Lent 2nd S.Feb.21,10

Lent 2^nd S., Feb.21, 10.

(Mt.7: 15-27)

The reading from today’s Gospel is a powerful reminder to each one of us about the need for a spiritual renewal in our lives.

Jesus is warning us about the false prophets. They appear to be spokespersons for God but actually they are hypocrites. There is no conformity between their words and actions. They don’t live their faiths. Jesus warns us to be beware of false prophets who are out there to deceive people. They are like bad trees that cannot produce good fruits. Good actions come from those who are good in their lives.

Jesus wants his disciples to have their lives based on the solid foundation of their faith in him. Only those who live their lives in conformity with the will of God will have a life that is solid and strong and their lives will never be disturbed by the power of the evil forces.

What is important is not the words that one utters but the way one lives. It is those who listen to the words of Jesus and live by the words of Jesus who will have a strong spiritual foundation. They will able to withstand the power of the evil.

In very few words, Jesus has laid out before us the map of our spiritual life. What is important is the conformity between our faith and our life. Our life should be a reflection of our faith in God.

When we examine our lives as Christians, we find that many a time there is a wide gap between our faith and our daily lives. We live in two worlds. We say and utter words of faith but we don’t see those words translated into our actions. The way we think, act and feel are worlds away from our faith.

We are arrogant and selfish like any one else. There is nothing that makes us different. We retaliate when we are hurt. We abuse others when we are challenged. Our words are contemptuous and derogatory.

This season of Lent is a beautiful opportunity to make a deep change in our lives. Instead of depending on the external rules of fasting, let us go into the innermost depths of our hearts and do some fasting there. It should be a fasting from anger and selfishness, from spiteful and angry feelings and from biting and sniping remarks.

As Arch Bishop Sheen remarks in his beautiful book, “Lift up your Heart”: “Motive is what makes the saint. Sanctification does not depend on our geography, or on our work or circumstances. The truth is that it makes no difference where we are; it all depends on whether what we are doing is God’s will and done for love of Him.”

All our humdrum tasks of life---typing, office work, work at home, caring for the sick child, teaching, administrative tasks, being subordinate to arrogant bosses, working with gossiping and sniping colleagues---every such task “ can be ennobled and spiritualized if it is done in God’s name.”

May the words of Jesus that we heard in today’s Gospel make us turn a new chapter in our lives and make us better followers of Christ.

Len 1st S.,Feb.14,10

Lent 1^st S,Feb.14,10

(Mt.4:1-11)

Today marks the beginning of Lent. We will be observing in the next 40 days the memory of the days Jesus spent in the desert, fasting and praying in preparation for the great ministry that He would be undertaking .As Jesus finished his forty days of Fast, the devil tried to entice him into his ways of thinking and acting by offering Him the ways of the world. The devil offered him the glory of a miracle worker, of a show man and lastly that of an all powerful king. But Jesus drives him away by telling him not to tempt the Lord his God but to offer worship. That stern and serious command is strongly indicative of the great spiritual heights that Jesus has reached through his time of prayer and fasting in the desert.

What is important , according to Jesus, is not the exhibition of the power and glory of His divinity but submitting himself to the will of His heavenly Father and accepting the mission entrusted to Him.

The Temptation of Jesus in the desert is a reminder to each one of us that we too will be passing though crises in our lives. But we have the presence of God in our hearts to overcome the power of such weak moments and situations.

We are people prone to temptations. We are fragile and weak and only by the grace of God do we get the strength to overcome our own inner weaknesses and sins.

When sicknesses and tragedies pursue us, when financial disasters take away every bit of security in our lives, and when our weaknesses and sins make us strangers in the land of grace, we have to remind ourselves about the constancy of the faith and the strength of loyalty of Jesus. We have to be very focused and clear about our mission and goals in life.

We should not look for the approval or the applause of the people. The applause and popularity are fleeting and won’t last .What is important is to keep our gaze steady on Jesus and his mercy. The things of the world, then, lose their power over us.They will have no power to hurt us so long as our minds and hearts are turned to God.

The will of our heavenly Father is of great importance in our lives and we have to submit ourselves to Him. It does not mean that we are going to be defeatist in our mentality because of our submission. We accept the will of God because we know He loves us and He will do anything to protect us.

Lent is a time for us to strengthen our inner freedom, our openness to God. Through our act s of love and compassion, of mercy and forgiveness and through the self-control that we exercise on our own weaknesses and sinful passions, we enlarge this freedom and openness. Lent should make us more loving and merciful, sensitive and caring to the feelings of people. What is the meaning of a penitential season if it does not make us internally transformed? If we do not show love and compassion to the people who come into contact with our lives daily, all our penitential devotions mean nothing.

