Assisi...sanctity brewing!!!

October 4, 2020: It is indeed a day to remember and thank God for St. Francis of Assisi, a great man after the heart of the Lord. But the same Assisi, today draws our attention and interest towards another tremendous testimony of sanctity brewing...Venerable. Carlos Acutis, a 15 year old boy, who lived from 1991 to 2006, whose body has been found incorrupt and a miracle reported of healing of a Brazilian child suffering from a rare congenital anatomic disorder of the pancreas in 2013. Now everything is set for the Beatification of Carlos Acutis, to take place on 10th October, yes, coming Saturday!!! 

This Saturday (3rd Oct) the Holy Father was at Assisi to sign an encyclical (Fratelli Tutti)... and next saturday again Assisi will be in the limelight for the beatification ceremony to take place in the morning by 10 am. 

Carlos Acutis has been described as a Saint in Jeans...and a Saint who was a cyber geek...yes he has created a whole lot of cyber legacy about Eucharistic Miracles and various other Catholic devotions - a lovely example for the youth today who are so attached to the social network!

Check the site that the to-be-Blessed, Carlos had created: www.miracolieucaristici.org

Get the Gospel right!

WORD 2day: Monday, 27th week in Ordinary time

October 05, 2020: Galatians 1:6-12; Luke 10: 25-37

Can there be more than one Good News? That is the key question that the Word responds to today - there can be varied good news from all quarters and varied directions, but ultimately the Good News is one! And it is in relation to that One Good News, to that ONE GOSPEL, that every other good news has to be tested, and found right or not. In a context of pluralism today, this is a key concern: getting the Gospel right!

We recently celebrated the memory of the birth of a great person Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, called the Mahatma of India, who firmly believed and advocated that truth from the Rig Veda: let noble thoughts come to us from all directions! That is a much needed attitude for a world situation like that of the present. Fratelli Tutti, the encyclical that Pope Francis promulgated on Saturday, inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, insists on that too - 'a love that transcends the barriers of geography and distance' (Fratelli Tutti, no.1). 

But can that dissipate our focus and make us eclectics collecting from everywhere and putting them all into one boiling pot and go with a false claim such as, 'everything is one and the same'? That is what we need to be careful about, warns Paul. You cannot equate everything...of course, let noble thoughts come from all direction - but you need ascertain that they are noble, truly noble; indeed, transcending geographies and distances is important, but you need to ascertain it is for true love! That is the essence of Paul's warning - to be clear about the absolute criteria, because the Gospel is ONE, and it is love and compassion! 

Jesus speaks of it in Gospel with such clarity. It is not justified merely because a priest and a levite did it. It cannot be disregarded merely because an ordinary samaritan chose this way to respond! Look for the right Good news, the right Gospel, the ONE absolute criterion for being people of God: the right elements that account for the right Gospel are love of God and love of one's neighbours. When BOTH of these are not compromised for any thing else, however good or desirable they seem to be, then we are well on our way to the Reign of God. It is a sign that you have got the Gospel right!

SALVATION BY DEFAULT?

Autosave and Autorecovery yes, but not automatic!

October 4, 2020: 27th Sunday in Ordinary time
Isaiah 5: 1-7; Philippians 4: 6-9; Matthew 21:33-43

'Are you saved?' - this is one disturbing question that has to be removed from the non-catholic, pentecostal lexicon! We often see this phrase on the lips of the non-catholic, specially those who belong to the pentecostal sects and varied denominations other than the mainline churches. That question, should kind of intrigue us, and at the same time challenge us! Let us understand this first. 

Salvation: as sons and daughters of Christ, we should be confident of it, because the Lord has saved us by his blood. That is why that question should intrigue us! But can we take 'being saved' for granted, that whatever I may do or not do, I will be saved? That is a true challenge that this question inspires, but answers have to be sincere and genuine; and such sincere and genuine answers will of course lead to transformation, both personal and universal! Though it lacks wholeness and truth in its entirety, the point that these denominational brethren try to make is the second understanding we just referred to. How challenged do we feel about receiving the salvation from the Lord? Are we eager to be SAVED? 

Look at that question once again - to be saved! In today's computerised digital language we can imagine an explanation in these lines: do you want to be saved - don't expect that to happen by default! Every time the computer asks you, do you want to save? And you need to say, yes! Allegorically, even in our spiritual parlance, there is no Salvation by default! 

