MERCILENT 2016 - 27th February

BE JOYFUL: You are loved without measure!

Saturday, 2nd week in Lent
Mic 7: 14-15, 18-20; Lk 15: 1-3,11-32

Just yesterday, I heard that touching song that speaks of God's grace as, 'Oh Outrageous Grace!'...yes, an outrageous grace. An immeasurable love, an abundant grace, limitless mercy...that is God. What should I fear when the Lord loves me with such an immeasurable love. The Lord looks at me as a shepherd madly in love with his sheep, willing to lay down his life for his sheep, however undeserving I may be.

The Call is twofold here: one, however immeasurable God's love is, I need to make myself deserving of that great love of God. If not, I run the risk of depriving myself of that outrageous love, that immeasurable mercy by distancing myself from the Father like that younger son.

The second call is to accept my brother (or sister) who fails! If I do not look kindly on the limitations of my brothers and sisters and show mercy to them, accepting them with forgiveness and forbearance, I would be standing out of the house of my Father, again depriving myself of the mercy and love I can receive without measure!

I need to be filled with joy that the Lord loves me, then nothing will disturb me! I would be ready to experience the mercy of the Father and share the same with the other. When I lack that joy, I would turn so negative that I will deprive myself of all mercy!

The Mercilent Attitude for today: Rejoice, the Lord loves you!

Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy #2

#2 The Motto

What we shall be doing in the coming days is first to understand the logo offered for our minds this year. The first element that stands out from the logo is the motto: Lk 6:36.

MERCIFUL AS THE FATHER: Mercy is the identity,  a call and a challenge to an authentic disciple of Christ.

Mercy is that dimension of love that highlights unconditionality of a person's love and the need to offer and ask for forgiveness. That is the identity of a true Christian. For from this they will know you are my disciples- from the love that you have for one another.

At times we begin with great spirits but we stop very soon owing to difficulty in finding models! The call is to grow up towards being like the Father. The Father is the ideal, the image towards which we grow.

That is obviously a challenge too! It is a life long task to grow to be like the Father. Be perfect as the heavenly father is perfect (Mt 5:48)... that's the Mattean version of the motto.

'Keep Growing'...that is in other words what the motto says. We can never stop growing. The heavenly Father is the one who calls, is the model and the destiny towards which we grow.

MERCILENT 2016 - 26th February

BE CAREFUL : The Master will return

Friday, 2nd Week of Lent

Gen 37: 3-4,12-13,17-28; Mtt 21: 33-43,45-46

Being recipients of mercy does not exempt us from being careful! Taking care that we do not fall out of gear with the entire ambient of mercy that the Lord creates. Within the design of the Lord there is an eternal stock of mercy, but at times we may make choices and decisions that might remove us from the whole circle of mercy!

Speaking to the Young, they ask with alarm, 'will God never punish'...'he will punish at an extreme level won't he'...'does the mercy of God exclude punishments for sins'...these are genuine attempts the young make to balance between mercy and justice on the part of God. I love to tell them, you need not try to paint God in a balanced picture! God is not a perfect balance of justice and mercy, the Lord is merciful in God's justice too! God's justice in a great way includes an abundance of mercy. But that in no way makes it easy for one who decides to stay away from the mercy of God! 

Be careful to choose the mercy of God; take care to submit yourself willingly to the mercy of God. When the Master returns He must find you within this ambient of mercy, if not it would have been your fault.

The Mercilent Attitude for today: Take care of every moment and remain within the ambient of mercy!

Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy #1

#1 Why Extraordinary?

Jubilee Year or the Year of Lord's Favour is a phenomenon that comes from as early as the book of Leviticus. It was every 50th year as 7 sets of 7 years (49 years) came to a close.

However the Catholic Church began this tradition of celebrating the jubilee years from 1300 onwards. Though it began with once in 50 years very soon it became a year of celebration every 25 years!

That is how we have the 25th Jubilee year proclaimed in 2000! Ordinarily the next Jubilee should have been in 2025. But since the Holy Father did not want to lose the significance of the 08.12.2015, he has announced an "EXTRAORDINARY" year of jubilee, dubbing it Jubilee Year of Mercy! 

What is special about Dec 8, 2015: It was the 50th anniversary of the Closure of the Vatican Council II, a council that has changed the face of the Church for the world today! Let us take to heart the teachings of the Council and experience the depth of the mercy of the Lord.

MERCILENT 2016 - 25th February

BE WISE: Know, understand and act.

