Weekly Message Archive
May 6, 2012
Rejection And Bleeding
Today we have from the Acts that Paul was first rejected in Jerusalem by the first believers in Jesus. They just did not and could not accept that the old Saul was really converted and that he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. They had still the notion that Saul was still Saul and not Paul. After the first rejection Barnabas had to come and testify to the community about God’s intervention and Saul’s receiving of the Spirit. Technically the community accepted the testimony but in their heart they did not welcome Paul. Probably behind the scene movements were going on and opposition building up against him and the community found it convenient to bring him to Caesarea and pack him off to Tarsus, which was Saul’s native place. In effect the community got rid of Paul. Of course, Paul’s initial zeal for the gospel and his natural courage of conviction made him to expose himself into extreme dangerous situations. The whole experience drove Paul into a sort of depression and that might have been the reason for his retreating to Arabia where he was in the ‘dark’ for quite some time and later had all the mystical experiences he describes in his letters. Paul was not the only one who had this experience of rejection by his own people, we find Jesus had it; in fact, every one called to the ministry of God goes through such experiences; some fall prey and succumb to the injuries and others persevere and survive. The good thing about such happening is that it is at those moments of loneliness, seclusion, total rejection and even depression that God keeps close company with us, for quite some time without we being aware of His presence and His carrying us on His chest. Then slowly and painfully comes the revelation of the unfathomable love of God and the meaning of His call and we are a totally transformed and made into a new creation. If we fail to have patience and if we take matters into our hands and not allow the Lord to work on us, we might land up in deep trouble and we may fail to stumble upon this unfathomable love.
Fr. George
April 29, 2012
Shepherds On The Hit List
Today we have the story of the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for the sake of the sheep. In the Acts of the Apostles we read the story of the leaders of the people sitting in judgment against the Apostles for doing something good. St. John in his very endearing letter tells us the good news of God’s love for us, which made us His children. St. John, in the face of all the odds endured by the Good Shepherd and the Apostles, affirms God’s love for us by saying that we are indeed the children of God. This Sunday, dedicated to the Good Shepherd, is declared by the Church as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations and it is most appropriate. It is through fostering vocations into priesthood and religious life that the work of the Good Shepherd and of the Apostles is continued and through these works it is manifested to the whole world that we are indeed the children of God and that God’s love for us men and women never ceases. Pope Benedict in his message on the 49th World Day of prayer chose the theme: Vocations, the Gift of the Love of God and said that “the source of the divine call is to be found in the initiative of the infinite love of God, who reveals himself fully in Jesus Christ.” We who believe in Jesus Christ, in His resurrection and in His mission entrusted to us should seriously think about vocations in the Church and pray and do something about it. Catholic priesthood and religious life are the highest threatened entity in the whole world today, both from within and from outside. From within the number of those responding to the call of God is fast diminishing especially in the so-called first or developed world. One reason could be that the oldest human institution and the basic unit of the society and of the Church, namely, family and married life is disintegrating and is highly threatened. Vocations have to come from a strong family set up, which is becoming less and less prominent and almost on the verge of extinction. From outside all the known and unknown enemies of the Catholic Church are constantly attacking Catholic priesthood and many strong believers easily fall prey in being swayed by these onslaughts. Hence the need to be alert and for praying and doing something about vocations. May the Lord be with us!
Fr. George
April 22, 2012
Be Not Afraid
To hear stories about the vision of a dead man, about his empty tomb, stories about the dead one walking with someone else, and the like are easy to take. We can rightly presume that these are hallucinations of unsettled minds. And when you hear them in tightly closed rooms and in the company of other “brave” people you are not highly perturbed. You definitely take it easy. However, when that deceased person stands in your midst even when the door and windows were tightly closed, you lose your courage and you are suddenly taken aback, thoroughly confused, terribly afraid and shaken. You do not and cannot just believe because no one had ever come to life like this in the whole story of humanity. Of course, this guy, Jesus, brought to life a few while he was alive. But against his own terrible and violent death he did not have any control and his enemies had the upper hand. Hence he was gone. Now to believe that He is alive is not easy; what you see before your eyes must be His ghost! If you and I were to be there, the reaction and thinking would not have been different. Unfortunately for all the doubters He happened to be alive and real and even tangible and is not likely to die again! That reality, that truth, that revelation is the greatest strength of all who bear the name of Christ and are being called Christians. Sometimes we feel very strong in our faith about this Risen Christ. But before too long it is gone and we are in the dark, not sure about it especially when the guys out there just ridicule us saying all this is superstition, fantasy and imaginations. Unlike the Apostles and their contemporaries we haven’t had the experience of the upper house there in Jerusalem. The only credentials we have to hold on are His words to the “doubting” Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe”. Though not present in those apparitions, we are privileged to be called along with them to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. We also share His assurance not to be afraid because He is with us till the end of times. Alleluia! Be of good cheer!
Fr. George
April 15, 2012
Tom, The Punctured!
Thomas is the hero of the day. He had the privilege and the revealing prompting from the Spirit to be the first to confess Jesus as Lord and God. However, there were inner wounds in him which needed healing. These wounds needed another wound to heal and that was on the pierced side of Jesus that reached into his heart and it was punctured for Thomas and for me and for you. Thomas was among the twelve, but different from most others. He did not like Jesus’ walk through the risky and dangerous by-lanes in the Jewish society. He did not like Jesus going to Jerusalem from Samaria before the Passover because he knew that the Jewish leaders were waiting there to finish Jesus. And finally when Jesus decided to go, Thomas was desperate and said ‘let us go with Him and die’. He was a restless man, perhaps wanting to establish the kingdom too fast and when finally Jesus was killed he was desperate but fearless. He was the only one from among the Apostles who dared to be outside the mansion where the others were huddled together. He could not accept the fact that Jesus was no more and so he wandered probably in the wilderness or in deserted areas and with no specific goal. It took eight days wandering for him to cool down and return back to the community and when he came he gets the news that all the others from the Apostles’ college had seen Jesus and by all means he too wanted to see Him. It was not Thomas alone who did not believe before seeing Jesus; not a single disciple believed before seeing. They did not accept the testimony of Mary Magdalene, of Simon Peter to whom Jesus did make an appearance as narrated by John, they did not believe the two who returned from Emmaus after meeting Jesus at the breaking of the bread. Hence Thomas was just like any of the other disciples and doubting is not the heritage of Thomas alone. However, the poor guy is branded as the ‘doubting Thomas’. In their reunion, Jesus wanted to heal the inner wounds of Thomas, wounded feelings of being rejected, a bit too much of self-centeredness, adamancy and obstinate behavior, not becoming part of the community, feeling of loneliness, despair, etc. By making him put his fingers into the deep wounds of Jesus, all the inner wounds of Thomas were healed and he was strengthened and commissioned to take up the most difficult task to the farthest ends the earth, to proclaim the Good News he received. Let us join him in confessing Jesus “My God and my Lord”.
Fr. George
April 8, 2012
He Is Not Here, He Is Risen!
The empty tomb on the morning of the Lord’s resurrection was the material proof that He was risen. In order to reinforce this proof, the presence of guards to watch over the sealed tomb was cited, though their testimony was seen later as manipulated by the Jewish authorities. However, these proofs did not impress the world, not even His disciples who did not believe until they saw Him again. Even after seeing Him alive their faith was just momentary and they slipped into unbelief, fear and almost despair again. Finally the Holy Spirit had to come with might and empower them. There onwards, it was a different story, the story of witnessing to the resurrection and personal and affected testimony that Jesus was risen and they did not mind testify to it even with their blood. Mary Magdalene’s flight from the tomb with the declaration that “I have seen the Lord”, is the best model for us to witnesses to and to confess Jesus as the Lord and Master and to proclaim Him to the world. She is also the only model to keep a strong and persevering faith and hope that Jesus would be alive. No one else, not even any from the chosen twelve, in the whole story of the New Testament seem to be looking for Jesus. Mary Magdalene was the only one who made a search for Jesus and she seems to be the first one to find Him and to confess Him. Let us take her as our model to be His disciples.
Happy Easter, Alleluia!
Fr. George
April 1, 2012
Judgement and Justice
Almost every day we get sort of public trials going on in the media. We hear of the stabbing in the next door neighbourhood, a burglary at the corner store, a pedophile basket ball coach or a priest, a parent murdering own child, a man killing his wife, a shooting spree in a school parking lot, a soldier indiscriminately gunning down a large number children and adults and so on. Often at the first reporting of the incidents we hear people – bystanders, affected ones, general public, etc., passing judgments on the offenders. If an action is initiated they complain that it is not done with sufficient speed and efficiency, the punishment is not adequate and have no punch, the compensation is not enough, the culprit might be repeating it elsewhere, and so on. We often do not hear about the necessity for vengeance, but most often what the affected parties and the bystanders want is nothing short of vengeance. Practically nobody dares to take a stand for the offender and consider if he or she has something to say or if there is another side of the coin. If the one on trial happens to be a celebrity that one has a high chance of returning to limelight after a while unscathed. In today’s celebrations we have a true celebrity being hailed and extolled to the skies, which of course, Jesus of Nazareth deserves and is entitled but He didn’t have luck like the modern day celebrities. The crowd which celebrates Him as the Victor is not aware that within a week’s time they are going to condemn Him, enjoy the brutal torture on Him and finally witness to the violent killing of Him. That is the story of Holy Week beginning with the Palm Sunday celebrations and ending at the peak of Mount Calvary on Good Friday. The beauty and greatness of this ‘Criminal’ is that the day on which He was merciless and brutally murdered became the Good Friday for all, for the whole of humanity. It became so because He willingly offered His life as a sacrificial remedy for the reparation of the sins of all including His own tormentors, with absolutely no vengeance and no demand for punishment but with absolute and unconditionally forgiving love. Through this great sacrifice He became the Redeemer of the world and we are among the beneficiaries of this great Sacrifice. Much more than that, we are also invited to be sharers in His act of redemption by joining and offering our lives along with His. We are in the process and let us complete it.
Fr. George
March 25, 2012
My Soul Is Troubled!
In our daily mass we pray to the Lord to be freed “from all distress”. We pray this just before the kiss of peace. We will have true peace only when we are free from distress. However, distress is part of our life, even of our day-to-day life. Jesus’ life was no exception. It was not only in Gethsemane that Jesus had ‘His spirit troubled’, He had a troubled spirit most of His earthly life because of the “baptism” He came to undergo. It does not mean that He did not have peace. He was always in perfect peace and Union with the Father. He expresses this distress only in a few occasions and one such we find in today’s gospel, when He says: “my soul is troubled”. At this occasion Jesus speaks about the necessity of the grain of wheat to fall into the earth and die. The grain He mentions now is He Himself. And He also includes us or invites us to fall to the ground and die in order that we may be in the same place where Jesus would be in His kingdom. The very little passage from the letter to the Hebrews today describes eminently the long process of falling into the earth and dying and the after effects: He prayed to the One who was capable of saving Him from death; He was heard, (not saved from death, but, of course, saved after death with the reward of resurrection). He was heard because of His reverent submission. Though He was the Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. And because of His reverent submission, obedience, suffering and finally death He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:7-9). And to His followers He offers the same vocation, the same process and the same benefits, including the privilege of becoming little sources of eternal life for others. “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there my servant be also”. Are we willing to take up the challenge of taking up our cross and following Him? According to the new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah, the law of the Lord is put within us and written on our hearts. Jesus is speaking about the same law, which should be engraved on our hearts. If we do not find it there it is because we haven’t looked intently or we haven’t cleaned the slate of our heart for God to write. This is the best time to clean and let God do the job!
This week we make our sacrificial offerings for the deprived millions of the world through the Share Lent program. If we feel that God has blessed us, this blessing is also for sharing it with others. It is part of our stewardship of the earth, particularly of our country and its overflowing plenitude. This is one way of responding to the call to become the source of life for others. Let us try to be stewards faithful in little things so that the Lord may put us in charge of greater things.
Fr. George
March 18, 2012
Lift up your hearts!
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness in order to save the people. God raised Cyrus as king and established a kingdom in Persia in order to liberate the people Israel from the slavery of Babylon, which was a punishment for their sins. Jesus said to Nicodemus that the Son of Man must be lifted up in order that eternal life may be made accessible to the Believers. And Paul speaks about the fulfillment of this lifting up and its consequences. “God raised us up with Jesus and seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. In all the above incidents of lifting up, it was God who took the initiative to rescue His people. They needed rescue because they have sinned. Their sins were abandoning the true God, worshipping idols, disobedience to the Commandments of God, etc. In the way and life style established by our God, observance of Sabbath was a very important element, which was good for people to have time to think about the great deeds of God, to have true rest from their work and in order that the earth too have a rest from being over-used. We read in the book of 2 Chronicles today: “all the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years”. The earth needed recouping. Preceding all the events of God’s lifting the people there was a punishment for their sins. Sin, punishment and rescue or salvation or lifting up by God happen one after the other. Sin is man’s doing, punishment and salvation are God’s doing. Punishment is a natural consequence of sin, a balancing act. God’s punishment is never to destroy but to restore and build up; and the restoration usually is much more glorious than the former state. However, punishment, when it happens, is hard on those who have to undergo. As we read last week from the book of Exodus, “God punishes children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation… but the steadfast love of God remains with the thousandth generation”. Now, do we have a right to complain that the abundance of God’s blessings has not been with us? We need to look into the state of affairs we are in: are we the thousandth generation, on the verge to slip down into the starting of the three generations? How long God need to be patient with us? Do we have infinite time with us? Do we ever realize that time is given to individuals, to each of us, differently and unequally and that it is not part of infinity and that it will definitely come to an end? The Great Lent should give us a pause to think.
Fr. George
March 11, 2012
Make No Idol For Yourself!
Does anyone hear that: “You shall not make for yourself an idol” (Exodus 20:4)? Do we in this 21st century really believe in idols? I believe people all through the history of humanity believed in idols and worshipped them and our time is not an exception, in fact, this may be the time in the whole of human history when people believe in idols only and worship them most and have the least faith in God Almighty! As Paul rightly says, “for them the message of the Cross is foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:18). In fact, this One Almighty is no more in existence in the minds of most people today and for them what is real are those innumerable ‘almighties’! And who are they? To get an answer we need to examine where our people flock together in our times. In olden times when the One Almighty was reigning and had a place in human life and in human stories, people used to flock together in large number in churches and temples of worship. Now churches and places of worships are getting emptied, except may be for our Muslim fraternity. And where are the progeny of the other traditionally hard core believers? May be we find them in the hockey stadia and similar arenas, the Hollywood theatres, in the shopping malls, in places where the musical orgies are staged, in the fashion shows, in the recreational places, tourist resorts, in those enclaves where worldly wealth and money are amassed and heaped up, and in a few other places I may not like mentioning. There we come across our living idols and true heroes who are being worshipped if not adored. May be most of these worshippers do not realize that they are worshipping idols and violating the first Commandment of God, which is detailed in the first reading of today from the book of Exodus quoted above. Some of these heroes and idols are dead untimely or kill themselves, may be due to the weight of the adulation they receive and some at the realization that theirs was not the real world but was an illusion and fantasy. Who are the winners and the losers in these games of illusion? None other than the players and the patrons or the ‘customers’ and by the time they realize that they are losing, it will be too late to rectify or to recover. That is the nature of all illusions. Jesus in the temple today is overturning the tables of some of these idols of His time on earth. May be we need to search our souls for the idols we have enthroned and see if there is need for a cleaning!
Fr. George
March 4, 2012
God's Test!
God does not test us to the point that we sin. God did test Abraham, but not to the point of sin. If he had or could have executed the order of God to its fullness it would have amounted to a sin, sacrificing or killing one’s own child. Sacrificing own children to God was a prevalent practice at that time among the pagans. Does God put us into such tests in these days? May be, yes? When you get a call from your doctor in the hospital that your young and only son, your dear wife or husband or a young sibling may not live more than three days or a month, or you yourself are terminally ill and may not survive this winter, it is definitely a test of your faith and your trust in God. What have you to do? You may protest, may curse yourself; you may complain to God or even get wild with God. Does it profit you in any way? For a while you will be agitated and that’s natural, that is OK, and it may remind you that you are just a human. When we are composed and come to a bit of tranquility, we must recollect on the words of St. Paul today: “He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?” Can we think for a moment and know that it was God who gave us this our son, this wife, husband and all, and that we ourselves are the making of God? If we can get into that insight at the moment of our crisis, we will come to the realization that God has a way out for us, that, if this is the will of God, it should be the best for me and for my dear ones, that God will be with us tomorrow also, who has been with us till this day and God has a plan for us and that must be the best. Abraham thought like that when he was ordered to sacrifice his only son through whom he received the promise to become the father of millions in generations. It might not have been easy for Abraham to put the fire wood for the sacrifice on the head of his son who himself was the sacrificial lamb. A question may pop up in our mind: did God not know that Abraham had such a firm faith and commitment to Him, and if so, what was the necessity to put him to such a great ordeal? Definitely God did know about it, but in all probability Abraham did not know that he had such a faith in his God and by confirming his own faith and trust in the infinite benevolence of God, Abraham became capable of doing and achieving great victories for God, which all added to his greatness as the Patriarch and the Father of generations of God’s children including that of us. Let us try to derive strength from God in our trials and tribulations and Lent is a good time to reflect on it and derive strength and courage. May the Lord be with us!
Fr. George
February 26, 2012
Repent and Believe!
We are already in the Great Lent, the forty days of companionship and intimacy with God, keeping ourselves a little away from our worldly desires, preoccupations and wanderings. We are in an intense process of tasting and seeing how sweet God is! In today’s readings, Noah spent forty days in the Ark with the “remnants” of all creation, the portion of creation God chose to preserve for posterity including his wife three sons and their wives. They were in the protective arm of God. When these creations came out of the Ark into the new world God meets and greets them with an everlasting Covenant of friendship and protection. He gives the irrevocable promise, not only to man but to the whole creation, that He would never again totally destroy the creation as He did within the proceeding forty days. It was God who took the initiative to enter into this everlasting covenant with humans. The nature of God’s covenant with man is that God never walks away from it, even when man breaches it completely. In preparation for the Great Lent we have seen last Sunday that God is the one who takes the initiative to rescue and redeem man, that God’s punishments were never and never will be for destroying but it is always for redeeming man. Unconditionally forgiving the sins of man is the beginning of the process of God’s redemptive work. Such forgiveness gives man the confidence to accept God’s unconditional love. Lent is the invitation of God to man for return, recovery, intimacy, love and caring. We meet Jesus today after He finished His forty days of intimacy and oneness with the Father, which empowered Him to take up the task for which He came to the world. We find Jesus during the forty days one with God, one with the Nature and one with the whole creation. After coming out from this total rejuvenation effected through the intimacy with the Creator and the creation, Jesus invites us to repentance and to belief. It is an invitation to us to go through the same process of renewal and rejuvenation Jesus went through. Once we too do that with Jesus, the dawn of Easter will definitely be a new beginning for us, to witness to the whole world that there is hope, there is salvation, there is freedom from fear and there is the certain possibility for peace. Let us enter into it fully!
Fr. George
February 19, 2012
Door to God never closed
In today’s gospel we find that the access to Jesus was apparently blocked because of the crowd. The friends of the paralytic might have thought for a moment that they were at the end of their wits. However, they teach us a lesson, that is, when you find one door closed against you just look around and keep your mind open and you find an opening. Look at the ingenuity of these four people: they go on top of the house, move the tiles and let the paralytic down on ropes from the roof. It is just unbelievable! However, they also teach a lesson on faith; faith can move mountains; that’s what Jesus said. These four people manifested their faith, which was strong enough to move a mountain. Their faith was abundantly rewarded. In this healing there was a process involved: first Jesus forgives the sins of the paralytic. It was an act of liberating the person from his inner bonds and from his inner slavery to sin. For any true healing this is a must: we must first be free from our sins, which in turn strengthens our mind to fight against our bodily infirmities. Sin inflicts on us inner wounds, which is not visible to the outsiders. The initiative for getting rid of these bonds should begin with us. Once we initiate this process then Grace of God supplies whatever is required after and that is what we see Jesus doing today to this paralytic. As soon as we come into the presence of God, we definitely will realize that God has seen our heart and our hearts move towards God. At the sight of Jesus this paralytic might have experienced the touch of God and God’s penetrating look into his heart, which might have prompted him to repent over his sins. When he became free from sins, the paralysis was gone and he got the strength to get up and take his coat and walk! Such miracles can happen to us even today, provided we allow ourselves to be touched by God just like the paralytic did. Our way to God is always open. We need the will to take the first step, first inner healing and then healing of the body. The Great Lent is just around the corner and it is a right time to make a new beginning. Let us get prepared for the take-off.
Fr. George
February 12, 2012
The Untouchable!
Today is leprosy day in the bible! The book of Leviticus gives the instruction that once you are diagnosed a leper, you need to keep yourself away from the community and you are an untouchable, and if at all you chance to come into the vicinity of a community you need to announce your presence from far away so that either you keep away from the people or they keep away from you! Strange law, isn’t it? Leprosy is a contagious disease, of course. However, it is not spread through touch. But people carried the notion and some of us even today think that a leper should remain untouchable, that is, an outcast from the society. Recently I had the opportunity to travel with a priest colleague of mine, who was a professor in the college where I worked, and is now living with and working for people with HIV positive or AIDs. He touches the patients, takes the children in his hands, eats with them the same food and spends considerable part of his time with them. He inspires them with confidence and courage and helps many to lead a perfectly normal and working life, in spite of their infirmity. These patients get a sense of self worth once they come to the institution this priest established. AIDS, of course, is a contagious disease. Many members, if not all, of our well-informed civil society today consider that by touching HIV positive patients we could be infected, which is not true. This disease is transmitted through blood or saliva and the virus can survive only for four to five seconds outside of these media. However, these patients remain sort of outcastes and untouchables in our society. We find in today’s gospel the attempt of Jesus to change the law of untouchability of His times by first touching the leper and thereby healing him. Jesus did so not because He was the divine healer, but because He wanted to teach us how to be a human and our humanity can and will heal if only we are truly human. The touch of divinity will be just a consequence of our humanity. Jesus came down to become a human in order to make us divine and He did that. Let us try to appropriate that divinity by being truly human in our everyday life.
Fr. George
February 5, 2012
Our Everyday Existence
We are already in the midst of the Ordinary time in our liturgical cycle. Today Job speaks just like any one of us when we are stressed due to the everyday problems of life. His thinking and feeling and speaking are not much different from what we have. This is our everyday existence. We wade through hope and despair, faith and disbelief, all leading us to many uncertainties. St. Paul is indeed proud of his vocation as an apostle but he realizes that there is a price for being an apostle. He too feels just like any other ordinary human being, desire for the wages of one’s labor, being acclaimed and praised and taken care and so on. However, he knows that though he is entitled to all these, he needs to be and to do much more than these humanness and rise up to a realm of divinity, which will make him forsake all these human desirables and make himself all for all in order to be a true disciple and bring in more into discipleship. In the gospel today we get a day from the life of Jesus, how it begins, proceeds, ends or we may say does not end. He begins the day in the Synagogue, then goes for a house visit, which could be also termed as a friendly visit or socializing where probably he shares a meal, relaxes a while, then goes with his work and people, first the neighbors come, then hearing from them others come and their number grows and He interacts with them, does the necessary things for everyone, may be rests a while and spends the evening there and early in the morning before the dawn goes for a private and intimate time with His “family”, the Father and the Spirit. This is the life of Jesus and this is to be the life of every Christian. Jesus was the Gospel, the Good News. Our call is no less than that of Jesus, to be good news to all. Sometimes we might be the only good news people may ever have in their lives. To be the good news, we need to do and live as Jesus did, visiting people, touching them, holding them by hand and sometimes these touches and holding will heal them and give them a new life, then may be a time to retire for a short rest, again work with and for the people and get recharged by being alone with our God and in communion with Him. We too need to make this our lifestyle.
Fr. George
January 29, 2012
Authority
Authority comes from authenticity. Jesus had the authenticity to be the face of God on earth and He did show that face and people were “astounded” at His words and deeds! Authenticity comes from the seal and approval of a superior authority and Jesus came with the authority and approval of God the Almighty, and He Himself stated, quoting Isaiah, that the Spirit of God was in Him and that He was sent to proclaim the acceptable time of the Lord. As Moses foretold long ago about Jesus, God would put His words into the mouth of Him and He would speak everything that God commanded Him. Jesus acknowledged on many instances His dependence on the Father by stating that He was one with the Father, that He and the Father were One, that He lived in the Father and the Father lived in Him, that He was speaking the words of the Father, and so on. It was with this authority received from the Father that He was commanding the spirits to get away from people and since those commands were with such force of authority that the evil spirits could not but obey. Not only did they obey but they even acknowledged Him as the Holy One of God. This confession by the evil spirits became another testimony to prove the origin and authority of Jesus. And Jesus also recalls the works He was doing as another testimony for Himself to prove His power, authority and also the truth about Himself or the Truth that He was. From here onwards we are going to see more of the working and the exercise of the authority of Jesus in word and in deed and we will see His authority and power with the people growing, and the challenges He had to face from His detractors because of it. Let us try to follow the steps of Jesus and grow into Him, allowing ourselves to be astounded and being invited to obey Him and submit ourselves to His authority.
Fr. George
January 22, 2012
Call to Discipleship
In today’s Biblical lessons we come across again God’s call and His sending on His mission. Jonah is sent on a mission to Nineveh and to Jonah’s great surprise and also disappointment there was a tremendously positive response from the people of Nineveh. Jonah never expected and never wanted the conversion of this people. He wanted them to be punished and destroyed because of the atrocities they were indulging themselves in. But God’s Grace prevailed on them at the proclamation of the word by Jonah and they changed and were saved. The call of the disciples, Peter, john and party by Jesus appears to be instantaneous, which is not true. Peter, Andrew, John and James, all knew Jesus before and the idea of a vocation to follow Him was already in their minds. The seeds of their vocation were already sowed in their earlier meetings with Jesus. Now they are getting a chance to take the plunge with a direct and irresistible call from Jesus. We have seen on many occasions that calls from God are irresistible; in other words, once God calls, you have hardly any choice other than to say, “yes here am I”. In the process of responding to the call of Jesus and in following Him there were innumerable moments of awe, wonder, excitement disappointments, frustration, shattering of dreams and strong temptations to quit. There were innumerable threats, haunting and perils to their very life. While Jesus was with them they never realized the depth and magnitude of the responsibilities they were taking up or being put on their shoulders. Only after the anointing of the Spirit they started realizing slowly their call. Even during this period the struggle was hard. Their old nature used to come up again and again. They still continued to struggle with their sense of pride, caving for power, dominion, recognition and so on. However just as the Lord had promised through the prophets and as Jesus promised them, God was with them like a dread warrior, always protecting them, God’s Spirit always guiding them in the right direction and leading to their final destiny. That miracle of God’s call and people’s response still continues even in our own times in spite all the odds against God and His dominion on earth. We need to look into our own souls and reflect if we give the right response to Him, or if He is still knocking at the door of our heart.
Fr. George
January 15, 2012
The Door Opener
When the Baptist’s disciples Andrew and John ran after Jesus to whom the Baptist pointed at, they had many questions in their mind to know who Jesus was. However, when they really met him, they did not have words to frame their questions and so they blurted out a dumb question: “where are you staying”? It was sort of a door opener for Jesus to invite them to come and see. That invitation changed their lives forever. The same is true with Samuel. It is not only we that employ a door opener; even God wants one, a proper response, with us. God could have conveyed His message to Samuel in the very first instance. But He doesn’t, instead, wait for a proper response from Samuel, which should be the result of a proper listening to know who the one that is calling. God’s call framed the plan of life for Samuel as the Prophet of God for Israel, by God “being with him as he grew and never letting any of his words fall to the ground”. God waited before Mary until He got the response: Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according your word”. Thus proper listening and proper response are a must for getting a message properly and a mission well defined. Jesus did listen to the two disciples. Actually it might not have been their concern to know where Jesus lived; rather they were curious to know who He was. Jesus gives them a chance and an invitation to see and know who He was. It was a proper listening of Jesus to the needs of the disciples, which were fulfilled by His proper or adequate or the right answer. God continues to call us just as He did to Samuel, to Mary and as Jesus did to Andrew and John. We too do respond to or do interact with God quite often. We need to examine if we really hear properly all the calls God makes to us. God is in touch with us constantly through His creation and through the lives and interactions of ordinary people. Anyone who stumbles upon our life could be a messenger of God to us and we in turn are sent by God to him/her. We are chosen and anointed to call or ‘collect’ others to God when we walk together on our faith journey. Once he met Jesus and saw for himself who He was, Andrew went and brought Peter his brother to Jesus, who received the vocation to be the foundation of the Church of Christ. That is another example of how to respond to God’s initiatives in our life. Let us search our souls and see how do we behave, what our responses to God are, and, if need be, change our strategy and orientation.
Fr. George
January 8, 2012
The Search For The Unknown
Adventurism and search for the unknown was there from the very beginning of human race. In fact, it was this searching mind that made humans progress through the history and reach the heights humanity has reached today. It is the same search that all the true scientist all over the world are making today, in their laboratories, from the space stations, in the sky labs, with the telescopes searching the skies, the explorers in the sea and at its bottom, the mountaineers, and so on. Just like the wise men of the east, these are looking for a sign, a star to shine upon them and to guide them along and to stumble upon new knowledge and new discoveries and cry out: UREKA! The wise men in their search came across a child in a manger, absolutely human, nothing extraordinary and utterly poor and helpless. However, the wondrous thing in this discovery was that they stumbled upon in that child their God and that remains even to this day the greatest of all discoveries. Of course, people who blocked their minds still refuse to look at this great finding of the Magi. And these belong to the generation of King Herod and his followers. Though there was nothing frightening in the child, Herod got frightened just because he was incapable of looking at the child with eyes similar to that of the shepherds, the Magi, St. Joseph and Mary and so on. His eyes were not looking for truth and his heart was bent upon power, and that too power at any cost. He directed his search in the wrong direction and landed in perdition. Epiphany means shining of God upon people. The glory of God will shine only on people of good will. The Epiphany that happened at Christmas was an extraordinary shining of God upon the ordinary men and women of goodwill, who were really searching for truth and deliverance. Today we who believe in Jesus have to be such men and women of goodwill and our search should ALSO be for truth. Truth is not always equally welcome to all, and as seekers of truth and deliverance, we need to keep our eyes and ears always open and ready to see and perceive, to hear and listen, to believe and to commit. We must be ready to hear the call of Isaiah: to “arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of God has risen upon you.” The moment of glory prophesied by Malachi may come to our life any moment: “Behold, the Lord, the Mighty One, has come; and kingship is in His grasp, and power and dominion” (Malachi 3:1). Be on the lookout that we are in His grasp finally!
Fr. George
January 1, 2012
The Lord Bless you!
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you’; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace”. These were the words given by God to be used by Aaron and his sons, the priests of the Israelites, in order to bless the people. We have them in the first reading this weekend. What better words we can use to begin a new year and bless you! As our new liturgy emphasizes, what is being received from God’s bounty and returned to Him on the altar and in the church, we are inclined to receive these words from God and transmit them to you in His name. Just say “Amen” and you are blessed even as you read this! And St. Paul is explaining in a very few words how we are made sons and daughters in the Son and how the Spirit of God is given to us and working in us enabling us to call “Abba, Father!” In fact, the Spirit in us is crying out on our behalf “Abba Father”, and giving us words to pray. Be aware of this working of the Spirit in and through us and give this Spirit a chance to do this for us. When the shepherds of Bethlehem on that cold night gave a chance to this Spirit, it guided them to the manger and they were blessed by the vision of God and were filled with His peace and happiness. For them it was the fulfillment of a long cherished dream, the coming of the Messiah. The child in the manger became the Messiah for them only when they gave a chance to the Spirit to work in them. It was the same happening for Blessed Virgin Mary at the moment of the Annunciation, for Joseph when he had the dream in his sleep, for the wise men from the east when they saw the star, and for Simeon and Anna at the Temple. All these people had a simplicity and openness of heart and sufficient humility to obey the prompting of the Spirit. But King Herod and his coterie and all the brood who followed him did not give a chance to the Spirit and they could not see the Messiah. Consequently they did not have the peace and happiness they desired much in their life. Instead they remained a frightened lot, an insecure group and doomed for miserable death. Let us not fall in line with them. Let us line up with the shepherds and others, and with the Blessed Virgin Mary whose memory we celebrate today as the Mother of God. She became so by giving in to the Spirit. When we give ourselves to the Spirit to be taken over, we will inherit the blessing, which God gave us through Aaron and his descendents. And because of the same divine blessing we are truly made the children of this Blessed Mother. And we need a mother like her.
Fr. George
December 25, 2011
Then and Now
Christmas season, now christened into holiday season, tells us a story much different and just the opposite of the original story. At that time, though it was a long expected event, it happened in the most unexpected manner, with hardly anyone noticing and those who noticed were people of no significant worth for the “worthy ones” of the day. It occurred in such simplicity that it was the most obscure event: a child born in a stable and laid in a manger with no trappings of wealth, fame, and glitter, with the involvement of two most simple and poor people, the child’s parents. Today that event is a big celebration extending to months with light, color, glitter, glory and pageant and, of course, much eating, drinking, and merrymaking. Surprisingly, the very reason for the celebration, Christ has become very inconvenient for the powers that be and the dominions, and so is unceremoniously removed from the whole scene. For those of us, to whom He is still real, should make every effort not just be taken up by what we see and bombarded around us, and should stick to Him, in spite of all the odds. Let us make Jesus truly be born in our hearts including, definitely, in the hearts of our children and in our homes. I have a small love letter below, borrowed from the net.
A VERY HAPPY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS TO YOU!Fr. George
December 18, 2011
The Lord is at the Door
Today’s readings directly introduce the coming the Lord, the Christmas. In the complete dialogue of God to David through Nathan there is one portion where God speaks of His intention and desire to dwell in the midst of the people and that is the whole story of Christmas. Luke has the best Christmas narrative, though he does not mention Isaiah’s “Emmanuel” – God with us-, which Mathew does in his Christmas story. That is the story relevant for us today, namely, the Lord is at our door and wants to come in and is waiting for a response as Mary did. Let us tune our mind and sharpen our ears to hear the knocking and be ready to open.
Our Bishop is sending us a Christmas message, which is printed below as the message of the week.
Fr. George
Christmas 2011
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
Christmas music moves the soul! Year after year, I have listened to many Christmas carols over and over again; several have become my favorites and give me great pleasure and peace! The many wonderful choirs throughout the Diocese of Hamilton make special efforts to assure that the music sung at Christmas Masses is their very best offering of the year. You who come to our parishes to celebrate the Christmas liturgies and listen to the music are never disappointed! The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News of God’s love, is joyfully proclaimed through such beautiful music. In the midst of your hectic schedules, with all the worries and concerns you carry every day, I encourage you to stop every now and then during this season of peace to listen to a Christmas carol or hymn from beginning to end. Allow it to carry you to that inner place where you meet the Lord.
Each year we celebrate the birth of the Lord anew. We recall the remarkable story of his birth in Bethlehem, and we are moved to recognize his birth each day in our lives and in our world – through acts of compassion, goodness, and love. Having received the Body and Blood of Christ at Christmas Mass, we are sent out to do what He did by our good works. Revel in the music, recognize acts of kindness when you see them, be generous in your care for others, and know that through it all, Jesus Christ moves us to an ever deeper awareness of his love for us and for all!
May you have a blessed Christmas and joy throughout the New Year!
Sincerely in Christ and Mary Immaculate,
+Douglas, OMI
(Most Rev.) Douglas Crosby, OMI
Bishop of Hamilton
Fr. George
December 11, 2011
A New Beginning
Renewing the face of earth is the constant work of God and He is in it 24/7 and all the 365 days of the year. Though we read in the book of Genesis that on the seventh day God rested, it is written not for Him but for us. When we take rest it is His work to watch over us unceasingly and that is what we should desire for and pray. The only thing we are required to do is to be still and know that He is God. This is what He tells us today through the gospel according to Mark: “Beware, keep alert”. Be aware; be on the lookout for the Lord; He may come any moment. We are to be like the watchman keeping the night, waiting for the master to come any time and also watching for any likely intruder. In our times the intruders are many and they may appear as a gang and we on guard should be fully equipped when they turn up. We just concluded a year of liturgical cycle, ending with the feast of Christ the King and with the messages pointing to the Parausia, the second, glorious and mighty coming of Jesus Christ. During the past weekdays we listened to the prophetic words of Daniel: the crumbling of the kingdoms footed on clay and iron mix, the vision about the writing on the wall and the words of Jesus pointing to the likely happenings before the end of times. For those who truly followed Jesus and His teaching these prophesies point to the day of reckoning, when they will be rewarded for their life and for those who refused to follow the teaching of Jesus, those who indulged themselves too much into the illusions and pleasures of this world, may be, a frightful day! And for us who are still living on the face of the earth, there is still time to choose between. And today we begin another cycle, preparing again for the coming of Jesus, a new beginning with new resolutions, hopes and fears. There is no scarcity of challenges, the greatest among them being the exhortation to banish Christ from Christmas and from our life, to forget what Christ and Christianity brought about into this world. The exhortation of the day is to get addicted to all that this world can offer us. The Church relentlessly reminds us to see and also to perceive; to hear and to listen and hearken; to profess our faith and confess Christ; to witness to and manifest Christ in and with our lives. The writings on the wall are too conspicuous to ignore and we need to see, judge and act, not tomorrow, but today and now!
Fr. George
December 4, 2011
Construction Season
People in Canada say that there are only two seasons for the year: the winter and the construction. Those on the road with hand on the steering wheel and foot on the gas pedal do not like either. When the construction season in the country has come to a grinding halt and winter is at full swing, we hear the message from pulpit to “prepare the way”. We are hardly in a mood to listen or we think that we can afford to ignore. When originally this message was aired by Isaiah to the Israeli captives in Babylon it was like the first showers in the summer. It really cooled the soul the roused the spirit of the people. When John the Baptist echoed Isaiah’s message on the banks of Jordan it was a thunder sending shock waves to the minds and hearts of the people, forcing them to flock together into the river Jordan to receive the baptism of water for the remission of their sins and thereby pave the way for the coming of the Emmanuel and the baptism for Him with fire and the Spirit. During the course of the centuries when this message was being broadcast from the pulpits of the churches in the world it used to rouse the people, make them reflect and return to the Lord. It used to have its thundering effects. In these times when we happen to be living in the same world, grown a lot deafer, the same message does not have even the effect of a whisper; hardly anyone cares to listen. These days Christ is no more the reason for the season and Christmas is a time of big sale and clearance. It still continues to be a more extensive period of clearance of our cupboards also, offloading all that we have needlessly accumulated in the past years just because they were offered at “half the price or at 80% off”. We clear in order to buy at the “half price” again similar and unneeded, but new items. We have money and time for it, plenty of them. The messages from the pulpits these days, for which we find hardly any time, happen to be again for a clearance: of the unnecessary burdens we carry, the unrewarding resentments we nurture, the heart-breaking hatred we hoard in our souls, and to receive and stock the fathomless and unconditional love and everlasting peace and happiness God offers. Do we care? Before you wish “Happy Christmas”, if at all you dare instead of happy holidays, just think if you really have within you the “Prince of Peace who is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God and Everlasting Father”! (Isaiah 9:6b). Hay, Pause a minute, think and proceed!
Fr. George
November 27, 2011
A New Beginning
Renewing the face of earth is the constant work of God and He is in it 24/7 and all the 365 days of the year. Though we read in the book of Genesis that on the seventh day God rested, it is written not for Him but for us. When we take rest it is His work to watch over us unceasingly and that is what we should desire for and pray. The only thing we are required to do is to be still and know that He is God. This is what He tells us today through the gospel according to Mark: “Beware, keep alert”. Be aware; be on the lookout for the Lord; He may come any moment. We are to be like the watchman keeping the night, waiting for the master to come any time and also watching for any likely intruder. In our times the intruders are many and they may appear as a gang and we on guard should be fully equipped when they turn up. We just concluded a year of liturgical cycle, ending with the feast of Christ the King and with the messages pointing to the Parausia, the second, glorious and mighty coming of Jesus Christ. During the past weekdays we listened to the prophetic words of Daniel: the crumbling of the kingdoms footed on clay and iron mix, the vision about the writing on the wall and the words of Jesus pointing to the likely happenings before the end of times. For those who truly followed Jesus and His teaching these prophesies point to the day of reckoning, when they will be rewarded for their life and for those who refused to follow the teaching of Jesus, those who indulged themselves too much into the illusions and pleasures of this world, may be, a frightful day! And for us who are still living on the face of the earth, there is still time to choose between. And today we begin another cycle, preparing again for the coming of Jesus, a new beginning with new resolutions, hopes and fears. There is no scarcity of challenges, the greatest among them being the exhortation to banish Christ from Christmas and from our life, to forget what Christ and Christianity brought about into this world. The exhortation of the day is to get addicted to all that this world can offer us. The Church relentlessly reminds us to see and also to perceive; to hear and to listen and hearken; to profess our faith and confess Christ; to witness to and manifest Christ in and with our lives. The writings on the wall are too conspicuous to ignore and we need to see, judge and act, not tomorrow, but today and now!
Fr. George
November 20, 2011
Reign of God
King, kingdom, autocratic rule and even theocracy, where God is the ruler, are concepts disliked and even discarded by the so-called developed world or by the first world countries totally and the other worlds partially. What this first world seem to like is democracy, which by definition is rule of the people, by the people and for the people! In the reign of God or of Christ the King, may be, we are in a situation with no freedom. As people of 21st century this is not an easily digestible idea. Hence we are not at all fascinated about the feast of Christ the King. May be it is good to think a little different, which may appear atrocious! In the so-called democracy, which we enjoy today, do we have real freedom? Look at the levels of authority we have to obey! We have something called a world government, a voluntary union of world nations, which may not affect us too intimately and directly. Then comes the federal or national government with governor general, prime minister, ministers, MPs, secretaries and all the levels of the government hierarchy and authority, which will include the military, the police, the taxation authority, the authorities on our health care, insurance, justice system and so on. Down the line come the provincial authorities with all the above subdivisions, the authorities of the counties, cities, corporations, etc. In addition to all the above levels, we have the real controllers of our life, the business power, the money power and very often the muscle power. The law-abiding citizen has hardly any freedom. Freedom is enjoyed by the criminals until they are caught! This gives us only a partial picture of our democratic society and the high profile freedom it gives. In the case of the rule of one, it is obeying just one, suffering one and paying taxes just to one! It was not a dictator but our first world democracies that brought about the current world economic crisis and depression. This is not speaking against democracy but just a reflection in the context of thinking about the reign of God, which is generally rejected by the first world rulers. Ezekiel today gives us a glimpse of what reign of God means: (Ezekiel:34:11-17). In His reign there is absolutely no tyranny, no one is capable of taking away your freedom; if fact, you don’t need any freedom because it is the reign of love, devoid of all the evils we have here on earth. It was human freedom to choose that brought about all the evil into the world. In the reign of God there is no existence for evil and so no freedom to choose evil. It will be the fullness of goodness, peace, happiness and love. We need to think with a different mindset to enter into the realm of God’s reign. Let us start thinking differently and really desire for the coming of the Kingdom!
Fr. George
November 13, 2011
His Gift And Our Keeping
The gift of talents is free. However, no one can allow them to rot and be wasted. That is the story of talents today in the gospel and this happens to be the last parable Jesus said, but not the least; it is a very important one. We are here on earth not just to consume everything that earth produces; we are here basically to produce more. After receiving the talents you cannot have the luxury of sitting quiet and enjoying your life. This gift attaches great responsibility on you. When you fulfill this responsibility efficiently, you are given more, which is an honor, a reward, recognition and also an added responsibility. The reward is in proportion to the efforts you put in, depending on your industriousness. In other words, the reward depends not on what you received but on what you returned with increase. Responsibility means accountability. You are accountable, and only for what you have received and no more. If you have received two talents, you need to account only for two and not for five. This parable of Jesus is pointing to the vocation God has given to each of us. To everyone it is special, tailor-made, direct and unique and requiring a specific response. The talents are not distributed equally to everyone; they are to each according to one’s capacity. No one can afford to bury the talent in the ground and wait for a reward. The minimum effort the distributor of talents requires is that you should at least deposit it with the banker for an interest and if you did this minimum at least you would get into the kingdom. If you refuse to do this little, you end up in the outer darkness. It is all your making. You are the one choosing to walk into life or into death, into light or darkness, into heaven or hell. God cannot be blamed for that. He is giving you enough time to make your choices and when time is given you have to make it. Once the choices are made, there comes the judgment, (next week)! Be alert, be vigilant, act upon in time and be rewarded.
Fr. George
November 6, 2011
Unfair God!
Being ready and prepared is a main theme of Jesus and He does not give any concession on this ground. If you are not prepared, if you don’t do your home work, you are not welcome; you have to keep out. This is the message to the five foolish bridesmaids. At the time of Jesus, wedding used to be a onetime happening in one’s life. Unlike in our times, there is no repetition, there is no second chance. Hence every preparation is made, everything is planned meticulously. The choice of guests, maids, members in the wedding party is made after sufficient deliberation and consultation and with the consensus of all. To be invited into the company of the groom or bride was a privilege and anyone should feel proud of being chosen. Once this honor is bestowed on you, you need to respond by doing your homework and prepare yourself for which every means is given to you. You cannot afford to be late, to be unprepared, let alone to neglect. The bridesmaids did not conform to these minimum standards. They were totally unprepared. We may say the five wise ones were very unfair, uncharitable and uncaring. However, suppose they were to divide their oil 50:50 and share it with the others and if the oil of all get exhausted when they reach half way through the party what would be the disaster and confusion? It would have been a totally disrupted and untimely closed down party. Does any bride or groom like it even in our own times when weddings are often repeated affairs? If we do not like this happening, then is it proper that we say that those wise maids were uncaring and the bridegroom was very rude and unfair to the foolish ones? We were uncomfortable with the behavior of Jesus with the workers in the vineyard, all getting the same wages, with His pampering the prodigal son to the utter disappointment of the elder son, and the like incidents. Whose fault is it? Is it the “unjust” behavior of God or the envious attitude of ours? May be also we fail to understand the ramifications of God’s justice system and the righteousness demanded by Jesus, surpassing that of the Pharisees and the Scribes. It appears that we do not have a choice because God is God and we haven’t grown enough to correct Him or to give Him counsel! The only option open to us is to comply and be included with His elect rather than murmur, protest and being thrown into the outer darkness where there is the gnashing of teeth! Better fall in line fast and be in!
