Strive for the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Second Wednesday in Advent - December 10, 2025

Isaiah 40: 25-31; Matthew 11: 28-30

Daring to behold the Reign is the task entrusted to us by the Word this week... but the Word today assures us that we are not alone in this run! We are strengthened to strive for the Reign, because the Lord who is with us refreshes us, rejuvenates us and strengthens us. 

Strength is the single most repeated word in the first reading today - within that short passage the term "strength" and its variants are so often sighted and everytime with an innegligible emphasis. However, it has at least two major points of view - one the source and the other the offer; one the giver and the other the gift!

First is the Strength of the Lord. The Strong One of Israel is the first focus - the Mighty one, the Holy One, the Creator, the Everlasting One, the Untiring One, the Most knowing One! The Lord is strong and invincible and we need no proofs to understand it; it is an inevitable experience, whether we like to recognise it or not, whether we interpret it in terms of God or not, whether we let our humility take its precedence or not! That everlasting all knowing One has everything prepared for us and is ready to accompany us in our daily strife... but are we prepared to receive the offer, ready to behold the gift?

Those who hope in the Lord renew their strength... for the Strong One offers to gift us with that strength. Espcially in our fatigue and failures, the Lord wishes to offer us the strength with which we can strive for the Reign, run and walk without getting drained, keep rejuvenating ourselves without getting consumed, arise from every single stumble and resume with the same energy, bear every burden with shoulders reinforced, and never feel over burdened or over worked, when it comes to striving for the Reign. 

Let us recognise at every turn of our life's journey, the Strenghtening hands, strengthening us to strive for the Reign. 

The Flock of the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT

Second Tuesday in Advent - December 09, 2025

Isaiah 40: 1-11; Matthew 18: 12-14 

One of the signs or consequences of daring to behold the Reign, is to grow into the flock of the Reign - challenges the Word today. We see three traits indicated:

The first is the capacity to console... it comes, as St. Paul would say elsewhere (2 Cor 1:4), from the consolation that we have received from God ourselves. The capacity to console those in strife is a special trait of the Reign - that we seek the suffering, the lowly, the weak at heart, the downtrodden - to seek the lost, the least and the last. 

The other trait is the capacity is to counter... it is not merely condoning everything merely because someone is suffering that amounts to the Reign. Daring to behold the Reign involves daring to call a spade a spade - to identify all that militates against the Reign and denounce them categorically. Because, with justice he will rule the world, he will judge the peoples with his truth - and his truth and justice can never permit any compromise. 

A third is the capacity to collect... or gather into the flock. No compromise does not mean lack of compassion. The categorical choice for truth and justice comes with a incomparable compassion - that is the inimitable style of the Good Shepherd, the most profound revelation of God the Father of Jesus Christ, and our own! A shepherd who goes after the sinners, denounces sin but never the sinner, rejects  compromises but never despises the weak. The Reign is all about gathering in the compassion of the Lord, the flock that depends on the Lord and the Lord's compassion.  

The Immaculate Conception

The WORD and the Feast

December 8, 2025: Genesis 3: 9-15, 20; Ephesians 1: 3-6, 11-12; Lk 1: 26-38

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Mother - the dogma of faith that Mary, from the moment that she was conceived in her mother's womb, was preserved without the stain of original sin. The celebration of today has 3 reminders for us:

Reminder 1: God's plan for each of us is eternal! God chose to preserve Mary even before she was born, from the moment of her passing from non existence to existence! How true when the Word says, 'You know me even before my bones were being formed in the womb of my mother.' God knows each of us and has a mysterious plan for us from eternity. Is it not true that God has chosen us before the foundations of the world, as St. Paul says.

Reminder 2: It was indeed a grace that Mary was spared from the stain of original sin, but she on her part remained faithful, sinless and wholly belonging to God all her life that she brought this grace of holiness, right upto the end of her life when she was found worthy of another grace - that of Assumption. We were freed from the bond of original sin too, at our baptism. Is it not our duty to bring this baptismal innocence right through to the end of our life that we can find ourselves in the company of saints and angels in union with God almighty!

