CELEBRATING THE SELF REVEALING GOD

5th January, 2014: The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord

The only possibility of knowing about God is through God's own self revelation! God is no simple object to be discovered or invented; God is a person whom we should get to know. Knowing God is possible only through the self revelation of God in history, in the Word, in our day to day experiences and in ways known only to God. Today we celebrate that one event, that one life, that one person - JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, in whom God revealed Godself fully, completely, definitively and super abundantly! The revelation has been going on even before Christ, through prophets and judges (Heb 1:1), through chosen men and women . The revelation goes on even today in our everyday life, through the Word and the traditions, through day to day experiences, through holy men and women who have gone before us and those of our times. These revelations find their fullness in the Paschal Mystery, that is: the birth, life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God.

The feast of epiphany is a celebration and a thanksgiving to the Self revealing God who deigned to reveal Godself in the person of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. This feast of revelation reminds of three realities of our faith:

SEEK... to know God: One has to seek, to know God; there should be a yearning within, in order to encounter God. The wise men from the east got wind of something special that was in store and they sought to know what it is. They were wise men, but they wanted to know more and more! Faith has to be deepened; there should be a yearning within us to grow more and more in our relationship with God. It is true that the fullness of revelation dwells in Christ, the Son of God...but I have to seek to personalise it, to encounter that revelation and relate to it in first person.

SEE... to find God: One has to see, to find God; God is always present with us, all that we need to do is see! 'Lift up your eyes round about, and see' says the first reading. We need to see the face of God: in our brothers and sisters; in those who are suffering and toiling; in those who are exploited and crushed; in those who are treated with disdain and burdened with pain; in those who wake up every morning not certain of the next; in those who have so many worries and concerns in life that they can never think of living the present moment! We need to see God, in the innocent love of a Child; in the tender touch of a mother; in the brimming eyes of a caring person; in the everyday miracles of life. Once we see God in these, we will surely find God concretely present in the Church, in the celebration of the sacraments and in our prayer moments. 

SHINE... to show God: One has to shine, to show God; we are called to become instruments of revelation ourselves. 'Arise! Shine!' calls the first reading. St. Paul speaks of how the Lord made him an instrument of revelation to the people! When we seek God and manage to see God, we begin to shine. That is why Isaiah says, "then you shall see and be radiant"...the very seeing makes us radiant, makes us shine! Our Faith is not merely to be understood and believed, but to be lived and be shared. Revelation is at one and the same time a grace and a challenge. A Grace, because it is gratuitous and comes from God. A challenge because, once we get to see God, we have to shine; shine and announce God; shine and share God; shine and show God to the world, to all who are in darkness, sadness and gloom!

The Self revealing God invites us to SEEK, SEE and SHINE. To accept the invitation is the act of FAITH; a beginning of a journey, a journey that lasts the whole life time- every day of which we are called to Seek the Lord, See the Lord and Shine for the Lord!

WORD 2day: 4th January, 2014

They went, they saw, they stayed!

Jesus invites us to come and see...just as one of the psalms invites us to 'taste and see, that the Lord is good' (Ps 34:8). 'Come and See', refers to a call and a choice! Jesus calls us: COME. It is our choice: TO SEE. To see the Lord leading us everyday, to see the Lord directing us on our way; to see the Lord acting on our behalf and to cooperate with the Lord's will in every way... that is the choice we have to make! It is a radical choice - a choice of black or white, light or night...there can be no compromise with the Lord - it's righteousness or sin; ultimately, an yes or a no to God! If we choose God, we choose righteousness; if we do not choose God we choose sinfulness. Of course there are moments of temptations and weaknesses, but the choice is fundamental. It defines my daily life, every word I say, every decision I take and every move I make. We have come to the Lord; we have seen the marvels of the Lord; now the question is, are we ready to STAY forever with the Lord!

WORD 2day: 3rd January, 2014

The most powerful name of ALL: JESUS!!!

