Christmas Novena 2024 - Day 8

23rd December: O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,

the hope of the nations and their Saviour:

Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Based on the famous prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, the title Emmanuel is the key to the mystery of incarnation. The presence of God with the people was the greatest of the promises that they could experience. Be it with Abraham or with Moses or with Joshua or with the people who were walking in the desert, one of the prominent promises that God gave was to be with them! Christ comes as the fulfilment and the most complete expression as that promise: as God among us.

The symbol is the virgin with the child in the manger. It is not just any child, but the promised salvation of the God of the universe, the king who has come to meet his subjects to make them co-heirs to his throne. The manger is a lovely symbol that unites the heaven and the earth, the Divine and the human!

The presence of the Lord is salvific; one who has experienced it cannot remain silent - he or she has to go out and share it, make every one else experience that presence! This is the crux of evangelisation: it is not proselytisation, not sheep stealing and increasing the numbers within a fold. It is sharing that salvific presence that one has experienced, from the Lord. The first call is to experience the God-with-us, the presence of the Lord with us, and the call that follows is to share that presence with those around - that is salvation.

The prayer is to the Lord our God to save us by God's saving PRESENCE... in simple words it is a beseeching to stay with us, to live with us, to sanctify us, to make us worthy of God and of God's great big family.

Living in Faith – Looking ahead with heads held high!

Advent 2024: A Pilgrimage of Hope towards Peace with Joy, in Faith – the Fulfillment of the Journey!

Fourth Monday in Advent - December 23, 2024

Malachi 3: 1-4, 23-24; Luke 1: 57-66

Living in Faith – amidst all the cry for war and bloodshed, amid all the threat of the post human world on the horizon, amid the hue and cry of the so-called progressivists to relativise everything in the name of personal rights and human autonomy, living in faith would mean living a life that is frightening. That is what is presented in the Word today.

The theme of the end of days, or the Lord’s day, sometimes can be a fiction-friendly leitmotif with all its elements of suspense and secrets. But it cannot be so for a person of faith. That is what St. Paul advised his people when he wrote, “but you, brothers and sisters, you are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.” (1 Thess  5:4) This is so because the Lord has sent us enough messengers and messages, to understand, analyse and come to make our informed choices about everything. We cannot blame anyone for our choices, nor can we feign ignorance about the purpose of our beings, if we are truly persons, children, or people of faith.

When the people saw what was happening with regard to John, the new child born in the neighbourhood, they experienced fear… for us, that should not be, because we are girded with faith. Where there is faith, there is not place for fear, for fear is a by-product of darkness. We are people of the Light, and darkness cannot overcome us, because Emmanuel, God with us, is here, very close to us. And that shall enable us, empower us to walk with our heads held high! Looking up to the Lord with faith, we can face any situation with courage and confidence, with hope, peace and joy – that is what it means to live in faith.  

Christmas Novena 2024 - Day 7

22nd December: O King of Nations

O King of the nations, and their desire,

the cornerstone making both one:

Come and save the human race,

which you fashioned from clay.

Based on Isaiah 9:6, 2:4 and 28:16, the King of the nations is a yearning of the people of Israel. They wanted Yahweh to be their king always, even when they had a human king ruling them. That is why they did not give in to the Emperor worship that was so widespread in the dominant cultures of their times. God is the king, forever and over all!

The Symbol is the crown, and some times even the sceptre, that signifies the central place that God has in our personal and universal history; and the authority that rests solely with God. Remember the feast we celebrate just before beginning the advent, that is on the last Sunday of the Ordinary time - that is the adaptation of the same theology of Israel, into the Christian way of life.

Today power is misused for manipulation and arriving at hidden agenda; power which is given to certain persons for the sake of furthering the care of humanity is used to destroy the very humanity. Who is to be blamed? Those who manipulate it? Yes, of course. But what about those who let them do it? those who keep silent when it is done? If it is true that we have accepted God as our King, Christ as our King, it means we have accepted Truth, Justice, Love and Peace. Anything that, or anyone who goes against these, just cannot be sided with - it would be a wrong allegiance, a slavery!

The prayer is to SAVE the human kind, from slaveries of sin and death to the freedom of the children of God, for that is what we are, children created in the image and likeness of God. It is to grow in this identity and dignity that the coming of the Lord invites us.

A PILGRIMAGE OF HOPE TOWARDS PEACE, WITH JOY, IN FAITH

The Fulfilment of the Journey 

Fourth Sunday in Advent: December 22, 2024

Micah 5: 1-4; Hebrew 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-44

We began a journey three weeks ago, a journey preparing ourselves towards that Pilgrimage of Hope we wish to make in the coming Jubilee Year! And here we are at the close of the journey, reflecting on the fulfilment of this life journey, the journey of hope, towards peace, with joy, in faith! This Sunday, the Sunday of faith, speaks to us of faith as that experience of fulfilment that we are called to, as people of God. Apart from the theme of faith that is proposed for our reflection, there is the figure of Mary presented to us as the icon to be contemplated upon this Sunday, so close to the celebration of the profound mystery of Incarnation. We see this reflection shared in three modes, answering three pertinent queries regarding faith.

