Preoccupation for the Flock

WORD 2day: Wednesday after Ascension 

June 1, 2022: Acts 20: 28-38; John 17: 11b-19

The readings today present to us the preoccupation that Jesus and St.Paul have for the flock that they leave behind, as St. Paul sets off to Jerusalem and Jesus contemplates returning to his Father! The total dedication that both of them had towards those entrusted to them is known to us and it is best expressed in the phrase that St. Paul uses quoting his Master: it is more blessed to give than to receive! Here it is not only about giving or getting, it is about being preoccupied with the good of each other, in the flock. Who cares about whom!

Keeping the faith, being true to the message of the Lord, persevering in the tradition in which one is brought up, not letting oneself be swayed by newer teachings and fancier presentations...these are the preoccupations that are expressed here and proposed to us. These concerns prompt to us two important qualities that are necessary: Spiritual Sincerity and Constant Discernment.

Spiritual Sincerity refers to the openness we have towards the constant messages and challenges from the Lord, which might sometimes and in fact, many times call for a change, a renewal a critical upgrade. Constant Discernment refers to the diligence with which one holds on to the traditional faith and way of life, handed down in time, in the face of so-called modernisation and advancements.    

The times today are marked by a certain fickle minded hopping from tradition to tradition in the name of "search" for the truth and reckless trial-and-error attempts of innumerable sects and factions. If they are spiritually sincere and discerned with rigour, well and good. But if they come from an unfounded mind and a lack of persevering dedication, they are the dangers that Paul and Jesus warn us against.  Each of us is called to exercise care, over ourselves to begins with and over the community, the flock to which we belong!

Redefining Chosenness!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

May 31, 2022: The Feast of Visitation 
Zephaniah 3: 14-18 (or) Romans 12: 9-16; Luke 1: 39-56

Mary visits Elizabeth... a Biblical event that may apparently look simple, but remains a redefining moment in the history of Christian faith. We say history of Christian faith, because it redefines it from the roots - that is from the hebrew faith conviction of being the chosen people of God. The fact that they were the 'chosen people' was very dear to the Jews, and it continues to be, they will never give up on that identity of theirs! 

The Old Testament bears examples to this, as could be cited in one of today's alternative first readings, the one from Zepahniah. They were filled with a blessed joy, a holy pride and a splendid self-image, because of their chosen-ness. But their idea of chosenness was constantly challenge from the time, the Christ-event began within that faith tradition, for the sake of the whole humanity. 

In the feast that we celebrate today, we see that Mary, the chosen Mother of God, topples this order and redefines 'chosen-ness'; she rushes to be of service to Elizabeth and sings of the Glory of God, underlining her unworthiness, inspite of which God had chosen her! To be chosen is to be of service; to be of service to others is a sign of being chosen! 

Truly blessed joy is necessarily complemented with a compassionate sensitivity to the other; the holy pride is replaced with a humble gratitude to God; and the resplendent self-image is challenged by a realisation of the great things that the Lord has done, making oneself a sign, a bearer, an instrument of God's glory! 

We can foresee, in the act of Mary going out to serve Elizabeth, the mind of Christ - a mind of servant leadership, sensitive companionship and selfless stewardship.The attitude of Mary manifested here and other places such as the Cana where she reached out, and after resurrection when she stayed with the apostles to strengthen them... was reflected in her son's life - he too reached out to the sick, to the so-called sinners, to the suffering, to the berieved, to the downtrodden, to the marginalised... probably, or may be even certainly, he was schooled at the hands of his mother. And that is how he learnt to redefine, his own chosenness! 

Our blessed mother challenges us today, to redefine our chosenness: first of all, we should feel convinced of our chosenness; secondly, we need to learn that our chosenness is not for ourselves but for others; and thirdly, to be chosen is to be of service and to be of service is the sign of being chosen! 

Disciples of the Lord who has conquered the world

WORD 2day: Monday after Ascension 

May 30, 2022: Acts 19:1-8; John 16: 29-33

Take courage, I have conquered  the world, declares Jesus! With Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father (cf Eph 1:20), the apostles and the early Church, found a great power in their witness and in their proclamation. The gift of the Holy Spirit was an absolute boost to the faith community, and their faith and its expressions reach a totally different level with the coming of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit of the Lord is the Spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (cf. 2 Tim 1:7) and that is what the Lord fills us with. We are the temple of this Spirit and the Spirit dwells in us. At times we live like sleeping giants, with the Spirit stifled to be dormant within us. The days that follow are days in preparation towards the feast of Pentecost: a reminder of the Spirit that we are all gifted with; a challenge to surrender to the Spirit and become active agents of the Spirit.

Let us thank God that we are not in a position to say, "we have never even heard that there is a holy spirit" ( Acts 19:2). However, let us become aware of the power that the Spirit brings to our life and our faith. With the Spirit, and only with the Spirit, can we be true disciples of the Lord who has conquered the world!

