The Power of Tears

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

August 27, 2022: Remembering Saint Monica

1 Corinthians 1: 26-31; Luke 7: 11-17

St. Monica, this saintly Mother has always been a point of great admiration in Christian hagiography. What a great example we have in her, as a mother and as a child of God! 

There are three lessons that this saintly mother can teach us:

1. The grace of tears: 

Pope Francis encourages people to pray for the 'grace of tears' when pleading to God to help others, when recognising their own sinfulness, when contemplating the greatness of Christ's love and when experiencing God's mercy. Monica had the grace of tears and she prayed with tears every time she prayed for her husband and her son.

2. The power of tears: 

When the widow of Nain cried, the Lord could not resist his compassion for her. He was moved to the point of a miracle. Just so, Monica saved her son, by the sheer power of her tears. What if we realise, that our tears can save, atleast ourselves!

3. The witness of tears: 

Tears become a witness, witness to the love of God. The genuine tears of a loved one speaks volumes about the immeasurable love that God has for a person. Tears are not signs of weakness, they are signs of inner strength to remain with a person who is suffering or struggling!

Let us pray for the gift of tears, as Pope Francis recommends!

Wisdom and Foolishness

WORD 2day: Friday, 21st week in Ordinary time

August 26, 2022: 1 Corinthians 1: 17-25; Matthew 25: 1-13

The world today has its own definition of wisdom and foolishness, success and failure, acceptable and inacceptable, desirable and undesirable, etc. Everything is calculated, to put it simply, in terms of benefits and gains in comparison to the effort and investment. Convenience and comfort seem unfailing criteria of choice. What is comfortable and convenient, what does not disturb my daily routine and normal life style... that is to be considered acceptable and the others have to be avoided as unnecessary! This is what the world teaches, but can these be Christian parameters?

The Christian paradigm, as Paul says is the Cross and the hope that it projects. However hard we may try, no other paradigm can make sense of this. The sacrifices we make and the selfless goodwill we have towards others are true Christian parameters of righteousness. When we try to be good, when we intend to do good to others, when we decide to be righteous, we are bound to face problems, pressures and sometimes even persecutions! 

Being good and doing good without expecting anything in return or without looking for its credits, is the cross we are called to embrace on a daily basis if we wish to really belong to the Bridegroom! The Cross is not just a sign or a symbol... it is a life style, the lifestyle that a disciple of Christ has to adopt. It is this grammar of Cross alone that can differentiate truly between wisdom and foolishness!

Waiting... but how?

WORD 2day: Thursday, 21st week in Ordinary time

August 25, 2022 - 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; Matthew 24: 42-51

The Word today brings out the all important spiritual practice of Waiting. Waiting is a daily-life experience for most of us, if not all of us. When we look at it from a larger perspective of Spirituality and life changing experiences, it can be of three modes depending on the disposition with which a person waits. 

Utopian Waiting, is a kind of excited waiting. It is more or less like a child who is waiting with excitement for a Christmas gift from the Santa. There is so much of dreaming and planning about the gift. The gift is opened and admired and experienced, all in imagination or at the mental plane, even before it reaches the hands of the beholder. Here there is so much of noise made about it though no one is absolutely sure what it is all about. About waiting for the Lord too, there are people who do this, aren't they?

Slumberous Waiting, is a kind of inactive waiting, just waiting to kill the time till it all happens. There is nothing much done about it, or practically nothing, because the person waiting does not expect anything spectacular at the end of it all. There is a kind of indifference and cynicism, even a bit of pessimism! There is nothing new under the sun and what is going to be has always been, they believe. They feel they have nothing much to accomplish and there is so much of compromise and lethargy here, that when it really happens they are hardly prepared!

Spiritual Waiting, is a kind of wholesome waiting, which lives the present moment with a holistic mindset that contains within this particular moment the gratitude for the past and the hope for the future! It is a kind of spiritual disposition that is sincere and genuine about the present life, with all its responsibilities and trials, joys and difficulties, without belittling what has gone before and what awaits. It is fundamentally living one's life to the full, joyfully waiting for the plan of eternity to unfold in all its grandeur.