Thursday, 2nd week of Lent

Jer 17: 5-10; Lk 16: 19-31

Every thing in this world is passing. Wealth or power or relationships or popularity - everything is just for a while. Knowing this is one thing, but living by it and making convictions based on it is completely another thing. We know it well that what we gain by our effort here, lasts but sometime still we hold on to them: our titles, our accomplishments, our status, our social image and so on. The Word today reminds us, to face facts. It challenges us to begin to understand what we know and act on what we truly understand. If I know nothing in this world lasts forever, I would understand it is not worth giving my life for it. If I understand it is not worth giving my life for something, I would not make that my priority over others. Where does the problem lie? Why am I lost in things that do not really matter? Why is it that I know something but still I live contrary to it?

God alone lasts forever; and what comes from God alone matters truly. Wisdom is when I come to realise that I know this fact and I begin to restructure my life based on that conviction. The greater challenge is to resist the temptation of giving up in between and ape the standards of a lesser order. God alone matters and it is wisdom that helps me understand that.

The Mercilent Attitude for today: In God alone put your trust.

MERCILENT 2016 - 24th February

BE DIFFERENT: Don't conform to the world

Wednesday, Second week in Lent

Jer 18: 18-20; Mtt 20: 17-28

The world tells you to lead; be led. The world tells you to rule; submit. The world tells you to prove yourself; be yourself. The world tells you to compete; collaborate. The world tells you to be the first; be the least. The world tells you to dominate; serve. The world tells you to come up; grow up. Don't conform to the world, lest you would not belong to Christ! You have a special task: to be different so that you inspire people to be different, and thus make a difference to this world, making it a different place to live. The crux is, be different!

Your life should make people conspire against you, because you stand out in the crowd, standing for the Reign values of righteousness, peace and joy. Serve, suffer and slog for the least, the lost and the last, you would have done it for the Lord. Power, pleasure and passivity in the face of the miseries around you, will count you among the insensitive lot. To be authentically a Christ-ian, be different. Are you ready to be branded, ridiculed, trodden upon? If yes, you are a true disciple of Christ.

The Mercilent Attitude for today: Be different, and make a difference.

MERCILENT DIGEST #1

Mercilent Thoughts - first 2 weeks
1. Be Merciful
2. Be Pro life
3. Be Integral
4. Be Shining
5. Be Godly
6. Be God's
7. Be Open
8. Be Prayer
9. Be Good
10. Be Christ
11. Be Rock
12. Be Exalted

MERCILENT 2016 - 23rd February

BE EXALTED: Recognise the goodness of the Lord

Tuesday. Second week of Lent

Isa 1: 10,16-20; Mt 23: 1-12

The Lord will exalt the Lord's servant. We are certain to be exalted when we remain servants of the Lord. 

Be exalted,  invites the readings today and that invitation has two implications: one, remain faithful to the Lord and the Lord's call and you will be exalted. Inspite of the present troubles around or the limitations within you,  you will be exalted-that's the lesson of mercy at lent. 

The second implication is,  be exalted means don't exalt yourself! Seeing your values, witness and everyday way of life,  the Lord will exalt you in, through and in the presence of the people. Let your principles and priorities be praise worthy and your thoughts and acts will be Lord-worthy! You shall be exalted. 

The Mercilent Attitude for today: Acknowledge the good the Lord accomplishes in you! 

MERCILENT 2016 - 22nd February

BE ROCK: Love the Church and stand by it

The Feast of the Chair of St. Peter
1 Pet 5: 1-4; Mt 16: 13-19

Just a few days back, I read a half baked argument from one dissident from the Catholic Church, seeking to question the authority of the Bishop of Rome! I was laughing to myself because, he was a Catholic Priest who has found his new wisdom in an independent church. Is it ignorance or arrogance that these independent churches, who insist so much on the primacy of the Word, do not see the historical fact underlying the first reading today. Peter writes as an Elder among Elders, instructing the rest of them in the way of the Lord: this is what the Holy Father does... as a Bishop among Bishops, he encourages and animates the shepherds towards a holistic government of the Church. 

The Authority comes from Christ himself and that is the fact we celebrate today. Praying for Pope Francis today, is a God given task, especially in the background of the controversies that are raked up by the western media in the past week! Floods and waves will batter against this home, but it will not be moved, because it is build on a Rock - let us give praise to the Lord. We have a great tradition and a wonderful faith deposit that has been handed down by marvelous people of God, let us love it treasure it, keep it and faithfully pass it on.

The Mercilent Attitude for today: Love the Church and stand by it.

MARKING TIME

Mercilent 2016 - 2nd Sunday: 21st February

Gen 15: 5-12; Phil 3:17 - 4:1; Lk 9: 28-36

Our Christian life is a Marking Time... we do it diligently and with dedication, but we are not bound to it forever, we look to Marching forward, towards our glorious home.

From our school time drills in March Past, we are taught two types of march: Mark Time March and Forward March. Marking Time is when the marching has already begun, but it has not started moving, it is yet to take its real form moving in unison!