SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #4

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #4: FRUITS ATTRACT WORMS!

The worms know which ones to attack. 

Good fruits invite worms, for the worms know which is the best and they attack that first. How many times have you been surprised by a worm when you reached right through the fruit with your knife. The worms can eat the fruit from within. It is not a sign that the fruit is bad, but that the good fruit has been invaded. 

After all the long and tiring process of bearing fruit, finally when the fruits begin to appear, there can be these worms that attack from within - the worms of misconceptions, the worms of decadence of values, the worms of discouragements, the worms of temptation, the worms of negativity and the worms of compromise.

Now the question is, what would you do when you see the worm? If you value the fruit really and you are well informed, you would try to work that worm out of the fruit and make the most of it. That is exactly what you need to do when you find these worms within you. Don't be harsh on yourself. It is unfortunate that you let these worms grow within you; sad they invaded you! But remember they are from within you and therefore you and you alone have the power to work them out of your lives. 

Work them out of your life with determination. Stop judging yourself and calling names. That is of no use. Look at the way to eliminate them from your life, letting your sweetness remain. You are basically a fruit; you are basically good! You are not the worm. The worm needs to go, not you! So rout them out of your life, now!

Consider Judas and Peter - they were good fruits! When they found the worm within them, they reacted in two different ways. One judged himself, condemned himself and lost his total self. The other noticed the worm, understood its nature, worked it out of his life and became a better fruit - so nourishing and so healthy. 

Though you spot a few worms at times within you, you are a good fruit. Believe in yourself and get rid of the worms!

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #3

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #3: TAKE YOUR TIME; BUT BE AT IT!

Premature fruits are not good. 

You are chosen, chosen to bear fruit. Bearing fruit is not an easy task, the Lord knows it. Do not grow impatient with yourself. Take your time to bear fruit. The Lord does not say, bear fruit fast; He only says, bear fruits that will last. So, taking time is nothing wrong. But, make sure you are at it. Taking time does not mean, just whiling time away, with distractions and self indulgences. 

There is no hurry... there's a time for everything. No one expects the fruits the day after he or she planted the tree! There is a process for everything. When things happen too swiftly, at the wish or command of others, at times there exists the danger that the roots are not that deep. It may last but for a while. As the Lord explained about the seeds that fall on the rocks, which grow fast but soon die dried due to lack of depth. Premature fruits, fruits forced to ripen, fruits that are artificially made to look more presentable...these are no good! Fruits that have gone through the entire hard process of being buds and flowers and raw fruit and then ripening to their fullness, would truly be tastier than the one's which have gone through a short cut. 

Focus is the key... being at it is all that matters. When you achieve something and what you achieve is always secondary to the way you achieve it, to the effort you had put in, and to the passion that you manifest throughout the process. Even if the final outcome happens to be a failure in the eyes of many, what counts is what has gone on in the process. Taking time is not giving into inaction or to lethargy, it is being patient and enduring inspite of moments of hardships, temptations and discouragements. Take time, grow strong and launch it firm - that is the formula to bear fruit.

Consider Jesus of Nazareth - how he was silent and patient those thirty years and how that silence and patience paid off, making his last three years such world-changing, epoch-making years! It is like the childbirth, the child has to come by itself to see the world - that is normal. Taking one's time is not a loss of focus on the mission begun, but it is a deepening and nurturing the decision to bear fruit and to worthily prepare ourselves for the same. 

We are called to bear fruit; let us take our time but never lose the focus, be at it!

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT -#2

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #2: YOU ARE CALLED TO BEAR YOUR FRUIT!

Do not try to bear some other fruit. 

You are chosen, chosen to bear fruit, chosen to bear your fruit, not someone else's. At times I refrain from bearing my fruit considering it immaterial - how do I come to that conclusion? By one of the most detrimental of all habits: comparison. No one in the right sense will expect a peach from a mango tree or an orange from a vine branch! Each tree has its own fruit to bear and that is what is expected of that tree. Just because a tree bears tiny cherries, it does not become in any way less valued than a tree that bears a mega size jack fruit. As Mother Teresa would put it, it is not so much how big are those things you do that matter, but how much love you put into them, that truly matters. 

The second malady that affects one in bearing one's own fruit, is that which is called 'the pleaser phenomenon'. When one wants to bear a fruit, merely because someone wants them to, they are giving into pressure or into the pleasure of pleasing people. A person who does something, however good that action could be, merely at the behest of someone else, has already lost the merits of that action. 

Do not think demeaning oneself is a virtue; it is not. Neither would demeaning others be a virtue. Accepting oneself and others as they are, that is the right perspective in life. 

Consider John the Baptist who with no feeling of regret announces that he is not the expected Messiah. He neither wanted to bask in a borrowed glory nor did he shy away from the limelight in preparing the way. He bore the fruit that he was to bear and today stands a great icon of having lived his life to the full, having borne a fruit however insignificant, the fruit that he had been appointed to bear. 

SPIRITUALITY OF BEARING FRUIT - #1

You did not choose me but I chose you. 

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last (Jn 15:16).

SEVEN LESSONS FROM A FRUIT TREE

Lesson #1: YOU ARE A CHOSEN TREE!

