A 3G ON THE WORLD DAY OF THE POOR

GRATITUDE, GUILT AND GIVING - 3 sensibilities provoked!

November 15, 2020: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

4th World Day of the Poor

Proverbs 31: 10-13,19-20,30-31; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; Matthew 25: 14-30

Today is the fourth commemoration of the World Day of the Poor, instituted at the request of Pope Francis at the end of the Year of Mercy in 2017, calling us to keep alive the sensibilities that were provoked during reflections of that entire year! Here this Sunday's Word brings home to us the same sensibilities... and we shall dwell on them in 3Gs.

Gratitude - because what I have is given by God!

The parable that Jesus narrates speaks of each one having what was given them by the King and what they do with that is what the story is all about. Whatever I have, I have it because it is given by God. You may protest - no, I earned it, I merited it...could be. But the opportunity, the contacts, the success...do all have it? If I had it, I was more fortunate than so many. Without giving into a boisterous 'theology of prosperity', I need to admit that if I am blessed with comforts, with conveniences that many do not have today, I have to be grateful. 

When I complain, I cannot be grateful. We know of that famous saying - I complained of not having shoes until that day when I found one not having his legs! Gratitude is one important sensibility that we are called to possess - Gratitude is a sign that I acknowledge what I have received and I realise the value of what I have received. The last man was not grateful, he was afraid, lazy and crooked and that is why what he received did not fructify.

Guilt - because what I have is not only mine!

Some may not like this word used here, certainly! It is not even to alliterate with the G's that this term is chosen here as the second sensibility but with a lot of consciousness. Pope Francis when he invites the world to observe this day as World Day of the Poor - do you think he is saying, now all of us rich get together and pool in some money to give to the poor? No! He is raising a big question - why are they poor? 

At times, when we travel around, when we encounter poor people with nothing to eat or nothing to wear or nowhere to stay... do not we feel guilty of the well pressed clothes that we wear, of the well presented recipes that we enjoy, the well planned travels that we make, at times the well guarded houses that we live in. Are we going to leave all these and go to the streets - no, it may not happen! But that little feeling of uneasiness within us, that needs to be there. That uneasiness drove Francis of Assisi to sanctity; that uneasiness dragged Mother Teresa out of the confines of her convent to the peripheries of the world. It would not benefit us, if we wish to soften the word to 'being sensitive' or to 'being aware'...no, it is being guilty! Let us not get into poetic polemics like. 'everyone is poor is some way' and so on. It should pain each of us, to see people poor; it should pain each of us to see persons suffer. The world today has to feel that guilt of having pushed its children to poverty and misery. When that third servant failed to be fruitful, the worst fact was not that he was not fruitful, but he was not even guilty about it. That was the most miserable fact. The king just could not digest that!

Giving - because that is why I have!

If I have anything, it is a clear sign that I am called to give! That is what a Christian life should be - Christian life and hoarding wealth for its own sake cannot go together! Oh, what a statement that is to make! But that is the fact. One cannot say, God has blessed me and therefore I am going to be happy! Yes I am happy with the blessing - but I am given to give! The beautiful philosophy of Stewardship that God has been insisting on right from creation, has widely been forgotten, negated and dumped down the drains. How can I not give when I know someone needs it and I have it. To add to that, I have it more than I need! 

In a country like India, for an instance, or wherever in the world, we can see the rich getting richer and the poor becoming poorer - can things remain the same? The worst of the scenario, the social organisations and governmental bodies which are to fend of every citizen, are worried serving the purposes of the Corporates and the moneyed! How long are we going to be happy collecting something from somewhere and giving it elsewhere? Giving has to be a duty! Giving has to be our essence! Giving has to be our being! I should give naturally, spontaneously and without a second thought, if I want to be seen as a child of God, because God gives, give abundantly.