Let the beginning of the Lent may be a true occasion for us to change the direction and the nature of loves. Let each day be an occasion to show acts of love, mercy, and forgiveness.

As Bishop Sheen Says, it is when we are in the dark that we can see the stars .In our poverty, weakness and sinfulness, we become more aware of the love, forgiveness and protection of our Lord.

Denaha,5thSun.Feb.7,10

The passage from Today’s Gospel gives in a nutshell all that took place in the personal encounter between Jesus and Nocodemus. The context is very interesting to note. Nicodemus, one of the reputed teachers of Israel comes to Jesus at night. He is afraid to meet Jesus during the day time because of the fear that his colleagues would isolate him. The darkness of the night is also indicative of his spiritual blindness. He needs the Eternal Light to open His eyes to the Dawn of Salvation.

Jesus speaks to him about new births, about the need to accept the Savior for salvation and about his passion, death and resurrection.

Nicodemus is deeply troubled, confused and disturbed at the presence of Jesus in their midst. The words and actions of Jesus make him think that he is the Redeemer. But if he is the Savior, why there is that much reluctance to admit Him as the Savior by the Pharisees. He wants to meet Jesus and talk out this matter with Him. He comes to Jesus for clarification for further elucidation of His mission.

Within a few highly packed words, Jesus speaks to him about the new birth he has to undergo to receive salvation and also about His own death and resurrection. All these matters of the spirit are beyond the comprehension of Nicodemus. He is still at the material level of understanding. He asks how one can be reborn. Jesus takes him gradually to go beyond the material world into the world of the Spirit and shows that the impact of spiritual life cannot be visibly seen. The spirit blows where it wills.

Jesus also tells him how His death and resurrection would prove to be the source of eternal life for every one. Using an incident very familiar to the Jews from the Book of Numbers, Jesus tells him how people are going to be saved by His Resurrection just like the people who were saved by looking at the raised bronze serpent.

Nicodemus is every spiritual seeker, every genuine wayfarer in spiritual life. He is our own image in our search for the meaning of life. His confusion and bewilderment are own confusion and bewilderment when we are at the cross roads of life, knowing not where to turn.

The baptism that we have received makes us unique sharers in the life of Christ. It makes us the children of God, and the abodes of the Holy Spirit. We are called to live out a new life. We are not just spectators but participants in the life of Christ.

We are not at the periphery like Nicodemus in this event. We are in the circle. Jesus is with us. We are given a new life. We have to realize the implications of this new life, a life that transforms us at the depths of our hearts.

A Christian life offers us a new vision of reality. We see things not in the manner of the world but in the manner of the spirit .For arrogance, and selfishness, we have mercy and compassion. We have forgiveness and the spirit of reconciliation to guide our lives.

The Cross is our banner of victory. The outstretched arms of Jesus are there to protect us. His hands remind us that He is always there to embrace us in the warmth of His love against the forces of destruction and hostility.

Nicodemus later in life came in the broad daylight to receive the body of Jesus as a converted man, as a spiritually enlightened person, no more afraid of any one.

So , we will become when we commit totally to Jesus as our Savior and Lord, never being afraid of any thing in our life.

Denaha 4th S.,Jan.31st,10

The reading from the Gospel of today presents before us one of the most compelling and beautiful scenes in the Gospel of St. John. The marriage at Cana is an event replete with multiple layers of meanings. The sanctification of marriage because of the presence of Jesus, Mary’s intercession, the compassion of Jesus, the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus, and John’s special emphasis on signs and the hour are all packed compactly in this tight description of the marriage at Cana.

The family at Cana which might have been very close to Jesus and the Bl.Virgin Mary because of the presence of the both of them as well as their disciples and other members of the family is caught in a crisis because of the shortage of the supply of wine. Mary intercedes for the family with her son, even without being asked for help by the family. Jesus, in spite of the fact hat he has not begun his ministry, does accede to the request of the Bl .Virgin Mary. She tells the people to do as he tells them. Even though she does not get a positive response from Jesus, she knows Jesus would grant her request. The guests are surprised by the abundant supply of wine as well as by its excellent quality.

Six jars of water are customarily kept at a Jewish home for the purpose of cleansing for those who get defiled by contact with the dead as mentioned in Numbers19:11-12.Six stone jars used in those times would hold 120 gallons of water.

The evangelist uses the Greek word, “ semeion” meaning, sign or a miracle, for the miracle performed at Cana. The signs of Jesus according to the evangelist are miracles that reveal the power and glory of God working through Jesus Christ. The Fourth Gospel mentions seven signs in its first part from ch.1-12. Hence, the first half of the Gospel has been called the “Book of Signs.”