Remember you have said Yes.

You are chosen, chosen to bear fruit. Not all trees bear fruit. And trees don't always bear fruit. If you are chosen, you have to bear fruit. If you are able to bear fruit, it is a candid sign that you are chosen. Never forget the fact that you have said 'yes' to the Lord, when the Lord chose you! Look up to the great people who had said yes, and they were conscious that they were chosen! Think not that you have chosen to bear fruit, infact you cannot. The Lord has chosen you to bear fruit. Though it is to your credit that you bear fruit, the merit is not all yours, remember the One who had chosen you. If I count the cost, and due to it fail to bear fruit, I have forgotten that I have been chosen. If I have been chosen, I bear fruit, that is not a reason for pride, but woe to me if I dont bear fruit. 

Consider Mary the Mother of God - how she said a 'yes' and she remained faithful to it. She continued to bear fruit till the end, right upto Calvary. She is a great example who bore fruit and remained always contemplating the will of God, which had chosen her to bear fruit. 

WORD 2day: 17th MAy, 2017

Focusing on the key element: to Remain

Wednesday, 5th week of Easter

Acts 15:1-6; Jn 15:1-8

To be circumcised or not to be: that seemed to be the issue for most of the Jewish Christians, including a few disciples. But for persons like Paul or Barnabas or even Peter or James, it was a non issue! For them something else mattered. 

Paul said that plainly when he exclaimed, 'For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything' (Gal 5:6).  Then what really mattered to him, he is vociferous about that too: 'for His sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ' (Phil 3:8). 

Remaining in Christ, that is what really matters. Rituals, practices, piety and devotions - all of them make sense only in relation to the proportion to which they help me remain with Christ. Even the most regular of all practices would mean nothing if it does not help me remain in Christ. 

Remaining in Christ is a challenging task indeed - it may at times prove boring and monotonous and not immediate in its results - but it is the key to being disciples of Christ. Let us focus on the key element: Let us Remain in Christ.

WORD 2day: 16th May, 2017

Let not your hearts be troubled

Tuesday, 5th week of Easter
Acts 14: 19-28; Jn 14: 27-31

You will have enemies in abundance, yet let not your hearts be troubled. There will be opposition from every side, yet let not your hearts be troubled. People may plot and contrive against you, yet let not your hearts be troubled. Being untroubled amidst all troubles- the disciples had perfectly understood what the Lord had said... they were unmoved in the face of all persecutions because they had something that the world could not give.

Peace, a peace that the Lord alone can give.  A peace that no one can take away. A peace that shines  amidst darkness. A peace that does not arise from compromise and convenience but from conviction and commitment. A peace that is a result of truth and integrity. A peace that is not an external silence but an internal tranquillity. A peace for which it is worth even giving up our life.

The key to grow towards it is, not to let our hearts be troubled!

NOVENA TO MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

15th May to 23rd May:

NOVENA TO 

MARY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS(As recommended by St John Bosco) 

*1. To Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament*

O Most Sweet Jesus, You delight in being with the children of men and being the food of their souls. Grant we beseech You that through the merits of St. John Bosco who did so much to spread the love of frequent Communion, we may receive what we humbly pray for with all the fervour of our souls.

*Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be* with the ejaculation, *Blessed and praised every moment be the most Holy and Divine Sacrament.*_

*2. To Mary Help of Christians*

O Most Holy Virgin, Help of Christians, who worked and continue to work so many wonders through St John Bosco, grant we beseech you that through your goodness and through his merits, we poor sinners may receive the graces we ask for with all the fervour of our souls.

*Hail Holy Queen,* with the ejaculation, *Mary Help of Christians, pray for us.*

*3. To Saint John Bosco*

O St John Bosco, offer our prayers to Jesus and Mary and grant that through your intercession we may obtain an ever increasing love for Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and Mary, Help of Christians. Amen.

*St John Bosco, pray for us.*

WORD 2day: 15th May, 2017

The plot, the power and perseverance

Monday, 5th week of Easter

Acts 14:5-18; Jn 14:21-26

The Jews and the non Jews together plot to get rid of the apostles but what triumphed was not the plot but the power of God. The Power of God was more and more getting manifest in the life and works of the apostles and they were bearing an unimaginable witness to the Christ-experience.   

What did the apostles do to acquire such power as to stand before the authorities and systems which seemed so frightening earlier - it was due to their perseverance. They were threatened, they were beaten up, they were arrested and they were flogged, but nothing could stop them for living their life for the Lord and for the Lord's message.

The plots will abound even in our life, but if we are strong in our mind and heart, these plots will be overcome by the power of the Lord, invested within me by the Lord. Make us strong O Lord.

CHOSEN TO BE A PRIESTLY PEOPLE

Chosen to belong forever

5th Sunday of Easter: 14th May, 2017
Acts 6:1-7; 1 Pt 2:4-9; Jn 14:1-12

God “chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before God in love” (Eph 1:4). That is our identity; we are a chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation, God’s own people in order that we may proclaim the mighty acts of God, the God who has called us from darkness into his marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9). 

What is my identity of myself?

