Saturday, December 26, 2009

Piravi,1st S,Dec.27(Holy Family)

This Sunday ,coming immediately after Christmas, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. The reading from the Gospel of Matthew that we heard just now places before us in a very few words all the troubles, challenges and hardships the young family faced at the outset.
Joseph, Mary and Jesus did not enjoy a comfortable environment at the beginning of their family life. They had to endure tremendous hardships just to be alive.
After all the marvelous happenings after the birth of Jesus-- the visit of the Magi, the greeting of the shepherds, the appearance of the angels to the shepherds-- things have not yet settled down for them for a happy family life. All of a sudden, Joseph was asked to leave Bethlehem for Egypt. We can only imagine the ordeal and hardships of the young family on their flight to Egypt. Leaving for a foreign country with no preparations, with no friends and with no money would definitely be very hazardous in those days. They had to make the decision right there and leave for Egypt. It is beyond our imagination even to guess how they did find help for the flight and the means for their livelihood in a strange land with no knowledge of the language of the country. Then, after a few years, they were asked to return to Palestine. They had to make the trip back again with no preparations.
What we find in them, hence, is the perfect submission to the will of God. No questions were asked and no doubts were raised. With faith in God and with love for one another, they knew they could overcome all kinds of obstacles in their lives.
What we find in Joseph and Mary is their perfect submission to the will of God, steadfastness or constancy in their faith, unconditional love and whole-hearted cooperation. We know that a family becomes successful spiritually and emotionally when these elements become the fabric of their lives.
A family is rich not because of the wealth it has nor because of the beautiful house in which it lives but because of the wealth in the hearts of its members—faith in God and love for each other.
If we are unwilling to yield or to compromise and if our selfishness or arrogance dominates our attitudes, the family ties break down. It is to the Word of God and to our faith that we have to return when we have problems in our families.

We find all around us marriages breaking down and ending in divorces. More than a million children grow up in broken families every year in our country. There are concerted and very fierce attempts on the part of many to destroy the very meaning of marriage.
Family is our greatest treasure and we have to preserve and nurture it through our love and sacrifice. As the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church of the Second Vatican Council states, “the family is the domestic church” and it is there the elements of Christian faith have to be learned and practiced. Parents, according to the Document, are “ the first heralds of faith with regard to their children.”

We often ignore to emphasize how important is faith in our life. We rarely speak about the role of faith in our lives and live according to the faith. Family discords and differences between the parents, violent arguments and domestic abuse all create an atmosphere that destroys the warmth and love that should exist in a Christian family.
This is the appropriate time for each one of us to ask ourselves how we can make a difference in our family life and make it better and richer How are the members of my family relating to one another How are the members of my family relating to one another and how strong is the place of the faith in our families?
May the Lord give us the grace to make our families the seedbeds of love and peace.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Advent,4th S.Dec.20,09

Advent,4th S.Dec.20,09
(Mt.1:18-25)



On this fourth Sunday of Advent , the Gospel presents the birth of Jesus and the circumstances surrounding the birth. On the last three Sundays, the Gospel passages presented before us Zechariah, Bl. Virgin Mary and John the Baptist, great persons chosen by God for their special roles in the history of our salvation. Today, we meet another personage of no less importance. The account of the birth of Jesus that we heard just now centers mostly around St. Joseph and the decisive actions he took at a critical time in the life of Bl. Virgin Mary and Jesus. From the few words in this account of the nativity from the Gospel, we get an inkling into the integrity , steadfastness and deep faith of Joseph.

We can only imagine the thoughts and feelings that crossed the mind of St.Joseph when he found that Mary was pregnant before they were married. All his expectations and dreams of a new life with Mary disappeared all of a sudden.. He , definitely, trusted Mary and accepted her account of the stupendous miracle involved in the pregnancy. But how could Joseph accept Mary as his wife when she became pregnant before marriage. The traditional society in which Joseph lived would never allow him to receive her. She would be punished according to the Mosaic Law. He knew his public rejection of Mary would result in her death.

The Gospel uses a word to describe the integrity and the greatness of Joseph’s personality: he was a just man. The Greek word that is used to describe him is dikaios= innocent, just, equitable, impartial. He was not going to be to be in any way swayed just by the literal weight of the law. As a man of God, he knew that something great was happening in his life. There was no reason to distrust Mary whom he knew so well. He was open to God in his heart and soul.
It was when he was passing through such turbulent storms in his heart that he received the message of God not to be afraid and to receive Mary as his wife. He was addressed as the descendant of David and then the angel gave him the authority to name the child, Jesus.
Joseph thus became the protector of Jesus and the lawful husband of Mary. He was willing to face all the challenges and hardships involved in his role as the father of Jesus.