It is true that there is an Auto-save Option at work - Yes, the very fact that we are the chosen children of God we are automatically saved! God has chosen us and named us after Godself, and made us God's own people. As Peter would say "once you were not a people; but now you are God's people" (1 Pet 2:10); we are made "children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ" (Rom 8:17)! This is what is theologically known as 'Objective Salvation'...the possibility of salvation that is open to ALL people! God wishes EVERYONE to be saved, says the Word of God (1 Tim 2:4), yes by the very fact that we are created in the image and likeness of God, we are eligible for that salvation. 

In our computer lingo, this is what we refer to as our Auto-save option, but for auto-saving, something should have been done which could be saved. The Lord had made us the Lord's vineyard, but have we proved to be vineyards or are we merely a plot of useless thistles? What we sow, that we reap; the Lord has sown and looks forward to see vines; is it not justified and mandatory that we put forth our fruits? What is there will be saved...that is the auto-save option! Our efforts to live-up to our calling and our identity as children of God - that is what will define us. 

It is also true that there is an Auto-Recovery Option at work - just as it happens when we work at a computer, at times we fail, we hang, we crash, we shut down without warning and alas, lose data! But we need not totally panic. There is an auto-recovery option that is on, isn't it? "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fallback into fear" (Rom 8:15), and that is why St. Paul advises us, "do not worry about anything" (Phil 4:6), but to cast behind us what has been and strain forward (Phil 3:13) towards that crown of salvation prepared for us! Everything will be recovered, everything will be brought back, reconciled in Christ our salvation; he is the auto-recovery option that is on (cf. Col 1:20). 

But, be attentive... if something has to be recovered, it should have been there! Again our efforts to belong to Christ (cf. Col 2:20), our efforts to bear fruit, to make most of the short time we have (cf. Eph 5:15,16)... all these count. Auto-recovery option is fine, but it is when there has been some solid work that has been done. We can cast behind our back our limitations and shortcomings, but only if there is within us an abundance of good will to belong to God and a unquenchable thirst to unite with the Lord. The Lord is always there beside us to recover us from whatever we lose ourselves into, but on our part we are expected to have built already a relationship with the Lord, a loving relationship, a childlike relationship, so that we could keep the channel open for the love of God to act in, through and on our behalf.

The crucial point, therefore, that we have to keep in mind is, though auto-save and auto-recovery are options, salvation is never by default! We have to work it out, on a daily basis! "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling", says St. Paul (Phil 2:24). We are called to live in a situation that is surrounded by all sorts of choices; what choices do we make? A tree will be known by its fruits, it is said; what fruits do we put out? 

We are weak, we are limited and we have our shortcomings - no one can deny that. But in spite of these, are we prepared to "overcome evil with good" without being "overcome by evil" that is around? (cf. Rom 12:21). We need to show it by our efforts and by the fruits, however small, that these efforts produce. We have to be transformed into the image of the one after whom we are fashioned. Salvation is never by defalut; it is by our choices (choice of what is true, what is honourable, what is just, what is pure and so on), and by our faithfulness to the call that we have received. Let us take stock of our daily living and be transformed into true and fruitful vineyards of the Lord.

To see what you see, and to hear what you hear

 WORD 2day: Saturday, 26th week in Ordinary time

October 3, 2020: Job 42: 1-3,5-6,12-17; Luke 10: 17-24

We see; we hear - but only what we wish to! It is so difficult to really see what we see, and hear what we hear! Is it sounding too confusing? No, think along... it is not that complicated. It is a fact, that we think we see what is truly out there, but most of the time we have some mental ideas and preconceptions that we do not see what is there, but end up seeing what we think we are seeing. It is like those who see ghosts in the shadows. We think we hear what is said, but because of the constant judgement of our mind and its interpretation, we end up hearing what we want to hear, not really what we hear from out there. Is it not true that the same word heard from someone, in two different moods, cause totally different responses?

Job acknowledges this folly in such emphatic words...he apologises to the Lord saying he has been so fixed on his ideas, that he did not understand the reality - the reality that the Lord is in control of everything and the Lord knows everything! He regrets his folly of inutile words explaining and complaining to the Lord, when the Lord all along knew what was happening and was so close to Job in all his pains! Only, Job did not get to see in the beginning...but he manages soon!

