RevivaLent 2018 - #35

Revive your decision to lift the Lord high!

Tuesday, 5th week in Lent: 20th March, 2018

Num 21: 4-9; Jn 8:21-30

They thought they were finishing his story off. Little did they know they were giving rise to an all new history. The Lord was lifted and as he had said,  he drew all to himself when he was lifted. Today,  as always the blood of some people of God is being spilled for no reason,  but it is not a signal to the end of the Reign of the Lord. Let the world beware that the Lord is being lifted up. And when the Lord is lifted up,  he will definitely draw people to himself.  

All that we need to do is like Jesus himself guarantee that we do not act as we like but according to the will of the One who has called us. As Jesus himself testified it was his doing the will of his Father that gave him the meaning of his life. As the Scripture points through St. Paul it is the obedience to the Father that placed Jesus above every being on earth and gave him the name that is above every name ( Phil 2: 8-11). 

When we do the will of the One who has called us, when we dedicate our entire life for the mission that the One has entrusted to us, then let us understand we are lifting the One Lord high! Not all will like it; not all will support it; some will even deliberately work against it...but all the same the Lord will be lifted high! And then the Lord shall draw people to the Reign. 


Hence, when there are difficulties around, when there are discouragements felt, when there are deliberate efforts to foil the goodness of the Lord - revive your decision to lift the Lord - in your words, actions and your life! The world shall surely know the True Lord!

மார்ச் 20: அவரை உயர்த்திட ...

நம் வாழ்வால் அவர் பெயரை உயர்ந்திடுவோம்!

அன்று கிறிஸ்துவை அழித்திட நினைத்தவர்கள் உண்மையிலேயே அவரை உயர்த்திக்கொண்டிருந்தார்கள் -மனுமகன் உயர்த்தப்பட்டபின் அனைவரையும் தம்மிடம் ஈர்த்துக்கொள்வார் என்னும் அவரது கூற்றின் படியே, அந்த சிலுவைச்சாவு அன்று ஒரு முடிவாக அமையவில்லை, தொடக்கமாக, புது அனுபவத்தின் தொடக்கமாக, புது சமுதாயத்தின் தொடக்கமாக, காலம் காலமாக இறைவன் அறிவித்துவந்த மீட்பின் தொடக்கமாக அமைந்தது என்பது நாம் அறிந்தது, நாம் நம்புவது. இது எப்படி சாத்தியமானது: கிறிஸ்துவே அதை இன்று விளக்குகிறார். நானாக எதையும் செய்வதில்லை, என்னை அனுப்பினவர் நான் என்ன செய்ய வேண்டுமென விரும்புகிறாரோ அதையே நான் செய்கிறேன். இதுவே நம் மீட்பின் ஊற்று. இன்றும் இதுவே நம் மீட்பின் பிறப்பிடம்.

நாம் நமது விருப்பு வெறுப்புகளை சற்றே ஒதுக்கிவைத்து இறைவனின் விருப்பத்தை, அவரது சித்தத்தை செய்ய முழுமுனைப்போடு இறங்கும்போது நாம் அவரையே உயர்த்துகிறோம் என்று உணர்ந்துகொள்வோம். இன்று இறைவனின் பணியை எளியோருக்கு செய்யும் போது ஏற்படும் இடர்களை நாம் அறிவோம். இந்த சூழல்களுக்கு அதை உருவாக்கும் மூடர்களுக்கோ நாம் அஞ்ச தேவை இல்லை... இறைவனின் சித்தத்தை தொடர்ந்து செய்வோம்! நம் விருப்பத்தை அல்ல, நம் திட்டங்களை அல்ல. இறைவனின் சித்தத்தை, இறைவனின் திட்டத்தை தொடர்ந்து செய்வோம். அன்று சிலுவையை முடிவாக நினைத்தவர்கள் போலவே, இறைவன் உயர்த்தப்படுவதை இவ்வுலகம் காணும், அதற்கு நாம் கருவியாய் இருப்பின் இறைவனுக்கு நன்றி கூறுவோம்! 