The life of Joseph is a strong reminder to each one of us to reflect on our life as the protector of our faith. We often fail in our life as Christians when our faith is challenged or questioned. We fail in our duty to nurture the faith of our children. When they stop practicing their faith, we don’t take effort to give them the right understanding of the faith nor do we give them good examples. How just are we in our dealings with our neighbors? Our arrogance, contemptuous attitudes and disparaging remarks make us unworthy of the custodians of the precious faith given to us.

We have to be the new Josephs in the places where we work or move. We are the new custodians of Jesus--- of our faith, of everything that pertains to the faith. We should not run away from those who attack or disparage our faith. The words that gave courage to Joseph “Do not be afraid” are ours to claim. We can be the people who can effect changes in our family and society through our courageous actions. As Mother Teresa has put it: “What I do, you cannot do, but what you do I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”


Let us make a deep introspection and see where we have failed in the practice of our faith, and in what way we can change our attitudes and perceptions in order to become better examples to our families as well as to our neighbors..

Friday, December 11, 2009

Advent,3rd S.,Dec.13,09

Advent.3rd S,Dec.13,09
( Lk.1:57-66)


We often become worried about our future and ask ourselves what will become of our lives or how will it be possible for us to overcome the difficulties that we may face in the future. We are worried about our job, our family, the future of our children etc. All kinds of things and events keep us always on tenterhooks and on the threshold of uncertainty and doubts. Our questions are invariably questions of anxiety and worry.

Today’s Gospel sets before us questions of a similar nature. But they are not questions of worry or anxiety but of expectations and hopes. For the people of that time began to see miracles happening before their own very eyes. Elizabeth who was never thought of having a child became a mother at a later age in her life. Tradition had it that the son should bear the father’s name and instead the child was given the name, John, meaning God is gracious. Zechariah who became mute and deaf began to speak immediately after the naming of the child. So it is natural for them to expect to see more miracles happening in their lives through the life of John. Hence they spoke to one another about the greater things that were going to be seen in their lives: “What will this child be?”

Yes, greater things would happen. Jesus, the Christ, would appear in their lives and John would be come His precursor. He would get the unique privilege of baptizing the Son of God. John would confront corruption and immorality in higher places with boldness and courage. He would have no fear in his heart to condemn the King for his adulterous actions. . His actions would be so charged with the grace of God that he would be praised by Jesus as the greatest of men born on this earth.

Yes, John’s life was different .It was the life a prophet, intent on the reformation of the society. He was totally devoid of any earthly fame or glory. He never sought the company of the rich or the wealthy nor did he seek the comforts of the world. His food was grasshoppers and wild honey. He kept a low profile and a humble way of life . He told his disciples that he must decrease and that Jesus must increase. In the heights of greatness, he was the humblest of human beings.

It is this John who stands at the doorway of Advent asking us to undergo a similar spiritual transformation, avoiding the path of sin and returning to God.

We have to ask ourselves what kind of transformation will happen in our lives. Will we allow God to transform us, to make us new persons or are we going to be people of hate, and anger, of selfishness and arrogance or of forgiveness and compassion?. The choice is ours to make. The paths are before us. It is for us to make the right choice and choose the right path. We have to make the choice of doing good and helping people. St. Paul writes to the Romans: “Never pay back evil with evil…Never try to get revenge…Do not be mastered by evil, but master evil with good.”(Rom.12:14-21).

As Henri Nouwen puts it, we have a lot of road crossings to do in this season of Advent: “If we could cross the road once in a while and pay attention to what is happening on the other side, we might indeed become neighbors.”

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Advent 2nd S,Dec.6,09

Advent 2nd S.Dec.6,09
(Lk.1:26-38)



Today, on this second Sunday of Advent, we are called to reflect on the life, words and the response of the Blessed Virgin Mary for a fuller understanding of the spiritual preparedness for the celebration of Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Savior. Is there any life more worthy, is there any response more appropriate than that of the Bl. Virgin Mary to reflect on in this liturgical season? Through her words, “‘Thy will be done”, Mary surrenders herself totally to the will of God and her surrender becomes the prototype of the life of every disciple of Christ.

