THE END TIMES

How do I confront?

November 17, 2019: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary time

Malachi 3: 19-20; 2 Thessalonians 3: 7-12; Luke 21: 5-19

Reflecting on the third World Day of the Poor

Today is the last Sunday in the Ordinary time, and next week we would be celebrating the solemnity of Christ the King. And the Word this week reminds us of the second coming of the King, that is the END times! Some get a strange a kick out of talking about the end times and spiritually terrorise those who listen to them. There have been cases of people who had bought trenches to secure themselves when the mystery stories did their rounds in 2012...about the end of the world! Let us remember dear friends that we have been living in the end times for the past 2000 years!!! Even St. Paul had to warn the Thessalonians not to make too much of these!

For a true Christian what should the 'end time' mean? Should it be terrorising? Should it make one go into a delirious tantrum or a plaguing paranoia? Those are in no way Christian responses to the thought on end times. Because for the one who believes in Christ, the Lord who has overcome the world (Jn 16:33), the Lord who has gained victory over death (Rom 6:9), the end time is not dreadful, it cannot be a threatening darkness! The first reading says so plainly, "but for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays!" (Mal 3:20). 

Pope Francis has thought of a proactive and truly Christ-ian way of approaching the End times... and that is why he proposed three years ago to punctuate this Sunday as the World day of the Poor! That adds another live dimension to our central theme here.

Hence, the Word and the reflection on the poor in the world today,  instruct us on how we should confront the end times. What if the end of times were tomorrow, or today or now! We have begun our life journey, a journey of perfection towards union in Christ and this journey has to necessarily end, and that end is nothing but union with Christ. How my soul should long for that: like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul longs for you, my God! (Ps 42:1) 

The first reading tells me, what I need to do first and foremost, to prepare myself for the end times is to LEND my ears to the Lord. When I hear the word of the Lord and live it with all my heart (Jas 1:22), not beset by occasional set backs but ever trusting in the mercy and goodness of the Lord, I need to fear no one; I need to fear nothing, not even the gates of hell! But the secret is eagerness to lend my ears to the Word of the Lord.

The second reading challenges me to AMEND my ways in the Lord, go on living my every day life with serenity and peace. There is nothing to worry or fret as the Thessalonians did, for my soul finds rest in the Lord, and my salvation comes from God (Ps 62:1). All that I need to do is remain mindful of my ways! A sincere humility and daily conversion leads me to a genuine Christian life. When I begin everyday in the presence of the Lord planning my life and end it in God's presence evaluating it on the basis of God's teachings, I come to know of the things that I can be happy about and the things I need to grow in. A saint is not someone who has never failed, but is someone who has never remained the same after a failure! The secret is my willingness to amend my ways to walk in the light of the Lord. It is here that the reflection on the world day of the poor can be located: the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever (Ps.9:19). The world today has to reconsider its understanding of development, progress and economic growth! It is such an inhuman phenomenon to just ignore and take for granted an entire percentage of persons, for the sake of the pleasure of a few! What has been my role in this?

The Gospel invites me to TRANSCEND all fears and trust in the Lord. Humanly speaking, I cannot end all my fears, but I can transcend every one of them. When my heart trusts in the Lord, when my eyes are fixed on my Saviour, when my hand rest in the hands of the One who leads me, I can transcend all my fears - like Peter who dared to step on to the turbulent sea and walk, like Paul and Barnabas who stood before the angry Sanhedrin and spoke, like the apostles who defied every authority and spread the message of Christ... they were all once filled with fear... they were the same weak men but with the Spirit they could transcend all fears! Nothing - no threat, no punishment, not even death - could frighten them. The secret is my capacity to transcend all fears with the Spirit of power, love and self-discipline (2 Tim 1:7). Not giving into pessimism is a crucial Christian trait and we need to grow in it. Looking at the economic discrepancies that exist, the digital divide that dehumanises, the capitalistic globalisation that makes exploitation ever more prevalent, can we give up our hope? We cannot. Every Christian and every Christian community has to make a difference - only then the Lord's wish today, that the hope of the poor shall not perish for ever, shall come true!

The End of times is near... in fact we are living in the end times... it is not a matter to be spoken of in alarm or in whispers... the message of end times is, a call to lend my ears to the Word of the Lord, a challenge to amend my ways in the ways of the Lord and to transcend all fears with the Spirit of the Lord! Let us live every day of our life, as if it were the last day of our life, every moment as if it were the last. Let us live our lives to the full, ever acceptable in the eyes of the Lord!

Act or Attitude of Prayer?

WORD 2day: Saturday, 32nd week in Ordinary time

November 16, 2019: Wisdom 18: 14-16,19:6-9; Luke 18: 1-8

Our help is in the name of the Lord, proclaims Psalm 124. The Lord alone is our refuge and our strength. The Lord knows when we sit and when we stand, even before a word is on our mouth, the Lord knows it all. This trust is called the attitude of prayer - a total abandonment into the hands of the Lord! 