"Stretch forth your hand to the poor (Sir 6:7)," invites the Holy Father this day! The ugliness of poverty and misery that has always been around us today, has gathered more flesh to torment humanity with the pandemic that is causing havoc world wide. The call is to look out for the most affected, the worst hit, the totally lost, the utterly broken, those who feel they have nobody, those who are struggling to even live their next minute in life... to those we need to stretch forth our hand, our heart, our minds and our love. 

Listen to these words of Pope Francis: 

“Stretch forth your hand to the poor” challenges the attitude of those who prefer to keep their hands in their pockets and to remain unmoved by situations of poverty in which they are often complicit. Indifference and cynicism are their daily food. What a difference from the generous hands we have described! If they stretch out their hands, it is to touch computer keys to transfer sums of money from one part of the world to another, ensuring the wealth of an elite few and the dire poverty of millions and the ruin of entire nations. Some hands are outstretched to accumulate money by the sale of weapons that others, including those of children, use to sow death and poverty. Other hands are outstretched to deal doses of death in dark alleys in order to grow rich and live in luxury and excess, or to quietly pass a bribe for the sake of quick and corrupt gain. Others still, parading a sham respectability, lay down laws which they themselves do not observe. Amid all these scenarios, “the excluded are still waiting. To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own” (Evangelii Gaudium, 54). We cannot be happy until these hands that sow death are transformed into instruments of justice and peace for the whole world.

Gratitude, Guilt and Giving... these three sensibilities can truly keep us alive and attentive to the suffering brothers and sisters around us, and all over the world. Those sensibilities, if they are authentic will certainly transform themselves from mere words and individual actions to a collective mentality and a global culture...that is true evangelisation, making God felt everywhere, making God present everywhere, and making God's Reign present here and now!

True Christian Love

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

November 14, 2020: 3 John 5-8; Luke 18: 1-8

Taking care of strangers, widows and the orphans was a special commission given to the people by God. And that was an experiential learning on the part of the people who were themselves strangers, orphans and sojourners, in a foreign land. It is an experience that cannot be explained in terms but only experienced...and those who experience it, can never forget it!

However, the term stranger or foreigner was, and is,  indicative of every one in need, people in insecure circumstances and people who have nothing to hold on to, wherever they are. Today we have every category you can ever think of within this definition of the people in need. The exploited, the immigrants, the refugees, the unemployed and the homeless!

They already have a grave situation in their lives, that of poverty, insecurity, homelessness, unemployment, lack of prospects and so on. Added to this, if they are exploited further - that is, their little taken away from them, constantly threatened with evacuation, needlessly suspected for all miscues, blamed for all social lapses... we can imagine how doubly unfortunate, orphaned and oppressed they could sense. 

There is yet another, more treacherous, attitude in the world today, against which the present Holy Father, Pope Francis has time and again warned the people of God - the attitude of indifference. Passing them by as if they did not exist! Not caring what happens to them, not bothering who is rendered homeless or who is left to die without food or who is condemned to suffer with no employment or who is crushed under the burden of debt... all that matters is the so-called development that parades affluence and divinises comfort and pleasure!

We cannot conform to these standards! We cannot even remain neutral in these circumstances... that is not possible, for a true disciple of Christ. We have a responsibility towards this part of suffering and neglected humanity. Pope Francis leads us in this true Christian love!

Informed convictions and Single minded perseverance!

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

November 13, 2020: 2 John 4-9; Luke 17: 26-37

Commandments make it easy for us to choose the right things in life. They are similar to the laws, which are already reasoned out discernments made, for the sake of providing individuals and societies ready made choices, to maintain order and keep going. Just as any society needs law, a religious or moral community needs commandments. 

The Jews had their commandments... which they believed were given to them by God! The commandments showed them the right way to go, the right choices to make and the right decisions to take. Jesus makes it further simple for them and for us, simplifying those commandments in their plurality, into just one key criterion: LOVE.

The readings these days portray a sense of urgency as we approach the fag end of the the Liturgical year. Like a person or an organisation evaluates a project towards its completion, so we are invited to think about our choices and the single mindedness in life, at the end of this liturgical year. Can we look back and make an evaluation - as to how  we have journeyed with the Lord all this while?

