A RETURN TO HOPE... TO THE HOMELAND

The fact, the pact and the foretaste

Second Sunday in Lent - March 16, 2025

Genesis 15: 5-12, 17-18; Philippians 3:17 - 4:1; Luke 9: 28-36 

The Fact:

Our life is a pilgrimage, a pilgrimage towards our eternal homeland. It is a fact that we are passing by, but how prepared are we to accept that, recognise that and make it our perspective?

The Pact:

How are we so sure that the Lord has the homeland prepared for us? The Pact, the covenant... that is the eternal promise, there can be no doubt about it. Only issue could be that we make ourselves not worthy of that homeland by our choices and our priorities, but we have an open and persistent invitation to grow into heaven, our homeland.

The Foretaste:

The Lord gives us a foretaste of this glory, the splendour that the Lord has prepared for us, as our homeland. Just as Jesus gives his disciples the foretaste of the future glory, so does the Lord give us in many ways - our celebrations, the sacraments, every eucharist, our successes in life - all of these are foretastes of the splendour promised us. 

A Return to hope... towards Perfection

THE WORD IN LENT - Saturday, First week in Ordinary time

March 15, 2025 - Deuteronomy 26: 16-19; Matthew 5: 43-48

The pilgrimage, the journey, the return to the roots... these are the themes predominant in these days of lent and yesterday we affirmed this saying lent is a journey towards renewal. The Word today is raising a further question, a journey and a renewal upto what? What is that point of arrival? And the answer is: Perfection. The destination is perfection. Now the alarm - Oh, is it possible for us weak and limited human beings to arrive at that perfection? And what does this perfection really mean?

The Lord or the Word today responds with clarity both of these crucial questions: first of all, yes it is possible! Not in the way we imagine... that at a point of time, we are totally perfect! We can never say that, but we can and we ought to keep moving towards that perfection. The way is clear, the means is defined, the route is predetermined, if we really wish to journey towards that perfection - and it is Love! 

This perfection is not something that is alien to us, says Jesus. You have your model - your Father in heaven. Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. You can grow to be that, because you have been already granted that image. What matters is that you need to shed all that does not go with that image within you; choose all that fits that image; and grow into that image. And that image is your Father, because God is love. 

Love. Love like your Father in heaven. Love one another as I have loved you... without expecting it in return, without calculating the cost it would demand and without counting the number and volume of difficulties it would land you in, love every one! That is the way to perfection and it is not alien to us, because we have received that love, we have enjoyed that love and we have been thriving because of that love, whether we recognise it or not. Hence, to love is not an option; it is the only way to Christian perfection! 

A Return to hope... towards Renewal

THE WORD IN LENT - Friday, First week in Ordinary time

March 14, 2025 - Ezekiel 18: 21-28; Matthew 5: 20-26

New heart, new spirit, renouncing evils ways, towards deeper sense of virtue... these themes that the Word presents to us today, remind us of the fact that the journey to hope, the lenten journey, has to be a process of renewal, a transformation of our heart and mind. Hearing this we might say, but I am not "wicked" or "evil" as the Word speaks of today, after all my sins are so petty and small! 

Let us beware: are there sins that are small and those that are big? Aren't we speaking about being faithful to our nature and not being so, being committed to our call and not being so... can that have grades? Aren't sins anyway ungodly, no matter of what measure they are? These are the cautionary reflections that the Word provokes within us today. 

Today the society is adept at finding justifications and excuses for all choices and actions. What's in a word, who does not do this today, it's become normal by far... these are some of the oft repeated phrases by the moral relativists of today who tend to justify anything in the sense of being normal or rational. When Jesus questions some of the laws and regulations, some legalities and conventions, he is not belittling moral judgements, he challenges us to 'a deeper understanding of virtues and a more diligent faithfulness to integrity'. 

Integrity, that is the key word to renewal, not subservience to law or norms. Integrity refers to my innermost yearnings, my deep seated identity and my vocation from the One who has willed me into existence. Once I realise that, my journey changes its direction, from going in search of what is truth and what is right, it takes me within me to discern them and listen to the voice from within - that calls me to renewal, a renewal of my entire being, everyday!