Reminder 3: For Mary it was a remote preparation to behold the Son of God within her in God's own time. The feast occurs during Advent and that reminds us that we are in that place too... waiting and willing to prepare ourselves to behold the Son of God, who wishes to be born in our lives this Christmas. How well is our preparation going?

The Message is simple and clear: God has chosen me from eternity to belong to God. It is my faithful response to this call that will determine my status as God's son or daughter. When I listen to God's word and live by it, God dwells in me, God's word will be born in me, making me the dwelling place, the tabernacle, the temple of the Living God!

DARE TO BEHOLD THE REIGN

Dream, Discern, Determine...

Second Sunday in Advent - December 07, 2025

Isaiah 11: 1-10; Romans 15: 4-9; Matthew 3: 1-12

Repent, for the Reign of God is close at hand, in fact it is right in your midst; do you dare to behold the Reign? That is the question that the second Sunday of Advent raises to us. The Reign is the hope of the pilgrims… and as pilgrims we are called to develop within us the capacity to behold the Reign, the signs of the Reign, the seeds of the Reign and the possibilities of the Reign. At times, although it is right to say we await the Reign, it is more apt to say, we behold the Reign, because the Reign has been already inaugurated by our Lord, the incarnate Son, who came to live with us to make us understand that we are people of the Reign and the Reign is our hope… which is to be beheld in our day to day experiences. That, actually, is a dare… that we begin to dream, that we strive to discern and we remain determined about our hope.

 

Dare to Dream, tells us Isaiah today – the Reign is a dream! Just look at Isaiah’s words today… I personally had a very childish curiosity to see what would that scene be like, if what Isaiah explains becomes a prompt to create a AI image… just have a look at it if you wish to, on my blog: https://thots-n-lots.blogspot.com/2025/12/is-ai-ah-11.html ! It is a dream… but a dream of hope! That is what it is on the mountain of the Lord, says Isaiah and that is what our land would be, if we realise the Reign of God here and now. Is that possible? A big Yes and a sad No! A big “yes” because it is indeed possible when everyone loves the other… as St. Paul instructs the Romans, if everyone begins to respect and regard the other and remain united to the other in the Lord – it is indeed the Reign of God on earth. It would certainly be a “no”, if the forces of violence and hatred, deception and corruption, selfishness and wickedness, continue to take the world by force and rule over it.

 

The Dream requires us to Discern… “I have a dream” is a beautiful thing to say! But what kind of a dream? To be the most powerful on earth, to possess everything that I can set my eyes on, to have every one under my control and command…even these are dreams! There are those who have these dreams and they are already doing enough damage to the world. The dreams that we have, need to be discerned with the help of the Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of justice and peace, the Spirit of righteousness and wisdom! We have a clear criterion given: ‘following the example of Christ Jesus.’ The criteria of discernment presented by John the Baptist is the same again – the baptism of the Spirit and fire, brought to us by the King, who invites us to his Reign, the Reign of truth and justice, righteousness and peace, true joy and eternal happiness. It is a choice – we need to make that choice because the time is near; the axe has already been laid at the roots… if we do not bear the right fruits we shall be felled. The discernment has to lead us to a clear choice and determination!

 

The Discernment leads to Determination… when apostle Paul refers to “he who helps us when we refuse to give up,” he is inviting us to have the spirit of the Prophets – like Isaiah and the Baptist through whom the Word speaks to us today! Determination for the Reign, prepares us for the worst – hard realities of life as symbolized by the austere life style of the Baptist, opposition and persecution as the death of John the Baptist exemplifies and rejection and isolations as most of the prophets, John the Baptist and Jesus himself experienced in their days. Determination overcomes any possible fear or pessimism, making one go to any extreme, even unto death, as we see in the example of the prophets. It requires real determination to behold the Reign, for it is an extreme challenge to live by the Spirit of the Reign. However, it is our very identity, our call, our vocation – to belong to Christ, to belong to the Reign.

