THE WORD AND THE SAINT

Compassionate and Sensitive Sentinel

Remembering John Maria Vianney: 4th August 2016

Ezek 3: 17-21; Mt 9:35 - 10:1

Today we celebrate the feast of St. John Maria Vianney, the patron of priests. The Word brings out an essential quality of a priest, a pastor or a person chosen to lead God's flock: to be compassionate and sensitive sentinels. That is what priests are meant to be. Let us pray for all priests that they may be inspired by Vianney and carry out their task as true sentinels. 

We are invited also to remind ourselves of our own task to be sentries to our friends and neighbours and for those in need. At times the Lord makes us so and urges us to play that role.When we do and because of our intervention someone changes over, we would be blessed. When someone plays that role for us and invites us to change, we better change our ways or we would be the losers. Refraining from the age old question: am I my brother's keeper...let us be aware of our responsibility towards each other and take it seriously. May John Mary Vianney inspire us in this regard. 

WORD 2day : 3rd August, 2016

The Remnant and the Rest

Wednesday, 18th week in Ordinary Time
Jer 31: 1-7; Mt 15: 21-28

The Lord renews the covenant with the people  inspite  of their failures because the Lord had always loved  them with an everlasting love. Today the Word warns us that those who will finally taste the fruits of God's faithfulness are the remnant and the rest of the people who come by and stick to the Lord.

The remnant are those who choose to differ from the mainstream inspired  by a genuine conviction and sincere effort to be integral.

The rest are those who are least expected to be favoured in the eyes of the Lord. The world has its own criteria of judgement but the Lord has a totally different set of criteria... single minded dedication to the Lord, genuine love for God's people and authentic life after the mind of God.

Don't conform to the world;  instead be transformed in Christ into new beings!

WORD 2day: 2nd August, 2016

The Courage to Wait

Tuesday, 18th week in Ordinary Time

Jer 30: 1-2,12-15,18-22; Mt 14: 22-36

Waiting seems an undue demand on persons these days. Traffic, queues, public modes of transport...everywhere this is the feeling I had recently - people resent to wait. With the Lord, there is no other way to peace than to wait... for God lives in eternity!

Jeremiah today speaks of an imminent and wholesome intervention by God on behalf of the people of Israel. All this while he would be taking to task those people who spoke of a positive change of the times, he would find fault and challenge them. But now they are all silenced, but Jeremiah speaks of it: restoring, rebuilding and raising Israel back from its dust, to be God's people.

Jesus' intention was to state without doubt the fact that whatever happens the Lord never leaves us- be it storming sea or the threatening world around. The last word is the Lord's and we need to wait till the last word is said! It takes enormous courage to do that. Our patience runs dry, our ground appears to give way, our trust shifts focus and our minds begin to question. When every thing around us seems to be going wrong, can we just hold the hands of the Lord and keep walking come what may... that requires the courage to wait!

WORD 2day: 1st August, 2016

The False Comforts

Monday, 18th week in Ordinary Time

Jer 28: 1-17; Mt 14: 13-21

We have an interesting episode from prophet Jeremiah today - he speaks of one of the self-appointed prophets who stood against him. Like today where we have people who try to make of the Word of God a means of business or use it to attain their ends or play with it to fill their coffers, so were there persons who pleased the people and won their favour, vis-a-vis the message of warning and call to conversion from the true prophets! One such we have in the Word today - Hananiah who offers people a false comfort that they will soon be out of the bondage they found themselves in. God's message was not that, but to change their ways so that they could find a divine favour. Hananiahs who offer easy happiness, instant makeovers and magical moments abound even today.

The Prophets of the Lord, the persons of the Lord, the true message from the Lord solicits from us a total surrender. We might at times find ourselves even far far away from where we wish to be and with nothing in hand - but we need to go with the Lord all the way, be with the Lord all that while. Then the Lord would offer us that food, which will give us eternal happiness, a bliss that can be replaced by absolutely nothing else!

THE FAITH FOCUS

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 31st July, 2016

Eccl 1:2, 2:21-23; Col 3:1-5,9-11; Lk 12: 13-21

There are techniques in photography where they communicate merely out of the way an image is clicked into to the camera. It all depends on the Focus! For a happy and serene life too, we need a focus - the right focus, the faith focus!

A life Out of Focus:

At times today persons live a life that is out of focus. They do a whole lot of things, thinking they are taking their life ahead towards a finer point, while everything go wayward. Even as I share this, I have in mind a youngster known to me, who is struggling in life, not because he is incapable nor because he is bad; he is just out of focus with his life. He takes up a lot of things one after the other, only to find himself dissipated and frustrated, every time starting from ground zero. What is the problem?