The angel Gabriel who breaks the news of the birth of John the Baptist is the same angel who comes to Mary and announces the great and happy news of the birth of the Savior. The angel addresses Mary with words that never have been used to address a member of the human race: “ Hail Mary, full of Grace. The Lord is with you.” She is unspoiled and untouched by sin.—she is full of the grace of God. To the humble maiden who has not yet been married but only betrothed, the angel announces the news of immense magnitude that she would bear forth the Son of the Almighty.

For a young girl, growing up in a rigid society with its own strict rules of moral conduct and behavior, to grasp the full meaning of those words is totally frightening. The shame, the alienation, the ostracism, the gossip and everything else that will happen along with these to tarnish her character before her family as well as before the society were definitely in her mind as she listened to the words of the angel. But there was no trepidation in her voice. There was no hesitancy in giving her consent. She pronounced the words that have within them tremendous implications for the salvation and peace of the human race. “ I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let thy will be done in my life.” Those words, though said in the silence of her house have broken the barriers of centuries and still resound in our ears as the words of the wisest person in the world; “Lord, it is your will that is important. I am here to follow you, to obey you. You have the freedom to work through me. I am your beloved daughter.”

This season of Advent places before us Mary’s response to help us to prepare ourselves spiritually and emotionally for the celebration of Christmas. Every day in our lives, we confront a lot of difficulties and challenges. Sicknesses, financial disasters, loss of name, false accusations, loss of hopes, loss of jobs etc are the grim realities that we confront daily in our lives. How should we respond to these situations? We can either respond to them positively, seeing in our difficulties the hand of God, guiding us ,or retreat from them, blaming everybody else.

Mary has shown us the path we should take. If we have faith in the Lord, He will come to our aid, and His loving arms will be around us to offer us protection from these feelings of dejection and pain. Our surrender to the will of God does not come from our weakness but from the strength of our faith, from our belief that that the loving Lord will never forsake us, however stormy and turbulent our life is.
The following prayer of Karl Rahner which in fact is a reproduction of the prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola is very appropriate for all of us who try to imitate Mary in this season of Advent: “ O Lord, our prayer is the sum of all desire and of all prayer: Take and receive , O Lord, my whole freedom, my memory, my understanding and my whole will, all that I have and possess. …All is yours, dispose of it entirely according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace, for that is enough.”

Friday, November 27, 2009

Advent,Nov.29,09

Advent,Nov.29,09
(Lk.1:5-25)


Today marks the beginning of the liturgical season of Advent. The readings that we heard just now from the Scriptures prepare us for this beautiful period of expectations and waiting. The waiting is for the celebration of Christmas, for the birth of Jesus, for a day stamped in our memory with great feelings of joy and peace, of forgiveness and reconciliation, and of goodness and generosity. The period of Advent offers us an opportunity to reflect on the unbounded love of God , our Father, who has loved us so much as to send His son to die for us and to reclaim for us the right to be called the children of God.

The reading from the Gospel describes the events that make this period of Advent significant and glorious. There is no other better preparation for Christmas than to reflect on the life and teachings of the John the Baptist who was the forerunner of Jesus Christ, our Savior. John the Baptist stands at the door of the season of Advent inviting us to a new life through our repentance. Through his own personal life, through his teachings and penance, he shows a way of life that is open to God though the conversion of our hearts. As the angel Gabriel tells Zechariah, he will bring people back to God.

This period of Advent is a time to focus on our values of life and perceptions. The voice that resounded in the hills and valleys of Palestine , calling the people to repentance should be heard in our hearts too. We have to question the values and mindsets that are controlling our lives. Our selfishness and arrogance have often separated us from God as well as our neighbors. We need to go back to the basics. What does it mean to be a Christian? Does it just consist in the external observance of certain rituals and traditions or does it involve a way of life that is steeped in love and forgiveness?

So many of our families are suffering because of the lack of forgiveness and compassion among its members. In the heart of many Christian families, there is no peace. Where is the conversion that should happen because the presence of the Lord in our lives? Do people who see us recognize that we are different because of our faith in the Lord?