Persons incapable of deceit

THE WORD AND THE SAINT

August 24, 2022: Celebrating St. Bartholomew, the Apostle

Revelation 21: 9-14; John 1: 45-51

The twelve - Jesus' choice of the twelve was very conscious and reasonable. Be it any of the twelve, even regarding Judas Iscariot, Jesus had a special reason for their choice. He gives the reason for the choice of Bartholomew (said to be Nathaniel whom Philip introduced to Jesus): a man without guile or a man incapable of deceit. That is one splendid attribute of a disciple.

We are called to be people of God; disciples of Christ! Can we merit such an appreciation from Jesus, as he had for his apostles? Note the attribute that Jesus gives today - incapable of deceit... not only that one does not have deceit, but one becomes incapable of deceit. Incapable of deceit would not only mean the way we behave; but the way we are! 

There is another cue that we have from the colour that we use for the Apostles, liturgically: the Red that we use to indicate the specific role the apostles play within our faith, is a reminder to be ready to give up one's life! Being incapable of deceit would mean - as saints like Dominic Savio would say - death rather than sin. I am so incapable of deceit that I would even die, rather than go against Godliness. 

Let every apostle, including Bartholomew, inspire us to live a life that makes us worthy be called persons without guile, people incapable of deceit!

Being Scandal Proof!

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 21st week in Ordinary time

August 23, 2022: 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-3a, 14-17; Matthew 23: 23-30

Though it has reduced a lot now, there has been a time when some non-catholic brethren (or many of them) had been intent on maligning the Catholic Church, the Catholic faith and the Catholic community of faithful. They were used to posting videos or messages, all of an anti-catholic nature. They were prone to criticising everything 'Catholic,'  even to the extent of calling the then Holy Father, the Anti-Christ who is to come. Not that such a tribe has disappeared today, but they have mellowed down, may be because they have done enough damage that they intended to. It is possible at these kind of experiences, that we express our shock and disapproval. But dear friends, if only we are integral in our faith and life, all that we need to remember is: "a fruitful tree has to foresee stones coming its way!"

Oppositions, today more than ever, keep growing to unbelievable proportions against the faith and tradition that we have grown with. However, there are splendid ways of God that we come across in spite of all these oppositions. At same time there is no dearth of examples within the Catholic fold, examples that go against the true love, splendid purity and unfailing benevolence of God. What we are to do is, simply remain calm and composed at times when we are troubled. No use lamenting the absence of witnesses for the Lord, but becoming a witness myself in whichever way I can - that is what really matters. 

And whether we are a model or not, it is important and urgent today to observe, notice and identify the counter witnesses! And it is highly important and crucial today, to be scandal proof!

Like a king or a queen!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

August 22, 2022: Celebrating the Queenship of Mary
2 Thessalonians 1: 1-15, 11-12; Matthew 23: 13-22

Today we celebrate the Queenship of Mary - but why today? It is very logical. It is one week after we celebrated the Assumption of our Blessed Mother. Assumed into heaven, she is crowned as the Queen of Apostles and Saints. As we celebrate this Queenship of our Blessed Mother we are rightly reminded of something fundamental to our Christian call.

Reflecting on the Word and the Feast today, I was strangely reminded of one of my experiences a few years ago on a journey! One knows quite well that a photo identity card is essential on journeys and those days, I had the habit of carryinh a colour photocopy of my driving license as a identity proof. On one of the journeys, this habit suddenly became an issue, when a Ticket Inspector took exception to the fact that it was a photocopy! By rule, it has to be an original document... not that I did not know that rule! I understood I was at fault and fotunately the Inspector was kind enough to merely warn me and let me go without any fine. What I wish to share here, is not what happened till here, but what has happened after that event. I began to carry an original document with me as a proof of identity, and every time I travelled after that, and specially when the Ticket inspector came to my direction, I could hold my head high and feel so confident about the fact that I have every thing right on my part - that's feeling like a king!