Fr. George
October 30, 2011
Trumpeting
Prophet Malachi is very harsh upon the priests today, really frightening for them. Jesus picks up on Malachi. However, Jesus gives one concessional regard to the Pharisees: they need to be listened to in what they teach because their authority comes from the real source of authority, from God. However, people are warned not to be their imitators because they do not practice what they preach. The only consolation the priests and leaders can derive today is from St. Paul’s presentation of himself and the apostles as tender nurses to the people. If only, we could be so! The Scribes and Pharisees were totally focused on themselves, how much attention, adulation, recognition, wealth and praise they can derive through their ministry and position in the society rather than looking into the needs and concerns and sorrows of the people especially the poor and the widows, the orphans and the disabled ones. And apparently they did not care putting greater burdens on the people in order to satisfy their own greed and selfishness. Prophet Malachi as well as Jesus is at odds with this attitude and both of them are not in a mood to approve the attitude of these leaders of the people. These leaders are being invited by the Prophet and by Jesus to give supremacy to God and stop
Fr. George
October 23, 2011
Love Means Total Giving
The Pharisees do not let Jesus go, in spite of the fact that each time Jesus silences them and makes them speechless and ashamed of themselves. In today’s dialogue they want to know from Jesus the greatest of all commandments. Jesus scores a hundred and one percent and His answer is that love is the greatest commandment. Elsewhere while discussing this commandment He said that all other laws, regulations, statutes and precepts will be fulfilled if you fulfill this one commandment. In a way Jesus makes life very easy, knowing full well that it is not easy at all. Love is the most difficult task to fulfill, though foolishly we presume that it is easy and handy! Some features of this love Jesus advocates are in the portion from the book of Exodus today: no wrongdoing to the alien, no abuse to the widow and orphan, no taking interest from the poor and if at all you pawn your neighbor’s clock, you have to return it before sunset in order to save him from the freezing cold of the night. On the one hand these manifest God’s compassion for the poor and oppressed and on the other hand His uncompromising demand for true expressions of love and these expressions are a little unpalatable to us the ordinary humans. Hence the demand of God from us in fulfilling the commandment of love is to become an extraordinary lover. That is the meaning of Christian call. Love for the Christian has to be a way of life. Love for self, for the neighbor and for God, all go together. In the matter of love Jesus is not at all ready for any compromise; in fact, Jesus never compromised on anything He said or did. Love is a lifelong endeavor with no possibility for a vacation or holidays, and it has to be complete in every respect: love should be with your whole heart, soul and mind, with all your strength and power. Love means a total gift of the self, gift of what we are and what we have with little expectation of return or reward as a motivation. Love is and must be as big as God because God is love and Jesus on earth was the expression of that love and He wanted us to be the continuation of that expression on earth. Eternity for which we yearn is the continuation and perfection of this expression here on earth. We do not have an option but to go for it. Let us be on our mark!
Fr. George
October 16, 2011
I Call You By Your Name
Is it not something amazing that your God calls you by name? Ever tried to hear that call in the silence of your heart? Not only He calls you by your name, but He also anointed you to be His own to send you on His mission, He grasps your right hand when you are on His mission to conquer nations, subdue kings and He opens the doors before you never to be closed. And by all these He is telling you that He is the Lord God and there is no one besides Him. By proving His dominion over all the earth and by showing His choice of us as His own He is inviting us to glorify Him, to acknowledge Him and accept Him as our Lord and God. While answering the Pharisees regarding paying taxes, Jesus is reinforcing this dominion of God and telling in very definitive words that what is due to God has to be given to Him and to Caesar what is his due and these should not be mixed up or messed up. All the provocations Jesus received from the Pharisees and the Scribes are converted to occasions for teaching important lessons to them and to his other listeners. Perhaps we need to learn to give to God what is due to Him. The thanksgiving weekend has just passed. Thanksgiving, I believe, is for the gifts and benefits we have received. If it is to be true thanksgiving, it should be directed to the giver of the gifts. I believe our thanksgiving was for the gift of this country, its abundance, its freedom, its people, its nature and nature’s bounties and for whatever we have received from these. A true reflection on these gifts should definitely get us back to God who made all these available to us. I wonder how many during the past weekend truly turned to God to thank Him! The celebrations in the church did not have even half the attendance during the thanksgiving weekend. Did all the thanks go to the poor turkey or to the almighty dollar’s largesse? Did we confine all our attention to Caesar alone? What happened to the hand that was grasping our right hand? Did we ever think of that Big Hand?
Fr. George
October 9, 2011
The Banquet and Fullness
Today’s biblical lessons and stories are the most joyous and endearing and at the same time also a bit frightening. It is the most desirable thing to be invited for a banquet and that too free of cost. It is most desirable because, as Isaiah compliments, this banquet is served with well aged wine and rich food filled with marrow. Isaiah’s complements goes further to removing all that is frightening: “swallowing up death forever, wiping away the tears and removing disgrace from all faces, fulfilling a long-awaited promise and realizing the life-long dream of every human on earth. The unfortunate VIPs invited in advance did not recognize the greatness and generosity of the Host nor the richness of the banquet and they chose to misbehave. The Host happened to be their king who had power and authority over them and they were rewarded for their misbehavior with capital punishment with absolutely no possibility for a review by or appeal to a higher authority. Their disrespectful behavior paved the way to open the gates of the banquet hall to everyone else, with an open invitation to enter. This banquet was also the wedding feast for the King’s son and naturally the king distributed wedding robes to everyone. It was just the minimum courtesy and respect towards to the host that the guests come with the wedding attire provided. Unfortunately there was one who neglected to show this minimum even, and the king had no option but to cast that one to the outer darkness, now the condemned abode of those weeping and gnashing their teeth! The good news in the story is that every one of us is included in the open invitation to walk into the banquet hall. The bad news is that anyone of us could be there without the wedding robe. That one among us may be wearing the robe of pride, arrogance and boastfulness, intolerance, unforgiveness, and rudeness to others, keeping grudges, irritability, resentfulness, enmity and envy in our chest forever. The wedding robe, which this host might be expecting could be made of such qualities as kindness, righteousness, justice, humility, love and compassion. Of course, this righteousness must surpass the righteousness practiced by the Scribes and Pharisees! Are we on our way to the banquet hall? If not get ready fast; time is running short!
Fr. George
October 2, 2011
Loss of the Kingdom!
The stories of Isaiah and Jesus today are the same. They speak of the same vineyard. The planter or the landowner is feeling very sad and inconsolably disappointed. In our modern language, He is frustrated and might do something out of despair! We happen to be the vineyard both these mention and those among us who have a mind to listen have to and do something about it, the least to be aware of it and to know that it is something that tells us directly. We cannot but be admiring this vineyard owner. He did everything possible for the vineyard yet He is deprived of any fruits from it. You and I in the same situation will not be happy and tolerant at the turn of events. We the people of this generation have very little chance to complain against the Lord regarding our ancestors and our former generations. He had been consistently good, gracious and generous with them. Whatever be the racial, ethnic or geographical ancestry we are from, we cannot deny that the Lord has been gracious to our past. We are in a land of affluence and abundance. We might protest that it is going through a period of depression. In spite of the alleged depression, we are well off and our leaders are not in any uncertain terms to declare that there is no negotiation possible on our way of life. And we don’t care how we reached this envious position and if at all we have been pushing down a few millions or billions into poverty and misery on our way up. The Lord continues to prosper us and to look graciously upon us and remains slow to anger and abounding in mercy. However, our generation is straying away from the Lord, rebels against Him and behaves exactly as the tenant workers behaved and our yield cannot be said other than wild grapes. If the Lord decides to do some or all that Isaiah prophesies as the doings of the landowner, if He takes away the kingdom from us and gives it away to those who produce good fruits, will we have any room to grudge or to grumble? We know that all those who need to listen to these prophesies and stories do not listen and probably will not. It becomes our responsibility and necessity to listen and do whatever we can to let these be heard. This is necessary because if the predicted disaster happens, we cannot presume that we will be spared, at least in time, though He may have His ways to spare us for eternity. Let us be cautious and on the safer side when we have time. Let us not presume that these stories are not our stories.
Fr. George
September 25, 2011
Turn Away!
Prophet Ezekiel today tells us or prophesies that those who turn away from wickedness will save their lives and those who turn from righteousness to wickedness will die or, in other words, will lose their lives. Jesus is saying the same to the chief priests and the elders today. He clearly tells them that they are going to have surprises in the Kingdom of heaven: the tax collectors, who were believed to be public sinners in Israel especially after Jerusalem came under the Roman Empire, and the prostitutes will occupy heaven ahead of the chief priests and elders. Definitely this must have surprised them because they were thinking about themselves to be the first heirs of the kingdom. After all, they knew the prophets and law and they were from among the noble class and definitely they should have the privilege to be the first in the kingdom. Perhaps Jesus was telling them that they were in the class of people like the second son in today’s dialogue of Jesus. The first son rebelled against the father in the beginning and then repented and went to work in the vineyard while the second one pretended obedience and did not obey. There may be people among us who think that the Church is a community of only holy and angelic people, with little possibility of being at fault and our churches should keep out the ‘sinners’ and the prostitutes or those who live in unholy relationships and life styles. To see these in holy places is scandalous to the ‘holy and virtuous’ ones. Some even ask the pastors to drive such unholy ones out of the church. However, the pastors will have to be terribly frightened about today’s Jesus who is waiting at the door of the church to drive into heaven these driven outs. Prophet Ezekiel is also giving the same type of premonition or warning to the pastors and the holy people about the insiders and the outcasts of heaven. It will be wise for us today to listen to St. Paul’s admonition “to be humble and regard others as better than ourselves”. It definitely implies not to be judgmental. Perhaps the greatest surprise for us in heaven will be that we are there in spite all that we had been! God’s mercy may work that miracle for us.
Fr. George
September 18, 2011
An Outrageous Landowner!
These weeks the abounding generosity of God is highlighted in the readings. It was about the magnitude of God’s unconditionally forgiving love we have experienced last two weeks. Today we see the concern of God for the humans in their daily struggle to live. Jesus introduces a new concept of righteousness and justice. The landowner picks up laborers in the early hours of the day, late in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon and late in the afternoon - just an hour before the sun set and the closing of the day. At the end of the day he orders his steward to pay them their wages and everyone gets a full day’s wage. It is simply natural that the laborers who worked the whole day have grudges against the landowner and envy towards the last comers, though they do not have any right to complain because they received their wages as agreed upon. The response of the landowner towards their murmuring is of interest to us: “am I not free to do what I choose with what belongs to me?” Too Indulgent a King! Through this landowner Jesus introduces God’s justice system and the righteousness of the Kingdom. And elsewhere in His dialogue with the disciples Jesus clearly tells that unless our righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees we will not enter the Kingdom. That is frightening and we need to take note of it. Till date, even after Jesus and after the birth of Christianity nowhere in the world this righteousness of the Kingdom is introduced, not even in the Church. Only the communists professed on the concept of equal distribution: “take as much you need and give as much you like or can”. Nowhere in the communist world has this principle ever been practiced. And it is not possible to introduce this justice system universally because once this is done it is likely that people may choose to be lazy and everyone is likely to prefer to be the laborer of the last hour. What we need to do is to enter into the mindset of God whose concern is the need of every laborer for a day’s wage in order to take care of his family and somehow provision for this has to be made. The teachings of the Church on social justice point towards this aspect. Of course, this should not be construed as an invitation to be lazy, irresponsible and to remain forever a parasite on the society’s generosity.
Fr. George
September 11, 2011
Too Indulgent a King!
I do not think that any one of us is too happy to approve the action of the King in today’s gospel passage: His action to release his ten thousand talents debtor slave and letting him go scot-free is totally unacceptable to us. And we who are ‘good’ Christians cannot even imagine the type of behavior this slave had with his own fellow slave who owed him just a hundred denarii. (One talent was equivalent to 14,400 denarii. One denarii used to be one day’s wage for a worker at that time and its current value could be around three US dollar and sixty-two cents). Hundred denarii was not even a percent of one talent! Imagine the magnitude of the debt of the first slave to the king and compare the debt his fellow slave owed him and also compare the behavior of the King and his slave. The King was too prodigal and indulgent toward this most undeserving slave. Jesus wanted to tell us that God the Father is so indulgent toward us. Though our debt and our ingratitude toward God may not be quantifiable and comparable as the debt of this slave, still we may have to pause a while before we condemn this slave and compliment ourselves as much superior or entirely different from him. It is good at this moment to reflect how much grudge and burden we carry in our chest all the time, sometimes for years, towards someone whom we loved and who loved us and might have committed a small or even big (according to our judgment) offence against us. We presume that we cannot forgive and get reconciled because we loved so much! Surprising, isn’t it? Have we ever considered that I must forgive because I loved this person or this person had loved me? Do we ever remember that there is no love if there is no forgiveness? Do the words of St. Paul to the I Corinthians: “love is not irritable or resentful” (13:5b) ever flash on the screen of our conscience? Actually it is not the King (God) who put the slave finally in prison but it was his own unforgiving nature. Just examine our whereabouts: are we in the prison of our own unforgiving nature or in the free world of the children of God? It will definitely be salutary for us to reflect on and learn from and change according to the wisdom of Sirach in today’s reading, which wisdom was in vogue even centuries before Jesus of Nazareth.
Fr. George
September 4, 2011
Build Bridges in Time!
Jesus did not tell us what to do if we sin against our brother or sister. Not because this is a lighter side of sin. In fact it is very serious and the remedy is considered as understood, that is there is no excuse but to get reconciled and we need to take the initiative and humble ourselves. Jesus foresees a situation wherein someone sins against us and refuses to do repairs. Normally even when we are ready to forgive, our condition would be that he or she should take the first step and come to us and apologize. Jesus today says that you cannot afford to wait for the apology. Instead we need to take the first step and create a situation for our brother or sister to get reconciled although he or she is at fault. If the offender continues to be adamant, we cannot leave him or her there. We need to go further again and now in the company of one or two elders to gently and lovingly persuade the offender to come to terms and amend the ways. Love should be the motivation and not vengeance. If this does not work, we have to take one more step as a last resort, tell the church to intervene and bring our brother or sister to a position of reconciling with us. It is a rather difficult proposal to follow. However, just like all other proposals of Jesus, He does not give us an option to opt out from this. We have to do this in order to save our souls along with that of our brother or sisters. Jesus does not allow us to leave any stone unturned until we are in love. Jesus binds us to be the bridge-builders in bringing people to a state of love whenever that state is not in equilibrium even when we are the ones offended and hurt. God wishes the deliverance and salvation of all, our salvation and that of the offender brother or sister. Prophet Ezekiel has the same task, to proclaim the word of repentance to the sinner even when he or she is likely to be angry and wild against the prophet. If the prophet refuses to proclaim and persuade the sinner for repentance, the prophet will be chastised by God. There is no escape for the prophet and for all those in the work of God but to do the will of God as God wants them to do. Of course, even though we are likely to lose our life here on earth in our mission for reconciling our fellow beings, the rewards promised by the God are immeasurably much greater than the loss of our life. Let us be after this reward and continue in our mission of building bridges.
Fr. George
August 28, 2011
Ecstasy and Agony?
Is it possible that the mind of Jesus is so fragile that in the split of a second it changes and takes the opposite direction? If God’s mind works that way, how long can we rely on Him? Last Sunday Peter might have been in ecstasy for being raised to be the chief of staff of Jesus for all time to come. And definitely his companions, the other disciples, might have been at the peak of their feeling of envy and jealousy and animosity towards Peter, especially James and John who wanted the positions next to that of Jesus in His kingdom! For they were not at all saints then as they are now. And they might have reached the peak of their hilarious mood of sweet revenge when Peter was ordered, in today’s gospel, to get behind and was condemned and confined to the company of the Satan! What kind of Jesus is this? In the same breath He raises Simon as Peter, the rock and condemns Peter as the Satan! Jeremiah today also is in the same company, accusing God of enticing him, overpowering him and being prevailed and making him a laughing stock of all. Jeremiah’s problem was that he was made to announce to the people about “violence and destruction”, for which he was hated by all throughout his life. Remember what we reflected last week about the weight of the stewardship for God. God is not of a fragile mind. It is not in the nature of God to make things easy for us who are called to take up the yoke of His stewardship. Jesus rebukes Peter because he happened to be dissuading Jesus from His mission, which was to redeem humanity and achieve glory for it through His suffering, death and glorification. Peter and we are called upon to know the ways of God’s working, to know the righteousness of God, which always goes beyond and above the righteousness of the Pharisees and may be of us. It definitely goes beyond the justice system we have devised for the world. God’s righteousness may sometimes invite us to become the laughing stock of the world. However, it is in the nature of God, as realized by Jeremiah, to be with us and behind us like “a dread warrior in order that our persecutors will stumble and that they will not prevail”! (Jeremiah 20:11) That is the meaning of what Jesus said “be not afraid, I will be with you till the end of time”! That is God and once we meet this God of Jeremiah we are likely to join him to “sing to the Lord; to praise the Lord. For He has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers” (Jeremiah 20:13)
Fr. George
August 21, 2011
Who is Jesus?
Some call Jesus a superstar, some a prophet, a good person, a spiritual person, a historic figure, some even a fake god, creation of some dreaming minds and, of course, some as the Lord and Master. We are living in a world with sort of unlimited freedom to say whatever we want, to hold on to whatever we like and also to remain totally disconnected to our environment, to our routes, families, faith practices, churches and so on. Hence there is no serious voice to dispute you if you hold on to whatever position you want on Jesus. However, it will be good and salutary for each of us to find an answer to the question of Jesus to His disciples: “who do you think that I am?” We need to find the answer in the silence of our heart and tell that to Jesus Himself. The intensity or shallowness of our faith in Jesus will depend on that answer. In reality we need to be in relation with Jesus and the answer to the question is that which defines our relationship with Him. Just like Jesus said to Peter, this answer does not come to us automatically. Only the Spirit of God can give us the insight, the answer and the courage to hold on to that answer in life. The stewardship the Lord is likely to entrust to us depends on our answer, just like He made Peter the head of His Church because of the greatness of the answer Peter gave. According to the standards of this world the Lord’s stewardship is not likely to be easy and light to any of us, just like it was not easy for Peter and his companions. However, once we are in His stewardship, we will also be heirs of His promise that He would be with us always, till the end of times. Let us search for an answer and be blessed to be in the stewardship of the Lord and in His company.
Fr. George
August 14, 2011
Welcome to the Kingdom!
The Kingdom of God is open to all and we do not have any business to deny to any. It is God’s business. Prophet Isaiah calls for justice and doing what is right. We have to bear in mind that what is right for God may not look right for us. However, we do not have a choice in this matter, what is right for God should necessarily be right for us and God’s righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and all others in the world, including our own. Difference of virtue from sin depends on the acceptance or rejection of God’s righteousness. In other words, we do not have an option to prevent the Kingdom of God from coming and God’s will from being established on earth as it is in heaven. Though we pray for the kingdom and for the will of God to come, in our heart we do not like that happen. When that happens there will be no distinction between the Gentile and the “Believer”, between the citizen and the immigrant, between the householder and the wanderer. Everyone is included in the Kingdom and is welcomed by God. That is what Paul tells today in the letter to the Romans. He takes pride in being the apostle of the gentiles. That is what Jesus declares today through His action of healing the child of the “outsider”. Of course, Jesus employs His customary style of testing the depth of faith in the supplicant for help. Isaiah, years before, had given a place of honor to the foreigner and accommodated him in the house of God. We are the people of God who believe and hope to sit at the banquet table of the Lord along with people from the east and west, from south and north. However, in the heart of heart, we have the feelings of discrimination and we do exclude a good many from our company. May be we need to rethink and re-charter our path towards salvation.
Fr. George
August 7, 2011
The Sound of Silence!
Prophet Elijah looked for God in the storm, earthquake and fire and did not find in any. None of them frightened him either. Then came a dead silence, which also is frightening for some. However, Elijah heard the ‘sound’ of silence in which was God and before that God he covered his face out of fear, awe and reverence, and waited for God’s voice speaking to him. And God spoke terrifying things against the people of Israel. Prophet Elijah in today’s incident and St. Paul at the time of writing today’s portion of the letter to the Romans were in the same state of mind in their concern for the people of Israel. Both saw the great privileges Israel had, the adoption as children of God, the glory of the covenants, the law, the worship, the promises, the Patriarchs and finally from them the coming of the Messiah. Both Elijah and Paul were in anguish for the people of Israel because of their rejection of God, their straying away from the true and Almighty God! Both were men who discovered their God in deep silence and they were lamenting because the Israelites refused to find their God in the same place, because they refused to be in silence and in true search. In the gospel incident of the day Jesus withdrew himself into deep silence on the mountain, into the deep darkness of the night and found His God there and was in communion with Him and from that communion he wakes up early in the morning and comes to the disciples who were in the dark and in great distress and commotion just because they too refused to meet their God in silence. From His silence Jesus emerges and takes away the darkness and fear from the disciples. He even makes Peter walk on the water. But Peter too was feeble in heart and begins to sink and then calls out to the Lord in total humility and dependence for salvation. From today’s bible lessons we need to learn the importance of silence in order to find our God, the necessity to totally surrender to Him for our deliverance and the need for trusting that our God is a saving God and in Him we are always and forever safe!
Fr. George
July 31, 2011
The Seashore Barbeque!
Apparently Jesus had great human skills in baking food. He had a seashore barbeque with fish and bread baked when the disciples came back from the big catch. Definitely it was an expression of His knowledge and concern for basic human needs. The disciples were hungry not only because of the long night hours in the sea but also because of the frustration that they did not make any catch until Jesus appeared. In today’s gospel incident Jesus showed for the first time His great concern for the basic needs of a very large and unmanageable crowd. Once Jesus gets the site of human need like hunger and thirst, He could not pull Himself away from that site until that need is satisfied. The good news is that this Jesus is our Lord and Master and it is His business and resolve to care for us. In today’s supposedly deserted seashore Jesus took the disciples away from the crowd in order to have a much needed rest from the hectic work they were in for a few weeks, going around towns and villages proclaiming the good news and healing the sick. However, the crowd would not let them alone. Jesus does not chase them away nor shows any signs of displeasure. Instead He thinks about their condition of hunger and thirst and its consequences. He seems to be asking the disciples for the impossible. Probably the disciples themselves might have been searching for themselves and came to know that one little boy had five loaves of bread and two fish and they might have thought about borrowing or buying some from him. And so they tell Jesus that this much is the only food available at this deserted spot. Jesus took it and prays the grace and gives for distribution. Without anyone noticing, the miracle of bread takes places and they even collect the left over in plenty, twelve baskets full! It was just like our summer barbeques, more than enough to eat and plenty left over. It was the five loaves lent by the little boy that enabled Jesus to feed the five thousand plus and this is what we need to remember today, namely, God wants our mite in order to manifest His Might! Are you ready to lend?
Fr. George
July 24, 2011
Remain Perspiring!
Solomon could have asked God anything under the Sun and he would have got it. But he chose to ask only for wisdom and discernment and God was so pleased with Solomon’s prayer that He gave him everything imaginable and desirable under the Sun. He gave him wisdom in such abundance that no one ever lived before or after as wise as Solomon. In addition God gave him wealth, fame, power, dominion and also plenty of women as wives. All those were gifts of God inherited through his father, king David. He did not perspire to inherit them. For a while he did perspire to keep them and employ them and he is still known as the wisest man ever lived on earth. However, his perspiration did not continue. He did not keep the required level of intimacy with God as his father used to do. Solomon allowed himself to be too much distracted and swayed by the women he married from various regions of his dominion, which resulted in his drifting away from God and His ways. Consequently his kingdom did not remain united, his family did not remain united and his end was not that glorious. The intimacy once established with God needs to be maintained. God did not withdraw his blessings but Solomon refused to enjoy them because he allowed himself to be distracted. He had a treasure, which he did not take the trouble to keep and maintain. In today’s gospel Jesus is introducing a few treasure hunters. He teaches us that in order to acquire something, which is truly valuable, we may have to discard all others which are of less value. That is what these treasure hunters do as presented. For them it was a prolonged search and finally when they really hit upon the treasure they discarded every other thing they had and Jesus categorically states that the kingdom of God is that great treasure. We need to be continually in perspiration to keep possessing this treasure. There is no substitute for perseverance. What we need to do is to surrender totally to Grace, to the Spirit and let the Spirit take over us.
Fr. George
July 17, 2011
Seeds vs Weeds!
Once again we have the Farmer and the seeds and the farm techniques at odds with the regular farmers. This Farmer sows good seeds and the enemy stealthily sows also weeds among the seeds and they both come up and the workers are upset and they want to weed out and free the seeds. But the Farmer says no! He allows the children of the kingdom and the children of the evil one to grow together. If the workers attempt to weed out the children of the evil one, they are likely to injure or destroy the children of the kingdom and the so the Son of man wants both these groups to grow together. This has been the story of man from the very beginning of human existence. There were many attempts in human history to weed out and preserve only the so-called good seeds. Unfortunately all those who made such attempts were too hasty to determine what is seed and what is weed and they have proved wrong.The story of most wars fought in history, all the ethnic cleansings, the holocaust, the crusades and so on were sort of attempts to weed out and foster the seeds, and all these attempts had disastrous consequences, which humanity continues to suffer. Basically what Jesus told and is still telling us is that it is not our business to look for the weeds to be destroyed. That is the business of the Creator. In other words, Jesus clearly told us not to judge that we may not be judged. He intends us to strive to become a seed or grow into a seed. In order to be in the process of becoming we must discard the presumption that we are already the seeds. It is easy to judge others bad and unholy. It is very difficult to be or even attempting to become holy and good. Jesus tells us to be in this process of becoming holy and not to brand others bad and unholy and not to take upon ourselves the task of cleansing others. This is because we are the ones who need cleansing and sanctification in order that we may be children of the Kingdom in the final counting. We need to work hard and struggle, even during summer!
Fr. George
July 10, 2011
Unlimited Generosity
Those among us who at any time happened to be a farmer or have done some sort of farming activity are likely to frown at today’s sower of Jesus. Apparently this sower is very callous and careless to sow the seeds on the wayside, on the rocks and among the thorn bushes. A prudent farmer is not likely to waste his precious seeds on these places; instead, he would sow only on the good and fertile ground in order that all that he sows produce good harvest for him. However, Jesus is introducing a farmer par excellent, a master farmer who knows what he does. He is also a rich farmer with abundant supply of seeds. Hence He sows generously putting a challenge to the seeds to struggle and survive wherever they are sown. In the nature seeds manifest such instinct of struggle and survival and we find them sprouting and thriving in extremely difficult surroundings. Some of the tallest trees in the tropics pass through such great challenges and not only survive but they often master their surroundings and sometimes even dominate. Such is the capacity given by the creator to the seeds. We too happen to be the seed of this creator God and He has put some of us in very congenial and fertile places and others in the most difficult for survival environments. It is left to the seeds to thrive where they are planted. The sower has definitely given the seed the required skill and stamina to survive. The choice is of the seed to struggle or to give up. Definitely this sower has no intention of wasting His seeds. That is what He makes clear in the prophesy of Isaiah, who says: “my word that goes out from my mouth shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it”. Let us try to decide what measure we must yield, a hundredfold, sixty or thirty or no yield at all, making use of the fertile ground the creator has allotted to us.
Fr. George
July 3, 2011
You Are Not Alone
All humans carry burdens; some light, some heavy, some for a while, others forever, sometimes necessary burdens and often unnecessary. God has given us the capacity to increase or to decrease the weight of our burdens. God has created our mind with unlimited capacities. In fact, most humans do not use even ten percent of it. For us who believe in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit He sends this capacity is raised to the level of infinity. Once we learn to make use of this God-given capacity of our minds we will know better to manage our burdens. That knowledge will enlighten us with the fact that a burden which we cannot shoulder will not come to us and that our mind can rise to the occasion to carry whatever burden that comes to us. If we truly give heed to the call of Jesus to put our burdens on Him we will really enjoy carrying the yoke of Jesus, which is easy and which will make our burden light. For this we should have the same attitude Jesus had, that of humility and gentleness. These qualities are likely to take away our attention from our obsessions, which are often self-centered. We happen to be too much engrossed in our own self that we refuse to look around. Once we are immersed in our own self we feel that we are the only ones with heavy burdens. Once we break the shell of selfishness and come out and look around we will realize that we are not alone. If we look intently we are likely to know that others carry much heavier burden than us. When this realization comes to us and when we become truly humble and gentle it is likely that our minds move toward others and we will be inclined to give a helping hand to those who carry heavier burdens than that of ours. This movement of the mind away from self and towards others is what we call love. Once we enter into this sphere of love and sharing and bearing with one another we enter the realm of communion. True communion with our brothers and sisters will lead us to communion with God. All these put together is bliss, which is equivalent to heaven. It is within our capacity to create this heaven on earth. Why don’t we try?
Fr. George
June 26, 2011
Corpus Christi
“Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” This is the most uncompromising position of Jesus in his discussion on the Eucharist. Because of this stand many decided to leave the fold of Jesus. But He never cared to call them back. Instead he reiterated His position and told the disciples who chose to remain with Him that they could also walk away and that there was no compromise on what He said. This position of Jesus scandalized many in His earthly time, it did scandalize many in the following centuries, and it still does scandalize many today. It is disputable if a large number of true believers today fully take the words of Jesus seriously. Nobody could be faulted for this kind of massive disbelief because, as many of the statements and teachings of Jesus are, this is the most unbelievable and most unpalatable and perhaps the most unintelligible one. The only response we possibly can have is to believe blindly and that is what most of us do and never ever drive into our mind the idea that it is a symbolic expression. We believe because Jesus said this and it is His promise and He hadn’t yet made any false promises. If Jesus said this, it must be true because Jesus is the Truth. Jesus of Nazareth was the incarnation of God - Word made flesh, to be Immanuel with humans and it is His will and devise to give Himself totally to us and the Eucharist is His way of giving Himself totally to us. He gives us His body and blood and transforms us into His body and blood and in this process we the believers become one body, the Body of Christ! This is what St. Paul tells us today in the 1 Corinthians: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread”. When we celebrate the feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus, Corpus Christi, let us be reminded of the fact that we are the Corpus Christi!
Fr. George
June 19, 2011
Trinity in Unity
“In the beginning the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters”. This is the first sentence of the Bible, describing the ‘lonely’ (?) existence of God! In the dialogue with Moses God reveals that He does not have a name. Many humans tried to name or describe God. One such description is “God is love”! The other philosophical descriptions given to God include Unum, Verum, Bonum meaning One, Truth and Goodness. All these attributes are correct for God. When anyone says that God is love a question arises: is it possible to love in a void, in loneliness? It is our experience that to love we need someone or something as an object. We cannot simply love nothingness. This should be true also for God. In that context the Trinity becomes very real, God needed more than one person to love, to be love, to be in love and to be loved. Thus, in the Trinity love proceeds from the Father to the Son and that process is personified in the Spirit and so Father, Son and the Spirit together is the Trinity, but one and only one God. Let us be reminded that we are trying to comprehend the incomprehensible. Hence, if we are confused now, we are in the right path. We are trying to catch up with the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, One God, three in person, Trinity in unity, whose feast we celebrate this weekend. In place of a name for Himself, God describes Himself to Moses: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Genesis 34:6). It is this God that begins the process of love. Love proceeds from God, He pours out love, gives love and in turn He receives love and He shares love. That is the essence of God’s life. Love that comes from God is ever flowing, it is a never ending revolution and this revolution is our God, not up there, but dwelling in us and we dwelling in it, Trinity is our home wherein we live. Jesus Christ came down to lead us back to this love. St. Paul gives us the beautiful and very meaning Trinitarian blessing as part of his every writing, which we try to receive every now and then especially during our liturgy: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Corinthians 13:13). Amen!
Fr. George
June 12, 2011
Baton Change
For thirty years Jesus groomed Himself and tried to know and be united with God. Then for three years He was with the disciples constantly, walking with them, giving lessons on the new way, on the kingdom, eating, praying, and most often sleeping in the same tends and available dwellings. He was a continuous physical presence with them except, may be, the times He withdrew to lonely places to pray and be with the Father. After His resurrection Jesus appeared to them on and off, not a constant physical presence but a strong assurance that He was with them. During the appearances He reinforced their faith in Him and reminded them all that He taught. However, their grasping the message of the kingdom was the minimum. On the day of Ascension the physical presence was totally taken away and for ten days they were in the dark, shut in and hiding and may be praying out of fear and uncertainty. Jesus gave them the Spirit by breathing over them before His departure. However, the Spirit did not take charge but remained dormant in them. Then came the outpouring of the Spirit in a big way; the baton changed hands from Jesus to the Spirit and the Spirit was in full charge. All the starting trouble with the disciples was gone, all the barriers were removed, their tongues were loosened, strength and courage came upon them and they came out and began the proclamation. The Spirit moved also the peoples of the world and became the unifying force. All the barriers existed among the peoples of the world like culture, nationality, language, race, color, all of them were removed and everyone received the Spirit and the new message with no such hindrance. That was what happened on the day of Pentecost. All the gifts belonged to the Spirit and they were distributed unequally to people so that each one joining the way becomes a building brick on the living Rock, which is the Church whose head is Christ. All the gifts are given to the Church, which, when used together, become one unified whole, One Body with many members moving united. That was the Church born on the day of Pentecost and we today are still working to build that one Church.
Happy Birthday To You!
Fr. George
June 5, 2011
Invitation To The Parousia
On the day of the Ascension only a few of the disciples of Jesus witnessed His take off to heaven. Before He made His physical disappearance, Jesus commissioned the disciples present to “go and make disciples of all nations”. And Jesus said to them that they would “be His witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth”. This is the mission each of us receives when we are baptized. Jesus only disappeared from our physical visibility, but He is our Emmanuel and that is what He promised us, to be with us always, to the end of the age. The disappearing act was done in the presence of a small group. His incarnation, becoming a man, happened just in the privacy of the Holy Family. But His reappearance, the Parousia, has to be and will be in the presence of great multitudes, to be witnessed by all the men and women borne and lived on earth that is from Adam onwards up to the last one to exist here on earth. We are expecting and moving towards that great event and our task is to enlist more and more people on to this entourage, into this pilgrimage to the Father. Jesus is reappearing to take us home with Him to the Father. Before His coming the Good news about Him has to be proclaimed to the ends of all earth and we are the chosen ones to be His witnesses to this mission. Our assemblies in the church, the grace-filled dining tables and prayer rooms at our homes, our pilgrimages to the shrines, the trouble we take to live and witness to our faith are all occasions when we extend this invitation of Jesus and fulfill the mission we have received at our baptism. By these we try to give hope to a world, which is otherwise groping in the dark, finding no way for hope. Let us try to be alive with the Jesus who promised to be with us till the end of the age and communicate that presence to others. Alleluia!
Fr. George
May 29, 2011
Abiding Presence
In the Acts of the Apostles today the Apostles lay their hands and give the Spirit to the newly baptized. In his first letter St. Peter makes the point that it is better to suffer for doing good rather than suffering in order to do bad things. In the Gospel Jesus begins the teaching on the abiding presence of God in us. All these readings are connected with one theme, namely, our love for Jesus is to be verified by keeping His commandments. Keeping His commandments will result in having an Advocate sent by the Father to abide in us forever, who is the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot see or know. That is the basic difference between a believing Christian and a non-believing worldly person, namely, to have and experience the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. This Spirit will open our eyes to the reality that Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in us and by the same logic we are in Jesus and in the Father. In other words, the Holy Trinity lives in us and we live in the Trinity. This is what we call one with God and that is our call as believers in Jesus. Since every human being is created in the image of God and God’s creation proceeds from His infinite love, God loves and dwells in all humans. The difference of a Christian from others is that the Christian can have this experience because of his/her association with Jesus while the non-Christian does not recognize this reality and the consequent experience. Our call as Christians is to live this experience and give it to the world and invite everyone into the company of the lovers of Christ. The commandments of Jesus are the commandments of love, which is essentially connected with suffering and forgiveness. It is through willing and enduring suffering and unconditional forgiveness practiced by Christians in the world that the world will recognize the love of Christ and His indwelling presence in the Christian. Let us try to be that LOVE in the world!
Fr. George
May 22, 2011
Be Living Stones
What more is desirable in this world than to belong to a chosen race, a holy nation and to share in a priesthood that is also royal? And when we come to know that this choice and belonging make us a living stone in touch with and built into the Living Rock, which is also the precious cornerstone of the living and reigning royalty and divinity forever and ever, we are in the world of bliss and life, a life that is glorious and everlasting. That is our inheritance by belonging to Christ. This privilege of belonging to this holy and royal priesthood is bestowed upon us in order that we may minister to a world weeping and wailing in this valley of tears. Believing is the only means of belonging to this Living Rock and growing into it. This portion seems the most insightful of St. Peter’s teaching and writing. When this teaching comes from St. Peter as the background of the promise of Jesus that He was going in order to prepare places for us in the Father’s house it makes the most desirable and ultimate destination we can ever imagine. To be planted and routed in and connected with the living stone means deriving everything from it/Him. Only when we are so closely and intimately connected with Jesus we will be effective in the exercise of the royal priesthood, which means ministering to the people of this world and making the connections for them, transforming them into such living stones built into the living Church. That is the means by which the church is made a vibrant community. Since each of us is built into the living stone we should necessarily be connected with one another. Thus it is a connection with the Living Rock, which is Jesus Christ, and through Him and in Him are our connections with one another. Let us try to strengthen these connections and consequently our lives.
Fr. George
May 15, 2011
Life’s Abundance
The excitement of and about Easter is subsiding and we are coming back to the daily chorus of life. The readings from the Acts of the Apostles continue to keep us a bit planted in the Easter and Pentecostal experience. The other readings take us to the person of Jesus as the source and the only source of salvation and redemption. In the Gospel Jesus is assuring us of His personal care and attention on us as the Good Shepherd who knows and calls us by name and takes us out to good pastures and leads back safe by walking before and even offering His life in order to save us, His sheep, from the predators. Today’s technological world gives us assurances that our identity is safe with them. However, we have grown enough to realize that it is not at all safe with them. Technology has made communication easy and physical distance between people and places a thing of the past. However, we seldom realize that real communion and fellowship, real depth of relationship and intimacy between people are fast eroding and almost disappearing from our world.We are living like stranded in the wilderness. Predators on our physical and spiritual life are out there in large numbers. Our public undertakings like the healthcare, insurance, police, military and the like give us sort of assurance that we are safe, and we do know pretty sure how safe we are therein! Jesus is offering us the other side of the surety, which is known to be the real and everlasting. The only visible expression of this reality is the Church, the living body of Christ. The more we try to make this body truly living by our physical and active presence and involvement and the more we are attached to this living body the more assurance we have for life everlasting. We need a Living Rock to cling to during this time of ongoing storm and tempest and the continuing presence of the predators. We need to kindle faith in us and try our level best to keep it alive and aflame. It is an ongoing struggle, but worth taking!
Fr. George
May 8, 2011
Journeying In The Dark!
The two disciples on their way to Emmaus were walking during the day and there was sunshine. But they were in the dark. They were arguing and discussing between them all those things that happened in Jerusalem in three days time including the women’s story of resurrection! They were humans and were thinking just like any other human would think and talk. The mysteries of God and the working of God’s mind are not easily grasped by human mind. One can enter into the mystery of God only by opening one’s heart to the heart of God. The first interaction should be heart to heart. That was what happened to the two disciples at the end. First they were dismayed by the ignorance of the traveler who joined them. Then they explained to him rather clearly the problem that eluded their own comprehension and the consequent confusion. Though they had a strange feeling going on in their hearts while He was speaking, they did not have great trust in the words of this stranger who explained the scripture to them. This was because they were supposed to know better the scripture than a stranger to their culture and religion. However, they were concerned about his safety and compassionate toward him and they started being friendly with him. These feelings paved the way for the opening of their hearts for the mysteries of God and when the stranger sat at the table and blessed and broke the bread their eyes were opened and their hearts too, and the resurrection of Jesus unraveled before them as a reality. He was no more a stranger though He disappeared from their sight. With that revelation they forgot themselves and the dangers lurking on the way and ran back to communicate to the others what they experienced, the presence of the risen Lord in their midst. As they reached the fold of the other disciples and began opening their hearts Jesus stood in their midst. Yes, Jesus was grooming and was ‘disciplining’ them into the discipleship of the Risen Lord. The invitation to us and the call to us are for the same type of disciplining and grooming. Let us open our hearts wide.
Fr. George
May 1, 2011
Resurrection is Unbelievable!
Resurrection is unbelievable even today. It was so for the very first disciples, to whom before His crucifixion Jesus told again and again that he would be raised up, the time period in which He would be raised and He was actually raised up at the exact time as foretold and it was reported to them by those who saw Him first and experienced the Risen Jesus. Those who saw the resurrected Christ told the others that they had even touched and felt Him. Still the first disciples could not believe. That is the story of the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, that of St. Thomas the apostle who was away when Jesus appeared for the first time to the other disciples. Those who are very charitable to the doubting Thomas say that it was his intense desire to see his Master again that prompted him to insist on seeing Jesus and putting his finger into his sides and so on. This bunch of unbelieving disciples clearly brings out the nature of Jesus and His attitude to them and to us: infinitely patient and condescending, willing to go with us any number of times and even consenting to their and our childish demands and obstinacies. In His dialogue with St. Thomas He has an advance compliment to us who live in the twenty-first century and still believe in Him that we are blessed for our belief though we haven’t seen. For us too it is not easy to believe and to live with our faith. All the odds are against us and our faith. Our faith is an act of the will and in order to continue believing in the Risen Lord we need to tell ourselves more often than we can tell others that Jesus Christ is risen, that He lives in us, with us and also He lives through us today! That is the mission of every Christian. Let us try to execute that mission and lift Jesus high in this world of darkness and despair!
Fr. George
April 24, 2011
Resurrection – Living Differently!
Resurrection is definitely life in a different way. We have to grow up and above from the emptiness of the tomb, emptiness of death and mortality, from the limitations and confinements to space and time. The growth is into the fullness of life, immortality, all-encompassing and all pervasive existence and into total freedom. In fact, it is the fullness of everything. Everything is new and seen and experienced in a new way. It is a transforming and life changing way. The risen Christ is someone different from the one who carried the cross and ascended Mount Calvary. He has to be seen and experienced differently, as he asked Mary Magdalene. She had to let go of what had been so familiar and ‘embrace’ Jesus in a new way. Since we still continue in our perishable and mortal bodies it is very difficult to think and feel differently. We need to exercise ourselves for this and in order to help us do this exercise Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the Advocate. We have to work on this new experience with the help of this new teacher-Advocate. It is learning everything in the new way. While we continue in our mortal bodies this learning is an ongoing and never ending process until we die and this learning has to be fully experiential, not necessarily satisfying to our intellectual quest but answering to our faith yearnings. We may not have the benefit of the apparitions and visible presence Jesus gave to his disciples and Mary Magdalene and others. We have to content ourselves with the word of God and the inner strength being supplied by the invisible Spirit. It is hard. But it is possible and is highly rewarding and enriching. To us are attributed the words of the Risen Lord addressed to St. Thomas, His apostle: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (John 20:29). Be blessed.
Happy Easter!
Fr. George
April 17, 2011
Were You There?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Or where was I when they did that? It’s good that we ask these questions. When we listen to the passion narrative on Palm Sunday, which is also the Passion Sunday, we listen to stories after stories of betrayal, desertion, ingratitude and cruelty in its peak. First Judas betrayed Him, then Peter, then the whole crowd, a good number among them might have received nourishment and healing from Jesus. It is likely that occasionally, if not frequently, we could locate ourselves in the company of any of these. Interestingly, the first of the Passion narrative comes on Palm Sunday when Jesus was proclaimed and acclaimed as the King, the Son of the most High God, son of David and so on. On the one hand we see the bottom of the pit and on the other we have the peak of glory. Jesus is at both the ends and Jesus was, is and will be with us whenever and wherever we happen to be at these ends. Perhaps that is the greatest lesson of the day. The prophesy of Isaiah today is also fulfilled: “The Lord has given me the tongue of a teacher to sustain the weary”. And the lesson the Teacher gives today is that it is man’s call and destiny to be both at the pinnacle and at the bottom of the pit and through these ups and downs precious lessons of life are learned. Not being rebellious, not turning back even to those who strike at your cheek and pull your beard are doable and they are the steps to attain resurrection and they are the lessons taught by the Teacher, not necessarily through classroom instructions or pulpit preaching but through grinding one’s own life on the mill. This is the significant lesson on the Holy Week.
Fr. George
April 10, 2011
Move the Stone
Today’s gospel story is about giving life back to Lazarus. That was the fulfillment of the prophesy of Ezekiel: “I am going to open your graves and bring you up from your graves, …..I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live”, (Ezekiel 37:12, 14). That was precisely what Jesus did at the grave of Lazarus. That was again proving the words of the psalmist today: “With the Lord there is steadfast love and great power to redeem” (Psalm 130). For John the Evangelist this was another incident to manifest the glory of God and His power to save. There were different stages in this process of the glorification of God. In the beginning Jesus seems to be too slow and a bit indifferent towards the prayer for one whom Jesus loved, made by another two whom also He loved. After considerable delay Jesus dares to go to a hostile territory in order to reach out to the loved ones. He first meets the living and grieving ones. Their grief and sorrow make Jesus visibly disturbed and weep. We see a Jesus who not only cried for us humans but One who cried with us. This was also the occasion when a very important revelation was made, namely, Jesus is the resurrection and life. We find that this visibly weeping Jesus calls Lazarus back to life from his grave. One puzzling thing here was that the One Who put life back into a dead person wanted the help of others to move the stone from the mouth of the cave in which the body of Lazarus was laid to rest. This mighty God is still waiting at our door that we go with Him to move the stones. There are many mouths waiting to be fed today, many in the street and refugee camps looking for rescue and a home to live, many tortured in battlefields to be liberated, many in the gutters to be lifted up, many sick to be healed, many blind looking for sight, many Samaritans thirsting for Living Water, many wanting to be fellow witnesses to see the transfiguration, many being tempted in the wilderness of life. As stewards and dispensers of God’s treasury and as anointed ones to be sent on His mission, are we ready for the mission? This is Share Lent Sunday. This is the fifth Sunday when we pool our sacrificial Lenten offerings for the needy of the world. Are we ready to be called and be sent on the mission!
Fr. George
April 3, 2011
Sight, Insight And Belief
Today we have another story of discovering Jesus and believing in Him. The same story of the blind man makes some more blind and hard-hearted while it gives sight to him and makes him insightful. Earlier the blind man might have heard of Jesus but not seen Him. The people including the Pharisees who were with Jesus had been not only hearing Him but also seeing, yet did not believing. Now they have another incident which is visible, experienced, testified, proven and verified with no possibility of any ambiguity or doubt, and still the leaders are trying to find reasons and alibis for not accepting such a proven fact and to believe in the One who did it. On his part the blind man who received sight not only believed in Jesus but even defends Him in spite of the fact that the threat of expulsion from the community was impending on him. For this he was cast out from the community. All possible happening connected with a faith conversion are present in this drama: someone is gradually guided to believe, who then confesses the faith, proclaims it, fights for it, gets convicted and ostracized or killed.Wherever adults are received and scrutinized the baptism, the very same biblical passages are read every year of the liturgical cycle precisely to make them understand that this is the same process they have to undergo and that they may have to face the same music with more or less intensity and punch. Faith commitment to Jesus is rewarding, but also costly. It can cost you your very life and so you need real courage, and much more courageous to be a Catholic because here the stakes are more severe. Just like Jesus was crucified because of His good works, miracles and for the astounding words, Catholic church also is haunted for its rootedness in faith, for its refusal to compromise and go with the wind, for its solid and consistent teaching, for its most organized presence and action in the world and for having only one visible leader and only one head, Christ Jesus. Hence you need courage and determination to be and remain a Catholic. Check if you have it!
Fr. George
March 27, 2011
Harden Not Your Hearts
The story of the Samaritan woman is a clear illustration of God’s dealing or behavior with humans, His children. The meeting of Jesus with the woman was not accidental or casual; it was preplanned and purposeful. All the readings today reflect the attitude of God towards His sinning children: it is always filled with compassion and love. At Massah and Meribah God shows His extreme forbearance and compassion toward a stiff-necked people who would never learn any lesson and who would not remember any of the great deeds and miracles God worked for them. Still God shows them mercy and love. St. Paul tells that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Who died for us who were “ungodly” and were still sinners. Jesus had the true account of the sinfulness of the Samaritan woman. He did look into it not to humiliate and condemn her but to bring her to the realization of her own state of mind, to redeem her and to prepare her for a mission. Not only Jesus did not condemn her but He sent her on a mission to proclaim the good news about Himself to the people of her city and she becomes first among the female apostles of Jesus. When we happen to hear these biblical messages there is bit of a little stirring taking place in our hearts but in no time we relapse back to our normal indifference. Here come the words of the psalmist today: “O that you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Do not harden your hearts!” If at all we want to experience the soft touch of God and the many miracles He goes on doing in our lives, we need to keep our hearts soft and tuned and turned to Him. Lent is the time gifted to us by God for the tuning and turning and also to bring out the sweet melodies. Let us be in it right here and now.