We are invited in this season to wear the mantle of the prophet, John the Baptist, and invite our fellow brethren to a new way of life through the changes that are happening in our lives. We have to become more mellow and compassionate .We have to show that our greatness consists not in dominating over the lives of others but in serving and helping them to become greater in their lives. John the Baptist has very powerfully indicated that his role is not overshadow Jesus, but to allow him to grow. If we in our public and private lives allow Jesus to grow and shine in our neighbors and members of the family, the changes that will take place in our lives will be dramatic and significant. .

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Pallikoodas,Nov.22,09,

The Kingship of Christ,09
Pallikoodasa,4th S.

(Mt.22:41-23-12)


Today we observe the Feast of the kingship of Christ. This feast was instituted by Pius Xl in 1925 through his encyclical” Quas Primas”. The encyclical was written at a time when dictatorships were emerging and consumerism and materialism began to dominate the minds of people. The Holy Father wanted to remind people where our loyalty should lie and who the Lord of the Universe is..
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his listeners not to get caught in ambiguities and dubious arguments but to assert properly their obedience to the Messiah. If David calls the Messiah, the Lord, then, the Messiah is the Lord of the Universe .He then, indirectly, asks his listeners to accept Him as the Messiah and follow His teachings.
Jesus uses the occasion to remind His listeners that there is only one authority and it is God and every one in authority has to resort to God for his claim to power. He then tells them that the greatest among them is the one who serves others. He reverses the order of the secular world and makes the lowliest the greatest. He tears down the false masks of the hypocritical religious teachers who do not practice what they preach. The Pharisees believe only in the shows of authority but in practice they are hypocrites, deceiving people by their non-exemplary lives.
What does the Kingship of Christ mean for us? It means that our first and foremost allegiance is to be offered to Jesus . It is from the perspective of our attachment to Jesus that we should view all other things and events in our lives. Our positions and accomplishments should be occasions of service to others. It is by serving and loving one another that we show our loyalty to Jesus. Otherwise, we would be just hollow persons, with no ring of sincerity in our hearts.
Jesus is the King of Love. He showed his love by dying for us. The sincerity of love is expressed through the sacrifices we make for the well-being of others. Our world is craving for the love that Jesus has shown in His life. We have to preach the life of Jesus through our lives. It is when we become humble like Jesus that we begin to realize others too are the children of a loving God. As Henri Nouwen, one of our great spiritual writers, puts it: “When we want to be in the center, we easily end up on the margins, but when we are free enough to be wherever we must be, we often find ourselves in the center. Giving away our lives for others is the greatest of all human acts.”
The celebration f the Kingship of Christ has also another purpose. In the coming weeks, we will be preparing ourselves for the birth of Jesus through the season of Advent. It is then that we celebrate the birth of Jesus as a weak and fragile child. The Kingship of Christ reminds us that even in that fragile state, he is the Lord of the Universe.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Pallikoodasa 3rdS.Nov.15,09

Pallikoodasa 3rd S.Nov.15,09


In today’s Gospel, we find Jesus making his annual pilgrimage like any other Israelite to the Temple. But the sights and sounds that he saw there shocked him.
The Temple for the Israelites is their most sacred place where they offer worship and praise to the Lord their God. In Deut.16,16, the Israelites are asked to make an annual pilgrimage for the Passover to the Temple and offer sacrifices. Those who could afford are asked to sacrifice an ox or a sheep and the poor two turtle doves or pigeons.
The Passover is celebrated on the 14th day of the month of Nisan (the first month of the Jewish year) and is followed by the festival of the unleavened bread.
Jesus comes to the Temple for the Passover celebration. The spectacle of trading, and the scene of shouting and bargaining that go with it provoke in Jesus such a moral outrage that he lashes out at the traders and money changers and drives them away from Temple.