At times we feel bad to obey a commandment or to keep a law,  as part of our spirituality - because we think it undermines our "progressive" thinking and capacity for mature commitments. We feel it is childish to stick to commandments and obey a directive! But maturity in fact lies in Informed Convictions and Single minded Perseverance -  knowing what the commandments intend and seeking those very goals is Informed conviction; knowing what my weaknesses and limitations are and making use of the commandments to bind myself to something good and growing in it, is Single minded perseverance. 

Informed convictions and Single minded perseverance... the way to achieve them: listening to the Lord  daily and living every moment of our life in God's light.

To be or not to be a Reign person!

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

November, 12, 2020: Philemon 7-20; Luke 17: 20-25

Paul does not request or exhort Philemon to forgive and accept Onesimus, not anymore as a slave, but as a brother in the Lord. He almost commands and takes for granted that it is done. This is because forgiveness, love and union of hearts are no more options to choose from. The very fact that one chooses to be a Christian, that is a follower of Christ, he or she has already chosen these to be values of life! They are to be the very way of life for a Christian because: the Reign of God is amidst us.

Misunderstandings between husband and wife, misgivings between the families,  fights among siblings, the bitter experiences of past, nothing of these can give me an excuse to remain stubborn in my shell and refuse to build communion. What a shame it is to see sealed churches, divided parishes, division stricken religious congregations and communities, and hearts with discriminating and dividing sensibilities, within the so called family of God! That should be considered an anomaly, a serious deficiency, an abominable virus!

There is no more a sense of magnanimity in treating everyone as my brother and sister... it is after all what I am expected to do, the normal way of being as a Christian... because the Reign of God is within me! Priding in the fact that we live together, we accept each and we work together, is a sign of immaturity in terms of true Christian lifestyle. It has to be taken for granted that we are brothers and sisters and we accept each other - the mark of maturity however lies in, how genuinely and deeply we love each other as brothers and sisters in the One Lord.

In short, the choice we have is very fundamental: either living a Christian or not, on a daily basis! I am either a Reign person or an anti-Reign person... the choice is mine!

Taking God for granted!!!

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

November 11, 2020: Titus 3:1-7; Luke 17:11-19

Speaking on the eve of his 97th birthday, one of our elderly Salesian priests once said, "you will not understand the difficulty of living this old...everything, every little thing is difficult. Even putting on a shirt or a pant is such an herculean task. With the missing balance, even using a toilet or washing the face is such a problematic affair!" (He lived on till 102). As we think of it, don't we really feel guilty about the numerous times that we take so many things for granted?

We have today a typical event in the Gospel where there are the majority who take things for granted, but that one spiritually sensitive person who returns to the Lord to tell him, that it really made a difference what the Lord had done to him. Thats not a simple quality, nor is it very common! It is a spiritually in itself - of not taking God for granted.

 

This quality of not taking God for granted has to come from, not taking people around me for granted. That is what the first reading tells me. If the latter does not happen, the former will only be an external show, an hypocrisy. Not even God will be pleased with it, of course! 

The challenge is: that we recognise persons, accept persons, appreciate them and affirm their presence, thank God for them, and take care of them. We need to be, not only sheep of the Divine Shepherd, but also the Shepherd's hands and legs, reaching out to the needy and the marginalised. It is easy and pleasant to proclaim that the Lord is my shepherd, but to recognise it truly in concrete terms and submit to the shepherding of the Lord, it is not an easy task. It means, walking with the Shepherd, following the Shepherd and doing what the Shepherd wants! Let us begin by not taking God for granted.

My real worth - where do I get it from?

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

November, 10, 2020: Titus 2:1-8, 11-14; Luke 17: 7-10

Where does one's real worth come from? From merely your age or the social status that is offered to you or from the great successes that you parade to the world? From the possessions you have or the positions you hold? From the following you pride in or the flags and banners you cheer for? As a person, your true worth comes from WITHIN you, says the Word today.

