LOVE REMAINS

Holy Week 2023 - SILENT SATURDAY

April 8: In Sacred Silence…

What happened after Jesus died and before he rose? What was he going through? 

He was silent! 

He was waiting! 

He just remained! 

This is the call of this unique day of the year in the Church: this is the only day in the whole of the Church when no Eucharist is Celebrated...the altar remains stripped, the tabernacle remains empty and the Church remains silent: waiting in patience to see what is going to happen next.

The Lord rests in the tomb this day... everything is silent! There will be a dawn very soon... but until then we are invited to Remain Silent, Remain Patient and Remain Waiting. 

It is not so easy to remain silent in a moment of crisis. Multitudes of questions, thousands of thoughts will pass by our mind breaking our silence. One could see that - in these moments of quarantine - how many issues, how many conspiracy theories, how may fake messages doing their rounds and how many stress creating discussions! Only the one who has an unwavering faith in the Lord can remain silent at these moments.

We have grown slaves to instant results. We seem to have have lost the natural patience of our forefathers, in the name of development and technology. Only the one who hopes in SomeOne greater than oneself, can remain patient and see things happen.

Compare waiting for a public utility, may be a transport or one's turn in a crowded office, with waiting for one's beloved! While former seems irritating, the latter looks exciting. The difference is the love that is involved: Only the one who loves the Lord immensely, remains waiting, for the Lord to act on his or her behalf.

Today is the day to remain...to remain silent, to remain patient, to remain waiting, because the Lord is getting something beautiful ready for us! The Lord waits...and let us wait on the Lord too!

 

LOVE DIES, FOR YOU AND ME

Holy Week 2023 - GOOD FRIDAY 

April 7: Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12; Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42

 

We are at the peak, the peak of our Christian faith, the peak of the eternal salvation plan of God, the peak of Calvary which has transformed human history forever and from eternity. From this peak today speaks to us the love of God - telling each of us: I died for you! I emptied myself for you! I gave totally of myself for you!

The liturgy today invites us to dwell on three C's...

The first is the Cross - the centre not merely of the liturgy of today, but of our entire Christian life, theology and spirituality. The Cross is the true symbol of love, not the heart with a piercing arrow! The cross is the symbol of that total self-giving, total to the extent of the last drop of blood and water. Suffering accepted for the other, suffering taken up as a mode of self-giving, suffering endured as an act of love, is salvific! This is both an inspiration and an invitation that we need to hear every time we look at the Cross. Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!

The second is the Crown - do you know another word for a crown... Corona! We are so filled with this word, these days as we battle against the COVID 19 crisis, all over the world. When sufferings come our way, when trials visit us in our days, when burdens weigh down our shoulders, when disease and death threaten us from the dark corners, we need to remember this crown! Just imagine an athlete running a race, if right at the beginning he is given a crown and said, all that you need to do is reach the finish line... the crown is certainly yours, it is guaranteed! That is actually a real Christian vision of life... yes, we have to run, yes, we have to toil, yes, we have to strive... but the crown is ours, already! Any crisis, any suffering, any temptation, any trial, is there just to be endured and traversed; let us remember, we are all running with the crown already on our head...if only we are ready to live through them all in faith! Nothing can overtake us, nothing can overcome us, for there is someone who has overcome everything - sins, world, even death and his crown we have on our heads, the crown of salvation. Into your hands Lord, I commend my Spirit. 

The third is Calvary - the hill of grace, the mountain of salvation! The first time I visited Calvary, I was disappointed. When the programme of the visit said, Calvary, my mind had imagined an impressive hilltop up there - but all I beheld was a dozen steps to climb with the place of crucifixion marked. We had already made the climb walking the gradually rising slope leading to the Church of Crucifixion. But that is precisely the message: Calvary is not that one hill perched high right in the middle of our life - it is one whole life, it is a lifelong experience, something that we gradually climb and come to grips with every day. Amidst the daily chores, amidst the experiences of failures and faults, amidst the trying relationships and discouraging life situations, we behold our Calvary - the hill of grace, the mountain of salvation. All that we need to do is, be ready is go through these mindful of the fact that there is God's Holy Will which is guiding us and be ready to surrender ourselves totally. Thus, we can finally say, 'it is accomplished!'

Let us heed to the call of the Cross and understand the role of suffering in our personal salvation and the salvation of the humankind. Let us behold the crown of salvation and live the mystery of Calvary every day in our lives, firm in faith, filled with hope and fired by love.

 

LOVE SERVES IN EVERY WAY

Holy Week 2023 - MAUNDY THURSDAY

April 6: Exodus 12:1-8,11-14; 1; Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15

 

Love is basically a willingness to submit oneself to a way of life that wishes the good of the other. Knowing the needs of the other, without having heard from him or her is a sign of love. Committing myself for the good of the other, without ever thinking of what I would gain, is an attitude of love. Being ready to lay down one's life for the good of the other is the ultimate act of love. There can be no love better that one being ready to lay down one's life for the other and it all begins in being at the service of, the other and the good of the other. The world has grown so callous to 'the other', all that matters to one is oneself and one's own - where is love here? and where would service be here at all!