The people who are there ask Him for signs or credentials that he has the authority to drive away traders from the Temple and to speak on behalf of God.. Jesus gives them the sign of his divine authority by pointing out to them that His body is the greatest Temple on earth and he would recover his life within three days after it is destroyed. They cannot catch the meaning of his words and even his disciples get the meaning of those words after his Resurrection.
We have more than a Temple in our midst. Our Church is the place where Jesus is present really. It is here that we pour out our pain and agony. It is here that we are comforted by the loving presence of Jesus. But how poor we are in our participation in the Eucharistic celebration! We use all kinds of pretexts to run out of the church as early as possible without even spending a few minutes thanking the Lord for His blessings. We also find pretexts to avoid going to the church on Sunday on account of social obligations and or of job-related matters.
The church is also the living community of the followers of Jesus. We have to respect our fellow brethren and do anything that is possible in our power to lighten their burdens and support them in their times of pain and hardships.
Our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1Cor.6:19). Our thoughts and words should be in conformity with the presence of Lord in our hearts. We who receive the body and blood of Jesus should lead a life that is full of love and forgiveness. If we allow ourselves to be conquered by our sinful passions, how can we bear witness to the presence of the Spirit of the Lord in our life?
Anger, hatred, contempt, lack of compassion and unforgiving attitudes are the ways in which we diminish the holiness of our lives. The Temple of our life is being made unholy by these vices. We shall take the whip of repentance in our hands and purify ourselves from such unchristian ways of behavior and show the compassion and love of Jesus to others. As Fulton J. Sheen puts it: “We must nourish ourselves with the truths of God and mortify ourselves of those things which are harmful to the soul, and be just as scrupulous in avoiding moral evil as we are avoiding physical evil.”

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Pallikoodas 2nd S,Nov.8,09

Pallikoodasa 2nd S.,Nov.8,09
(Mt.12:1-14)


The reading that we heard just now from St. Matthew’s Gospel presents the escalating controversy between Our Lord and the Pharisees. The Pharisees are out in the open to trap Jesus in his ministry and to accuse him falsely of violations of the rules about the observance of the Sabbath. The pharisaic tradition has established 39 categories of actions as forbidden on the Sabbath. Harvesting is one of these.
So in their eyes, what the disciples did by picking the ears of the grain when they felt hungry is an action forbidden on the Sabbath. They use this incident to accuse Jesus of encouraging his disciples to violate the laws of the Sabbath. Jesus blunts the power of their arguments by showing how their own ancestors did the opposite of what they were saying.
Jesus confronts them with four arguments to show the hollowness of their accusations. First one was the example of David who ate the Show Bread or the Bread of the Presence which only priests were allowed to eat. Second, priests themselves make a lot of actions in order to prepare themselves for the observance of the Sabbath. Third, from their own prophets’ statements, Jesus shows how acts of mercy are more important than Temple sacrifices. The last and the most important of all is that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. They become speechless before these arguments
Jesus uses the occasion to show them the meaning of the religious traditions and rituals. The whole purpose of religious observances is to help people to come closer to God. Rituals and traditions become meaningless if they distract people from coming closer to God.
Again, to highlight the importance of mercy, Jesus heals the man on the Sabbath. Even healing a man is considered a violation. There are no words to describe the hypocrisy and shallowness of these leaders of the community. Who could ever give such a sudden healing? They should have fallen on their knees and adored God in gratitude when they saw the healing. Instead, they begin to plot how to kill Jesus. Inhumanity has reached its bottom through their actions.
These words and actions of Jesus are a powerful reminder to each one of us to look at the way we lead our lives. For many of us, a life of faith means a life of rituals and traditions. It does not change a bit our selfishness and arrogance, our lack of compassion and unforgiving attitudes. It is when we stoop down to serve our neighbors and the poor that we make our faith alive.
Innumerable are the occasions when we have ignored opportunities where we should have shown mercy and compassion, love and forgiveness. Today is the day for us to make a deep transformation in our lives and allow our faith to change the way of our life. As Mother Teresa has said, “In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Pallikoodasa,1st S,Nov.1,09

Pallikkoodasa 1st S,Nov.1,09
(Mt.16:13-19)