It is so blessed when we are able to realise the truth - it is not necessary that the most intelligent get to it first! I bless you Father for you hid these things from the learned and the clever, revealing them to mere children, exclaims Jesus in the Gospel. The simple, the humble and those who readily submit themselves into the hands of the Lord are those who will get to see or get to hear the real truth and the mysteries, not the proud and the haughty. Because the latter are so filled with their own thoughts and reasons, their own logic and priorities. 

Only the children, the child-like, the simple, the real servants of Truth, will get to see what they see and will get to hear what they hear. They will be able to understand the truth, listen to God, see God in others and feel the constant presence of the Lord with them, come what may. That is the grace we need to pray for!

Learning to Unlearn

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

October 2, 2020: Feast of Guardian Angels

Job 38: 1, 12-21, 40: 3-5; Matthew 18: 1-5, 10

'From Knowledge to Ignorance' is a famous title of one of the Spiritual thinkers of India. It may sound a bit odd but there is deep truth in the perspective and that is the message of the Word and the feast today - learning to unlearn. We run the risk of getting too used to the great things that God keeps doing for us. At times, due to some setbacks that we could possibly experience in our life, or due to some troublesome moments or irreplaceable losses, we might tend to forget all that has gone by so well and so many things that are still in store, within the grandeur of the plan of God. After all, what are we but simple and foolish mortal beings!

The Feast of the Guardian Angels is an invitation to learn, to learn to unlearn, to learn to constantly learn every moment of our lives, and experience the accompaniment of the Lord in a concrete manner. Every moment of our lives, we are being watched over and protected in love. We believe in an accompanying God, a God who has promised, never to leave our side and to be with us till the end of this world. 

We hear in the first reading, how God challenges the attitude of questioning the eternal designs of God. We lack the Wisdom to understand the plans of God in all its details but with the little that we are capable of, we pretend to be masters of everything! It is important that we realise our limitedness inspite of our great acomplishments, that we acknowledge the wisdom in God's plan in spite of our nothingness. If our eyes are truly open to what is happening around, if our ears are genuinely open the Words that come from above, if our hearts are absolutely open to the promptings of the Lord, then we would open our lives to the Lord and we grasp the eternal sense according to the mind of God.

We would learn to see God present with us unceasingly, only if have the open mind of a Child, without prejudices and reservations, without judgements and pretensions. The Gospel instructs us against taking anyone for granted - because no one is alone! Every one is accompanied, by none less than our God. We celebrate today the accompanying God; In order that we grow to be more and more perceptive to the presence of God with us and feel the accompanying God concretely on our life journey, we need to constantly learn to unlearn our mental blocks and prejudiced ideas. The Word teaches us everyday, let us resolve to learn from the Word and unlearn all futile thoughts.

To Rest in Peace

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

October 1, 2020: Remembering St. Teresa of Child Jesus

Job 19: 21-27; Luke 10: 1-12

RIP - is a well known sign/acronym that we see, use and sometimes fear! It is expanded as Rest in Peace popularly, though that is not exactly the expansion! The real expansion is from Latin, Requiescat in Pace, which is translated also as rest in peace and made so popular in English that we have come to equate the abbreviation with that. But why this discussion now? Simply to understand the meaning of that all-famous and all-important Christian wish: to rest in peace! Yes, it is wish and prayer, but what should it truly mean?

There is another phrase in Latin which goes - dormit in pace, which means sleeping in peace, which has more directly to do with death and the state after death. Instead, requiescat in pace does not refer only about a state after death - it would mean remaining in peace! Or in the words of the Gospel today: peace remaining with you! "And if a person of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on that person; if not it will come back to you!" There is a sort of disposition that is needed, if we wish that peace remains with us.

There are those of us who wish for peace and calm - but we do nothing to make that happen, or we do just the opposite, in such a way that even the little peace that we have, finds its first way out from within and around us! So much of expectations we build, so much of ego we develop, the extreme levels of unnecessary ambitions we pile up, the sense of competition that we nurture, the jealousies we accumulate, the anger we bottle up, the judgements we harbour, the prejudices we possess... all these will never allow us to remain in peace, or never allow peace to remain in us! 

The Little flower (St. Teresa of Child Jesus) whom we remember today reminds us of that child like attitude, which makes us persons of peace, persons who are disposed to peace that wishes to remain with us. She would say: 'what matters is not great deeds, but deeds with great love'! The Little way that she proposes is simply a total, loving and radical surrender into the hands of God; allowing God to work on us and being ready to dispose ourselves to divine peace. 