It comes from within, meaning each of us understands what one is called to, what our commission is and we strive to live it on a daily basis, without making a fuss out of it. At times we do the little that we do, and go about trumpeting it all around. Worse still some times we do not do anything much but go around building it up as if we have moved mountains. Both of these are pretensions, one worse than the other!

And the worst of all is doing everything that we do, merely to be noticed and praised and to be given the social recognition that I am an important person in the vicinity. I want so badly, everyone around me to notice me, recognise be, accept me, appreciate me and hail me... or at least, everyone to have a good word about me! But is that the real source of my worth! Am I not selling myself to their whims and fancies? Am I not surrendering myself at the feet of those, that they dictate to me when I have to be happy and when not! What a way to squander the precious gift of life that I have received!

What is missing here is the fact that, first of all we forget the fact that our life is precious, and a gift; secondly, we fail to remind ourselves, it is the Lord who has given this life to me...not those around me! Thirdly, and above all, there is the image of God so deeply ingrained in me - that is the goodness WITHIN me. 

Christian life is all about living that essential goodness which we have within from the very fact that we are children of God, and never expecting to be lauded for what we do, because what we do is what we have to do! Jesus puts it so plainly in today's Gospel: we have done only what we ought to have done (Lk 17:10).

The Temple that you are!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

November 9, 2020: Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Ezekiel 47: 1-2,8-9,12;  John 2: 13-22

The feast that we celebrate today is the remembrance of the dedication (on 9th, Nov, 324 CE) of the Basilica that stands on the property which was called 'Lateran' because it belonged to that family but acquired and given by Emperor Constantine to the Church earlier. The Church which was built was dedicated to the two great John's of the Gospel: John the Baptist and John the Evangelist! This Basilica is one of the so-called Four Major Basilicas of Rome (the other three being those of St. Peter, Mary Major and St. Paul outside the walls of Rome). There is yet another importance attached to this Basilica because this is the Cathedral, that is the Official seat of the Bishop of Rome - that is none other than the Holy Father himself. Hence THIS is called the Papal Cathedral, and not the all-famous Basilica of St. Peter! 

Temple. Temple of the Lord. Temple of the living God. Temple where lives God. That temple you are! And it is from here the Lord wants his glory to be spread far and wide, from the temple of our selves, from the altars of our daily struggles and sacrifices. The Lord's zeal for the temple flares up today and that temple is not the structure that stands in places, but the persons that we are.

Humanity is the sanctuary where Divinity resides: I need to realise that I am not merely what I see! I am more than me. There is the indwelling Spirit who resides within me. The Divinity that is within me is the true dignity that defines me. First of all, to think of it that the Lord chose to dwell within me; secondly to think of the mystery that I am made of! Both these should make me awestruck but what is happening around us today is so loathsome. 

The Robbers' den experience and the Market place experience is everywhere! But the Lord invites us specially as God's children to realise the Blessing that we are. We are a blessing to many, as Ezekiel says about the waters that flow on from the Temple which make fertile every land that it flows into! 

In simple words, we are called to be persons worthy of the Lord, communities worthy of our faith and societies worthy of the sacredness of the humanity - to realise the Temple that we are!

SEEK! AND YOU SHALL BE FOUND!

Awake, Await and Alert

November 8, 2020: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary time

Wisdom 6: 12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18; Matthew 25: 1-13

Seek and you shall be found! No there is no mistake here...neither grammatical nor biblical. Seek and you shall find, said Jesus once. Here the Word this Sunday tells us... seek, and you shall be found! Just dwell a while on those words, and you shall understand, how true they are! The first reading has a lovely explanation to it.