A life with a Wrong Focus:

This is a more dangerous phenomenon. If being out of focus with life is a pitiable condition, living life with a wrong focus is a fearful condition. There are three wrong focuses that ruin the world today: Me, Money and Might! Focus on oneself, one's ego, one's own betterment even at the cost of the other, makes this world a loveless place - from this arises all the violence and crime that we witness today. Focus on Money, possession, pleasure and prestige, makes human beings turn into animals with absolutely no conscience and common sense. Focus on being powerful, on domination and hegemony, wipes out races as we have seen in history. 

The Faith Focus:

The right focus is the faith focus! It is not against me, neither is it against money nor against might. Everything from the point of view of the One who has given it to me! Qohelet in the first reading speaks of a condition of life that is lived out of focus...doing a lot of things without knowing for what and upto what! Jesus tells us of a life that is lived with a wrong focus - hoarding wealth for a tomorrow that never exists. 

St. Paul invites us to look for the things that are heavenly. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth, says the Word. A serene way of life would be to live our life to the full at any given point of time, with a sense of gratitude to the one who has given us this life, with a sense of search that makes this life better for me and for everyone around me, with a sensitivity towards all those around me who are in some need or the other taking responsibility for their well being. The world has gone far, far away from this kind of a thinking to a point of no return. That leaves us with just one option: Create a brand new world...every day, in every way, live and inspire people to live with this focus. Let me begin with myself, inspire others and create a world within this world, a world where life is lived with the right focus - the faith focus!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

The Pot and the Store room

Celebrating St. Alphonsa: 28th July, 2016

Jer 18: 1-6 ; Mt 13: 47-53

Being a pot in the hands of the potter gives me the hope that I will never go waste. The potter knows me and knows the world that is around. God will make certain that I am relevant and needed in God's own time and design and use me as God's store room for others!  Saints are such instances!

St Alphonsa was merely 36 when she died and half of that short life was spent in sicknesses of varied nature. But the Lord used her powerfully to bring out the best in her in keeping with the purposes the Lord had defined. She was a simple pot, weak and humble but holding the best of gifts as the store room puff the grace of God.

WORD 2day: 27th July, 2016

Who is with whom?

Wednesday,  17th week in Ordinary Time
Jer 15: 10, 16-21; Mt 13: 44-46

We see Jeremiah saying I am always for you Lord. The Lord says to Jeremiah,  I am with you. The Lord also says that Jeremiah should not go with the people but people must go with Jeremiah. A lot of discussion on who is to be with whom!  The Lord himself gives the final answer in the gospel today.

The highest of the treasures that we can think of in our daily life of strife is the presence of God with us;  God being with us. The problem with us is we don't realise it. Once we realise that presence and experience its sweetness,  we will give anything for it, even all our possessions!

THE WORD AND THE SAINTS

Celebrating Sts. Joachim and Anne: 26th July, 2016

Jer 14:17-22; Mt 13:36-43

The discussion is still on about the darnels among the grains in the field. Jesus speaks as a matter of fact and belittles the question who had sown those darnels. It is immaterial. The fact is that they were there and the grain stalks had grown even amidst those darnels! The merit has to be given to those and Jesus assures it will be given.

Reflecting on personalities such as Sts. Joachim and Anne who stand as symbols of the elders who have kept the faith, we are challenged to emulate their lives, their commitment and their dedication to the Lord.

We are called to remain faithful inspite of and amidst the faithless crowd that looks at everything in terms of gains and benefits. Even the elders in the families are considered and valued according to their worth in terms of income and expenditure. People have no time for persons in this world that absolutises productivity. 

Can we take a moment today and look at our attitude towards elders? Are we grateful or are we calculative? It is time to be grains among the abounding darnels. 

Prayer - Question 1

Prayer... 

is it changing the mind of God? 

It looks like that. 

At times we make God look like 

an ill informed teenager running the issues 

that we need to be constantly giving directions

as to what to do and what not to.

WORD 2day : 23rd July, 2016

Harvest is cutting

Saturday,  16th week in Ordinary Time
Jer 7:1-11; Mt 13: 24-30

Harvest is not merely fruit bearing; it's also cutting. It is a sign that enough time has been given to an individual to make up one's mind. Compromises and life's conveniences abound in today's life style and it does not disturb a casual conscience.

There is the other extreme of a conscience which pictures the Lord of the harvest as a tyrant, a heartless landlord and a stringent due collector. It makes life look like a misery,  every bit of it so precarious.

Why not we look at the Lord as a merciful father and a compassionate mother who is leading us every moment by our hand and wants us to bear fruit. It is  our choice to bear fruit or not. But that harvest is cutting, we cannot  forget or change!