A Return to hope... to the right sense of Prayer

THE WORD IN LENT - Thursday, First week in Ordinary time

March 13, 2025 - Esther 4: 17; Matthew 7: 7-12

Ask, seek and knock... is a very popularly quoted teaching of Christ, not just by Christian literatures but even the others which wishes to explain what prayer is all about. Looking at this passage within our pilgrimage of return to hope, we have a particular dimension to be highlighted from the Word today. Let begin with a question - do I get all that I ask; do I find all that I seek; or does everything that I knock open for me? Of course, in all sincerity, the answer cannot be "yes". But why?

The Gospel Acclamation gives us a clue to respond to that question - a pure heart create for me O God... it is that pure heart that makes all the difference. That is why James instructs us: "when you ask, you do not receive, because you asl with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures" (James 4: 3). What is this pure heart that we are speaking about here - is it some kind of spiritual elitism that we are promoting? Certainly not. 

The First reading gives us an illustration of this pure heart and explains to us what the right sense of prayer should be, if we really wish to be identified as "people of God". The pure heart is manifested by Esther when she prays with her whole being and calls all her actions and sacrifices almost nothing, and surrenders the entire course of events to the Lord. How prepared are we to do this, is the crucial reflection left to us. 

The journey to hope essentiall comprises of this return to the right sense of prayer - from asking, seeking and knocking for the sake of our plans, projects and pleasure, to asking the Lord to reveal God's plans to us, seek to understand the way that God has prepared for us and knocking to open the right avenues so that we may journey on with love, towards hope and trust in the loving providence of the Lord. 

A Return to hope... the sign of the Saving Word

THE WORD IN LENT - Wednesday, First week of Lent

March 12, 2025 - Jonah 3: 1-10; Luke 11: 29-32

Yesterday we were presented with the theme of the living Word of God that does not fail to produce its fruits! That may leave us with a question still: but how is that in spite of this unfailing Word there is so much left undone - there is evil in the world, the evil persons seem to thrive, there are innocents suffering, there are things that are so far away from what God really wills for us! How do we really believe that there is something called God's will? The world goes even to the extent of asking, so is there a God? If so, what is the sign?

Jesus today tells us - no sign shall be give except the sign of Jonah! That is the point of discussion today: the sign of Jonah. What is it? It is the sign of the Saving Word. The Word saves, but when? When we are ready to receive it. Hence the sign of Jonah consists of three dispositions.

The first is to open our hearts and listen to the Word. What can the Word really do, if not received? Let us recall the parable of the sower... what can the seed do if it is not received?

The second is to discern the saving call of the Word. The Word, it is not enough merely to listen to it, it has to be acted upon. Discern, decide and act upon the Word. If we only listen, we are deceiving ourselves, isn't that what Jesus said?

The third is to trust and keep trusting in the Word. At times we may be tried with troubles and crises. What we need to do is not looking out for some one or something to hold on to... but remain with the Lord, trust in the Word and keep living it; we shall experience the saving grace of the Lord. 

We need to remain in the race, keep running and complete the course, come what may on our way, and the crown awaits us without doubt - that is the sign of the Saving Word. 

A Return to hope - to the roots of interiority

THE WORD IN LENT - Tuesday, First week of Lent

March 11, 2025 - Isaiah 55: 10-11; Matthew 6: 7-15

The pilgrim journey this lent, the return to hope, has to begin with the identification of the real roots. The Word has been instructing us this, the past two days and today outlines to us where one of our real roots lie - the Word, the life giving Word, the Word of the Lord. 

Our words have to be the expression of our innermost selves. There is a poignant call today to look at our words, not just words articulated but words that lie around in minds and in our hearts. They are indeed the manifestation of the core of our beings. The first reading draws attention to the fact how the Word of the Lord becomes the extension of God's self, going out there and "creating" what is intended! Thus should be each of our words - they need to become lifegiving, creative, generative! 

Words that are not meant, the words that are wrongly utilised and the words that are spurted from the most flimsiest of our emotions, are most often highly degenerative. They create wrong effects, to beging with, within ourselves and then in those who are around us. The Word of the Lord is presented to us as the model and challenge - how they are manifestations of integrity, because they come from the innermost Being of God, from the Most Integral Being that we can imagine - after all, integrity is holiness.

For us too, if the words that we utter or those which we do not finish uttering, come from that interiority, they shall be profound, they shall be life-giving, they shall reflect our root: the unfailing Word that God is. This is where the prayer that Jesus teaches us today finds itself situated - Jesus begins by discouraging us from using words unnecessarily! The Prayer of "Our Father" that is taught today by Jesus, thus contains a profound sense of integrity, as it requires be said from the core of our selves, just as the Words of the Lord about which we hear in the first reading - every phrase in it, has a profound element to add to our faith and identity. 