Today we celebrate the All Saints Day, a day set apart by the Church to remember all those who have found favor with God .The day reminds each one of us to follow the examples of holiness, devotion and attachment to the Lord shown by the saints, in our earthly pilgrimage to heaven.
In today’s Gospel, St. Matthew presents before us a very important moment in the lives of the Apostles. Jesus calls them together and asks what the people say about Him. They reply by giving the opinions of the people saying that Jesus is one of the prophets of the past who has come alive. Jesus now asks them what they think of Him. Peter responds to this question on behalf of all the Apostles by saying that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. There is no hesitation, no doubt no wavering in his response. It just comes spontaneously to his lips. He says confidently and boldly that the person standing before him is the Son of God.
Jesus understands the full meaning of that statement and knows fully well that it has not come to Peter through any human endeavor but by the revelation of God. Jesus realizes that Peter’s faith has made him totally open to God and that he is the recipient of a great revelation from God , the Father. Right there itself, Jesus makes him the foundation of the community he is going to gather. Peter is the Rock and upon this Rock, Jesus will build His church.
This is an appropriate moment for all of us to reflect on the implications of this statement and understand the true meaning of the church. We are the flock of Christ, the people of God, the community of believers in Christ who are firmly established on Peter and his successors. This is the uniqueness of the Catholic Church and makes it different from other denominations. Many a time, people try to water down the importance of this statement and make it appear that all denominations have equal validity. The foundation on the Rock of Peter is the most distinctive characteristic of the true community of believers.
It is also a good time for us to reflect on our commitment to Christ. Jesus is asking each one of us what we think of Him. Do we really believe that he is the Son of God? If we really believe that He is the Son of God, then, all of our ideas and attitudes on life will definitely undergo great changes. Tue followers of Christ can never be selfish, arrogant, boastful and hateful. There should be a great desire to forgive, to reach out and to come to the aid of the poor.
As Mother Teresa has said , alone we can do nothing, but with Jesus , we can do a lot of things. Today , we shall join with all our fellow brethren in faith and walk along the path of holiness, offering the Gospel of love and forgiveness and of compassion and mercy to all around us.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Elia-Sleeva,8thS.Oct.25,09

Elia-Sleeva,8th S,Oct.25,09
(Mt.8:23-34)




The reading form today’s Gospel presents before us two miracles which assert the power and authority of Jesus over the world of nature as well as those of Spirits. In unmistakable terms, these miracles prove to the disciples and to the people listening to Him that he is not just a great teacher, or a prophet but the Son of God.
The calming of the storm, undoubtedly, is a powerful assertion of the dominion of Jesus over the forces of nature. The disciples, in spite of their awareness of the divine power of Jesus through the various miracles they witnessed in their association with Jesus, were not fully conscious of the reach and depth of the authority of Jesus. Hence, when they thought that lives were in danger they cried out to the Lord for His intervention. Their cry “ Save us, Lord” provoked Jesus to calm the stormy turbulence of the sea .We can just imagine the joy and the surprise that the disciples felt when the sea was made calm. Their surprise was shown in the words they expressed: “ The winds and the sea obey him”
The second miracle happens in the territory of Gadara which is part of the gentile city of Decapolis. The two men who were afflicted by the power of Satan asked Jesus to save them from the possession. At His word, the devils left the men and escaped into the herd of swine which rushed into the sea and perished in it. The men became free of the possession and were free to resume their normal lives.
These two miracles affirm the authority of Jesus as well as His willingness to come to the aid of people who are suffering. The mercy and compassion of Jesus are also reflected in these miracles.
These two miracles were again a call to his listeners to accept Him as the Son of God and as the Savior of their lives. They were invited to forego their former lives and surrender themselves to Jesus to experience the freedom of the children of God.
What do they tell us? It is a call to each one of us not to feel diffident in life in the face of difficulties and hardships and submit ourselves to Him. His protection will always be there for us. When our hearts become turbulent because of fear, sickness, failures, tragedies, Jesus will be there to drive out those forces and calm the turbulent waters of our hearts. How consoling it is to know that the Lord will come to our help when our lives are in danger. He is the Light who will lead us when the night is dark and lonely and our steps ahead are

Friday, October 16, 2009

Elia-Sleeva,7thSu.Oct.16,09

Elia-Moosa 7th S.,09
(Mt.28:16-20)