Fr. George
March 20, 2011
Change Is Discomfort But Inevitable
Abraham was told to leave his country, his kindred and his father’s house and to settle down in an alien land, totally unknown and with an uncertain future. It might have happened to Abraham just like the Irish people migrated after the potato crisis in Ireland, the British Catholics after the protestant revolution, like the immigrants and refugees landing in the soil of Canada, the Israelites after the destruction of temple in Jerusalem, the Christian converts during the time of persecution in Jerusalem, and so on. It has been happening to millions of people in our own time due to the natural and man-made disasters in the world. May be it is happening to some of us now. At one time or other most of us might have experienced the discomforts of moving and resettling. This discomfort is due to our reluctance to change, to leave the cozy comforts we enjoy. In the design of God moving and change are built into the plan. God wants us to change constantly. In fact, change is part of our biological process. Our body is changing every moment. Our mind, whether we want it or not, is changing constantly. We find it difficult to keep our mind concentrated in one point or issue for a long time. Hence change is built into our system. However, we refuse to make a conscious change especially when we are in a comfortable zone. Look at Peter and party on the mountaintop: they were in a very cozy and comfortable zone. It was a timeless and ecstatic zone and they did not want to leave but wanted to stay permanently. Jesus brings them back to reality, telling them that He had work to do and them too and so must move. The mountain experience came to the three disciples immediately after Peter acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah and Jesus foretelling Peter about his future mission. Jesus through this experience gave the three disciples a foretaste of His glory in which they too would partake, but only after going through their Calvary experience. Let us be willing to sit back, reflect and decide to change and groom ourselves for the ascent of our Calvary before the glorification destined to us. Lent is a good time to begin. Let us begin here and now!
Fr. George
March 13, 2011
The Temptation
The first temptation and the fall happened in Paradise for the first parents. The devil knew best how to enter the heart of the first humans: prompting first to defy God’s commandment by rousing their curiosity to know good and evil and then, of course, to become like God. That curiosity resulted in the loss of paradise and the beginning of all miseries on earth. The temptations of Jesus were manifested in the personification of the devil and his dialogue with Jesus in the wilderness. The devil tempted Jesus with food security, worldly acclaim by manifesting extraordinary powers and acquiring political power. For Jesus, just like it is for us, it was a life-long ordeal throughout His human existence in the body given to Him by Mary. The last temptation to the world and to humanity is yet to come, though severe and “life” threatening temptations are going on and on. So long as humans are on earth these temptations will be there on an increased and intense measure and, as our experience proves, less and less of humans are overcoming while more and more are succumbing to them. We need to find out where we stand. It will be futile trying to do away with temptation altogether. They are bound to happen so long as we continue in our body. We need to live with them and live above them. The means for such living are self denial, mortification, prayer, fasting, penance, charity, abstinence from unhealthy habits like excessive eating, drinking, smoking, taking harmful drugs, indulging too much in pleasures and entertainments, both mental and physical, and trusting in the power of God and His promises to save, and distrusting in our own power proceeding from our presumptions and pride, and entrusting ourselves to the Spirit of God that dwells in us and is willing to lead us as It did with Jesus. Lent is the time we set apart for these and for introspection, interiority, integration and integrity. May the Lord be with you and you with Him in this great endeavor!
Fr. George
March 6, 2011
Our Orientations and Expectations
We have expectations from the people who belong to us and to whom we belong, our parents, children, siblings, cousins, uncles, friends, colleagues and so on. Our feelings and orientations to each of these are not the same. Our expectations from our mom are not the same as from our dad. The expectation of the dad and mom from each of their children too are different. To be brief, our orientations and expectations from and to everyone in life are unique, specific and individualistic. The whole of the Bible including the proclamation of Jesus say the same about our relationship with God and His relationship with us. When we are told to love the Lord your God “with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30), it is this uniqueness in expectation and orientation that is demanded of us. In order to have this uniqueness in our love and dealing with God we need to know the God who knows us by name, who cares for us personally, who fondles each of us as His darling child and who carries us in His hand, huddles us close to His chest whenever we are most in need of Him and whenever we are most in trouble. This God is not the account keeper of our sins but is the Father who loves us unconditionally in spite of our sins and wandering away from Him. Today it is the commandments of this God Moses speaks about, it is the righteousness of this loving Father that St. Paul discusses. It is the will of this Father that Jesus tells us to do in order that we may enter the kingdom. If we make an attempt to know this God in the silence of our heart we will be in His kingdom not only in the world to come but in this world itself, here and now. We are entering Lent. This is the time to sit with God and know Him. We are likely to feel the change we have to bring about in our life. Time is passing; it will not wait for us. Let us be in time before we are out of it.
Fr. George
February 27, 2011
Stop Worrying To Start Living
St. Paul is inviting us to join him as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mystery. We are precisely that. We believe in this call and privilege. We feel uplifted when we read about this and hear the word of God explained to us thus. However, when we are back home, all cares of being a sensitive and sensible son or daughter, a caring wife and mum, a loving husband and father, a responsible sibling, an aging grant parent, a good neighbor, a capable professional, a serious citizen of the country and of the world, and a committed Christian, we are overwhelmed, sometimes suffocated and highly pressurized. All that the Lord speaks, of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field and the assurance of Prophet Isaiah that even if a woman forgets her nursing child God will not forget you, vanish from our mind, and worries and anxieties settle down and boil up in our hearts. In the everyday nitty-gritty situations of life we do not feel such a strong presence of God, our experience of God is not that tangible to believe that He cares and that His hand is there in all that happens to us, that there is a message from God in those who approach us, that we are sent as His messengers to those whom we meet, that there will be light at the end of the tunnel, and that He is still holding on to our hand and smiling at us. We are just flabbergasted when we come to know that our thick friends and close relatives and even our loving spouse have turned inimical and are hatching up plots against us. In the midst of this turmoil, we fail to hear God’s whispering to us: “cheer up and fear not, my child, I am with you”! There is no other remedy than once again listen and comply with God’s whisper through the Prophet: “Be still and know that I am God”! May the Lord crash-land into this stillness in you!
Fr. George
February 20, 2011
Be Holy As Your Father Is!
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells what He wants us to be and to do. Some of those demands of Jesus on us apparently seem impossible like to be perfect and holy as our Father in heaven. Though this ideal looks too lofty for us, Jesus would not have said it if it were impossible. That is, Jesus does not ask us the impossible but just what is possible and in our capacity. The Sermon on the Mount is the good news about a God who is a loving, caring, compassionate, comforting and unconditionally forgiving Father! These attributes of God are the most consoling to humans who are often burdened by the weight of their sin. These Divine attributes also bring with them the great revelation and good news as to who we are: the children of God, destined to be the salt of the earth and light of the world. We are invited to be merciful to other, kind to all and be the love of God on earth even toward your enemies and those who persecute you. We have a natural tendency to excel and be not behind anyone. And Jesus invites us to excel and not even be behind God the Almighty! When we have this invitation and the mighty support for that, why should we be satisfied with lower standards and lesser achievements? The message today from the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament is not different: be holy as the Lord your God is; don’t hate any one; don’t take vengeance or bear grudge against any one and love your neighbor as yourself. The psalmist today sings on the same attributes of God: the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and forgiving all your iniquities. St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians reinforces the dignity we have as children of God telling us that we are the temple of God, which is holy, making the Spirit of God dwell therein. What message more empowering and consoling than this can we imagine? Enjoy it and be happy and the Lord is with you!
Fr. George
February 13, 2011
Freedom and Choice
In the interactions of Jesus on the then existing Jewish laws, which were derived from the book of Deuteronomy given by Moses and the other books of the Pentateuch, some got the impression that Jesus had come to abolish this legal system. This was especially true in His disputes with the Pharisees regarding their imposition of the law upon the people. In today’s Gospel Jesus categorically states that He came not to abolish any law but to fulfill all of them. His dispute with the leaders was about their insistence on keeping the letter of law while they disregarded its spirit and purpose. In His assertion of the law Jesus apparently makes them more strict and harsh. He insists that His followers’ position in heaven is dependent on the manner of keeping the law, in which the most important point is righteousness and Jesus emphasizes that the righteousness of His followers has to surpass that of the Pharisees just to enter the kingdom, that the acceptance of our offerings to God depends on the purity of our mind and the absence of enmity to our brothers and sisters. That means if you keep enmity in your hearts to anyone, you and your gifts are not acceptable to God. His teachings on adultery, divorce and swearing are very serious and in these teachings equality of rights, fair play and welfare of the weaker ones are very clearly visible and there is very little ambiguity in these pronouncements of Jesus and for Jesus all laws are to be obeyed. Paul compliments these teachings of Jesus by saying that this is the wisdom of God, which is different from the wisdom of this world and which is not understood by the rulers of this age. Sirach in the Old Testament reading clarifies this wisdom by saying that humans have the freedom to choose death or life and good or evil. Those with true wisdom are likely to choose life and goodness. Let us try to find out where we stand.
Fr. George
February 6, 2011
Salt and Light!
Inevitably salt is a permanently perpetual squatter on every dining table. It is there not only on the dining table but also in the cupboard closest to every cooking space. Its monetary value is not that high but it is an essential ingredient for everything and anything that we cook. It is essential for taste, for longevity of the items cooked and for preserving things. It has the capacity to purify things. Its essence does not change and it preserves the essence of most things it comes into contact with and because of this capacity it is also associated with loyalty and friendship. In the Semitic religions bargains are sealed with salt because of its nature of immutability. For Christians salt also is a symbol of truth and wisdom. Jesus tells us today that His followers’ function in the world is to be that of salt in all the above respects and more. Though salt is so permeating in all aspects of human living on earth it is the humblest of all substances. It is absolutely invisible in the cookies but also absolutely essential. Our Redeemer Jesus wants all His followers to become this salt to the earth, to humanity. St. Paul in today’s reading comes close to the humility of this substance. He claims that his proclamation was not with the backing of worldly wisdom and eloquence but with the power of the Spirit, which again is visible only to the discerning eye. Jesus also compares our existence on earth with light. Just like salt gives taste and flavor to food, light enables sight and vision. In the process of giving taste and vision the substances which produce these effects vanish. Jesus today invites us to be the salt and light in this world and in the process even to lose our own self. Prophet Isaiah is listing the type of actions which make our light shine. These actions are the acceptable penance before God and they make God to respond to our calls and to our cries. Let us try to make our God respond to us by becoming salt and light on earth.
Fr. George
January 30, 2011
Be Blessed!
The Beatitudes Jesus offered does not get an easy welcome from the ordinary believer. However those really dare to try it find them unbelievably true and inexplicably rewarding and blissful! I am inclined to think that Jesus, in His human existence before the public life, experienced these beatitudes in the context of the small Holy Family in the company of our Blessed Mother Mary and her husband St. Joseph. In spite of the untold miseries and afflictions through which they were living, Jesus might have observed these two other humble and lowly souls really living the beatitudes and He himself was a participant and beneficiary of the blissfulness of His human parents. That is why Jesus pronounces these Beatitudes at the very outset of His ministry of proclamation. In this proclamation there is absolutely no ambiguity, no compromise and His offer of the Beatitudes is unconditional. If at all we want to enjoy the company of Jesus we need to make a real and sincere attempt at taking seriously the Beatitudes and living as many of them as possible. By doing so we will enjoy earthly life thoroughly and it is likely to be much more fulfilling. We might even discover the fullness of life on earth and the life to come and preparation for heavenly life may not bother us anymore. Trying out the Beatitudes should be our first steps in the path of discipleship. In fact, they are the footsteps of Jesus. It is walking through the experience of Christ and will be Christ-experience for us. Christ experience means the totality of all that Jesus Christ had gone through as a human person including the glorification of humanity through His resurrection. Thus the Beatitudes are the offer of Christ to walk us through the totality of His experience and so it is worth trying. Let us not hesitate but hasten to try it. Christ be with you!
Fr. George
January 23, 2011
The Ultimate Communion!
Unification of all creation and collecting them together and presenting them to the Father is the ultimate mission of Jesus. Through the mystery of Incarnation Jesus has begun the process, cleared all the way for it. By appointing Apostles and disciples and sending the Holy Spirit to be present with the pilgrim people and the evolving universe – creation, Jesus continues in this mission. For this cause Jesus gave up His life, which was also the way or means for achieving the end and we all know that it was not the end of Jesus; it was the beginning of a glorious journey intended to give glory to all by making all human beings into children of God. Just like the four disciples were called from the Galilean shores, we too are called and enlisted in his army by baptism. Apparently on that day in the small community of Jesus there was unity, expectation and hope for a very bright future. They did have a bright future but not in accordance to their expectations but much more than they could expect or imagine. For this great achievement they had to change a lot, change their orientations, their life style, and their very perception on life. In fact, call to change was the mantra, the beginning of the kingdom Jesus brought in and anyone who claims to be following Jesus must be willing to change not just once but every moment, if needed. May be we will have to redefine the very concept of our vocation as a dad, mom, spouse, son, daughter, a volunteer in the society, a professional, an expert, a consultant and so on. We may have to give up a few of our perceptions and, may be, some of our possessions too – intellectual, spiritual and material. Our long-held beliefs, traditions, way of life, style of functioning and the like might be challenged and, may be, we will have to change. That is the demand of Jesus and that is the cost of discipleship with Him. We are called and anointed to transform this world into the Kingdom of God. This week we pray for the unity of all Christians. Let us not stop there but continue to strive for the unity of all mankind. This unification will be possible only if the world can recognized and accept the unconditional love Jesus brought into this world. In other words, only Jesus can do this miracle and let us be partners with Him. “Thy Kingdom Come!”
Fr. George
January 16, 2011
Vocation
All the readings today, taken together and separately, speak about Vocation – God’s call to individuals. In the gospel the call of Jesus or the purpose of His sending is clarified as “to baptize with fire and to take away the sins of the world”. In the 1st letter to the Corinthians Paul identifies himself as the one called to be the Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. Prophet Isaiah points to each of us as formed by the Lord in the womb to be His servant to bring back to Him Israel, that is, the chosen people of God, Who says that in this servant He will be glorified. Hence our life has a purpose, a meaning and a direction to be a servant of God, which finally culminates in the glorification of God. St. Iranaeus once said: “man fully alive is the glory of God”. Thus God gives us the fullness of life. The psalmist today speaks for us to the Lord: “you have given me ears to hear you and here I am lord to do your will…. And in the assembly of all your people I told the good news that you save us; I have always spoken of your faithfulness and help, about your loyalty and love” (Psalm 40). These biblical passages clarify the agenda for our life in order that we may be saved and that we may be instruments of salvation to many. We have received this mission and vocation in our baptism and we have to continue on this mission so long as we continue here on earth. By fulfilling this mission in response to the call – vocation – of God we ultimately contribute to the glory of God. This mission is being executed in the silence of our heart while we are in union with God in prayer, when we struggle to be honest in our profession, when we take the trouble to make our marriage work, to bring up our children in the way of God, to practice our faith in spite of all odds against it, when we walk the extra mile to be a good neighbor and a good Samaritan, when we glorify Jesus and His Cross though our sufferings, the poverty we may have to go through at times and the like. All these are the means to shine as a disciple and thereby our becoming the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Let us try to be shining and salty!
Fr. George
January 9, 2011
I Have Taken You By Hand
Baptism, as we understand, is for the remission of sin; people born in sin are baptized so that they are saved from their original sin. Jesus was not born in sin. He was, is, and will be the One not born. However, He decided to become a man and was born in time as the Son of the Virgin. He did not have the necessity to undergo a baptism that was given by John the Baptist, which was for the remission of sin and for repentance. Though the Baptist wanted to be baptized by Jesus and was reluctant to give baptism to Jesus, He insisted on it and received baptism. Later in His preaching Jesus spoke about a baptism to be undergone for which He came to the earth. And He wished and prayed that this be done at the earliest. Jesus was referring to the Crucifixion He would undergo later. That was the true baptism Jesus received and that became the source and prototype of our baptism. About this baptism St. Paul is referring in his letter, namely, that we are baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus.Conquest of death and the consequent resurrection was possible only through death. Hence Paul tells us that we are baptized into the death of Christ. Now this baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus enables us to be the heirs of the promise and blessing of God spoken through the Prophet Isaiah: “I have called you in righteousness; I have taken you by hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness”. This was the mission of Jesus and it is the same for all of us who are baptized and born again in Christ. This baptism should remind us of the necessity to constantly search our minds to see if we are truly fulfilling this mission though our very being, our life, words and deeds. Our being should be a continuous and constant act of faith in the promises of Jesus and our actions should essentially include giving this faith and hope to a world that is with no hope and that is chasing after darkness instead of looking at the light that is Jesus.
Fr. George
January 2, 2011
God With Us And His Epiphany
After the day of Christmas we have a series of feasts coming in a raw. The day after Christmas is the Feast of the Holy family. Traditionally this was also the day of St. Stephen’s martyrdom, the first martyr for Christ after His resurrection. On 27th we have John the Apostle and Evangelist. On 28th is the feast of the Holy Innocents. 1st January is the New Year Day, which itself is a big celebration. To this is added the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. And on the 2nd January this year is the Epiphany of the Lord. I am not without my wonder why Christmas day is not the feast of the Holy Family, because it was the day this family was in its most miserable and the most glorious conditions. We need to ponder on each of these feasts. They are significant milestones and guideposts in the life and growth of the Church. Anyone having an issue with God regarding the miseries one has to go through in life and complain about it must first look at the Holy family right from the moments of its formation and through its life on earth. If we take time to be in their journey for a while, we will definitely get directions in our lives. This Sunday we are celebrating the feast of Epiphany, which means the manifestation or better self-manifestation of the Lord. Each year the church has different reading for this feast. Once we have the visit of the wise men from the east; another year we have the wedding feast of Cana; then we have the baptism of the Lord in the Jordan from John the Baptist and a few other instances. All these are instances of the self-manifestation of the Lord to the whole world. Lord God is no more limited to the Jewish community and now not even to Christianity. Lord God is the Lord of all people and of` all creation. Those of us who claim to be knowing the Lord and to be His followers, have in turn, become the manifestation of the Lord - epiphany. Today the world has to see and recognize the Lord in and through the life and being of His followers. Let us try to receive the Epiphany and also to be the epiphany. Wish you
A HAPPY GRACE-FILLED NEW YEAR!
Fr. George
December 26, 2010
An Unsanitary Night!
One mother once approached me for baptizing her seven year old child. I asked why at this age? She said the story of a Christmas. The family did not have time to go to the church on Christmas eve, Christmas night and Christmas day celebrations. When every celebration was over and the church was closed, in the evening they went to the church to have a blessing. The priest did not open the church and said it was too late. The “rudeness” of that priest ended their Catholic life! The reason they could not go to the church for Christmas celebrations was that “the family was important for them”! Christmas is the celebration of an event that happened in a night where there was no snow, no Christmas tree decorations, no big family celebrations, no fruit cake, no eggnog, not even a meal, no Santa, no reindeer, no gift packs, no heating facility in the biting cold, no candle to brighten the thick darkness, and absolutely no Christmas hamper! It was the birth of a Baby in the manger of a filthy, unhygienic and damp cattle shed. The desperate mom did not have a piece of warm cloth even. She had to wrap the baby in swaddling clothes. The preceding moments or hours were filled with uncertainty, confusion, and even anxiety for the mum. Confusion because of the great promises and prophesies made on behalf of this child and the reality of that birth was far from any of these promises. However, she did not lose hope or faith and it happened. There was family! It was a holy family. There was fullness of joy, peace, serenity, happiness and all imaginable non-material blessings in the absolute absence of any material blessing. Today in our so-called developed world there is the fullness of every“THING” material but practically no non“thing” – like happiness, peace, understanding, fellowship, love and forgiveness, caring, trust, hope and so on. These have vanished from our lives and from our families. The almighty dollar is not delivering any of these. The very concept of family has changed and family has become an endangered species. We have even Christmas with no Christ! May be it is not too late to invite Him into our hearts and homes. May be He will have a few deliveries we and our world are badly in need of. Let us try for a
HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
Fr. George
December 19, 2010
A Sign of the Lord your God!
Prophesies about the Messiah are pouring in. Through Prophet Isaiah God is giving a sign to King Ahaz. Paul is referring to the Romans about the promise of God. St. Joseph is consoled, comforted and commissioned to receive and to supervise the fulfillment of God’s promise through generations and through centuries. We are preparing to celebrate the fulfillment of this promise and God’s intervention in history, His presence in human history as one among them as their “Emmanuel”. He comes from a royal lineage with absolutely no signs of royalty and with signs and manners totally contrary to the norms, standards and expectations of one born in the royal family. Instead of being the master coming from the palace He came as a servant and was born in a manger, with no jewels, crowns, thrones and servants, no king and queen as parents. He came with the poor cattle as His companions. He definitely wanted to change the world order. As is the case with the whole of human history, anyone who tries to bring about a change from the Status quo used to be in trouble with the establishment. And that was precisely what happened to Jesus. However, Jesus was different. Though He invited trouble, they could not do away with Him. He did change the course of history. He did change the world order. A world which was bent upon a conquest by might and money was overthrown with poverty, compassion, forgiveness and love. This child born in utter poverty conquered sin and its consequence death and became the first born of resurrection and life. He offered humans everlasting life and never-ending love and the fullness of life and love and peace. Let us jump into his bandwagon and celebrate love. We Christians are called and anointed to celebrate love with our lives. Let us do it. Maranata; Come Lord Jesus!
Fr. George
December 12, 2010
The expected one disappointed most, if not all!
Repeatedly we are reminded of the prophecies about Jesus, His coming, His deeds and actions and the goodies He was supposed to bring. We find that every one of these prophecies is fulfilled. However, we find more disappointments than feelings of fulfillment and satisfaction in His coming. Prophecies were fulfilled but expectations were least satisfied. Perhaps, among the disappointed, or better, among the disillusioned and confused ones, could be counted John the Baptist. Remember his consuming and fiery rhetoric last week: “the axe is lying at the root of the tree, to be cut and thrown into the fire; coming with a winnowing fork and gathering the wheat into the granary and burning the chaff with fire unquenchable”. Everyone was expecting the kingdom to be established here and now on earth, vengeance to be executed against the wicked and the persecutors and rewards distributed to the persecuted and enslaved ones. And we did not see any of these happening. Instead, we found in Jesus a healer, giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, capacity to walk for the lame and cleansing the leper and a friend of the poor, the outcastes, welcoming the sinner, the publican, the prostitute and the like. No wonder, even the Baptist, the very herald of Jesus, was utterly confused and from his jail he sends people to Jesus to inquire if He was the Expected One! We do not know if John was satisfied with the reply Jesus gave. Even if he were not satisfied, Jesus was perfectly satisfied with John and had the greatest of praises Jesus had for anyone on earth. Now what about us? Are we satisfied with our Jesus? Does Jesus fit into the mould we have framed for Him? Are we not disappointed with Jesus when our prayers are not answered then and there and in the same way we ask, when we find our ideas, perceptions, expectations and conveniences are at variance with that of Jesus and His gospel teachings? Advent is the time when the Church prompts us to rethink, look differently as Jesus did and change the course and style in our life. Be assured, just as with John, Jesus feels OK with us! “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight”
Fr. George
December 5, 2010
Fellowship Of Wolf And Lamb
I am Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End. This is what God told us about Himself. We are preparing for Christmas. The first Christmas was the event in which God became man and every year we are celebrating that event at Christmas time. We call it incarnation, that is being born in flesh (bodily form). God made man. That wasn’t the beginning of God nor the birth of God. God is the one with no beginning and no end. Though our secular media and leaders have taken away Christ and Christmas from these celebrations we still celebrate, if not all, those of us who have a remnant of faith. Even Christian agencies find it convenient to banish Christ from Christmas and install there the HOLY holiday. We call Christ Prince of Peace. All the prophesies about His coming were leading to a reign of God, which in effect, is a reign of peace. It was in this context of the reign of God we come across the wolf living with the lamb, the leopard lying with the kid, the calf and the lion and the bear grazing together. There will be the fullness of peace, happiness and the fullness of life itself. Christians are trying to hold on to this hope and prophecy for the future and work it out in the present. They never preach any ill will or hatred to anyone. They are trying to love people through word and deed and, to the extend humanly possible, live that life of love. It is difficult to understand why anyone should try to wipe Christ and Christianity and convert this world into Godlessness. The secular society presumes to be building up a world from which inequality, discrimination, poverty, aggression, war and the like are wiped out. Without giving a strong reason or foundation this presumption will remain a wishful thinking. Christianity, on the other hand, is trying to build up such a world with the vision and teaching that all human beings are the children of God and belong to the same family. Humans who have a deep yearning for infinity need something called the Absolute, which we call God. The secular society does not have such a vision or foundation and their attempts are apparently to build the castle in the air or on illusions. As people of God and as believers in Jesus Christ and His resurrection, let us continue to give hope and love to the world, which Jesus gave us and build on this foundation. We need to struggle though all the odds are against us. Let us continue to pray: Maranatha – Come Lord Jesus Christ!
Fr. George
November 28, 2010
Dreams For Peace!
Advent is right here, a new beginning for the faith community. However, we are not free from the hangover of the end of the year. Our readings for the day are still about the ends, about the need to be dreaming or having visions regarding the establishing the Lord’s house on the high mountains and for establishing peace forever. We need to dream about beating the swords into plough shares and spears into pruning hooks and no nation lifting sword against another. Paul calls us to awake from our sleep and Jesus has the same message reinforced to be vigilant and watchful against the intrusion of the thief. And Advent is the time we prepare ourselves to welcome the Prince of Peace. Let us try to do it. It is pertinent to listen to Jesus when He speaks about the activities of the people till Noah entered the ark. Just try to have a reflection on our own actions and preparations before Christmas. We invest quite a bit of our time, talent and wealth in decorating and modifying our houses and surroundings, our trees and collecting gifts for everyone. All these we do in the name of Christmas, though some of us shy away from that word, substituting it with holidays, which is equal to taking away Christ from Christmas. While we listen to Paul’s call for waking from our sleep it is good to think seriously if we have Christ for our Christmas and Christ in our everyday life. If we fail to participate in the liturgy on Sundays and on Christmas day giving the excuse that we are busy and have no time for God, perhaps we are probably behaving, and may even end up like the people of Noah’s days. Advent is the period of our moving toward the end of a year and preparing for the New Year. It is worth thinking if we have given the right priorities during the year 2010, if we have given our time, talent and treasure judiciously to our family, our church and the society. This is also a time we need to plan for the year 2011 and order our priorities and call our lives to order and invite the Prince of Peace into our lives and our homes. “Venite, Venite, adoremus Dominum!”
Fr. George
November 21, 2010
Kingdom Reversed!
We cannot but be puzzled at the nature of the kingdom of Jesus and His Kingship. His kingdom is supposed to be populated to a great extend by the transformed humanity. However, Jesus questioned many of the “normal” behavioral patterns of humans on earth, where it is our constant endeavor to strive for earthly wealth, welfare, name, fame, power, positions, glory, honor, pleasure and leisure and the like. Jesus did not prohibit having any of these. But He did not show any fascination for them and said that those who have plenty of these here on earth are likely to be denied or given in a decreased measure in His kingdom and those who have none or less of these are likely to have plenty there. He gave value here on earth to the undesirable poverty, suffering, humiliation, simplicity, meekness, peace-making, purity of heart and the like. He did not extol poverty and suffering as the desirables in life. But He said that those who happen to be poor and enduring suffering here on earth are likely to be enriched and comforted in His kingdom much more than the others. One specialty of earthly achievements is that the more we have the greater is the desire to have still more. In Jesus’ kingdom it is likely to have no more desires! There it is likely to be hundred percent satisfaction! It will be a reversal of the order. Though He had the capacity to acquire power and had many to promote and assist Him to establish a kingdom on earth, He just avoided and evaded them and looked the other direction thereby not growing to the expectations of the people of His time. The people in general and the then authorities in particular got fed up with this “misdirection” in His life and this cost Him His life. We Christians have to be reminded time and again that this is the Jesus Who is our king and Master and it is Him we are following. It was through adhering to this policy and practice that He conquered death and established a kingdom that is everlasting where none of the undesirables here on earth will have a place and all and much more of the desirables and unimaginable will be available in plenty. However, while here on earth His prescription or road direction to the Kingdom is the same as He followed and it seems there is no detour or plan B available. Let Christians, who have ears to hear, listen! THY KINGDOM COME! Have a good day!
Fr. George
November 14, 2010
Is It Time To Retire?
Many of the people who congregate in the church today seem to be “retired”. Many more are “tired”. Hardly anyone gets “re-tired”! A large number among the retired and tired ones are also waiting for the end In most cases this waiting has one similarity with the people of St. Paul’s time when he was writing to the Thessalonians, that is, they were idle, not doing any work and just looking for the Parousia, the second coming of the Lord. Paul did have the same confusions when he wrote the first of his letters, the first letter to the Thessalonians (4:13-18) He thought that the world was coming to an end immediately. However, by the time he wrote the second letter to the Thessalonians he changed his mind and exhorted them not to be idle and went to the extent of telling that those who do not work should not eat. The so-called pensioners among us seem to be people who did the working years ago and earned the benefits of retirement during which period they can afford not to work. In the story of creation God worked six days and rested the seventh day. But He did not stop working. He continues working till this day by taking care, maintaining, repairing, re-creating and renewing His creation and watching over us, His children, every day, every moment. May be the so-called retired people should think about “re-tiring” and be on the way, continuing the race until the Lord appears in one’s life to calls him/her home. In other words, there should not be a time of waiting for death in our lives. Death finally is the business of God and we don’t have to wait for it. What we need to do is to be with God in His act of creating and renewing the face of the earth. We have to do this even when we see the signs of the time. In our time today we see many of the things Jesus prophesied: war, insurrections, nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom, great earthquakes, famines, plagues, dreadful portents and great signs from heaven and even handing you over to synagogues, dragging you to the governors and judges, being betrayed by own kith and kin and put to death for the sake of the name of Jesus. These are already happening. They must happen and will happen. However, we need not wait retired. We need to continue working. Leave to the Lord the business of taking us to the Parousia and let us hasten to be seen by Him when He comes as the vigilant and watchful servant doing the work entrusted. Get up, gird up your loins and get going and be never retired! Happy journey!
Fr. George
November 7, 2010
Communion of Saints
Today’s gospel passage has its puzzles to us also, the people who live in the 21st century. It starts with a tricky question to Jesus to trap Him by the Sadducees who did not believe in a life after death. May be many living in our times, having some shady hope for a life after, may have the same question in their minds. This is because a good number of them have had more than one partner/spouse due to divorce, separation, common law living, promiscuous living, or having more than one spouse. The question is whose wife or husband would be such people? Perhaps a good number of us living here on earth do not want to have another life with the same person. On the other hand for some, if there is a second life they definitely want to have the same person as partner. There are such glorious and not so desirable life experiences in this world. There are also others who are not quite happy with the world order and relationships existing here on earth. Many parents do not like to have a prolonged life with their children and many children may not like any more relations with their one or the other or both parents. Many mother-in-laws and daughters i-in-laws might not be happy to live with these in-Laws anymore and anywhere. This could be said of many relationships here on earth. And ultimately we have our sense of independence as the most cherished value, desiring no dependence or connection with anyone else. Hence if the existing relationship is going to continue, will all on earth want to go to this heaven? Though we try to keep up and cope with this world order, in the heart of heart many of us want this world order to change and a new order to come due to various reasons. Some in many countries boast and claim that they have equality. Most others clamor and fight for equality, equity, equal distribution of wealth, welfare and opportunities. Except time, nothing in this world is equal for all and nothing will ever be equal. The reality is that many of us do not want that equality. That is why some of us have the audacity to declare that there is no negotiation possible on our way of life! Hence the world to come should have a different format, which must satisfy the yearnings of all. That is what Jesus promises in today’s gospel, a new relationship and a better communion! That world essentially has to be much more and beyond all our expectations and for that only we hope and trust in God and pray. Let that be so!
Fr. George
October 31, 2010
“You Overlook People’s Sins”
The Book of Wisdom makes the above statement and that is the truth and because of that truth humanity still continues to exist on earth. And God has been doing this for quite a long, long time. Not only that, God is continually inviting us to come down from the Sycamore Tree, as He did to Zacchaeus who was the chief tax collector of Jericho city. That means he was very rich, prominent in the society and powerful, though he was hated by the Jews leaders, partly because his class of people were branded as sinners and partly due to envy. Zacchaeus was aware of this and so he never chose to mix with the people. He did not know Jesus but heard a lot about Him. There is no proof that he had any intention to join the bandwagon of Jesus. But he was certainly curious to see Jesus and it was sort of an intense desire and determination and so he took steps without being noticed by Jesus and the crowd, His followers. However, Jesus too had His intentions in entering Jericho city, and passing through it. Jesus was always a prowler looking for the outcastes like the tax collectors, Samaritans, prostitutes, lepers, the blind, lame, deaf and dumb and the like. On this journey Jesus stopped at the Sycamore tree and called down Zacchaeus. It was like a lightening shock for Zacchaeus. He never expected Jesus, a respectable and popular leader from the Jewish community, to get in touch with him, a public sinner. Like lightening Zacchaeus came down and on the way the transformation took place in him, becoming a new creation, turning totally away from the past. Zacchaeus was an intelligent man and probably he had unanswered questions in his mind. The total and unconditional acceptance Jesus gave him answered all his questions and he found his way. May be many of us and our young people have unanswered questions in mind. Are we willing to risk being a little closer to God, may be through a retreat, opening up with a spiritual guide, looking for new prayer styles, or shut down all our ‘terrible busy’-ness and simply sit quiet, be still and know that God is God. Let us come down from our Sycamore tree. This our journey need not be as short as that of Zacchaeus from the tree. Today’s Wisdom reading and Psalm 145 are good keepsakes in the knapsack of this journey. Enjoy it. GOODLUCK!
Fr. George
October 24, 2010
Do I Need Any Mercy?
It is a good question. After all why should I be at the mercy of anyone? I am already self-sufficient! We may not say that loud. But our non-verbal demeanor could be eloquent. In the gospel passage of the day the Pharisee apparently is a righteous man, doing all the virtuous and religious things. He not only does these but also considers himself to be virtuous and righteous and much superior and nobler to the tax collector. Apparently Jesus had tribes or sections among the people called Pharisees and Sadducees whom He branded as hypocrites. He accepted their hospitality but most often was at odds with them. They formed the class of nobles in those days and Jesus did not question their nobility but did condemn their pretence and ostentatious claims and behavior. Apparently He approves and compliments the socalled sinner and outcastes. He was more comfortable and hilarious with these than with the other group. These people, including the tax collector of today did not have any pretence about themselves. They knew their lowly status and they knew that they needed their God’s mercy and forgiveness and their prayer for these was very genuine and sometimes heart-renting. The prayer of the tax collector is so real, simple and just undeniable for God. It is at the same time a confession and a plea for mercy and seemingly God accepts the prayer in its totality and sends him home devoid of all his burdens. When he prayed he did two things, he asked for mercy and he knew he was in need of it. Secondly, he said he was a sinner and he meant that. We too pray before God in the Our Father: “forgive us our trespasses”, and in the Hail Mary: “pray for us sinners”. However, how many of us truly believe that our God is listening when we pray and truly and consciously aware of what we pray before God, that we are sinners? Do we truly listen to what the book of Sirach tells, namely, “the Lord will listen to the prayer of the one who is wronged, that the prayer of the humble pierces the clouds, and it will not rest until it reaches its goal?” We need to listen to these and to what St. Paul tells: “the Lord stood by me and gave me strength ….and I was rescued from the lion’s mouth”. Be aware of God’s mercy and come closer to His embrace!
Fr. George
October 17, 2010
Maker of Heaven and Earth is My Help
Today’s messages all centre around the help of the Almighty to the utterly helpless ones. Israel’s army of wanderers was no match to the might of the ruling kings in the land of Cana. The nomadic Israelites did not have the power to conquer these establishments. Time and again, book after book in the Old Testament testify to the might of God which won the battles for Israel and made them heirs of the land as per the promise to Abraham and his descendents. The day long outstretched hands of Moses proclaim the faith of Moses in God’s power and his total trust in that power to win the battle and to win the land. And it did as we learn from the Bible. Psalm 121 is a wonderful expression of the glorification of God’s presence and providence in our lives and if everyone makes it a point to pray this psalm every day morning, the day is likely to be glorious for such ones. How empowering to know that “He who keeps you will not slumber nor sleep”! , that “The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore”! St. Paul is exhorting his disciple Timothy to rely on this empowering. Jesus, through the parable of the uncaring and defiant judge, is again assuring us of the infinite compassion and watchfulness of our God upon His chosen ones. What Jesus wants us is to wait patiently for the appointed time of our God and to continue in obedience to His commandment of love in all its depths and all-encompassing nature. Jesus himself seems not sure if we, the faithful, will be there when He comes. Keeping our faith these days is not easy and we have to strive hard and hold on steadfast. We need to get all the graces God can give us. At least in our case let the lamentation of Jesus not come true. His concern was: “when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
Fr. George
October 10, 2010
The Outcast!
Reaching out to the unreachable, the untouchables were sort of a hobby for Jesus. Highlighting such rare events was sort of a vested interest of evangelist Luke. We get the maximum number of Samaritan stories in Luke’s gospel narratives. Jesus in one occasion said that He was sent to the lost sheep of the Israelites. He also said that He had other sheep. He was looking for the other sheep mostly in Samaria and surroundings. And His mission in Samaria most often amounted to looking for the rejected, the castouts and the forsaken. The ten lepers of today are among the outcasts, nine from among the “holy” people of God. They were cast out because they were unclean and because they were unclean they were “sinners” too! To the great indignation of the Jewish leaders, the Master was on the look out for them in order to heal them, to clean them and to give them their dignity back. Luke’s gospel narrative has two good Samaritans, first the one who nursed the man wounded at the hands of the robbers and here the one who returned to thank God for the healing he received. The story of the latter is highlighted against the indifference and ingratitude of the nine Israelites who were also healed along with this outsider. Jesus and after Him evangelist Luke were inviting the Israelites of their time and us today for an attitudinal change. Often through our attachment or addiction to our traditions and what we call our culture, we are likely to neglect the values that must transcend our cultures and traditions. Jesus was the Prophet of love, forgiveness and allencompassing universality of the brotherhood of mankind because of the Fatherhood of God, He being the father of all humans and creator of all beings. And when He created, everything was good and also holy! It is man’s action that contaminated creation and turned good into bad. Jesus was here on earth to rectify that fault and He has enlisted us to be His partners in this task on earth. If we expect a share in His kingdom, we need to be in partnership with Him here on earth in this task, in nurturing an inclusive culture. It is expensive! There is no alternative and no Plan B! GOODLUCK!
Fr. George
October 3, 2010
The Tiny Mustard Seed!
Faith is the hero of the day and also the pain! Jesus wanted us to believe in the love of God toward us as His children, His compassion, His kindness and the like. In today’s gospel it seems to me that Jesus also wants us to be aware of God’s mighty power, His dominion and infinite supremacy over the creation and over us. That means we cannot just afford to retort to God, to talk back to Him and also we cannot claim any credit for doing anything for God. Look at what Jesus says: even when you come back from the field, tired and totally worn out after a day’s work, you need to put on your apron, prepare the meal and serve the master before you can sit down and eat your meal. Jesus tells that this should be the attitude in life. Of course, those who truly have God experience feel that our God is the one who puts on the apron and serves us our meal, which we did not cook but He cooked. Look at the breakfast table at the shore of the sea of Tiberius for the disciples who did not catch any fish in spite of the full night’s labor. Even when Jesus gives us hints for the right attitude in life and toward God, our God really treats us with greater respect, dignity, benevolence and immense love. In order to understand this dynamics of God’s working we need faith as huge as a mustard seed! It may be a good practice during our family prayer time to take just one mustard seed, look at it intently and show it to our little children and the grownups and to tell them and to ourselves that our God demands from us faith and trust in Him as much or as big as this very mustard seed! Once we grasp, if at all we could do that, the depth and meaning of this little mustard seed, we may not be inclined to complain to God about His inaction in the world and in our lives, about our poverty, sickness and the like. We may know our God better and we will know what our God wants us to be and to do. Faith as little as a mustard seed can move the mountain, can uproot trees and be planted in the sea and what not. God wants us to move the mountains! GOODLUCK!
Fr. George
September 26, 2010
Nobody Loves Money!
According to the Evangelist Luke Jesus said the parable of the rich man and Lazarus to the Pharisees who loved money. Jesus never condemn wealth nor did He distance Himself from rich people. Jesus wanted everyone to become rich in God and with God for which the poor of the world need to be taken along; because the riches of this world also belong to the poor not just as a matter of charity but as a matter of right. May be we do not love money; but all of us love or like or strive for what money can buy. These include all our seeking after power, pleasures, celebrations, feasting and grooming, searching for fame and name, amassing possessions and properties, establishing monuments, foundations and bequest to perpetuate our name and so on. All these form part of our search for eternity or everlasting life. Perhaps the rich man in the parable was under the presumption that his style of life and facilities for it were going to last forever. Surprisingly, in the story of Jesus the rich man does not have a name while the poor man has one. That is sort of a reversal of the order of this world. In this world only the rich man has a name, an address and a specific and significant identity. He lives in the high security area with round the clock watch and ward. He is known and ‘liked’ by many. Whereas, the poor man does not have a name, no place to live, no certainty that he is going to have a meal this day and absolutely uncertain if he has a day after this. He patiently waits for the crumbs to fall from the rich man’s table for which the dogs also are fighting. (Of course, they are not the Canadian dogs!) The poor man seems to be satisfied with the dogs licking and ‘cleaning’ his wounds! In the reversed order of God’s world the poor man alone has a name, a bit cozy, luxurious and obviously envious place to rest and relax, well-cared and protected and lives in unbreachable security zone. And the nameless rich man is in real trouble with absolutely no comfort or consolation to look for forever! The God of prophet Amos has no soft words for those who are at ease and feel secure, those who lie on beds of ivory and launch on their couches, eat lambs and calves, go on drinking the choicest wine and sing idle songs and so on. God wants to send them to exile. Entering into God’s kingdom is still a free gift. However, we must strive our level best and unceasingly to enter in and have a name there! In order to be so let us try not to be bothered even if we do not have a name here on earth!
Fr. George
September 19, 2010
Troubleshooting!
We have this week in the gospel a dishonest steward of a rich man and a group of grain merchants and business community in prophet Amos, which is prowling around to plunder the poor with increased prices and tampered scales and to sell them the sweepings of the wheat. All these acts of an ancient and barbaric people are disgusting to us and presumably, we are living in a civilized country with well-mannered, caring and just people! However, I am not so sure of it, and may be, we need a hard look on ourselves. Apparently Jesus seems to be complimenting the dishonest steward. For whatever reason He did it, we don’t like it. Actually Jesus was praising the man for the worldly wisdom and He wanted to contrast this with the imprudence with which the so-called children of light act in their day to day life. His exhortation is to be prudent and use judiciously the ‘dishonest’ and perishable wealth in this world in order to gain mileage for the world to come, which is going to be more real and the only lasting one. Jesus insists on employing greater prudence in managing the wealth of others than our own. This is because we are certainly accountable and answerable for the wealth of others entrusted to us, whereas, with our own we can afford to be imprudent because we do not have to answer anyone else. The final conclusion of Jesus is that the wealth of this world is definitely perishable and we cannot afford to love and serve it to the detriment of the imperishable and everlasting wealth of the Kingdom. Jesus reinforces His teaching that we here on earth are only stewards and not owners and we will be accountable for whatever we are and whatever we have or we are given. “Be prudent like a serpent and meek like a dove”, if you want to enter the Kingdom!
Fr. George
September 12, 2010
Coming Home!
Conversion and return back to the Father is the most basic tenet of Christianity. This coming back is not something that happens once and for all and then remains forever. It has to be an ever repeated process happening almost every day, every moment in our life. However, we set aside and assign it for “sinners and for the “Gentiles”, considering ourselves as the insiders secured forever. If we consider ourselves so secure, we no longer need a God because apparently God has finished with us. This is not true. Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread. It also means to be touch based with God constantly. As mere humans we cannot be so consciously. However, our attitude toward God of humble dependence and our surrender to Him can, in effect, make this possible. In today’s reading from Exodus we read that God changed His mind. This is a little puzzling to us. However, it is a great courage booster to know that God readily responds to the intercessions and pleadings of humans. When we speak about conversion and returning to the Father, we often presume that it is just a business between me and my God and that’s it. The truth is that it is not. As a result of conversion we receive forgiveness. All that we receive are for giving with increase and that is true also of forgiveness. Today we see in the gospel a Father forgiving a son and inviting another to forgive. Jesus tells this parable to illustrate to us God’s dealing with us. Every child, every human person is in need of forgiveness. It means acceptance back to the love of the father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, neighbor, colleague, boss, subordinate and so on. We can experience forgiveness most intimately through forgiveness received from human persons and it is through such experience we realize and recognize God’s forgiveness. And Jesus makes our forgiving others a condition for getting forgiveness for ourselves. Contrary to the misconception of many, unconditional forgiveness does not necessarily embolden the offender; instead, it melts the hardness of heart and effects lasting change. And forgiveness needs to be essentially and necessarily unconditional and total. God invites us to give forgiveness to our fellow beings and experience the infinite love of God and join the party inside rather than stand out, pining and whining like the elder brother.
Fr. George
September 5, 2010
Housekeeping And Economics!
After the sumptuous banquet the Lord is inviting our attention to a bit of housekeeping, to make calculations into the cost of discipleship and also the stewardship of the universe, which is the household of God. Jesus gives us clear concepts as to how to go about becoming a disciple: we have to make a definite choice. The choice is between Jesus and all other people and things we love and care for. When Jesus says to hate all that are dear to us, He means to have our first option for Him and all others have to be subordinate to this. It is OK even if this option is to cost us our lives. That is because losing this life here on earth is the sure way of gaining the one that is to last forever. This is a difficult choice because the lives here on earth and all that surround it are what we have seen and what we have and are sure. What Jesus does is making promises and He wants us to believe and belief, in reality, has to be blind and does not answer our intellectual queries. In the process of believing Jesus asks us to make simple calculations like the one who plans to build the house and the king who plans for a war. Believing in the life to come is like building the castle and waging a war. There are many uncertainties; yet before we start we need to make our calculations and take the decision. When couples come for booking for wedding some of them tell me that they do not go to the church now but they want to go when the children come because they want their children to live as Catholics. I wonder if they know what they are saying: they desire for their children a life they refuse to live by themselves. And many make children the excuse for not going to the church! It simply means that they refuse to make the calculations the builders should essentially make before they start with the foundations. It is equal to going for a war without taking any weapons. Today’s gospel tells us not to make a fool of ourselves by refusing to pay the cost of discipleship and trying to enter the kingdom costfree. It is all about the economics, oikonomia in Greek, meaning ‘household management’!
Fr. George
August 29, 2010
The Diners’ Club!