எப்பெயருக்கும் மேலான பெயரை இறைவன் நமக்கு வழங்கியுள்ளார். கிறிஸ்து என்னும் அந்த பெயரிலும் அந்த வாழ்விலும், அந்த படிப்பினைகளிலும் தான் நமது உண்மையான உயர்வு உண்டு என்று உறுதியாய் நம்புவோம், அவர் சொல் கேட்போம், அவர் வழி செல்வோம், அவர் வாழ்வை வாழ்வோம், அவரையே உயர்ந்திடுவோம்!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

St. Joseph - As the Word projects him!

Solemnity of St. Joseph: Silent, Simple and Sleeping!

2 Sam 7: 4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22; Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a.

St. Joseph occupies a huge space in the climax of God's salvific plan which was accomplished in Jesus - still he remains a quiet, noiseless and unassuming person! In a noisy world of today which claims recognition for every little thing and clamours for attention, his mode of living his life, carrying out his mission and responding to his call is a lovely lesson. Apart from this, there are three dimensions of this saint that we can notice emerging from the Word today.

Silent Protagonist:

He had a very important role to play within the historical events that were unfolding  in time, and he played it to perfection. The extraordinary quality that we see in this personality is the silence - how he remained recollected in his depths, to receive the directions from the Lord and execute them to the letter. The prefigurement of this image is seen in Abraham, presented to us in the second reading - how he spoke very little too! He listened and obeyed! St. Joseph too listened and for that he chose to remain silent!



Simple Person:

He was simple as a person... this does not mean he had just an old fashioned dress and no sandals on feet - that is how 'being simple' is understood these days! Simple is opposed to complicated! He was not complicated in anyway - an yes meant yes and a no meant no. He thought of rejecting Mary, he was told to accept and he accepted. He thought of returning to Judea, but was told not to and he went to the district of Galilee. He was a simple man who had no air of ego around him nor any self-interests to hang on! The figure of David is presented to us in the first reading drawing our attention to a way of life that was simple. Though the man had limitations within him, he had no ego absolutely. When he was pointed out, he immediately repented. He was called to be a servant of the Lord and even as a King he remained so! St. Joseph never complicated his role or his person, he remained as simple as he was called.

Sleeping Prophet: 

Sleeping St. Joseph is a popular devotion by now...a renewed perspective reminded by our Holy Father. It is not a mere novelty of thinking but a perspective of faith: the Lord provided for God's beloved even as they sleep (Ps 127:2). It is one lifestyle to spend sleepless nights thinking about something. It is completely a different life style to leave it to the Lord and sleep over it, for the Lord takes care of me even if I am asleep! It is a choice. It is a prophetic sleep when it is out of total surrender to the Lord - Joseph of the Old Testament, the namesake of the saint we celebrate, is a beautiful example of this lifestyle. He surrendered himself totally to the Lord and lived his life like a dream. St. Joseph too was so surrendered to the Lord that even as he slept, he felt protected and directed. 

FRANCIS' FIVE - #5

FIVE YEARS OF POPE FRANCIS 

March 13, 2013 - the day Pope Francis took on the divine mandate of leading the People of God. It has been five years and there are FIVE strong orientations that this wonderful person of God has given the Church and the world. 

5. YOUTH - the lifeline of the Church 

Youth are the point of attraction for the Holy Father. He refuses to believe the theory of the world today: that youth feel the Church is irrelevant; and he says he cannot believe it because a million young voices keep shouting to him something different - that they need God, that the need real faith experiences, that they need relevant spirituality, that they need to make a difference in their world! 

Pope Francis has become a friend of the young! He speaks their language, he likes what they like and he admires what they enjoy and he believes in their capacity to build an all new world, a transformed Church and a passion filled humanity! Not just himself, he has challenged the rest of the Church to change their mentality, shirk their prejudices and listen to the young. 

