knew it and God knew it. That is the key. When we make compromises that are subtle, it does not matter who knows it or not, we know it well and the Lord knows it. Don't we need to be mindful of it? We are not here to judge the intentions of the other but let us not forget, our own intentions they are as bright as the day for the Lord and we cannot escape from them. That is what happened to Ahab - he might have given all the good image that he could about himself, but he knew that he had always the responsibility for his compromises. 

Today, when we have to go an extra mile to forgive, accept and love all those brothers and sisters of ours who have something against us, we are also challenged never to compromise on what is true, good and acceptable in the eyes of the Lord - do we possess this Christian competence? 

THE WAY OF FAITH

Surrender, Transcendence and Awe

June 16, 2024 - 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ezekiel 17: 22-24; 2 Corinthians 5: 6-10; Mark 4: 26-34

The parable in the Gospel today is a fascinating one, specially taking into consideration the tall unrealistic claims of certain sections of humanity, who forget their limitation and vulnerability in their times of upward mobility. Life is filled with ups and downs, twists and turns, and curves and bends, that we are at times at a total loss as to how one can understand and approach issues in life. In spite of this there is no end to the haughtiness of human kind, especially on the part of certain sections of humanity which thinks, imagines and acts as if every thing is in their perfect control. Unfortunately, their attitude, their claims and the decisions that these so-called powerful sections make, affect the entire lots, particularly, the simple and weak, the voiceless and the meek. Human beings would do well to understand that so many elements in their life is actually not in their control and so many other elements that they would like to blame it on something beyond, is actually their making. The Word this Sunday, invites us to understand the right sense of this perspective of life - the human-divine relationship.

Our faith life, specially in days such as these, when we are going through tough times, comes into crisis. There are other days when we may not pay even the least attention to this aspect of our life, because we are flying on the top of the world riding the waves of the good times. The call is simple: to have a clear perspective that would guide our life consistently - whether in happiness or sadness, whether in problems or amidst prospects, whether facing failures or relishing success, we would remain balanced and in equanimity. Is it not the key to understand a truly "spiritual" person in Christ-ian terms. 

What is this right sense, according to the Word given us today:

1. A Sense of Surrender

First is a sense of Surrender that would remind us always that there is someOne beyond us who not only controls us and moves us around, but loves us and cares for us. At times the difference between an impersonalistic theism and Trinitarian faith is eclipsed and forgotten due to some of our modes of interpretation and approach. We look at God as some kind of force controlling everything and determining things before hand or taking to task those that which upsets God's plan! Instead, God is our loving parent, someOne who is walking beside us, helping us to make sense of our life at every step of it...some of those steps may be difficult, some advantageous, some challenging, some even unbearable...but we are through all these, and God is with us. The first reading reminds us of this sovereignty of God, and our need to understand that this Sovereign God is with us, helping us cope with whatever be the moment in life. It is not always easy to take it that way, but the way of faith helps us - if we develop the sense of surrender and say, Lord, you are the Sovereign, you have your way, and I follow.

2. A Sense of Transcendence

The second is a sense of Transcendence that makes me aware of the fact that I am created by God, called by God and meant for God. I belong to God and I need to have that longing to belong to God totally...it is not merely a grammar of the consecrated way of life...every Christian in fact is called, consecrated and commissioned to belong to God. The second reading from St. Paul may sound like promoting the dichotomy between body and spirit...it is not the point that the Apostle is making. The point is, our life is not merely what we have here. The body, the world, the things, the experiences, the others, the attachments, the pleasures, the likes, the dislikes, the discomforts, the problems, the difficulties, the temptations...all of these are passing. And there is just One who is eternal...and that is God. Our way of faith has to help us realise this fact more and more, it happens gradually. We grow into this sense, the sense of transcendence has to come by, as days and years and experiences go by. The way of faith helps us tell God, Lord, for you and for you alone I long, hide not your face from me and I shall transcend everything.