Jesus is referring to a life confused with varying standards, footless principles and self-centered schemes! When a person lives that way, he or she has to be all the time on the guard against people who would find fault, who would accuse or atleast murmur against. But when some one has everything right in his or her part in life, there is an inner freedom that is akin to living life like a king or a queen!

Queenship of Mary from this angle seems a natural outcome of our Blessed Mother's way of life - the absolute freedom she enjoyed, the total personal commitment she manifested and the bother-about-nothing-else attitude she had when it came to obeying God's will... that is what made her the Queen of Heaven and Earth, inspiring us to live our Christian life like her: like a King or a Queen! 

ENTER THE NARROW DOOR

Strong, in Communion and Patient!

August 21, 2022: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 66: 18-21; Hebrew 12: 5-7, 11-13; Luke 13: 22-30

The experience of standing in a queue, the tedium of entering the metal detector at places with extra vigilance or waiting for the token number at the bank… these are no rarities in our ordinary life. Jesus draws a simple example, one similar to these, our experiences.

The door to the Reign of God is narrow, not many take that door, though everyone is invited to enter the Reign. There are many other doors, which seem more comfortable, more spacious and more adorned and people prefer them, knowing least that they do not lead to the Reign of God, the greatest treasure in store for us!

Entering the narrow door is a task quite demanding – the readings today point to three traits that are needed to be able to enter the Reign through the narrow door. As Jesus tells us in the Gospel, many try to enter but they cannot.

To able to enter the door, one should be strong! Strive – says the Lord – Strive to enter – To strive means to struggle, to make all the efforts possible, to try real hard. One needs to be strong in mind, heart and soul to strive to enter the narrow door into the Reign. It is Spiritual strength we are dealing with here. Be Strong, but avoid Spiritual Obesity, warns the Lord. If you are obese, you cannot enter the narrow door – it’s obvious! Spiritual Obesity – Pride and Elitist mentality – which gives into self righteousness and judgmental attitude can never get us into the Reign of God. I am baptized, I am a born-again, I am a consecrated religious, I am a Sacred minister – nothing can get you in! From the east and the west, the north and the south everyone will enter and sit at the table in the Reign says the Lord. Mind you, there are no reservations here in. A bit of disciplining, as the second reading suggests, can get us in shape.

To be able to enter the door, one should be in communion! The way is long, we reflected on that last week. Communion with each other and Communion with those who have managed to enter the door before us, can really make the task easy and enjoyable. Our forerunners are our example, our model and can even be our helpers – but finally, the one who has to enter is me! It is you! That is why we are warned today – Be in Communion but avoid Spiritual Infantilism. At times we make our faith so infantile that we think everything depends on the candles we light, the formulae we repeat, the food we give up and the coins we drop. These are means to strengthen our relationship with God – but they are not everything. What matters most is our personal life of commitment and integrity. You cannot enter the narrow door in groups… one by one you have to do it. That means you cannot ride on the goodness of the other, either the living or those gone before you!

To be able to enter the door, one should be patient! The wait is long, for the door is narrow! Waiting on the Lord is a spiritual talent. To wait patiently, amidst failures and pressures, amidst temptations and struggles, amidst dark nights and heavy burdens, it is the only way one can be prepared and prompt when one’s time comes! There is a warning here too: Be Patient but avoid Spiritual Lethargy. In the name of patience I cannot procrastinate my commitment and postpone my conversion to a later moment. ‘Repent and Believe, for the Reign of God is near’ says the Lord. Being patient is not being busy with something else till my turn comes… but persevering, enduring and constantly working on myself that when my turn comes, I am in shape, prepared enough and fit to enter the narrow door that leads me to the behold the eternal glory of the Lord Almighty!

I am the door, if anyone enters through me, he or she will be saved (Jn 10:9) declared the Lord elsewhere! Jesus is the door, the narrow door, the demanding door – He is compassionate, yes; but at the same time uncompromising. The choice is ours to choose the narrow door, make ourselves strong, united and patient, to endure our everyday life and make straight the path for our feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed (heb 12:13). The door is narrow but there is enough space to enter, if we are in ready and willing.

