WORD 2day

5th November, 2013

Jesus has the table spread; where the saints of God are fed; he invites his chosen people come and dine! The spread that Jesus has is joy, hope, love, sharing, caring, helping, encouragement, honour, respect, service, hospitality, empathy - all that we see in the first reading, from Paul's letter to the Romans (a  profile of a perfect Christian from chapter 12). But we are too busy with our own choices, too busy setting ourselves up, towards selfishness, envy, pride, jealousy, insensitivity, avarice, competition, hatred, enmity... we choose not to pick from the spread that Jesus has - but later blame the Lord, complain against the Lord when things go wrong! It takes courage to choose God, to say 'yes' to God's invitation and partake in God's banquet. Only when we dare do that we can meaningfully pray the verse from the responsorial today, "In you, O Lord, I have found my peace!"

Life... a gift and a mystery!

Nera...one of my guppy friends in the room, gave birth to her young ones...
had the extraordinary opportunity of witnessing it live...
here I share with you one moment... 
a moment of awe! and a moment to praise the Lord of life!

click here: FOR VIDEO
nera giving birth

WORD 2day

4th November, 2013

Calculations of gain and loss, returns and rewards make an action limited to these considerations. Jesus, not only taught us a consideration different from these, but lived it himself and challenges us to live by it. The consideration is -'what God wants of me here and now'! Adopting that as my decisive criterion in life, requires of me two important attitudes: the first reading speaks of the first of the attitudes - it is, an immeasurable awe and absolute entrustment to the Wisdom of God; secondly - placing others, especially the weak, the poor, the least and the last, the needy as the center of my perspective on life, not looking at my own selfish and egoistic ends. When these two become my attitudes, I can worthily say as St. Paul says in the reading today: 'From God and through God and to God are all things. To God be glory for ever. Amen.'

SALVATION...today, here and now!

3rd November, 2013 - 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Salvation is the theme that dominates the liturgy today. The two days that have preceded help us to get into the theme readily. The first day when we celebrated those who shine as stars having reached the due destination; the second day when we remembered those who have completed their earthly lap and are bound towards the eternal abode; both these made us reflect on our future, as something certain and glorious. That is salvation. The word salvation, sometimes can be understood in terms of salvaging something that has gone wrong. Though this dimension is definitely present in the Salvation that Jesus wants to offer us, Salvation for a Christian should mean much more, much broader and more holisitic. It is wholeness, fullness, oneness, where nothing is lost, nothing is dissipated, everything is intact, everything is reconciled into One, whole cosmos reconciled in God, in and through one Saviour Jesus Christ. It is not merely an other-worldly phenomenon, but a concrete experience here and now, says the Gospel today through the example of Zacchaeus. 

An essential eligibility for this salvation is an Eagerness towards it. This eagerness is present in every person, every being. As St.Paul says in his letter to the Romans, the whole creation longs for it, as in a labour pain (Rom 8:22). It is God's will that nothing should be lost (Jn 6:39), that everything should be reconciled in Him (Col 1:20). The first reading expresses it in simple terms, that the Lord loves all things that exist and wills that they be united in the Lord. This is the oneness that we long for with the eagerness that is exhibited in the whole creation, and we as sons and daughters of God, have this longing much more. This longing is manifested in Zacchaeus in a gradually intensifying degree... first as a mere curiosity to see Jesus, then as an openness to listen to him and then as a longing to have him under his roof! Our eagerness too has to grow in these degrees... from a willingness to know, through an openness to listen to the Lord, to a longing to belong to Him for ever.

Salvation is not only something that happens at the end of time or at the end of my life... but it is the moment of truth that is occasioned every time the Lord encounters me - through daily events, through persons around, through a challenging situation, a needy person or a moment that demands a choice from me. As both the first and the second readings explain, the Lord strives to make the creation worthy of its original nature, the perfection which the Lord willed them. It is in this framework we understand every intervention of God, especially that in Jesus Christ, the Word made human. Once the Lord encounters me, I can never remain the same! That is why we keep dodging and avoiding the gaze of the Lord. But when it does happen, it is a moment of reckoning. It was so for Zacchaeus, he was encountered by Jesus at the Sychamore... an encounter that transformed him totally, initiated in his life a salvific process. He listened to Jesus' call, obeyed and came down from the tree, and his life was changed for ever. We are invited to listen to the call of the Saviour, come down from our obstinacy and our life will be changed for ever!