Jesus the Christ - the name above all names

WORD 2day: Saturday before the Ascension Sunday

May 28, 2022: Acts 18: 23-28; John 16:23-28

Jesus was the name and Christ was a faith experience! Jesus, the Christ is no syntax error! Today we encounter Apollos, another contemporary preacher with Paul. It looks like there were some little misgivings in the Acts of the Apostles between the followers of Paul and followers of Apollos. But Paul makes no notice of such bickerings. Another great lesson we have is Priscilla and Aquilla instructing Apollos in the right doctrines! The role of the laity in the formation of the apostolic ministers comes out strongly...all of this to make people understand, Jesus was the Christ!

Jesus in the Gospel seems to harp on the same point too: anything you ask the Father in my NAME, my Father shall give you. He seems to say, you have a direct hotline with the Father through me, because I am the Christ. As Acts so clearly says in another place (4:12) that there is no other name given in all the earth by which one could be saved! It is Jesus, because Jesus is the Christ, Jesus is the one anointed and set apart for our salvation! 

Having that singular name of salvation, should not make us haughty as if we have the monopoly over that name, but it should make us humble in questioning our daily lives and priorities. Are we living worthy of that name? It is certainly not an opportunity to judge the "other" but a reminder of the gratitude that should fill our hearts for the privilege given us.

Let us ask a question to ourselves, Is Jesus my Christ?

If you instantly and very easily said 'yes', repeat that question to yourself looking closely at your values and attitudes, priorities and choices of daily life: Is Jesus really my Christ?

The Assurances of the Lord

WORD 2day: Friday, 6th week in Easter time

May 27, 2022: Acts 18: 9-18; John 16: 20-23

Today's readings have two of the most repeated and most affirmed promises of the Lord: Do not be afraid, for I am with you (Acts 18:9,10) and Your sorrow will turn into joy (Jn 16:20). For both these, the provision given is: go on speaking and endure the griefs. Though what is expected of us: that is to go on speaking and to endure suffering, might seem a bit too demanding, the consequence of it justifies everything! The promised presence of the Lord and the promised joy in the Lord are incomparably filled with assurances that can brighten up our todays and our tomorrows.

We are called to claim these promises in our daily life and more importantly, we are called to be the fulfilment of these promises for those around us who are needy, those who are suffering, those who are broken hearted, those who are troubled in spirit. The assurances of the Lord, are certainly for us, but for the sake of taking it forward to the others. That is how we become people of God, apostles of Christ, people sent by the Lord.

The ascension of the Lord which we intend to celebrate this weekend carries precisely this message for us: the continued and unceasing presence of the Risen Lord, more often than not, in the form of our presence with the others.

Let the Spirit help us today to feel the presence of the Lord with each of us and lead us to be the presence of the Lord for everyone we encounter today.

To leave - a missionary challenge!

WORD 2day: Thursday, 6th week in Easter time

May 26, 2022: Acts 18: 1-8; John 16: 16-20

Paul leaves; he leaves Athens for Corinth, he leaves the Jews for the Gentiles. 

Jesus leaves; he leaves his earthly life and his friends (disciples) and prepares to go to his Father and our Father! 

They were able to leave because their eyes were fixed on the mission that was entrusted to them: there was nothing that came in between, neither success nor failure, neither helps nor hindrances, neither pains nor pleasures - nothing could keep them back from where they were bound to.

There is yet another point that the readings speak of, in continuation: whenever they left something, something greater awaited. Christ left his worldly stint, to remain with the Father and thus with us for ever, to the end of ages. And Paul leaves place after place, and everywhere there are more and more people being touched by the Lord and won over for the Lord.

Leaving behind is not an easy task. The most challenging of all 'leaving behind' is to leave behind one's own desires and dreams, personal plans and projects, one's loves and longings! At times, if we have to witness to the Lord and the Gospel that the Lord wants us to announce, there is no other choice but to leave. To leave, it is indeed a missionary challenge!

In him!

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 6th week in Easter time

May 25, 2022 - Acts 17: 15, 22 - 18:1; John 16: 12-15

In Him we live, move and have our being (Acts 17:28), is one of the most expressive faith statements of St. Paul. Paul had the grace of a very special insight into understanding Jesus' mind. Jesus in the Gospel today says, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit will get everything from him and make it known to the believer! "Get from him" would mean 'get from the Father', since Father and the Son are one (cf. Jn 10:30). Jesus invites us to a state where we realise this fact that he said: "On that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you" (Jn 14:20). And the way to that awareness, is simple: keeping His commandments.

Commandments are not merely some do's and don't's; they are actually the basic elements of a way of  life that Jesus wishes to create within us. It is not so much about doing something as about understanding the purpose and the importance of doing it, that matters. It is not so much what we avoid doing or refrain from, as why we choose not to do something, that matters. In simple terms, Jesus is asking us to understand his mind, think as he does, reason out as he does, look at life as he does... as that is what God our Father and Mother would want of us. This is the simple explication of the profound experience of Union with God. 

When we live in union with the Lord, a union in heart and soul, keeping the Lord's commandments will not be a demanding task but a natural way of life. It is the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of truth who will inspire us to such way of life. Let us prepare ourselves these days to receive the Spirit, the Spirit of the Risen Lord, the Spirit of Truth and Wisdom. 