Wisdom comes; it is not earned. Knowledge can be gathered, not wisdom. Information can be collected, not wisdom. Wisdom, is what you do with the knowledge you have and the information you collect. Wisdom, is the next step, the step that follows knowing. I know the earth is being destroyed by greed - that is knowledge; but what do I do about it? I know the humanity is being demolished at its core - that is knowledge; but what do I do about it? I know I am giving less and less space for God in my life - that is knowledge; but what do I do about it? Wisdom, is what is born out of knowledge, after knowledge, beyond knowledge. Wisdom is an insight, wisdom is a gift... wisdom comes! But do you think it would come, without you wishing for it, longing for it, looking for it and seeking it? 

Wisdom is God's gift - it is the presence of the Spirit of the Lord, it is the revelation of God, it is the Word of the Lord...that comes, illumines and lets us understand what we know and what we do not know! Wisdom is that capacity to live our daily life, with the knowledge we have, however limited it be, living every moment with meaning and purpose! Oh, what a gift that is... to live with meaning and purpose! That is what the Lord offers us today as a gift... to seek that Wisdom which will help us live our life with meaning and purpose. St. Paul in the second reading and Jesus' parable in the Gospel give us clue, as to what it means to live with meaning and purpose... whether we are alive, or dead, we stay with the Lord forever, says St. Paul.

Wisdom of life is to know, what really matters in life. The wealth? The positions we hold? The power we have over others? The secrets we keep from others? The so-called status and name that we earn among others? If only we think a bit harder, we know these finally do not matter. But that is knowledge; what do I do about it? Yes, we are back with that question. That is what we need to ask ourselves...what do I do about it? I need to seek to be with the Lord, to stay with the Lord, never leave the side of the Lord, even as I engage in my daily duties and chores. That is wisdom - that ability to combine the necessities of daily life and the things that finally matter. Jesus had it so clearly in his mind and he imparted the same to us - to live your daily life, but never to lose sight of the the ultimate things that matter - the Lord and our life with the Lord. Therefore we need to seek... seek that wisdom!

Wisdom has to be sought, if it has to come! Wisdom comes, to those who seek! That is why we said... seek, and you shall be found. Seek wisdom, wisdom will find you. Seek the Lord, the Lord will find you! We cannot find the Lord. We cannot arrive at the Lord! The Lord will find us ...but we need to seek. Just like the Bridegroom would arrive, but the maids had to be ready! They cannot go find the bridegroom, the bridegroom will find them...but they have to seek, to be found.

What does it mean to seek wisdom... to seek the Lord! It means, as Jesus instructs us today, with three key words: awake, await, alert. 

AWAKE. That is the first disposition asked of us. Be awake... if those so called foolish maids were awake, they could have at least thought of their oil shortage a little earlier, not at the nick of time. That is what we need to be - awake, awake to our life, awake to our surroundings, awake to our attitudes, awake to our priorities, awake to our life style, awake to our value systems, awake to our daily choices...if we sleep over them, we will catch ourselves unawares when the crisis comes. Remember when this pandemic began far away from our place, how we took it so much for fun and laughed at it. And even when it came, how we were lighting lamps to it and clapping hands to shoo it - the heights of slumber, and we are paying for it. 

Being awake is not being agitated! At times we think, being awake is to get agitated, tensed and worked up with every simple thing around. No...being awake is not being agitated...instead it is being aware, being aware of what is happening, what is developing, what is brewing...so that when time comes I am prepared to face it.

AWAIT. That is the second disposition required of us. To await... to wait on the Lord. We do not have explanations for everything the very moment they happen. We do not understand them. We are at a loss... how many people lost their dear ones these days, just from nowhere! How many families have gone through the economic struggles and psychological break downs! Why? Why, is the question that comes upper most in our minds. But a better question, a more faith-filled question, a more hope-filled question would be - What? What does the Lord want to communicate? What does the Lord want to do? What is this event communicating to me? That 'what', will come... it will come from the only place that can provide me an adequate response on that - from the Lord. I need to await.

Awaiting is not being asleep! I wait... in the meanwhile...I go to sleep! That was the mistake the maids made...being asleep. Being asleep is losing time, not acting on something that I can, postponing something that I could do it now, letting go of a golden moment and rushing at the peak hour! Awaiting is not inaction, awaiting is being prepared for the right moment of encounter...but for that I have to be awake too!