Today we celebrate the Mission Sunday and the reading form the Gospel reminds each one of us about our mission as the followers of Christ.
Jesus just before His Ascension to heaven gathers together the apostles and gives them a commission that becomes their only task in life: to spread the Gospel and to bring every one into the flock of Christ. He gives them the authority to preach in His name and to baptize every one in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. He offers his abiding protection for them, telling them that He would be with them until the end of the world.
He does not use any parable or figurative language to convey this message. It is direct and specific. It is obligatory on the part of every disciple of Christ to become an evangelizer, a bearer of the Gospel, an announcer of the Good News.
How do we become evangelizers? First of all, we have to be believers in Jesus. Just as Peter confessed, “You a re the Christ, the Son of God”, we too have to acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of our lives. If we don’t believe in the depths of our hearts that Jesus is the Lord of our lives, our Protector, the source of our lives, then, we cannot make Him known to others.
The Gospel has to become part of our lives. Our families should become first the centers of Christian love, of forgiveness, of deep and abiding faith in Jesus. It is through our lives that we have to proclaim the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, what we say just become meaningless words and we become the laughing stocks of our neighbors.
Albert Schweitzer was a great missionary in Africa. There was a great reception arranged for him on one of his return trips to Chicago. People were at the train station to receive him as he got down from the train. But when he got down, he saw an elderly black lady struggling to get down and to get her suitcase from the compartment. Instead of greeting the people who came to receive him, he walked over to the elderly lady and helped her to get down. He also helped her to take the suitcase from the compartment. Can anyone doubt the sincerity of his faith? He was preaching the Gospel through his noble action. It is though our lives that the Gospel has to be preached first.
The Holy Father in his message for the Mission Sunday asks every one to transform the world “with the Gospel of love” and to “infect” every one with hope.” This Transformation has to happen first in our own personal lives. Our hearts should be devoid of all ill-feelings, revenge, hatred etc. We should carry this spirit of love and forgiveness to our places of work and living---to our schools and work-places. Let the people who interact with us know that we live by different standards.
Then our witness to the Gospel becomes really genuine and sincere. The commandment that Jesus has given us becomes part of our lives. We can ask ourselves at the end of every day: “ How did I proclaim Jesus today in my life?”
We also have to help the Church in its mission of evangelization by our personal contribution of time, talent and financial resources.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Elia-Sleeva6t.S,09

Elia-Moosa,6th S.,09
(Mt.20:1-16)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is giving his listeners a new perspective on God’s kingdom and salvation. Until the teaching of Jesus, the Kingdom of God was seen as a birthright of Israel and was exclusively confined to the Israelites. Salvation was seen not only as belonging to a particular race but also as something to be attained by one’s own effort by observing the rituals of tradition. Through the parable of the laborers of the vineyard, Jesus is correcting the perception of the Israelites on Salvation.

The parable of the laborers highlights the current notions prevalent in Israel on salvation and God’s kingdom. The earlier laborers hired for work in the vineyard represent the Chosen people of Israel. They are given the privilege of the call to be part of the kingdom of God. But Jesus points out to them that they are not the only people called to Kingdom .The gentiles are also entitled to the grace of God and hence, the call goes out to them also to join the kingdom of heaven.

What Jesus tries to make his listeners understand is that God’s offer of salvation is not limited to one particular race or nation. It is open to all. It is also not confined to those who are righteous but also to sinners. No one is excluded from the call of God. It is a free gift. Salvation is not attained by human effort but given as a pure gift of God.

The early laborers complain that they have worked all day and get the same wage as the laborers who come in the evening. Jesus makes it clear that in the kingdom of God, human considerations like these have no place. There, one experiences the peace and joy that God gives. The more one is aligned with God, the more one experiences the abundance and generosity of God, love. Envy, competition, jealousy, superiority or inferiority has no place in a world that is permeated with love, peace and joy. These are the benefits that God gives to one who comes to Him. These experiences are similar to the love the children experience when they are with their parents. The older and the younger children experience the same kind of love. The oldest is happy because he gets a longer time to experience it and the enjoyment of the love is not considered as a burden.
So too , when one becomes part of the kingdom of heaven, one does not feel burdened by earthly values of being the first or the last. Those considerations disappear in the vast ocean of love and happiness that one enjoys in heaven. The fist and the last are on the same footing.
How consoling it is to know that at any time in one’s life one can come back to the Lord and experience the joy of salvation. Even in the evening of one’s life, at death bed, one can experience the grace of God.
The parable of the laborers in the vineyard, hence, is a call to all to come to him and to experience the joy of salvation.
Notes:
The parable highlights God’s generosity. This is not about rewards but about salvation .The Jews divided the whole day into eight parts, four night parts(called “watches”) and four day parts(called” hours”).

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Syro-Malabar Catholic Sermon,Elia-Sleeva,5thSun.