Isn't it opportune here to dwell a little on the act of prayer and the attitude of prayer? Not that the act of prayer is any less valuable, but what is important to be cultivated within  us and in our younger generations is more the attitude of prayer, which covers more than just an instance, the entire life and the lifetime.

At times when we pray, we sound like knocking at the door of the Lord as the last resort...'I have tried everything Lord; and now I have nothing more to try and so I come to you!' This is one of a typical act of prayer - is this wrong? No. Definitely not wrong. But certainly, not the ideal or the best. 

The disposition has to be clear from the first moment: "You are everything Lord and I surrender myself to you; guide me along and accompany me, that I may never stray from Your will and guard me from all those which plot to take me away from You and Your holy will. Yes, I will do my best but I know even the best is not truly sufficient. It is your holy will that completes everything and I surrender myself to it." This is an attitude of prayer!

Let us live our life with the Lord - every bit of it - our duties, our desires, our trials, our preoccupations; let us live them all with the Lord and be prepared always to say: Not mine, but Your will be done, O Lord! (Lk 22:42)

Signs of Real Faith!

WORD 2day: Friday, 32nd week in Ordinary time 

November 15, 2019: Wisdom 13:1-9; Luke 17: 26-37

'Fools say in their heart, 'there is no God',' goes Psalm 14:1. Though it is not the spirit of the times to get into an argument with people with variant religious convictions, sometimes it is important to challenge the insincere ones which are held with hidden motives and contrived plots. The first reading is actually drawing that difference - the difference that actually exists between those who are sleeping and those who are pretending to sleep; between those who do not know and those who do not want to know! One is inability and the other is arrogance!

Between these two, lies another group of people who wish to wake up, who have all the willingness and possibility to know, but are procrastinating their decision. They know more or less, what is expected of them, but are waiting for a time when they can really launch themselves towards that righteous path. The Gospel warns these - it would be too late before you realise! Come on, Gird up!

The Word today is quite strong against those who probably have religious choices of convenience, than conviction. In this regard, it is easier for us to find someone to point a finger at, but what is important is for me to evaluate my faith! How much am I drifting along with conveniences and comfort zones, instead of standing firm with convictions and commitments? What makes me, as a Christian, better than someone who says he or she does not believe in a God? 

Faith is not merely saying 'yes' to a set of truths, but it is a personal relationship with the person of Jesus Christ, with God whom Jesus revealed to us, with the Spirit who lives on with us and within us. Is it not an ample opportunity for me today to raise this question in my heart: What does my faith mean to me? What are the SIGNS of real faith in my day to day life? 

God - close to us and amidst us!

WORD 2day: Thursday, 32nd week in Ordinary time

November 14, 2019 : Wisdom 7:22 -8:1; Luke 17: 20-25

The Reign of God is within you! (Lk 17:21) - this was the statement, they say, that provoked, sustained and gave meaning to Liberation theology in the 1970s. Not just that. This was also the teaching that took Jesus to the cross. What is so provocative about it? 

To answer that question from the Gospel, we need to listen to the first reading and the psalm. They speak of the Wisdom of the Lord, the Word of God that abides with us, the Lord who has come to live amidst us, the whole grace of incarnation. It is all about the Indwelling Spirit, who is the power of God almighty, the concrete expression of God's wisdom, the continued existence of God's Word amidst us.

Jesus' proclamation of the arrival of the Reign, or that of the year of the Lord and the claim about the fulfilment of the Word (Lk 4:19,21) were looked at as an offence, because Jesus underlined the proximity, the closeness of God to human beings. When God was thought of as a distant judge who would judge everything and everyone on the last day, Jesus spoke of God in terms of our daily life and ordinary choices.

Even today, if we choose to, we can see God as some one far, distant, removed and isolated. But if we are sincerely observant, we can feel the presence of the Word, the Wisdom, the Incarnate Son walking beside us and we can feel God close and intimate to us because, "God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom" (Wis 7:28), says the first reading. 

Let us make a concrete effort to feel God close to us and right amidst us!

You are Blessed - Realise and Respond!

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 32nd week in Ordinary time

November 13, 2019: Wisdom 6: 1-11; Luke 17: 11-19

The readings seem to converge on one thought today... that the Lord wishes, expects, and demands a response from us! 

Our God is a self revealing God... through signs and wonders and prophets and wise persons and finally through God's only Son, and continuously even today in and through God's Spirit, God continues to reveal Godself to us in various ways. Those who do not notice those revelations should be blind in their mind, or blocked in their spirits or bonded with the evil!

On our part, as children of the Lord, we need to realise that the more we are given, the more we are expected to respond! It is not that God gives, so that we would repay! No! What can we give the Lord or how much can we really repay God's goodness? Is there anyone who can merit what God gives or anyone who can recompense God for God's bountiful goodness?