Last week we saw the undesignated people from the four corners of the earth coming and sitting at the banquet table. Today we have some details to identify them. The Master is pleased to dine with the ‘sinners’, publicans, and the prostitutes. May be, some of these lost their humanity in the process becoming and being in these ‘professions’. Some of them may want to regain it and for others it is not yet time to rethink. However, Jesus is comfortable with all of them whereby He is inviting everyone of their kind to come in and dine with Him. Jesus saw in each of them the image of God in which they were created and counted them among the children of God. The All Important Me! . We, the ‘decent humans’ are invited by Jesus to fall in line with Him. However, good Christians throughout the centuries has been reluctant to accept the invitation. We do not want to get ‘dirty’! The second precept or rule for discipleship is regarding our partying: “invite for the dinner people who are incapable to call you in return, the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind”. This rule of Jesus also doesn’t get much of a response. And Jesus is very much determined that these people will find a place of honor in the banquet of the Kingdom while He is not sure if the ‘presumed heirs’ will find a place there! May be, this must frighten the good Christians a bit and may be they need to respond to the proclamation: “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven has come” (Matthew 4:17). Again, “…He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). The advice from the wisdom book of Sirach today reflects the same precept of Jesus: “The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favor in the sight of the Lord” (Sirach3:18). Listen to Jesus who tells to sit at the last table in order to be called upon to move to the head table. Jesus is not at all making it easy for us to enter into the Kingdom. We need to struggle. Let us make haste to begin struggling!
Fr. George
August 22, 2010
The All Important Me!
We live in a world today where the only one important is ‘me’! It’s my name, my house, my job, my salary, my convenience, my time, my preference, my privilege, my right, my kingdom!, and what more? There is no other one than me. Through Isaiah God is telling that He is coming to gather all nations and tongues; He promises that they shall see His glory. In a world which is not sure if there is a God and if there is any need of a God, are there any takers for the glory of God? Is that glory greater than my glory here on earth? Surprisingly, hardly anyone has time to pause and find an answer. The letter to the Hebrews speaks about the discipline of God, that God disciplines the one He loves. Are there people today who can tolerate the idea of being disciplined? Is there anyone among us who bothers about our young people who do not care for manners and discipline? Discipline and discipleship have become values of the bye-gone age. Surprisingly Jesus has a different set of rules for the Kingdom, very hard for us to understand and harder to follow: He says that you will be on the front part of a long queue and the one at the other end will be called first; may be, you are well-known, designated heir and a privileged person but are unlikely to be known to the Master; you are likely to find a big lot of unlikely people seated at the banquet table where you may not find a seat; it seems that lot of striving is required to enter the kingdom, that is, pulling out at all the stops and cross sections and doing everything you do not like to do, having only narrow routes and no highways; sitting back and relaxing may not work on the way to the Kingdom; humility, which is equal to full truth, might lead to the kingdom and relying on the bogus pride and working for prestige and comfort here on earth may take you in the opposite direction. You have to be necessarily the keeper of your brother and sister. By all means, Jesus is totally irrational to the people of this generation which has an unwritten but well charted route to get ahead at any cost. “Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last” (Luke 13:30)
Fr. George
August 15, 2010
The Assumption
The dogma on the Assumption of our Mother, Blessed Virgin Mary is a natural consequence of the dogma of the Immaculate Consumption. If Mary had been spared from the blemish of the original sin, it is natural that she should not go through the consequences of original sin. Hence her body was spared from decay, we believe, and that is the dogma on the Assumption. May be we need to understand the meaning of transformation of the body for a life in heaven, what St. Paul speaks about the perishable and imperishable. Probably we will not understand it and all these are going to remain mysteries for us until we will see everything in the new world to which we are destined. However, the path through which Mary travelled while on earth and the path we have to travel are exactly the same. We know for certain that Mary was not spared from any of the human conditions here on earth. She went through all possible human miseries and much more on earth. The only difference is the way she accepted them and always said to God ‘YES, Lord, let your will be done in me’ and the way we accept and often say to God ‘NO God, it is my will that should happen’. In fact, quite often we do not accept many of them; we resist, we try our level best to avoid and evade and if at all we accept we do it in such a way that they become no more rewarding for us, and some walk away from the Church others blame and curse God as the cause of these miseries and accuse Him as having no eyes to see and no ears to hear us! And when blessings and good things happen to us we are inclined to brag at our achievements and our power and never attribute them to God nor think about something like the Magnificat of Mary and the thanksgiving of Elizabeth. All of us pray to Mary for assistance and succor; we should continue to do so. Much more than that we need to look at how she took life and how she lived it, as a gift from God and gave back to God as a tribute in gratitude. Praising and thanking God for everything He does to us and does not do to us are the best way to pray and attain the peace and happiness, which Mary had and which God is offering to us. Try! Good luck!
Fr. George
August 8, 2010
Cheer up, you little flock!
Be happy, the Lord has chosen us as His possession and He is giving us the Kingdom. What we need is to abandon everything to the Lord and have steadfast hope in the Lord. Since it is the mighty God who makes the promise we have every right to feel good and to hope against all apparent hopelessness we experience in this world. Deliverance is definitely coming from the Lord and there is no need for despair. In today’s readings the story of the great deliverance God did to the Israelites who where slaves in Egypt is referred to in the book of Wisdom. The letter to Hebrews is citing the unwavering faith of Abraham, who hoped even when all the odds were against any hope. That is the type of total abandonment we need, giving ourselves totally into the hands of God. We need to feel the blessing about which we sing in today’s psalm: “Blessed the people the Lord has chosen as his heritage”. We need to realize that the “Lord is my Shepherd and I shall not want” (Psalm 23); “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life” (Psalm 27). While we have all these assurances from the Lord, we also need to be reminded of the Lord’s demand that we should be prepared and be at work for and on behalf of Him. (Luke 12:35-37). We need also to be mindful of the mission we have here on earth. Recall the pleading of Abraham with God to save the city finally for the sake of ten righteous ones and God’s very positive response. We need to be among the ten in order that we be the buffer against all the sinfulness in this world and in spite of all these the Lord may save the world for our sake. This is a great responsibility and let us be aware of it and be awakened.
Fr. George
August 1, 2010
“Self”-Sufficiency!
When I preach during wedding celebrations I tell the couples that the moment any one of them starts telling the other: “this is my car, my house, my job, my pride, my prestige, my children” and the like “my”-s, begins the end of their marriage. It is the highest concentration of selfishness, which will eventually ruin life and definitely life together. Today’s reading from Ecclesiastes speaks of this attitude as vanity. Selfishness in itself is not totally bad. In fact, the instinct to preserve the self and care for the self is a gift of the Creator. If we did not have this instinct, we would have done everything in our power to end the life of misery in this world. The Creator has given us the instinct to cling to life to the very end. The attitude to have possessions and of being possessive are all part of this instinct. However, because of this instinct, when we try to exclude everyone else from our life and amass things exclusively for ourselves alone, we go to the extreme. That attitude is what we call “self-centeredness”, which is the unhealthiest and the most destructive attitude we can imagine. Jesus is condemning this attitude. While selfishness could be described as a positive life instinct, greed and self-centeredness are negative and life-denying state of mind. In order to illustrate it Jesus narrates the parable of the rich fool who sought sufficiency in his own self rather than looking it in God. Any kind of sufficiency wherein there is no God is equal to emptiness. A sufficiency with God is the fullness of life. In all those “my” gestures quoted above God is not at all present. The individual takes the attitude “I don’t care”, which is another expression of self-centeredness. When we presume that we do not have time for God, time for others, we are becoming self-centered. The rich fool did not think of sharing his abundance with the “have-nots”. He could not think of the capacity of his land to bring out the produce next year also. If he were to think like that he would not have the need to store for many years and indulge himself in pleasures. This sense of selfsufficiency is also the utmost shape of greed and negative selfishness. Without regard for the other and the big OTHER – God, life is totally insufficient and will never be satiated. Let us try to look at where we stand.
Fr. George
July 25, 2010
You Answered Me!
When I was a young adolescent doing my high school I had a mentor, a holy priest. He had a brilliant brain and with that he had done only extraordinary things. He was sent to a faraway place to take care of a vast mission area to where people were migrating in large number in search of farm lands and work. It was immediately after the World War II when it was almost universal starvation all over. He did not have any source of income and had to make long journey every three month or so to his provincial superior to get something for his sustenance and to his mission work. The provincial might give him something like 500 dollars worth of cash, mostly in the denominations of 2, 5 and 10 rupee bills. This was quite a fortune in those days. He had to travel in trains and buses changing them at the intermediary towns and then walking 8 to 10 miles to his station, taking a day or two to cover a distance of about 300 kilometers. By the time he reaches his station the 500 bugs he received might come down to sometimes 50 or 100. He might meet a number of poor and needy people on the way and would not deny anyone who asked him. It used to be that their needs are more important to him than his. This was his regular practice every time he had money or money’s worth with him. This attitude created sort of a headache for his superiors. First of all, as a professed religious, he did not have the freedom to donate in this manner and so he was violating the rule. Secondly, his projects at the mission suffered, they thought. However, the superiors did not take any drastic action and only after a few years he was replaced. He was not a failure or misfit in his mission. Years after his retirement, when I was doing my theology in the seminary I asked him about this and his reply still rings loud in my ears. He said: “may be 99 of the 100 who ask me are manipulators and liars; there might be one who is genuinely in need; I used to give to the 100 in order that I may not fail the one needy”. I wish and pray if I could be like him. I am not and I think that I cannot be so because of the large numbers knocking at my door almost every day. I am inclined to be judgmental about those asking for help. From the pulpit I even discourage and sometimes I express annoyance at your opening your wallet/purse for the extended hands at the church door and in the church. In the gospel today Jesus is telling us to ask God. I am aware that God responds through us to those asking Him. God’s mind is being opened to me through His responses to Abraham’s repeated pleadings today. Abraham’s behavior in this and last Sunday’s incidences remind me how to be in the service of God and His people. I wish and pray if only I had a heart like that of Abraham and my mentor priest! Good Day to you.
Fr. George
July 18, 2010
Travelling Time!
Today’s two biblical lessons are about travelers and hospitality and also winning bonanza, the Lotto MAX 50 million worth! For Abraham it was summer time and was sitting at the entrance of his tent to cool himself. And there appear three travelers. Without their telling Abraham realizes that they were tired and hungry and thirsty and readily pleads with them to stay awhile with him and to eat a meal and refresh. They too needed it and they readily accept Abraham’s invitation and he prepares a sumptuous meal for those strangers who were not known nor related to him. It was an act of out-going charity and hospitality and Abraham treats them with utmost respect, which in all probability, was his character. As soon as they ate they were ready to go; but they did not forget to give Abraham the most unbelievable, most unexpected and the most precious gift. To us it might look as the greatest of jokes. Their offer was that the hundred year old Abraham will have a son from his ninety year old wife! And it did happen. After their departure Abraham realized that he provided hospitality to the angel messengers of God and he believed what they promised him, though Sarah had her laughter of disbelief. In the gospel today Jesus is the traveler and Martha gives Him hospitality. While she was busy with preparing a meal for Jesus Mary found it convenient and enriching and enchanting to sit with Jesus and to listen to Him. That listening made Mary a life-long follower of Jesus, finding her bliss in Him. Jesus actually did not belittle the work Martha was doing, because that also was important and a must for Jesus; He needed to be fed. However, Jesus complimented Mary for choosing the better one and promised that He wouldn’t take away that portion from her. For Abraham it was the unbelievable bonanza and Mary too it was so. Both these were visited by God as a reward for their hospitality and care. This is summer and extensive travel time. Let us not hesitate welcoming God into our abode. May the Lord be with you!
Fr. George
July 11, 2010
This Is The Answer
We are seeking answers for the numerous problems of the world. Perhaps all the problems are answered in the gospel story of the day, the story of the Good Samaritan. And Moses in the law book he gave is telling us very clearly that this commandment is not too hard for you nor is it too far away, that you do not have to go up to heaven or far across the ocean to hear it or to find it; “the word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart” (Deut. 30:14). The Samaritans and the Jews in other parts of Judea and Palestine were both descendents from Abraham and Jacob. However, those who followed the Pharisaic law believed that those in Samaria were of inferior origin and therefore outcastes and they refused to have any dealings with them and therefore both groups had different temples to worship the same God Yahweh, one in Jerusalem and one in Mount Gerizim in Samaria. This is what we call today apartheid. Many humans take pleasure in seeing others inferior to oneself. Equality is a great claim we make for our thinking and behavior but find it difficult to accept in our heart. In other words, we refuse this law to be written in our hearts as Moses claims and as Jesus wants to teach. If only every human were to regard every other human as a child of God and treat him or her as such, there will be hardly any more strife or division in the world, there will be no cause for war, less need for police and military and little room for greed. Everyone’s needs could be provided. But that is not the world we live in. We all together made it a miserable place to live and we pray in vain to God to change it while we do not want it to be changed and we refuse to do what is possible in our power. The story of the Good Samaritan tells us today the story of the innumerable divisions among humans, divisions - cultural, linguistic, territorial, religious, gender and so on. This has been the story of humanity all the through the centuries before Christ and after Christ. The re-enforcement of this Mosaic Law by Jesus did bring about a change in human thinking and the very birth of Christianity is based on this universal moral law. However, even the hardcore Christian is deficient in its total observance and even in understanding this law. Let us try to look into our own self, our own attitude. Let us try to listen to what we say to others and observe how we behave with them and see if we have an answer to: “Who is my neighbor?”
Fr. George
July 4, 2010
Rejoice With Canada!
We have just concluded the Canada Day. Certainly we had our celebrations, our camping out, enjoying the day off and the like. Today’s reading from Isaiah 6:14-18 about rejoicing with Jerusalem prompts me to say with the prophet: ‘rejoice with Canada and be glad for her, all you love her, rejoice with her in joy,… that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply from her glorious bosom. For thus says the Lord: “I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm, and dandled on her knees….”. God’s word through Isaiah flows like a gentle breeze and refreshes us. Every word in this passage seems to be written by Isaiah for Canadians and there is nothing therein that is not true for them. In fact, the whole story in the entire Bible is written for the people of today and they are living words for us. If only we realize that God is speaking through the Prophet to us and about us today, we need to rejoice and be glad. Of course, we do rejoice and are glad. But do we acknowledge God as the cause for making us glad? Do we really reflect back into our lives and try to see the hand of God which brought us to this day and to this great country? Do we feel the arm of God that carries us and nurses us and the knees of God on which we are dandled? Once we do, we will definitely be prompted to join the psalmist in psalm 66 and say: “Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!.. Give Him glorious praise!....In the gospel we have the choosing and sending of the seventy. We are beneficiaries from those sent by the Lord and through baptism He had also chosen us and commissioned for others and for this country and as Paul says to the Galatians, we are made a new creation, and this Canada is made for us and we are here. Let us try to give our creator a credit for it and let us not forget Him and let us be happy!
Fr. George
June 27, 2010
Follow Me!
God’s ways of calling people for His work are amazing. On the instruction of God to anoint Elisha as his successor, Prophet Elijah looks for him and, when found, castes his mantle over him who was ploughing his filed along with eleven others. It was a sign for Elisha that the mantle of Elijah had fallen on him. However, he was not willing to take up the task immediately. He wanted time to pack up, bid farewell and settle issues and so asked for time. Prophet Elijah clearly knew God’s ways. God once calls you, doesn’t give time to think and decide. It is to be accepted immediately and totally; otherwise you lost, the call and the opportunity. The indifference and unaffected reply of Elijah brought back Elisha to the realization of the intensity and immediacy of God’s call and he did not waste any more time. He just slaughtered the oxen, which were his means of livelihood or what we call today tools of his profession, and using the very wood with which the plough was made as the firewood he baked the meat of the oxen, served and shared it with his friends and left the field, his family and everything and followed prophet Elijah. His transformation story into the prophet of God with added power and punch than what Elijah had is narrated in the book of Kings, which is a very interesting story to read and be inspired and, if you like, be transformed. A replica of the same story is narrated in the gospel, Jesus calling two with immediate effect and rejecting one then and there. God clearly decides whom He wants for His work and whom He does not. What Jesus said about His disciples: “it is I who chose you and not you who chose me” is illustrated in these stories. Hence it is very clear that the choice and call are specifically God’s. What we need to do is to respond immediately, leaving behind all other concerns which we thought were dear to us and that we were indispensible for those tasks. The moment we decide to respond to God’s call, all our concerns become that of God and He makes us free from them. If we can truly believe this fantastic methodology of God’s working, we will be blessed, enjoying His peace and happiness. Of course, we cannot afford to leave behind our crosses. Essentially they need to follow us and we have to follow Him on His way! Bon Voyage!
Fr. George
June 20, 2010
Who Is Jesus, Anyway?
Do we have an answer as to who Jesus is? Probably no! Definitely we may have different answers depending on the time and age of our life we ask the question! The disciples of Jesus had different perspectives and answers for this question. Even though Peter had an answer when Jesus asked the question, he might have changed it many times. If he truly and continuously believed what he said, probably he could not have denied Him three times later on. If the disciples had the same perspective they would not have asked the dump question at the time of His farewell address: “is it now that you are going to establish the kingdom?” For they were looking for an earthly kingdom. Our discipleship of Jesus is and has to be very personal and intimate and each one of us must have a very personal answer for this question and that is not static forever; it will and must change as we grow in intimacy and discipleship and as we follow Jesus closely taking up our cross. Experience of carrying the cross has to give us different feelings, in the beginning may be repulsive, then accepting as inevitable, then gradually beginning to love and then welcoming and finally embracing it passionately and accepting it as blessing. In each of these and other stages the answer to the question: who Jesus is to me, is likely to be different. In the final stage our orientation toward Jesus will grow to the point of identifying our own self with that of Jesus. That is the process of growing into sainthood. On this journey Jesus might be just the Messiah, as Peter said, not fully knowing what that is; He might be the only begotten Son of God, again not realizing what that means; he might be a miracle worker to whom we might look that He may work a miracle for us by a healing or give some other favor; we might even look at Him as a political liberator to save us from this unjust world by overthrowing the ruling powers; or He will be a security personnel to chase away the devil and other powers from our way; sometimes we may find Him as a prophet challenging us and our way of life; again He could be the most desired one in our life, whatever that may mean, in the intimacy of our heart. He could be all, any or many of these. Depending on our discovery, our life will be different, unique and He may become a life-transforming power or influence. The task of discovering who He is to us here and now is ours. May be we need to make this discovery every day in our life. Let us dare to do it in the stillness of our heart and enjoy Him. Best Wishes!
Warm Greetings to and Prayers for all fathers!
Fr. George
June 13, 2010
You Are That One!
Until Prophet Nathan told: “you are that man” (2 Samuel 12:7), king David carried the impression that he was a good man, that whatever he did was right, that justice was always on his side, that he could do with the kingdom and people whatever he wanted, even getting a just, loyal and faithful soldier and householder killed by the enemy by purposefully putting him on the front raw of the battle. It was done in order to steal the soldier’s wife. Since he was king he thought every one of these acts was OK. And through Nathan, God told him that no one of them was OK. It was the same story repeated in the case of Simon, the Pharisee who invited Jesus for the dinner. Until Jesus narrated the story of the two debtors and then his lack of courtesy to Jesus in not giving water for his feet, in not anointing His head and in not welcoming Him at the door, Simon the Pharisee thought that everything with him was OK and that he was the most important person there. Even after the intervention of Jesus the Pharisee and his guests did not seem to be happy with the presence of the “sinful” woman; because, she a sinner was stepping into the premises where a company of “righteous” people were gathering and her presence contaminated the gathering. In their view, Jesus should never have entertained her; he should have dismissed her at the first sight! The story, when it is of someone else makes an interesting reading for us. Could this be our own story? Are there not people among us, or are we not, who do act like King David and Simon, the Pharisee? Does not our “holiness” make us indignant at the sight of “the unholy” people and “prostitutes” at the holy places? Don’t we sometimes challenge, telling them “how dare you to be here, in the house of God, in our midst? Do we ever care to hear or tolerate Nathan telling: “you are that man”? Do we ever look at Jesus at this scene and enter into His mind, seeing the condition of the woman and “lovingly” telling her “your sins are forgiven, go in peace”? Have we ever cared to feel the experience of love through forgiveness the woman had for the first time in her life? We might be making confessions often; but have we ever said after King David: “I have sinner against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13)? And, finally, have we ever met our God and His righteousness and heard from Him: “your sins are forgiven, go in peace”? If we did, we would know what love is!
Fr. George
June 6, 2010
Give Thanks And Break!
Jesus gave thanks and broke the bread and gave to them and said: “this is my body”. He became the bread for us and said to do this in his remembrance. Earlier at the mountainside He ordered the disciples to give food to the five thousand and more and “He took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples”. In the hands of the disciples the bread multiplied and multiplied and multiplied as much as to feed five thousand and more and to gather twelve baskets full! Eucharistia, that is, giving thanks, is to precede any breaking of bread. For Jesus breaking the bread was breaking of His Body. It means giving up of the self; or in other words, becoming bread for all. And Jesus asked us to do it in remembrance of Him. For Jesus this doing was His act of love, an act that continues and remains forever. In order that the world may taste this love, we His followers in turn have to give thanks and be broken and given (up). That is, we need to become the bread, we must become the Eucharistia. This should be what we do whenever we gather together in the church, in the name of Jesus, and extend the effects or fruits of this gathering into the world out there; the world in need of bread, in need of love. This should be the daily miracle the Holy Spirit is sent to perform in our lives, namely, to transform each one of us into the body of Christ to be broken and given. We will be empowered to be so once we truly look up to heaven and give thanks. Then the hunger and thirst of the world will be satiated; we become the body and blood of Christ. We will be transformed into what we eat. Amen.
Fr. George
May 30, 2010
Trinitarian Gods!
We Christians have just one God Who is Trinity! Of course, a bit puzzling. Jesus throughout His teaching referred to a Trinitarian God of Father, Son and the Spirit, Himself referring to as the Son. What the Trinity in unity means still remains the most difficult mystery to penetrate. God will remain a mystery till the end of humanity on earth. Every religion holds its God as the true God. The Semitic religions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity and a few other religions hold that God is a Unity, One, even when that one Reality is explained in terms of Trinity. Most other religions have many gods, Pantheon. We see elements of trinity in some other popular religions also. In Hinduism God is explained as the one original force, ‘Parashakti’, which is not the name of God. However, in popular Hindu cult God is a trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva with different functions assigned to each: Brahma being the creator god, Vishnu the sustainer god and Shiva the destroyer god. Besides, there are umpteen numbers of gods. In fact according to one understanding, each household has a chosen deity of one’s own. There are a thousand names for God, which are chanted as a litany everyday by some devote Hindu families and individuals. Thomistic Christian theology dumped this religion as Pantheism and idol worship. Who finally knows the truth? The Muslim God is known as Allah. Reciting his ninety-nine attributes is one of the devotional practices of the Muslims. Though God has been called in different names, no religion truly names God. This is because God is nameless. No religion truly assigns forms and shapes to God. Normally every religion claims that god is invisible and that no one has seen god. Even in Christianity Jesus was the incarnation of God, that is God took human form and took birth as a human person. He Himself claimed that no one had ever seen God except the Son. Jesus did not tell us how God looks like. It was because God could not be described. So how God will look like when humanity finally meets Him? That is the answerless question and mystery we are exploring just now! However, many have experienced God, like Moses in the burning bushes and voice of God he heard many times, the three disciples at the mountain and innumerable humans who experience and witness to God in their daily life. God is the Reality that is most talked and written about, most denied, most eluding, most inexplicable, most feared and most hoped for. Let us make sure where we fit in this conglomerate, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost! Amen!
Fr. George
May 23, 2010
Happy Birthday!
The day of Pentecost is said to be the birthday of the Church. Hence it is proper that we wish happy birthday to each other, for each of us is a member and all of us together is the Church. Birth of Christ was the epoch-making event that divided the time zone into two, BC and AD, before Christ and (Anno Domini), the Year of the Lord. There are many calendars existing in the world; but this is the one universally known and used by all. The birth of the Church was an event that gave a universal thrust for change of life for humanity. It was not just the birth of Christian spirituality. It was the birth of a new culture which transformed the world, giving a chance of invincibility to human spirit. In the march of humanity set in motion by the birth of the Church slavery gave way to freedom, kingdoms and empires have vanished, civilizations perished. Each of these vanishing gave new impetus to the human spirit that was set in motion by “the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead, dwelling in humans and giving life to their mortal bodies”“in the beginning…the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water. And God said, let there be light” (Genesis 1:2-3). That was the creative Word of God and that very same Spirit of God is still working in the world today. Hence we need not panic at the chaos and confusion that we experience every day, we need not be too much concerned about the news of death and destruction happening over the world. It is possible that one day we too may be swept away by one such event and that will be the invitation to us to be transformed into the new creation. Whatever we do in response to the call of God to add quality to the life of the world now will be our contribution to this Spirit of God working in and with the creation. Hence let us be on the move rather than be static and lose the power and momentum of our life.
Fr. George
May 16, 2010
Ascension And To Memories
Today we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, a disappearance in order to appear again! We hope and wait for His return. We are also growing restless due to the lack of time for living. I invite you back to the memories of an ‘old man’ and to wonder what Christ would see when He will be back after 2000 plus…. years? And let this be the joke of the day!
One evening a grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general. The Grandfather paused awhile and started: 'Well, I was born before Television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill. There were no credit cards, laser beams or ball-point pens. Man had not invented panty hose, air conditioners, dishwashers, cloth dryers. Clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air. We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent. Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of. We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel. And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail a letter and two postcards. You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600; but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon. In my days 'grass' was mowed, 'coke' was a cold drink, 'pot' was something your mother cooked in and 'rock music' was your grandma's lullaby. 'Aids' were helpers in the Principal's office, 'chip' meant a piece of wood, 'hardware' was found in a hardware store and 'software' wasn't even a word. We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions. Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege. We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings. We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios. And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey. Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, 'Sir'. And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, 'Sir.' Your Grandmother and I got married first, and then lived together and had kids. Every family had a father and a mother. We were before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, day-care centers, and group therapy. Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense. Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends. The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam. And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. And, mind you, I am no younger than 59 years! May God Bless you, grandpa!
(Indebted to internet)
May 9, 2010
Peace, The Original
Today’s offer of Jesus as His parting gift is peace; not peace the world gives; it is different, it is unique, it is one He alone can give. The world cannot give true peace. In the name of peace often it gives disturbance, pain, hatred. In the first reading we find people coming from Judea to Antioch and putting on the new converts old burdens. Of course, they were doing it in the name of God. It was the same style Jesus once condemned when He said “for the sake of your tradition you are ignoring the commandments of God”. Inflicting pain on others with satisfaction is what we call sadistic pleasure. The elders of the church denied this to the new ‘Pharisees’ and liberated the people of Antioch and all the Gentile Christians. These elders gave them peace which the Lord promised. In the book of revelation, John is trying to bring the peace of the Lord on a severely persecuted church. He was telling the persecuted ones that at the end of this trial, heaven the New Jerusalem is descending upon them like a clear crystal, having place for all the peoples of the world, the twelve gates for the old Israel and the twelve foundations for the new Israel. That was the way John was trying to bring the peace God alone gives. Jesus in the parting message clearly says that when we have His peace, our hearts will not be troubled and that we will not be afraid. He said He was going to the Father and that He would come back. That is the assurance Jesus wanted us to have and live with. The assurance of the return of Jesus is what gives us peace, a reason to live, an answer to the pain and tribulations here on earth and the enlightenment that this world is not our final abode and there is an end to the tunnel and everlasting light over there. Hence fear not when we hear about earthquake, storms, tornado, cyclone, drought, famine, epidemic, war, terrorism, ecological disaster, and the like. All these are bound to happen before the final dawn of the kingdom. Live fully today fearlessly and in peace and let the Lord take care of tomorrow. Greetings to all Mothers! We praise and thank God for creating you with hearts to love, hands to nurture and strength to endure. May God Bless you!
Fr. George
May 2, 2010
May Crowning
The month of May brings in fond memories, bit of a nostalgia about my childhood days. They were times when there was no television. Radio – the big, spacefilling box and long wires on top of the houses, was the prized possession only of the rich. No highways, no big transportation. Most travel is on LMS (Leg Motor Service)! In the high school days, I used walk six miles to school and six miles back. Every open air area was a soccer field for the kids and they gather there in the evening before sun-set not to see a match but to play. In the game there was fight not among people but for the ball and there was friendship and no tension. Towards the sunset and often in the morning before the school time the rivers and streams, all with plenty of clean and healthy fresh water, are busy places for everyone to swim, to have a free and enlivening bath and for chatting and socializing and, of course, for gossiping! However, in the month of May after the school the children are busy collecting wild flowers from the trees and bushes around the compound boundaries and open fields. This is for decorating the pictures and statues of our Blessed Mother; it is May devotion, continuously for 31 days ending with a big bang on 31st with special meals shared by many families and often with crackers fireworks in every household. It is the summer time and these flowers will last only for a day. Hence it is a month-long engagement for children and sometimes even for adults every evening, an engaging, refreshing, enthusiastic and devoted engagement. It is all for the love our Blessed Mother. Evening is prayer time for the family, a long ordeal for children. You have to be on your knees all the time, Holy Rosary to the Blessed Virgin, devotion to the Sacred Heart, to St. Joseph, to every known saint, to guardian angel and the Archangels and all angels, long prayers for the souls in purgatory, prayers for the family, for the kids, for the elders, for the sick, and so on. In the month of May, in addition, long treatises and a few anecdotes and stories of miracles written by the saints on the Blessed Mother are read out by one and others listen, which is followed by special prayers for each day of May and concluding the whole evening ceremony with a few hymns. Then everyone goes to every elder in the family, say with folded hands “praise be to Jesus Christ”, a hug, a kiss for the children and so on. Then we have the family meal, all together, after which is the family chat time with the day’s stories, events, experiences, etc. Then to bed, happy, relaxed and with a feeling of blessings. It is pretty long day, isn’t it? Yes, with fullness of life, love, relatedness and belonging. The funny thing was that everyone had time, plenty of it, for everything and for everyone!
Fr. George
April 25, 2010
Salutary Tragedies
All of us are shepherds in our own right. That awareness gives us a good feeling. However, to become or grow into a shepherd is not an easy task. It is all the more difficult to become one as Jesus claims to be. He said that a true shepherd is the one who is willing to sacrifice one’s own comforts and even willing to die for the sheep. He not only said this but really did. Shepherding cost Him His life. Since it was so costly He realizes the real worth of every sheep He has and He wouldn’t let anyone to snatch away what is His own. In God’s scheme of sending Him to the world to redeem it there is no sheep that does not belong to Him. And God has His own diverse ways to reach out to the sheep. Some of those ways may seem tragic for the ordinary onlooker. St. Paul the apostle’s life was a series of tragedies. He supervised and masterminded the ‘tragic’ martyrdom of Stephen. Then Paul was knocked down by the Lord, an apparent tragedy. However, that was the door opener for his redemption. After his conversion and personal revelations from the Lord he was looked upon with suspicion by the elders of the Church for a long time. He preached Christ to his own people some of whom initially accepted his message. But later, being instigated by the jealousy and hatred of the Jewish leaders, he was rejected by his own people. He had long periods of silence, seclusion and alienation. All these were tragedies in Paul’s life. However, in and through these tragedies the Lord was grooming him for the great mission to the Gentiles, which was a must for the Church and for the Great Shepherd to reach out to His scattered sheep. The very rejection by his own people and their leaders was the provocation for Paul to look towards the Gentiles and he became their apostle and consequently the apostle to wide open the gates of Christianity to non-Jewish people of the world. Even after becoming the apostle of the Gentiles Paul had no shortage of tragedies. His whole life was a tragedy and out of that tragedy God shaped a brave new world wherein we live now. Hence when tragedies occur in our personal life, in the life of the Church and society it is good to think about the hidden plan or agenda of God and wait patiently for the appropriate time for its revelation to us.
Fr. George
April 18, 2010
Reality, Prescriptions and Directives
In today’s scripture readings we have the Apostles facing the consequences of being disciples of Jesus, victory celebrations in heaven for the Lamb and prescriptions and directives Jesus give to the apostles for the long march in establishing the kingdom. The ‘Councils and the Sanhedrin’ are much more active today than they were in the days of the apostles. The believers are led to greater confusion. Our age is not different from that of the apostles, the only difference is the number of attackers and victims have proportionately or disproportionately increased. However, the destiny, the path, the weapons, the consequences, etc., all remain the same. The Lord had promised lasting peace, which He alone could give, and His constant companionship, since He is living. He is present and His offer of peace continues to be valid. But we need to look for Him and wait patiently for the fulfillment of His promises. We need to have the essential pre-requisites of love as our only weapon, which He repeatedly demanded from Peter and we need to obey His directives of tending and feeding the sheep, that is, caring. And true love is as costly as risking life. That is what Jesus did for the sake of love. That is what Jesus demanded from Peter and party. That is what they finally opted and got. Our end is clear, the kingdom and everlasting life. Our path is love, preceded by unconditional forgiveness. Forgiveness is given to those who do harm to us and it is given to everyone unconditionally and every time, without end. Forgiveness is given to the human beings here on earth and it has to extend to all who do harm to us. We forgive and love everyone because there is no human being who is not a child of God and if so we all humans are brothers and sisters to one another. The only known enemies we need to fight are the devil, the worldly illusions for eternity here on earth and our own self. Let us dare them and let us care for our brothers and sisters and the Lord is with us in our fight and in our attempts to love and care.
Alleluia! He is risen!
Fr. George
April 11, 2010
“Do not doubt, but believe”
It was not Thomas alone that doubted, many among the disciples too doubted and they thought it was not real Jesus, but a ghost. However Jesus accommodated them all into His fold. Apparently they were not trustworthy; yet He trusted them and entrusted to them His Kingdom, His work of proclaiming the good news and redeeming the world. In our times it is not the number of believers that increase but the number of doubters. Those opposed to God, to Christ and the Church are trying to spread the news that ‘may be there is no God; hence why not live without fear and with happiness’. The question you may ask: ‘are these really happy and without fear?’ The answer you get will direct your way. These days the Church and its visible head and Episcopal leaders are in focus for wrong reasons. The media is mad against the church digging into the past, bringing into current focus issues dealt with and settled in accordance with the demands of the times and perceptions of the people.Perhaps the media does not recognize the basic message of Christian proclamation, namely, the focus on forgiveness, call to repent and return and ultimately love as the only driving force. Today, though in public there are utterances of building bridges, working for world peace, tolerance, equity and equality for all, the real agenda that is being worked out is spreading intolerance, hatred, enmity, vengeance, retaliation, retribution and financial gain at the expense and destruction of others. Catholic Church seems to be an easy prey because it never takes an aggressive position even for self defense just like its Lord was silent before His accusers. The consequences might not be different from what happened to Him. We the members of His Body should be aware of this heritage and be prepared. A time may come in our life that we too may deny the Lord and His patrimony to us just like Peter did. Doubts are likely to crop up in our mind like Thomas had. However, we must not forget that the Lord accommodated both. Once we become aware, we too should have the humility of Peter to cry bitterly and of Thomas to confess: My Lord and My God!
Alleluia! He is risen!
Fr. George
April 4, 2010
He Is Victorious
Easter vigil services are rather long, very significant and pregnant with meaning. There are nine readings, two from Genesis (1.1-2.2; 22:1-18), one from Exodus (14:15-31 & 15:1) two from Prophet Isaiah (54-5-14; 55:1-11), one each from Baruch (3:9-15, 32-4:4), Ezekiel (36:15-17, 18-28) and the letter of Paul to Romans (6:3-11) and the gospel. In addition verses from Exodus 15, Isaiah 12 are sung as the psalms. Then we have the psalms 104, 33, 16, 30, 19, 42, 43, 51&118). All these together remind us the salvation history, a history of God’s unfailing love and man’s repeated failure to respond. And still this God continues to be with the humans and is ‘mad’ after them to redeem! These references are cited in order that we may take a bit of our ‘busy time’ and go through this history, which is our own story, and ponder over it. It is also worth thinking if we need to be this much busy or should we not think about our life which really matters. If we could be serious about this when we have still time on our side, it could be salutary and rewarding to pause and to think. In today’s gospel reading we find that the dear disciples of Jesus did not think about pondering a little about the whereabouts of Jesus when they did not locate Him in the tomb where He was laid to rest. They just returned to their homes. Apparently the only one person who looked for him was Mary, the sinner whom the ‘civilized’ society tried to condemn and reject. To the surprise of the same ‘civilized’ society including that of ours the risen Jesus opted to appear first to her and to employ her as the apostle to his dear Apostles. The only reason attributable to this divine plan is that this woman was really converted. She was touched by Love and she recognized and realized the value of that love and her response was a spontaneous one to this unfathomable and definitely ‘undeserving’ love. And her love was blind too! She happens to be the first witness to the life changing event and person for all humans on earth, Jesus Christ the Risen Lord. Let us rejoice with her and try to get a little into her mindset. That will be and should be the response to the call of God to us in baptism.
He is risen, Alleluia
Fr. George
March 28, 2010
Vanquish And Victory
Triumph and trouncing are sides of the same coin. Jesus tries a triumph today, the Palm Sunday and He allows Himself to be trounced on Friday. However, that trouncing was the final one for Jesus before the great triumph which was forever, with absolutely no possibility of a further defeat. On Palm Sunday Jesus is warning us not to be too much taken up by our victories and triumphs, that we need still to fight out many battles and that the final victory is that which matters. Jesus in his trials and tribulations, was a loner, with absolutely no companionship, even forsaken by all His close friends and followers. The consoling thing for us is that in our trials we are never alone; we are never without a direction. We have the model of Jesus and we have His constant and unfailing companionship. The only requirement is that we need to be aware of this presence and we need to recall this presence into our life every now and then. In obedience to the will of the Father, Jesus opted not to rebel, not to turn back, to give His back to those who struck Him, His cheek to those who pulled out His beard, to bear the insults and spitting (Isaiah 50:5-6). Because He behaved like this, God highly exalted Him, gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name Jesus every knee should bend (Philippians 2:9- 10). The people of Jerusalem and those who came from far and wide for the festival, when they were innocent and not loaded or influenced by the indoctrination and instigation of the Jewish leaders, recognized the greatness of Jesus and acknowledged Him as the Messiah and as the son of David. However, when they were under the calumnious intoxication by their leaders, they became blind and became party to the crucifixion of the Innocent. This is the story of Jesus of Nazareth. This has been the story of Christianity and continues to be so. It is the story of every one of us, in one way as the instigator and on the other as the victim. We need to be aware of this and take up our positions in the right spot. Palm Sunday is an invitation. The Lord be with you!
Fr. George
March 21, 2010
A River In The Desert!
Finding a river in desert is something unusual. God is providing one and that’s what Isaiah speaks today. Not only that, even in the wilderness He provides a path for the wanderer and the stray one. In the readings for the catechumens Prophet Ezekiel is prophesying of the opening of the graves by God and bringing those in them up to life again. Jesus was finally the one sent by God to do these things and He was doing them in the hearts and minds of people. He did this and wanted to enable others, all of us, to do the same so that everyone may find a path to life and water to satiate one’s thirst. That is what He did to the woman caught in adultery and Lazarus who was dead and his sisters. All these found their oasis and gushing waters. However, the Pharisees, the so called righteous and ‘law-abiding’ people could not find these sources of water and life because they have closed their hearts and minds to the ways of God. In the challenge of Jesus to them, while responding to their demand against the woman caught in adultery, there was an invitation to them for introspection they ignored it and made themselves unteachable and untouchable by God. They did not have the basic element in them in order to find God and God’s ways, namely, humility. Neither did they have an openness of heart, which would have made them see the true meaning of Law and Prophets. During this Lenten time it is good that we reflect on our own attitudes and see if we allow God to touch us, or are we still in the ghetto where the Pharisees were, trying to stick on to the letter of the law refusing to understand why the law was made and what it really signifies. The unfortunate Pharisees always stood outside, refusing to come in and enjoy the sumptuous meal that Jesus and His brood – the Publicans, the prostitutes, and the like - always enjoyed. And where do we stand, outside the gate or in the banquet hall?
Fr. George
March 14, 2010
Equality Is A Right; Inequality A Choice!
No one in our civilized society would dare to speak against the right of equality. Once we are born into a family we have equal rights as sons and daughters. When we belong to a church or organization we have rights or we try to get them. When we become the citizen of a country, not by birth but by adoption, we are given all the rights of the citizens, though we are new and have grown big in another country. No long-lived or born-citizen would feel safe to utter unwelcome words to the newcomer. That is the type of rights and privileges given to one becoming a citizen. The prodigal son was accepted back into the family by the father with great celebrations because he was and is a son and not because he did or did not do something. Though he did something that was totally unacceptable to the family and its tradition and name, he was received back because he was the son and Jesus was trying to illustrate that anyone who repents and comes back will be welcomed similarly by the Father and there will be festivities in heaven. That is a very consoling message for all of us really feel that we are sinners. However, there is an element in each one of us that makes us feel like the elder brother in the story. That element keeps telling us that we have borne the day’s burden and heat but someone else is getting the credit, that we are not getting the attention we truly deserve, that we are being sidelined for someone not worthy of any attention. Many of us keep this feeling as a sibling, as the member of an organization, as the member of the church and even as citizens. And in our envy and enmity we forget the fact that we are sons and daughters and we forget to live as sons and daughters. That is what the elder brother in the story did by not joining the festivities. Let us ask ourselves if we are living as aliens and strangers in our own home! Let us also ask ourselves if we could be one Jesus is inviting back to home.
Fr. George
March 7, 2010
Change Of Heart
There are two gospel passages we consider this weekend: one the comments of Jesus on the Galileans killed by Pilate coupled with the parable of the barren fig tree; the second, Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman. The latter reading is for the day of the First Scrutiny of the Catechumens. In both these references the theme is of repentance, which basically means for Christians a change of heart, a parting of ways. God is sending us an invitation to change and during Lent we concentrate on this process in a special way. This invitation comes out of God’s compassion and concern for His children in spite of the fact that they are wandering away from Him, they rebel against Him (Genesis story), they are ignorant about Him and that they know not how to respond to His love (The Samaritan woman). God sends this invitation as a saving act and we His children have to respond to Him by making changes in our lives. This change is not something that is achieved once and for all and forever. It has to be a constant process and part of our everyday living. In effect, change of heart and change of ways just mean meeting with God. Every meeting with God is a prompting for change. Conversion is a continuous process in our life with God and for God. It is a way of experiencing God. It was this sort of an experience that the Samaritans at the well of Jacob, Zacchaeus and Matthew, the woman caught in adultery, St. Pater at the miraculous catch of fishes and many others had. They were instances of conversion that happened at encounters with Jesus. The experience of Moses at the burning bushes on the mountain was an encounter with God that changed him into a new person with a new mission. Thus conversion also makes us go on a mission for God. This sense of mission was the effect of all the above conversions and encounters. Let us also desire and pray for a true encounter with Jesus, which may truly convert and send us on a mission for Him. The Lord be with you!
Fr. George
February 28, 2010
Power From Above
In the Old Testament reading from Genesis Abraham is invested with an inheritance. In the gospel we see today God is declaring another inheritance, Jesus as the Beloved of God Whom we humans have to listen. In the beginning of His ministry we find Jesus in full union with the Father in the wilderness. In this forty-day duration meeting or appointment with the Father Jesus got the clear direction of the course of action He had to take for the execution of the mission entrusted to Him by the Father. He worked out that action plan during His active ministry of bringing the Good News and showing to the world the human face of God. Now the time has come for the conclusion of the earthly mission of Jesus. As usual He went again into communion with God on the mountain. For Him prayer was the daily means of communicating with the Father and knowing His will. Since this was a very serious appointment with God with grave consequences, He wanted some witnesses and so took with Him Peter, James and John. The decision Jesus was trying to take was one of life and death. He wanted to be sure of what He was doing and He wanted that to be the right decision. He also wanted a fool-proof confirmation. And Jesus gets that confirmation from every possible source as per the Judaic tradition. On this momentous occasion Moses, the God-chosen leader of the Israelites and Elijah the great one among all prophets appeared with Jesus and they became visible also to the three disciples and into their hearing comes the voice from heaven. A glimpse of the glory awaiting Jesus was also made visible to the disciples. All these put together was the green signal for Jesus to go ahead. As John says in the preambles of his gospel, “He came to what was His own and His own people did not accept Him” (John 1:11). Jesus had finally to accept the fact of this rejection by His own people and this very same rejection and consequent torture and death became the means of saving the people who rejected Him. This Jesus is our God and our guarantee of a resurrection and glorious life. Let us try to understand this mystery vis-à-vis our earthly life. Let us be aware that we are the heirs as sons and daughters of God in and through Jesus. The Lord be with you!
Fr. George
February 21, 2010
Testing Times!
The devil knows best when to strike and what the weak moments in our lives are. He did exactly that to Jesus, Who was in union with the Father in the wilderness not knowing that He passed through forty days. Because of the intensity of the union He did not know hunger and thirst all these forty days. When Jesus came out of His intimate union with the Father His body came back to reality which was one of hunger, thirst and loneliness. This intense prayer was also a preparation for the mission He was to undertake, namely, to redeem humanity from its sinfulness and to conquer death. In His Union with the Father, He was seeking directions in His mission. The devil makes use of the opportunity when Jesus was hungry and a bit confused as to the means and methods of saving humanity and the devil comes with easy solutions and short-cuts! The path the Father had assigned to Jesus was one of endurance, suffering, decay and death, one for being compassionate, gentle, and humble and to be a servant. The devil was tempting Jesus against these and was enticing Him to be the master rather the servant, to exercise political power. In today’s gospel passage we find Jesus resisting all these machinations of the devil. However, we must realize that for Jesus these and the like temptations were a life-long torture and had to struggle to keep Himself on the path assigned to Him by the Father. And here comes our task to be disciples of Jesus, to go through the same process of resisting temptations in life, which is a life-long endeavor, never coming to an end until we die. Lent is the time we must be trying to understand Jesus and His vision and the means by which He saved the world, saved us and we need to follow the same path. Lent is the time we try to get strength and courage for following the path of Jesus. Fasting, prayer and almsgiving are the immediate means for us. This is also the right time for resolving to get rid of our bad habits and practices like smoking, excessive drinking, laziness in our religious observances and lack of concern and care for our fellow human beings. Let us try to be in union with Jesus and on His track. The Lord be with you!
Fr. George
February 14, 2010
Unbelievable Blessings!
For Matthew the sermon of Blessings was on the mountain and for Luke it was on a level place. However the message is the same: the poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who are being hated, reviled and defamed, these are blessed. In spite of the passing of twenty centuries after these blessings proclaimed by Jesus, we, the hard core Christians, even today fail to grasp its meaning, its depth and its truth. Those who could get a glimpse of its truth really experience these blessings in their lives. That explains the thousands and millions taking the trouble to believe, to work it out and hold on till the end. That explains the hundreds and thousands even today joining religious life including cloistered convents and solitary monasteries. That explains multitudes of people continuing to offer their time, talent and treasure for different ministries in the Church and for Christ. That explains why the Church could give the human face of love, compassion, caring and forgiveness to the world. It was this proclamation and claim of Jesus that helped the world to grow into the kind of civility and fair play that we have or strive for today. Somebody is likely to comment that this is a tall claim of an insider in the circle of Christ. The answer to this comment is: just sit down, take a deep breath and look at the history of humanity after Christ and before Christ. And we, who flock together in the church, need to absorb, assimilate and interiorize these blessings in our lives. We need to tell ourselves the truth of these blessings, that is, they are true, they are real and really rewarding for those who accept. It is difficult. However it is possible to accept them and we need to try it again and again and again. Amen. The Lord be with you!
Fr. George
February 7, 2010
Here Am I; Send Me Lord!
No one is worthy or is capable to be sent on a mission for God. The grooming part is God’s own business. That is what we saw last weekend, God telling Jeremiah to gird up his loins and God standing behind him as a dread warrior. Today we have the vision of Prophet Isaiah whose lips are touched by a burning charcoal and purified and he was made ready to be sent on God’s mission. The same promise is made by Jesus to Simon, Andrew, James and John to make them fishers of people. They needed purification and Jesus began that process on them with the miraculous catch of fish, which enabled them to leave everything behind and follow Jesus. God has begun this process with us in our baptism and ever since He is busy with grooming and purifying us. The voice from the Lord is being broadcast from that moment onwards: “whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” God is waiting to hear from us: “here am I; send me”. Have we ever thought of responding to this call? Or are we still waiting for the opportune time, or are we waiting for the miracle to happen to respond. Miracles are truly happening. We need the inner eye opened to see them in our own life. If we are waiting for a tomorrow to respond to the call of God, it will never come. Today now is our time and unless we do it now we will never do it. Why not dare to say to the Lord now: “here am I; send me, Lord.” The Lord be with you!