3. A Sense of Awe

The third sense is that of Awe that makes me remain always in wonder like a child who looks at everything with a freshness, the freshness which is not ignorance but innocence. A sense of awe helps me give God the place that truly belongs to God. God has an indispensable place in this world, in my life and in everything that exists...how prepared am I to give that space. The exaggerated claims of some - that we are in control of everything, that we can predict everything and that we can tackle everything - are being questioned and broken with a lot of experiences these days. Let us not make the mistake of making that an experience to point and finger and cruely make statements against the suffering humanity. What is important is to allow our mind and our spirit to have and to grow in a sense of awe at the presence of God with us, around us and in us. Just like that seed buried, lives on, sprouts and grows into a life form...so does our life too... it is guided by the power of God, the magnificence of God, the loving aura of God. The more we surrender to that sense of awe, we shall become that presence of awe for others, specially those who are struggling to find it for themselves in their life! The way of faith should help us see the presence of God in every thing, and in every moment of life and say, Lord, I see you and I stand in awe of you! 

Our way of faith needs to be marked by these remarkable senses - sense of surrender, sense of transcendence and sense of awe. May the Spirit help us in this way of life!

ANTHONY - THE SAINT

Thursday, June 13, 2024
Anthony of Padua - a Saint of True Grandeur!

Some interesting facts

Born: 15, August, 1195. He was actually born in Lisbon, Portugal. Though he should be called St. Anthony of Lisbon, due to the great prophetic ministry he carried out in the city of Padua in Italy, he is called St. Anthony of Padua to distinguish him from St. Anthony of Egypt, who belongs to the fourth century!

Died: 13, June, 1231. He was just 36 when he died.

Saint: He was not even 37 when he was canonised - on 30, May, 1232 by Pope Gregory IX.

His Baptismal name was Ferdinand Martins de Bulhŏes. He took the name Anthony when he became a religious.

He was elected Provincial of his region of Franciscan friars, but he resigned very shortly just to be able to carryout his preaching mission.

Patron of missing things and missing persons!

In Padua, where the Basilica stands today, he is also prayed to, by those who are looking for the right spouse to marry, or by those married couples who have problems in their marriage.

The Basilica treasures the incorrupt tongue of the saint, as a relic venerated till today, as a testimony to his gift of breaking the Word.

He was a contemporary to St. Francis of Assisi and one of the best ones at that.

A survey reports that after the Blessed Mother and St.Joseph, St. Anthony may be the most loved saint in the Catholic World today. In Italy he is known as "il Santo", which means, "the Saint," just bringing out the popularity that he enjoys!

Apart from Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph, St. Anthony is the only other saint who is depicted with Child Jesus in his hands. The reasons are varied: one, because there was a legend that the Infant Jesus appeared to him during his prayer and meditation; another because in the 17th century a franciscan friar had a vision as such. The best of all reasons however is...
                He was so close to the Word of God, that the Word made flesh, the Son of God who was born into this world came to be with him, to be carried by him as he did all his life.

We too can hold the person of Jesus Christ in our hands, if we hold the Word close to our hearts. St. Anthony ...Pray for Us.

Holding on to the Lord

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

June 12, 2024: 1 Kings 18: 20-39; Matthew 5: 17-19

Faith is, holding on. It is holding on to the Lord against all odds. Hence perseverance is the capacity to hold on for a longer time, longer than your normal patience can really hold. Amidst crises of various kinds, and specially amidst some injustice that you experience for no cause of your's, the capacity to hold on, is tested more intensely.

Today we witness some spectacular events in Elijah's lifetime. This could both be a positive lesson and a negative one at that. Positive, when we think of the greatness that God reveals right in front of the eyes of everyone. Negative, when we think of the fact that people who look for these kinds of sensational happenings to prove God, or find reasons and justifications amidst sufferings like saying 'God is angry' and 'God is displeased' and all the human absurdities attributed to God!

However, there is one formidable message that we can derive from Elijah's experience: one person's faith could save and revive the faith of an entire people... when we hold on to God, we hold our fellow persons up. So it is with us, even in our families for instance. When a person sees many in the family or all else in the family going away from God, the person's faith could prove instrumental in bring the rest of them back to God! How many today, stand testimonies to this phenomenon!