What strikes one when reflecting on this passage from the Gospel is the presence of Jesus at a wedding. His presence makes it an important event of grace for the couple. The presence of Jesus symbolizes the flow of divine grace in the lives of the married couple. The abundance of the supply of wine is an indication of the bounteous experience of the grace of God when one gets united with Jesus, the Lord of Life.

At a time like ours, when the institution of marriage experiences great stresses and strains, it would be of immense benefit if we reflect on the presence of Jesus in the life of Christian families. Recent studies have revealed that more than a million of children live in broken homes. Couples are willing to part ways when difficulties and strains affect the marriage. They forget the words of Jesus that “what God has united, let no man separate.” His words on the unity of marriage are clear and emphatic.

As Mary has approached Jesus, so too every Christian family should approach Jesus and through prayer and the reception of the sacraments. A life without the presence of Jesus will be like a ship without an anchor. It will be wrecked by the storms that rage over it.

Archbishop Sheen has pointed out the need for faith in marriage by writing a book called “Three to Get Married.” According to him, “what binds the lover and the beloved together on earth is an ideal outside both…God.” He also points out that “it would be quite futile to think that marriage life will not experience problems and difficulties because of infidelity or cruelty.” He adds that “what makes life tragic is not so much what happens, but rather how we react to what happens.” He advises the families struggling with tensions and problems arising from lack of love and communication or faithfulness not to break the bond, but to utilize the sufferings for self, for children and for the spouse.

We have to look at our problems in the light of the victory achieved by our Lord over his death on the Cross. With Him around us, we can overcome all obstacles in our life.

The final victory is ours. Suffering and pain have lost the power to take away the joy from the life of Christians who believe in the power of the Cross.

Denaha3,Jan.24

Denaha 3^rd S,Jan.24,10

Jn.1:35-42

In today’ Gospel, we find more unraveling of the events surrounding the public ministry of Jesus. St. John the Baptist, seeing Jesus at a distance, calls him “The Lamb of God” which is a term packed with a lot of meanings for Israelites. We find immediately two of the disciples of John going after Jesus and inquiring where he lives. The response of Jesus is quick: “Come and See.” Once they experience personally the life of Jesus and come to know who He is, their excitement knows no bounds. Immediately, one of them, Andrews, sees his brother, Simon, and tells him, without any doubt or vagueness in his words : “We have found the Messiah.”

The word for Lamb, used in the address of John the Baptist, in Greek is Amnos that refers exclusively to lambs that are meant for sacrifices at the Temple. What John implies is that Jesus would sacrifice his life for the deliverance of the people from the bondage to sin. It is that title that moves the disciples of John to abandon him and to go in search of Jesus. Jesus is the Savior, the Redeemer.

The passage from the Gospel is an invitation to each one of us to accept Jesus as the Savior of our lives, the One who has died for us to make us the children of God. Jesus is the one who gives us the courage to face the hardships and challenges of life and help us to face opposition or hostility. He will secure us peace and joy.

This is the Good News that we have to share with others. Jesus will never abandon us and that he will always be with us.

That is why Andrews wants to share it with his brother. We too have to invite people to come and see Jesus and experience the presence of his strength and support in their lives.

How comforting it is to know that however far we move from Him, he will never abandon us and that he will come in search of us. He is there to forgive our sins and to offer us the warmth of his love. As Archbishop Quinn, the former Archbishop of San Francisco has once said, the Catholic Church is not a museum of saints, but a hospital for sinners. Jesus is the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

As Andrews has told Peter, we too have to tell our friends that we have found the Christ. The world needs our witness. Families break down and there is a lot of hostility among people. Many experience a lot of stress in their lives. They are looking for the Savior. We who have known the Savior and experienced His love and forgiveness have to share them with others.

Denaha,2ndS.Jan.17,10

naha,2^nd S,Jan.17,10

Jn.1:19-28

In the reading from today’s Gospel, we hear the powerful testimony of John the Baptist to the ministry of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus has not started his preaching and the voice of John is heard over the hills and valleys of Palestine .People are rushing towards him as if he were the savior. The Jewish leaders are really perplexed at the great crowds John is drawing and at the tenor and power of his words calling people to repentance and to a closer union with God. So they send their representatives to ask him directly to describe who he is. They ask him whether he is Elijah or a Prophet like Moses or the Christ himself.

It was the belief among the Israelites that before the arrival of the Messiah, one of the great prophets like Elijah or Moses would appear. According to prophet Malachi, Elijah would make final preparations for the arrival of the Messiah. In Deut.18:15., the expectation is for a Moses-like prophet. Hence John the Baptist is peppered with questions concerning his identity.