We, as pilgrims are hope, are called to realise the hope as pilgrims – that the Reign is ours and the Reign is here amidst us. We become truly people of the Reign, when we dare to behold the Reign – with our dreams, discernment and determination. 

Is-AI-ah 11

If Isaiah was an AI : 

isAIah 11: 6-8 

The wolf lives with the lamb,

the panther lies down with the kid,

calf and lion feed together,

with a little boy to lead them.

The cow and the bear make friends,

their young lie down together.

The lion eats straw like the ox.

The infant plays over the cobra’s hole;

into the viper’s lair

the young child puts his hand.

Work with the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT

First Saturday in Advent - December 6, 2025

Isaiah 30: 19-21, 23-26; Matthew 9:35 - 10:1,5,6-8

Freely you have received, freely you shall give - commissions the Lord. The Lord invites us to give, what we have received - in other words, the Lord calls us to be collaborators of the Reign. This is established in what the Lord wants us to give. We read in the Gospel today: go, cast the demons out and cure all kinds of diseases and sicknesses, because the Reign of God is close at hand. The Lord wants us to work closely with the Reign.

 

Isaiah explains that Reign in terms of green pastures, fulfilled life, abundance of light and healing of wounds. That is the sign of the coming of the Lord, the characteristics of the Reign of God. That is what we are called to construct together, to work on together, to establish together... but how are we called?

By that whisper into our ears - you will hear the voice of your Master, go to the right or go to the left, because that is the right way to go, the right choice to make, the right life to choose! The call is very clear and personal, provided we are ready to hear that voice! 

God our Father and Mother, is the example for us: the Lord is gracious to us and hears; hearing the cry of the poor, the needy and the suffering the Lord comes to their aid. So are we called to be with those who are in need, and come to the aid of those who are crying out to the Lord. How prepared and disposed are we to listen - be it to the cry of the needy, or be it to the voice of the Lord whispering into our ears, directing us what to do and where to go. 

The harvest is plenty and the time is near, we are called to work with the Reign, as the Lord wishes us to... let us pay heed and find our fulfilment in working with the Reign. 

Beginning to see the Reign!

THE WORD IN ADVENT

First Friday in Advent - December 05, 2025

Isaiah 27: 17-24; Matthew 9: 27, 31

The blind shall see, the deaf shall hear, the lowly shall rejoice, the poor shall exult… we will all begin to see the Reign – that is the promise that the Word leaves us with today! The transformation happens when we begin to see, and there are so many conditions that prevent us from seeing the Reign.

Blindness due to the haze and glaze, due to pessimism or naivety – this happens often. The haze of dust and fog which blocks our vision cannot render what is out there non-existent. The glaze of what we permit from within to remain or hang on, does not affect the quality of what exists out there.  However, what is out there becomes futile when it is not beheld. 

This is the case with the Reign, that is amidst us. It is a grace that we begin to see the Reign; your faith shall enable you to behold what is! To believe that the Lord can do it and to entrust it all in faith to the Lord, to become aware of the Lord who is right there beside us and shout out to the Lord for mercy and grace… that is what will enable us to see the Reign! 

The hope of the pilgrims is the Reign and it is ever present, provided we are ready to behold it. The more we allow the negativities of the world and the doubts within to creep up, the more we shall become callous to the Lord who wants to help us see, enable us hear and empower us to be the change that we long for. It is the lowly and the poor, the simple and the child-like who will truly behold the Lord’s actions and begin to see the Reign.  

Belong to the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT 

First Thursday in Advent - December 04, 2025

Isaiah 26: 1-6; Matthew 7: 21, 24-27

The Rock is the imagery that connects the first reading and the Gospel today, inviting us to reflect on the Reign in two respects - as the strong city built and awaiting us to enter; and as the  source of meaning and purpose of our life in its essence. 

Let us begin with that question: who can enter the Reign of God? Reign of God is the figured as the city of God - that imagery can recall to our mind the classic literature of St. Augustine where he contrasts the two cities, and invites us to belong to that city that belongs to God. It is a call for a choice - the same as what Ezekiel gives us today or Jesus in the Gospel. Reign of God is a choice we make, not a place we build. 