Holding on to God is not an easy thing anyway. Just because it is challenging the Lord does not go easy on that demand... he is unwaveringly stern on that call - to remain firm! It is of course, not merely calling out, "Lord! Lord!", which means to hold on to God. But it is to keep the Word of the Lord, to live by the commands of the Lord, come what may. When we do that we hold on; if not, we fall.

How prepared are we to hold on to the Lord?

A Good Man in the Spirit

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

June 11, 2024: Celebrating St. Barnabas, the Apostle
Acts 11: 21b-26, 13:1-3; Matthew 5: 1-12

Barnabas exudes some excellent traits that are essential for a Christian Apostle or a Christian leader today:

1. A Good Person: To be called 'good' in the Word of God, is a great matter of fact. Only a few in fact are given that attribute...we could count them on our fingers ...like Moses, David and so on. Barnabas joins that list!

2. A Person of the Spirit: He was filled with the Spirit and that was again another great trait of an Apostle. Barnabas, along with Paul, though he was not with Christ was accepted into the ranks of the Apostles because of the passion he had for Christ and the Good News!

3. A Person of Faith: A person who had an intimate and solid relationship with God and made it his priority in life. Antioch witnessed his attachment to the person of Christ; no wonder people who followed Christ were called for the first time 'Christ-ians', there at Antioch.

4. A Person all for God: Barnabas brought Saul into the band of Apostles and when Paul became more popular and more vociferous, that did not disturb Barnabas. There is a clear sign of an ego under perfect control. That is so essential for a Christian Leader today.

5. An Obedient Servant: Barnabas 'stayed' and 'was sent'...He just followed orders, orders from the Lord, through the needs of the times! When he had to stay, he stayed! When he was asked to go, he went! For him what mattered was, what the Lord wanted.

THE RIGHT FREQUENCY!

Finding the voice that defines my identity

June 09, 2024 - 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Genesis 3: 9-15 ; Corinthians 4:13 - 5:1; Mark 3: 20-35

When we travel in a flight, we are asked at the moment of take off and of landing to set our electronic devices to flight mode, or sleep mode. The reason is that the frequency of the radio waves that connects the pilot to the control room, can be disturbed if in case the frequency of the device intercepts that of the flight. This is called the communication interference! In our Spiritual life too, we could have this communication interference at times, an interception of unwanted frequencies that can disturb the clarity of communication. But the challenge is to find out which is the right frequency to tune in to. 

Those of us who are of the old school, still lingering on with our experience of radios at home, could easily relate to this frequency problems. In fact, I remember as youngsters, we were used to, during our entertainment programmes, an imagination of two or more frequencies that interfere and overlap causing a mess of the information communicated, thus creating fun and laughter! Seriously, it could lead to some crucial problems, if we reason out in detail. But coming back to the message of the Word today, we are called to develop the competence to know the right frequency, tune in to it, and listen to the right voice that can define our identity. 

The fact of our experience that is referred to here, is that we could hear many voices around us, each with its own frequency. It depends on us to tune in to the right frequency, to hear the right voice, because the voices that we listen to, and pay attention to, will define our very identity. There could be atleast three broad categories of these voices, as presented in the Word today.

The demonising voices

There are these voices which are demonising. That is, they highlight the evil around us - either justifying it, or threatening us with its alleged omnipotence, or trying to push us to a sense of helplessness in the face of evil that pressurises us from all directions. These voices compel us to see only the dark side of the reality that surrounds us, and makes us go to the point of hopelessness. This is what Adam and Eve felt when God was calling out for them - it was God's voice, but they did not hear God's voice - they heard the voice of the evil one and that is why they were in fear. The voice that had deceived them already, was interfering with the voice that was coming through to them now. 

The same voice was trying to overpower Jesus too - but he did not pay heed. He just turned them down. They said: Beelzebul is in him; he has the prince of devils; he is possessed! They were demonising him! These are exactly the demonising voices we hear in the world today: every thing is gone to decay; nothing can return to normal; things can go only from bad to worse - these are demonising voices. Are we going to tune in to their frequency, listen to them and find our identity there? Jesus tells us - that is blasphemous. It is against the Truth; it is against the Spirit.