Salvation is not an imaginary state of life...it has to be seen in concrete living. It should be seen in our Enthusiasm for life. We see Zacchaeus enthusiastic about his new life...he is ready to return whatever he has unjustly extorted, not just that, but four times! This is what we call enthusiasm. The word enthusiasm, comes from the root 'en' and 'theos', which combine to mean, 'being filled with God'...being enthusiastic in life means to be filled with God every moment of our life. Salvation has to be evidenced in this enthusiasm to live life to the full... not ever compromising with the unjust state of affairs, not giving into selfish considerations of me and mine, but looking at everything from the perspective of God, from the perspective of wholeness that consists of reconciling everything, the whole creation, in God. 

We are people of the salvation, as St. Paul says, "God chose you from the beginning for salvation" (2 Thes 2:13); Let us live our life with a never ending eagerness for this wholeness in God, ever prepared to encounter the Lord and be corrected and made perfect by the Lord. Let our enthusiasm in our daily life proclaim to the world that we are people of salvation. Today, the Lord offers, as he did with Zacchaeus, to be our guest. If we receive the Lord with our whole hearts, TODAY, we will experience the power of God's salvation.

HAPPY DIWALI TO YOU !!!

Diwali: The Festival of Light

Light...

... as light illumines
... as fire burns
... in the hearth warms
... in the furnace purifies

Illumining it dispels darkness
Burning it destroys the unwanted
Warming it removes coldness
Purifying it eliminates impurities

May your life be filled with every light that is necessary for the moment...
that is my prayer, as I wish you, a

HAPPY DIWALI

HOPE - a sign of the SAVED

All Souls Day - 2013

What is the difference between a Christian and an unchristian outlook on anything? It is hope. It is hope that makes us see a possibility even in the worst of our daily problems. Hope gives one the serenity and tranquility to approach every day problems with grace. One big unsolved question for the whole humanity is how to understand the end of life and beyond. For a Christian, life is changed, not ended, says the preface of the Mass for the dead. Jesus' resurrection fills us with hope and that hope does not disappoint us. The hope is towards eternal life, it is the eternal destination that characterises the culmination of this journey on earth. Death is just the horizon beyond which we are not able to see what really exists; for if we see, there is no more place for hope (Rom 8:24). All that we see is the Risen Lord, who lives with us and lights our path. And in the Risen Lord is our hope. We hope to see every one of our brothers and sisters gone before us, united in the Risen Lord, as do the saints we celebrated yesterday and our prayer today is that these brothers and sisters of ours join their ranks and that we, at the end of our journey, join that wonderful family, the family that is founded on faith, united in love and kept alive in hope!

நம்பினோர் பேறுபெற்றோர்

எட்டாம் நூற்றாண்டின் தொடக்கத்தில் தான் ஆற்றும் திருப்பலியில் உண்மையிலேயே அப்பம் உடலாகவும், இரசம் இரத்தமாகவும் மாறுகிறதா என்று ஐயம் கொண்டவராகவே திருப்பலியாற்றிய ஒரு துறவியின் கண்ணெதிரே வெண்மையான துண்டாயிருந்த அப்பம் தசையாய் மாறியது; திராட்சை இரசம் இரத்தமாய் மாறியது! இக்காட்சி கண்டு உரைந்துப் போனார் அந்த துறவி... அவருக்கு மட்டுமல்ல அன்று அவராற்றிய திருப்பலியில் பங்கெடுத்த அனைவருக்கும், ஏன் இன்று வாழ்ந்து கொண்டிருக்கும் நமக்கும்  ஒரு இயற்கைக்கு அப்பாற்பட்ட சான்றாக இன்றும் நம் கண்முன்னே தோன்றுகிறது அந்த தசையும் குருதியும். இலஞ்ச்யானோ என்று அழைக்கப்படும் இத்தாலியின் இப்பகுதியில், 12 நூற்றாண்டுகளாய் தசையாய், இரத்தமாய் எவ்வித வேதியியல் உதவியும் இன்றி இன்றும் வைக்கப்பட்டிருக்கும் இவை நம் நம்பிக்கையை ஆழப்படுத்துகின்றன, அதன் அசைக்க முடியா அடித்தளங்களை நினைவுப்படுத்துகின்றன.