Fr. George
January 31, 2010
Gird Up Your Loins!
Gird up your loins, prophet Jeremiah was told. Girding up the loins is done when preparing for a fight. Precisely for that prophet Jeremiah was sent. The same was the mission of Jesus, fighting a war against the unbelief of His own people, unbelief in Him and His mission. Jeremiah too had a task of fighting an impossible battle against a stubborn people and he needed the armor of God, which was given to him. Jeremiah foreshadowed Jesus in proclaiming to the people. Jesus came as the fulfillment of the prophecy also of Jeremiah and people were not in a mood to accept Him just because He did not come in the fashion they expected. They could not accept the son of Mary and Joseph as their Messiah. They did not see anything royal in Jesus, which they were looking for. They saw great deeds in Him and they heard great wisdom from Him but they did not accept Him or His wisdom because of the blindness of their hearts. Jesus came as Emmanuel and they could not see Emmanuel in the baby in swaddling clothes, they could not see the Emmanuel in Jesus because He came from Nazareth. Nothing good can come from Nazareth, eh? They took offence at Him just because He reminded them of their past. They did not want to hear the truth about themselves and so they tried to destroy Him. They rejected the Prince of Peace. He came as their peace. They rejected love, which was the offer of Jesus to them. They rejected light, which Jesus was. They wanted to remain in darkness. Rejection of the Messiah, the Prince of peace by the people to whom Jesus came happened to be the reason for lack of peace in the world even this day; and only when the peace, love an forgiveness, which Jesus brought to this world will be accepted by His people there will be peace in this world. We are called and sent to work for this and work it out. And this is the battle we are sent to fight and in this war God’s enemies will not prevail because the Lord is with us to deliver us. Let us go ahead and fight untiringly. Our weapons are love, compassion, understanding and forgiveness. The Lord be with you!
Fr. George
January 24, 2010
Messianic Mission
In today’s first reading Ezra the priest is sending out the people to their homes to eat and drink and rejoice because they were strengthened by the joy given by the Lord. Paul’s analogy today to the Corinthians regarding the body, and the Body of Christ, are particularly pertinent this week, which is the week of Unity Octave. We are coming to its conclusion. Let us be aware of the one Body of Christ, the need for it to be together and ONE, and let us continue to pray for that. Today’s gospel passage seems to be the inaugural address of Jesus as the Messiah. We do not have the exact sequence of events. The Messianic and miraculous action at the wedding in Cana and this Messianic message in the synagogue both are happening in Galilee. The event at the synagogue happened after the one at Cana and people might have started noticing Jesus as someone different, not the ordinary and that might be the reason that He was given the scroll to read and to speak. For Jesus too this might have been the next moment of consciousness awakened as to who He was and what His mission was and He found the prophecy of Isaiah just fitting on Him and there comes His proclamation and assumption of responsibility and leadership as the Messiah, the anointed One, the One filled with the Spirit of the Lord God, the long expected One. His coming was to proclaim good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed and the Lord’s time of favor! Christ was the human face of God. Christ the human person died and He rose up and entered into His divinity again. However, Jesus the human face of God must continue to live and He does that and that is done in and through us. In baptism we are given the same mission assumed by Christ and we are made heirs to the prophecy of Isaiah to continue all the proclamations that Jesus did, all the deeds He did and much more. Let us arise, shine, assume the power and proclaim. The Lord be with you!
Fr. George
January 17, 2010
The Midas Touch
In Isaiah’s prophecy and in the gospel we have wedding festivities today, in the psalm a new song and in the letter to the Corinthians the distribution of gifts from the Spirit. All these readings give us reason to be happy and to celebrate. Celebrate we must because the Emmanuel is visible again after thirty years of hiding. How did Jesus come out from the hiding? Apparently he did not have any intention to do; even he did not know who He was. He was still searching for the meaning of His life. He was one among those who went to be baptized by John. The revelation from above that He was the Son, the Beloved, seemed to have made little impact on Him. He proceeds to the wilderness in search of meaning for His life. He fasted and prayed and we are not sure whether He got any answer to His prayers. At the end of forty days He was hungry and was severely tempted. He seemed to have overcome the temptation to become the superman. Still He was in the dark, not knowing the direction where to go and what to do. Just like there is a moment of enlightenment in the life of every person of eminence who had changed the course of history and human life on earth, the moment of enlightenment comes to Jesus at the wedding feast of Cana and the one who led him to that enlightenment was none other than our Blessed Mother Mary! When met with a crisis situation in the family of the groom it might have occurred to Mary the great things spoken to her about Jesus by the angel Gabriel and so she runs to Him. But He seemed to be refusing to do anything with the excuse that His time hadn’t yet come. May be He was not sure of who He was and what His mission was. And the mother tells Him indirectly who He was and that His time was ready. Jesus did not have an option. It was almost a command from Mary and His act of obedience led Him to the realization of His identity as the Messiah! And there began His work and His public life and all that followed. The epiphany began at that moment continues even today and we are the present day living witnesses to it. Be convinced that this is our moment of action. Live fully today and act now. Be an epiphany to this world! The Lord be with you!
Fr. George
January 10, 2010
Jesus Too Was Baptized
This Sunday we celebrate the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Prophet Isaiah, in Paul’s letter to Titus and in the gospel we get messages of hope and salvation, the continuation of the message of Christmas. In the baptism of Jesus the Spirit of God appears in the form of a dove and the voice says:“You are my son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Jesus was receiving the sinners’ baptism administered by John who came to baptize with water. We receive baptism which is the gift of Jesus and our baptism is with the Holy Spirit. We receive the light, which is Jesus. At our baptism we too are made sons and daughters and the beloved of God in whom God is well pleased. This is the covenant God makes with us at the time of our baptism. The beauty and richness of God’s covenant with us is that we continue to be the beloved of God even when we keep away from Him, when we work against Him and when we forsake Him and go our own way. In spite of our continued unfaithfulness God is and will be ever faithful to us in accordance with His covenant. And this God our Father is eternally waiting for our return. In Christmas Jesus came to guide us the humans in our earthly sojourn. Today’s psalm tells that the whole nature continues forever to proclaim the goodness and glory of God. In baptism we humans are ordained to carry on with this proclamation of the nature and are made the carriers of Christ and witnesses to Him in the everyday events of our ordinary life by proclaiming to the whole world that Jesus is our Emmanuel, God with us. Let us rejoice and be glad for we have Emmanuel.
Fr. George
January 3, 2010
New Beginnings!
We have a New Year. It should be one that gives us greater hope to live and to prosper. Let it be so for all of you! In the past week we have passed through remembering important landmarks in the history of the Church and of Christianity. We had the feast of St. Stephen the first martyr, the feast of the Holy Innocents the last group of martyrs before the beginning of Christianity, the feast of the Holy Family the first family in Christianity, the feast of Mary Mother of God, an expression and title on Mary that caused great schism in the early Church. Mary is still a cause of division, dispute and also of great unity in the Church, just as Jesus was controversial in His time as a human person and now as God made mand and Mand made God. His Body the Church also is a symbol of controvesy and division and of unity. We need to live with these controversies, divisions and enmity and try our level best to be instruments of unity, goodness and beauty. Through these works our wish and prayer in today's psalm should be realized, namely, Lord, every nation on earth will adore you. That is our goal and towards this goal we should have the new beginning, listening to Prophet Isaiah: “arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of God has risen upon you.” By such arising and shining we have to be instruments to make the gentles, that is every nation on earth, fellow heirs with us, members of the same body and sharers in the promise of Christ Jesus through the Gospel. At the birth of Christ, the star was seen at its rising be different people and it created different reactions. the shepherds out in the open wondered at it and were curious, the wise men recognized the great happening and Herod and party got frightened. The first two groups had goodwill in them and the last one hatred and enmity. Christmas brought peace to the wise and innocent because they were people of goodwill and fear and frustration on the wicked. Our mission is to identify the people of goodwill in the world and proclaim the good news to them. Let the new year be for that.
Happy New Year!
Fr. George
December 27, 2009
Returned As Gratitude!
The story of Hannah is incredible. She longed to have a child, waited so long, cried to the Lord for him and finally her prayers were answered and she bore a son. Which mother is among us willing to part with such a long expected precious gift? Hannah knew that this gift had come from God. Her attitude of gratitude was such that she recognized that her son belonged to God and with absolutely no prompting from any one she decided to return him to the Lord and at the earliest and most appropriate time she did surrender him to the Lord with sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving and rejoicing. Perhaps Hannah has realized what John is telling today in the letter, the immensity of God’s love, and God’s design to make us His children. If we do not properly grasp the meaning of what Hannah did or if we are inclined to think that she was crazy, its reason is given by John: “because we do know Him”. Our school children are getting ready for confirmation. In confirmation they are assuming responsibility for themselves in the matter of their baptismal vows, which were taken on their behalf by the parents and godparents. This is their entrance into adulthood. We find Jesus taking such a step in the temple today: that He should be in His Father’s house (business). At this turn of events in the life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph come to the awakening of the mission of Jesus. This was the age, 12 years, when the commandments of God are made applicable to the Jewish children. Mary and Joseph did not fully understand the depth of the mission of Jesus. However, they let Jesus follow His path, namely detaching Himself from home and also from this world and walking towards the same Jerusalem where He will have to lay down His life in obedience to the will of the Father and thereby to become the giver of everlasting life to the mortals on earth. Like Hannah, Mary and Joseph silently surrender themselves to this plan of God. We are at the end of the year. This is the time we need to look back and see if we have anything to be grateful, if we have received anything, anyone, from God and have we given back to God. Attitude of gratitude is the best prayer to God.
A Happy & Grace-filled New Year to You
Fr. George
December 20, 2009
He Shall Be Your Peace
Prophet Micah predicts that the One to rule Israel “shall be peace”. In the gospel Elizabeth calls three times Mary Blessed. Apparently after the coming of the Messiah never was there peace in Israel and we know why. And it is hard to believe from what it appears that Mary was blessed at all. The moment she said to the angel “here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38), began her woes. May be we do not understand the language of the bible or we fail to grasp the true meaning of peace and blessings and we fail to understand the ways of God. There has been millions through the centuries who found true peace in Jesus and thousands and thousands have given up their lives to buy His peace in exchange of the offers of this world. These millions and thousands had also glimpses of the blessings of Mary and shared them. They came to realize that peace and blessings have a price to pay. That is what Jesus, Mary, Joseph and their followers paid. Precisely the same price is what we need to pay for peace and blessing. There has been no exception to this rule. As per the prophecies being quoted today in the Hebrews, at the beginning of His ministry Christ said: “I have come to do your will, O God”. We can retain the right, as Jesus did, to pray to God to remove the cup of sorrows from us, if possible. However, necessarily we need to complete the prayer with Jesus, “yet not my will but yours be done”. The moment we muster the courage to get into this mood and dare to say it to God from within the innermost recesses of our heart, Jesus will be our Peace and we will be blessed. We are blessed the moment we are open to God and God’s mysterious ways. Being blessed means being happy. Peace and happiness go together, one cannot be separated from the other or one contains the other too. Being blessed also means believing that the promises of God will be fulfilled. The greatest of the promises of God that is being fulfilled is that Jesus is Emmanuel. Let He be your peace and your blessing during this season and all through your life, Amen!
Merry Christmas
Fr. George
December 13, 2009
Be What You Are!
Some of us vainly wish if only I could be she or he or like him or her and so on. Again some entertain the doubt if this is my call or profession; may be I need to do something else. It may not be imprudent to switch to some other profession; but only after making sure that what you have is not, and the one you look for is, the right one. In our relationship too some are under the illusion or dangerous delusion that may be my husband or wife is not the right one I should be with, may be that other one is for me even if she or he belongs to someone else. In many instances such illusions are proved wrong and unfortunately such realization comes when time had already slipped out of their lives. In today’s gospel many people are approaching John the Baptist with questions as to what is wrong with them and their work. John does not advice any change of profession or trade. He tells them to be wherever he or she is, but in a proper manner and doing what you need to do. His admonitions are simple: give your second coat to the one who has none, share your extra food with the starving ones; the tax collector can continue to be so, but only to the extent he is entitled to collect and no more; one can continue to be a soldier but not as an extortionist but as one to protect his countryman. Everyone has to be satisfied with what is lawfully due and no more. We are what we have inherited from our parents and ancestors and what we made of it. Whatever we have is what we had received. We receive in order to give. Giving what we have received to those who do not have need not necessarily always be the so-called “charity” as we presume. We need to give because we have or acquired more than what we need or possess something that belongs to others. It means we are just stewards in this world and need to be judicious. If we do not give what is due to others, to the society, to the church, may be we need to thank our next door neighbor or the ones at our left and right on the pews because their contribution is what makes the system run and we take advantage of it. Let us be reminded that He Who sees all and gives all is standing in our midst and watching and He and is coming! Prepare His ways!
Fr. George
December 6, 2009
Shopping Season!
God never asks us the impossible. If at all He asks anything, He also gives the means to respond. Secondly, all the messages from God are of hope for the present and future and consolation for the past. Today’s Biblical lessons are dealing with this nature of God’s dealing with humans. Prophet Baruch is giving a message of hope to a people living in captivity apparently with no hope on the horizon, telling that Righteous Peace and Godly Glory are awaiting them. Precisely this is what we expect at the coming of Jesus. Paul is praying for us so that our love may overflow more and more with knowledge into this prospect of the coming glory and that we may remain pure and blameless producing the harvest of righteousness, which can come only from Jesus Christ. In the gospel John the Baptist is heralding the coming of Jesus inviting us to prepare the way for Him. One of the beautiful things John is proclaiming is that every valley will be filled and every mountain and hill will be made low. That is the Kingdom we expect, everyone will be equal, there will be no nobles and commons, no bourgeois and proletariat, no rich and poor. We are not sure if everyone here on earth will like this idea. However, at least in God’s Kingdom many hope to see this equality and everyone will accept and enjoy it. How God is going to work it out and how He is going to satisfy our desire to have ‘proportionate or appropriate rewards’ is the mystery or miracle we will see. In our world today in all seasons especially during the shopping season, which is Christmas season, we meet people with empty pockets at the parking lots of the malls enviously looking at the heaps and truckloads of purchases done by some, people waiting for a Christmas hamper to come to their door, or those queuing up for food vouchers, and the like. May be we even wish them well expecting God or His kingdom to take care of them and we doing nothing. Think about the first Christmas in Bethlehem, the Baby in His mother’s womb was knocking at every door asking for a space to be born and no door opened. We are now preparing to celebrate that event! Prepare the way!
Fr. George
November 29, 2009
The New Beginning
In the life of the Church this is the beginning of the New Year. Her life is a journey with Christ. Advent is the beginning when we are going through the experience of humanity’s expectation for the coming of Christ as a human person, as the Redeemer. We finished last week with the crowning of Christ as the King, Who came and did the first part of His redemption work on earth. And we were reminded that He was, He is and He will be forever and ever. This week’s readings again remind us of His glorious return at the end of times. In fact, our everyday liturgy strengthens us in the hope for resurrection and the reign of God and the final wiping off of tears, miseries and death itself. Our faith calls us to invite and enthrone Christ in our everyday life and be on our march along with Him towards His second coming. Encountering Christ in our daily life is also an invitation to change; change for better is the result of meeting with Christ. During the advent season we are trying to meet Christ anew, may be planning for the New Year. A planning foregoes a reflection on the past, evaluating it and making positive changes for the future. We have passed through a year of depression. There are predictions of reaching the end of the tunnel and seeing light. There are also predictions about looming darkness. However, we need not be too much swayed by either of these predictions. We always continue to be the messengers of hope and of love. We will not have time to live after every one of our cares and concerns is answered. We cannot do charity after every one of our needs is met. We will not rebuild or renovate our church after every other home is rebuilt or renovated. We are supposed to be people keeping our treasures in a place where the moth won’t attack and thieves won’t steel. We are a people who believe in a treasury which is never depleted, a people who are told to pray only for the daily bread and for the coming of the Kingdom. At the beginning of the Advent season, let us be reminded of these to help us plan our New Year. Happy New Year!
Fr. George
November 22, 2009
Sure, His Kingdom Is Coming!
Royalty, kings and kingdoms have become stories of the past, no more relevant for the people of this generation. A few more kings and kingdoms do exist on the face of the earth, most as show peaces or decorations with hardly any significant power. Because of this turn of events in the world the kingship of Christ does not stir any serious ripples in our minds. Kings are no more heroes or redeemers or even protectors of the people. They no more invoke any awe or fear. The story of kings was different when the feast of Christ the King was established by Pius XI in 1925. This feast used to be a great event in the life of every Catholic in the fifties and sixties when I was a little child and young adult. On that day the streets and by-lanes of any Catholic countryside would vibrate with shouts and slogans by those proceeding in procession waving victory flags for Christ the King and carrying the statue or pictures of Him. Hundreds and thousands would line up on the streets. At that time kings and queens were the rulers and democracy and rule by the people were either dreams for most or not even heard by many. However, conferring of “dominion, glory and kingship that all peoples, nations and languages should serve Him” (Daniel 7:13) was on Christ even before His birth as a human person. This is what Prophet Daniel dreamt and testified many centuries before Christ. And, as the book of Revelation testifies, “He is the Alpha and the Omega, (the Beginning and the End) Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). And He came into the world to ‘testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to His voice’ (John 18:37). Kings and kingdoms, emperors and empires may come and go and civilizations perish. The cycle of creation, destruction and re-creation will continue. In between, as said by Pope Benedict XVI, “God’s project of salvation is a plan that is revealed little by little through history”. In fact, across civilizations, time, cultures and history, His-Story is slowly being revealed to us. His Kingdom is everlasting. Only in His kingdom we will attain equality and true freedom. Rejoice and be glad, for the kingdom of God is ours and Jesus Christ and all those who go with Him will have the final victory and everlasting glory! Maran atha, Come, Lord!
Fr. George
November 15, 2009
Equality In The Making
The other day as I clicked on the TV a movie was on the channel. It looked like a pub. A man was cleaning the table and setting things in order. He asked another one sitting at the corner, glancing through some books: “I see you coming everyday and sitting here for a long time. Do you believe in God?” The scholarly man replied: “I did, but not now. Can you show me God?” The first man said: “look around, look intently and you will see God. Everything around you tells about God”. The other man replied: “I don’t see any”. The conversation went on and the scholar went out unimpressed. After a few days something happened before his eyes and probably he started seeing. I slipped into sleep on the couch and didn’t know how the movie ended. This week and next the readings remind us about the end of times. This is the last leg in the liturgical year. Like the bartender in the conversation I sometimes ask people to look at nature to see God. Some ponder but for most it is just an exercise in futility. However, there is one thing I observe which compels me to pray. I find inequality everywhere, all over the world, in every walk of life, between ages, sexes, nations, peoples, and generations and so on. Wealth, power, dominion and the like always accumulate in one region or on one group of people who control the world. Suffering, poverty, subjugation and denial of freedom are on the other side. One side of the globe pollute the earth and enjoy all its wealth and feed on the toil and suffering of others, while the other side suffer and die. Equality and freedom for all is the promise of every national leader, ruler, party in power and out of power, and even of the communist leaders who know only one type of rule, totalitarian. Equality and freedom have been the dream of every oppressed and suppressed ones in the world. Except in the distribution of time, do not find equality anywhere. This phenomenon prompts me to believe in the promise of the Kingdom by Jesus and my prayer is: “Lord, at least in your kingdom let these oppressed and down-trodden and marginalized and suffering have the fullness of life”. My premise is that, if nothing else prompts you to believe in God, aspiring for equality is the best proof for God’s existence because only in God’s kingdom humanity is going to receive the fullness of justice, equality and freedom.
Fr. George
November 8, 2009
Hope Has To Be Blind And Blunt!
We have the stories of two widows today. Both are parting with the last thing they had in life. Both did not have any reason to hope for tomorrow. For every other onlooker there was no tomorrow for them. However, they hoped, they hoped in God and their hope was a proclamation to the whole world that the God in whom they trusted is truly the Almighty. If they had a today it was His making and these widows left tomorrow again for His making. We know what happened to the widow in the Book of Kings who served Prophet Elijah: her jar of meal and jug of oil were never empty until the famine came to an end. Her giving out everything she had was immensely rewarded. Jesus praises the other widow as the one who put in the treasury of the temple more than anyone else. Just two pennies of this poor widow, who had nothing else in the world, became more than thousands and thousands deposited by those who had everything in abundance. That’s God’s way of account keeping. She does not leave any trace of her history. However, the act of giving to the temple everything she had was noticed by the Giver of all gifts and treasures and this noticing might not have gone in vain. She definitely had fullness of life because all her trust was in God and she fully believed that her tomorrow would be fully secured in the hand of God. She had God as her only possession. Trusting in God is like “leaping into the dark” and jumping into a bottomless pit, the abyss. There you may meet the angel of God who will bear you up “so that you will not dash your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:12). Parting with our time and treasure for the sake of the Lord and for the cause of the Lord will be rewarded as these two widows. Let us try to strengthen our faith and deepen our hope and let the Lord be in command.
Fr. George
November 1, 2009
We Are In Good Company!
“Lord, this is the company of those who seek your face” (Psalm 24). If we have to celebrate our feast, this is the day: All Saints’ Day and it is our day. St. Paul and St. John call us saints because we are part of the church, which is holy. Holiness of the Church comes from Christ its head. We the faithful on earth aspiring and moving toward sanctity, the saints in heaven, and the souls in purgatory together form the body of Christ and strive for unity and seek the face of God. Hence, rejoice because we are in good company! Although we are apart from them we take comfort that we are still together in the Communion of Saints. This partaking in the body of Christ does not change the situation and condition of the Church in the world, that is, it is also a body of sinners and therefore a body that is bleeding and in need of nursing, care and healing. Christ continues to be its head; He is the Redeemer, He is the Healer and His Spirit is the sanctifier and that is its strength and power. Only the recognition of these two faces of the Church, being a company of saints and sinners at the same time will give meaning to all the things and happenings we like and we do not like in the Church. By projecting one scandal from here and another from there the media’s predicting the end of the Church and of Christianity may not and need not necessarily shake the faith of true believers. The Church has been so ever since its inception. There were apostles, popes, bishops, priests and people from all walks of life involved in public scandal in the Church. Because of these there were schisms and separations in the Church. Still it survived these twenty-one centuries and is still living and growing. If anyone is leaving the church and its worship because of a scandal, it is good for such ones to think if he or she is in the company of the always self-justifying Pharisee or in the company of Peter, the first Apostle and the first deserter of Christ who cried out to Him: “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man! (Luke 5:8) We need to wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14). We need to listen to John’s counsel today: “The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him!” (1 John 3:1)
All Souls’ Day comes follows All Saints Day. It is the continuation of the communion. We need to pray for the souls and for ourselves. All of us are in communion in this prayer.
Fr. George
October 25, 2009
Let Us Shout With Joy!
God is gathering us together from the farthest parts of the earth. This is literally true in our case in this church. We are gathered from all parts of the earth and we are united into one body here, made to sing and praise and thank God Almighty in one voice. Among us there are the blind, the lame, those with child and those in labour. And we are a great company and we are together and that is the work of our God, the Compassionate One, who loves unconditionally. Many come here weeping and go back rejoicing and with consolation. That is the work of our God and we are together in His business and in this mission. When we are in distress we cry out and our God stops, listens, calls us to Him and makes us whole and sends us away. Many go, never to return and thank Him, but some stay back as does today’s hero in the gospel, Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, the blind man who shouted loud “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me”. Jesus gave him his sight that was lost and asked him: “Go; your faith has made you well”. However, Bartimaeus did not go. He just followed Jesus. Two important points to remember in this incident are: one, Jesus says to Bartimaeus that it was his faith that had made him well. Whenever we cry to God what we need to have is faith; second, though Jesus asked him to go off, he stays back with Jesus. He might not have been a silent follower of Jesus but a living and loud testimony to all that he was one who received blessing form God and that testimony was the best way of gratitude to God. As followers of Jesus, we are given the mission to be, witnesses and to be ministers. Our ministries are to be prophet, priest and king. Ministries mean works of servants and we are to do them dealing gently with the ignorant and wayward just as ‘we too are subject to weaknesses’, as we read today in the letter to the Hebrews. And when we do these as the Lord wants us, may be we will join today’s psalmist and shout out: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy”.
Fr. George
October 18, 2009
To The Top Station
All of us want to be the first, the smartest, the holiest, the powerful, the wealthiest, the most beautiful, and so on. Some of us not only want to be so, we even claim that we are already, if not in plane words, through our action, demeanor, and attitude. We even look down upon others as inferior, sinful, ugly and of a lesser breed! Today in the gospel two fine gentlemen, James and John, who thought that they were the smartest and most fitting to be on the top stake their claim with Jesus. Those of us who reflect on the words and actions of Jesus now in this twenty-first century are inclined to think that Jesus was not smart enough in the words He spoke to these ‘smart guys’! Even today, in spite of all the reflections and writings throughout the twenty-one centuries on this piece of literature from Jesus, we fail to get the meaning of what He said: “whoever wishes to become great among you must be slave of all”. We are not yet convinced that it was necessary for the “Lord to crush Him with pain” in order that
through Him the will of God shall prosper. We cannot fully grasp how we can “see light through anguish” (Isaiah 53). The consolation the letter to Hebrews gives in the words: “we have a high priest Who in every respect has been tested as we are”, does not considerably lessen our pain and suffering! All these are a bit unintelligible to us, the followers of Christ. However, we follow Him, do not question Him seriously. That is the cost of our discipleship. Let us remain addicted to Him hoping that there will be light at the end of the tunnel!
This is World Mission Day, a day when we must think about our baptismal call and the mission, a mission of evangelizing the world. We can do it by our faith commitment and its practice, by witnessing to our faith through our words, deeds, prayers and our support and empathy with those working in frontier missions. Our attitude must not be that of feeling big and supporting a smaller partner. They are our equal partners in faith and must be the preferred claimants for our time, talent and
treasure. Don’t miss the opportunity.
Fr. George
October 11, 2009
Wisdom Is Wealth; Whose Wisdom?
Today we have in the gospel a virtuous young man who has been observing all the commandments of God all through his life. He was a true seeker for greater perfection. He was not short of wisdom too. That is why he thought of asking Jesus for greater enlightenment. And Jesus disappointed him. In spite of observing all the commandments of God and being so good, Jesus found that this young man’s heart was in his treasures and not in God, that he had a greater preference for his wealth rather than for God. The young man couldn’t understand that with God there is fullness of all wealth and without God there is nothing fulfilling. It was reliance on wealth and material possessions that kept him from greater perfection. For some others the reliance is on their own wisdom, their own way of understanding God and God’s ways. The disciples could not understand what Jesus said after the young man’s disappointed departure. Many of us do not understand Jesus in the way He wanted us to understand Him and know Him. Jesus insisted on His disciples to think according to the thinking of God. In order to do so, we need to allow the living Word of God to pierce us as a sharp and two-edged sword, “pierce until it divides soul from spirit and joints from marrow”. When that happens, may be the grip of our egoism, our obstinacy that every other ones has to think the way I think, see the way I see and do as I say, may start melting. In short, we will cease to be our own model, our own judge and we are likely to be subjecting ourselves to the scrutiny of the Spirit of God and walking in the Way that Jesus is, and imbibe the Life that Jesus is, and accept the Truth that Jesus is. May be we need to look into our own soul and decide to walk away from Jesus or to walk with Him, surrendering our will totally to His demands and precepts.
Fr. George
October 4, 2009
Man And Woman, The Dividers!
Today’s Bible discussion is mainly on the creation of man and establishment of families as God’s work. Man and woman were not created simultaneously; first God created man and then a mate suitable for this particular man and He united them into one, never to be divided. God did not bring just a hand-picked woman to Adam; He made a special creation suitable only for Adam. Adam did not have the freedom to choose one, nor did God give him freedom to discard it. God made them for each other forever. The creation story in the book of Genesis discusses this today. The problem of divorce was brought to Jesus in order to test Him and Jesus re-instates the creation story and its purpose and divorce is not in the scheme of Jesus with the only exception of adultery or unfaithfulness of either of the spouses. Jesus says that it is hardness of heart that leads to ruptures in the relationship of husband and wife. In addition, the unbridled desires of our heart, covetousness, our wandering in alien territory, looking for the green only on the other side disregarding the rich pastures you have at home, seeking only our own pleasure neglecting our partner, utter irresponsibility and absence of commitment to our children, society and disregard for durable peace and happiness for our own self, all these contribute to the break up of families. In the name of freedom and privacy absence of the society’s watchfulness is another major contributing factor to the break up of marriages. Until we hit our disaster or until God knocks us down, we will not care for the commandments of God and once we are doomed we blame God for all that happened to us, refusing to take responsibility for our past actions. May be we need to sit down and reflect. We are still alive and time is still on our side and everyone living in broken relationship need to reflect on God’s design for us and families and need to surrender our will to that of God. “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate…. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery” (Mark 10: 15-16)
Fr. George
September 27, 2009
God’s Registry!
There are times when we feel great indignation against events and people. Sometimes we feel we have a right to be jealous. Perhaps these are the feelings of Joshua whom we come across in the book of Numbers and John, the disciples of Jesus, in the Gospel according to Mark. In the book of Numbers power goes forth from Moses and people are prophesying. Joshua feels that they had no right to prophesy. Moses corrects him and expresses the wish that if only all people are prophets. Jesus corrects John by saying in effect that anyone can work miracles in the name of Jesus. The reason Jesus gives is that the one doing miracles in His name will have some faith in Him and that he is not likely to denounce Him immediately. These incidents in the Bible, both in the Old Testament and in the New, give us the understanding that anything that anyone does in the name of God immediately goes into the registry of God and recorded and God responds to it by providing power to the doer. It is like switching on an electric connection. The moment we are in touch with God in our mind, power goes forth and brings out the result. This is one sure understanding we need to have when we are in the presence of God for prayer. Any prayer from anyone, whatever be his or her condition in life, from anywhere, creates its ripples in the divine presence and not a single one goes unregistered and unresponded. In the same way each of us has a call, a mission in life. It could be for being prophetic, for bringing healing and peace to the wounded and the unsecured, it may be do a miracle, sometimes known to us and at other times we being unaware of it. All these are in the scheme of God, and for God there is no discrimination between the rich and poor, the sinner and saint, the weak and the mighty. Letter of James today tells us that the might and wealth some have need not be a matter to gloat or to rejoice. In the scheme of God these might be just bubbles that may burst in a moment! Let those among us who have ears and hearts try to listen.
Fr. George
September 20, 2009
The Last To Become The First!
Struggle for power might be the oldest of all human encounters. May be it started just outside the gate of paradise with Cain and Abel. The whole story of civilization is permeated with this struggle. Our everyday life is not without the rumblings of this struggle. The first century disciples of Jesus were not an exception to this just like it is not alien to the present century disciples. The power struggle of the disciples began the moment when they got the sense that Jesus might be departing from this world and might be that His enemies were going to have the upper hand and would eliminate Him. Probably on their way passing through Galilee many among the disciples might have been staking their claim in front of others and Jesus painfully realized what was going on. Painfully because this tug of war was being staged in spite His teaching on humility and on His position that He came to serve and not to be served, and the like. This painful realization did not keep Jesus from giving them the right lessons for attaining real power and here comes His teaching that those who want to be the first should become the last and the servant of all. The disciples could not swallow this teaching in those days and it continues to be equally indigestible for us today. Unfortunately that was and is the truth even today, that is, true ascendancy to real and lasting power begins from the last step, starts from the lowest level. Jesus used to be a man of controversy during His life time just as He is today and many of His statements were such that goes against the current. Last week we were trying to discover who Jesus is for us. To understand this teaching and way of thinking of Jesus is a pre-requisite for having true knowledge of Jesus and discovering Him. It has its puzzles. Let us try to work on it in order that we may enter into the mind of Jesus. “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:37).
Fr. George
September 13, 2009
Think As God Thinks!
We are inclined to call the first disciple of Jesus, “Peter the Great”! Because he was truly great in his inspirations or he was an inspirational man. Look at the insight he had when Jesus asked ‘who do you think that I am?’ His spontaneous answer happened to be the right one. Similarly, he had the right inspirational prayer when Jesus guided him make the big catch of fish. He begged Jesus to depart from him because he was a sinful man. That realization was another inspiration Peter had, the right attitude we need to have at the presence of God. When he was with the transfigured Jesus at mount Tabor, he made another prayer, to be there forever with Jesus. It was sort of heaven coming down and Peter wanted to stay on in here. That is precisely we desire in our life! All these incidents of Peter’s encounter with Jesus point to the type of relationship we need to have with Jesus, the Redeemer. However, Peter refused to pay the cost for attaining glory. Hence, when Jesus said that He would have to undergo great suffering, rejection and death, Peter tried to forbid Him from such ordeal and he got from Jesus the only and great chastisement of being called Satan. What Jesus told him was that he was working as the agent of Satan and that he needs to think like God. As we get into the mind of God, we are likely to have confidence as being in the land of the living even when we are walking in the valley of tears, under the shadow of death, being persecuted, disgraced, rejected, tortured, put to shame and killed. On the face of all these, we will walk before the Lord with the realization that the Lord is gracious, merciful, is always inclined to listen to our supplications, is the protector of the simple and is there always to deliver our soul from death. Once we have this confidence in our Redeemer God, we don’t have to wait for death any time, we will find hope always in this valley of tears, we will have time for everything and everyone, including for God on the Sabbath, we will have peace and happiness to share. If we need to be so, we need to discover who Jesus is for each one of us. Let us try. Success will not come overnight. We may not even discover finally who He is. However, perseverance in the search will keep us in His path and that is good enough!
A happy beginning for the children, parents, teachers and all!
Fr. George
September 6, 2009
God, Just The Ordinary!
God comes to us even if we do not want and seek Him. Even though we do not want God, He wants us and He has a purpose and design and mission for us. Very often we do not recognize the God who comes to us because He comes in a manner we never expect. In today’s gospel God comes to the deaf and dump man in the form of some good Samaritans. He never asked for healing and he never knew Jesus, not even heard about Him. But the people who knew him and his condition also knew Jesus and brought him to Jesus Who did not have to think twice to do the miracle even without his asking. The vocation and the mission we have received as humans and as Christians are to be the kind of Samaritans in the gospel today. The message we have to deliver to the people is the same as prophet Isaiah gives: “say to those who are of a fearful heart to be strong and not to fear; here is your God who will come and save you; He will open the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, and make the lame walk and the mute sing for joy”. Perhaps these people fall in the group of the poor in the world about whom James has a word of joy today. He says that they are God’s chosen ones to be rich in faith and heirs of His kingdom. We may not be the guaranteed ones in this kingdom. However, by being the kind of Samaritans and messengers as in the Gospel and the Prophets, may be we will get a chance to be coheirs with these fortunate ones of God.
After the summer holidays it is time for a new beginning. We have many challenges ahead of us like the depression, loss of employment, the fear of the swine flue. We have issues like eroding faith and morals, ruptures in families and relationships and children being made orphans due to these, problems of children with single parents, street violence, global warming, global terrorism, and the like. These also might remind us that our almighty dollar is not mighty enough all the time. This awareness may perhaps make us realize that man is not in total control of this world and may be we need a God to be in control.
A happy beginning for the children, parents, teachers and all!
Fr. George
August 30, 2009
Examination Of Conscience?
Examination of conscience has been a time-honored practice in the church. There has been scholars and saints who said: ‘an un-reflected life is not worth living’. Examination of conscience is one way of reflecting on one’s life. In the lives of saints and in most religious communities this is a regular spiritual exercise, sometimes more than twice a day as a community exercise. There are instances when people come to the confessional, some times after five, ten, fifteen or even more than twenty years after the last confession. For many such people there is nothing to confess. They say that there is nothing special, I lead a fairly good life and there is nothing wrong with me. Once the priest at the confessional tries to prompt a few things, like stealing, calumny, injurious gossiping, character assassination, excessive use of alcohol, self-indulgence, adultery, fornication, even murder, most of the penitents have been involved with many of these sins. If further probed into the things they failed to do like Sabbath observance, caring for the parents and family, caring for the church and community and so on, these are never considered an issue at all. In today’s reading Moses is reminding people of the statutes and ordinances of the Lord and of the need for observing them. They are reminded of the commandments of God. We have the teaching of Jesus condensing all the commandments, statutes and ordinances into just the commandment of love. While responding to the accusation of the Jewish leaders against His disciples for not washing their hands before eating, Jesus reminds the leaders of the people that these externals and letter of the law are not important and that the things that come out of our hearts are more important. He places before us a few cookies that come out of our hearts like, “fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly” (Mark 7:22). St. Paul is expanding this list in his letter to the Galatians: “the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing and things like these” (Ephesians: 5:20). In today’s second reading James reminds us what religion is (James 1:27). May be it is worth looking into these lists before we go for a confession and we might get some food for thought and reflection!
Fr. George
August 23, 2009
Who Is The God You Serve?
Joshua the successor to Moses in the wilderness had summoned the assembly of the elders of the people and asked them to decide which god they were going to serve. Of course, it was the assembly of the believers and they all said in one voice that it was the Lord God. Lord God is the expression they used for the true one God, our God. That is precisely what we do in our assembly in the church. We confirm our faith in this God through the profession of faith in the Creed. However, we seldom remember that this is a faith commitment to the Unknown. We try to orient all our life, our future and life after to this unknown entity and it is a high risk affair. St. Peter also makes a similar plunge into Jesus telling that they have nowhere else to go. He makes this plunge at a moment when most of the followers of Jesus were walking away from Him because He said that the bread for everlasting life He would give was His flesh. Unbelievable, unacceptable and may be disgusting. However, Jesus did not compromise and challenged the disciples if they too wanted to go. Then comes Peter‘s commitment to Jesus. In our assemblies, we too are true followers of Joshua, the elders of Israel and Peter, the Rock! May be, later we turn out to be true followers of the elders and Peter in forsaking God and going after ‘other’ gods!, gods like the lure of wealth and power, desire for excessive leisure and pleasures, inordinate indulgence with smoking, drinking, sex, addiction to the TV and internet, and the like and these become our gods! We manage to have hardly any time to “taste and see that the Lord is good”, as we sing in today’s psalm. We happen to have little patience to listen to St. Paul who speaks to the Ephesians today: “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you and live in love and be a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”. He has valuable advices to husbands and wives, citing Christ’s love and sacrifice for the Church, His bride! May be it’s worth pausing and listening!
Fr. George
August 16, 2009
Invitation To Bread And Wine!
May be summer is the time of eating and drinking out and a continuous feast! Today’s invitation in all the three readings is for feasting. Wisdom has slaughtered her animals, mixed her wine, set her table and sent out her servant girls to invite everyone who is simple of heart. Her invitation is to eat of her bread and drink of her wine and remain mature, alive and in the way of insight. St. Paul’s invitation to the Ephesians is the same, to be careful and wise, making good use of time and not to get drunk. Jesus continues with His invitation to eat bread, which He gives and Which is His own flesh. All these invitations are to keep us living forever. In order just to understand the meaning and depth of these invitations we need to replace immaturity with insight. Only real insight derived from a faith commitment can lead us to true maturity and wisdom, which will enable us to understand the depth and meaning of these invitations. True insight only will make us accept the invitation. Many of the listeners of Jesus who did not have such insight and wisdom could not understand the meaning of Jesus’ invitation and they walked away. Some others accepted the invitation but were not insightful enough to understand the meaning and they walked into their apparent destruction, those like Judas Iscariot. In our own times there are those who walk into the table of the Lord without knowing what it is and Who it is that invites them. They partake of the meal but are not nourished. When such partaking happens because of willful ignorance, it may even lead to peril and destruction. Let us be aware of St. Paul’s advice to us: “Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” (1 Corinthians, 11:28-30)
Fr. George
August 9, 2009
Bread Of Life!
Yes, we are on our journey to the mountain of God. With the food given by God prophet Elijah walked forty days and reached the mountain. Jesus is offering us the “bread of life”. This bread is Jesus Himself, His Body, the bread that keeps us from dying and keeps us living forever! In Jesus this bread comes to us in the form of kindness, tenderness, forgiveness, love, self-sacrifice, self-gift and so on. It is the call and gift of Jesus to us to become these in this world. This is the call of Jesus to us to create heaven on earth by our being and doing. Once we truly come across this Jesus, Who is the Bread of life, we are likely to stop our search for bread that perishes, search for this world and its illusions, our search for wealth and power and dominion. We are likely to be “put away from all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice” (Ephesians 4:32). We are likely to have time, time for living and loving, time for caring and bearing with, time for kindness and tenderness, time for forgiving and recouping, time for family and friends, time for God and, finally, time for us! It is worth searching this Jesus, the Bread!
Fr. George
August 2, 2009
The Miracle, Not Him!
We are still after bread. In today’s events, the people go in search of Jesus and disciples for bread, may be bread without sweat and toil! And Jesus is not impressed by their search. The Israelites in the wilderness under Moses did exactly the same, crying to Moses for bread. St. Paul to the Ephesians today tells about this style of search as living “in futility of minds,…corrupt and deluded by life’s lusts”. Jesus reminds them and us “not to work for food that perishes, but for food that endures for eternal life”. The people asked for food for the day and Jesus offered them food for life, life eternal. These show the nature of our asking and the nature of God’s giving. We often ask for the wrong thing and God gives much more than what we could have imagined. We need our inner eyes opened to see God’s bounties and fathomless love. Ten days back was the feast of St. James who was in the inner circle of the apostles and one of the elders. He and his brother John asked for the first and second positions in the Kingdom of Jesus. Apparently Jesus denied the demand, but in reality granted them much more. James was the first among the apostles to be martyred and John was the only one of them who had a natural death. James entered the kingdom first and John entered it last but leaving lasting impressions and heritage for us. In spite of our ignorance and imprudence in asking God for things we may not need, God gives much more and the right things and privileges. In order to recoup our life from its many desires and fragmentations we need to enter into the silence of God and listen to His non-verbal communication. “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry” (John 6:35).
Fr. George
July 26, 2009
Bread To Be Shared!
There are 800 million to one billion in the world suffering from malnutrition or starvation, 18,000 children dying everyday from hunger. We live in the part of the world where foods and drinks of the whole world are made available not only to satiate our hunger and thirst but also to squander, to throw away and to destroy. Sometimes in our partying we arrange food to be served two to three times more than what is required for a decent party celebration. Everyday some of us cook more than what we can eat and throw away considerable quantity of food. We are inclined to feed our pets with the richest food and fatten them in such a way that they need treatment due to over-eating and we spend money to treat them. All these happen forgetting the millions mentioned above. We also believe what St. Paul tells us today: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope,…and one God and Father of all”. This one Father is our Father as well as the Father of the one billion and 18,000 mentioned above. We are given in large measure with the command from God coming through prophets like Elisha: “give it to the people and let them eat”. We have two incidents of multiplication of bread in today’s readings. These multiplications happened from the contributions of some. God continues to multiply bread for His children and we are called to be the “man bringing food from the first fruits to Elisha” (2 King 4:42) and the “boy having five barley loaves and two fish”(John 6:9). Are we listening?
Fr. George
July 19, 2009
A Shepherd Is For All Seasons
The moment a shepherd is not attending to the sheep they are scattered. The shepherd has to be always vigilant, watchful and never distracted. His is a twentyfour hour, seven days week and twelve months a year job. The sheep’s destiny is to become food, drink and clothing for the people. Hence the shepherd’s work is for the welfare and happiness of all the people of the world. Basically a shepherd is a care-giver, provider and sustainer of the world. This is also true for a farmer. All over the world the job of the shepherd or the farmer is not regarded as a highly respectable engagement. They do not get reasonable rewards for their labor. However, in most cases, the shepherd and the farmer do not walk away from their occupation. Farming and shepherding are activities that require absolute self-denial, unselfishness and altruism. God is telling us through prophet Jeremiah that He is that Shepherd and that He will gather the scattered sheep and make them fruitful and multiplying. God is fulfilling the prophetic words of the psalmist: “He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber nor sleep”! (Psalm 121:3-4) It is about the same shepherd St. Paul speaks to the Ephesians that “He brought together the Gentiles and the Jews into one people”. In this Great Shepherd the whole world is made one and He achieved it by gathering us around Him, protecting us, caring for us, saving us even when we are stubborn and foolish, making us lie down in green pastures, restoring our souls and by preparing a table for us. In doing these He lost Himself, His life and everything He had. He is the true Shepherd. Let us be aware of His being and doings and let us feel honored in being called to be shepherd after Him in our own small ways!
Fr. George
July 12, 2009
Need A Walking Stick And A Companion!
Jesus allowed a staff and a companion (sent them two by two) to His disciples and sent them on His mission of proclaiming the need for repentance, of healing and liberating people from evil spirits. On the face of it this is a task and survival kit. The staff used to be an inevitable possession for the farmer, the shepherd, the traveler and, may be, a leader. A disciple was and has to be all these. This staff could be used as a support, and an instrument to guide and even to discipline and control the sheep and farm animals. In the biblical parlance this staff is also a symbol of authority and power. Remember the staff Moses was given. It gave him identity, power to work miracles, exercise authority and so on. It is along with the staff that Jesus gives the authority to proclaim, to heal and to exorcise. The disciple goes on the mission with the power and Spirit given to him by the Lord. There are detractors, like Amaziah in the mission of prophet Amos. The disciple needs support and companions, sometimes to show the light while he/she gropes in the dark; sometimes to say a word of consolation, encouragement and comfort; sometimes to be a strong guide to correct and lead back to the path and mission. Christianity is a religion, a way of companionship because its main tenet is love for which the presence of more than one is a must. This is the year of Catholic priesthood. Let us be reminded that a priest is (or is to be) a disciple, a shepherd, bit of a farmer, a leader and essentially a traveler. His mission is also prophetic. Along with the multitude of “Amaziahs” may be he also needs fellow travelers!
Fr. George
July 5, 2009
There Is A Prophet “In Israel”, Always!
There had been prophetic voices in Israel all the time. That is also true for the “New Israel”. The experiences of the prophets have been the same both in the old and new dispensations: indifference, stubbornness, rejection, persecution and killing. Jesus, the Prophet and the long-expected Messiah, too had the same experience. God sent prophet Ezekiel to the people of Israel in their exile. They had to be exiles because of their stubbornness to obey God. However, God sent the prophet with the message of consolation and hope, knowing fully well that it was a nation of rebels, the impudent and stubborn descendents! Jesus came to His own people with the same message of salvation. They could not accept Him because of their spiritual blindness and their refusal to listen to the message salvation. Jesus Himself was amazed at this attitude of the people. There are prophets and messengers sent to us in our own time. Some of them are too familiar, and may be this familiarity arouses also contempt in us. We too are inclined to ask the same questions as the people of Jesus’ time: “Where did this man get all this?...after all we know where he comes from....” As St. Paul is lamenting today to the Corinthians, the messengers of God experience such contempt and rejection in addition to the personal torments permitted for them by God, of course, “to make the power of grace perfect in their weakness”! And these messengers still continue to bring the message of consolation and hope. Let us decide for ourselves if we want to be indifferent, stubborn, deaf and blind or to be listening and responding.