Refuting all these notions and expectations, he asserts that he is none other than a path-breaker, a voice crying in the desert to prepare the way for the One who is to come after him, the real Prophet and Savior. John also points out the distinctive difference between what he offers and what Jesus is going to offer. He offers a baptism of water, a ritual cleansing whereas the Baptism of Jesus involves the cleansing of the soul. Jesus alone has the authority to forgive sins.

Baptism has a history in the life of the Jews. The rite of immersion once meant legal purification for those who contracted some impurity under the Law. Baptism was also used as a rite to receive the gentile converts into Judaism. John’s baptism is something similar as a sign of conversion or of repentance. But the baptism that Jesus gives confers the Holy Spirit, makes one a child of God and cleanses his soul of sins.

What comes out of this testimony of John is the awareness of his own limitations and also of his powerful proclamation of the authenticity of the mission of Jesus. In spite of enjoying such a high regard among the people because of his austere life and penance, he is humble enough to acknowledge that he is only a shadow, an echo and that he is not the one who should be given a prime place in their hearts. He is to be considered only a slave as he is only worthy enough to do a slave’s work, untying he laces of the master’s sandals. Referring to John, St. Augustine says that John’s greatest merit lies in his act of humility.

How can we reflect in our life the sense of humility and the power of testimony that John exemplified in his life?

Our arrogant ways, contempt for our neighbors, and our glorification of our achievements etc do not sit well with us as the followers of Christ. Our talents and accomplishments, our family and our resources and everything that we have should be seen as gifts of God. We are just dispensers of the gifts of God. Such an attitude will enable us to become more compassionate and forgiving in our lives.

Many a time we are very shy of bearing witness to our faith in the Lord. Even in our family circles, we are unwilling to share our faith. Today is the day for us to deepen our faith and to become proclamers of the Gospel through our words and actions.

Denaha 1st S.,Jan.10,2010

Manifestos and Mission statements give us an idea of the goals and workings of political organizations and social institutions.Various religions have their scriptures which proclaim the paths they suggest for coming closer to God.the reading from today's Gospel very tellingly proclaims the mission of Jesus and what he would accomplish through his life.

Like any other Jew of his time, Our Lord went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day.The synagogue service usually consists of reciting the Shema, a summary of the Lord's precepts,"the eighteen blessings", and a reading from the Law(Pentateuch) and from the prophets.The leader of the synagogue would invite the guest to read from the Scriptures and talk to them.Following that tradition, Jesus was invited to talk to them.He read the passage from Is.61:1-2 where the prophet announces to the people living in exile that a happy time would come with the arrival of the Savior and that they would experience total freedom from slavery and debts.That freedom will be ushered in by the arrival of the acceptable year of the Lord, referring to the proclamation of a jubilee year every fifty years when debts would be canceled and property would be restored to original owners as described in Leviticus Ch.25.

To those waiting eagerly to hear more about an immediate political liberation ,Jesus announces that he is the Messiah and that the prophecy is being fulfilled in him.he is the one who is going to give them freedom, forgiveness and restoration.They expect actually freedom from their slavery to the Roman empire and prosperity in a material sense. Jesus offers them on a spiritual plane.

It is very appropriate for us on this first Sunday of Denha, Manifestation of the Lord,to reflect on the words of the Prophet which Our Lord uses to proclaim the nature of his ministry.Jesus offers them the spiritual deliverance from their slavery to sin and restoration to the status of the children of God. The poor and the hungry would no more feel helpless but would find favor with God.

What does this mean for each one of us? Our faith should enable us to experience freedom and joy.It should make us aware that in our helplessness and poverty, we are not alone. God is with us.

For a Christian,every year should be a jubilee year.His sins get forgiven when he asks God for forgiveness and he is restored to God's favor.He should, then, be acting in the spirit of the Jubilee towards his neighbors. Hatred and vengeance have no place in a Christian's life. Forgiveness and unbounded charity are the expressions of true inner freedom.As Fulton J. Sheen has beautifully expressed: "It is one of the paradoxes of Christianity that the only things that are really our own when we die are what we gave away in His Name.What we leave in our wills is snatched from us by death; but what we give away is recorded by God to our eternal credit,for only our works follow us."

This is the moment for us to proclaim a spiritual jubilee in our personal lives.What are the sins,omissions and lapses in our lives that make our relationship with God as well as with neighbors broken and fragmented?If it is the lack of respect or of sensitivity to those who live with us or our violent attitudes that make our family life a burden to the members, we have to seek the mercy and forgiveness from the Lord to have the grace to mend these broken relationships.Then, we will experience the joy of the presence of the Lord in our lives.