இத்தசை இதயத்திலிருக்கக்கூடிய ஒரு திசு என்றும் அது அப்பமாயிருந்து மாறியபோது உயிருள்ள தசையாய் இருந்தது என்பதற்கு அது சுருங்கிய நிலையில் காணப்படுவது ஒரு சான்று என்றும், அறிவியல் ஒப்புக்கொண்டுள்ளது. 5 சிறு உருளைகளாக திரண்டு காணப்படும் இரத்தமும் இத்தசையும் ஒரே உடலை சார்ந்ததாய் உள்ளது என்றும், AB வகையை சார்ந்த அந்த இரத்தம் மனித இரத்தத்தின் எல்லா உள்ளடக்கத்தையும் கொண்டுள்ளது என்றும் 1973 வெளியிடப்பட்டுள்ள அறிவியல் ஆராய்ச்சியின் முடிவுகள் கூறுகின்றன. அது மட்டுமன்றி இதை உலக சுகாதார அமைப்பு ( WHO ) தனது அளவீடுகளின் படி ஆராய்ச்சிக்கு உட்படுத்தி அதன் வாயிலாகவும் இதே முடிவுகளை உறுதிப்படுத்தியுள்ளது.




நற்கருணையின் புதுமைகள் 150க்கும் மேற்பட்ட இடங்களிலும் திருச்சபையால் அங்கிகரிக்கப்பட்டிருந்ததாலும் இலஞ்ச்யானோவின் இந்த புதுமை பெரும் சிறப்பு வாய்ந்ததே - காரணம் இதுவே முதன்மையாக காணப்பட்ட புதுமை என்பதும், இரத்தமும் தசையுமாய் இருவடிவிலும் நிகழ்ந்த புதுமை என்பதும், 12 நூற்றாண்டுகளாய் இதன் சான்று அழியாமல் இருப்பதுவுமே.




வானினின்று இரங்கிவந்த உயிருள்ள உணவு நானே என்று இறைவன் அன்று கூறிய அந்த வார்த்தைகளும், இது என் உடல், இது என் இரத்தம் என்று குருவானவர் வழியாக கிறிஸ்து இன்றும் கூறும் வார்த்தைகளும், உண்மையானவை, உயிருள்ளவை என்று நம்பும் ஒவ்வொருவரும் பேறுபெற்றவரே!!!










photo courtesy: Fr. Anthony Lobo sdb.

ALL SAINTS, ALL SOULS - a heritage of faith!

Reflecting on the All Saints day..and the All Souls day that follows...
what a rich heritage of faith and fellowship we have...
a small video explanation of this..i found it here...

VIDEO:
Loved this..and wanted to add it here!

The Saints and the Stained Glasses...

I haven't forgotten one beautiful anecdote I heard as a young fellow (not that I am old yet! the point is, quite a number of years back). The story is about little John who visited the grand cathedral of the city for the first time with his mother. As any 6 year old would, John kept asking mom questions after questions about any and everything that he saw on the way. When he entered the Cathedral, he was wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the spread of lights on the floor... the colourful shades intermingling with each other creating a psychedelic effect on anyone, needless to mention on John who was looking at it for the first time. He was wonder struck with sight and it took a few seconds for John to take his eyes off and look at the source of those lights... there were the big, Gothic, stained glass windows that adorned the walls of the Church, the series of stained glass windows each depicting a saint. John's curiosity could not contain itself anymore, he resumed his questioning spree. "Mom!", he cried in his wonder pointing to the stained glasses on the wall,"what are those?" Mom in her usual patient manner, as if she brought him there for specifically that question, said "they are saints, dear Johny." Surprisingly John kept quiet thereafter as if he was totally satisfied and continued looking with marvel at every bit of those colourful depictions.
The following Sunday, the catechism was on Saints!!! And the nun who spoke to the kids asked a question - who are saints? There wasn't any instant response, neither did the nun expect that from the 6 and 7 year olds. But she was pleasantly surprised by a hand that went up, not very late. It was John. And he said, "I know who saints are! They are those who let the colourful light pass through them!"

Ever since I heard that story, I have been stuck to that definition of Saints: Saints are those who let the Light pass through them! When we allow the LIGHT, the Lord to pass through us, we will automatically shine to the world. Let our light shine... and let us allow the LIGHT to pass through us! Let us be saints!!!

Saints - Being Saints...

All Saints day... reflecting on being saints...

Saints come in different shapes, forms and sizes... there are those who had been so from the beginning and there are those that turned so at the fag end of their life; there are those that formed others into saints and thus became one themselves while there are those that became saints so much due to someone else who had been after them all the time; there are those that renounced everything in life to become so and there are those who lived a busy life of a householder but through it grew to be what they were; there are those that isolated themselves in a desert or on mountains (or even on pillars) and there are those that dwelt in the din of humanity; there are those that lived upto a ripe old stage in life and there are those that died mature already at a stage so young. The message is simple: you don't need a situation that can make you a saint - you become one by recognising who you are!