Maundy Thursday is the day on which the Lord gave us the famous mandate, the mandate of love: love one another as I have loved you; love in action - wash each other's feet; love to be identified as belonging to Christ. The day is filled with so many things to thank the Lord for. 

First of all, the Eucharist instituted today is a loving service in action, by the Son of God who gives himself up for our good. Love serves by making itself the food for the other, by destroying oneself that the other may live!

Priesthood that is initiated today is a service, a ministry of bringing the Lord to the people. It is an offering of love that persons chosen and called make for the Lord, to the Lord's people, for the Lord's mission towards the Reign of God. 

Then comes the commandment of love - the spoken words of Jesus, that would be lived out in his action of serving the disciples, washing their feet and waiting on them at the table! A love in concrete action.

In every one of these, that which stands out is love. Love is our identity, love is our mission and love is our meaning. Love is seen in service, true and selfless service.

 

LOVE HURTS, NEVER RETORTS

 Holy Week 2023 - THE SPY WEDNESDAY 

April 5: Isaiah 50: 4-9a; Matthew 26: 14-25

 

Starting Monday, we have been hearing the three songs of the suffering servant from the book of Isaiah... a set of songs that expresses the sufferings that a servant of God or the prophet of God undergoes. It becomes a prefigurement of Christ's suffering. A servant of God, even the Son of God, finds all around him, those who plot his downfall, those who want him to fail, to be destroyed: how prepared are we to face such people and still go about with dedication and commitment to the Will of God. 

Do you think it will be possible to go on loving even at these moments? It is simple to remain with the Lord and say 'I love', when things go on well; but when things do not go the way we want them? That is what led to the fall of Judas! But look at Jesus... it hurt him to have loved these people - the one who betrayed, the one who denied and those who abandoned him... but he never ceased loving them, much less react. Yes, true love hurts! But it goes on and on. 

"From that time on, he looked for an opportunity to hand him over" ...says the Gospel today. The plot thickens and the tempo builds towards the climax. There are eyes that keep watching out for the right moment to lay hands on Jesus...and the most unfortunate fact is that it is led by one from the innermost circle of Jesus' collaborators! Yes, love hurts, but the one who truly loves, never retorts!

It is a divine quality to love, even when that love is not reciprocated, much more when it is repaid with indifference or hurt! But if we believe we take after the Lord, that we are created in God's image, that we are brothers and sisters of Christ, then as Mother Teresa would often say, we have to love until it hurts

 

LOVE NEVER GIVES UP ON GOD

 Holy Week 2023 - THE PREACHING TUESDAY

April 4: Isaiah 49:1-6; John 13:21-33, 36-38 

 

 

"Though I thought I toiled in vain... yet my reward is with the Lord", this feeling expressed by Isaiah in the first reading fits perfectly the state of Jesus' mind, as he bids a bitter farewell to his disciples today. Arriving at the fag end of his ministry, Jesus knows what is in store and prepares himself for it. Judas' betrayal, Peter's denial... he foresees everything and forewarns them too, but everything in vain. However, he knows that in everything God works for the good of those who love God (cf. Rom 8:28). 

Just after the cleansing of the Temple and the controversy created by it, Jesus is found preaching at the Temple, for the last time. The Jews, the high priests and the scribes, have always challenged Jesus regarding the authority with which he is doing all that he does! Jesus does not care to prove his authority, not because he could not but because it was so obvious. His words were accompanied with signs, his teachings were authenticated with his living and no one needed any proof for Jesus' authority. The problem was that they were not ready see the obvious truth. But Jesus' love does not let him lose heart...he goes on. That is true love - it never gives up. 

These days, experiencing a totally strange holy week, a holy week in quarantine, there could be anxieties, helplessness, doubts and fears in the minds of all...but let us remember, Love never gives up. God has never given up on us and we shall never give up on God, if we truly love God. Let us learn to see and believe the presence of God amidst whatever the situation be.

Believing involves repentance! Believing comes from a conviction, from an experience. Repent and believe - that was the invitation with which the Lent began! 

How far have we progressed in it? 

 

LOVE CONSUMES ONESELF

Holy Week 2023 - CLEANSING MONDAY 

April 3: Isaiah 42:1-7; John 12:1-11

 

 

 

The flame burns more vigorously as it is about to quench itself, they say. The perfume spreads itself more vivaciously when it is about to vanquish itself. The love for his father and the passion for his mission, burns ever brighter as Jesus nears the cross. Jesus is about to enter into his last few days, and more and more begin to believe in him and come to him. Even while these happen, the stubborn heart of Judas does not give way, the plotting spirit of the high priest and scribes does not change! 

This day within the Holy week is called the Cleansing Monday, as we see Jesus after entering Jerusalem, paying a visit to the Temple and cleansing it! Don't make my Father's house a den of robbers, he cries. As the scripture says, the zeal for his house consumes him, the love for his father consumes him, the love for his mission consumes him. 