The call is simply to a greater interiority; to mean every word we say, to say only what we mean and this grow in the integrity of our interiority... that is essential holiness. 

A Return to hope - Identifying the real roots

THE WORD IN LENT - Monday, First week of Lent

March 10, 2025 - Leviticus 19: 1-2, 11-18; Matthew 25: 31-46

The Word has initiated us into a line of thought and reflection from yesterday, and this perspective will continue to present itself right through this week - returning to hope is returning to our roots. The journey of returning to our roots begins with identifying the right roots, because in the process there could be some illusions and delusions that we need to beware.

Let us begin with the easiest of ways pointed out to return to hope and to return to our roots... it is doing good. I call that easiest, not because it does not cost anything. It does cost. We shall have to apply ourselves and sacrifice ourselves to do good...but comparing to those which are coming further in a while, this is the easiest... in the realm of doing. We think, we decide, we set apart our resources and our energy and do something good to others!

Getting further, the step is, to declare why I am doing the good that I am doing. Of course, now you understand why I called the previous one, the easiest. It is not so easy to declare why I am doing the good I am doing - first of all, I need to realise it myself; that requires being highly reflexive. Secondly, I need to be sincere to myself, to recognise and affirm what I have realised. And thirdly, to declare it to the others. Most of the times, with all the refraint from being too judgemental, we do good to others, for our own sakes - may be for good name, for some returns, for a blessing from the Lord... the motives could range from those simply selfish to those highly spiritual. 

The third step is, to look at the call to be good rather than restricting ourselves to doing good! That is a totally different level: being good, being holy, being godly - because the One who has called us wants us to be so! Be holy, be good... the doing has to essentially flow from the being! That is our true roots - the Most Holy Being - that is God, who has called us to be holy, to be good, because God is good; God is Holy. 

A RETURN TO HOPE - TO THE ROOTS

Remembrance, Recognition & Resilience 

First Sunday in Lent - March 9, 2025

Deuteronomy 26: 4-10; Romans 10: 8-13; Luke 4: 1-13

The Lenten call is always to return and in this jubilee year of hope, it is a return to hope that we are called to. Yes, we have begun our jubilee lenten journey to Return to Hope and the Word on this first Sunday of the season, invites us to go to our roots! That is a radical return indeed, returning to the roots and finding our hope there! 

Returning to hope is returning to our roots because it is a matter of remembrance! Recalling and Reaffirming how good God has been to us, is the most fundamental way to return to our roots and that will certainly take us to a sense of hope. The Creed that we proclaim habitually, be it in the solemn eucharists or in our daily prayers, is a tool to this call, to remember, recall and reaffirm what God has been to us. Today in the first reading we have the creed of the people of God and in the second reading the creed of a Christian... if we carefully observe them, they are but a recalling of the goodness of the Lord. 

This is a challenge for most of us, because when we are through a crisis situation or in a dilemma of judgement, we tend to think of what has gone wrong, who is to be blamed or what justification I could find for something that did not go well or did not go as it should! The Word instructs us today - look back to the good things, magnificent things, unbelievable things that God has done - whether in person or as families or as communities. That is what the prophets did to the people whenever they had to get back to God - they reminded them of the glorious past. The Spiritual Masters too tell us that - go back to your beginnings, when you face the temptation of losing focus. The generations shall call me blessed, because the Lord has looked with favour on me... isnt that the lesson taught to us by our Blessed Mother!  

Returning to hope is sincere recognition of what we are, with all the graces we have received and all the shortcomings that we have fallen into. The recognition is of the goodness of the Lord, without doubt. But above all, it is the recognition that, that good God is with me all the time. It is the recognition of the presence of the Lord with me which is the highest of poles that can direct me to the sense of hope in life. We see Jesus today confronting the devil - what we see standing out in Jesus is certainly not a egotistic self-promotion nor an arrogance of an elitist mentality; it was a total recognition of who was with him, knowing well his own vulnerability but along with that the purposefullness of the One who had sent him. That was the root, which filled Jesus with resilience. 

Returning to hope is a manifesting the grace of resilience  in all its senses...those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, cites St. Paul. Asking the Lord today to be with us, in our distress (responsorial psalm today) is a subtle teaching that we do not desist or detest distress or hardships in life, they are bound to come. Resilience teaches us not to be caught up with the fears of failures or judgements of the rest of the people around me. It teaches us to place our trust in the right place - in the roots, that is, in the Lord who is just at a call's distance away. 