Are we merely people who are looking upto God for some favours? People who wait on God to come and solve our everyday problems? People complaining to God about those around us who are not living upto our expectations, disappointing us, troubling us, not understanding us or causing us grief? Can we take a breath and imagine what identity God has invested in us and to what level we have diluted in our daily living of our faith.

We are Chosen…

It is not by chance that I am a Christian, I am chosen. Recently, Anandhi (name changed) a girl of another faith, came to me asking to be prepared for baptism. She was in love with Alfred (name changed), a Catholic and wanted to marry him in the Church. After all the preparation, finally I asked, “Who brought you to this intention of receiving Baptism?” Without hesitation, Anandhi said, “Alfred.” I smiled at her and took the opportunity to tell her, ‘It is truly Christ who has brought you to Baptism’. It is the Lord who has chosen us dear friends and it is not the other way around: “You did not choose me, but I chose you”, says the Lord (Jn 15:16). It is the Lord who has chosen you and me, and all that we need to do is happily walk holding his hand.

We are Chosen to belong…

Last week we celebrated the Good Shepherd Sunday and we prayed for Vocations to Priesthood and Religious Life. That is a special call, a call for a ministry, just like Stephen and the 6 others are chosen today in the first reading for a special task – that is what we call Ministerial Priesthood. But there is another call that is universal… that is the call to Royal Priesthood… each and every one who is chosen in Christ, who is washed in the waters of baptism, is called to this priesthood. Yes! We are all priests unto the Lord! We are Chosen Race, Royal Priesthood… We have a special call to belong to the Lord. That is the crux of this priesthood. The ordained priests are ordained for a special ministry, while all of us share in the priesthood of Christ. The Priesthood of Christ consists in belonging to the Father. “I am in the Father and the Father is in me” says the Lord (Jn 14:11). The priesthood that we share with Christ is to be in God, the Father and Mother; to belong to God, to be grafted on to God, to remain in God as the branches remain in the wine and give fruit.

We are Chosen to belong forever…

In belonging to the Lord, in remaining with Christ, in sharing the priesthood of Christ we inherit the greatest of all patrimonies: a dwelling place in the courts of the Lord. That is what is prepared for us, that if we belong in our life to God, we would belong to God forever even in death. Christ has gone before us to prepare this place for us, and when he comes we should still belong to God, we should still be his Priestly People, that we may receive that dwelling place prepared for us!

Every day is an opportunity, through our ordinary tasks and daily duties, by our conscious choices and deliberate decisions, to deepen our belonging to the Lord, to realize we are chosen, that we are chosen to belong to God, chosen to belong forever, as a chosen race, a Priestly People!

FATIMA 100 YEARS - LET US CELEBRATE- Day 9

OUR LADY OF FATIMA - 100 YEARS

WE HAVE BEEN A NOVENA COMMUNITY THESE 9 DAYS...
LET US BRING EACH OTHER'S INTENTIONS TO THE FEET OF OUR BLESSED MOTHER
LET US ALSO CONSECRATE OURSELVES TODAY...PRAY TILL THE END...

DAY 9: 13TH MAY 2017 - 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE APPARITION AT FATIMA

LET US PRAY:

ost Holy Virgin, who has deigned to come to Fatima to reveal to the three little shepherds the treasures of graces hidden in the recitation of the Rosary, inspire our hearts with sincere love of this devotion.  

      By meditating on the mysteries of our redemption that are recalled in your Rosary, may we gather the fruits contained therein and obtain the conversion of sinners, the conversion of Russia, the Peace of Christ for the world, and this favor that I so earnestly seek of you in this novena....

   Mother most admirable and Mother most loving, in one heart and mind we surrender into your hand the intentions of every one in this novena community, praying to your with a child like trust these 9 days. Receive our intentions as we present them into your loving arms...(mention your intentions here)...Bless our families, be with our faith communities and strengthen our faith today, as we consecrate ourselves to you with love. 

I ask this of you, for the greater glory of God, for your own honour and for the good of all people. Amen

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be (three times)

Please do not forget to pray the Rosary these 9 days!

LET US CONSECRATE OURSELVES TO MOTHER MARY TODAY 

May 13, 2017 - Centenary of OUR LADY'S  Apparitions at Fatima

Taking to heart the request of Mother Mary at Fatima, to CONSECRATE ourselves to her IMMACULATE HEART, let us take refuge in Mary by consecrating ourselves, our families, friends and communities to her by using the simple formula below:

O MARY, VIRGIN MOST HOLY AND REFUGE OF SINNERS, I ACCEPT YOU AS MY MOTHER AND I CONSECRATE MYSELF TO YOUR IMMACULATE HEART. I CONSECRATE TO YOU MY VERY BEING AND MY WHOLE LIFE: ALL THAT I HAVE, ALL THAT I LOVE, ALL THAT I AM. TO YOU I GIVE MY BODY, MY HEART AND MY SOUL; TO YOU I GIVE MY HOME, MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS AND MY COUNTRY. DEAR MOTHER, ACCEPT ME AS YOUR CHILD AND BRING ME TO THE REDEEMING LOVE OF JESUS. AMEN

3 Hail Marys and a Glory be.