WORD 2day : 12th February, 2015

One God;  One Humanity
Gen 2: 18-25; Mk 7: 24-30

Man - woman, we-they,  rich-poor, high-low... these categories of daily consideration of people,  things and  events is something to be transcended. Jesus himself receives a lesson from that syro phoenecian woman.

At times people are apprehensive about inter religious dialogue or multi religious initiatives. They prefer to look at the other as different,  separate or even contrary. If we truly mean what we say and what we pray: I believe in One God - then I need to become more and more proactive and look at the reality as One Humanity!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

Our Lady of Lourdes- the fullness of grace
Gen 2:4b-9, 15-17; Mk 7: 14-23

Can Jesus be more plain? However the point he is making is not about what is to be eaten and what not...but what is the right disposition that justifies a person;  his or her choices,  habits and behaviour. What matters most,  Jesus declares, is the internal disposition of a person, and not the external appearance.

Celebrating Our Lady of Lourdes today, we are inspired to thank God for the great gift of her person and the fullness of grace that she possessed. In her maternal love she communicates that grace to the entire humanity. Today not just we,  but even the world at large remembers as the world day of health. Our prayer today is that we journey intently towards that fullness that God challenges us to.

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

St. Scholastica - a spirituality true to Christ

Gen 1:20 - 2:4a; Mk 7: 1-13

The Word today invites us to understand the true Christian spirituality. Spirituality itself is a sense of being connected to everything and everybody...and further still, Christ's, Christ-like and Christian Spirituality is a sense of feeling an obligation to love people, fend for their good, be interested in their well being and spend oneself for the happiness and well being of the other. It cannot be merely a dry or rigid performance rituals and lifeless obedience to rules and commandments. 

Christ's spirituality consists predominantly of love: which is to go out of one's way to make the other happy; it is to wish the good of the other always in spite of the troubles and inconveniences for oneself. Just imagine if today anyone, even those who claim to love each other, would fit into this definition of love. If you would you are well on your way in mastering Christ's spirituality.

St. Scholastica was some one who loved the Lord intensely, that was shown in her love for her brother - a genuine and holistic love. She took him as her guide and St. Benedict loved her too and walked her to sanctity with such warmth and affection. What a beautiful example of siblings we have here - saintly siblings!

WORD 2day: 9th February, 2015

As many as touched were healed

Gen 1: 1-19; Mk 6: 53-56

It did not matter whether they touched the Lord or the Lord touched them, they were healed. Both ways it is an act of faith: to touch the Lord and to allow the Lord to touch us! 'Speak Lord, but a word and my soul shall be healed,' we pray! A word, a touch, a glimpse or a gaze, a whisper...that is all that it takes for us to receive the fullness, from the hands of the Lord who has made us and continues to guard and protect us.

All that we need to know is to understand that we are handiworks of the Master Creator and live our lives according to the mind of the One who has loved us into existence with a well defined purpose and an eternal plan. How prepared are we to allow the Lord to touch us? How eager are we to touch the Lord with all sincerity of heart? Because, when the Lord touches, nothing remains the same; they change, they transform, they are recreated!

Send forth you Spirit, O Lord and the World shall be recreated!

LIVE LIFE CHRIST-LIKE

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 8th February, 2015

Job 7:1-4,6,7; 1 Cor 9: 16-19, 22,23; Mk 1: 29-39

To Live Life Christ-like...that is the call that the Word gives us today. To live for the Gospel, to live for the Reign, to live for the People of God and to love everyone with your heart and soul: that is the life task given to you and me, to everyone called in the name of Christ.

Proclaim to the world that God is love! Live that love and spread it around, a true and genuine love that does not possess but a love that brings the whole world together. A love that reaches out, heals, frees, unites, enhances, enriches and rends every one whole.

When you proclaim that, you will have trouble. Because there are forces that stand for a heartless egoism, a selfish development, an inhuman exploitation and an unbridled avarice! Now you will become the odd one out, when you speak of love and live for it. But still you will do it: because that is what you are called for.

The need is to answer three questions-

First of all to which band do I belong: Am I truly an apostle of love? Only I can answer the question regarding the deepest motivations of my soul.

Secondly: If I proclaim the message of the Reign, the Gospel of love, does my style of life, coincide with the proclamation. In simple words, do I walk the talk? Is there that moral integrity within me because of which I can command the evil forces with authority and they will go silenced before me! The authority that Jesus had before the demons and all other forces that challenged the wholeness of life.