The first of the points of clarity we have: what is the meaning of Faith – it is the confidence we have in the Lord, arising out of the fulfilment of the promises that the Lord has given us. Mary is presented as the model of that person of faith, as we see Elisabeth declaring, “blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled. Yes, the model presented to us by Mary in this regard is a reminder of hope, that we always remain disposed to behold the fulfilment of the promises of the Lord, despite the darkness or the confusion that may surround at a given moment. Just as Mary trusted in the Lord, in spite of her inability to grasp entirety of the plan of God that was unfolding around her, we are challenged to grow in confidence of hope that the promise of the Reign will certainly be fulfilled in God’s own time.

That is the meaning of faith, that this Sunday teaches us, as it prepares our minds to look forward to the imminence of the great mystery of salvation that we are about to celebrate in a couple of days. Our lives are an unfolding of these fulfilments, if only we are attentive to many an experience that our lives consist of. It is a special quality to recognize that and proclaim – the Mighty one has done great things for me.

The second point of reflection is the obedience of faith – the source of our peace, the true, internal peace that the Lord alone can give. Here I come to do your will – that phrase that we hear today is so explicative of Christ as that Son of God who submitted himself in obedience of faith, as St. Paul would explain to us (Rom 1:5 & 16:26). Mary is presented as one who manifested the same obedience to the Will of God – thus becoming the eminent of the first fruits of Christ’s salvation to human kind. Apart from salvation that sounds so transcendent, we could understand the obedience of faith as the source of peace even in our days.

If only each of us and all of creation vows this obedience of faith to the eternal will of the Creator, everything would be in peace! It applies to our individual hearts too – when we submit ourselves in this obedience of Faith to the One who calls us, we shall experience a peace that shall fill our lives and that no one can take away from us.

A third challenge that is posed to us is a commitment of faith – faith that requires us to become bearers of joy to the world, to others, to everyone whom we meet. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord, exclaims Elisabeth in the Gospel, for the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Some Gospel exegetes want us to note here the resemblance to an Old Testament incident – when King David leapt and danced for joy (2 Sam 6) – because he saw the Ark of the Covenant enter Jerusalem. John the Baptist in the womb of his mother leaps for joy, just as Elisabeth herself, when Mary entered the house! Mary is paralleled here to the Ark of the covenant, that is the bearer of the presence of God. That is the commitment of faith that we are given with today: to become the bearers of this joy of the presence of the Lord to whomever we encounter. That is evangelization today, to be bearers of the joy of the presence of the Lord to the world.

The feast of the incarnation is at hand! The journey of advent we began is fast ending… and we are called today to gear up, to hold our heads high and receive the call of the Lord to be persons of faith, beholding the fulfilment of the promises of the Lord in hope, to find the source of peace in our obedience of faith and commit ourselves in faith to be bearers of the joy of the presences of the Lord to the world. May the forthcoming feast strengthen our dedication and enable us to grow in our vocation to be pilgrims of hope

The Joy of Obedience: the Lifestyle of the Reign

December 20, 2024 - Third Friday in Advent

 

Christmas Novena 2024 - Day 6

21st December: O Rising dawn! Morning Star!

O Morning Star,
Splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:

Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Based on Isaiah 9:2 and Isaiah 60:1-2, the title in Latin O Oriens, actually means literally O Rising Sun or Dawn, but for poetic sense translated as Morning Star, refers to the power of God's light to lead us from ignorance to knowledge and from mere knowledge to enlightenment.

The Symbol is the Rising Sun, which dispels the darkness of the night and wakes the light of the morning, inviting all to life and activity. The coming of the Lord for us is a wake up call, an invitation to live as people of the light and not of darkness!

Today we see people disputing with each other, clamouring to be right in contrast to another, remain divided among themselves because of their allegiance to someone or some ideology - are they really certain where lies the real truth? Even within the Church today we see people polarising themselves, unnecessarily for the sake of some ideologies and philosophies - Apostle Paul warned us long back - do not be deceived by all these ideologies and philosophies, cling on to Christ and Christ alone is the enlightenment of God, who can clarify the real truths of our life.

The prayer is for enlightenment, that in these times of confusion and crisis, confounding choices and staggering philosophies, we might remain always in the light of faith, that not only helps us see the Lord, but see with the eyes of the Lord (Lumen Fidei).

Christmas Novena 2024 - Day 5

20th December: O Key of David

O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;

you open and no one can shut;

you shut and no one can open:

Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,

those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Based on Isaiah 22:22, Isaiah 9:7 and Isaiah 42:7, the reference is to the sovereignty of God's Reign. That the throne shall have no end is a Messianic prophecy that, God will be established the Lord of history! Liberation of the oppressed and the fullness of life of all, is the sign of the Reign.

The symbol is the key to signify the authority that the Lord has, in creating, changing and structuring the whole history. It also signifies the perfect control that God has over time and space, life and being, but all these understood not in terms of domination but a love that creates and sustains.

