To be hated for no reason!

THE WORD IN LENT

Saturday, 4th week in Lent - April 2, 2022
Jeremiah 11: 18-20; John 7: 40-53

Jeremiah was hated for living a righteous life. Jesus was hated for the good he was doing and the joy he was bringing to the poor and the oppressed, and moreover because he was from Galilee! The world does not need a reason to hate you. It will find a reason by all means, unless you compromise with it. The moment you stand for what you believe and live in conformity to only what you stand for, you got to be prepared!

Think of a case like that of Fr. Stan Swamy in the recent times - what did he do to be taken to task! Think of so many others in similar circumstances, and many others who are not killed but framed, persecuted, disturbed, and taken to task in varied ways. For what? What is the mistake on their part, apart from being on the side of justice, on the side of the Truth, on the side of God and God's people!

Being persons of God would mean that even in the face this hatred you continue loving, that you continue doing good, that you do not retaliate nor seek to avenge those who harm you in one way or the other. The best example is the Cross that shines before us specially during this season of lent, the greatest sign of the power of mercy! 

Forbearance towards those who do wrong against you, is definitely a competence of a person of God; no one else can do it, and there can be no other explanation to such an attitude or act. The rest will easily compromise and go with the flow. After all, the pragmatic perspective of the world teaches us that: to adapt to the world in which we live, and survive, or else be extinct and disappear!

Are we daring enough to be ready and be prepared for opposition when we decide to be good? In simple terms, are we ready to be hated for no reason? 

The Godless and the Thoughtless!

THE WORD IN LENT

Friday, 4th week in Lent - April 1, 2022
Wisdom 2:1,12-22; John 7: 1-2, 10, 25-30

Enduring all odds is a necessary quality for a servant of God. If only a person wants to remain faithful to what the Lord has called him or her for, the person has to grow tough from within. One cannot allow something to affect him or her so easily, if the person wants to go all the way with one's vocation, the call to be a minister of God, or a person of God, or simply to be a child of God.

Endurance means the capacity to dedicate oneself for a cause and to stand by that cause come what may. Here we are speaking of the Lord's chosen ones and their capacity for total dedication. There are two types of situations that can make one lose one's endurance: the opposition of the Godless and the indifference of the thoughtless.

The Godless interpret everything that you do in their own sense and malign your name and whatever you are upto. The first reading says, their malice makes them blind to anything that is godly. They are those who confuse the everyday failures of the human beings with the eternal nature of God... they cannot look beyond what is happening here and now and they get lost in making their present moment as pleasing to themselves as possible, that they lose a holsitic vision of life. 

The thoughtless are the so called 'religiously diligent' people but who are lost in their own world, who wish that everyone fits into their framework of understanding; they try to fit even God into their own framekwork. Jesus is struggling against these in the Gospel today.

We may be faced with the Godless who oppose us, malign us, persecute us...are we going to give up being messengers of the Lord? We may be surrounded by the self righteous lot who find fault merely because we do not fit into their frameworks...are we going to lose heart? If we are broken because of these experiences, that would be a fragrant offering we can give the Lord but we need to endure! The worst of everything is if we ourselves fall into one of the two categories - the godless or the thoughtless. Let us beware! Let nothing disturb us and let us never be weary of doing good (2 Thes 3:13).

Testimonies through endurance and faithfulness

THE WORD IN LENT 

Thursday, 4th week in Lent - March 31, 2022
Exodus 32: 7-14; John 5: 31-47

The Gospel today is a very dense passage where Jesus speaks of his testimonies to himself and to God who has sent him. In the extensive discourse, what he wants to highlight is that we know, we understand, we come to believe, but we fail to stand firm for long on these counts. A bit of a trouble, or a small delay in favours, or an untoward incident that breaks our plans, or an unexpected turn of events that gets us into crisis, take us away from God in no time. We see people going away from God, denying God, or creating their own gods when things do not go the way that they wanted.

The call is to be testimonies to the Lord and to what the Lord wants to accomplish in and through us. The recent events between Russia and Ukraine are disturbing but in those we have great tales of endurance and testimony. 

How ready and willing are we to hold on to what God wants from us? How daring are we to stand for what is Godly, instead of what is most convenient? The loud and clear critique of the Holy Father against the war and its justifications, is a strong message to the world, not to be wavering in our standing by the Lord. However faithful and merciful the Lord is, we find ourselves wanting in our fidelity to what is really good and what is truly from God. 

The Word today inspires a few other questions: how enduring are we in our commitment to the Lord? How prepared are we to hold on, in the face of struggles? How forgetful are we about the great things that the Lord has done for us all through our lives? How persevering are we to wait for the wonders that the Lord has in store for us!