Thirdly: If I identify myself with Christ and Christ's message, what do I do on a daily basis to justify my identity, stay relevant to my self-claim and be counted in that number? Will my lifestyle speak before my words ever leave my tongue? Will the values I stand for, make me stand before the Lord or cringe at His sight? Have I felt the burden of the Reign within my heart, an urgency that unsettles my heart, a passion that sets me afire?

May be today, these questions will orient us to respond to the call that the Word gives us!

WORD 2day : 7th February, 2015

Doing the Will of God: doing good to others!
Heb 13:15-17, 20-21; Mk 6: 30-34

The Gospel presents a picture of frenetic activity today. The disciples are all intent on doing good, as their master himself who went around doing good. At times we can be at a loss deciding what is God's will at a point of time.  The readings today seem to suggest one simple criterion: do good to others;  do good to as many as possible;  do good to all!

God is the shepherd who knows our needs and cares for them,  but God does it through God's sons and daughters who become shepherds in turn.  We are called to be the sheep of God's flock but at the same time to grow to be shepherds to each other,  doing as much good as we could to each other. That would be the easiest way of experiencing the continued presence of God.

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Gonsalo Garcia - yet another Indian!
Heb 13: 1-8; Mk 6: 14-29

In the recent weeks we have been remembering saints,  blesseds and martyrs connected to India. Bl. Devasagayam,  St. Joseph Vaz, John de Britto and today it is Gonsalo Garcia. Though world wide it is commemorated as Paul Miki and companions,  for us in India it would be just and right to focus on Gonsalo Garcia, who formed part of that group of missionaries who gave their life for the Kingdom.

Some interesting facts about St. Gonsalo: he was born of a portughese father and an Indian mother. He left India when he was 15. He was among the 26 missionaries killed in Nagasaki, Japan.

As the first reading points to us,  we have a great lesson of zeal and passion for the Word from the life of Gonsalo Garcia. He was intent on going as a missionary and that is what he did. He knew he risked his life but he did not mind dying for his Master. He was crucified along with the others and it is said they brought his head to his birth place vasai.

WORD 2day: 5th February, 2015

The Urgency of the Reign
Heb 12:18-19, 21-24; Mk 6: 7-13

Already at the start Jesus initiated the Reign with a sense of urgency. It was very true because Jesus was not an isolated reality or a mere solitary person. Jesus was the climax of God's self revelation to the world... the fullness of revelation and the summation of it. Reign was already there in their midst and Jesus was perfectly justified in saying: the Reign of God is in your midst (Lk 17:21). If it were so 2000 years ago,  what do we make of today and our responsibility here and now? Do I have a sense of urgency about making present the Reign of God here and now?

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

St. John de Britto: The Red Sand Martyr

John de Britto is a Jesuit Missionary, who formed part of the famous Madurai Mission! He came to India in 1673 and was imprisoned in 1684 and deported back to Lisbon, Portugal in 1687. However he came back to India in 1690 and was killed in 1693!

An information to those not from India or South India: The place where John de Britto (Arulanandar) was killed is in a place in the diocese of Sivagangai, called Oriyur! The sand in the particular field where he was allegedly killed has a sand that is totally red, so strange to the terrain around! It is considered a miraculous phenomenon and is seen and felt even today!

A challenge to those from India, especially South India: The feast of John de Britto does not only bring to our mind the wonderful gift that we have received from the Lord through missionaries such as these, it also brings to mind the bitter memories of things that have taken place in the region in the recent past. I don't wish to narrate them here or delve deep into them: the challenge that is very clear is, A Church that is divided on the lines of caste, cannot be truly CHRISTIAN. Any number of reasons can never justify dividing a church on those grounds or having internal fights on the basis of caste or clan! The question is: Are we truly Christian?

WORD 2day: 3rd February, 2015

Arise, run, endure!
Heb 12: 1-4; Mk 5: 21-43

Arise,  run and endure is the call today! Situations of death and darkness,  moments of drowning spirit and desperate feelings,  struggle between right knowledge and raging temptations. ..they abound in our daily life. But we are called to Arise from these landslips and Run the race that is alloted to us with an Endurance that is ready to put up with any difficulty,  even upto shedding blood.

The endurance comes from the hope that Our God is an awesome God and can do anything for us. The strength to run the race comes from the faith that the Lord our God is running along and is ever present by our side. The capacity to arise comes from the love that God showers on us, out of which God keeps holding my hand inspite of all situations and keeps whispering into my ears,  my son,  my daughter,  my child,  my friend... arise!