Secondly there is the rock, the ground, the source of sustenance, the solid foundation on which I am invited to build my life. The process is tough, challenging and discouraging - because we can see so many short-cuts and success stories right in front of our eyes! But pretty well do we know that those are just mirages, appearing so attractive and pleasing to the perception, hiding a direct portal to perdition behind them. 

The Reign is the life built on the Eternal Rock, that is our Lord. It is a life style, a culture, a shared experience built on the values and priorities of the Gospel - that of love, peace and communion. It is there that the Reign is built, as the City of God... on a rock solid ground of turth, justice and integrity. Choosing it we would step into a life of challenges and hardships, however we are called to choose, to choose to belong to the Reign!

On behalf of the Reign

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

December 3, 2025 - Celebrating St. Francis Xavier

Ezekiel 3: 17-21; 1 Corinthians 9: 16-19, 22-23; Mark 16: 15-20. 

We celebrate St. Francis Xavier the partron of the Missions today! Every year this commemoration comes within the season of Advent, and for those in Asia, especially in India, it is recommended as a feast... because the great missionary has a strong, important and pertinent message to give us today.  

The Message is about the mission of every Christian, as Ezekiel reminds us today - that we are called to proclaim not as a privilege nor as a profession, but as our personal identity, arising from the very definition of being persons of God. The Gospel reminds us that it is to be carried to every nook and corner of the earth, in simple terms, every where we are, without exceptions. But there are problems and difficulties, dangers and challenges - yes, that is part of the message. 

The Mission of proclamation has a very special affiliation to Advent - because the latter is a season of awaiting a very important "proclamation" carried out as a mission. The proclamation of the vicinity of God to humanity, which becomes the mission of the Son of God, who incarnates to carry out this mission. He carried out this mission, as we read in Ezekiel, in spite of even laying down his own life for humanity. Hence, advent itself is a reminder of this Mission.

Francis Xavier's passion for his mission, the fire that he felt burning within him for the mission is easily comparable to the passion of St. Paul or any other apostle for that matter - inviting us to recognise and take seriously our mission of the Reign. Our life of faith, invariable of who we are and what we are involved in, is in itself a mission, a mission on behalf of the Reign!

Understand the Reign

THE WORD IN ADVENT

First Tuesday in Advent - December 2, 2025

Isaiah 11: 1-10; Luke 10: 21-24

Continuing from the same theme as yesterday, the Word today invites us to go a little deeper than just recognising - to look deep to understand the Reign. The first step is to unravel the Reign that is present in our midst; the necessary next step is to understand the concrete implications of it, especially the implications of what my/our responsibility is. 

When the Word says, "shoot from the stock or the bark" there is an implied message to be gathered: in a grown tree, shoots do not come at the bark - that is a common knowledge.  But let us imagine the case. If there is a shoot from a bark, it means a surprise, an unexpected new beginning. Just visualise a shoot that comes from a cut, abandoned, dried block of a bark. That is a sign of hope, the hope of the pilgrims... that there is life, there is the Lord, even when we think everything is done. 

To behold that life, to experience that hope, to unravel the Reign, we need a special seeing, a deeper listening! Not merely the seeing and the hearing of the learned and the scholarly, but that of those who are gifted, those who are graced, those who are chosen. No one can know the Son, except the Father and those to whom the Father chooses to reveal. Seeing the Reign, sensing the Reign, unraveling the Reign is a gift... that many wish to receive but not all are given!

Hence, the question remains: to whom shall it be revealed; who gets to unravel it? The answer is simple too - those who are open to the grace, those who are simple and receptive in relation to the revealing Father... those who are ready to understand what the Father wishes to communicate. This is the need to see and hear deeper, to understand the Reign - because it is not so easy to understand: it is so full of contradictions, strange combinations, incredible situations...but full of possibilties and hope; yes, the hope of the pilgrims!