GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings) DATE: 26TH MARCH 2017 FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT FIRST READING: 1Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13 PSALM: Psalm 23:1-6 SECOND READING: Ephesians 5:8-14 GOSPEL: John 9:1-41 THEME: ANOINT HIM

I came across a religious inscription on a t-shirt which reads, “The anointing makes a difference.” As I pondered over this statement over and over again, it dawned upon me forcefully that the secret of fruitfulness in any sphere of life is the anointing of God on a person. In Judeo-Christian tradition, ‘anointing’ sets a person, place or thing apart. God acts on that which he sets apart and manifests his glory.

 

In our First Reading, the Lord said to the prophet Samuel concerning David, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he" (1 Sam. 16:12). When Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the midst of his brothers, we are told, “…the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward” (1 Sam. 16:13). That act of anointing changed David and made an ordinary man, extraordinary.

Jesus also anointed a man in our Gospel text. We read, “he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay” (Jn. 9:6). This act of Jesus brought a massive change in the life of the blind man. After washing in the pool of Siloam, the man came back seeing. The transformation was so great that his neighbours wondered whether or not he was the same person. Jesus had told his disciples, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him” (Jn. 9:3).

 

The anointing of God makes a big difference in the life of a person. The psalmist rightly sings, “You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (Ps. 23:5). In Christ, we too have been anointed. In him, we are destined to make a difference wherever we find ourselves. We have been set apart to manifest the works of God. Paul writes “You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord”(Eph. 5:8).

The season of Lent affords us the opportunity to ‘activate’ in our lives the anointing that we received when we believed -- that which was offered to us through the sacraments of Christian initiation. As we prayerfully wait on God during this period, the anointing makes us new and brings us innumerable blessings.

GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings) DATE: 25TH MARCH 2017 SOLEMNITY OF THE ANNUNCIATIONOF THE LORD FIRST READING: Isaiah 7:10-14; 8:10 PSALM: Ps 40: 7-11 SECOND READING: Hebrews 10, 4-10 GOSPEL: Luke 1:26-38 THEME: FULL OF GRACE

Grace is when the Lord takes the wheel of your life and leads you through the mountains and valleys of our earthly pilgrimage and imprints living testimonies on your memory. Grace makes you bear fruit even in an arid ground and enables you to run without getting weary. Where there is grace, all things are possible.

In the Gospel text for today, the angel Gabriel addresses a woman (Mary) with a title, “Hail, full of grace”. The title “full of grace” describes a favoured one upon whom, according to the angel, “the power of the Most High will overshadow” (cf. Lk 1:35). 

With reference to the expression “overshadow”, it is interesting to note that the same word is used in the Greek version of Ex 40:35 to describe how the cloud (symbolising the Lord’s presence) “overshadowed” the Tabernacle and the glory of the Lord filled it.

The person of Mary fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah – “The Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel” (cf. Isa 7:14). True to the prophetic words of Isaiah, Mary conceived and gave birth to the Saviour of the human race without any conjugal relation with a man – “How can this be, since I know no man?” (cf. Lk. 1: 34). Indeed grace made what is humanly impossible possible in Mary.

Taking Mary as a model, we can project what the plan of God is for each one of us. God desires to make us full of his grace. He wants to make possible in us what others think is not possible. For this to happen we need to connect to the source of grace.

Daily personal prayer, sharing the word of God with others, celebrating the Sacrament of reconciliation and frequent participation in the Eucharist are some of the key ways we tap into the grace of God. 

When a car runs out of gas (fuel), it cannot move and when a Christian runs out of grace, life comes to a standstill. May we therefore turn to the Lord in prayer and ask that he may continually fill us with his grace. Amen.

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.