Evil is real! Let us not deceive ourselves thinking it is imaginary; no, it is real and the evil one is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. This is not a matter to be worried about, as long as we commit ourselves to the One Key, which alone can open or close time, space or history - the Lord! We would be mistaken to think, that liberation has to come from afar. It is already given to us by the Lord, we just need to choose it, claim it for ourselves! When we choose the key to liberation, we choose liberation!

The prayer today is for LIBERATION... to be led towards fullness of life that is the experience of the Reign on earth. It is also a commitment to work towards, to contribute one's might and mite, to choose with all our heart and our strength, the Lord, the key to fullness, towards establishing the Reign, and beholding it here and now!

Leaping for Joy - a sign of Beholding the Reign!

Advent 2024: A Pilgrimage of Hope towards Peace with Joy - the Nature of the Journey!

Third Saturday in Advent - December 21, 2024

Song of Songs 2: 8-14; Luke 1: 39-45

Leaping for joy – that is the symbol that dominates the Word presented to us, bringing to the peak the theme of this week. Joy, leaping for joy, and sensing and expressing the joy within, are signs of having experienced something. Today what the Word wishes to challenge from us, is that we behold the Reign, here and now, and thus leap for joy.

This leaping for joy is compared to the joy of a beloved on beholding the one of his or her love, in the first reading! The past experiences and the relationship already established come into play here and the it is the memory that brings joy to the person in this case!

In the Gospel we come across Elisabeth who leaps for joy on encountering not just her cousin, but the mother-to-be of God; and the baby in her womb leaping for joy to encounter the would-be Mother of God and the Divine Son to be born. This is hope, faith and trust in the promises of the Lord – the insight, the future that brings joy to the persons involved!

Be they memory or insight, they abound for us too, despite the scenes of darkness and despair that surround us. How much are we prepared to behold the Reign – that competence shall bring joy to us, the joy that the Lord brings. The imagery of the Rising Dawn, the Morning Star, is a leap for joy in the new beginning. The new beginning is always on the basis of the memory of the past day's accomplishments - great things that God accomplishes with his loved ones like David; it is also about the promises that the new day holds - the promise that God has made in the lineage of David. It takes a special capacity to behold the Reign in our day today, here and now. And it is that capacity that can generate true divine joy!

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Christmas Novena 2024 - Day 4

19th December: O Root of Jesse

O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;

before you kings will shut their mouths,

to you the nations will make their prayer:

Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

Based on Isaiah 11:1, Isaiah 11:10, the title Root of Jesse, refers to the promise of the Lord to raise the Messiah from the line of David (the son of Jesse). It is a promise of deliverance that the Lord gives the people of Israel, and to everyone who believes in the Lord.

The Symbol is that of the shoot flowering... signalling the hope that the Lord offers in times when everything seems dark and dead. Look at the exodus event, the miracles in the desert, the water from the rock, the guidance by day and night - everyone of these was a sign of God's promises being fulfilled. The final fulfillment and the pinnacle of everything was - Incarnation, that which we are preparing to celebrate.

Promises of the Lord will never fail... it may look like it, but things will change. There may be enemies plotting around, there may be situations that go out of control and there may be evil all around me - I will give up and compromise when I think there is no hope. But when here is hope, when I stand on the promises of the Lord, I will never give up!

The prayer today is to reinforce that HOPE... that we may always look forward to the deliverance that the Lord can offer! Note that the readings of the liturgy too relate to the same sense of hope in the Lord who accomplishes marvels for us! Let us never let anyone rob us of our hope, reminds us often, our Holy Father.

The Joy of Being Chosen for the Reign!

Advent 2024: A Pilgrimage of Hope towards Peace with Joy - the Nature of the Journey!

Third Thursday in Advent - December 19, 2024

Judges 13: 2-7, 24-25; Luke 1: 5-25

None of us is here by chance, we are here by choice; not our choice but that of the Lord - the Lord’s choice for the Reign to come! The Lord, as St. Paul would affirm in his letter to the Ephesians, has chosen us before the foundation of the world. The Lord’s care for the human race, is best manifested with the amount of thought that has gone before events of salvation and the quality of those thoughts right from eternity.

The first reading recounts to us the announcement of the birth of Samson; and the Gospel reports the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist. The pre-announced choices are signs given to us to highlight two important facts: that we are loved and the Lord knows what is happening in our world.

One of the clear signs of love that one has for another is in the care that one shows. This care is exhibited in the form of forethought, a typical trait of a mother or father, or anyone who cares. Samson, John the Baptist, and many other similar persons of God, stand witness to this fact, and thanks to their faithfulness, God’s salvific plan has unfolded itself in phases although the times.

Secondly, the Lord is aware of what we are going through. At times people, or nations, or the powerful ones think that they are dictating everything in the world. But not too late, they do come to realise that they could be gone as a whiff in the wind. The Lord of history is forever in control and no one can gainsay that.  

The Saviour to come, referred to as the root of Jesse, is an affirmation of this exact truth: that our God is the Lord of History.