The fact is that, we are given so much, we are filled with such goodness, we receive "grace upon grace" (Jn 1:16), that we realise it is right and just to give God thanks and praise! What a blessing it is to to know what to do at the right time and the way to do it! More blessed it is to know that one has to do something and cannot just keep quiet, because God has given without measure.

To know the right thing to be done at the right time and choosing to do it, is a gift of the Holy Spirit...we would be blessed to possess it. And the Lord says today, "set your desire on my words; long for them, and you will be instructed!" (Wis 6:11). Let us pray for this gift: to realise our blessedness and respond aptly! 

Bearing God's Image within

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 32nd week in Ordinary time

November 12, 2019: Wisdom: 2:23 - 3:9; Luke 17: 7-10

The first reading today states a tremendous truth - we are made for eternity, incorruptible by nature, because we carry the image of God within us! That is the fundamental truth of salvation. We are all saved in the core of our being, none of us is destined to destruction, none of us is rushing towards perdition! 

But there is something which can change everything drastically! We have a responsibility to keep that truth alive, because it all depends on the choices we make. By nature we are God's own children, but if we by our daily decisions and life choices, resolve to break away from God and from the gifts that God has placed within us, we are ruining our own salvific core. 

It is not as if we are doing something extraordinary or achieving unthinkable feats when we accomplish within our limits, whatever goodness we can! It is actually what we are, it is our very nature; because we are endowed with God's nature. And so, craving for recognition and appreciation, boasting about oneself and one's so-called achievements are a folly. St. Paul would remind us repeatedly of that. Jesus explains that today: when you have done all that you ought to, remember you have done no more than your duty.

The problem gets real bad, when we are not what we are created to be, we do not do what we are called to! We shield ourselves away from the salvation that God, from all eternity, has prepared for us. What a ruin that would be!

The Word reminds us today: we are called every day, every moment to go on living in faith founded on hope and guided by love, to live a life of love and mercy; and at the end of it say, 'we are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty!' God who loves us will never desert us, unless we decide to break away from God.

Faith and Forgiveness!

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

November 11, 2019: Remembering St. Martin of Tours.

Wisdom 1:1-7; Luke 17: 1-6

Holiness is a matter of the innermost being. It does not consist merely of the external signs and shows. Words not said, thoughts not expressed, acts merely contemplated, reactions withheld... these determine my holiness more than what the world around perceives me to be. That is why the strange link between faith and forgiveness in the Gospel today. 

While Jesus teaches the disciples to forgive brothers and sisters, they respond saying - 'increase our faith!' Can sound strange, but only apparently so! One cannot consider oneself to be a person of faith, holy and spiritual, if one's relationships with others is not right. If faith is relationship with God, forgiveness is relationship with my fellow beings! If the latter fails, the former is meaningless.

This is what the first reading calls 'the simplicity of heart' - thinking what one lives, living what one says and saying what one thinks - all of these put together is true faith. Lord increase our faith. 

St. Martin whom we celebrate today was someone who lived this in his life! He was gracious with his unfortunate brothers and sisters and he experienced the same graciousness in bountiful measure. If we want really to be spiritual, we have to forgive, accept, and love our brothers and sisters, as God does with us: that is true wisdom that leads to true faith. 

Lets ask the Lord to "Increase our faith" (Lk 17:5).

WE ARE PEOPLE OF RESURRECTION

Reward, Reconciliation & Realisation

November 10, 2019: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 Maccabees 7:1-2,9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16 -3:5; Luke 20: 27-38

"And I will raise them up on the last day" declared Jesus regarding those who partook of him. Resurrection is our hope, Resurrection is the foundation of our faith. The crux of the salvation that Jesus offers us is Hope, and hope is the confidence of things that we are yet to receive and the greatest of all that we look forward to is resurrection! This is what Jesus in his incarnate self showed us - he lived his life for God, he died for God and by God he was raised; when we live, we live for God; if we die, we die for God, and we will be risen in the Lord! This is the foundation of our faith; for as St.Paul says, "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile" (1 Cor 15:17). The readings today, help us understand what resurrection could mean to us. 

Resurrection is a REWARD, a recompense that God sets before us for the commitment with which we live our life. We come from God, and it is our destiny that we return to God. We are loved into existence by God and we bear God's image in the core of our being. Every day of our life is an opportunity to cherish that image within us and bring it to fulfillment within us. Every person we come across is a companion on this journey and every situation we live through is a means to nudge towards the destiny. 

There could be moments that are trying and those are moments to stride across, as we see in the first reading. When we find ourselves in such moments as those, when we have to choose between God and godlessness, between righteousness and injustice, between good and mediocrity - and we decide to choose God, righteousness, goodness - we can proudly say with St. Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on, there is reserved for me the crown"(2 Tim 4:7,8).