We, the glory of God!

WORD 2day: Saturday, 20th week in Ordinary time

August 20, 2022: Ezekiel 43: 1-7; Matthew 23: 1-12

The talk of the glory of the Lord reminds us immediately of the famous saying of St. Irenaeus, "the glory of God is the human person fully alive." It is so true, that the Lord does not glory in the whole universe, but in the human person that God has created, precisely because the Lord created the human persons in God's own image and likeness. 

Bearing God's image and likeness is much more than just being a special creature; it is being God's own, it is bearing that dignity that comes from God, it is having God as our father, our mother, our Master, our Lord, our source, our destiny, our model, our meaning... our all! Thus, at the same time that it is a privilege, it turns out to be a great responsibility, for each of us - to be bearers of the image and likeness of God. 

Let us not be carried away by the scandals on earth and the misleading examples around. Let our eyes be fixed on that one source and summit. The Lord alone is our Master. When we journey on this way, we will have with us those who have gone before us, those who are struggling along with us, those who are on the verge of giving up, those who are contemplating to commence the same journey and so on. 

Let us feel a sense of solidarity with all, encourage each other and grow up (cf. 1 Thess 5:11), to be true sons and daughters of God , manifesting the glory of the Lord here on earth. Just as Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord enshrined in the Temple, let the world today see the glory of the Lord in us, the living temples of the Lord (1 Cor 3:16).

The Dry bone syndrome

WORD 2day: Friday, 20th week in Ordinary time

August 19, 2022: Ezekiel 37: 1-14; Matthew 22: 34-40

The world is experiencing a time that is strange in all its sense and meaningless in its totality. There is some invention or development every single day in the field of social networking, making it ever more easier to stay in touch and communicate to each other. But the paradox is, that world is growing colder by the day towards those who are suffering, those who are struggling, those who are left without hope, those who are exploited and targetted, denied their rights, robbed of their dignity and incessantly dehumanised. No one bothers about these weak and the least, there is only the mighty and the moneyed who have their way in everything.  It is an experience we can call the dry bone syndŕome. Bones strewn all around but having nothing to do with each other.

The spirit, the breath of the Lord that the Lord commands Ezekiel to prophesy about, is nothing but the Spirit of the Lord, the love for God and the love for one's neighbours. It is Love that can give life to this heap of dry bones. It is the love that God lavishes upon us and the realisation of it, that can urge us to love others (2 Cor 5:14).

Looking at the war situations and stand-offs between nations that create feelings of fear and insecurity among people... are they not clearly experiences of dry bone syndrome? And what else can be the solution proposed, if not, love, genuine love and committed love, inspired by the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord!

The task of becoming God's people

WORD 2day:  Thursday, 20th week in Ordinary time

August 18, 2022: Ezekiel 36: 23-28; Matthew 22:1-14

The readings today seem to underline the urgency of responding to God's invitation. The urgency in no way does away with the demands of the criteria. The demand is not just to be good people, but to be God's people. However we may try, that task seems to be practically impossible, with all the traps and trials around in our living conditions. 

The Lord offers to fill us with Lord's own spirit. It is only through that, one can live according to the norms of the living Lord. By God's invitation to becoming the Lord's people, God wishes to display God's holiness in us... what a realisation if only we understand what God wants to communicate by this invitation to us. 

At times we reduce our human nature to sinfulness and wickedness, jealousy and egocentrism, lawlessness and insensitivity. The truth is not that: the truth is that we possess within us the holiness of God, the splendour of God, the glorious and majestic image of God. If only we realise it! 

We are called to be holy, we are given with the task of becoming God's people...holiness here is knowing the right perspectives of life and living with right priorities, on a daily basis. We claim to have accepted the invitation of God, but if we do not have this balanced perspective and wholesome priorities, we are doomed to be cast out from that presence of the Lord, for it is no holiness that does not result in concrete wholeness!