The call is to believe in the Lord and to check how much our thoughts and words bear testimony to the Lord, the Lord who is forever faithful!

The Word Judges

THE WORD IN LENT

Wednesday, 4th week in Lent - March 30, 2022
Isaiah 49: 8-15; John 5: 17-30

We know God is merciful, but mercy is not devoid of justice; it is infact the perfection of justice! Hence Mercy cannot become an escapism on my part. Can I deceive the Lord who knows me through and through? Can I escape from the Word which cuts through right till it divides the soul from the spirit and the joints from the marrow?

God's mercy is there for the taking! Yes, it is freely given without any conditions, but I should be in a position to make it my own, and that responsibility is upon me. The Word today points to us how the Lord is so enthusiastic about saving us and intervening into our lives for our wholeness, at the right and the appointed time. It also adds, that we will be judged on the degree of our diligence in this regard, our diligence of cooperating with God merciful will.

How readily do we turn to God in times of tests? How early do we spot ourselves straying away from the path? How mindful are we about what we are called to do, in order to prevent unnecessary developments in life? As a way to keep ourselves from going astray Don Bosco would often say, do what you are supposed to be doing with a sense of diligence and that will take you steadily on your way towards sanctity.

Realsing that I am called, knowing what I am expected to do, understanding the purpose behind the calling and being diligent in carrying out God's will for me at every single moment... that is the way we live as the people of the Word, because it is the Word who judges us!

Living waters flow on

THE WORD IN LENT

Tuesday, 4th week in Lent: March 29, 2022

Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12; John 5: 1-3a,5-6

We have a wonderful imagery today to ponder over: the flowing water that enlivens! Ezekiel speaks of it and John presents it; Ezekiel underlines the presence of the flowing water by the Temple while John points out the very presence of Christ as the life giving spring!

For that man who had been waiting for years to get into that life giving water, the fact that Jesus approached him was like the waters came to him, instead of he going to the waters. But it is not all that comfortable, when the waters really flow! That is why Jesus asks him that question: do you want to be well again?

We may think it is a dumb question to ask - but it matters! What if the man was comfortable drawing pity from the others? What if the man gained much more than what he could have with his limbs alright? Hence, the need for Jesus to ask him, if he really wanted to be healed! It is our choice to be healed, to be well, to be wholesome!

We may blame people around, the situation around, the events and experiences, and remain in self pity! That will never lead us to wellness, health or wholeness. If we really want to live our life to the full, we need to receive the flowing grace willingly. It might require of us certain changes...which may not be comfortable - the man was asked to pick up his mat and walk... all this while people were carrying him around! Are we prepared for the inconveniences of grace?

The Lord reaches out to us, flows into our lives to enliven us and Jesus invites us to become the waters (or the sources) that enliven people around us, that we reach out to others and flow into their lives, enlivening them! If we have the living waters within us, that is the bountiful grace of God within us, we will flow on... because living waters, forever, flow on!

Yielding to Grace

THE WORD IN LENT 

Monday, 4th week in Lent - March 28, 2022
Isaiah 65: 17-21; John 4: 43-54

At times we speak of Grace as some'thing' to be received from God: terms like more graces, special graces, immediate graces, etc betray such an understanding. The most Christian understanding of Grace would be the continual proximity of God. The Lord promises us to be with us and the Lord is always faithful to this promise. The challenge is that we realise this presence and feel it concretely. When we do that, everything turns new - the earth, the heaven, the life, the experience, the persons around, the problems that persist...everything is renewed! But the need is that we YIELD!

The Gospel today brings out this message very subtly. The Court Official's petition for a favour was a bit irritating for Jesus - Jesus expresses that but the official finds favour when he yields to the terms of Jesus: 'You Go and your son will live'...the man turns and walks! He wanted grace, the proximity of Jesus, but he willingly yields to experience it in Lord's own terms. If I remain stubborn as to what I want to experience and that I must experience it in my own terms, then I restrict the great wonders that can happen around me.

When I am ready to allow Grace to operate in Lord's terms, it means I have total confidence in the Lord, and I am not using the Lord as a standby. It is a sign that I have surrendered to the way God has planned things for me, not stubborn that what I think has to happen and in the way that I want it to happen. Above all, it very clearly expresses the fact that I am nothing in front of the Lord who is omniscient and omnipotent, apart from being someOne totally in love with me. 

Yes, Yielding requires three major qualities of Faith: Confidence, Surrender and Humility. It is to say wholeheartedly : 'God is in-charge!" The best prayer is what the Lord himself has taught us: Your will be done! That is yielding to Grace.

THE CALL TO CELEBRATE

Realise, Return and Rejoice!