Resurrection is RECONCILIATION, a reunion with my creator, an experience of my oneness with my God, whose child I am. In the letter to the Colossians, we are told, "you have now been reconciled in the body of his flesh, so as to present you holy and blameless before God provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in faith"(Col 1:22,23). 

Haven't we heard sometimes people making remarks such as, 'after all, would we live another 25 years!' Absolutely true, that we are on an earthly sojourn and our eternal abode beckons us. That is why St. Paul prays in the second reading today, 'May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.' It is in that love of God and the faithfulness of Christ, that we are assured of 'eternal life' which is participating in the nature of God, who alone is eternal. In our resurrection we become one with God, we are reconciled to God, and we become eternal like God!

Resurrection is REALISATION, a concrete experience of what has been promised. We are called to live as the people of Resurrection. Christians are Easter People... while there is in store the eternal life that has been promised, we are invited to live that resurrection every day, every moment, specially in those moments when we are prone to hopelessness and desperation. 

We need to realise who we are, we need to realise who our God is! Jesus says of us - "they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection" (Lk 20:35). As Paul explains to the Romans (ch.6), we have died with Christ, in his crucifiction and we will live with him! We are called to live our lives, as people of resurrection, not losing heart on any trial, not giving up at any temptation, not desperate with any failure, not bogged down by any evil - but people filled with hope, comfort, courage, steadfastness, strength and love of God.

We are people of Resurrection; let us live our lives mindful of the reward that the Lord has set before us, preserve ourselves holy and blameless to be reconciled to the Lord in eternal life and realise the fruits of that resurrection right here and now, in our daily lives.

Note: the photo used in the design is my click in the Catacombs of St. Callistus in Rome. The Catacombs are profound symbols of Resurrection, they speak volumes about life, death and eternity!

The temple that we are

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

November 9, 2019: Commemorating the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome 

Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12;John 2:13-22

Today we commemorate the dedication of the Basilica of St. John at the Lateran. This basilica is special because it is one of the four major basilicas of the Church in Rome. It becomes more special because it is the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, which is the Holy Father himself.

Moving around in Rome, one can see churches, one mightier than the other, in every other lane of the city. An unofficial statistics says that the city of Rome alone has more than 2500 churches. Though at an apparent observation it might look to be an exaggeration of a period in time, still there is an insight that it can offer. Why did the people go on building churches after churches?

Churches meant for them, not just a place of gathering for worship; if it were merely that, they would surely not have needed so many. Churches, were temples, buildings from where the glory of God shone forth! That is why they built more and more of them, that the glory can shine forth more and more!

Today's readings, and any feast of dedication of a Church, remind us of this important vocation that we have. From the temple of the Lord goes forth the glory of that Lord, "and that temple you are!" (1 Cor 3:17). From the temple of the Lord flows the water which gives life, which brings healing, we read from Ezekiel today! From our lives, from our words, from our acts, from our very being, should flow the grace of God towards others! 

Jesus sets us the example, by being so conscious of being the Temple of the Lord. If we are his brothers and sisters, if we are to be known as his disciples, we need to be conscious too, that we are God's temple and God's spirit dwells in us (1 Cor 3:16)!

Living life as a ministry

WORD 2day: Friday, 31st week in Ordinary time

November 8, 2019: Romans 15: 14-21; Luke 16:1-8

Living life as a ministry - that could be the inspiration that springs within us reflecting on the Word today. Of course, it is easy to brush it aside saying its a 'clerical' or 'priestly' or religious' way of thinking. But looking at the readings of today we can understand the words that Pope Francis has been repeating in several modes: We cannot be part time Christians. 

We are called to live our life as persons of God every moment of our life, at home, in the neighbourhood, at work, on the way, in company, alone or at Church! If not, we will be caught unawares at a moment when we will have to frantically set things right as the dismissed steward does in the parable today. While many question the real meaning of the parable and how Jesus seems to be appreciating the crisis-management of the steward, they conveniently forget the fact that Jesus is actually saying, 'there is a crisis there!'

The first point made is that there is a crisis...and let us address that first! At times, we choose to be oblivious of that fact - like some geniuses who say today that 'climate crisis is a myth'. With Jesus, let us reflect - Why the crisis? Obviously, it is becuase of lethargy, compromises, laxity and indifference. The solution is not to fight the crisis, but in the first place, preventing it. And the way - to live every moment conscious and aware that you are a son, a daughter of God!

We should work out our own salvation, as St.Paul says to the Philippians Phil 2:12), not only in fear and trembling, but on a daily basis living our life with a consciousness that we are sent with a definite mandate, a concrete call, to be God's stewards, to be sons and daughters of God in the world. Let us begin to live our life, each of us, as a call, a vocation, a ministry and we will stay clear of these crises.