ALERT. That is the third disposition demanded of us. Being alert...is to observer everything. The so-called foolish maids, could have been alert to see that the wise maid had an extra vial with them, then they would have been alerted. Or the so-called wise maids, could have alerted the other five, to better get something to back themselves up! They cared nothing... just for that they should have been left out of the palace (alright! that is a different discourse for another time). But being alert is to know the signs of the times, to understand what is happening, to connect the dots and be prudent - it is not only about things out there. It is about me too! Yes, looking into myself, knowing what is happening deep within me, understanding the signs of my mind, my spirit, my heart...that I may be alert to the changes and to the situation I am driving myself into...so when it comes, I know, I am prepared, I am awake and I am waiting!

Being alert is not being anxious! In the name of being alert, if I get anxious, I ruin every day of my life. There have been some these days who have closed themselves up in their personal rooms, not getting out even to meet those who are there, even their family members - out of fear of infection. They might have saved themselves from the virus, but have given themselves up to depression and stress! Anxiety, can kill us alive. Being alert is being actively and wisely involved in every thing around me, with a keep observation and prudent precaution, that I may live the moment, without ruining the future.

Awake, Await, and Alert...are the key words we are given today by the Word for our spiritual lives... to seek the Lord, to seek the light of the Lord, to seek with thirst and longing... and we shall be found! The Lord shall come and dwell with us!

Wealth - the right attitude to it

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

November 7, 2020: Philippians 4: 10-19; Luke 16: 9-15

Wealth: is it good or bad? 

Money and God...won't they go together?

Then how do we ask God for wealth and consider prosperity as a blessing from God? The Word today speak to us about the right attitude to develop towards wealth. Just three points to begin with...

1. Wealth is given.

It is a gift and should be treated as such. We are given and it should fill us with gratitude and not arrogance.

2. Wealth is given to be given.

It is never given for yourself...you are a custodian of what is with you. You possessing the wealth is a blessing; the wealth possessing you is a curse!

3. Wealth is given to be given to those who cannot give.

The only purpose today wealth is used, apart from fulfilment of needs, is to make more wealth. It is a sickening tendency that is the cause of the growing selfishness, cruel exploitation and demeaning inhumanities.

Wealth and power are good as long as they are instruments. When they begin to use and dominate persons, dehumanisation begins! God sees the heart, says the Gospel and everyone will see a heart that is filled with God.

The Unchanging Criterion

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

November 6, 2020: Philippians 3:17 - 4:1; Luke 16: 1-8

Prudence is a practical virtue; it is the capacity to discern the most effective option from a set of available options. At times in life, we seem to have quite many options to choose from. And a confusion is bound to arise. But today we are reminded of a fact: when we have Christ as our choice, there need be no confusion regarding what to choose and what not to! 

When Christ becomes our absolute, our standard, our criterion, then there would be no confusions nor any more options. We would have an absolute to live by, a standard to judge by, a criterion to choose by. The steward presented in the Gospel today, was praised, yes. But what was he praised for? For his shrewdness and not for his goodness! And some confuse saying, Jesus praised him! Jesus is narrating that the master in the parable praised him! 

For Jesus, what matters here again was... giving away, not getting stuck or attached, looking at everything as a way and a means to be acceptable in the eyes of the Lord. You realise you have collected dishonest wealth - give it away to the needy and get back to the Lord. You realise you are not really on the track towards your call, just shake yourself up and change your course! For doing all this you have one absolute criterion: Christ, the mind of Christ, the lifestyle of Christ - doing the will of the One who sent me, not my own!

St. Paul lived by this choice and presented the same to the others. Be imitators of me as I am of Christ ( 1 Cor 11:1) said Paul, as we read in today's first reading too. We would be judged truly and absolutely prudent, if we choose that never failing criterion: Christ! Because it is the Lord and the Lord alone who does not change. Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Heb 13:8).