Fourth Sunday in Lent - March 27, 2022

Joshua 5: 9-12; 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21; Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

Rejoice O Jerusalem and all who love her rejoice! Right at the entrance antiphon, the Liturgy today makes its central theme crystal clear – The call to Rejoice, because we have a promised land! From the desert to the mountain and the holy ground, we are called to fix our gaze on the promised land! It is a call to Celebrate, because we have the promised land, the grace of  returning to the Father’s house, the great gift of returning to the Mother’s heart of the Lord, to feel the sweet embrace of the forgiveness that God wishes to offer each one of us! 

Jesus narrates a beautiful story today, a parable par excellence that speaks to us of that house, that heart and that embrace... that promised land in the merciful presence of the Lord.

Our life of faith has to be a celebration, a perennial joy, a loving experience, a journey with our hand in the hands of God. What a joy to have a God who is so close to us, so close to us that the very moment we wish to return to God, we bounce right into God! From the call that we received last Sunday, the call to bear fruit, the whole week Jesus has been teaching us of the fruits that we have to bear – the fruit of communion, the fruit of forgiveness, the fruit of love, the fruit of humility and so on. When we take to heart the call, and embark on that journey, there would sure be moments of fall and failure. Jesus assures us today – the worst issue is not to fall, but the worst is not knowing that you have fallen.

The first step towards a true Christian life is the REALIZATION of who we are. With the life situations, the daily choices and commitments, it is possible that I forget who I am. The First reading today pictures to us God calling the people of Israel through Joshua, to realize who they were and all that God had done for them! That exactly is the first line of action that Jesus gives us today through the example of the younger son in the parable. We read that ‘he came to his senses’... that is, he finally realized who he was! Pope St. Leo the Great would say, "O Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God's own nature, do not return to your former base condition by sinning. Remember who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God." The message is clear – to become aware of my dignity as a Christian and to remember who I am.

The second step is presented in the second reading, where St. Paul reminds us that God has reconciled to Godself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. It is infact an invitation to RETURN to God, reconciled to God, to our brothers and sisters in God. In doing that we become new creatures; in returning to God we become newly born. Jesus recounts the father in the parable as saying about the younger son who had returned to the father, that he was dead and he is come alive, that he was lost and is now found! So, the call is to return to God. If we truly realize who we are, we cannot but return to God, because we cannot stay away from God. St. Agustine’s words, “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace” are words of beauty and wisdom which makes us understand that we are made for God and our hearts would always be restless, until they rest in God. Let us Return home, let us Return to the bosom of God. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the direct highway to the heart of the One who waits for us eagerly for ever right at the door post to spot us from far, to run to us and embrace us. James says that in such simple words – Come close to God, God will come close to you (Jam 4:8).

The Realisation and the Return to God create an atmosphere of joy that one cannot hide. That atmosphere is the state of life to which Jesus calls us today as the third line of action. “REJOICE in the Lord always, I repeat, Rejoice,” cries out St. Paul (Phil 4:4). Christian life is a celebration, a celebration of every moment, a celebration of every experience be it ordinary or extraordinary. In the parable Jesus speaks of two decisions that were made – the first one was, “I will arise and go to my Father”, a decision that leads to celebration, joy, happiness and rejoicing. The second decision was that of the Elder son – He was indignant and he refused to enter the house!

The Choice is ours dear friends! What decision would I want to make? To arise and go to God and thus run towards a Celebration or become angry, upset, unforgiving, unloving, grumpy, jealous, and cold towards my brothers and sisters and refuse to enter the house, thus remaining in sadness and grief. Let us pay heed to the call, the call to Celebrate – to celebrate the love and the mercy of God, to celebrate our faith and celebrate our brothers and sisters in faith! 

With the younger son of the parable, let us arise, let us go to God and let us celebrate life in the Father’s house!

Being Spiritual: to love and to love more...

THE WORD IN LENT

Saturday, 3rd week in Lent - March 26, 2022

Hosea 5:15 - 6:6; Luke 18: 9-14

Being Spiritual at times is confused with being self-righteous! Being self-righteous involves a large dose of judgement of the other. When you judge, you do not love. So being self righteous you begin to love the other lesser and lesser, and yourself more and more! It is a kind of narcissism (a pitiable condition of excessive self-love). Whereas today the Word invites us to love more than to sacrifice, to get to know who the Lord is and who we are in relation to the Lord, than making our spiritual efforts mere rituals.

Being Spiritual truly should mean growing more and more loving. More loving towards God and more loving towards those around us. Growing more loving means, that we grow more and more open, to appreciate the other sincerely, to sensitively confront the other in their shortcomings, to readily accept my own limitations with gratitude when pointed out, to reach out to the other in whatever way I can even if it costs me a bit, or even a lot.