It is not resting in peace after our death that should be our primary motive, because that will happen only if we can rest in peace or remain in peace here and now, with ourselves, with others and with God. Let us wish each other and pray for each other, that we here and now, rest in peace!

Is it right to say: Man proposes, God disposes?

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

September 30, 2020: Remembering St. Jerome

Job 9: 1-12, 14-16; Luke 9: 57-62 

Man proposes; God disposes - we have heard this often. In times such as now...for instance the whole of 2020 so far has turned our life upside down, we had plans and projects for the whole year chalked out...where have they ended up! Amidst such feelings...it seems much more justified to repeat that statement - human beings propose and God disposes! But just take a moment and reflect: is it not unfair to state it that way, because it is God who is the Master; God proposes! Let us try to understand this perspective. 

It should be God who proposes, not we! The best thing for us is to accept that proposal, without minding the momentary inconvenience it may cause. Lord's ways are unique and the best thing that can happen to us is God's plan. When we wish to propose, plan, manipulate, twist and twirl, pull and push our way to what we wish to do or achieve, there are so many things that override. That is what has happened to humanity today. Job, in the Word today explains how a radical surrender into the hands of God is the best way or the only sound way of living human life. 

St. Jerome whom we remember today reminds us of an effective and necessary means to that surrender - the love for the Word of God. He was a man who dedicated his entire life to the Word of God. 'Not knowing the Scripture, is not knowing Christ,' he said! The Word of God is the closest aid to decide what we should and should not do, what we should be and should not be, what we choose and what we should not, in our daily life! That is one prominent place where God proposes!

We see a collection of episodes in the Gospel today, which illustrate this truth. What we are called to do is not great work, but God's work. It is the Lord who created us and it is the Lord who commissions us! At times we think we are the masters of the things that we are involved in, but it is the Lord who is using us and if only we become aware of it, great will be our happiness! 

It is good to rethink our logic of proposing and waiting for God to approve or disapprove...is it not better to allow God to propose, be attentive to that proposal and live by it! Be attentive when God proposes and that is the best thing that can happen to you!

See Angels! Be Angels!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

September 29, 2020: Celebrating the Archangels - MGR

Daniel  7: 9-10, 13-14 (or) Revelations 12: 7-12; John 1: 47-51

Celebrating Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael (MGR) gives us an opportunity once again to remind ourselves of the significance of the angels within the Christian tradition. Angels in the Old Testament were considered the extensions of God... when the angels came, they said, 'the Lord visited' them: take the case of the visitors to Abraham (Gen 18) or the case of Jacob fighting with the man of God (Gen 32) etc. Michael, as the strength of God; Gabriel as the messenger of God and Raphael as the healing of God, is a well known understanding of the Angels and their functions.

Celebrating the Archangels today gives us two lessons - To See the Angels and Be the Angels:

To see the angels, is to see the hand of God at work in our everyday experiences, not to be blind to the daily miracles that happen around us. It is a special grace to perceive it and God is active on our side all the time; it is left to us to acknowledge it and gain the advantages of it.

To be the angels, is to be extensions of God's presence to the others, to be extensions of God's love to the others. When we stand by someone in trouble, when we side with the oppressed and the victimised, when we speak out for the truth and bring God's message to people, when we empathise with those who are suffering and bring healing to them, we are being angels to those persons. That is our call, to be angels to the others, specially the needy and the weak. 

As we thank God for a special presence that God makes us feel, let us also resolve to experience that presence and be that presence to the others, in short, to see Angels and to be Angels, to the needy!

The Naked Truth: God alone is!

WORD 2day: Monday, 26th week in Ordinary time

September 28, 2020: Job 1:6-22; Luke 9: 46-50

Naked I was born, naked will I die! God gave and God has taken it back. Blessed be the name of the Lord... Job is given by the Word today as the brilliant example of a child of God! His properties burned, he remained calm. His cattle were taken, he bore it all. His servants were killed he held on to the Lord. His children died altogether, he broke down but in the bosom of the Lord! That was Job, of whom the Lord was proud of. 

Aren't we facing a situation similar these days, in many of our close quarters...with families, friends, acquaintances, affected by this treacherous pandemic, losing dear ones, losing jobs, losing security, losing peace of mind...left with no certainties, even the basic certainties of planning a month ahead! But how do we face them all?

