Lent,2nd S.,Feb.26,12,Mt.7:15-27

When a company gets established, it makes a mission statement about its goals and about the ways to achieve those goals.
It is natural for us who are leading a Christian life to ask similar questions about the way to lead a good Christian life.
What are our goals? What are the ways in which we can come closer to Christ?Should there be any change in the way I lead my life?
Once a mother told me that her daughter is no more going to the church and she wanted me to talk with her.Her reply was that no body told her that Christ died for her..it is from the  Pentecostals in her prayer group at the college that she had heard about the love of Christ.
We have an obligation to lead a Christian life at home. Our actions, our behavior should conform to our Faith. If we lead a life that is totally alien to the Christian principles, how can one accept our faith?In today's Gospel, Jesus wants us to lead a life  that is  based on his teachings.If we live by the truths that Jesus has taught us, nothing can shake our faith.
He warns us not to go after false prophets.
We have seen some people taking a part  of the Gospel teachings and interpret them according to their individual likes and dislikes. They posit themselves as the judges of right Christan living.
We should live according to the teachings of the  Gospel as interpreted and lived by the apostles and their successors.

Lent,6th S,April 10,11

Lent,6thS,April 10,11

Lent 6^th S, April 10,11

(Jn.10:11-18)

We are gathered today under the shadow of the passing away of our beloved Major Archbishop, Mar Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil.

To all those who knew him, he was a man of inestimable love and openness. The concern and sensitivity he showed to the people who visited him are unmatchable. Through his words and actions he brought the love of Jesus to heal and comfort every one who felt hurt and put down. The transparency and openness he exhibited in his life can never be forgotten. Words of love and concern tumbled down from his lips. His monastic simplicity and loving concern were evident to every one who came into contact with him. He was a genuine shepherd to his people.

Today as we reflect on the words of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, we can find a good example of that shepherding in the life of our Major Archbishop.

God as a Shepherd is a concept that is familiar to every Jewish heart. Jesus in today’s Gospel evokes all those loving and comforting images when He tells his listeners that he is the Good Shepherd and he would lay down his life for the sheep. It is not just green pastures and water that he is offering. He is offering Himself and all that is implied by that sacrifice.

The Israelites were very familiar with the lives of shepherds and they were aware that a real shepherd would recognize his sheep and the sheep would also recognize his voice. It was a custom in those days for sheep belonging to different shepherds to be enclosed together in one pen. Each shepherd would call his sheep and the sheep would recognize his voice and go out with him. Using that image, Jesus reminds his listeners that He is close to His followers and that He would sacrifice his life for them.

This parable of the Good Shepherd gives us hints of the warmth of the love that Jesus has for his followers.

Jesus is our Savior and He will guide us through the right paths. He will protect us from our enemies. He will comfort us in our troubled times. He will be with us in our most vulnerable moments. He will carry us in his arms when it is difficult for us to walk the paths of life. His love will always envelop us.

During the season of Lent, we become very much aware of the suffering and death of Jesus for our salvation. We become once more reminded of the immense love that Jesus has for each one of us. He will never abandon us and will always be with us in the darkest moments of our lives.

The parable also is a reminder to each one of us to become good shepherds to our neighbors. We are given different tasks in our lives. We interact with so many people in our lives. We can be distinctively different in those daily interactions. We can pour the oil of love and comfort into our dealings with people. To be a caring husband, a loving father, or a sensitive administrator is something that we can do in our lives. People will recognize then that we are different.

Can we be good shepherds to the people who are entrusted to our care? There is a beautiful novel written by Tony Hendra called, ”Father Joe: the Man Who Saved My Soul.” Fr. Joe, a Benedictine Monk was the constant in his life during all the troubled times of his life. When his marriage failed and when he became a failure in his journalistic profession as well as in personal life, he went to Fr. Joe asking him the permission to join the monastery. Joe told him to go back and become a better husband and a better father to his children.

Yes, we can be good shepherds. Our family life and our life in the community will undergo a sea change if we can turn out to be loving and caring to those who are entrusted to our care.

Lent 3rd S,March 20,11,Mt.20:17-28

Lent 3^rd S, March 20,11

Mt 20:17-28

I am sure you are very familiar with the following words from the inaugural speech from President John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”. It was a call for selfless action. A lot of young people, responding to that call, fanned across the poor counties of the world to help them to rise from their economic and educational backwardness. Working for other people became a great and noble call.

Robert Greenleaf’s book on Servant Leadership explains who a great leader is: a good leader is one who strives to enhance the potentials of the people entrusted to his care. Servant leadership is a new definition of leadership. Leadership does not consist in dominance but in helping others to become great.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about leadership among his followers.

Jesus first explains to his disciples the most important phase of his mission. He is referring to his passion, death and resurrection. It is through suffering and crucifixion that he is going to achieve the redemption of the human race. But he will rise up and thus will conquer the forces of death and destruction

It is through suffering for others that He will attain the glory of the Resurrection. Jesus as the leader will suffer for his people. It is the people that are important. He would wash their feet. He would do every thing for them, going all the way to the ultimate sacrifice of his life.

To the apostles, Jesus offers thus a new vision of leadership. The mother of the Zebedees does not grasp the full implications of what Jesus said. She has desires like any other human mother. Her sons who are following Jesus should not end up in their lives without anything. There should be some tangible benefits for their sacrifices. They and the family should get some thing in return. But Jesus offers something intangible which could not be quantified.

We get different roles in life as authorities and mentors. As parents, teachers and priests, how do we discharge our responsibilities? Do we use our positions for our dominance over others or do w e use them for the good of the people entrusted to our care. As parents, do our attempts consist just in promoting our personal glory or are we concerned with the real welfare of the family that is entrusted to our care?

We may experience many hardships in our roles as parents and mentors. People may not appreciate what we are doing. We may suffer failures, financial disasters, loss of jobs etc. We may not be considered great administrators. We may feel despondent in our work because of failures. But we should remember that we are following Jesus. His path to success is through the way of the cross.

Never be afraid of failures. The cross is our road to hope and success.