The present preparation towards the Synod of the Young - he prefers to call it not 'Synod for or about the Young' but 'Synod OF the young'. He has invited the youth to speak out their minds; say things without fear and challenge the Church towards transformation. The extensive survey that has been done among the young, the various meetings that he has had with groups of them, and the Presynodal Meeting that he is planning to have with over 300 youth from various parts of the world on 19th March, 2018 are just a few highlights of the importance that he gives to the youth and their participation in the Church. 

The Papal Stations of the Cross, which is celebrated every Palm Sunday at the Colosseum, this is year is being written by the youth! A simple message that the Holy Father is giving them in this - that he wants their voice be heard by the Church! That does not mean he does not challenge them: he says, enough of burying yourself in the fake identities of your social network, stand and speak up. He has time and again instructed them : do not be afraid to love, do not be afraid to commit yourself, do not be afraid to serve! The Church is in need of courageous youngsters. 

Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment - is a project that he has given the young, calling their attention to their life of faith and their call to live their life to the full and play their role to the utmost. He incites them to create a chaos where they are, so that something new and fresh, alive and attractive can be born. He invites the youth, as he writes to the Canadian Youth: "flood the places where you live with the joy and enthusiasm typical of your youthful age, to irrigate the world and history with the joy that comes from the Gospel, from having met a person: Jesus, who has enthralled you and has drawn you to be with Him."

Certainly the Holy Father does not consider this merely his special charism to relate to the Young, but wants the entire Church to trust in the Youth, to respect them and listen to them and confide in them the responsibility of leading the Church on in this new millennium. 

Do you wish to see Jesus?

Jesus: Yes you surely can!

5th Sunday in Lent: 18th March, 2018
Jer 31:31-34; Heb 5: 7-9; Jn 12: 20-23

The Word today has an open invitation: Do you really wish to see Jesus? 

Wishing to see Jesus is a fitting exercise during the Lent; Jesus responds to the request and in the meanwhile teaches us an important lesson in knowing God and growing in that knowledge. 

You Can!
It is possible at times that we say that we cannot know God, imagining God to be far away from us and from our human understanding. Jesus breaks that myth about God and brings God close to us, as close as God becoming human and living amidst us. In Jesus, God establishes what Jeremiah exclaims: that everyone will know God. Each and every one of us can know God and know God personally and intimately. Jesus makes the whole journey so easy and instead of challenging us to rise up to his level, he comes down to our status and assures us that we can have a relationship that is so concrete and real, with God.

Yes, You Can!
Jesus promises us another favour: that He will draw us to Himself! I am reminded of an anecdote that I have heard when I was a boy, about that little girl who got lost on a trek into the forest.  It started to grow dark and the little girl was frightened, she hid herself behind a bush and remained there a bit scared. The father began to go in search his little one, worried and anxious. At a point, he reached the bush where the girl was hiding and as he peeped in to check that bush out,  the girl shouted with a great relief: "Daddy! I found you!" At times we think we are in search of God, or that we find God and understand God. The fact is the other way around. God is in search of us constantly. It is God who draws us to Godself. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father (Jn 6:44) Jesus had declared and he assures us today that he will himself draw us to where he is (Jn 12:32). He wants us to be where he is; Jesus wants us to share his world, his priorities, his mission and his vision of God. 

Yes, You Surely Can!
Jesus wants us to be like him, who learnt obedience from what he suffered. Lent is a time when we dwell on Jesus' suffering, not to emotionally sympathise with the suffering servant, but to understand the meaning of obedience in life, to prepare ourselves to be like Jesus, always open to the will of God and ready to surrender ourselves into God's hands. The more we surrender into the hands of God, the more serene we can become even at the face of all the trials that our life holds out to us! The less we surrender, the more anxious we become! This is why, the Lord suggests to us that we learn of him who is meek and humble of heart and thus find rest to our souls (cf. Mt 11:29). 

Let the rest of the season of lent be an exercise of this spiritual discipline to surrender ourselves into the all powerful hand of God and find rest to our worried, anxious and restless souls. And the right point to start is where we find those gentlemen from Greece, enquiring: 'Sir, we would like to see Jesus'!