The patronising voices

More perilous are the voices which are patronising, because they seem all good, but they are deadly! They are "more" dangerous because they appear to be good, but they are venomous and invariably lead to death. Just as the voice of the tempter that deceived Eve, and eventually Adam too, as if it were trying to make them more than what they were. It was leading them to death... it was leading them to eternal damnation... thanks be to the voice of God, they are brought back to the state of hope, to look forward to the salvation promised. These are 'patronising' voices, because they look like they are doing us good, but in fact they make us misunderstand, misjudge, compromise, mix up and confuse truth with half-truths which are nothing less than falsity. 

One reason Jesus could have reacted the way he did, to the relatives who had come to take him, could be because they were patronising - they were intending to care for him but they were truly giving in to the falsity that was spread about Jesus, that he was out of his mind. There will be voices around us to say - do not be too serious about your religious principles; do not exaggerate about your faithfulness to God; do not be scrupulous about faith, values and morals... aren't these the voices we hear today in abundance in the society? These are dangerous, leading to relativism, hedonism and depravity! How many priests and religious, leaders and pastors today of the flock of God, are taken astray by these voices and what a damage they cause to the identity of the people of God!

The Empowering Voice

Jesus teaches us - there is one frequency, the only frequency to tune in to: that of God. Those who do the will of God, they are my brothers, my sisters, my mother, my people! St. Paul in the second reading affirms this. There is an interesting contrast in the first reading and the second, which can give us an insight. In the first reading we hear the blaming of Adam and Eve - however the summary is: that they believed in the evil one and they had to hide themselves! In the second reading St. Paul courageously quotes the scripture saying, "I believed in God and therefore I speak." When we believe in the Lord, we can stand up and speak, we need not fear, we need not hide, we need not feel ashamed, we can lift up our heads and speak, because the grace of the Lord abounds even where, and especially where, sin wants to rule. This defines our identity! Jesus was so clear about his identity as the Son of God, that nothing of these judgements or condescensions ever affected him. 

That is the right frequency for us - the voice of God, the will of God. While we ask the Lord to listen to our cry, to listen to our voices, we are today instructed by the Lord to listen to the empowering voice of God. This voice makes us overcome the weaknesses and the trials we could be faced with. It would make us understand the importance of understanding the difference between the visible and invisible, between our inner self and the exterior manifestations, between the demonising or partronising voices and the truly empowering voice of God. Let us seek the Spirit of the Lord, that we may be schooled in this technique of tuning in to the right frequency, and listening clearly to the voice of God and not to any other deceiving voice. 

The right frequency is the empowering voice of God, and listening to it and doing what God wants alone would make us truly children of God, brothers and sisters of our Lord and Master, Jesus the Christ. 

The Memory of the heart - the Marian Spirituality

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

June 08, 2024: Celebrating the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Isaiah 61: 1-11; Luke 2: 41-51

To Remember is a Spirituality in itself! 

And in the normal parlance, when something has to be learnt to memory, it is termed - learning by heart! An interesting terminology...to remember is to keep something in the heart...not just the mind. The memory of the heart... it is a spirituality in itself, indeed. 

Mary's heart is exalted today because she remembered; she kept everything in her HEART! Abraham, Moses, and the Prophets...they all exhorted the people to remember, and presented that as the criterion to be blessed people of God. They themselves remembered; they remembered the good that the Lord had done to them, and God remembered them and blessed them without end!

Just after the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Church proposes that we remember the Immaculate Heart of Mary, because a heart that resembled the heart of Jesus.

Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart. Mary observed that heart from close, infact she had her part in forming that heart... and she herself treasured a heart that resembled that meek and humble heart of the Lord! 

She kept everything in her heart! To remember the goodness of the Lord, to remember the great things done to us by the Lord, to remember the mighty presence of the Lord ever in my heart - that is the spirituality that Our Blessed Mother teaches us today!

When I remember all the good that the Lord has done to me, the hurdles and heart aches that come to me sometimes will look much smaller. All I need to do, as the responsorial psalm instructs today, is rejoice and exult in the the goodness of the Lord, because to remember is a spirituality in itself, a marian spirituality!