Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy #7

# THE WOUNDS

Yet another element that stands out in the logo is the wounds of crucifixion that we see on the limbs of Christ. Why are the wounds there...are they used merely to identify that it is Christ? The halo and the cross on the head of that image would have done if it were so. The wounds have a slightly deeper significance, than merely to say it is Christ; they signify that it is the Risen Christ that we see there!

The Risen Lord used the wounds in his hands and feet and the side, to assure the disciples that it was he! Come touch my wounds and put your hand into my side, he invited Thomas. The message is the presence of the Risen Lord. We are not here looking at the historical Jesus who lived and moved those three years doing miracles, manifesting signs and doing enormous good to so many. No, we are thinking of the Lord who has promised us to be with us all the time, till the end of times. We are looking at the Lord who is there with us in every experience of ours, in doubts and difficulties, in trials and temptations, in sins and sufferings, he is there beside us, compassionately involved in our lives, infact equally living it himself. That is why we are on his shoulders, he is seeing us through all our situations. 

The call that we have is to feel, experience and trust in the continual presence of the Risen Lord, the promise of the never failing mercies of the Father.

MERCILENT 2016 - 2nd March

BE BLESSED: obey the Lord and receive life

Wednesday, 3rd week in Lent

Dt 4: 1, 5-9; Mt 5: 17-19

Life is a gift, it is not something that we earn for ourselves! If it is a gift it is received; if it is received it is given! Life is given; if it is given, it is given for a purpose! The most loving sign of God's care for us is expressed in God's words through Jeremiah: 'For I know the plans that I have for you!' (Jer 29:11). God has a plan, God has a purpose, all that I need to do is just walk in the way that the Lord shows! There are times when the way shown agrees with my wishes and I am enthusiastic about it. But when the way shown does not agree with my whims, I begin to whine and complain! How childish of me!

Obeying the Lord will not be a grudging act, if only I understand it is the Lord who gives me life and God alone knows what I can make of it. Once I begin to absolutise my wishes in life, set up my own races, create my own pathways, hold on to my own goals as if nothing else matters in life, I am bound to undergo frustrations and failures. But the moment I surrender my life in the hands of the Lord and wish to live the way that the Lord leads, seek after goals that the Lord sets, achieve purposes that the Lord offers me, then I will have life, in all its fullness. It is in obeying the Lord that I find the fullness of my life.

The Mercilent Attitude for today: Listen to the Lord, hear his commands, obey them and you will have life, life to the full!

Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy #6

# THE GAZE

One of the intriguing elements of the logo is the gaze of the two persons depicted... two pairs of eyes but one shared between two. There have been even some anti-catholic elements which have attributed some diabolic interpretations to this. They are only to be pitied, for having missed the depth of the meaning offered here.

We are aiming at being merciful like the father. Being Merciful like the Father, is possible only when we understand the Father fully - how do we understand someone whom we have not seen? John explains it in the prologue to his Gospel (Jn 1:18): "No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known." It is Jesus, the Face of the Mercy of God who has made God known to us. It is Jesus who showed us, what it means to be merciful like the Father. It is Jesus who reveals to us, how the Merciful God sees and invites us to SEE AS GOD SEES! 

God sees every one as God's sons and daughters, however unworthy we might be. To see as God sees would mean that I see everyone as my brother and my sister, without judging them to be deserving or not of my love and acceptance. It means to be loving, forgiving, forbearing, patient and kind as God is. I am challenged to see as God would see, to think as God would think, to love as God would love, to do good as God would do, to be merciful as God is.

The Call here is to share the eye of Christ, to share the vision of Christ, to share the mind of Christ: To see as God sees!

MERCILENT 2016 - 1st March

BE GRATEFUL : a grateful heart is a holy heart

Tuesday, 3rd week in Lent

Dan 3: 25, 34-43; Mtt 18: 21-35

One fundamental quality of people who are evil, who plot the ruin of others or who do not love others enough, is ingratitude. Showing mercy to others will be an automatic outcome, if a person is mindful of all the good that he or she has received. St. Paul would ask a very poignant question: 'what do you have that you have not received?" (1 Cor 4:7) If we have received so much good and we acknowledge that we have received them all, will we not be considerate that we have to reciprocate the same to others around me: that is the connection between being grateful and being good.

The parable that Jesus narrates today is a such a beautiful depiction of how we behave at times: receiving in such abundance but so calculative while giving! The man was forgiven an amount that was equal to 15 years wages while he refused to forgive one day's wages someone owed! What a contrast Jesus presents here... Be mindful of how good the Lord is to you and your goodness will be augmented. In the first reading we see a cry for help to the Lord but even in that dire situation we do not see or feel any desperation on the part of the one who is making the invocation. There is only trust that stands out. That is a heart that was so mindful of the good that the Lord had done till then. 

A truly grateful person will grow easily to be holy. Gratitude is, never to take anything for granted: once a person acknowledges every small good that the Lord does to oneself, the person will grow conscious of how indebted one  is. That is the beginning of the commitment to repay the goodness of the Lord: can we really do it? The starting point of holiness has to be this: because God is so good, I have to be good; because God is so forgiving, I have to forgive; because God is so holy, I have to be holy!

Mercilent Attitude for today: Thank God, thank God every moment of the day, for we can never thank God enough.

Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy #5

# THE CONCENTRIC OVALS

The next element that stands out in the Logo is the concentric ovals that we find...do you notice that it is not merely one regular oval but a set of ovals one differentiated from the other with differing shades. 

The concentric ovals are symbolic of the dynamic nature of our relationship with Christ, because in that relationship Christ carries us, transports us...there is a movement that is seen in the progression of the concentric shapes. 