FRANCIS' FIVE - #4

FIVE YEARS OF POPE FRANCIS 

March 13, 2013 - the day Pope Francis took on the divine mandate of leading the People of God. It has been five years and there are FIVE strong orientations that this wonderful person of God has given the Church and the world. 

4. FAMILY - where Christian faith is lived 

Family was one of the first themes that Pope Francis chose to animate the Church on. As he took over from Pope Benedict, the Church had just completed the Synod on Faith and the Year of Faith. Lumen Fidei and Evangelii Gaudium were presented for our reflection. As soon as that was done, the Pontiff called for not just one, but two synods - one Extraordinary and the other Ordinary - both on the theme of the Family. He made a very clear and loud statement already then that Family is the central element of the Church and it is in the families that Christian faith is lived, shared, passed on and strengthened for the entire Church. 

Amoris Laetitia, the Joy of Love, as a Post Synodal Exhortation might have created unprecedented ripples in the Church among the theologians and the thinkers, but the message that the Pope underlines there is very simple and straightforward: Christian Families have to become schools of faith and love, from where the joy of the Gospel can emanate without ceasing. The synods, the World assembly of Families and the entire Catechesis that he undertook for families, married couples and couples who are in preparation for marriage, is a clear sign of the importance he attaches to families in living the Christian faith today. 

One image that I just cannot forget of Pope Francis is when he met couples after an audience, he met an expectant young mother, and he did not only bless the couple but blessed the child in the womb drawing a sign of the Cross on her stomach... Oh what an awesome person he is, just awe-inspiring! Some just reduce him to a mere pro-lifer... no he is not just that. It is a clear statement of what a Family is called to - to bring forth into the world the miracles that God has in store! Pope Francis' insistence on the need for the Family to become the place where faith is lived and shared, the children are educated in it and where the elders are edified by the children's practice of it. 

Family is a God given gift to humanity to experience God's love in a inimitably concrete manner, in flesh and blood, in words and acts, in body and mind! May we give heed to the call from the Lord to grow in our families and grow our families, into true people of God. 

மார்ச் 17: உண்மையான புரிதல்களை வளர்த்துக்கொள்வோம்

ஊகங்களும் கற்பனைகளும் புறளிகளும் உண்மைகளாகா!

கலிலேயாவிலிருந்து நன்மை எதுவும் வராது என்ற தீர்ப்பானாலும், இயேசு கலிலேயாவிலிருந்து வருகிறார் என்ற அவர்களது தரவானாலும், அது தவறாகவே இருந்தது! முழுமையான உண்மை அறியாமல் நாம் உருவாக்கிக்கொள்ளும் எண்ணங்கள் தவறான தீர்ப்புகளாகிவிடுகின்றன. தீர்ப்பிடுவதே தவறு எனும்போது தவறான தீர்ப்பு... சற்று சிந்தித்துப்பாருங்கள். அரைகுறை புரிதல் என்பது ஆபத்துக்குரியது. நான் பெற்றிருப்பது அரைகுறை புரிதல் என்று உணராதிருப்பது பேராபத்துக்குரியது! 

இன்றைய சமுதாயத்திலே இது எங்கும் நிறைந்துள்ளது. தெரிந்த தவறான தகவலை வைத்துக்கொண்டு எல்லாம் அறிந்தது போல் பேசும் மேதாவிகள், அவர்களையும் மூடர்களாய் பின்தொடரும் அறிவிலிகள், வேண்டுமென்றே அரைகுறை தகவலை தந்து மக்களை திசை திருப்பும் தீயசக்திகள், இருக்கும் அமைதியை தங்கள் நலனுக்காக குலைப்பதற்கென்றே புரளிகளை உண்மைகளாய் திரித்துவிடும் சுயநலவாதிகள், மக்களை பிரித்து மாக்களாய் மாற்றும் நயவஞ்சகர்கள்... இவை அனைத்தையும் நாம் பார்த்துக்கொண்டு தான் இருக்கிறோம்!