Fr. George
June 28, 2009
Pauline And Priesthood Years
29th June is the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul. The year just concluding tomorrow was the year of Paul declared by Pope Benedict in order to commemorate the 2000th year of St. Paul’s birth. We have been following glimpses of Paul’s writings through the past months. Paul was in a way part founder of the Catholic Church after Christ. Paul took Christianity to the peoples of the world outside Judaism. These were called the Gentiles and because of his hard labor we happen to be Christians. The apparent reason Paul had gone to the Gentiles was the rejection of him by the Jewish Christians. After his miraculous conversion to Christianity from being a persecutor of the church to an ardent follower of Christ he was in Arabia for three years, doing fasting and penance and trying to discover Christ, and then he came to Jerusalem. The elders of the Church were reluctant to accept Paul as a Christian and Barnabas had to intervene to make him acceptable. Even then the Jerusalem Church was not comfortable with Paul and they managed to pack him off to Tarsus, his home town outside the Judaic domain. He was stranded there for a long time and then Barnabas searched and found him in his tent-making occupation, and prompted him to take the gospel to the Gentiles and from there he began his mission to the Gentiles. He undertook the greatest and enduring tasks for Christ and became the greatest of the Apostles and the Apostle of the Gentiles. We get the earliest documents and the largest writings on Christ and Christian doctrine from Paul. Apostle Paul is a shining example of Christian priesthood and a sacrificial victim for Christ. The end of the year of Paul is also the beginning of the Year of Priesthood in the Catholic Church, declared by Pope Benedict XVI. Last Friday on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was the beginning of this year to celebrate Catholic priesthood. This year of the priesthood is in commemoration of the 150th death anniversary of St. John Maria Vianney, Cure the d’Ars, the universal patron of parish priests. Let us find a moment everyday during the year to say a small prayer for our priests.
Fr. George
June 21, 2009
Peace! Be Still!
In today’s gospel the disciples are in trouble and Jesus is quietly sleeping. They have to wake Him up and ask the question: “do you not care that we are perishing”? How many times we might have said this to God or thought that God doesn’t care? May be we still continue to think that God doesn’t care. Some among US who were or wanted to be true believers are inclined to think that God doesn’t care at all and so May be there is no God! Jesus the Lord Himself had the same feeling at the time of His death and that is why He cried: “My God, my God, why have forsaken me”? Contrary to the response of Jesus to the disciples’ question from the sinking boat, the response of God to Jesus was a deep silence! To this silent and non-responding God He surrendered His soul,
probably not “knowing” what might be next, but certainly “believing” that God is there at the end of the tunnel! Last Friday we had the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The story of this Heart is the story of the God Who became man and dwelt among us. He became man for a while and regained divinity again. However, He fell in love with humanity and could not get away, and so He dwells in us through the Eucharist. He revealed His everlasting love towards us by opening up His heart and allowing water and blood to flow from it to wash us clean and to become our food and drink and thereby becoming our life. That heart remains open for us always and Jesus does respond to our cry: “do you not care that we are perishing?” However, we need to enter into the deep silence of God in order to listen to His words:
“PEACE! BE STILL!”
Fr. George
June 14, 2009
Body And Blood Of Christ
All believers in God, whatever is their religion, are always on a journey of ‘blind’ faith. Faith is blind because we believe in someone whom we haven’t yet seen and do expect to see. For all Christians the Holy Spirit is their guide, advocate and their moving force. For Catholics who believe in the real presence of Jesus in His Body Blood, there is an added stronghold of support and sustenance in this mystery. God Who borrowed humanity from the Blessed Virgin Mary could not finally leave the humans, whom He loved as a human, and in His infinite wisdom and love, He did this miracle of continuing as human while He reclaimed His divinity after the resurrection. Only God could have done this and only with the eyes of faith we can recognize in the bread and wine the Body and Blood of Christ. It is this mystery we celebrate on our altar everyday and our celebrations should not and can not end at the altar. We eat and drink of His Body and Blood and we become what we eat. Every Christian is a member of the Body of Christ, which is the Church. There are Christians and even Catholics who think and speak and behave as if they can be Christians and Catholics without being related to the Church. There is no Christ without the Church, which is His own body. We need to reinvent this Christ. We need to relate to this Christ and we need to live the life of this Christ. Christian life means to be part of this Body and keeping this body alive and growing. That is our call and mission.
“Lord Jesus Christ, with faith in your love and mercy I eat your body and drink your blood. Let it not bring me condemnation, but health in mind and body” (Communion rite in the daily liturgy, Sacramentary p.621)
Fr. George
June 7, 2009
Unity Of The Trinity
Just before the Ascension Jesus brought in the Trinitarian formula of baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Spirit. Jesus has spoken about these three even early, but not in one formula. The disciples would not have understood the meaning of this formula. It is likely that no one has yet understood it fully except the Trinity. It is precisely this lack of understanding that leads us to faith. We claim that we believe. However, we doubt! May be we need to know that belief and doubt go side by side. One is complementing the other. May be we can grow in faith and diminish the measure of doubt. This is possible only by relating ourselves to the person of Jesus, Who was the only visible manifestation of God on earth. Here also we experience doubt. We are inclined to ask: ‘is/was Jesus real?’ No answer will satisfy us fully. That means we still doubt; that is, we are not certain of God. It is precisely because we are not certain about God we need faith. Faith is a blind commitment to some One unknown and unseen. Worship and faith existed side by side in the first disciples and they do co-exist in us, the twenty-first century disciples. Jesus the Teacher made the twelve teachers and they in turn made us teachers to proclaim the faith in the Father, Son and the Spirit. Even when we do it with all earnestness, we continue to doubt. Our only answer, as Jesus Himself demanded, is to believe in the Son and be related to Him in spite of our doubt about Him. It has to be a personally evolving and totally committing relationship to Jesus. Faith is a plunge into the bottomless abyss!
Fr. George
May 31, 2009
The Spirit Is In Charge
God’s visitations in human life are always special and in the most unexpected manner. To Abraham it was in the form of travelers. Jacob was challenged by a warrior descending from a ladder; Josephs and Prophet Daniel were dreamers. With Moses it was the burning bush. To Zachariah and Mary Angels brought the message of the Spirit. The Dove came upon Jesus. Today Fire comes down on the disciples. Truly, the Spirit of God has no shape or form. God is indefinable. That is why the great Hindu philosopher Shankara said that God could be described only by saying ‘not this, not that’. It means God cannot be named and that was what God said when Moses asked God what His name was: “I am”, was the answer! In all such interventions or appearances of God one thing definitely happened: a renewal. The old order gives way to a new one and that is the work of God, ever renewing and recreating the face of the earth. That was what happened to the Apostles by the coming the Spirit. A group of ignorant, timid and cold-hearted people were set on fire and were totally transformed. That fire still continues to consume and the storm they set in motion still blows high even after 2000 years. This was the fulfillment of the prophecy of John the Baptist who said that the One coming after him would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and Fire! (Luke 3:16). Every generation needs a baptism by fire. On the feast of Pentecost let us pray to the Father to send forth the Fire to consume and transform and make us into a new creation, or to set us on fire!
Fr. George
May 24, 2009
He Premeates The World
Jesus made an act of appearance to the world on the Christmas day. He made an act of disappearance on the day of Ascension. Both these do not mean that God has not been present in the world before and after. Jesus in human form was here to reveal the working of the mind of God and also to communicate God to the humans in a manner intelligible to them. While in human form on earth, He did that communication, and chose, anointed and commissioned people to be His witnesses. He taught them all they needed to know about the ways of God. In order to strengthen their faith He appeared to them after His resurrection. At this stage He was already above all the limitations of the body and of this material world and He appeared to them only for limited moments and that too just to convince them that He was alive and was with them in an invisible form. His Ascension put an end to these appearances and made the act of His disappearance until His promised second coming. This promise of return was the ultimate hope He gave to humanity and it is this hope that strengthens the believers to take up the trials and tribulations of this world. He sent the Holy Spirit to be the invisible companion of the faithful and to execute the work of empowering and strengthening them and to remind them of His indwelling and all-permeating presence in the world and in each one of them. Let us receive and internalize this consoling message and be empowered to be His witnesses in the world.
Fr. George
May 17, 2009
Obey That All May Live
‘Obedience’ in Biblical language means using our freedom properly, doing harm to none and loving unconditionally. Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the Cross was an act of unconditional love and reverent submission in obedience to the will of the Father. Jesus abides in the Father by keeping the Father’s commandments. Hence for Jesus obeying the commandment meant love. To those of us who are obsessed with our ‘unlimited freedom’ and ‘illusory equality’ the words command and commandment are objectionable and unacceptable because we feel that they signify the curtailment of our freedom and treating us as unequals. However, if we have a close look at the Ten Commandments we will learn that each of them is leading us to greater freedom and equality. The first three commandments lead you to live in harmony with the nature, with God and with yourself. A God worth the name cannot but be one. Believing this will lead you to submit yourself only to one power. This power, God, is indefinable and unfathomable. Hence no idol can represent this one God and using His name in vain is degrading yourself because you are watering down your reverence for God born out of love. Observance of the Sabbath is for living in harmony with yourself and for your well-being. All the other commandments lead to living in harmony with your fellow-beings and to building up love and fellowship, which will liberate you from fear and anxiety. And that is what Jesus means when He says: “You are my friends if you do what I command you; and my commandment is that you love one another as I have loved you, and I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11,12 & 14). Hence let us look at the commandments with this enlightened vision!
Fr. George
May 10, 2009
Living Branches Of The Vine
After the simile of the Good Shepherd and Sheep, that of the Vine and the branches is the most significant one to explain our relationship with Jesus. The Hindu religion of India has a very close analogy. It says that Reality is One and all other things or what we call beings are just the manifestation of this One Reality. It calls the ultimate Reality as ‘Paramatma’ and the individual beings as ‘Jeevatma’. Once Thomist theology interpreted this Hindu cosmic vision as monism. I am not sure if this view is still held as strongly as it used to be before the Vatican II. However, this Eastern theology gives us a better glimpse to understand the claim of Jesus that He is the true Vine and we are His/Its branches. Jesus tells us that there is no life in us, the branches, unless we are connected to the Stem of the vine that is Jesus. Once we are the branches, the vine-dresser, His Father, cuts and prunes the branches in such a way that they produce the maximum yield. In other words, cutting or pruning and ‘bleeding’ is part of the process of regeneration in nature and only through this process any yield could be produced. This is the experience of anyone who takes a look at the process of growing a vineyard. St. Paul speaks about wild olive shoot being grafted to rich olive. Let us make every effort to stick on to the Vine as true branches and willingly submit ourselves to be cut and pruned so that we are fruit–bearing plants.
Fr. George
May 3, 2009
The Shepherd
Sheep and shepherd are fascinating scenes even in these days of the twenty-first century. Our so-called “developed” world has almost done away with this beautiful scene from the part of our territory. The most intricate and intimate relationship between the sheep and the shepherd cannot be explained with words. It has to be seen or better experienced. A true shepherd is a “full-timer”, that is, He is with the sheep twenty-four hours, seven days and twelve months. Watching a sheepfold in the open with their shepherd is one of the most enchanting and refreshing experiences. Pasturing the sheep in this fashion is still very much alive in many parts of the “less developed” world. Most of the shepherds in this world are “uneducated”. However, in the school of these shepherds their sheep are well educated and well disciplined. Jesus must have been fascinated by such scenes in Palestine and every word He speaks about the relationship between the sheep and shepherd is literally true. This knowledge and experience made Jesus to fashion His “career” as that of a Shepherd! If at all we need to understand what Jesus speaks about Himself being the Good Shepherd, we need to see a real sheepfold in the open and watch them day and night. Instead of going for an expensive vacation in some picnic spots, it will be rewarding to visit an open countryside with large sheepfolds and their shepherds and stay with them in pitched camps. This experience will give us the enrichment of a dozen closed in retreats and will lead us to the mind of God, the Good Shepherd.
Fr. George
April 26, 2009
The Prince Of Peace
The one greeting-message Jesus repeatedly gave to His followers after His resurrection was: “Peace be with you.” He said to the disciples that everything that was written in the Law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms about, His birth, life, suffering, death and resurrection were fulfilled. He proved to them that through suffering and death He was giving reverent obedience to His Father and through that He conquered even death and became of the firstborn of resurrection and the guarantee for the resurrection of those who believe in Him. He also became the Prince of Peace! By defeating sin and death through His atoning sacrifice He became the advocate for those who are still under the grip of sin and death. It was also written in the Books that repentance and forgiveness of sin was to be proclaimed in His name to all nations. That is the final exhortation of Peter today in the Acts to the people of Jerusalem and to the whole world: “Repent, therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out.” Through our life let us proclaim to the whole world that there is no other name under the Sun by which repentance and forgiveness is given. Let us be heirs of this inheritance of Jesus and dispensers of the same.
Fr. George
April 19, 2009
The Baton Is Handed Over
On His appearance to the College of Apostles, Jesus quickly does a few things, like arming them with the most important weapon and promise to the world: PEACE; “Peace be with you.” Then He reminds them that He was sent by the Father and gives the impression that He had completed His earthly mission as the Son of man. Thirdly, He sends them on the mission for which the Father sent Him. Fourthly He gives them an unfailing and powerful companion, the Holy Spirit by breathing on them. Finally He gives them authority on earth to bind and loose, authority to free people from their bondage of sin. He gave them proof that He came back to life. In His second appearance to them as a group, He gives a chance to Thomas to prove that He was alive by making Him feel His body. Through the inspired confession of Thomas, Jesus also establishes His identity as the Lord and God. Finally He gives a complimentary blessing to us, living 21 centuries after His human existence: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” St. John in his first letter reminds us of His commandment of love and the Acts of the Apostles gives us a sample of life style we could follow as the new creation in Christ Jesus. During Easter season, let us appropriate all these and be a blessing to this world, which is short of hope and peace.
Fr. George
April 12, 2009
New Water, New Fire And New Life
We had the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday night. During the ceremony we had the feet washing, which is almost equal to a sacrament. Anyone claiming to be a disciple or follower of Jesus cannot but be a servant to one’s brothers and sisters and being a servant is his/her business as a Christian. After becoming this great model of the servant Jesus establishes the Eucharist. It was the ultimate act of love done by the “God made Man”. Jesus did not want to die and part with humanity because He loved His humanity and His Oneness with humans so much that He did not want to part with it, part with them! The means He discovered for remaining human and remaining with humanity was the Eucharist. So long as humanity will be there on earth, He wanted to have the Eucharist on earth. In the Eucharist we are invited to
become what we consume, the body to be broken and the cup to be shared! On Good Friday this breaking actually took place and the Servant gave up His life as the climax of His act of LOVE!
At the Easter Vigil we bless new water, symbolizing baptismal water; we create new fire, symbolizing the light proceeding from God, the source of all light and life. Water and light (Sunshine) are the elements that sustain life on earth. The baptismal water is the element with which we enter into the new life of Christ’s Death and Resurrection. In baptism we are liberated from the grip of sin, Satan and death. Through baptism we are made sons and daughters in Jesus and thereby brothers and sisters to each other. On Easter vigil by the renewal of our Baptismal vows we appropriate these blessings and enter into the freedom
of the children of God. In baptism Jesus fills us with His Spirit and invites us to a life of unconditional love, given and taken. On Easter day Christianity is borne. Christianity means communicating and sharing of the Easter experience of liberation from pain, suffering and death. Easter experience is the experience of hope for humanity. We Christians are called to live this hope and give it to a world which appears to be having little hope!
HAPPY EASTER!
Fr. George
April 5, 2009
King Enthroned On The Cross!
Sisters and Brothers we are entering into the most important days of the Pascal Mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today we re-live the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and cleansing of the Temple, which acts, finally earned Him the cross and the nails and all that surrounded the events of Good Friday. The triumphant entry extolled Jesus to the very heights and also earned Him the greatest envy and hatred of the Jewish leaders who succeeded in turning the people, His own people, against Him. This crooked and political manipulation resulted in complete loneliness and alienation for Jesus. Everyone who mattered to Him and to whom Jesus mattered a lot chose to walk away from Him. Many turned against Him including His dear disciple Judas Iscariot. All His disciples deserted Him. Peter, the one who loved Jesus most, denied even knowing Him. Jesus was driven into complete loneliness. The agony in Gethsemane was this experience of total rejection. It climaxed on the cross. At the last moment Jesus, the Son of Man, the human person, felt that He was rejected even by God, His Father about Whom He said a few hours before that He was not alone, that He and His Father were One. This was real and true experience for Jesus. This is also our human experience here on earth. Everyone has gone through this agony. For some this is a prolonged experience, sometimes due to circumstances and often because they refuse to think about the benevolent presence of their dear God in their lives. If at all we learn from Jesus to utter every time “it is not my will, but thine be done” and “Father, into your hands I surrender my soul”, we will have the resurrection experience and we will definitely be messengers of hope in this hopeless world! Let us grow into that bliss!
Fr. George
March 29, 2009
Death For The Grain Is Life For Grains!
In today’s gospel there are people coming to meet Jesus from Greece. They came because they had heard about Jesus and they felt that they needed an introduction and Philip, who was also from Greece, seemed to be familiar to them. Philip himself was a bit reluctant to go straight to Jesus and so He went to Andrew and they together went. For Jesus this was the occasion to expose the great principle and motivation in His life, the story of the grain decaying and producing new life. This was no new doctrine; it was the law of nature and when it came from the mouth of Jesus it was a revelation of the purpose of His life and our life. The call of Jesus to give up life in order to gain it becomes very clear on the exposition of this law of nature. Giving up life becomes giving life to many. This is the true answer to the problem of suffering in
the world. Suffering is no more negative and depressing but rather it is truly creative and if we will we can make it enjoyable. It could be equal to the joy of creation. In fact one seed dies and decays and gives life to hundreds and thousands. Imagine the millions of cherries or berries produced by just one tree year after year, may be for hundreds of years and it became possible by the decaying of the one seed in the beginning. We have two lessons in today’s gospel: one there is need of people to lead or introduce or take people to Jesus; two: death of one grain results in the life of millions of grains. These lessons should give meaning and direction for our lives.
May the Lord be with you!
Fr. George
March 22, 2009
God’s Handiwork!
“For we are what He [God] has made of us”. In the making of us God has shown “His immeasurable riches toward us”! That’s how St. Paul puts us in position in Ephesians 2 today. In an early version the same was stated as: “we are God’s handiwork”. In the Jerusalem Bible it is: “we are God’s work of art”. All these tell that we are what we are because God made us so. Some of us are inclined to look at others and feel small or inferior in comparison. This attitude is the most destructive of our lives. Each of us is created unique and with utmost care and perfection. No one is a copy of another. Look at our body. Until we lose the little finger we might think that the index finger is superior to the little one. Ask someone who had it and later lost, and you will come to know that it was the little finger that gave strength to the index finger to function. When the little one is gone the index finger became less powerful and had to take greater effort to make it functional and also to do the extra work of the little one. This is true also with regard to the existence and functioning of us in the universe. God has made us as the best and placed us for a unique task with no substitute. If we do not do it, humanity will suffer to that extend. No one is created small in order that someone else may feel big. Instead the small one is there to complement the big and vise versa. In the scheme of God no one is small or big and only in God’s perspective we will ever be equal. Let us try to feel great as a unique, good and beautiful “handiwork” of God, placed in the right place to do a unique job as a member of human family. If sin has come on this way of God, this Lent is the time to get out and be on track!
Fr. George
March 15, 2009
Power From Within Is Real Power!
All the evangelists have reported Jesus going wild in the Temple. Except John all the others do it towards the end of Jesus’ ministry, probably as happening on the day of the triumphant entry of Jesus to Jerusalem. John has it at the early part of his gospel narrative. However, all of them have it during the Passover season. Jesus at the Temple is really wild. No where else we find such a face of Jesus. Though He was lashing at the most powerful ones of Israel, no one dared to resist. Is it not our experience that when someone is speaking and acting with a moral certitude, with a power coming from within, a power derived from the courage of conviction, a power testifying to truth, goodness and beauty, even the mightiest of the enemies are likely to listen and dare not to resist in public? Of course, there will be consequences, just like Jesus had. This wild face of Jesus really frightened the Jewish leaders and they immediately plotted to annihilate Jesus, Who knew that this was going to happen. That is the nature of moral indignation, namely, acting without being bothered about the consequences. Lent is a time we try to reflect on our lives, or we should. It is good to examine if we have the strength of conviction in matters of our faith and morals and feel infuriated with moral indignation. May be we will have to offer our “temple” to be demolished. However, it will be worthwhile and glorious and this glory will last forever. If we choose to look the other side and preserve the “temple”, which we sanctify with expressions like public propriety, dignified behavior, tolerance, inclusive culture, modernity, progress and the like, the glory we presume to be holding on will be short-lived and we will fall into oblivion or indignity. The choice is ours!
Fr. George
March 8, 2009
You Are The Beloved!
That’s what God tells to each of us: “you are my beloved, listen!” Do we have time to listen and a vibrating heart to respond and feel thrilled? This is the second time God is speaking on behalf of Jesus that He was His Son, the Beloved. First God said it in Jordan at His baptism. Now God says it again at the mountain top when God’s true glory came upon Jesus in the presence of Moses and Elijah. The transfiguration and God’s coming upon Him happened when Jesus was intensely preparing for the crucifixion. This Gospel passage is presented in the context of Abraham’s sacrifice of his only son Isaac and St. Paul’s forceful statement that God gave up His only Son for our sake. Paul argues that by giving up His only Son for our sake, if God takes up His position on our side, accepting us sons and daughters in the Son, who could be against us? Paul continues to say that with Him (the Son) God will give us everything. Transfiguration takes place in the context of the sacrifice on Calvary. Transfiguration is waiting for us only in the context of sacrifices. How often we reject others refusing to sacrifice our ego, pride, selfishness, enmity, hatred, sensuality and the like? How easily do we throw away our life partners and our own children without any compunction in order to satisfy our sensuality, greed and selfishness? Do we have any compunction to forgo a Sunday liturgy for the sake of hockey matches or for a partying or for an outing or just pretending that we are “busy”. Remember, any reward or glorification will come only on the context of sacrifices. This is the law of nature. This is also the law of God. Lent is a good time to give a thought for this fact of life! May the Lord be with you!
Fr. George
March 1, 2009
Penance = Integration = Wellness
We are not happy to hear about fasting and penance. Often we do not know what it is. We hear lot about depression, down-trend in the economy, recession and in turn we are depressed, frightened; we become anxious, irritable, and sometimes desperate. We refuse to admit that these things happen mainly due to our disconnectedness from the earth, nature, God, fellow-beings; and certainly it is a disconnection from our own self. This is what we call sin. It is a disintegration happening in us. Fasting and penance are the means to bring back the connections and growing back to integration. We disconnect ourselves from the earth/nature by over-exploiting it leading to the loss of its equilibrium. Losing the equilibrium of nature means losing it for humanity; because humans are part of nature. More than the needs we pamper to our greed, which deprives many of their needs. Greed leads to exploiting nature and its bounties beyond recovery and redemption. It distances ourselves from our fellow-beings, resulting in a rupture in our own personality because of the guilt we carry with it. That is disintegration and sin. When we turn a bit altruistic and are content with what we need for sustenance and well-being and not more that leads to integration. There is penance in it. If we can spare a little, sacrificing a bit of what we have and give to others, that is love and the best of all penances. All the people in the world cannot and will not do so. We are the chosen minority or the miniscule to do it; There is sacrifice in it; it is doing repair on behalf of the indifferent, the uncaring, the rough and rude and hardened ones of the world. That is our Christian calling. Lent is the right time to intensify this process by being with the Lord in the wilderness, in the garden of Gethsemane, on the Way of the Cross, and on Calvary.
Fr. George
February 22, 2009
Walking The Extra Mile
Driving an extra mile might be pleasurable. How about walking it, and that too carrying a load on your shoulder? May be impossible! Precisely that’s what the four friends of the paralytic in today’s Gospel did. They didn’t stop there. When they found that reaching Jesus through the normal route was impossible, they took an extraordinary and unbelievable path. It was a daring adventure and a loud act of faith. The response of Jesus was wonder and His action quick. Jesus perceived that the paralytic needed inner healing from sin and the degradation sin brings. Once free from sin liberation from paralysis was easy. Jesus freed the man from both to the consternation and utter confusion of the Scribes. They couldn’t understand how Jesus could forgive sins. They couldn’t perceive the God, the Messiah in Jesus in spite of all that He did and said. Jesus definitively proved that He had the power and this power made the paralytic to stand up, take his mat and walk. Why did Jesus do these and earned the enmity of the Jewish leaders? The answer comes from Isaiah’s prophecy today. ‘Though we humans are weary of God and though we have wearied God, yet God blots out our iniquities for His Own sake’. It is just because we are His own and He never wants to disown us. He doesn’t like to see us in the pit at any time! That is our God! Precisely this is what Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians that in Christ every one of God’s promises is a “Yes”. It means God is always positive and benevolent on us. What about we telling Him: “yes Lord, let Your will be done, in me, though I will have to walk the extra mile”?
Fr. George
February 15, 2009
You Too Can Heal!
Belief gives people courage. We see that courage in the leper of today’s Gospel. In those days lepers were forbidden to be seen in public and they could not come to places where other people are moving. As we read in the Book of Leviticus today, “lepers are to wear torn clothes, keep the hair disheveled, cover their upper lips, cry out ‘unclean’ and live alone in outside camps”. But today’s leper seems to violate these rules and comes closer to Jesus. He does it because he believed that Jesus was capable of healing him and when you are excited and think of such a healing, you are likely forget all your surroundings and your own self and jump for it and that is precisely what this leper did. The lepers were by all means ‘untouchable’ and Jesus breaks that rule and “stretched out His hand and touched him”. His words: “be made clean” was a command to the disease and the leprosy vanished from him all on a sudden. Jesus was definitely annoyed and indignant at such laws, which humiliated human beings and curtailed their freedom. He had also great compassion towards the suffering people and His action was quick and most effective. He had a warm heart and a welcoming attitude. Let us try to trust in this Jesus and also try to act like Him in our openness and warmth toward people. We too can heal many diseases just by being warm, welcoming and willing to stretch our hands and touch. Be a healer of hearts and souls and bodies!
Fr. George
February 8, 2009
Miracle vs. Message!
Simon and companions are “hunting” for Jesus for the sake of the people searching for Him. They were searching because they had seen the miracles and probably they wanted to see more. Often we get the impression that most people gather around Him just to see the miracles. May be they took Him just like a street magician? And Jesus tells the disciples: “Let us go to the neighboring towns so that I may proclaim the message there also.” The basic mission of Jesus was to proclaim a message, which essentially pointed to the coming of the kingdom and apparently most people seemed not catching the point. Even in our own time we find large number of people flocking together in pilgrim centers and for healing ceremonies just to see the miracles or to have a miracle happen to them. Hardly any attention is given to the source of the miracle and the message proceeding from that source. Most forget the responsibility of the one who receives healing and the message, which is to proclaim to others and bear witness to it and to serve others and become “all things to all people”, and by being so one “may share the blessings of the proclamation”. That is what Paul tells us today, “an obligation is laid on me and woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel…I am entrusted with a mission”. The mother-in-law of Peter is doing this kind of serving after receiving the healing and the message from Jesus. All of us are called to do similarly in our own small way with all sincerity and dedication.
Fr. George
February 1, 2009
Authentic Authority Invokes Listening!
All the evangelists testify that Jesus spoke with authority. This authority came to Him from the authenticity as the One sent by God. People easily recognized that Jesus spoke with authority and they listened. It was not only the people who listened; the devils even listened, because they had to. They knew that He had authority. Since He had authority, which was authentic, they not only had to listen but also to obey. That’s what the devils did immediately, though they had protested. The coming of Jesus was authenticated by God’s promises and prophecies, and the most important of the prophecies was that of Moses in the book of Deuteronomy wherein he says that God would raise up a Prophet from among their own kin who would speak with authority. Jesus was that prophet. Because He had authority, they listened and those who listened also obeyed. We are likely to hear proclamations from many sources. Many people claim to have authority and they preach diverse doctrines. If the Spirit of God prompts them and if the Spirit dwells in them, that Spirit will stir up the Spirit in you, Which is the same Spirit, and you will discern the authenticity of the speaker. Once you are convinced of the authenticity you have no option but to obey. This is because it is God Who puts His Word into the mouth of the one who proclaims and he/she has to speak everything that God commands. Let us pray for this discernment of the Spirit while listening and obey when we hear authentic proclamation.
Fr. George
January 25, 2009
Saul Turned To Paul!
This is the last day of the Unity Octave prayer week. Today is also the feast of the Conversion of Paul, which was a definite turning point for the infant Church. In fact, Paul was the apostle chosen by Jesus to unite the Jews and the Gentiles into the “One Body of Christ”. Paul had the leading and definitive role in bringing the gentiles to the Church without loading them with the heavy burden of the Jewish religious practices. This is also the 2000th year of Paul’s birth, the bimillennium jubilee. Saul’s turning over into Paul was a total U-turn, from being the persecutor of the Church to the strongest defender of it and thereby becoming the persecuted. There is no one among the apostle of Christ who suffered as much hardship, persecution, poverty and all kinds of privation. There is no better example among them for endurance for Christ. Paul’s martyrdom was the greatest of all. It was Paul who gave the strongest doctrinal foundations for the church, the best illustrations of the working of the Holy Spirit among Christians. It was Paul who defined the moral teaching of the Church, the sanctity of conjugal love and the relationship between husband and wife and the principles of family life. He showed to us the real cost of discipleship. The Church today is passing through difficult times. “Believers” do not believe; the foundations of family life are shaken and thereby the foundation of the church is weakened; more and more children live without parental care; practice of faith in vanishing; anti-Christ agents are struggling to deny Christ’s rightful position. We need Pauline zeal and determination to overcome these evils. Let us pray to and with Paul for unity and direction. “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”
Fr. George
January 18, 2009
“Come And See” And Stay And…?
It was time for John the Baptist to exit the scene and to wean away his disciples and for Jesus to enter and to make followers. Both happen at one stroke! John points to Jesus: “look, here is the lamb of God”! His disciples did not think twice to follow the lamb, first out of curiosity, then out of fascination and finally in response to the divine call. The fascination prompted them to forget the past (John) and stay back and then to bring others to Jesus (Simon Peter by Andrew, Nathaniel by Philip and so on). The divine call prompted them to witness to Truth and finally to die for It/Him! That is the story of discipleship. The call of Prophet Samuel is not different in its intensity and purpose. The calls of Samuel as well as of the disciples were irrevocable and irresistible. Though God apparently waits for an answer as in the case of Mary at the annunciation, she did not have an option to say no. That was because God makes the choice once and for all. He does not employ trial and error method. For God it is always final. It also does not mean that God is interfering with our freedom; He only prompts us through the call to our life’s mission. Once we respond to the call of God, it is an invitation to stay with Him and His staying with us; “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God” (1 Cor. 6:19). Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, it is an invitation to come and see and stay. It is a home coming and renewing of His indwelling presence within us. It should be a welcome opening of our hearts to this irresistible “Sweetheart”. Let us try to come in, see, stay and participate in the bliss!
Fr. George
January 11, 2009
You Are My Beloved
In the river Jordan John was administering a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus, the Son of the Most High and the Most Holy God, received this baptism of repentance from John. No trace of sin could ever approach Jesus; He was holiness incarnate. However, He chose to be baptized by John. This baptism and earlier the purification He underwent in the temple are the beginning of the great sacrifice Jesus was taking upon Himself, for which He was sent by the Father. At the baptism God from above put the seal of His love on His Son by proclaiming “You are my Son, the Beloved”. Though He was the Beloved of God, He was sent to the world be a sacrificial lamb in order that every human child born on earth may become the “beloved” of God. When a child is received into a Christian baptism, the same words of God: “You are my child, the beloved”, are uttered to it. At this moment for God the Father this little child and the Jesus John baptized are in no way different. This child, as it grows, continues to grow in God’s mind as the beloved. This choice is never changed on the part of God. Every human being from the moment of baptism onwards till he/she dies continues to be and to grow as the beloved of the Father. If at all he or she wants to experience this never failing and totally absorbing love, she/he should learn to continually say to the Father: “here am I, not my will but yours be done”. Try, and be the beloved!
January 4, 2009
God Is Here
God announced His coming to Mary and Joseph. They believed and it was Epiphany for them. The angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds and they took the trouble to go and see for themselves. They saw and believed and it was Epiphany for them. The star in the sky indicated the birth of the Messiah to the wise men of the east and they ventured into an unchartered journey with an unknown destination. They found in the child in the manger the Messiah and it was Epiphany for them. The Spirit prompted Simeon and Anna in the temple and they found the child and believed; Epiphany for them! The birth of the Messiah was announced to Herod the king and leaders of the Israel. The king and party had evil designs in their hearts and acted crooked and the Epiphany eluded from their sight. John baptized Jesus in the Jordan and the Spirit of God came upon Jesus and John saw that and it was Epiphany for him. Jesus converted water into vine at Cana at the wedding feast. The servants saw it and it was Epiphany for them. All who saw Jesus in action had the revelation that this man was not just the ordinary, that His works were amazing and His words were astounding. Some believed and they had their Epiphany. The unbelievers could not have the Epiphany. Hence, to have the key for Epiphany, the manifestation of God, in our lives is to believe. Epiphany is there and is possible everyday, every moment in our lives. We need to learn to recognize the Jesus standing just in front of us, on our sides, sitting besides us, walking along with us. May your inner eyes be opened to have the Epiphany in your life always and forever, amen!
December 28, 2008
Christmas 2008
Lovers need ways and means to express their love. Those expressions need to be communicable to the beloved. Some of those expressions are to be responses to the needs of the beloved. God is the greatest lover and He is the very source of love. In fact, God is also named as Love! Man – all men and women - is the beloved of God. And the invisible God wanted a visible and tangible expression that was intelligible for human kind to grasp. And humanity had been longing to see God from its very inception. Christmas is the answer for these longings of God and man! In Christmas God is coming in human form, fully identifying Himself with humanity in every minute aspect of human life and that is what we know as ‘the Word made flesh and dwelt among us – Emmanuel’! Hence we can say that Christmas is the greatest of all love affairs the world has ever seen and experienced. In the crib on Christmas night God is telling us: Honey, I love you! God is with us always even without our asking, even when we reject Him.
That is the meaning of God’s love. This love needs a response, namely, God wants man to be with Him. This will happen only when we welcome Jesus into our lives wholeheartedly, welcome everyone in His name with unconditional love, give our enemies the gift of forgiveness, our opponents tolerance, our friends a smile and our younger ones a good example. May this Christmas be a fulfillment of these demands of Love!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Fr. George
December 21, 2008
How Can This Be, Since ...?
In today’s first reading we have a mission statement of the Messiah: to bring good news to the oppressed and to proclaim liberty to the captives! In the gospel reading we have the mission statement of John the Baptist: to be the voice crying out in the wilderness for preparing the way of the Lord. If we the believers in Christ want a mission statement it could be a combination of these two. The oppressed and the captives are still around in large numbers. They are scattered in the wilderness of this insensitive, indifferent, self-centered and extorting world and there is need of a voice in this wild place to cry out and prepare the way for the Lord. We the believers are definitely waiting for the Lord and a highway has to be prepared for His coming. The ground-breaking acts for this preparation is given by Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Once we achieve this state of life, we will be ready to bring the good news to the oppressed and to the captives. This achievement will enable us to be humble like John the Baptist to confess that we are neither a messiah nor a prophet; but in reality our message will be messianic and our words will be prophetic and the power to be the voice will be coming from above, from the One Who strengthens the week and our mission will be to point the way to Jesus. The world is in need of an Advent and we cannot but be the heralds of it. Let us try to be. The Lord be with you!
Fr. George
December 14, 2008
We Need A Mission Statement
In today’s first reading we have a mission statement of the Messiah: to bring good news to the oppressed and to proclaim liberty to the captives! In the gospel reading we have the mission statement of John the Baptist: to be the voice crying out in the wilderness for preparing the way of the Lord. If we the believers in Christ want a mission statement it could be a combination of these two. The oppressed and the captives are still around in large numbers. They are scattered in the wilderness of this insensitive, indifferent, self-centered and extorting world and there is need of a voice in this wild place to cry out and prepare the way for the Lord. We the believers are definitely waiting for the Lord and a highway has to be prepared for His coming. The ground-breaking acts for this preparation is given by Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Once we achieve this state of life, we will be ready to bring the good news to the oppressed and to the captives. This achievement will enable us to be humble like John the Baptist to confess that we are neither a messiah nor a prophet; but in reality our message will be messianic and our words will be prophetic and the power to be the voice will be coming from above, from the One Who strengthens the week and our mission will be to point the way to Jesus. The world is in need of an Advent and we cannot but be the heralds of it. Let us try to be. The Lord be with you!
Fr. George
December 7, 2008
Sweet Waiting For Hope
It is said that the time of waiting is the best time in life. The birth of a child, the first communion, the wedding day, the return of a loved one from abroad and the like are times we wait with hope and happiness. We are happy because we know that these are going to happen. For us Christmas is such a waiting time. It is a day and an event that happens every year and we make the greatest of all preparations for this event. Waiting for the Messiah for the Israelites was not with such certainty. Though they did not know the time, they had the means to know the signs for His coming, the place of His birth and even the nature of the woman from whom He had to be born. However, when He came as the fulfillment of the prophecies, those who waited long for His coming did not know nor recognize Him. For us today, it is unlikely that we will miss the date and time. But it is likely that we will miss the point. During this waiting time we may happen to give wrong priorities, invest our time, talent and treasure at wrong counters and lose the significance of the event. Of late there is a tendency in our society to exclude Christ from Christmas for the sake of secular values, to look more fashionable and modern. Christmas was an event when God became one with man, became Emmanuel! In order that we really benefit from Christmas we have to rise to the position of man becoming one with God. That is the invitation of Christmas. For this we have to keep Christ the central point of our life and activities. We are living at a time of uncertainties and anxieties just like the people of Israel lived at the time of His coming. These miseries could be driven away from our life if we accept Christ as the answer and the only answer! Maran Atha, “Come, Lord Jesus!. May the Grace of the Lord Jesus be with everyone.” (Rev.22:20-21)
Fr. George
November 30, 2008
He Is On The Way
By the end of November we are completing one cycle in the liturgical life of the Church. The ending part of the cycle is filled with eschatological signs, symbols, scripture readings and reflections. The glorious and triumphant coming of Jesus is our expectation and we culminate the liturgy of this period by celebrating the feast of Christ the King. As soon as we conclude this period, we begin re-living of the events of His first coming. This re-living of His life for us is not just a remembrance, it is not a quiet waiting as we wait in the airport for the arrival of a flight. Instead it is a constant re-orienting of our life in accordance with the life of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men from the east, Simeon and Anna in the Temple, and the like. We re-orient our life in every phase of our living on earth. Joseph and Mary had all the anxieties, uncertainties and fears which any parent is going through at the birth of a child. They had also all the joys, expectations and excitement about the event
to take place. Mary and Joseph did make every possible preparation for this event, though they did not have any of the high-tech gadgets, facilities and helpers as the modern day parents have. Preparation for us for the coming of Jesus is tuning our life in each and every phase of it in accordance with the life of Christ and the Holy Family on earth. In the liturgical cycle of the Church we say we are re-living the mysteries of the life, passion, death and resurrection of Christ. Unless this re-living is connected with our everyday life and unless we derive inspiration and direction from the life of Christ, He will remain a distant and insignificant figure in our life. If we decide not to be truly connected and passionately related to the life of Christ, we will fail to find meaning for our life and most often we live a miserable life. Being connected with Christ and His life will not take away any of the joys and sorrows of life on earth, but it will enhance the value and enjoyment of our life, and every day and every
incident in our life becomes rewarding not only here on earth but also for the everlasting life we await. Christmas is an invitation to enter into this joy, which God alone can give us. Advent is an intense preparation for this entry. There are many depressing thoughts for this Advent and for this Christmas. However, for those who really decide to be connected with the Baby in the manger and His life, no event on the world scene will be depressing. They will find meaning in every world event and situation. May He Who is the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega, brighten your lives!
Fr. George
November 23, 2008
The Kingdom Come!
Most people and definitely our children these days will find it hard to understand the meaning of words like king and kingdom. King used to be the sole authority in his kingdom and there was only one authority with practically no hierarchy as such. In the ancient world the king alone was the law giver, the ruler and even the judge to settle disputes. If one were to be obedient to the king, things used to be safe and secure. People were supposed to be having equal rights and responsibilities, though there were those who enjoyed extra favors and privileges from the king. In the place of kingdoms and kings, today we have nations and rulers and in the so-called democracies there are umpteen number of rulers and authorities to whom people have to pay obeisance and obedience. In this world money and power are decisive elements in the destinies of people. Equality and equity are great dreams of the peoples of all nations. Equal justice for all at affordable prices is the greatest of such dreams for the people of goodwill and of late this is almost an eluding dream,
which often pushes people into a situation of hopelessness and despair. In this context Christ and His Kingdom and its values become very relevant and powerful enough to pull the above despairing people out of the abyss they have fallen into. The values and treasures of His Kingdom have to be acquired or traded on with a coin that is entirely different from the coins of our present-day nations and states. The most valuable coin and the only one that is to last forever in His Kingdom is Love. The merchandises with which one can trade on this precious coin are known as mercy, compassion, forgiving, forbearance, patience, justice, truthfulness, and the like. Establishing or initiating this Kingdom was very costly for Christ the King. He had to give up His own life and His followers who really look for His kingdom are asked to follow the path He Himself followed, even entailing their life on earth. However, Christ the King promises an everlasting reign of love. Faith in His promise and hope for its fulfillment are the pre-requisites to pursue this goal. On this feast
of Christ the King, as His people on earth, let us resolve to include in our daily prayers the last but one verse in the whole Bible: AMEN, COME LORD JESUS (Revelation 22:20b) with the extension: THY KINGDOM COME!
Fr. George
November 16, 2008
Return With Increase
Because of the global economic recession some of us are worried about loss of return on our investments and there is no one among us who does not want to get a return on investments. Today Jesus is telling us about God’s investments and His desire to get returns. Each of us is a rich investment of God on earth. God has created us, filled us with various talents and gifted us with everything that we need to live, prosper and also to glorify Him. These are free gifts. However, they are not to remain idle but be traded with in order to increase them for our own benefit and also those of our fellow beings, and we will be required to give an account of what we have done with these gifts and talents. As stewards and as children of God here on earth our welfare and well-being depend on the efforts we make to trade with these talents. The more one is industrious, the more talents and gifts will be given. The more one chooses to be idle, whatever little talents and gifts given to him/her will be taken away. If the gifts and talents are taken away, life will be definitely miserable
and that misery, which we ourselves opt for, is known as punishment. If we consider our life worth living, we need to reflect and see if God is the giver of these gifts and if so, do we thank Him enough? For thanksgiving is one way of acknowledging and returning to God with increase what is due to Him. This attitude of gratitude will enable God to give us more, Receiving more from God also involves being more and more responsible for the greater gifts received. God’s treasury never becomes smaller by giving out more of its contents to us. As children of God we also inherit this character of God and if we too continue to give out with increase what we have received, by that we will pave the way for receiving more. This is true with regard to material gifts as well as spiritual gifts like love, compassion, tolerance, forbearance, forgiving, etc. The more we give any or all of these the more we will get them back. Choosing to follow this path of God and with God is the sure way to happiness and peace on earth and for the inheritance of the kingdom of God. If we are in the habit of giving out
hatred, enmity, disregard, disrespect and the like to others, we are also likely to receive the same in a greater measure. Such negative gifts we give and receive in return are what make our lives miserable. That is the meaning of being thrown into outer darkness which is the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. The option to choose from these two categories is ours and our life is and will be a reflection of this option we exercise. If we find our lives miserable at any time it simply means we have opted to follow the negative path and there is no point in blaming others and even God for our miseries. May the good Lord help us to make the right choice and be happy and blessed!
Fr. George
November 9, 2008
Temple Of God
This year this Sunday is the feast or commemoration of the dedication of the Cathedral Church of Rome, which is named Saint John Lateran Basilica. It was dedicated by Pope Sylvester I in the year 324 AD, 1684 years ago, after rebuilding and major renovations. This cathedral is the official church of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. In today’s first reading prophet Ezekiel describes his vision about the beauty of the temple of God. In the gospel Jesus acts violently in order to safeguard the sanctity of the temple God. All these point to the importance and sacredness of a place of worship. In the old world order places of worship were at the centre of people’s life and they were accustomed not to leave any stone unturned to keep them perfect, beautiful and holy and everyone used to behave in and around them with utmost reverence. People used to spend fortunes for building and upkeep of the places of worship. For them it was a great privilege to participate in such work. Because of this frame of mind, rededication of a church or a basilica used to be a
great event in the history of a people, who used to take pride in owning their church and for being part of it. This spirit motivated people to build beautiful churches in the past. The story of St. Patrick’s is not different from the above. People of faith commitment spent their time, talent and vast treasures to make this place of worship a reality 133 years ago and bequeathed it to us. This building in itself has no sanctity. It is made sacred by the presence of believing people gathered together for worship and for experiencing the love and fellowship of the children of God. We too have done a serious beginning for the repair and renovation of this heritage of ours. We have made bold strides in realizing this years old dream and apparently, we have achieved considerable success in our efforts. This temple of worship also needs a rededication. This act of rededication will have meaning only if we realize that our God dwells in living temples, not made of clay and brick and stone, but of flesh and blood. When hearts and minds of believing people come together in
large numbers and assert their faith in the living God and in His indwelling presence in their hearts, this dedication becomes complete. At the completion of this year’s scheduled work for our church, let us try to do this and make this church great. Let us also be reminded that the work on our church has just begun only and we have to miles to go, the fuel for which has to come from your time, talents and treasure!
Fr. George
November 2, 2008
Rememberance
November is the month of remembrance and today is the day of remembrance, a time when we think of our departed dear ones. May be we also take time to think about our own life’s end. In this thought some of us end up in what the book of lamentations says today, namely, ‘’I have forgotten what happiness is’’. When I look at some people’s life, I get the impression that they are waiting for death and that happens to be their only pre-occupation. I am reminded of an incident in my life years ago. At the end of a weeklong retreat preached to a group of religious sisters, one elderly sister asked me why I did not include in the preaching the last things of life like death, judgment, heaven and hell. She said these things should be our main preoccupations in life. I asked her why should we think about these since these are not our business. I told her that these are the business of God and He takes care of them eminently. What He wants from us here on earth is to live this day and this moment in the most appropriate manner we can and leave
tomorrow and all its woes to Him. We are not sent into this world to wait for death. Our task is to renew the face of this world though creative involvement with God, responding to the everyday tasks entrusted to us, of course, sweetening these tasks with love. Once we do these small tasks given to us, God will take care of the future - death, resurrection, reward and punishment. This is the hope with which we are to live and love. This is what the book of Lamentation reminds us: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end;” In the period of Remembrance let us be reminded of these consoling words of Jesus too: “come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest…” These consolations will enable us to pray for our dear ones with hope and empathy. Let us make our prayers with the firm hope that the Lord is listening and will definitely respond.
Fr. George
October 26, 2008
The Kingdom Of Love
Jesus apparently made the observance of the Commandments very simple by reducing all of them into one and, in fact, into just one word, one concept LOVE! He tells us just to love and take possession of the Kingdom! Give love and make yourself lovable and life is going to be wonderful. Not only Jesus said this, but He did it and it turned out to be very costly– He lost His life. Though He was the source of all the riches, He decided to be a pauper, not even having a place to be born! He did not have a place to lay His head when he died; it was hung on the wood. The very same people who ate from His table betrayed Him. Those whom he fed with the multiplied bread and healed miraculously did not thank Him but rejected, persecuted and killed Him. His own dear disciples denounced and deserted Him. He forgave all of them and prayed to the Father to forgive them. He washed the feet of His servants and became their servant. He took upon himself the infirmities of a suffering humanity, the sin of an erring world. His association with the outcastes of the society earned Him hatred from
the ‘civilized’ and He was made an outcaste to be nailed to the cross outside the city walls. For Him all these amounted to Love. Do these and their kind mean love to us? When it comes to forgiving our own dear ones, our spouses, our children, our parents, our siblings, our in-laws, is it possible for us to really forgive from the bottom of our hearts? We are inclined to say Ì cannot just forgive these just because I have loved so much! And we presume that there is love in the absence of forgiveness. The word of God challenges us today. Look at the compassionate God of the book of Exodus and his concern for the one having just one gown which was pawned. That is our God and we are invited to be His children – children of love! The invitation is still open!