There is a concrete lesson that Jesus wishes to give us in the Gospel ...realise with all these crisis reminding you, that your ego, your social status, your position and power, your possession and your attachments... nothing can stand the test of time. God alone will. Whether we believe or not the Lord is. Whether we praise the Lord or not, the Lord is worthy of all the praise in the world. Whatever we do and whatever we are involved in, even without our own full knowledge of it, we are serving the purposes of the Lord. Ultimately that which is going to prevail is God's will. God alone is almighty and God's purposes alone give meaning to anything that exists. 

The truth finally is, who ever we are and whatever we have, everything will pass. The naked truth is, God alone is, God alone will forever be.

PUTTING ON CHRIST

Doing, being and remaining good!

September 27, 2020: 26th Sunday in Ordinary time
Ezekiel 18: 25-28; Philippians 2: 1-5; Matthew 21: 28-32

Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus! That is the invitation, the Word today offers us! In short, it can be understood, in Paul's own terms: to put on the mind of Christ. The readings also offer an itinerary, a graded way of putting on Christ, putting on the New Man, to have the mind of Christ! It is a three level progress that is presented to us, as a vocation, a project, a programme of life and a plan of growth.

The first level of putting on Christ is DOING good: to do good, however easy it could be, has to he a choice. One has to choose to do it. Of course, nothing is automatic. The choice a person makes at a particular situation, before a set of options, is what would determine the kind of action that would follow. Even what we call a spontaneous reaction, is not absolutely spontaneous...how is it possible that one person reacts to a situation completely in a completely different way form another, even at a spur of a moment! It is because even the so-called spontaneous reactions are nothing but choices made again and again over a number of times, that it looks automatic that one chooses to react in such and such a manner. 

The point here in doing good is, what one does gets noticed, appreciated or criticised, analysed and evaluated. Especially in receiving those appreciations and recognitions, Jesus would conclude that you have already received your reward. Hence, doing good, or choosing good because you wish to be accepted by others, appreciated by all and recognised for your goodness would already strip you of its merits. According to the mind of Christ, doing something externally is good, but not good enough. Absolutising external signs was considered by Jesus plainly as hypocrisy! 

The second level of putting on Christ is BEING good: doing good alone is not enough according to the mind of Christ. An excessive insistence on doing things, can easily lead to hypocrisy, legalism and ritualism. And so, we are called to be good, that our actions flow out of the person that we are; that from our internal goodness people experience a goodness that brings them to experience the goodness of God. Ezekiel points out in the first reading today that God does not see one's actions but the inner disposition from which those actions proceed. 

Is it not true that we may be doing the best of things at a given time, but a wrong intention or a imperfect motivation behind that action, can make the whole affair totally unchristian. That is why, though doing good is so important, being good becomes something very crucial. At times we may not be in a position to do good at all - for example, when someone comes to share with you their burdens, you may not me in a position to help them all: may be a economic crisis that you cannot help them out of it, or a spiritual crisis which you yourself are facing, or a family crisis where you have nothing much to do, or a professional crisis where you have no means to be of assistance... it really does not matter, as long are you are good, you are compassionate, you are listening with real empathy, you are feeling one with the sufferings of the person, you are whole heartedly atleast wishing that the person soon gets out of the problem or crisis that he or she is caught up in. That is being good in your person, in your heart, though you really may not 'do' anything good!

The third level of putting on Christ requires not only that we are good, but we REMAIN good. It is a reminder that our goodness has to be something that is sustained and not sporadic, constant and not conditioned! To remain good, is a challenge. At times we can be good and do good; but to remain good always is a demanding task; but putting on Christ means precisely that. Here we are dealing with the grace of perseverance. One may attempt to be good occasionally, but is hard to persevere in being good. 

Looking at the parable from the Gospel today - saying 'yes' to his father, the son fails to do what he accepted to do: it is like the seeds that fell among the thorny bushes or those which fell on the shallow rock. The initial fervour dies and soon every thing becomes so monotonous and meaningless. Instead, with the grace of perseverance, every new day is a renewed challenge to remain with the Lord, to remain good, to really put on Christ. My enemies may surround, every action of mine may be misunderstood and misinterpreted, every thing that I am involved in may be proving a great mountain to be crossed over...it does not matter, I shall not be moved; I shall not leave my itinerary of goodnes; I shall remain good! How prepared are we to say that?

Putting on Christ is a matter of doing good, but more than that it is being good, being good all our life and every moment. Are we ready to take up the task? We would do the right thing to pay heed to the life task that God gives us through St. Paul today: Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus!