GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings) DATE: 24TH MARCH 2017 FRIDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT FIRST READING: Hosea 14:2-10 PSALM: Psalm 81:6-11, 14,17 GOSPEL: Mark 12:28-34 THEME: SIN IS CURABLE

Sin is a sickness. It is a disease that afflicts the soul and therefore has a spiritual character. Understandably, our hospitals do not treat or offer a cure for sin. For this kind of ailment, we would need to turn to God in faith.

In today’s First Reading, the Lord speaks to Israel and by extension to each one of us, “I shall cure them of their disloyalty; I shall love them with my whole heart” (Hos 4:4). The Lord thus declares that he has the cure for sin and pledges to heal and give life to all those who turn to him.

When physical illness is not attended to and treated, it becomes worse and in the end the diseased becomes deceased. Similarly, when spiritual illness (sin) afflicts a person and the patient does not receive the needed treatment, it results in spiritual death. A major symptom of spiritual death is a life lived without love. On the other hand, when sin is treated, a person develops the capacity to love.

Jesus, in today’s Gospel text, places premium on love when he re-echoes the core value of the commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength…You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mk 12:30-31).

God does not want us to die a spiritual death. Thanks be to God, sin is curable. All that we need to do is to turn to the Lord Jesus and be healed.

GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings) DATE: 23RD MARCH 2017 THURSDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT: Jeremiah 7:23-28 PSALM: Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9; GOSPEL: Luke 11:14-23. THEME: THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS HERE

There are some people in this world who would never accept you no matter how good you are. Someone rightly said, “Haters will see you walking on water and say it’s because you can’t swim.”

In today’s Gospel text, Jesus makes a mute man speak by casting out an evil spirit. The miracle was clear – it was an act of the “finger of God”. However, the opponents of Jesus sharply criticized him accusing him of using the power of Satan, the prince of demons, to drive out demons. Others too sought to test him by demanding for a sign from heaven, in spite of the sign of a mute person speaking. Jesus responded, “If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you” (Lk. 11:20).

There are some lessons that we can draw out from the text. Firstly, the Lord gives each one of us enough signs to lead us into the Kingdom of God. Those who choose to enter the Kingdom need no more signs but for those who have made up their minds not to accept the message of the Kingdom, myriads of signs would not be enough to convince them. With reference to the second group, the prophet Jeremiah writes, “This is the nation that will neither listen to the voice of Yahweh its God nor take correction” (Jer. 7:28).

Secondly, anyone who decides to advance the message of the Kingdom of God should brace him/herself for opposition. It has always been like that from the beginning of the propagation of the Gospel. However, like Jesus, we ought not to be discouraged on account of the activities of detractors.

Thirdly, we need to take to heart the words of Jesus, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters” (Lk. 11:23). We may be intelligent and gifted in many ways but the moment we begin to lose faith in Jesus, our words and deeds scatter rather than gather the flock of Christ.
 
What Jesus asks of us is to believe in him and the message he proclaims. The world says “seeing is believing” but Jesus says “believing is seeing”.

THE PURPOSE OF THE LAW: Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent, 2016 (Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9; Matthew 5:17-19)

Laws are important. Lawlessness breeds chaos and any such state of affairs is a sure recipe for disaster. Important though they are, laws are means to an end. When we lose sight of their ultimate goal, laws easily become what the French realist novelist, Honore de Balzac, describes as “spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught.”

In our First Reading, Moses sets before the people of Israel laws which would govern their way of life in the land they would possess. He tells them, “See, just as the LORD my God has charged me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’” (Deut. 4:5-6).

Jesus, in our Gospel text, reaffirmed the Law of Moses but redirects the focus of his audience to the ultimate goal of the Law. He said to his disciples, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished” (Mat 5:17-18).  Reading further, Jesus would summarise the foundation and ultimate purpose of the law and prophets as love of God and neighbour (cf. Mt. 22:34-40).

Keeping in view the goal of any law, rule or prescription is vital for a healthy spirituality. During this season of Lent, the Church prescribes for us prayer, fasting and almsgiving to aid us in our spiritual journey. This prescription is meant to help us conquer sin in our lives and deepen our love for God and neighbour. What it means is that if my lenten observance of prayer, fasting and almsgiving is not making me more loving, then sorry, it is an exercise in vain.

Note: The picture insert from google.

The Work Must Continue!

My Kind audience,

My hearty apologies for the long silence.
My wish and hope is that this work continues now that I am a bit stable.
When you stop to say a prayer, please remember me!

I wish you well as we keep serving one another!

Francis.

THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS: THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT LONG TO SEE YOUR FACE LORD

Among the marvels of our modern and very rapid communication technology, one of the most outstanding is the ever-increasing ability to not simply speak with someone, but to actually see the person we’re speaking with.  The advent of “Skype” and other similar technology has transformed our communication possibilities.  Grateful as we are to be able to speak with someone, we are all the more grateful to see the face of the person on the other end.

On this Solemnity of All Saints, the Church calls us to open our eyes, to see with the imagination of our faith the “great multitude,” the saints who already stand in the presence of God, who behold him face to face, who “see him as he is.”   The deepest longing, the deepest desire of their hearts has already been fulfilled. 

As we look into our own hearts, as we look at the world around us, we must acknowledge that the desire to see God “face to face,” waxes and wanes.  As we come and go in the midst of daily life, we can all too easily lose even our awareness of the place of God in our lives, much less experience an intense desire to behold him as he is. Perhaps we are aware of individuals who, for whatever reason, seem to have no such desire at all.  How can this desire be more kindled in our hearts?  How might we help awaken it in those for whom it remains nearly extinguished?

To answer those questions, we might turn to the saints.  How is that those we call “saints” have lived and died with this great longing, this great desire?  One answer to that question may be found in the Beatitudes.  Those who have discovered the blessedness of being poor in spirit, of hungering and thirsting for righteousness, of showing mercy and even of experiencing persecution because of the name of Jesus—they are the ones whose desire for God has also grown.

As we look to the saints today, we ask ourselves:  are we among the people that longs to see the face of God?  Has our desire for this grown, or has it grown cold?  On this blessed day, the “great multitude” who stand before the face of God, stand ready to help us by their prayers.  May we sense their overflowing desire that we, too, one day might be where they are.  May we entrust ourselves to their loving intercession today and ask for the grace of desire, of longing, to see the face of God.

Twenty First Sunday of The Year: Lord To Whom Shall We Go?

When a person makes serious error of judgement, you hear him say “I did not have a choice”. Do we really have choices in life? Israel Zangwill, a Jewish scholar, once said of his people “We are not the chosen people, we are the choosing people.” We always have one major option in life, to choose between options, and we are always confronted with the challenge of making choices. This has been the experience of human life from the cradle of creation. Eve and Adam had this challenge; Eve chose to listen and obey the serpent, and Adam preferred Eve his wife (the gift from God) to God himself. (Gen 3, 1 – 8). Abraham chose to sacrifice his only son to disobeying God (Gen. 22). Mattathias and his seven sons chose to fight than profane the culture of their land or to accept the offer of riches from a pagan and corrupt ruler (1Mac 2, 15 – 28). Maria Goretti chose death to sexual misconduct with Alessandro. Gandhi of India chose non-violence approach to secure the political independence of his people. There are very few situations in which we have no options. One example is who will be our biological parents. Apart from this, we always have options, and we always have a choice.

Today is a day of making an important choice. For five Sundays we have been reading chapter six of the Gospel according to John. The teaching of Jesus Christ from the first verse of this chapter is like a young man falling in love with a young woman but has difficulty describing what he feels and what he can offer. Jesus started by feeding the multitude so that nobody may go hungry (17^th Sunday). In doing this, he drew our attention to another kind of hunger that ordinary food and drink cannot satisfy, it is hunger for love and acceptance; hence he tells us not to work for the food that does not last but work for the real bread of God, and he is that bread (18^th Sunday). He is gradually telling us, his “soul mate,” what he can offer. On the nineteenth Sunday, this bread becomes his flesh and the wine becomes his blood that anyone who eats and drinks it will live forever (19^th Sunday). His offer is not going to be temporary thing. It is a profound expression of love whereby the two persons involved not only know each other and be there for each other but live in each other as the food and drink we take diffuse into our bodies and become part of us. The 20^th Sunday is about total self-offering of Jesus Christ to us; he says “take and eat.” This time it is no longer the forbidden fruit that kills but the bread that give everlasting life. All the while, we have been having mix feelings as we listened to this lover-God playing all the verbal romance. Today, he wants to conclude by leaving us with two options: either to accept his offer and stick around with him or go our ways. Joshua, the patron of the military and the finest field commander in the Jewish history lying down on his bed, an old man, and looking back to the past, he did not want to be remembered as the bravest field commander who brought his people to the Promised Land but as a prophet who brought his people to choose God again. Hence he says “choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…” We can now understand why Zangwill says “we are not the chosen people; we are choosing people.”