As we said, the one who is carried is symbolic of humanity, that is representing each of us. The One who carries is Christ,who carries us out of sin towards salvation; out of death towards new life! That is what the mercy of God does to us, taking us from sin to salvation, from death to new life. 

The Call: The progression of the shapes also has another pertinent invitation, to go deeper into our life, our identity and our call. 'Put out into the deep', calls Jesus and that is the message, that we do not remain complacent with a shallow level of living our life, instead go deeper and deeper into the gift and task that our life is! In short, our life is a journey, a constant movement, a call to grow towards a state of holistic and salvific relationship with the Merciful Lord.

MERCILENT 2016 - 29th February

BE PLIABLE: dare to change

Monday, 3rd week in Lent
2 Kgs 5: 1-15; Lk 4: 24-30

One of the toughest call we have as human persons is to be pliable in the hands of our Lord. We falter from our original nature of being children of God and deviate into a life that is so unbecoming of the chosen children of God. The Merciful Lord never writes us off, instead God offers us the opportunity to return to Godself. At times what the Lord expects from us, may be something very trivial (as Naman was asked to do, in the first reading today). At times it may be quite demanding (to be questioned by the one who is no different from you, like Jesus did to the Pharisees)...but what matters is our readiness to change, our nature of being pliable in the hands of our Lord.

Changing is not so easy- it involves leaving our comfort zones, it involves leaving things that seem to gratify us, it involves a kind of sense of accomplishment we might have in carrying out something. None of these matter, when it comes to surrendering ourselves in the hands of the Lord and doing just what the Lord wants of us! We know what the Lord wants of us; let us not feign ignorance. We know, yes! But the question is, do we dare?

The Mercilent Attitude for today: Submit to the directions of the Lord and dare to make changes in your behaviour.

Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy #4

# THE COLOURS

The colours that have been used in the logo of the year of mercy, have a specific message to communicate. Let's begun with having a good look at the logo. And note the colours that stand out.

Red: signifies the blood of Christ. The Blood of Christ is a sign and symbol of God's mercy. For God so loved the world that God sent God's only Son to give us life. Christ gave his life for us as the most intense expression of God's mercy.

White: signifies the light of Christ. The light that takes us to the Father,  the light that makes it clear to us who we are, the light that defines where and how we need to be journeying - that is the light we are looking at.

Blue: signifies the earth and so the humanity,  that is "we"...we are called to be sons and daughters of God sporting the very image and likeness of the One who has willed us into existence.

Gold: signifies the call that we have received as humanity. If you closely glimpse at the golden hue it is on the person who lies on the shoulder. If Christ is the one who is carrying, the one who is carried is Adam. The first Adam brought in sin through his disobedience,  Christ the second Adam brings in salvation through obedience. We are called and challenged.

The Call from this element of the logo, is to understand the face of the mercy of God-Jesus Christ, listen to Him and surrender ourselves to His projects.

REAPING TIME

MERCILENT 2016 - 3rd Sunday in Lent: 28th February

Exo 3: 1-8, 13-15; 1 Cor 10: 1-6, 10-12; Lk 13: 1-9

It's reaping time; it's time to show the difference in my life. If I do not show that difference, that bit of growth that comes from an authentic eagerness towards perfection, I deny myself the possibility of truly experiencing that saving grace of the merciful Father. I have no excuses to make and that is what the readings today establish without doubt.

I have no excuses because, I am accompanied with daily miracles by the Lord. As the Lord accompanied the people of Israel as a cloud and the pillar of fire, the Lord accompanies me with daily miracles in my life. I may or may not recognise the countless miracles that happen all around me but they are constantly there. The daily dose of life, the air that I breathe, the vital sustenance that is ensured...what are these but miracles. The guidance that I receive from daily experiences, the indications that I am given to regulate my life, these are miracles that I keep experiencing from the Lord's accompaniment.

I have no excuses because, I am alerted by regular warnings. Even as I choose to do things that do not really go well with the call that I have received from the Lord, I am warned from within. Even as I see people fumbling and falling, mistaking and missing their way in life, I am given with warnings to change my life, lest I go far far away from the Lord. At times I squander the warnings I receive as I am busy judging people, branding them and writing their destinies unduly. I need to begin to take the cues all around me and be attentive to the warnings that keep coming my way.

I have no excuses because I am affirmed with such abundance of mercy from the Lord. I am given chances after chances, offered countless opportunities and limitless forgiveness from the Lord, that I may grow over my faults and failures, towards making choices that lead me to fruits that show me to be a true son or daughter of God. The Lord invites me to bear fruit, fruits that will show me to be worthy of the image and likeness that I bear; that I may be merciful as the Father. Be ye perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.

Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy #3

# THE SHAPE

Looking at the Logo for the Year of Mercy, one could wonder, why that shape of say, an almond... the oval? Why not a more perfect shape like a circle that would have symbolised the complete and unending love of God. But the oval, has more to say than what apparently appears. 

The shape of an oval is said to be a highly familiar shape used in the traditional iconography of the early church. It came to mean something very deep and fundamental within the faith expression of the early christian artists. The clue is in how this Oval is formed? It is formed when two circles intersect and find a common space...that is, it is formed in the union of two circles. That was why it came to symbolise for the early christians, the union of the two natures of Christ - the human and the divine.

Amidst the controversies that existed in the Early Christian Theology, whether Christ was more man or more son of God, this symbol came to express the right understanding of Christ as the perfect union of humanity and divinity. Today the logo for the year of Mercy picks up on that one composite nature of the Son of God, which is the epitome of the expressions of the Mercy of God - Jesus Christ is the face of the Mercy of God.

The Call that this element of the Logo gives us, is to understand the divinity that the Lord has placed within our beings and live to be deeply human and deeply holy at the same time.

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!