Being Spiritual means to understand within me what the Spirit wants of me and to lead my life in the Spirit's path. The Spirit of the Lord wants us to grow more and more loving and less and less judgmental. The Holy Father seems to be repeating this time and again! It is so difficult a teaching because we are so filled with self-love, to exaggerated levels and according to the trends of the world, nothing seems an exaggeration when it comes to self-love... what a disaster! We have totally misunderstood what it means to be human. 

Just imagine in this context, being spiritual! Being spiritual, or being persons of the Spirit, is to love and to love more and to love like the way God loves us!

The Maiden and the Salvation Plan

Instrument, Ideal and Icon!

March 25, 2022: Solemnity of Annunciation of the Lord
Isaiah 7: 10-14, 8:10; Hebrews 10: 4-10; Luke 1: 26-36 

Annunciation is the second exception given us in this lenten journey to celebrate, because this is a key commemoration in relation to the eternal plan of Salvation. To the question whether this is a Solemnity of the Lord or of Mary - we should say "both"! Though it is in fact a solemnity of the Lord (the annunciation of the birth of the Lord), it can well be an invitation to look at our Blessed Mother in the light of the Salvation Plan that the Lord had made for us from all eternity. 

Mary as an Instrument of Salvation - In her wholehearted and trusting 'yes', Mary entered into the special category of collaborators with the Lord in the plan of salvation for the entire humanity. To the extent that some theologians for ages have been claiming the title 'co-mediatrix', the role of Mary in the climax of the Salvific Plan of God, is unforgetable. She is chosen by the Father, as the Mother of God, a singular privilege that none can deny or negate! The invitation is that we give her the due recognition and love her with an immense gratitude for her obedient surrender to the Salvific plan of God. 

Mary as the Ideal of Salvation - In her distinctive and characteristic relationship with her Son, Mary has become a model, an ideal of those who are saved by the Son of God. Mary is certainly the first fruit of the Salvation that Jesus the Christ brought to us human beings. In her assumption we see a great model that she sets, the ideal that she presents, as to what salvation does to us - the rising to incorruptibility! She has been our forerunner in obtaining the fruits of the salvation, in and through Jesus Christ, and passing it on to us, his brothers and sisters. The invitation therefore is to imitate her, in following her Son, as she herself became the most ardent disciple and apostle of her Son. 

Mary as the Icon of the Saved humankind - In her total submission to the Holy Spirit, our Blessed Mother has played to precision her role, not only as the biological mother of the Saviour, but also as someone who heard the Word, beheld the Word within her and lived the Word in her daily life. She not only brought forth the Word into the world, but also lived by the Word all the time that she was in the world. She is given to us in the Holy Spirit, as our intercessor, who can teach us to pray and take our prayers to the presence of the Lord! She is the handmaiden of the Spirit and remains an icon for the entire humankind, assuring every one the salvation that was brought to the world by her Son. 

Let our prayer today be: Mary our Mother, in your humble submission to the Will of God, you brought us Salvation; grant that we may dare to submit to God's will that we be enjoy our salvation, and be instruments of that salvation to all those around us, and to the entire world. Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 

Taking goodness for granted!

THE WORD IN LENT 

Thursday, 3rd week in Lent: March 24, 2022
Jeremiah 7: 23-28; Luke 11: 14-23

One of the dangers that we run into in our day to day life is, taking the goodness of the Lord for granted. The Mercy of the Lord is endless and immeasurable. Yet there is every chance that I may deprive myself of this boundless mercy - yes, it is I who deprives myself of it!

What do you think? A pot kept on an open terrace, after a full day of heavy rain, will it be filled with water? There has been a heavy shower and for such a long time, but still it depends so much on the pot - whether it was kept open or closed, whether it was kept upside down or in its proper position! This is how it is with the mercy of the Lord. It is there for our taking, but if we miss it, we are depriving ourselves of it.

At times in our priorities and choices, we relegate the aspect of staying worthy of the Lord's mercies to such a despicable position that we go far far away from God and have our own existence, independent of God. The fact is that we cannot go too far, for wherever we go, the Lord is with us. Yet, we take that presence, that love and that mercy for granted. Such a painful experience of rejection, that we give the Lord. 

Is this not what the Lord shared already through Hosea (in chapter 11), 'the more I called them, the more they went from me'; 'my people are bent on turning away from me'...what an expression of pain from the Lord! This is what happens with us when we take the goodness of the Lord for granted. We not only reject the goodness from the Lord, but we also place ourselves in a position where we run the danger of ruining our entire existence and its purpose, in our obstinacy and arrogance. And finally we do all we can to blame it on the Lord, saying the Lord punished me or the Lord took his anger out on someone!

One who is not with me is against me, the Lord reminds us. One who does not recognise the goodness of the Lord rejects it and keeps oneself away from it. Let us not harden our hearts!