Fr. George
October 19, 2008
Missionaries And The Mission
Jesus was the first missionary sent by the Father to earth to begin the redemptive work. He did that most eminently and won the victory over death and became the firstborn in resurrection by which He became the guarantee for our resurrection. The life and work of Jesus is an unfinished task and the Church on earth is the continuation of His mission and every Christian is a missionary by the call he/she received in baptism. That is, a Christian by nature is and has to be a missionary. The most important way we can be a missionary is by witnessing to the life of Jesus. There is one parishioner here who tells me every time we meet that his life is a gift of God and God has been working miracles in his life. He tells this not only to me but to everyone he comes across in the street. He is a living witness. Without being much aware of it, he is doing a great missionary work. Our struggle to live a truly Christian life is great witnessing. St. Paul today extols the Thessalonians for their “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ
”. In addition to this witnessing in our daily life, we also need to have regard for those people working, suffering, being persecuted and killed in our frontier missions. The Church is making progress in many frontiers. The opposition to and persecution of the Church are also growing. This Sunday is Mission Sunday, when we specially think about the frontier missionaries. They need our prayers, goodwill, empathy and material support. Often we may not be able to give from our abundance. However, when we realize that they are our own body in Jesus and helping them is not necessarily a generosity but part of our bounden duty, we will find provisions even when we do not have “enough”! May the Lord help you into this abundance!
Fr. George
October 12, 2008
Harvest Festival = Thanksgiving!
Some of you might still remember Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also know as Mahatma Gandhi! Mahatma means the great soul. It can also mean the person of glory. He is the father of the nation called India. It was through his absolutely non-violent and self-sacrificing struggle that the British Empire was brought down in India and over the whole world. He only made non-violence as the most powerful political weapon in human history. He had a vision for self-sufficient, self-contained and “self-centered” villages for India. In these villages everyone is a worker, and produces from his/her trade or farm enough for oneself and to share with others who do not produce the same product. When the efforts of all the villagers put together, all will have enough of everything, everyone lives in harmony. The time of harvest is a time for celebration, feasting and sharing. There would be no big travel, no many motor vehicles, no airplanes, no big railroad. There would be sufficient roads and facilities just to move people and goods in limited numbers and quantities. There is no competition, no big business and enormous profit, no many politicians to feed on the people’s sweat and blood. Hardly any place for greed and everyone’s needs would be met. It would be a self-governed village. All people would be independent. They will be also interdependent, which would be a greater value than independence. The guiding principles would be love and caring. This man’s dream did not come true. Whenever I read in the gospels the stories about the banquet and the Kingdom Jesus speaks, I am reminded of this great dreamer who wanted to become a Christian but did not get baptized just because he could not find Christ in the Christians he met. However, he lived and died just like Christ. He was killed by a Hindu fanatic because, being a Hindu, he loved and defended the Muslims, whom he counted as brothers and sisters! Thanks be to God for this dreamer and for the Dream!
Fr. George
October 5, 2008
Gratitude With Increase!
Two of today’s readings speak to us about the absence of gratitude. God the Father is lamenting through prophet Isaiah that His vineyard did not give Him grapes He expected. The lamentation is loud and pathetic when He asks the house of Israel the question: “what more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done?” The same story is repeated by Jesus when He says that the tenants did not return the produce to the landlord. Gratitude is and should be an attitude and a habit. You will have it only when you realize that everything you have and all that you are have been gifts given. The giver is the owner. When the receiver forgets the fact of receiving and exercises ownership and entitlement, he/she will not have anything to be grateful. If your heart is not tuned to be grateful to God, you are not a believer and your prayers are of no worth and you are losing a lot! St. Paul instructs us today: “in everything let your requests be made known to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving”. In order to be so we must recognize the fact that it is God who gives the increase. Let us examine our conscience and see if God really gives us the increase and if so, do we return gratitude with increase? Our liturgical celebration everyday and especially on Sunday is and should be the greatest expression of thanks giving – Eucharist, means thanks giving! The offerings we bring to the Eucharistic table are just a token of our returning with increase. If our heart and soul are not in them, they are incomplete.
September 28, 2008
Divine Standards For Joy!
This week’s readings are a continuation of the last, in setting standards for the Kingdom by Jesus. Call and choice are God’s gift to us. However, our response and performance are equally important so that we may stay afloat in the call. In today’s parable the call was given to both the sons. Both responded differently and they performed the opposite way. And performance is complimented by Jesus. The Jewish leaders were among the first to be called. But their response was negative and performance absolute inadequate and so they were rejected by God. The tax collectors and prostitutes received the call very late, but their response was quick and positive and performances were to the delight of God, and they became heirs of the Kingdom. Through prophet Ezekiel God was giving the same message: if you turn from good to wickedness, your initial goodness will not be of any use to you. If you turn from wickedness to good and persevere in it, the Kingdom is yours and that is the fairness of God to us. Importance is definitely on finishing in the proper way. The net result of all these finishing good and perseverance consists, according Paul, “in being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind”. And this makes our joy complete, which was the ultimate desire of Paul and is the design of God. In order that we may come close to this mark of God, let us join the psalmist and say: “Remember your mercies, O Lord!”
Fr. George
September 21, 2008
Bad Labor Policy
In today’s Gospel we have a perfect example of bad labor relations, impractical business policy, inequity in the dispensation of justice and promotion of laziness, advocated by none other than Jesus, the Saviour of the World! Equal wages for unequal work, more rewards for less perspiration! And He declares that the Kingdom of God is like this! Jesus is very unlikely to change His word or His policy, no matter what the ‘civilized world’! His story or history has no evidence of any compromise He ever made. How many of you want to go to this Kingdom, His Kingdom? Through Prophet Isaiah God was foretelling this: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways.... as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts”! St. Paul is also making a statement today which is not palatable for our civilization. He says: “to me living is Christ and dying is gain”. Compare this Kingdom with our kingdom where might is right, majority’s decision is
final, laws of nature, which are also laws of God, are negotiable and could be tampered with, only the wealthy in the world are worth listening to, the civilized world’s way of life is not negotiable, faith and morals are not fashionable, religion is only for the superstitious, that which cannot pass through the test tube is not real, all that glitters is gold, in the presence of almighty dollar Almighty God of the superstitious is a nuisance! However, His rule is: “the last will be first, and the first will be last”!
Fr. George
September 14, 2008
Lift High The Cross
Everyone wants to be lifted up, to go on stage, to be on the podium, in focus and on the limelight! It is natural and there is nothing wrong about it and everyone must desire for it! Jesus too predicted about His being lifted up. He compared His lifting to the lifting of the serpent by Moses. Jesus had a stage, Calvary. He had a podium the wood of the cross, on which He was lifted. Those of the Israelites who looked on the lifted up serpent were saved. In the same manner those who take the trouble of looking at the wood of the cross and at the One hung upon it will to be saved. By being lifted up on the cross, Jesus attained the power to save and He became the Saviour of the world – Salvador do Mundo! And Jesus declared in no uncertain terms that the only way for salvation is the Way of the Cross. The other day I saw the photo of the charred body of a twenty-year old girl burned to death by anti-Christian forces in India. Fourteen others were brutally killed along with her. I saw the photo of Fr. Thomas, stabbed to death by another group of anti-Christians. These murdered
ones are now being lifted up, yes on the cross! Their lives haven’t gone waste. Their blood enriched the Indian continent and the Christian world and strengthens our faith. The cross is again being lifted high with their death. The cross is continuing its victory march, even today, 2000 years after it was first lifted on Calvary. We are blessed today because we can look at the cross. Feel proud, feel good, have hope! The victory is ours because we are in the footsteps of the Lord, Victorious for ever!
Fr. George
September 7, 2008
Listen And Return
The major concern of God expressed in today’s two readings is the repentance and return of the sinner. God is putting prophet Ezekiel in a trap, a trap between God and the people. He is commanded by God to declare mortal punishment to the sinning people. If he were to do that, the people would kill the prophet because he is to say something they do not want to hear. If he does not say what God commanded, God would kill him, holding him responsible for the non-repentance of the people! On both counts the prophet’s life is in peril. The only option for him was to choose death at the hands of the people and be in the good book of God, which, by all means was the wise choice. The intention of God to put the prophet’s life in peril was to save the sinner. God is infinitely waiting for his/her return. The same idea is repeated in the gospel. Jesus tells his listeners to go through a process in order to bring back an erring sister or brother. First, talk to the sinner in private, then in the company of one or two, and finally to the church, the assembly of God’s
people. In effect, Jesus is telling his listeners to leave no stone unturned in order to bring back the sinner to the fullness of love through repentance. As Paul says today, this is the way to love your neighbor, which is the fulfillment of all law and commandments. In the process God expects that the sinner will listen and return! Could it be that we are among those whom God expects to listen and return?
Fr. George
August 31, 2008
Must Take Up Your Cross And Follow!
Immediately after getting the greatest elevation on earth, Peter gets the worst possible rebuke of being called ‘Satan’, just because he tried to detract the Lord from His life’s mission of ascending the cross and redeeming the world. By this act of self-denial, in spite of being the “Son of the living God”, Jesus proved to the world and continues to prove that this is the only way for salvation. All other ways have failed and there is no way other than the way of the cross to gain lasting salvation and even a rich life here on earth. The Cross was a symbol of torture, shame and defeat. But after Jesus, it has been the symbol of victory, life and salvation. We do acknowledge and profess it with our mouth. However, how many of us are willing to accept it in life and live it? We like to walk through the Stations of the Cross in the church. In real life we try to evade those stations. We do not want to change our attitudes, our priorities toward God and neighbor, to cast out our pride, to forgive those who sin against us. We refuse to serve
the One God when confronted with the lure of the “almighty dollar”. We can easily forgo a Sunday liturgy and Sabbath observance for the sake of a soccer game, or a few extra dollars for working on Sundays. If we go for a journey, that is a good excuse not to go for Sunday liturgy. We do not have any compunction to tell God that we have no time for Him, the Giver of all our time, Who can even call back at any time His gift of our time! If we want salvation, His call to “take up your cross and follow me”, is not an option but a must! Those who have ears let them listen!
Fr. George
August 24, 2008
Son Of The Living God!
In the continuing discourse, prophet Isaiah speaks about replacing the incumbent in the throne of David with someone else, more worthy, noble and obedient. What about the house of God, which is intended to be a house of prayer? Will the Lord dispossess the present incumbents of our churches and hand them over to new worshippers just because the present ones do not pray there? It is a point worth thinking. In the gospel today Peter is grabbing the highest score in his whole life and gets a new name, Peter, means rock, for his confession of Jesus. This confession was part of the growth of Peter in the Spirit, as Jesus compliments him by saying that it was the Father who revealed this to Him. Peter was instrumental in the hand of God to give the true title to Jesus: the Son of the Living God! That was the most blessed moment in the life of Peter. This moment transformed Peter into the Vicar of Christ on earth. It was the peak moment when the vocation of Peter got finally clarified. All of us are seekers of God. We need to search in our hearts who Jesus is to us? We need to make
our own confession of Jesus by discovering our own Jesus and when we do that we too may get a new name, a new title and a new mission, which might supersede or over-rule all our past notions of life and its worth and its orientation. Let us be on the look out for our OWN Jesus and let us allow Him to rename and transform us and our lives.
Fr. George
August 17, 2008
Lord, Open Up Your Treasury!
Through prophet Isaiah the Lord is telling us that He will gather all the people together, make them joyful in His house, their sacrifices will be accepted on His altar and His house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples. We the people of St. Patrick’s faith community are engaged in the big task of keeping for the posterity this church a house of prayer for all. Let us try to respond to the privilege of being called by God for this great, honorable and onerous task! St. Paul tells us today that “the gift and call of God are irrevocable”! It is faith that moves us to take up tasks like this. Faith can move mountains as the Lord says. Faith can also move the Lord and that is more important for us and that is what happens today to the woman who persists with her plea for her daughter, in spite of the insult poured on her. Any ordinary person would turn back at such rejection but she continued and she got not only what she wanted but also a great compliment for her faith. One ingredient of faith is humility. This woman had it, had the tenacity and tons of faith in the ability as well as benevolence of the Lord. May be we have a lesson to learn from her. Let us not try to move the mountain, but we need to move the Lord and faith is the only way!
Fr. George
August 10, 2008
Lord, Save Me!
After feeding the five thousand plus, Jesus sends the people home, the disciples to the other side, probably to their homes and Himself withdraws to the mountain to be alone with the Father! In today’s first reading prophet Elijah, while he was hiding in a cave on Mt. Horeb, was asked to look for God and he listened to the great sound of the a storm that was breaking the mountains and rocks, then to the roar of an earthquake, and then to the fury of a wild fire. He realized that God was not there in any of these. Then comes the sound of a sheer silence and He found God therein. To this very silence Jesus was withdrawing after the working of the great miracle. He needed to thank God for manifesting His power through Jesus. He wanted to reinforce Himself to continue the signs and wonders in order to show to the people the coming of the Kingdom of God. He prayed the whole night, forgetting the fatigue of working the whole day and setting aside the grief and fear at the brutal murder of His cousin John the Baptist. Alone with the Father, in the silence of the night, He was strengthened and then comes down in the morning and rushes to His disciples whose boat was sinking in the storm. In spite of seeing all the miracles and the power of Jesus, Peter doubts and gets frightened at the fury of the storm and Jesus extends His hands at his cry: Lord, save me! Let us remember that enjoying the presence of God in the silence of our heart is the sure way to be empowered to do the tasks the Lord is entrusting to us and to be involved in the redemptive act of God. Let us try to be involved! Don’t feel ashamed to cry out: `Save me Lord`
Fr. George
August 3, 2008
Jesus Needs Our Loaves And Fishes!
Yes, miracles are worked by Jesus, but not without our help; and today definitely He is incapable without us. He does not bake bread; but only multiplies what we give. Today miracles are worked by our hands and with our loaves. Each of us is empowered to work these miracles by working with and beside Jesus. We need to be aware of this power the Lord has given to us and have the will to bring it out. We need also the disposition to respond when the call comes. In today’s gospel story, Jesus was badly in need of some peace and definitely He wanted to be left alone to grieve his cousin, John the Baptist’s brutal murder. However, the people wouldn’t let Him go. They followed Him to His hiding place and Jesus, setting aside all His private needs, spontaneously responded to theirs. He had compassion for them. Without their asking He knew their need for food. That is our Lord and Master Jesus! His command to and demand from us is to take up our cross and follow Him. Following Him means doing promptly the things we are called upon to do today. We cannot afford to wait until all our needs are met in order to respond to His call. We are partners with God to continue His creative act today, to give life to the earth, to build His church, to nurse the body of Christ, to feed His lambs and sheep. May be we will have to forgo a weekend holiday, a hockey match, a vacation and may be we will have to stop waiting for the million dollar jackpot, and do something with the treasure, talent and time we already have! “They need not go away; you give them something to eat”! (Matthew 14:16)
Fr. George
July 27, 2008
Only Wisdom And Discernment
While Solomon was entitled to ask for the dominion and wealth of the whole world, he chose to ask for wisdom and discernment and nothing else. Surprisingly, with these God gave him every desirable thing in the whole world and his wisdom was never surpassed by anyone else as per the promise of God. Today we have Jesus, the embodiment of God’s wisdom and the Holy Spirit dwelling in Jesus and in us from Whom proceeds all discernment. Do we ever feel full if we possess Jesus and His Spirit? What are we after in life, the gifts and miracles of Jesus or the Gift of Jesus? Do we ever believe in what Paul says: “all things work together for good for those who love God”? Do we give enough attention to discern the “predestination and the call and justification” from and by God? We do count ourselves as the one who found the hidden treasure and the fine pearl of great value. However, how many among us are willing to sell all that we have and buy the treasure or the pearl. To possess Jesus, the treasured Jewell, is as costly as all our worldly possessions and all that is dear to us on this earth. Jesus wants us to value Him more than all the others, to forsake all the rest for His sake, to die with Him in order that we may have life. That is the kingdom to which Jesus invites us today! Let us pack up and go and never turn back!
Fr. George
July 20, 2008
Small Is Beautiful - Also Powerful
Jesus is down to earth when He speaks of the Kingdom of God. His parables are so simple, taken from the day to day life and experience of people. Through the small events and things Jesus elucidates great truth and they are made simple and understandable. Great events, objects and happenings may stupefy us, but they may not lead us to God. Similarly people adorning great titles and decorations and possessing immense wealth may catch out attention. However, people who are apparently insignificant and events that are not worth noting, may later on turn out to be great warriors for God and marvelous signs of God’s presence and action on earth. That is what Jesus signifies when He speaks about the mustard seed that grows into the greatest of the shrubs and the smallest quantity of yeast the woman mixes, which leavens three measures of flour! In the eyes of the world, while they were living, Therese of Lisieux and Francis of Assisi were insignificant people. However, they are the greatest of the pillars of God on earth. When faced with great tasks to be done, each one of us has the tendency to consider ourselves as small and insignificant and we are so. However, in the hands of God and in the scheme of God our very unworthiness becomes the greatest of strength. We become instruments in God’s hand to work His miracles, often even without our knowledge. What we need to do is to let God use us as His instruments. Let us try to believe and experience that small is beautiful and also powerful in the hands of God. “Heavenly Father, holy be thy name; thy Kingdom come!”
Fr. George
July 13, 2008
The Word, Our Word And The Miracles
The prophecy of Isaiah about the Word of God is so powerful and penetrating, that we must reflect and act upon! May be, we should not take it lightly lest we miss the most important. The psalm today gives the reason. “Your Word, O Lord, brings forth life”. Yes, that is the function of the Word of God, to bring forth life. It means the Word creates! The nearest comparison with this creative Word is the rain and all that it does as described by the prophet and sung in today’s psalm. We came into being as the word of God, as His creation. The creator sent us to the world “not to return empty, but to accomplish the purpose and to succeed”. During the process of this accomplishment there is the “period of eager longing, groaning in labour pain, being subjected to futility with the hope of being set free from the bondage to decay and entering the glory of the children of God”. The purpose of the creator is accomplished through our words and deeds and our very being. Just like the Creator’s Word does all the above miracles, our words can do the miracles of healing the sick, raising the dead, giving life to a lifeless world. Remember, a soft word, a gentle touch, a welcoming smile, a reassuring presence, an approving look, a listening ear, all these can and does miracles in our everyday life. Through these we become co-creators with the Almighty! We are called and sent with this intend and we must not return without accomplishing the purpose. The great Sower continues to sow, and let us make sure that we the seeds are not falling on the path to be eaten by the birds, on the rocky ground to be scorched and withered, and not among thorns to be chocked, but on the good soil to bring forth grain! Today’s psalm is worth reading, reading and reading again and again!
Fr. George
July 6, 2008
Sleep Like A Baby?
Jesus is promising that He would “take away our weariness and take over all our heavy burdens” and leave us free to relax! Summer is a time we take off for relaxing. Why don’t we listen to Jesus and get really relaxed? Don’t the mothers look at their sleeping babies for a long time and enjoy them and are in bliss contemplating the scene? After they leave the scene and are busy with their daily chorus, they also fret and worry and get into panic and fail to get a good sleep. Why? Just because they refuse to look around and see their God standing beside them and smiling at them and enjoying them; just because they fail to recognize that they and their children are His darlings; just because they think that they have the whole world to take care, that they have to be worried about life and their future for all eternity, their security, their children’s security and so, the list is endless; just because they forget that this moment to live and live it fully and that the Owner of their next moment is just close to them and that He is in control and not they, and that He has given them assurance that He cares and will take care. What they need to know is that He “hides these things from the wise and the intelligent and reveals them to the infants; yes, for such is the gracious will of the Father”. What we need to become like infants and leave the controls to Him and enjoy ourselves!
Fr. George
June 29, 2008
Who Am I For You?
This week we are celebrating the feast of SS. Peter and Paul, the great apostles. This Sunday is also the beginning of the two millennium of Paul’s birth. The pope has declared this year the Pauline Year in the Church. The Pope’s intention is to celebrate the life and apostolate of Paul and also to revitalize the Pauline zeal for Christ in the Church. In modern times Paul is blamed for the orthodox practices he insisted in the early church especially in the matter of freedom for and involvement of women in the ministry. Basically Paul was insisting on being modest in their dress and demeanor. Looking from the standpoint of our times, he was an utter conservative. Viewed from his time and upbringing, he was doing just what he was supposed to do. The glorious thing about St. Paul was that he had the courage of his convictions and was not afraid to speak it out though he had to suffer because of it. In our times many believers and ‘apostles’ may not like the freedom of expression and exposition enjoyed and employed by people. However, they dare not to speak it out and many go with the impression that this freedom is the ultimate, the unlimited and everlasting. While we enjoy this freedom, it is good to figure out for ourselves an answer to the question Jesus is asking: “Who do you think that I am?” The answer may not be found in any book or writing. It has to come from a soul searching and if we find one, we may even realize that all that we extol in the name of freedom is not so. The answer is not knowledge about Jesus, it is knowing Jesus. If we really know Jesus, we cannot but be different. This knowledge was what made Peter and Paul different. It was this knowledge that set them on fire for Christ. There is need of some such fire in and for the church today.
Fr. George
June 22, 2008
Truth Is Dangerous!
Prophet Jeremiah tells that God had enticed him and overpowered him. God did this against his will and natural instinct to run away. As a result he became the laughingstock all day long and for everyone and he was surrounded by terror. God enticed Jeremiah to tell the truth for the sake of God, to point the finger at those terrorizing, plundering, subjugating and killing others. That was dangerous for Jeremiah, because they denounced him and tried to take revenge upon him. They did this to Jeremiah because truth was inconvenient to them. And Jesus tells his disciples not to fear. It was not easy not to fear. In fact, Jesus Himself was frightened at the face of death and prayed to “remove the chalice from Him”. Again, the answer came through the mouth of Jeremiah: “But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail”. That was the experience of Jesus too. The resurrection of Jesus was the reward for His suffering and death due to telling the truth. Truth is inconvenient for many and telling it sometimes becomes risky and dangerous. However, we must be true to our own self, to others and ultimately to God. We need not tell all the truth. But if at all we say, it must always be the truth and truth alone. That is the only way we make the grace of God abound in this world, which is being made available by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Fear not those who can kill only the body. Allow God to be a dread warrior for our life.
Fr. George
June 8, 2008
Response: Immediate Or Never!
Call of Levi/Matthew was sudden and unexpected and the response was also quick as a reflex action. In fact, the entire gospel calls and responses are similar. Divine call hardly gives you time to ponder and decide. Though they had their hardships, trials, tribulations and finally death, none of those responded to the call of Jesus regretted it, including Judas Iscariot. Though the calls of Jesus seemed unplanned and not pre-meditated, He did have his choices and preferences. He did not accept those who volunteered to follow Him and so finally He could tell that He chose them and not they chose Him. Divine calls are irresistible. Once God makes the choice, you do not have an option. And those who are really called will not have to regret, though persecution and death are waiting for them. God continues to call us in our everyday life. It may not look as dramatic as it was in the case of the disciples, but it is real, down to earth and here and now. What we need to reflect is if we respond as we should. God’s call has the same speed as time. Time never waits for you. Just like this moment we spoil or idle is gone for ever, God’s call, if not responded immediately, is lost forever. Another characteristic of God’s call is that one is called for the salvation of many. With Matthew a large bunch of his buddies were accepted, forgiven and saved, and of course, they had a good time with Jesus to the envy and consternation of the Pharisees! The good news is that Jesus is at home with the sinners and the outcastes, and “the righteous” like the Pharisees have hardly any chance with Jesus. Do we need to be Pharisaic any further? Are we alert enough to get the call signals from Jesus and, if we are, how do we respond?
Fr. George
June 1, 2008
Rocky Foundations Rocked!
Doing the will of the Father in heaven is the means to enter the Kingdom. Hearing the word of God and acting upon them are the shortest routes to know and do the will of the Father. The word of God as proclaimed by Jesus says that the prudent ones among us will have the foundations for the house on the rock. God the creator laid solid foundations for this world and for the earth and appointed man as the steward. God also enriched man with the capacity to build up on the foundations or to rock the rocky foundation and wreck the ship. This great gift of God is our freedom. Our freedom allows us to be greedy. The story of humanity’s greed is reflected in many of the natural calamities like earthquake, flood, famine, and epidemic, and also in most man-made calamities like war, human slavery, and over-exploitation of the earth’s resources, environmental degradation, global warming, and the like. Some have the tendency to blame God for all these happenings and thereby disown human responsibility. Voices of sanity and calls for human salvation are effectively throttled by human greed, pride, immorality, lack of religiosity, craze for power, dominion and material pleasures, and the like. So what shall we, as small players in the field, do? Just do our mite: promote love and consideration for others, burn less gas, recycle as much as possible, live close to nature and obey the laws of nature, eat and consume for living rather than living to eat and consume, use the earth and resolve not to abuse or plunder it, respect the rights of others and be aware and awake to the limitations of our freedom. If we do these, may be we are laying the foundations on the rock!
Fr. George
May 25, 2008
Broken In Order To Make One Body
Jesus broke the bread and gave to them saying this is my body. One body is broken and divided in order that the divided many are made into one body, and that is and should be the Body of Christ, the Church. Catholic Church continues to believe and teach the doctrine of the Body and Blood of Christ as defined by the Council of Trend (1545-1563). This is the definition of Trend: “In the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of the God-man are really, truly, substantially, and abidingly present together with His Soul and Divinity by reason of the Transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. This takes place in the un-bloody sacrifice of the the Mass." Hence, for Catholics, in accordance with the teaching of Jesus in John 6:22-58, in Holy Communion we receive the real body and blood of Jesus. It is not just a symbol, it is not just a sign, it is real and substantial. St. Paul emphatically reinforces this teaching of Jesus by saying “the cup of blessing is a sharing in the blood of Christ and the bread we break is a sharing in the Body of Christ” (1Cor 10:16). Paul also warns us that in order to share in this cup and in this bread we need to be ritually and sacramentally purified. The teaching of the Catholic Church is that if we are in a state of grave sin, we must make a confession before we receive Communion. The Church also teaches that all Catholics must make a sacramental confession at least once in a year. It is through such purification and sanctification by the Body and Blood of Christ “we who are many are one body because we all partake of the one bread”(1Cor 10:17). Our participation in the Eucharist concretizes and energizes our relationship with Christ and with one another. This is the fellowship and communion we strive to foster in our parish. Let us try to be weaved into this One Body of Christ and be one in spirit.
Fr. George
May 18, 2008
Trinity, A Relation Ever In Process
Trinity has always been a difficult proposition to explain and more difficult to understand. St. Patrick brought in the three-leafed shamrock to explain Trinity. For St. Irenaeus the Son and the Spirit were the two hands of God. The concept of Godhead as Trinity is found even in other so-called “pagan” religions. Hinduism has the “Trimurthy”- Brahma, the creator god, Vishnu, the preserver or redeemer god and Shiva, the destroyer god. Destruction, of course, is for re-creation. The whole nature in the process is dancing in accordance to the dancing rhythm of Shiva and is being renewed perpetually. Even at the face of this three-faceted god, this great religion teaches that Reality is one and all that we see are the manifestations of this Reality. Thomism interpreted this as Monism, meaning that there is no duality between the creator and the created. In all probability this interpretation was due to the belief that Christianity was the sole depository of truth and anything outside Christianity was falsehood, especially in the matter of religion and worship. In fact, Hinduism is trying to tell that the whole creation proceeds from the One creative principle and so Godhead is One. That is what the Semitic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam try to believe. Christians say Father is God, Son is God and the Spirit is God. However, there are no three gods, but God is One or three-in-One. The teaching on Trinity basically tells that the very concept of God is a relation and is a process or a continuous flow from one to the other. Father is the only one invisible God, the Son is the human face of this God and the Spirit is the energizing and moving force of this God. Ultimately, the Trinitarian God of Christians and the Trimurthy of Hinduism could be grasped only through the heart rather than through the intellect and that is what we call believing. The basis of all human existence should also conform to the reality of being related. In fact, on this principle of being related or connected revolves the whole creation. Hence we can say that the whole Reality is a relation and human relations are revolving around human persons and the Holy Trinity is the prototype of all relationships.
Fr. George
May 11, 2008
Spirit, The Navigator!
Jesus came and laid out the plan, charted out the courses of action, selected the CEOs, laid down the key rules, provided the building material, gave the green signal and left the scene. The Navigator had to be in place and power connections were to be switched on. That’s what happened on the day of Pentecost. Everything was in place. The disciples were given the good news, they were given the power, and they were commissioned, they were even connected to the power line, the Vine. They just needed a starter. We call this the miracle of Pentecost. Some of us do not believe in miracles. Those of us who believe in them are still waiting for them to happen forgetting the fact that we are the miracles worked out by God and that we refuse to pull the trigger! May be we are still in the upper room waiting for it to happen and allowing the power to sleep and even die with us. The ongoing miracles being worked by God are all around us, in the nature, in the skies, in the seas, in the human presence, human kindness, human touch, human smile, human look, human word and in every human deed. If we keep our eyes, ears and mind open, we will see them and experience. If we keep our hearts open, we will be triggering the miracles of God’s presence here on earth! That’s what the Spirit of God wants to do in us and with us. Could we, please, lend a hand and heart to the Spirit of God that is dwelling in us?
Fr. George
May 4, 2008
The Ascent
Every good thing does come to an end. The disciples’ honeymoon came to an end with the Ascension of Jesus. Till the day Jesus was taken up the disciples were in a special world, totally protected and they did not have the need to be caring and working for themselves. Now that is over. They have to work for their own ascent to heaven and they have take with them the whole world. They are the only hope of Jesus to fulfill His mission on earth. They are sent to the whole world to proclaim the good news, with the assurance that they would not be alone, that He would be with them all the time, till the end of the world, till the end of time. And He is seated at the right hand of the Father to watch over us, to protect us and to plead for us with the Fathers. We are much stronger and secure now than when Jesus was on earth. This mission to proclaim the good news to the whole world is entrusted to us today by the very fact that we are baptized. Our baptism makes us “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 1:9). This proclamation should be with our lives, words and with our very being. Let us try to be.
We are in the month of May, a period dedicated for devotion to our blessed mother. May devotion should not end with just a May crowning, which some do in the church. It should be a daily exercise at home, gathering all the members of the family, praying rosary to the Blessed Mother, saying or singing the litany, Marian hymns and telling Marian stories to the children, decorating the enthroned picture of our Bl. Mother and so on. Let us try to have these practices renewed in hour home so that Mary becomes part and parcel of our lives for our own safety and protection. We also remember St. Joseph, the worker and husband of Mary. He is protector and patron of our families and young peopleFr. George
April 27, 2008
Education Is A Concern
“Let all the earth cry out to God with joy”. This is the refrain for today’s psalm. For a child parental home should be the training ground for this cry. The school should be the second home for the same. We are observing the Catholic education week. Our schools and teachers are trying with reasonable commitment to give the children a Catholic backing. However, they seem to be not reaching the goal because a good number of children do not get the basic foundations from their homes. This is all the more true in the case of unbelieving and non-practicing Catholic parents, parents with disparity of cult and mixed marriages, single parent families, children living with divorced and separated parents, common law living, etc. All these ways of life are part of our individual freedom. Though condoned by the Church, they are anomalies according to Catholic belief and tradition. The Church is aware of the damage done to the future of our children because of these practices. However, she is helpless. The repercussions of these practices on the church are already visible. Ultimately, the society will have to bear the burden. If at all the society will ever recognize these problems, it will be too late for repair. A good number of children in the schools, by the time they finish elementary education, are already disconnected from the families and the mainstream society. A few become lonely, non-communicative, not responding to people and issues, discourteous, disoriented and so on. The children are to learn to believe and respect God and neighbors from the living faith and mutual respect and love the parents have for each other. If they do not see and experience these at home, they will never have them. The children, parents, schools and the church all together need collective thinking and action. If the Catholic education week could be a wake-up call, it might be salutary. May God bless us!
Fr. George
April 20, 2008
Just A Fistful!
We are observing 27th April to May 3rd as the Catholic Education Week. The story of education in a small province called Kerala in India might be interesting to you. India had a highly developed system of education from very ancient times and in fact the first universities in the whole world were in India. In the 6th century before Christ the famous university of Nalanda had 10,000 students and 1,500 teachers in various disciplines. However, education in India was confined to the upper caste elites. It was a revolution in the 1860’s when the St. Thomas Christians’ leader, the vicar general of the Church, Blessed Chavara Kuriakose Elias, made an edict that all the local churches should have a school attached to it and people of all castes, creeds and gender should be admitted and educated. The parish priests were under obligation to do it. To finance this education he invented a very ingenious method. Rice was and is the staple food of everyone in the province and they eat it at least twice a day. Every household had to take away every time one fistful of rice from the day’s provision and be kept apart. At the end of the month volunteers from the church collected this from every household. Likewise, every household should give to the church the first fruit of everything that was being produced, like the first bunch of coconut from the tree, the first banana harvested, the first calf of the cow and the first bottle of the milk, the first lamb of the goat and so on. (Interestingly, even the first-born child of the family also is for the church and God, destined to be a priest or nun). These offerings are auctioned in the church on every Sunday after the liturgy, which used to be always in the morning with fasting from midnight onwards. All the expenses of education were met from the proceeds. The system worked. The Catholic community owned large number of educational institutions. Later on all the other communities, the Hindus, the Muslims and other groups emulated this example and established educational institutions. It had its lasting effects to this day. In 1990 one district of this province was declared by the government fully literate in the whole world. By 1996 the entire province became hundred percent literate. Now this tiny province in the Indian continent, with a population of 340 million, has the largest percentage of university educated people in India. The women in this province are the highest educated in the whole of the continent. The people from this province, just because of its educational achievements, serve the people of the world in all continents in various capacities and professions like medicine, law, government, business and management, administration, computer software, in religious services, etc. Missionaries from this province and from this Catholic population of St. Thomas Christians serve in all parts of the world. This province is the envy as well as role model for all the other provinces (States) in the continent in the field of education and standards for the quality of life. It was all because of the vision of this one man, Blessed Chavara, following the message of Jesus to teach the whole world and the sacrifices of this believing community. He was the founder father of the first religious order of India, Carmelites of Mary Immaculate. The church continues to be the most powerful and deciding agency in education, in spite of the fact that it has been a miniscule minority of just three percent of the population.
Fr. George
April 13, 2008
You Are Called!
When the Baptist’s disciples went after Jesus He turned back and asked them: “what are you looking for?” Actually till then they might not have thought about it and suddenly they blurted out an answer in the form of a question: “where do you live?” The question and “answer-question” are important to us. Do we know what we are looking for in life and do we find it? If we do not find it, why? Often we are in a hurry to go, we are busy and we do not have time. We say we are working for a living. We never say that we live to work. However, do we really live? Do we have any time to live and do we have a life? Funny questions! Aren’t they? Still it will be worthwhile to ask these questions to ourselves and look for answers. In His last discourse with the disciples Jesus said: “I came that you may have life and have it abundantly”. That was the mission statement of His vocation. If we really look for life, we need to look to what Jesus offers here, and, by the way, do we know where He lives? We too need a mission statement for life. All mission statements we make should also answer another question Jesus asks at the end of His mission: “do you love”. This week in the life of the Church we reflect on vocations. All of us do have and need to have a vocation. It could be as a student, a teacher, a professional, a business person, a priest, a nun, a husband, a wife, a mom, a dad, a brother, a sister, a son, a daughter, etc. Any serious response to our vocation should find answers for the questions above. All the vocations are finally to love and to have and to give the fullness of life. May you have life abundantly and may you give that too!
With love,
Fr. George
April 6, 2008
The Disoriented Vagabonds
It was not only Thomas the Apostle who wanted to keep away and wander; there were others who were on their way like the Emmaus pair. They seemed to have lost the purpose of and direction in life and were trying to run away from their community and even from themselves. When things happen in perfect harmony with our expectations and plans, we are happy; God is not in the picture and forget the other side. When we come across painful realities of life we turn our back and take to the road, shouting and kicking against everyone else and against God. Every other one is at fault, the world is at fault and God is at fault. We try to distance ourselves from everyone. We refuse to sit down and be quiet, we refuse to look into our own self and look intently upon the reality. We shut our minds off. We feel that we are alone and we have nobody to turn to. In situations like this the most important thing we forget is that our God is so close to us, walking with us and quite often carrying us in His wings. Jesus by joining today the Emmaus disciples is manifesting this wonderful character of God. He walks with them, brings them back to their senses, enlightens their minds and “burns their hearts within”. That is our God and of Him we are witnesses. What we need to do is “be still and know that He is God” and that He is in control! Admit it, give in to Him and be happy.
Fr. George
March 30, 2008
Thomas –Doubting Or Believing?
Thomas the Apostle is often branded as the doubting Thomas and even belittled. In the process his courage, his tendency to dig to the bottom, his spirit of adventure and finally the profundity of his confession of faith are not given sufficient focus. He was the one who gave the greatest of all confessions, which brought out the true person of Jesus: “My Lord and my God”! That is Jesus, Lord and God. Reaching his hands to the wounds of Jesus strengthened the will and determination of Thomas to go and die for him. He was the apostle who travelled the farthest, to India, to spread the Good News, witness to the Easter experience, and establish a church, which, as an apostolic church is still flourishing, growing and actively engaged in spreading the Good News literally to the ends of the earth, the St. Thomas Christians of India, known as Syro-Malabar Christians. According to tradition and early historical evidence, he landed on the shores of India in 52 A.D., at the southernmost part, established seven churches/communities throughout the length and breadth of the province and then travelled through the west coast, may be more than 1000 miles. Unfortunately, there are no remnants of churches established by him beyond the south coast. Before reaching India in 52 A.D., he had a church established in Persia, the modern day Iraq and Iran, which also continues to thrive. All the priests who have been working in St. Patrick’s Hamilton from 2002 onwards belong to the Syro-Malabar Church. Another branch of the same St. Thomas Christians is the Syro-Malankara Church. All these churches belong to the Eastern Rite churches of the Catholic family and their members serve the Catholic Church all over the world. Let the confession “My Lord and my God” be spread further and further. Alleluia!
Fr. George
March 16, 2008
He Is Risen! But How?
Jesus came back to life, Halleluiah!, but how? The tomb was open and empty. He suddenly appears from nowhere. You are in the garden and without your noticing He is there. You are in a closed room and He appears without opening the door and you feel terrified. You are walking on the street and He joins you from nowhere. You are breaking the bread and you recognize Him and He is gone! And finally He vanished into the thin air on the day of Ascension and we say He was taken to heaven which, we presume, is somewhere up above! Pope John Paul some time before he died said that heaven was not “a physical place in the clouds, but a living and personal relationship of union with the Holy Trinity”, and hell is “the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy. So eternal damnation is not God’s work but actually our own doing”. The pope was not introducing a new teaching, but was just reaffirming the very old teaching of the church. However, this statement of the pontiff created a furor in Christian circles. Most true believers had and continue to have the notion that sin needed a negative and God’s actively involved act of punishment and that should be something tangible and visible. Let us dwell a little more deeply on the resurrection stories and dive into the state of existence Jesus attained that surpasses all the limitations of space and time. We need to know the meaning of eternity and heaven. Easter reflections should lead us to this knowledge and enable us not to be panicked in the absence of physical locations called heaven and hell. Our difficulty is truly human and real and we need to grow into divinity. Easter experience should guide to recognize that we need to grow into divinity to which we are called. Halleluiah!
Fr. George
March 23, 2008
Be With Jesus!
St. Paul is exhorting us to have the same mind Christ Jesus had. At the beginning of Lent we definitely had our resolve to do something and abstain from certain other things in order to enter into the mind of Jesus and know Him a little better and to journey with Him throughout these forty days. In the Holy Week we still continue with Him in the journey and try to be a bit more intimate with Him. This intimacy is a must to imbibe His mind and make it ours. Period of fasting, penance and charity is not coming to an end; it has to be an on-going process. Going through the passion and death of Jesus should make us more intimate with Him. Intimacy with Him will make every moment of our life and all its woes meaningful, enriching, ennobling and heavily rewarding. The whole public life of Jesus was a continuous journey. Towards its end He was fast walking into death. Nobody dragged Jesus into death. He walked into it by His own decision, surrendering to the will of the Father. That total surrender brought Him back to life and He became the firstborn of resurrection. We are called to this destiny through the same path. What we need is the same determination of Jesus, – the mind of Jesus - to walk and not to be dragged!
Fr. George
March 9, 2008
To The Grave!
Jesus in John 5:28 promises that those in their graves will hear His voice and come out. In today’s gospel Lazarus hears the voice of Jesus from his grave and comes out (John 11:44). This was the greatest miracle Jesus performed in order to manifest His glory and to prove to His enemies His power and His identity as the Son of God. Calling Lazarus from the dead to life was the immediate reason for His enemies to put Jesus to death. Life for Lazarus meant death for Jesus. Death of Jesus resulted in His resurrection, which was the ultimate glorification of humanity. The resurrection of Jesus and witnessing to it were the leading events that have been the cause of martyrdom of millions throughout history, and these martyrdoms and faith in the person of Jesus have become the basis for the deification of humanity. That is what happens in our baptism and through all the sacraments and that is going to be finally perfected when we will hear the voice of the Son of Man from our graves. This was the ultimate promise prophet Ezekiel was giving to the people of Israel under the Babylonian slavery. This is the life St. Paul is promising to the mortal bodies of the Romans. During Lent these promises are relived and revived in our lives. This is the message of hope with which we live. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever, Amen!
Fr. George
March 2, 2008
Disabled God!
Jesus gives sight to a man born blind. That was an act of fulfilling His mission. Jesus has a story of failed missions. In fact, apparently Jesus was a total failure in life and that failure culminated in the death of the cross. Today He fails to make the Pharisees and their fellow travelers to see. This refusal is evident in the whole episode of today’s gospel. The healed person was desperately trying to argue that only a person of divine origin can do this miracle, that no one else had ever done such a thing, and so on. Receiving sight by the blind man was a naked truth, open for everyone. However, the Pharisees refused to accept this truth and that refusal made them incurably blind. In Lenten season we make attempts to wash away our sins through the sacrament of reconciliation. Often in our examination of conscience we do not come across any sin in our life, though it might be a few years or decades since we made a confession. That is because we have surrendered ourselves to blindness just like the Pharisees. Let us not disable God in His attempt to open our eyes. Allow the word of God to penetrate our hearts. That will really open our eyes to truth, which in turn will result in real conversion. Lent is specifically for this conversion.
Fr. George
February 24, 2008
Hunger And Thirst!
Hunger and thirst are part of any journey. It was true also for Jesus. He was journeying to Jerusalem through the land of Samaria, through a people despised by the Jews as inferior in birth. Jesus was hungry and thirsty. However, His thirst was for searching for the lost sheep, the straying sheep and once He found it, His physical hunger was gone, not only His but also that of the woman whom He met. She leaves the pots at the well and runs to bring to this great Master all the people of that small town. Once they met Jesus, they were taken up, they made Jesus to stay with them and they found their God and there was reconciliation and retreating back to the sheepfold. We are intensely in a journey during this Lenten season. Just like the Samaritan woman, we too are searching for meaning, for identity, for life. Jesus is out there searching for us to give us all these. We must feel real thirst for Jesus. We need to go to the well in search of water. Water will not come to us, we will have to go to its source and in Jesus we have the source of living water. It is free. Let us try to be close to Him that He may pour the water to us and we be satiated. Let us take the first step and Jesus will do the rest.
Fr. George
February 17, 2008
Target Glorification!
In today’s gospel Jesus has visitors from heaven at the mountaintop, a delegation representing the Law and the Prophets accompanied by the living God’s voice. They came immediately after Jesus announced His impending crucifixion and death and the resurrection. The visitors’ presence was a confirmation of these announcements of Jesus and His mission in all its totality. The other readings remind us of God’s call, choices and missions in the lives of people. In the missions for God, there is a process of journeying. Abraham’s was a long and grueling journey and so too those of Jesus and the apostles. During the course of the journey Abram grows into Patriarch Abraham, Jesus grows into the Messiah, and the simple and illiterate fishermen grow into disciples and then to apostles. In the course of the journey they ascended and descended Mt. Tabor and Mt. Calvary, they journeyed through the Sea of Galilee and the Sea of Tiberius, through the land of Judea and Samaria. During the course they seemed totally out of touch with the realities they were living through, not understanding any of the dynamics of the call and mission. They even walk back in utter despair and frustration. However, these journeys weathered, seasoned, groomed and made them grow to maturity. Still they had to wait for the coming of the Spirit to be disillusioned, refurbished and finally commissioned. Lent is a period that should take us through these processes once again for refurbishing!
Fr. George
February 10, 2008
Temptation
In today’s readings we have the temptation in Paradise, birth of law and effects of sin discussed by Paul and the enlightenment for Jesus as a result of His temptations! The temptations of the first parents and those of Jesus seem to be very dramatic. Indeed they were themes for many motion pictures. They give us the impression that these dramatic happenings in their lives were just momentary and fleeting and that they are in no way related to us. In fact, they were continuous and prolonged experiences of torment in the lives of the first parents and of Jesus. The former finally succumbed to the temptations and Jesus overcame and grew beyond them and that is how He became the Way, the Light and Life. It was a life-long and life-costing struggle for Jesus to overcome the TEMPTATION, and to become the giver of eternal life! The lesson we learn is that temptations in life are real, never ending, ever recurring and need continuous struggle to overcome, even struggle unto death! We too have the temptations to win bread without work, to live for ever – to perpetuate ourselves here on earth -, to be lured by the splendor of wealth and power, to become the super human with no effort. The more you overcome them the better you will be human and grow into divinity. Lent should refresh us with these desires and resolves to grow. The Lord be with you!
Fr. George
February 3, 2008
Blessed Are The Greedy?
The Sermon on the Mount was the Mission Statement of Jesus. The eight blessings He announced are cornerstones of His kingdom. However, it is almost impossible to believe in them and we are most reluctant to accept them. We still feel that they are unreal or at least not at all relevant for our times. The people at the time of Jesus also thought exactly the same way as we think today. When Jesus says “Blessed are the poor”, what we see around is the abundance of blessings to the greedy. Even in places and fields where charity and charitable work are the main business, greed is conspicuous, and it multiplies itself wherever there is greater flow of charitable offerings. In fact, we have made charity as one of the most honest and big businesses and an art cultivated meticulously, and the greedy feed and thrive on it. This version or practice of the first beatitude “Blessed are the poor”, could be also applied to most other beatitudes. It will be a reflection of the day’s scheme of things if we say: `blessed are the merry-makers, the proud, the unjust, the cruel, the unchaste, the warlords, the persecutors; for theirs is this kingdom, this world! Where do we want to be? Good to reflect when we are at the threshold of Lent, the longest period of reflection during the liturgical cycle.
Fr. George
January 27, 2008
Vocation And Mission
The call and response of Peter, Andrew, John and James on that morning at the shores of the Sea of Galilee looks like sudden and just impulsive! Not necessarily? They had met Jesus early. Three of them were disciples of John the Baptist and they followed Jesus and found His place of living. Andrew later brought Simon Peter, his brother, to Jesus. They had already the “stirrings” of a call in their hearts and had been pondering and weighing the pros and cons. They were Israelites, a people who were expecting a Messiah and a political liberation, and in Jesus they might have been seeing that liberator. Hence, when Jesus called, it was the final moment of decision and they left everything and followed Him. Thus Jesus had a band of followers with a political ambition. He had to transform them into disciples for the Kingdom, and He did not succeed till His death. They needed a sacrifice in order to be properly oriented for their mission. The fruits of that sacrifice were the resurrection and the pouring out of the Spirit, which finally groomed the disciples. It took the rest of their lifetime to grow into this mission. Vocation and Mission are not the same. Both do not happen in just a moment. They are slow processes and gradual and life-long realizations! Have we identified our vocation and mission? The answer cannot be Yes!