The crux of Christian perfection is not in anything that we do, it is in living, moving and having our being, IN HIM.

MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

From the heart of a Salesian of Don Bosco
May 24, 2022

The Original Painting of Don Bosco's
Mary Help of Christians from
the Basilica at Turin

Mary Help of Christians... such sweet words to the ears of any Salesian! Our Lady of Don Bosco, Mary Help of Christians, is celebrated today with such joy and gratitude for the guidance and providence the Church feels through her.

Sometimes I have thought (as I still do now), coming from a country like India, where we live our daily lives with a majority who are not Christians, that the title Mary Help of Christians, is a bit too sectarian or even fanatical. But we know that the term has a historical significance that cannot be denied or forgotten. It is not just a title, but the expression of faith of a people from a particular period of time, who experienced God's closeness through the special interventions of the Mother of God.

Mary Help of Christians as a title has been attributed to our Mother since the 2nd century, but it came to prominence in the 16th century and became popular in the 19th century! Considering the historical significance of the title, directly linked to the battle of Lepanto in the 16th century and the Pope's exile in the 19th century, we tend to think today that this title is revived as the fight against the Catholic Church deepens in the world.

Don Bosco's experience of an ever-present mother in Our Lady, especially when the anti-Catholic Waldensians were against him, led him to argue about the Mother Help of Christians. For a Salesian today, this experience is not simply handed down by Don Bosco as tradition, but lived and shared daily with the presence of this Mother, so close and caring. The invocation Mary Help of Christians, Pray for us... could go as far back as John Chrysostom in the 4th century, historically seen from the 16th century onwards; but in today's experience, it is identified with a spirituality lived and transmitted by Don Bosco to his sons and daughters.

Even if today many, like me, replace this invocation with a neutral invocation such as 'Mary Help of Christians', the original title evokes a specific experience of faith that implies an affectionate relationship that a Christian should have with this heavenly mother so graciously given to us by the Saviour.

The episode of Cana is an event par excellence that speaks to us of a mother so sensitive and concerned for us. She intercedes with her Son and instructs the people on how to relate to Him - do whatever the Lord says. This is exactly the role she plays today as well. Let us thank this mother of ours, and learn from her the art of living close to her Son!

May Mary Help of Christians help us Christians of today to live our faith to the full! Amen.

The Advocate Aflame

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 6th week in Easter time

May 24, 2022: Acts 16:22-34; John 16: 5-11

Beaten, bruised and bound, they sang the praises of the Lord! Will not the glory of the Lord be revealed there? The act of Paul and Silas in the prison was such a powerful witness that the prison guards expected anything anytime. They were capable of it, because of the Spirit that filled them, fueled them and fired them. They were ordinary men, but rendered extraordinary by the Spirit of the Lord, the advocate from their Master.

Yes, the Spirit was the Advocate that Jesus promised to his disciples, who made the entire difference and the difference was enormous, it still remains unbelievable! We see this in the very first moment when the apostles come out to speak in public. The frightened band of messengers had been turned into fiercely blazing firebrands. How does the Spirit render someone powerful? It is through an internal dynamism that is marked by integrity and total availability. The apostles had become persons of integrity - that is, there was nothing but truth, honesty and purity with regard to their lives and their perspectives. Secondly, they had totally surrendered themselves into the hands of the Lord, that the Spirit of the Lord, used them powerfully. 

Because of these traits, Jesus says, when the Spirit comes, the Spirit shall convict the world. Every heart is given the possibility to know what is true, good and just; every human heart has a longing for someone beyond oneself; every person called by the waters of baptism realises at the core of one's being, the need to be a righteous witness. Sin, righteousness and judgement - they decide the quality of one's witnessing life. Our integrity and availability to the Lord will prove what quality we possess as people of God. It is in these qualities that the Spirit is manifested and these qualities come from the very Spirit!

The Spirit of Truth

WORD 2day: Monday, 6th week in Easter time

May 23, 2022: Acts 16: 11-15; John 15:26 - 16:4

"The Spirit of truth" that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel is witnessed to be at work in the event from the Acts of the Apostles that we see in the first reading - that event of the lady and her household, who accept the Lord and get baptised! While on the one hand there are people who are waiting to take the apostles to task and persecute them in all known ways, there are at the same time a multitude who are ready to protect, help and fend for them.

The tension between these two sections, is experienced in our personal lives too, and that is when we need the Spirit to work within us. We would feel an urge to remain worthy of the Word and spread spirit of obedience to the Word... and we may find situations that may encourage such a disposition, a community that supports such a style of life, and a group of persons that may wish to stand with us and follow us. 

But there could also be another situation - that the world around may ridicule the stand we take, people might make us a laughing stock, the culture might brand us as unfit for the times, and some may be even against us and plot our downfall or threaten us! What would our response be? Can we still hold on to the Truth - only the Spirit of truth can help us do that. 

Let our hearts, homes and our households be filled with the Spirit of truth, that we may set in motion real journey towards the Reign of God, with determination and courage.