Today, we, the Church live in changing world, changing time and culture. Yes we have encountered pride, anger, frustration, sicknesses, family crises, worship of money, abuse of drugs and sex, silliness, pettiness, cowardice, injustices, faith denials, and betrayals, lost of jobs and loved ones, abuse of power here and there. And sometimes many voices that are contradictory to our faith. What will be our choice? To whom shall we go to when difficulties besiege us and the Word of God does not make much sense to us? What will be our choice when our husbands or wives become “unbearable” or the boss in the office makes our job so difficult? What do we do when we experience scandals in the Church and from people we trusted? Whom shall we go to when our parents abuse us, and the society does not care; when the adults around us have no good example to show us and those we consider friends desert us? Whom shall we go to when we feel lonely, unloved, not cared for, not accepted, hated, falsely accused and unjustly detained? Shall we give up in life and commit suicide instead of being patient and keep trying?

In such moments we do not only want to remember that Christ still loves us, but we also need the wisdom in the words of Joshua: “as for me and my household we will serve the Lord,” or the word of Peter, “Master to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe.” Jesus Christ is offering us everything about him. He is ready to die to prove how much he is committed in loving us. The Eucharist is the proof of love that becomes us. It is the sacrament that does not just make Jesus, The Christ, present among us but also lives in us. However, it takes two to make friendship and love happen. We should remember that we become like what we choose. God chose us out of his love but he cannot force us to choose him too. We can only be truly chosen people when we choose Jesus Christ. If we choose him we choose peace instead of violence; love instead of hatred; humility instead of pride; truth instead of falsehood; self-sacrifice instead of selfishness; we choose forgiveness instead of bitterness and revenge; gentleness instead of arrogance; fidelity instead of cheating. The Eucharist is the sacrament of love relationship. This is a mystery. Paul says in the second reading “This is the great mystery; it applies to Christ and the Church.”

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: August 15

For those of us who are Catholics, this celebration of Mary in heaven is so very natural.  For those of us who are not Catholics, it might seem uncomfortable.  There is always the question: "Aren't you raising Mary to the same level as Jesus?"  Please bear with me, as I try to reflect upon what this feast can mean for all of us who believe in the saving power of Jesus' death, resurrection and gift of the Spirit, especially if I do so from my Roman Catholic enthusiasm and affection for Mary.

I think it has always been a mis-reading of the Catholic devotion to Mary, to see it as worship of Mary.  I think one of the riches of the Christian spirit is to find every human, natural, tangible, emotional means available to support our faith.  Down through history, as the form of the celebration of the Eucharist became more and more "distant" or "transcendent," I think the people used a variety of devotions to  achieve an intimacy with our Lord.  I believe that the Spirit keeps finding ways to inspire us with desires for intimacy with our God.

One of the very real human scenes that is wonderful to imagine is that time in the life of the early community, when Mary died.  I have buried a number of very close relatives and I have a deep sense of what it is to say farewell to a loved one.  Just imagine what a special person Mary was.  Not only did she receive the extraordinary gift of conceiving and giving birth to Jesus, she raised him, and followed his public life.  And, she was there at the foot of the cross, experienced him as alive in a new way, and was there on the day of Pentecost.  Imagine the words exchanged between Mary and whatever disciples were around her as she approached her death.  I remember vividly how my family caressed the body of my father and grandmother when they died.  I can only imagine the very special devotion her friends and care givers had for her very special body at the time of her death.

As we reflect upon the meaning of the resurrection for us - as we do every time we celebrate a funeral - we are caught in the mystery of what happens to us after we die, after there is no more life in the body, when we pass into eternity and time is irrelevant.  How does Christ's victory over sin and death touch and transform our mortal bodies?  Part of why we pray for those who have died is to pray for God's mercy on our loved ones, in the faith-filled hope that God will forgive their sins and that "the angels will carry them to paradise." I imagine that it was easy for believers down through the centuries to be certain that Mary, of all people on this earth, the one "full of grace," would be the first to be carried home to the loving embrace of God. "The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians." [Catechism of the Catholic Church, #966]

 May Mary pray for us as we journey to eternity!

Hail, Mary, full of grace!  The Lord is with you.

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus!

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.