Rediscovering Hope in life, is physionomically a return, a return to the original glory and splendour; that indeed is essence of the lenten call. And this times, being the year of hope, we are called to remember the hope-giving moments that we have had with the Lord! We are called to recognise the continuing goodness of the Lord and grow in our resilience in our daily life.   

A Return to hope... following the Way

THE WORD IN LENT - Saturday after Ash Wednesday

March 08, 2025 - Isaiah 58: 9-14; Luke 5: 27-32

"Show me, Lord, your way," we pray in response to the Word today - because it is inevitable that we know the way in order that we could return to hope. Hence, the call today is to know the way, choose the way and walk the way. 

Knowing the way, is possible because the Lord reveals the way to us - and Jesus declared it in clear terms: I am the Way. The block that rests preventing us from knowing the way, or getting to know the way is, more than ignorance, arrogance  which makes me think that I have nothing more to know. The human tendency today is this, that with the little that we know, we think we know everything and we feel we are self-sufficient. We miss the truth in the bargain. 

Choosing the way, is the crucial transitionary phase - most of the times we know the way, and the way will certainly lead us to that experience of salvation and hope, provided I choose that way. Let us look at those phrases today in the first reading - "if you do away," "if you give your bread," "if you refrain," "if you consider Sabath delightful," "if you honour the priority of God"... these are direct indications of the importance of a choice, choice of the way we know very well. We know what is the way to peace, to serenity, to hope and to an experience of salvation - but what matters is that we choose it!

Walking the way, refers to the decision, the commitment we are ready for in response to the call that the Lord has for us. Two important things that we could pay attention to here are - one, daring to say the initial "yes" to the Lord which includes saying so many no's, just as it is explained be it in the first reading, be it in the Gospel; the second, the moments when we become aware of our shorcomings - when we falter, fall, tremble or doubt - to tell ourselves, that our Saviour knows it all! He came not to call the just and the righteous, but the sinners and those who are struggling. The call remains unchanged even in the midst of our failures, to regain our confidence, to recommit ourselves and keep following the Way.

A Return to hope... fasting unto holiness!

THE WORD IN LENT - Friday after Ash Wednesday

March 07, 2025 - Isaiah 58: 1-9; Matthew 9: 14-15

Fasting is an integral part of almost all religious traditions; even within our Christian tradition, it comes right from the ancient roots of the first testament... with people who fasted to show their allegiance to the Lord! While it is a renowned way of showing one's choice to stand for a cause in the socio-political sphere, as a spiritual practice it is an exercise of manifesting one's commitment to the Lord. It is here that the interpretations begin to differ - making the central question, "what does the Lord want of me?"

Jesus answers that question today, as John's disciples align themselves with the Pharisees and accuse Jesus' disciples of not fasting! Why should they fast, is the question that Jesus poses and that takes us to the question: why should we fast? We need to fast unto holiness; yes, if my fasting in someway does not lead me to holiness, that fast is meaningless, senseless and needless.

Fasting could be of varied types: 

- there could be an egoistic fast which helps me to show everyone and to myself that I am capable of extraordinary feats and take me to the arrogance of despising others who do not fast, become insensitive to others and consider myself more special than anyone else. This is an ungodly fast;

- there could be a legalistic fast which makes one a legalistically and ritually perform something out of fear of something untoward or out of pride of being a perfectionist. Everyone who does not practice it is judged drastically and the one who practices places himself above and over everyone else. This is an inhuman fast;

- there could be a symbolic fast which makes me feel vulnerable, weak and in want, but helps me participate in the suffering of the Lord, which I wish to remember. It is a way of realising my worldliness and from that thought trying to liberate myself from many a shackle that might bind me. It need not be too drastic in its measure, anything simple could make me feel this spiritual experience, if it is done with authenticity. This could be appreciable and helpful, but for Jesus it is not sufficient; this is a spiritual fast;

- there is what could be called a fast with integrity, which Jesus and Isaiah teach us today: the fast that place God at the centre and in God, the others who are suffering, who are in need, who look to me for some solace! Hence my fast has to be one with integrity, that looks to reach out to the other, promotes justice and compassion, stabilises relationships and enables me to journey towards holiness; that is the hope-bound fast! That is fasting unto holiness!