இன்று நற்செய்தியில் இந்த அவல நிலைக்கு இயேசுவே ஆளாவதை நாம் காண்கின்றோம். அன்று மட்டுமல்ல, இன்றும் நாம் இது போன்ற போக்குகளால் எளியவரை, யாருமற்றவரை, பின்புலங்கள் பெரிதாய் இல்லாதவரை பகடைக்காய் ஆக்கும் போது கிறிஸ்து இதே அவலத்திற்கு உள்ளாகிறார். எத்தனை முறை என்னை நான் காப்பாற்றிக்கொள்ள அடுத்தவரை பயன்படுத்திவிடுகிறேன்! என் தேவைகளையும் எண்ணங்களையும் நியாயப்படுத்திக்கொள்ள அடுத்தவரின் பலவீனத்தை பயன்படுத்திக்கொள்கிறேன்.

இதை உணர்ந்துகொள்ள மனதிடம் தேவைப்படுகிறது. இதை ஏற்றுக்கொள்ள துணிச்சல் அதிகம் தேவைப்படுகிறது. இதை மாற்றிக்கொள்ள  உண்மையும் இறையருளும் தேவைபடுகிறது. இறைஞ்சுவோம்... அடுத்தவரை குறித்தும், நற்கிறிஸ்தவ வாழ்வு குறித்தும் உண்மை புரிதல் வேண்டுமென இறைஞ்சுவோம். மனங்களை திறப்போம் உண்மை புரிதல்களை வளர்த்துக்கொள்வோம்.

RevivaLent 2018 - #32

Revive your readiness to genuine dialogue

Saturday, 4th week in Lent: 17th March, 2018

Jer 11: 18-20; Jn 7: 40-53

Forming opinions on persons or events without actually knowing the whole truth is a judgement, and of course would be a wrong one at that. Incomplete knowledge is dangerous, and not being aware of its incompleteness is doubly dangerous. 

Today we see this phenomenon at work every where: the clashes between religious fanatics, the terrifying threats of some fundamentalists, inter denominational hatred and divisions, interpersonal issues in the families...everywhere this phenomenon is at work: half baked opinions and fully blocked minds, that do not allow genuine dialogue but lead only to the slaughter of the minority by the senseless majority, or stifling of the weak by the ruthless strong!

The Word presents to us the same picture today, with Jesus taking the place of the minority, the weak, the vulnerable, the affected, the sacrificed lamb. It can be that everyday we could be sacrificing someone at the altars of our ego and those of our judgments...and in their persons we could be slaughtering the sacrificial Lamb over and over again. 

It takes courage to realise and accept the harm my half baked opinions and fully blocked mind can do, to me and to others! It takes sincerity to work out of such a treacherous style of life and thought. It takes humility to say, I am ready for dialogue, genuine and sincere dialogue! Let us revive our readiness to genuine dialogue. 

FRANCIS' FIVE - #3

FIVE YEARS OF POPE FRANCIS 

March 13, 2013 - the day Pope Francis took on the divine mandate of leading the People of God. It has been five years and there are FIVE strong orientations that this wonderful person of God has given the Church and the world. 

3. PERIPHERY - where leads your Christian Faith

Periphery has been a predilected word of Pope Francis... go to the existential peripheries, he has called the Church repeatedly. 

Existential Periphery is not a geographical region, we know it well. It is the existential condition of humanity where fundamental identity is sacrificed at the altar of sophisticated modernity - a condition where projects matter more than persons, money matters more than truth, pleasure matters more than relationships, comfort matters more than necessities, uniformity matters more than dignity, development matters more than equality, progress matters more than peace! Can the Christians remain silent about it, worse still, can they become perpetrators of it? Can the Church be blind to it? Pope Francis would respond with an emphatic NO. 

I would prefer a bruised, hurt and bleeding Church to a Church that is so self conscious about its vulnerability, he has affirmed. Bringing good news to the blind and the deaf, the dumb and the maim, the oppressed and the imprisoned, the downtrodden and the marginalised, is not a task that can be done merely from your desks and your offices. The Church has to come to the streets. Reaching out to the poor is not merely writing projects and undertaking development works but being with them, empathising with them,  empowering them and enabling them. The Church has to look at this as the Primary form of evangelisation, insists Pope Francis.