Elia-Sleeva,5thS.,09

• Today’s Gospel presents before us a very interesting dialogue on faith and prayer between Jesus and the Canaanite Woman.
• She is called a Canaanite woman because she comes from Sidon which is named after the first-born son of Canaan (Gen.10.13).Jesus is in the gentile territory of Tyre and Sidon and hence the woman gets a chance to ask Him for mercy and compassion.
• Through several denials and questionings, Jesus tests the woman’s faith and each denial makes her more forceful in her request. She gives out a heart-wrenching cry: “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me.” Any one’s heart would melt at the pain and sadness expressed through her request.
• Jesus, ironically, does not grant her request right away. He keeps her waiting and she continues with much more forceful pleadings. She is not offended by the words of denial as she was sure she was standing before the Son of God. Deep beneath her persistent request is her strong faith in the power of the Lord. She has already acknowledged him as the Messiah, by calling Him the Son of David. The delay in the granting of the request gives her a greater opportunity to affirm her faith more powerfully. Finally Jesus accedes to her request, praising her great faith: “Woman, You have great faith.”
• This event opens our eyes to the nature of faith and prayer. The persistency and constancy in her prayer exemplify for each one of us the characteristics that are needed in a prayer. Perseverance, humility and trust are required in our prayer- life. Like the Canaanite woman, we can approach the Lord at any time in our life, on any occasion; the only thing that is required of us is that our hearts should be open to the will of God and that we should trust Him completely and totally.
• The Canaanite woman represents every one of us in need of God’s grace and mercy .Whatever may be our situation, when we approach Him in true humility and total dependence, He will grant our requests. His mercy is without limits. Just as He has reached out to the gentile woman, he will reach out to us, irrespective of the conditions in which we find ourselves. Obstacles, hardships and sicknesses should not deter us from approaching him. Like the woman we should be persistent in our requests to Him.
• According to St. John Chrysostom, the Canaanite woman represents every repentant sinner. Her plea resembles the plea of all of us who are sinful, frail and weak. As the Lord has healed the woman’s daughter, He would definitely heal us and remove all hardships from our lives. Today’s Gospel thus offers us tremendous comfort and hope, letting us know that the Lord will never abandon us when we approach Him in total faith and humility.
• Notes:
• Tyre and Sidon—gentile cities in Phoenicia(modern Lebanon)
• Dog: a term the Jews applied to the gentiles. Jesus is not degrading the woman but is reflecting the Jew’s attitude to the gentiles. She does not contest the use of the term: instead, agrees to be considered a gentile –a dog—as long as she could receive God’s blessings.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Elia -Sleeva,4th Su.,09

Elia-Sleeva,4th Sunday,09

Mt.17:14-27

· In the reading from today’s Gospel, we find Jesus healing a possessed boy and instructing Peter to pay the temple tax. Even though as the Son of God, he is not obliged to pay the tax, he does not want to make a show of the occasion. He asks Peter to pay the tax, but, of course, through an action, that reminds Peter that he is beside one who is not just a human person, but the Son of God.

· Jesus uses the occasion of the healing to speak about the meaning and nature of faith.

· The father of the boy approaches Jesus and, kneeling down, requests him to heal his son from his sickness. The urgency of his request is very well evident from his posture and also from the words he uses to make the request. He even mentions how it was impossible for the disciples to heal his son. The boy often falls into fire and water, the father reports. We can very well imagine the agony and despair expressed in the request of the father. But, there is also hope in him. He knows that Jesus would accept his request and would do the healing for him. The very posture of his kneeling indicates his absolute trust in the power of Jesus. He is certain that Jesus would drive out the demon and restore his son to perfect health.

· Jesus shows his mercy and compassion for the father and the son as soon as the request is made. H restores the son to his health. We too can feel the joy and the excitement the father and the son feel in the presence of Jesus: Total healing. Perfect peace of mind. No more evil forces have the power to take away the joy of life from their hearts. Their faith is total and so is their healing.

· Jesus uses the occasion to teach them about the meaning and the power of faith: “If you had the faith the size of a mustard seed, you would be able to say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it would move. Nothing would be impossible for you.”

· Faith is not just an intellectual acceptance of God but is a total surrender to His will. Faith involves absolute trust in the Providence of God. We believe in the innermost being of our hearts that God will save us, that He will not abandon us and that His mercy and kindness will be always with us.

· Even when humanly it is impossible for us to find a way out, we believe in the depths of our hearts that God will hold us in the palm of His hands.

· This is the example that Abraham has shown us. When he was asked to sacrifice his son, he had no doubts about the sacrifice. He was absolutely sure that God who gave him the son would never do anything to make him lose his son. His faith in God enables him to find in his temporary loss eternal gain.

· Mary has also shown this faith. “Your will be done.” She had no hesitation in taking upon herself the great and awesome task entrusted to her.

In our personal lives, when things turn out to be difficult, when even living becomes hard and when all our dreams and hopes vanish, we have to hold alive in our hearts our deep faith in the Lord which will enable us to overcome all our hardships.