All the good that Jesus did, all the signs that marked his mission did not manage to convert that one section of the people, because they had their hearts hardened and their eyes blinded. May we hear today the yearning cry of the Lord to true conversion. May we make up our mind to truly break away from some act or tendency that we habitually fall in. As Jesus cleanses that temple, the invitation to us is clear: our body is the temple of the Lord, is it maintained as the Lord's dwelling place or has it turned into a robber's den. Isn't it time for us to take note of it and cleanse it for all its impurities. Our love for the Father, for the Lord and for being the dwelling of the Spirit, should consume ourselves! 

True love consumes oneself, true wish for the wellbeing of the other shall lead a person to consume oneself. That is what is happening with the Lord - and are we ready continuously cleanse our love for each other, for the whole humanity, for God, so true as we are prepared even to be consumed ourselves!

BLESSED HOLY WEEK 2023

May these days of journey with the Lord fill us with 

compassion for the other, 

communion with each other and 

commitment to the will of God. 

May the celebrations of these days 

open the eyes and the ears of our hearts 

that each of us may hear, understand, perceive and personalize 

our call to become more and more divine from within.

May your wounds heal us O Lord!

May your death grant us life O Lord!

May your love make us truly human, 

after your image and likeness O Lord!

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is communion

The WORD in LENT - Fifth week, Saturday

April 1, 2023: Ezekiel 37: 21-28; John 11: 45-56

The Word today offers us a clue to understand the central mission of the Son of God. As God announces it so explicitly through the prophets, what God wishes is to gather into one all the dispersed children of God, dispersed geographically, spiritually, economically, politically and in every other way. Jesus is the son of David, promised in all eternity to gather not merely the two nations (Judah and Israel), but all dispersed children of God into one. 

The call is ours too: to be agents of unity and harmony, uniting people in love and building a humanity that is joyful. If we are against such unity, even if merely in thought or merely in single instances, we are not in line with the mission of the Saviour. He would say, 'if you don't gather with me, you scatter!' (cf. Lk 11:23; Mt 12:30). 

The simplest and the plainest definition of peace is co-existence. Though that is not the ideal of all ideals proposed by peace, it is something fundamental to peace - to live together, to gather all in one, to have the possibility of co-existing. Each of us, in every way we can, is called to do all that one can towards bringing true peace, harmony and love, wherever we are. Lent is a time when I can have a look at myself and judge how disposed I am towards bringing this peace and harmony - in terms of faith, it is communion.

Where I am, in what I do, in my thoughts and in my choices, beginning from the immediate context of my family and community, do I really act as an agent of communion? Or am I dividing people, segregating people, antagonising persons, and destroying peace? That is the ultimate question that this Peace-Lent leaves us with to reflect on as we enter into the Holy Week tomorrow, because peace is communion. 

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace entails suffering!

The WORD in LENT - Fifth week, Friday

March 31, 2023: Jeremiah 20: 10-13; John 10: 31-42

Jeremiah is indeed a perfect foreshadow of Jesus, except in one case! He was in distress too, just as Jesus, for the sake of the will of the One who called him and had sent him; he was cornered for nothing and taken to task for his dedication to the Lord and to the mission handed to him by the Lord. When they persecuted him with their hatred, he cried out to the Lord to come to his assistance and vindicate him in the presence of these people.

In contrast to Jeremiah, Jesus does not wish to see the vengeance that the Lord would take on those who did not heed his call, those who were persecuting him for wrong reasons, those who refused to see such an obvious point that he was mking amidst them, by his words and deeds. Jesus always wished that they turn to him, believe in him, in his words and in his works and realise that he is in the Father and the Father is in him. 

Both Jeremiah and Jesus, give us one message: there can be no peace without suffering! They give this message in the very example of their lives, in distress for the Lord. Blessed are those who hunger for justice and peace, for they shall be filled; Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for their's is the kingdom of God. Being in distress for the Lord, for the Lord's purposes, is a crucial way to peace, and that would indicate an obvious truth - that peace entails suffering!

PEACE-LENT 2023 - Peace is Eternity

The WORD in LENT - Fifth week, Thursday

March 30, 2023: Genesis 17:3-9; John 8: 51-59

Though they claimed to be people of the covenant, they did not grasp the real meaning of the covenant that the Lord had made with them. They considered it to be only a material blessing, giving them prosperity and posterity. Jesus tries to drive home to their minds the holistic difference that the Lord makes in our lives, in and through the covenant: the covenant actually makes us like God - eternal and all spiritual. 

Whoever keeps my word will never see death, declares Jesus. Never seeing death, or becoming immortal or eternal like God, is to participate in the very nature of God. That is what our covenant with the Lord makes of us - immortal, eternal, spiritual beings destined for the Glory of God. This is what Jesus wishes to introduce us into - that would fill us with a peace that is eternal. 

In Jesus we have a profound reality to observe and accept: that God wants to share with us God's very nature -the nature of eternity, the aspect of timelessness, the fact that our earthly life is just a tiny part of the entire existence we possess, in the mind of God earlier and in union with God later. If we accept this perspective, we would understand the folly of an exaggerated insistence and dependence on material prosperity. In this vision, we would be able to understand what Jesus meant when he said, before ever Abraham was, I am! 

Are we ready to understand the true meaning of the covenant we have with God or are we picking up stones against it? Oh, what a peace that God has in store for us, a peace that is eternity!