His heart has always been drawn towards the sick in the crowd, the poor in the society, the migrants in the cities, the refugees in the world - they are the peripheries just around us and we need to reach out to them. Our faith, if truly living, will lead us right there, to the peripheries!

மார்ச் 16: உன் உண்மை அடையாளம் என்ன?

அச்சுறுத்தும் உலகில் அடையாளம் தேடி... 

ஒருவரை ஒன்றுமில்லாமல் செய்வதற்கு பெரிய காரணம் எதுவும் தேவையில்லை, அவர்கள் வேறுபட்டவர்களாய் இருந்தாலே இன்றைய உலகு அவர்களை இல்லாமலாக்கிவிடும்! அடுத்தவரை இல்லாமலாக்குவது, தன்னிடமிருந்து வேறுபட்டவர்களை ஒழித்தே விடுவது... இதுபோன்ற கருத்தியலும் நிகழ்வுகளும் நமக்கொன்றும் புதிதல்ல. சிறப்பாக இன்றைய கால கட்டத்திலே மக்கள் அறியாமையாலும் அழிக்கும் எண்ணங்களாலும் ஆளப்பட்டு வருகிறார்கள். 

உண்மையை ஆய்ந்து அறியாது நுனிப்புல் மேய்கின்றவர்களும், உணர்ச்சிமிகுதியால் உண்மையை காண மறுக்கின்றவர்களும், இதையே சாதகமாக பயன்படுத்தி அழிவையும் அநீதியையும் பரப்பும் இழிசென்மங்களும் இன்று அதிகரித்துவிட்டன. இந்த ஒரு சூழலில் கிறிஸ்துவின் சீடனாய் சீடத்தியாய் வாழும் வழி என்ன என்று சிந்திக்க அழைக்கிறது இன்றைய வார்த்தை. 

என் உண்மை அடையாளம் என்ன? அடுத்தவரை ஏய்த்து பிழைப்பதா? அடுத்தவரை அழித்து வளர்வதா? அடுத்தவரின் நலனுக்காக என் உயிரையும் தருவதா? இதில் எது கிறிஸ்துவின் அடையாளம் என்று நாம் அறிந்ததே! 

தனது முடிவு நெருங்கிவிட்டது என்பதை கிறிஸ்து தெளிவாக உணர்ந்துவிட்டார். எங்கு சென்றாலும் தன்னை எதிர்க்கும் கூட்டம், தன்னை அழிக்க வகைத்தேடும் வஞ்சகர்கள் சுற்றி இருப்பதை அவர் உணராமல் இல்லை. ஆனால் அவரது வாழ்வோ வார்த்தையோ எந்த மாற்றமும் அடையவில்லை. ஏனெனில் ஆள்பார்த்து, நேரம்பார்த்து, சூழல் பார்த்து உண்மையை திரித்து பேசும் குணம் அவரிடம் துளியுமில்லை - காரணம், தான் யார், எதற்காக வந்துள்ளேன், எதை நோக்கி சென்று கொண்டிருக்கிறேன் என்ற அடையாளத்தில் அவர் தெளிவாய் இருந்தார். 

நம் துன்பங்களிலும், சோதனைகளிலும், ஒவ்வாத சூழல்களிலும், நமக்கு உதவக் கூடியது அந்த அடையாளம் குறித்த தெளிவு மட்டுமே! நான் கடவுளின் மகன், மகள், நான் கிறிஸ்துவின் சீடன், சீடத்தி என்பதை நான் என் அடையாளமாய் கொண்டிருந்தேன் எனின் என்னை யாரும் எதிர்கொள்ள முடியாது. உண்மைக்காக நின்றாலே அச்சுறுத்தும் இன்றைய உலகில் நமது அடையாளத்தை தெளிவாய் உணர்வோம், துணிவாய் பயணிப்போம்.