'There is no other name under heaven...by which we must be saved,' says Acts 4:12. The names in the Biblical tradition are not merely nominative, they are descriptive and definitive! Abraham, Moses, were names that defined the history of the person; Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, were names that defined the very role of those who bore them; John was given the name even before he was conceived, just like JESUS, the Saviour; Emmanuel, God-with-us! The true purpose of Incarnation was not to demonstrate the grandeur and the omnipotence of God, but the closeness of God with those whom God loved. Emmanuel is the title that explains best the love that God has for us...For God so loved the world, that God gave up everything even God's own Son; and the Son of God gave up even his Godhead and came to be one among us! The Word was made flesh and dwells among us..here and now!

WORD 2day: 2nd January, 2014

God, Faith and our Choice!

God loved us, and as if that was not enough, God had to prove it at great costs. God works marvelous things, and as if that is not enough, God has to every time prove, that the things are marvelous and that God did them! Faith is of course a gift from God, but receiving it or not, depends on our disposition and our readiness; it is our choice! The Word became flesh and came to dwell among us; God revealed Godself to us, and God continues to reveal... do we have the eyes to see it and the heart to accept it? How many miracles happen all around us every single day...and do we really notice each of them? Today, let us remain open with our eyes alive and our hearts warm, to receive and appreciate the splendid signs of God's presence with us. Do we really believe in the Emmanuel, God-with-us?

Felice Anno 2014

Happy 2014

BEGINNING IN GOD'S NAME...

2014... a treasure... wrapped and pressed into our hands...

We have today a wonderful gift that the Lord offers, wrapped and pressed into our hands...the gift of 365 beautiful days! And what better way to start the day than with the Blessings from the Lord:

The Lord bless you and keep you!

The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!

The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace! (Num 6: 24-26)

It's all about the fullness of time...

At the appointed time the blessings come our way...

When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman...

so that we might receive adoption as chilren... (Gal 4:4,5)

And as we begin this New Year...

let us do as the Shepherds did...

Glorifying and Praising God

for all that we have heard and seen...(Lk 2:20)

for all the good that we have experienced during the year and 

for all the good that is in store for us this NEW YEAR...

and may be an apt prayer for today could be:

God grant me 

the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the Courage to change the things I can, and

the Wisdom to know the difference!

THANKS to everything that has been...

AMEN to everything that is in store!

WELCOME 2014

Welcome...2014...here for your download!!!

WORD 2day: 31st December, 2013

O sing to the Lord a new song!

Oh what a day to sing a new song! When everyone thinks of something that is ending, the Word calls us today to sing a new song! Not that the liturgy does not take note of the last day...it does! The first reading indeed, speaks of the last days and the things that pertain to the last day! But the responsorial invites us to sing a new song! That is truly a Christ-ian spirit! To sing a new song when every one thinks everything is coming to its end, for our hope has no end. It is a beginning for us... a new beginning, in the Lord, in whom we have "received grace upon grace" (John 1:16). Today...is a day to thank the Lord for everything, for everything that we have walked through this year. Some, we may label 'good', and others we may label 'bad'... but invariably everything has happened with the knowledge of God...there is nothing more blessed than to offer everything up into the hands of God this day, as we await an all new grace from God's hands... a new year that begins at the end of this day. Let us prepare ourselves in thanksgiving to receive an all new grace from God's hands!

WORD 2day: 30th December, 2013

One who does the will of God, lives for ever!

The feast of the Holy Family is just over, but the theme lingers on in today's liturgy - the first reading addressed to various categories of persons in the family, the psalm inviting the families to offer themselves to the Lord and the Gospel referring to the holy family at the temple, to offer the first born to the Lord! The cue to the message is prophetess Anna and the last verse of the first reading which says, "one who does the will of God, lives for ever" (1 Jn 2:17). We are all called to 'grow and become strong', and to be filled with wisdom...wisdom which tells us what is God's will for us; what is acceptable and what is not, in the eyes of the Lord! Faith is not acquired once for all; every day we must grow, grow to the full into persons that God wants us to be. We have no excuse, because God's favour is upon us all as chosen children of God; if I don't grow and become strong in faith, it is me who is to be blamed, is it not?