Fr. George
January 20, 2008
The Lamb Of God!
Lamb of God is one of the titles of Jesus. When we give just a symbolic meaning to this title, we are likely to miss the meaning. For Jesus this was not just a title, it was a vocation and the very purpose of His life, to be a sacrificial lamb. We may ask why a sacrifice? Who wants the sacrifice? Was it God, the Father? Yes and No are the answers. God the Father willed and allowed it and so we can say He wanted it. More than God, humanity wanted this sacrifice in order to bring itself to sanity! Humans consider that in killing others there is victory and life, in depriving others there is richness, in amassing wealth and power there is eternity, in being greedy there is wealth, in subjugating others there is dominion and finally these will make life on earth everlasting. Hence humans needed someone to show the real way to eternity and life and that way was not in killing but in allowing oneself to be killed. That was the sacrifice of the Lamb. His life and death remain proof that that is the only way for salvation for humanity. His resurrection is the guarantee for that life and also the motivating force to allow ourselves to be sacrificed. It is this mystery, this hope that we celebrate everyday on our altar and let us try to be one with the Lamb.
Fr. George
January 13, 2008
He Must Grow And I …!
John was quite a celebrity when Jesus came to Jordan to be baptized by him. He was attracting large crowds and people were inclined to accept him as the leader. His message both frightened them and also roused them. They could not understand when he finally said that he was not the One they were expecting, that the real Great One was coming after, and “He must increase and I must decrease”. Surprisingly, this Great One decided to be baptized with water by the hands of His own messenger, John. Humbling Himself was the method He chose to become great! And the Father chose this moment of humility to declare Him as the Beloved. This was the One Who came as the fulfillment of the promise, as the fulfillment of all law and prophecy, and to “baptize with fire and Spirit”. And His supreme act of surrender, obedience and humility was His baptism at Jordan. In this first public act of Epiphany, God chose to be assisted by human mediation and thereby revealed the principle of establishing His Kingdom through weak human instruments! When you and I received baptism, we were anointed and commissioned to be these instruments to establish His Kingdom on earth. It is a great honor and privilege. However, we are given only limited time to do it and there is no substitute or stand-by for us. Hence let us not fail and let us hasten to bring about His Kingdom!
Fr. George
January 6, 2008
Be A Christopher!
Last week we have seen that Mary, the Mother of God, brought forth Jesus into the world once in flesh. And we learned that as believers we are given the mission and privilege to bring forth God in faith into the world everyday, every moment. By that we are trying to give hope to a world that is groping in the dark and in hopelessness. Epiphany is a feast of search and find. It is also a feast of the self manifestation of God. The search had been there for generations. The entire people of Israel were searching and waiting for the Messiah for a long time. The Magi, King Herod, the chief priests and Scribes, Simon and Anna in the temple, all were searching and waiting, some for the right reason and others for wrong reasons. To all of them the Messiah appeared. Those searching for the right reason only found God in the Baby born to Mary in Bethlehem and the others found just a baby! We too are searching for Him. We do have a right reason. We need to look for Him wherever He is, and we need to find Him in order to bring Him forth to this world, which is badly in need of His presence. Let us try to be Christophers for the world.
Fr. George
December 30, 2007
Yes, THANQ
I do not know if I am very miserly in expressing my gratitude and you are not at fault if some of you feel so. I believe that a good number among you recognize me and my feelings toward you. From some of you I get the feelings that I am the best, though the truth is a bit far away. I am indeed grateful. Thank you for the welcome you gave to the new committees. I do not have any reservation to compliment you, parishioners and worshippers of St. Patrick’s, for doing your best to keep the church alive and vibrant. Most of the committees are at work and some yet to be in full swing. The lectors make our proclamation powerful. The Eucharistic Ministers are ever ready “Christophers” for us. The Decoration Committee makes the seasons come alive. The Music Ministry pushes us to the heavenly realm. The Folk Choir brings in people to the church from all around. The Altar Servers and their team leaders take care that our worship is in order and we are kept alert. Our Pastoral Advisory Committee is busy with building up the fellowship. Our Technical Committee members extend their days to nights to let no stone unturned until they will get the best for the church. Our Finance Committee keeps our oil burning. Our Ushers make St. Patrick’s a desirable destination. Our Liturgy Committee is ever active behind the scene. Our Knights, CWL, Legionaries, all continue to sweat and fret! Our school staff keeps our children tuned to the promptings of the Spirit. The other people at the front and back of the scenes, Doris and Al, Rita, John, Lynne, Gloria, Jeanette, and others are ever vigilant and keep us going without much ado. Our Associates continue to pollute the whole atmosphere by their contagious smile! I am envious and I will go to a school for smiling lessons! Many of you are sending personal greetings and gifts. Please accept my inability to respond personally. Words are insufficient to THANQ!
A GRACE-FILLED CHRISTMAS AND PROSPERIOUS NEW YEAR to you all!
Fr. George
December 23, 2007
The Mighty One Warms Up!
Emmanuel was born in a manger and it was freezing cold out there. To our children, while doing the Advent school masses and confessions, I told that the Babe in the manger wanted a warmer place to migrate and they promised to open their hearts for Him. I believe, they did. We “the grown-ups”, too need the warmth of cradling this Baby in our hearts. We may do it by definitely finding time every Sunday to be active in the church and in the liturgy, by staying back till the liturgy is really over with the final blessing and recessional song, by being a bit early before the mass to compose ourselves in the presence of the Lord, and so on. We do these and the like in spite of our hockey and soccer games, the TV Shows, and other “pressing engagements”. We can get warm when we find some time to go through the Sunday church bulletin, which is prepared by the pastor with lot of care and spending considerable time and meditation, filling it with a message, some important information, a thought for reflection and sometimes a joke to make you laugh; the warmth in the heart for the Lord increases when we decide to take an offertory envelope and “wrap up” our gift of gratitude to God and make it an attitude; our warmth spreads out when we meet and greet the fellow-worshippers on our pew, when we open our hearts to the needs of others and are willing to share! When we do these and similar things, unlike the Bethlehemites, we are telling Jesus and the Holy Family: “there is space, please come in!”! The Prince of Peace, the wonderful Counsellor is waiting out there to hear it from you! I wish and pray that you may have the delight of His company!
His Blessings in abundance upon you and Happy Tidings for you and your Family!
Fr. George
December 16, 2007
Are You Really The One?
Can we or should we believe that John the Baptist, the greatest of all prophets, was despairing in a prison cell, doubting about the very meaning of life, questioning the purpose of his own life and being ignorant of the One Whose way he came to prepare and about Whom he testified as the Lamb of God Whose sandals he was not worthy to carry? We must believe! Not only that; John had to undergo a very cruel death at the hands of a woman whose immoral living he had questioned and condemned. In fact, this woman was just exercising her “freedom” to discard her husband and embrace another man! At the end of his days John had to send for Jesus and ask Him “are You the One Who is to come”? The predicament of each one of us on this earth is not different from that of John. We certainly have more serious doubts in our life and are inclined to look at Jesus and ask the question: “are You real?, do You really exist or did you ever exist?, and will You truly come again?, and is our waiting really worth it”? The only answer Jesus might give you in the emptiness and silence of your heart is the same as He did to John: “open your eyes and look around”!
Fr. George
December 2, 2007
House Of The Lord!
“Come; let us go… to the house of God that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths” (Isaiah 2:2). That is the call of the prophet to us today. And we sing in today’s psalm: “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord!” Sisters and brothers, a new liturgical year has begun and in this advent season we are preparing our hearts and our homes for the Lord, to be born and growing therein. Let us do it diligently and this year in a special way. Let us make this Christmas SPECIAL for your house of God:
Christmas is the time we spend most during the year. Though Christmas is a spiritual event, this world and its competing business houses have made it a totally material event, often devoid of Christ. Of course, it is, and should be, a time to celebrate because it was the event through which God came from heaven to dwell with human beings as one among them! Let us make Christmas special this year and think differently. Your church, St. Patrick’s, is in good shape. You the parishioners and worshippers here make it happen. You have every right to feel happy about it. It has been serving you, your ancestors and the people of this city for 130 years, quite long a period. It has helped many communities and churches to thrive even with financial help. However, today the church is badly in need of money for its repair and maintenance. The bids for replacing the slate roof of the church have come and the lowest bid is coming to $ 760,000, much more than what we calculated. We cannot delay the work anymore and we will finish this work in 2008. We have
a reserve to the tune of $500,000. The rest we have to find out. Another $395,000 for 2009 for the stained glasses and other works, and still more in the coming years. Let your Christmas offering to the Church this year be really something great and SPECIAL! Remember, God will not allow us to beat Him in generosity and His treasury is still overflowing. However, it will be open to the church only through you. Let us be united to build the house of God! Best wishes for Happy Tidings for you during this Christmas.
Fr. George
November 25, 2007
From Manger To Majesty!
This Sunday we celebrate the glorious conclusion of a journey of the King that had a beginning in a manger. We greet One Who chose to wear a crown of thorns to qualify Himself to be the King of the Universe and the King of kings. It was a long journey and an arduous one. It was also a path paving journey! The destiny was the opening of the gates of heaven for all humanity! It was a triumph over darkness, sin and death. It was a journey that provided humanity with hope and a reason to live and a reason to die, the courage to live and courage to die and it was a journey that assured humanity that death was not the end but was the glorious beginning of an everlasting life of joy, happiness and peace. This life is to bring true liberation from all bondage. In the kingdom of this everlasting King, “all the paths will be made straight, every valley of humiliation, subjugation and oppression shall be filled, every mountain of pride and dominion shall be brought low, the crooked shall be made straight and the rough ways shall be made smooth” (Luke 3:5-6) He is the King of Divine Mercy and, even when He was nailed to the cross and seemed helpless, He was empowered to grand paradise to the thief on the same day. Cheer up, people of God, you are a royal race, you have a kingdom and you are destined to reign with Him, the King of eternal Glory!
Fr. George
November 18, 2007
Happenings At The End Already!
There are two aspects for the end of times: one, the end of the life of each one of us; and the second, the end of the world. The first concerns all of us and the best way to go about it is just live one’s everyday life in the most appropriate manner as a child of God, feeling proud about being privileged for this free gift from God and living to the full dignity of this position. That’s it, and we are ready for the end of our days here on earth with no further preparation! The second aspect of bringing this world to an end should have been God’s business and man should not have interfered with it. Unfortunately, man has taken over it. Even then it is futile to speculate on its timing and manner. Man is meddling with and trying his level best to hasten this event. Under such meddling come the plundering the earth by over exploitation, misuse and abuse, violating the laws of nature, atmospheric pollution, global warming, Kyoto (dis)agreement, ‘imposing democracy’ on other people, war between countries and among nations, global policing, stockpiling of nuclear arsenal, terrorism, religious fundamentalism and religious anarchy, extolling the over indulgence in worldly pleasures and sex, immorality, hatred, enmity and fight among people, families and individuals, absence of real love and caring, and so on. All these are man’s work and God has just to sit and watch the world coming to an end! He adamantly refuses to interfere with human freedom, which makes all these happen!
Fr. George
November 11, 2007
I believe In Life Everlasting!
The first Man in history who opted to be killed in his prime of youth was Jesus. It was not a suicide, but a decision to prove to the world that death could be and must be conquered and that there was the possibility for a life that never comes to an end – Life everlasting! He was the first to came back from death to everlasting life. He became the source and guarantor for that life and that is what we profess in the creed – I believe in life everlasting! The book of Maccabees is a testimony of generations before Jesus of the hope for life everlasting. Second Thessalonians reinforces the foundation for this belief by saying that “the Lord is faithful”. The problem for the Sadducees in the gospel was interpreting this infinite reality with finite categories and relationships of this passing world. We have to admit with all humility that our very limited intellect cannot fathom the wonders of infinity. It will be a continuation of our existence in this passing world, but with a difference in experience which will remain inexplicable while we are in this
world. Faith in the unseen and hope for the fulfillment of the promises of the Giver of life are the only doables here and love is the fuel with which we drive our lives. Let there be an abundance of love.
Every gesture of affection for our dear departed ones must be motivated with this faith, hope and love!
Fr. George
November 4, 2007
I must See Jesus!
Before the Roman officers Zacchaeus was an honorable man, because he brought revenue to their treasury. For the Jews he was a detestable and wretched character because he used to extract from them more than his due. As an officer of the Roman treasury, to go after a vagabond was below his dignity. Jesus was one, a traveler with no specific address or a place to lay His head and apparently a man of no consequence. To go to a crowd of Israelites in search of Jesus was very risky for Zacchaeus because as a public sinner before the Jews, he might be targeted for ridicule and even stoning. To be a tax collector means a public sinner! In spite of all these odds he wanted to see Jesus and he wanted to see Him at any cost. Jesus too was in search of him; for he was the “lost” and Jesus came to find him! Jesus is always on the look out for the lost. Do we like to be one among the “lost”? If so Jesus is after us. We need to run ahead, disregarding what others may think or say about us and Jesus will find us or we will…. F..i..n..d J..e..s..u..s!
Fr. George
October 28, 2007
I Believe, Hope, Trust And Pray!
In today’s bible lessons Sirach trusts, Paul believes and Jesus rewards and justifies the humble one and condemns the proud and the boastful. Sirach, Paul and Jesus give testimony of God’s presence, compassion, understanding and love for us. The most important qualities of the one who prays before God are humility, trust in and surrender to God. Our demeanor, attitude, posture and positioning in the house of the Lord all count in prayer. Most of these features will result in quick and positive responses from people when we make requests to them too. Last week we have seen that perseverance in prayer is very essential. I am inclined to and continue to make my prayers to you, worshippers in this church. I am persevering in my three requests I made to you last Sunday: (1) when in church Come to the front pews and fill them and be physically close to the Tabernacle and to our brethren, whereby we also build up relationship. (2) Make use of the hymnals and Missalettes or Sunday Missal and sing and pray loud together. All the hymns are praise to the Lord and let us raise our voices as children of God united together. If you need any more assistance for doing these, feel free to ask. (3) Get acquainted with the people in the parish. For that, begin with our new committee members. Then with the ushers, lectors and Eucharistic and other Ministers whose list will be published after a while. Through these let us grow in love and happiness.
Fr. George
October 21, 2007
He Knows, Listens, Responds
The unjust judge in today’s gospel does not care for God nor respect anyone. Still he is prepared to administer justice to the widow in order to get rid of the botherations. Jesus’ question is: ‘if he is willing to give justice for this flimsy reason, how much more a loving and caring God is going to execute justice for His own children?’ It means, we are praying to a God who knows us and our needs, a God who listens and will definitely respond to us. As creations in the image of God and inheriting the inherent qualities in God, we are expected to know, understand, listen and respond just as He does. For the universal church today is the Mission Sunday, a day we are called upon to respond to her evangelization needs. The frontier missions need our prayers and material support. We give our annual offerings for missions today. There used to be support for the priests and missionaries by sending regular mass intentions, especially in memory of our deceased family members and for other intentions. Mass intentions amount to substantial support for priests. Sponsoring a priest for his study expenses, sponsoring or contributing for specific projects for children, women, the handicapped, the orphans, etc., are other forms of support. It is good that we think in what small or big way we can support the frontier missions. “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back” (Luke 6:38)
Fr. George
October 14, 2007
Missionaries Are Still Out There!
We are past the thanksgiving week. In today’s gospel we see one of the ten lepers coming back to thank Jesus. And he was a Samaritan, “an outsider”! An attitude of thanksgiving could be the noblest and best gesture possible toward God. This is because all that we are and all that we have are from God and because of God. Gratitude to God must be and could be expressed through our attitude towards our fellow beings and through our response to God’s call here on earth. Our response to the needs of the church including the Sunday offerings will form part of this gratitude. This response will be commensurate with our experience and conviction of God’s blessings in our lives. Next Sunday is the MISSION SUNDAY all over the world. This is the day even the poorest of the poor in the under-developed and developing countries contribute most to the cause of the church. It is a day of celebration as well as of action for the church. In fact, it is the fund-raising Sunday of the church all over the world. We have to be aware that the frontier missionaries all over the world are doing a commendable work for God. They do it also on our behalf. Many risk their lives in the process. The Spirit of God is moving them and moving with them. Through our prayers and our material help we can move with them and with the Spirit. Let us be generous. “May mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you” (Jude 2).
Fr. George
October 7, 2007
God Asks Only Very Little!
We are always in a hurry; we do not have patience even with God. That is what Habakkuk is telling today: “Lord, how long shall I cry?” The Lord’s answer is to wait for the appointed time and it will surely come. In between, the psalmist is reminding us to listen to God’s voice and not to harden our hearts. Paul wants Timothy to rekindle the gift of God that is within him and come out of his fear and shame. Jesus in the Gospel demands a very little thing and He definitely wants it if at all you want to reach the destiny and attain His great promises. He wants faith as little as a mustard seed. Once you have it in the one Who made the promises and once you get into His frame of things there will be a sea change in your attitude. From being a person who makes big demands for self, from boasting about the great things you do and have achieved in life, from wanting to be recognized and praised, from seeking positions and honors, at home, in the society, in the church, etc., you will become one putting on the apron and serving at the table and waiting for the master to finish eating, even though you are tired and won out from the day’s labor! In spite of all these, you bear the attitude: “I am a worthless servant”. Easy to say, hard to accept and harder to practice. The Lord does not give any exception. However, the promise is fantastic and the reward certain.
Fr. George
September 30, 2007
No Option But To Be Involved!
Prophet Amos continues with last Sunday’s discourse. He was against the treacherous business people. Today he is aiming his gun at those indulging themselves in the worldly pleasures to the neglect of the poor and oppressed. In the psalm today we have the Lord Who executes justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, sets the prisoners free, opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up the downtrodden, loves the righteous, watches over the strangers, upholds the orphan and the widow, brings the wicked to ruin and reigns forever. Since the Lord is so active, we may sit at ease and in peace!? I am not sure about that! Jesus reminds us of the warning prophet Amos issued and introduces two characters, Lazarus and the unnamed rich man, and the parable is to the Pharisees! Can we identify with anyone of these three? Not in the company of Lazarus because he is so dirty. We may not like to join the rich man to his place of final “repose”. If at all we want to be involved, we have only the Pharisees’ group left. And they happen to be the targets of Amos and also of Jesus! We can’t afford to stand aloof; have to be involved either to continue with the status-quo or to change it. What do we decide for? Paul has a few pointers: pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. By doing these you give honor to the One who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light.
Fr. George
September 23, 2007
Cunningness - Praiseworthy?!
The Old Testament reading from prophet Amos tells us that the treacherous actions of the powerful among the people are destined for severe punishment from God Almighty. Many of the scheming they make go in tune with today’s economic exploitation of the poor by the rich, exploitation of the consumers or customers by the business class. Cunningness is their hallmark. When we read today’s parable from the Gospel, we may get the impression that the Lord is praising the cunningness of the steward! Not at all! The manager’s shrewdness and ingenuity to safeguard his future is being praised. The Lord calls upon His listeners to learn that there is no desperate situation in life. Any situation you are in, there is a way out and God has blessed you with the capacity to think and look around. When one door is closed against you, may be a hundred remaining open. Just look around and enter. Paul reminds us of the need for supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving. These will make our minds open to God to behave as children of light in situations like the one the manager in today’s parable faced. It also should remind us the condition of the prodigal son in last Sunday’s parable. Paul’s appeal today makes more relevant the intercession of Moses for his people last Sunday. All these put together, we get a clear direction.
Fr. George
September 16, 2007
May Be You Will Stumble Upon The Lost!
Parable of the prodigal son or the Pampering Father has always fascinated me. On a Sunday evening mass in 1988 I had a very large congregation, may be 500 and above. I did the homily on this theme. I don’t think that I was in the best of my ability that day. No compliments came from the congregation. And I did not know that there was a man in the parking lot waiting for his mother-in-law to come out of the church. He happened to overhear what was being said inside the church. Two weeks after someone from the parishioners came and told me that there was this man, a senior bank officer, wanting to see me. When I met him, he told me the story of his wanderings. He said that during his college days he was a great student leader and a crowd puller. He had been out of church for a very long time. Then he told me that my story of the prodigal son touched him and changed him and that he wanted to come back to the church, make a confession and become part of the fellowship. Ever since he has been a daily worshipper in the church. As a disciple you may be feeling that your words (the seeds) are falling on a fallow ground, your good works are not noticed, that your heart is not seen by anyone and your prayers are not heard. May be you are wrong. There is the One Who sees, Who makes the seed sprout. You are sent just to saw the seed and the rest is His business. Leave Him, please, to mind His business and be on yours! The Prodigal will return!
Fr. George
September 9, 2007
Let Your Strategies Be Well-Planned!
Jesus today appeals to us to plan our strategies for the Kingdom. Though the Kingdom He speaks of is not in this world, its making has to be during our life here on earth. In fact, we are on this earth just to build the kingdom for the other world, for the life to come. It is done by living our everyday life properly. One strategy for that, as the Lord says, is not to be too much attached to this world and its fascinations. Jesus does not tell us not to love our dear and near ones. He tells that attachment even to these should not be such as to make us blind about the life to come. We are already in a new academic year when our children go to schools and colleges, some to continue and others to begin their studies. It is a time parents make lot of plans and spend their earnings to educate the children. Learning is the foundation for building our lives. We must be planning the whole process before we lay the foundation. We are given this life to live just once on earth. During this time we have to develop our body, mind and spirit. All the three need equal attention. While we strive for our children’s intellectual, academic and professional trainings, we must not neglect their spiritual formation, which will give them real strength, direction and power to live here on earth. Let us try to lay the foundations consciously and responding to the call the Lord. Let teachers and parents be the guiding lights in the process.
Fr. George
August 26, 2007
Discipline
It is no accident that the words “disciple” and “discipline” are nearly identical. Their relationship in Christian faith and life, however, has fallen somewhat out of favor in the past generation, as certain prescribed Church rules and regulations have been reduced and relaxed. These rules were often referred to as “disciplines.” We are mistaken, however, to think that it no longer takes discipline to follow Christ. The Letter to the Hebrews assures us of that today. Our discipline is more like that of an athlete pursuing a victory or a personal best, or a musician striving for a concert career or to master a new piece of music. This discipline comes from desire, not from regulations. It was the desire to do the will of God that led Jesus on the path to his cross. It is that same desire he encourages in us today: to strive to enter through the narrow gate, to find ourselves in the kingdom with a surprising assortment of people who are there not because of mere observation of rules, but out of a genuine desire to recline at the table of the heavenly banquet.
© Copyright, J. S. Paluch Co.
August 19, 2007
The Costs Of Discipleship
Today’s responsorial psalm, Psalm 40, is more familiar to us with the refrain “Here am I, Lord.” This “Here am I” is Jeremiah’s great prophetic response to God’s call. But today’s story of Jeremiah and the refrain “Lord, come to my aid!” remind us that there are always two sides to following the call of God. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews knew this, too. He reminded his readers that even weighted down with burdens and sins, we can still persevere by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, who himself knew the shame and pain of the cross, but saw beyond it to the joy of sitting at the right of the throne of God.
Jesus himself gave the disciples a “sneak preview” of a baptism that would not be as wondrous as the one in the Jordan that inaugurated his ministry, but would be one of fire and anguish. Today’s words from scripture may not be terribly soothing, but in their honesty and strength we can acknowledge the difficulties of daily discipleship, and take comfort in the assurance of our own salvation in Christ.
© Copyright, J. S. Paluch Co.
August 12, 2007
Our Father In Faith
The Letter to the Hebrews today sings a hymn of praise to Abraham and to his faith, upon which are founded the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Abraham is called “father” in faith by more people on earth than anybody else, numerous as the sands of the seashore or the stars of the heavens. Hebrews tells us it was this foundational faith that led Abraham to obey God’s call when he heard it, though he was called to journey to a land he did not know and told he would father a mighty race through a marriage he thought was barren. But Abraham’s faith, the author of Hebrews tells us, was his realization of what he hoped for, and the evidence of what he could not see. How often are we, in simple daily events of our own Christian vocation, called to an unfamiliar place or told we are to do something we do not believe we can? How fortunate we are to have Father Abraham as our guide and example!
© Copyright, J. S. Paluch Co.
August 5, 2007
Hitting It Big
It seems to be commonly accepted nowadays that everyone wants to win the lottery, hit the slots big at the casino, or be a millionaire. This attitude is akin to what the first hearers of the parable of the successful farmer would have thought: why, of course he’d want to find a way to preserve his good fortune for the future, to secure for himself a life of leisure, eating, drinking, and merriment. It’s exactly the kind of life that the right ticket, hand of cards, or quiz show answer might bring us today. Being surrounded by this “common wisdom” makes the words of Qoheleth, the psalmist, Paul, and Jesus all that much harder to hear today. Perhaps good fortune will be ours, perhaps it will not be. But if we make that fortune or the quest for it the heart, the very center, of our lives, then we will live to regret it. We will not achieve the future security we pursue, and we will lose the present moment in the chase.
© Copyright, J. S. Paluch Co.
July 29, 2007
Keep Praying
St. Monica, whose feast we celebrate in August, is often known as “the persistent mother.” She watched her oldest son, Augustine, turn his back on his Christian faith.
Monica was exasperated. For years she gave up talking directly to her son on the advice of a local bishop, who told her that it was better to talk to God about Augustine then to Augustine about God.
The mother never gave up praying for her son. Eventually Augustine gave up his wild ways, was baptized, and later ordained and named bishop of Hippo. St. Augustine went on to become one of the Church’s greatest scholars.
Today’s readings address the importance of persistent prayer. Abraham, in spite of trepidation that he is bothering the Lord, continues to ask about the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus, in Luke’s Gospel, tells his disciples to “ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). This is our charge: keep praying.
© Copyright, J. S. Paluch Co.
© Copyright, J. S. Paluch Co.
July 22, 2007
Watch Your Posture
Our posture is often a tip-off to our hospitality and reverence for the Lord. Note the actions of Abraham as he greeted the Lord in the presence of three men who appeared near his tent. He ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them. He bowed to the ground as he met them. He and Sarah, his wife, hastened to prepare a meal and bring food and water to their guests.
In the Gospel story, Jesus’ friend Mary sat at his feet in order to listen to him speak.
How do we welcome and reverence the Lord? What do our actions show? Do we remember the Lord’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament? How do we welcome the Lord in the scripture readings? How do we acknowledge his presence in our brothers and sisters, both at Mass and afterwards?
Whether we kneel, stand, or sit in the Lord’s presence, may our hearts and minds always be attuned to him.
© Copyright, J. S. Paluch Co.
July 15, 2007
Go And Do Likewise
Miss Collins, the dean of students at Olympic High School, was past the point of scolding Matt, though she liked him very much. “Four detentions in two weeks are too many.”
Still Matt wouldn’t tell. It was only after Miss Collins went on a morning neighborhood patrol that she found out the real reason for Matt’s tardiness. Thump, thump, thump, came the wheelchair down the stairs. It was Matt, steadying Shawnetta as he helped lower her down the stairs and then push her to the corner bus stop.
“She’s a girl in my parish youth group,” Matt explained to Miss Collins.
There are many ways to describe Matt’s actions—a random act of kindness, making a difference one person at a time. Jesus would understand. When the lawyer correctly identified the good Samaritan as the one who had treated the injured man with compassion, Jesus said simply, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).
© Copyright, J. S. Paluch Co.
July 8, 2007
Peace
The greeting of peace at Mass adds substance to a message of today’s readings: peace is relational. When we greet in peace the person near us at Mass, we share the touch of a handshake or embrace, sincere eye contact, and friendly words.
The scriptures speak of a similar peace. The first reading from Isaiah describes the peace of the holy city, Jerusalem, a place of prosperity and comfort where the “Lord’s power shall be known to his servants” (Isaiah 66:14c).
The Christian understanding of peace changes slightly. Paul writes of the “peace and mercy” on all who are created anew. Jesus describes a feeling of peace that will rest on those who accept his disciples and their message.
Peace is both an absence of strife and a personal blessing. May we always and sincerely bring peace to our own lives as we share it with others.
© Copyright, J. S. Paluch Co.
July 1, 2007
Focus On The Mission
“There are so many things to do.” “We have so little time.” How many variations of these statements have you heard or even said yourself?
Actually neither statement is completely true. There are many things to do in this life, but really few things that are vitally important. Working, searching, conniving, and worrying our way to “gratify[ing] the desires of the flesh,” as Paul relates in today’s second reading, are really non-productive. So little time? When we take on the freedom that Christ offers us, we have all the time we need in this world, and even more in the next.
Elisha, the prophet Elijah’s chosen servant, was slightly befuddled about what he should do. When Elijah called, he returned to bid farewell to his parents and provide food for his people. Only then did he follow.
Jesus demands something different, something more of his disciples. He calls us to a single-minded determination to drop everything and follow him. Now, not later.
© Copyright, J. S. Paluch Co.
June 17, 2007
Called And Chosen
We are called into existence and named by God before our mothers could have dreamed of us, let alone conceived. This call is definitely personal and with a purpose and mission. When we get a special gift or blessing we must think hard why God has given me this. John the Baptist was an extraordinary gift to Elizabeth and Zachariah, the over aged old couple. And they realized God’s design in his birth and dedicated him totally to God. John, deriving strength from the upbringing by his parents, gave himself totally to God and executed eminently the mission of preparing the way for Jesus, the incarnation of God, the “Emmanuel”. “The voice from the wilderness” that he was, converted many sinners. The baptism he administered with water prepared a people for Jesus, who came to baptize them with the anointing of the Spirit. Our baptism in Jesus Christ is a call and mission to be a prophetic sign and voice, to be the light of God, in this world. The task is frightening and may even prove to be life-threatening as it proved to the Baptist and later to Jesus. However, we have the assurance of victory, which Jesus won and promised to us. John executed his mission with the weapon of humility, “He must increase and I must decrease”. Yes, in our life the Master and His task have always to go before our greatness. Let us take courage and rejoice in the trust the Lord has put in us and try to be true to the call.
Fr. George
June 17, 2007
Hearts Of Jesus, Mary And Our Parents
In order to feel at home with what Paul says today to the Galatians “it is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me”, we must absorb the qualities of the Heart of Jesus, which is pierced and remain open to us for entering in and finding a repose therein. Last Friday was the feast of Sacred Heart of Jesus. Heart of Jesus is filled with compassion, mercy and love as is evidenced in today’s gospel wherein He sets free the woman who was enslaved by sin and corruption. The Immaculate Heart of Mary whose feast we celebrated yesterday is again a second resting place and recourse for us. We have in her a Mother to nurture us as her daughters and sons. In the first reading the disciplining words of God the Father come to a sinful king David. In the story of prophet Nathan is a stern and undeniable accusation. Fortunately it brought the erring king to repentance and humility, which were quickly rewarded by God with forgiveness, but with a punishment. This face of God should remind us about the qualities parents should have in dealing with their children. Such sternness on the part of a father should bring the erring children to their senses and invite them to change track. Once they realize and return, the fathers’ arms should be open to embrace them. The children will find compassion, reassurance and love. We celebrate the fathers’ day today. Let the qualities of the Heart of Jesus, of Mary and the face of God the Father reach us, touch us and energize us today. Greetings to and Blessings upon all fathers along with the mothers!
Fr. George
June 10, 2007
Corpus Christi
The feast of Corpus Christi is celebration of the incarnation of God and His remaining with humanity as Emmanuel. Only God could have designed such a continuing presence by transforming the simple bread and ordinary wine into His own Body and Blood. It is the greatest and most treasured gift and blessing in Catholic Church. Fortunately for us, who are living in today’s turbulent world, we have this treasure, which the Church continues to preserve and foster. The Eucharist remains with us as a soothing presence, the nourishing food and “viaticum” in our dangerous pilgrimage in this ever-turbulent world. St. Paul reminds us that the Eucharist is the proclamation of the death of the Lord. Participation in this sacrificial meal requires from us also a death, that is killing our own selfishness, pride and our refusal to love. It requires us to be in communion with the Lord by being in communion and fellowship with our fellow beings. We break one bread and share it with all and thereby all become one body and one spirit. Forgiveness is an unavoidable component of this fellowship. St. Paul also warns us that anyone who does not surrender oneself to this dynamics is inviting punishment on oneself by partaking in this meal. We are never worthy. Let us surrender to the mercy of the Lord to enable us to partake in this mystery and enjoy the life-giving peace and happiness this presence is offering to us.
Fr. George
June 3, 2007
The Trinity
Just like the sun contains heat, light and power, the Trinitarian God, though One, has three persons! The Holy Trinity is a continuing, never stopping and ever revolving and dynamic relationship of love. Once any one is connected with this Trinitarian love, the same revolution and dynamism will be and should be working in that one. That is what Jesus promised, namely into those who obey His commandments, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit will come down making their abode therein. This mystery is beyond the comprehension of our intellect. It has to be experienced in the heart and felt as a presence. And it is a presence that affirms us, reassures us, strengthens us and fills us with faith, hope and love. The indwelling of Trinity means that we are the living temples of God and each human being we come across is a dwelling place of the Trinity and thereby worthy of respect equal to worship! In all our prayers and invocations we have the Trinity. We begin every endeavour in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We are baptized, absolved of our sins, anointed, united in marriage, raised to Holy Orders in this name. We bless ourselves with this name whenever we make a sign of the cross. The church bells remind us of the Trinity thrice a day and we end all our prayers by glorifying the Trinity: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, Amen!
Fr. George
May 27, 2007
The Re-Creation!
Pentecost is the gatherings of all the nations on the earth and the scattering of the word to the whole world! On this very inaugural day of the Church the proclamation of Christ was done to the ends of the earth. The word was carried by those gathered from all parts of the world and the seed of Christianity was sown. This was the day when all barriers of language, caste and race were demolished for the first time in human history and God removed these barriers once and for all. That is Pentecost, the gathering of all people into one fold. It is this very same mission the Church has been doing through the centuries. The Church was born as a unifying force in the world and it has to live as such and she does it in and through us, her children. God is dwelling in every Christians and every Christian is to give God to the world by communicating the risen Jesus. Holy Spirit has been the moving force at work and the presence of the Spirit should bring to us “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). Every Christian must be filled with these and these have to be given to others. This is the way we join God in re-creating the world! Can anyone resist these gifts? Are we the Christians filled with them and willing to share them? If we are, the world is going to go after Christ in no time! Watch over, the miracle is happening, and be involved! It is grace, it is salvation and it is rewarding!!
Fr. George
May 20, 2007
The Unfinished Task!
Jesus left this world and returned to His Father with an unfinished task back on earth. And He left it with the most unreliable and fragile people like Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, Philip and the like, who just denied Him and ran away at the moment of His crisis. However, they and their successors took up the task and worked on the project and left it again as work in progress. Just now He along with them is looking down from up there to find if he can locate some like them. It may be difficult to find people worse than them. However, even if they are worse, he doesn’t mind. His expert technician the Spirit is ready to do the make-ups and fill-ins! The details of the offer include unlimited and never failing power supply, top security, the most desirable of rewards, hundred percent certain victory. On the road you will come across signs like narrow and just pedestrian paths, sharp curves, dangerous ravines, steep hills, lurking dangers, invisible and treacherous enemies, no clear road maps. Sudden blackouts are also possible. Qualifications required: faith in Him and willingness to obey the promptings of His Spirit! This is an unpaid advertisement on the feast of Ascension. Sponsors are welcome and applications invited!!!
Fr. George
May 13, 2007
The Indwelling Presence!
God is offering to come and make our being his abode, to stay with us, to take possession of us and allowing us to dwell in Him! Isn’t it amazing? From the Acts of the Apostles we read today that the Spirit of God dwells in the church and guides it through. The book of Revelation tells us that in heaven there is no temple because the whole heaven is God’s temple. In other words, where God dwells it is heaven there. And in the Gospel Jesus is telling us that those who keep His words will be the dwelling place of God. That means they will be the heaven where God dwells. The book of revelation again says that where God dwells there is no need of the Sun or Moon to give light because God Himself will be the Light. When this indwelling of God happens human beings become the carriers of God and that is the privilege and dignity to which we are called. This privilege brings along peace, truth, light, life and joy. It is given free. Would you like to have it? Just dare to ask and it is yours and as a result you will be transformed into love because GOD IS LOVE!!!
May 6, 2007
The Parting Gift!
Others recognized early Christians by their love as Jesus had predicted: “Everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”. Twenty centuries after Jesus gave this trademark of Christians, it is worth thinking now, how Christians are recognized today. They have the right to be legitimately proud of their past for employing love as the transforming force in this world. Christianity has been showing the world how to cultivate, nurture and foster humanity by the instrumentality of love. Even today it is sustained by living monuments of love, which inspire large sections of humanity. Millions are living and are nurtured under the cool shade of Christian love. The love Jesus taught continues to be the driving force for these endeavours all over the world. Let us try to be part of this ever renewed revolution of love.
As a parting gift Jesus gave His mother as the mother of humanity. Mary was the first Christian and the only Christian who obeyed and followed Jesus’ commandment of love in its fullness and perfection. And that Mary is our mother and we dedicate this month of May for specially remembering her and seeking her protection. Let us do it with all earnestness and be proud of being the children of Mary.
Fr. George
April 29, 2007
You Are The Shepherd!
This is the Good Shepherd Sunday. This day is also designated to pray for vocations to priesthood and religious life. In the whole bible the role of God is amply illustrated as that of a Shepherd. We come across God as the Shepherd in the Book of Exodus, in the prophecies of Ezekiel and Isaiah and in the psalms. Jesus loved to call Himself as the Good Shepherd and He said that He would call His sheep by name. One essential quality of the sheep that “belong” to Him is that they hear His voice. Belonging and listening are the essentials for meaningful relationship. Jesus has delegated His role as the Shepherd to each one of us and we have to be shepherds to others. The spouses, parents, grant parents, teachers, pastors, professionals and any one for that matter are shepherds. In other words, in any human endeavour we are supposed to be care giving and that is shepherding. If a mom tells her child that she is tired after eight hours of work and does not have time, she is failing in her task as shepherd at home. She might be splendid at her profession, but not with her child. And when we take up professional responsibilities, we cannot afford to fail in our responsibility as shepherds just because it is, and must be, our primary responsibility. Shepherding is not necessarily a generosity on our part but a binding obligation. Let the Great Shepherd and Big Fisherman guide and empower us in this primary task of shepherding to His sheep.
Fr. George
April 22, 2007
Thou Shall Not Kill!
Last Sunday with Thomas we tried to confess Jesus as our Lord and our God. By this we acknowledge, among other things, God as the author of our life and the only authority or power capable of taking it back from us. Developments in our times are such that we snatch away that power from God, and appropriate it to ourselves. It is done by making abortion and euthanasia within the power of human legislation, setting aside the divine law. Our lawmakers are trying to make killing on compassionate and other grounds legal and allowable. In the matter of abortion they have already done that and in the case euthanasia they are going to repeat it. Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops have published a document last Sunday entitled “GOING TO THE HOUSE OF THE FATHER”. It emphasizes that Catholics should continue to recognize the right to life of every human being; that our criminal laws recognize this and should continue to do so; that we are not judges to decide when human life should begin or end; that life in all stages is sacred even if suffering seems to be beyond our endurance limit. The statement also recognizes that, as citizens, Catholics have the right and responsibility to participate in the democratic political process, to support life and to advocate for those who are disabled, frail and suffering. Let us once again confess Jesus with Thomas: “My Lord and my God” and be serious about this confession.
April 15, 2007
Divine Mercy
This is the Sunday of Divine Mercy. The incarnation of Jesus was the expression of the Father’s mercy to humanity. Life, suffering and death of Jesus gave a meaning for human condition on earth. The resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate guarantee of resurrection for every human being and that is the only basis of hope for humanity. Divine mercy was not an invention of Pope John Paul II or Sr. Faustina. The very mission statement of Jesus in Luke 4: 18-19 was the proclamation of Divine Mercy: “to bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, let the oppressed go free and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour”. Jesus has established mercy shown to others as the norm for the final judgment of humanity: “…I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink…….(Matthew 26: 34-40). Mother Theresa of Calcutta was a visible expression of this Divine mercy in our times and Sr. Faustina was a witness and reminder of the Lord’s teaching to us. The Master is the same and the message is the same. What is required is the same response from us, which Jesus expected from the hearers of His time, ever after and even today. What we need is faith to believe those who witnessed, which Thomas did not have. But he had the revelation at that moment of encounter to profess: “My Lord and my God”, the ultimate profession of faith!, and the courage of conviction to proclaim that even risking his life! That is the model before us. Lord, have mercy on us!
April 8, 2007
Halleluiah! He Is Risen!
Cheer up! Jesus has risen from the dead! Any evidence? Just turn around and see! We are here in the church just because and only because He is raised from the dead. We are witnesses! And that is Christianity! Yes, the greatest evidence is that Christianity survived this long, still flourishes and continues to be the greatest driving force in the world for human survival, creativity and progress. And “Halleluiah to the Risen Lord” has been the most celebrated hymn all over the world throughout the past 20 centuries. The first witnesses transmitted this news and this experience of seeing Him, feeling Him, touching Him and eating with Him and that is the collective consciousness of Christianity. This consciousness remains alive and vibrant in spite of the greatest of onslaughts against this experience throughout the centuries by the powers that be. The victorious march of Jesus Christ crucified, died and resurrected continues unchecked. His resurrection is the guarantee for the resurrection of us mortals. We Christians continue to be a people of hope, spreading the message of love and bearing witness to the faith that death of our mortal bodies is not the end of life; in fact, it is the beginning of a glorious life. This is our faith and this is the faith of the Church. Let us celebrate and be happy! Halleluiah!
April 1, 2007
The Lamb Is Killed For Us!
April first is fool’s day! And we don’t mind that it becomes our day too! But if someone were to tell us that today is a sinner’s day, we are likely to frown at it. If we were to be told that we have one sinner chosen for the day and that is Judas, we may not accept that we are happy about it, but each of us will feel relieved thinking that I am not that one. So Judas is the betrayer. What about us? Did we not betray Jesus when we protested and said “God cannot do this to me”, that “I certainly deserve a better treatment from God because….”! Everyone in one way or other betrays Jesus. Peter did that when he denied knowing Jesus; every disciple did it when each ran away at the moment of His trial. We were there at the triumphant entry of Jesus to Jerusalem and we shouted at the peek of our voice “Hosanna”! And we were also there among them when they shouted “crucify Him”. Hence the betrayal is not reserved for Judas. He happened to be a poor scapegoat. The beautiful thing for Peter and his party and for us too is that Jesus looks back to us, to our eyes and tells: “don’t worry, I know your weakness and I do not abandon you and I have prayed to the Father to forgive you because you know not what you are doing”. Let us muster enough courage to look at Jesus and hear Him. He is the Lamb Who died in order that we may be redeemed. Cheer up!
March 25, 2007
In The Desert, I Make A Way
Winter makes us to be shut in, sort of immobile, cold and may be introvert. The dawn of spring changes the whole scenario. We break the shell and come out. We open up and are in the open. The same kind of change happens to us when Grace caress us! It changes the sinner and the “holy”! That is what happened in the incident of the woman caught red handed in adultery. The person of Jesus touched the woman and she retreated and never turned back to sin. It was total healing. Jesus also touched the accusers by disarming them and making them ashamed of themselves. They retreated more hardened and looking for a safer opportunity to return. The puzzling thing is that they caught the woman red handed and ever since I heard this story from the gospel I am looking for her partner, who continues to elude my sight. Have you seen him (or her!!)? Now Jesus is here. How do you want Him to touch you, like He did to the woman or to her accusers? Choice is yours!
March 18, 2007
Taste The Goodness Of The Lord
Return of the prodigal and retreat of the “non-prodigal” is the most beautiful story of the whole Bible. Literary critics even say that this is the most beautiful of all the short stories ever told. This story has been the inspiration for millions of stories told in the world of world literature. It has been the instrument of conversion for millions of Christians all over through the centuries. It never ceases to inspire anyone who reads it again and again. It is almost impossible to find a father with qualities of this one of the prodigal son. It is hard to find a son or daughter that gets such a warm and exalted welcome. The good news is that you could be that son or daughter and this Father is waiting for you. This Father is the greatest of the gifts Jesus gave to human kind. In the blood of Jesus we are made heirs of this Father and His kingdom. The only requirement to reach this Father and claim His kingdom is to “come to oneself, get up and go”! You are there! You need some courage. Grace is given free and readily. Would you mind acting now? This is the time! Don’t stay any longer as a “slave” with the elder brother. What we have in the world and even among Christians and “good” Catholics in plenty are replicas of the elder brother. Yours could be the first step to reduce their number.
Fr. George
March 11, 2007
Testimony
This week we are having the first scrutiny of the catechumens to be accepted this year to the full communion of the Church. In today’s gospel passage for the scrutiny large number of the Samaritans come to know and later believe in Jesus because of the testimony of a woman who did not have a very good reputation in the society. It means even the publicly acclaimed sinners could be channels to bring people to Jesus. If that is so, all of us are in an eminent position to undertake this mission by the very fact that we are baptized and commissioned for it. Our catechumens might have come to know Jesus through someone among you. Your life, faith, words or deeds might have been the testimonies that touched them. Today is the right day to reflect and examine if life of the parish family and each member of it is giving the right testimony to bring people to Jesus, testimonies like the one the Samaritan woman did to her villagers, Andrew and Philip did to Peter and Nathaniel. Catechumens, your are welcome to our parish family. We are with you in your journey of searching for Jesus. Go ahead and be strengthened and make the right decision and later strengthen your brethren in turn!
Fr. George
March 4, 2007
Listen, And Back To Work!
Peter and party just wanted to be there at mount Tabor forever! So they offered to make tents. And the voice of God awakens them to their senses and reminds them that before they enter into the bliss – tent – they need to do a few things and the Son would tell them what to do and show them how! Transfiguration was an experience inviting the disciples to be transformed and to be on their move for action! Abram was transformed into Abraham. Paul is assuring us that our bodies of humiliation will be transformed into the glorified Body of Jesus. Lent prepares us to detach ourselves from the worldly pleasures and to get attached to God, to be in communion with God. We found that His attachment and union with the Father strengthened Jesus to win over the temptations of the devil and to go ahead with His mission for which the Father had sent Him. This mission is being reinforced at the mountain today by the presence of the greatest of the prophets Moses and Elijah and sealing this act by surrounding Jesus and the disciples with the glory of God. The anointing and sending of the Son is unmistakably communicated to the disciples and they are told to listen to this Beloved Son. That is the third dimension of Lent after detachment and attachment, namely, listening to the Son. It is through listening and following that we are to attain the transformation.
Fr. George
February 25, 2007
Wilderness
Temptations for food, worldly wealth and sensual pleasures, temptation for power, conquest, dominion and glory and temptation to test God - all the three are part of human experience, though rarely we pause and recognize them in us. All the evil in the whole world are hatched by these temptations and they originally germinate in individual minds and then are transferred to groups, societies and nations. Such temptations are intense when the humans are pre-occupied with important and life transforming decisions. In the gospels the temptations are attributed to Jesus when He was preparing to launch His public ministry culminating in His violent death. The devil found this the most appropriate time to strike. However, these temptations were not a momentary feeling for Jesus but were life-long torment. It was so just because Jesus was fully human. These temptations are also life-long experience of every human soul. Prayer and fasting make us attached to God, alone with God, intimate with God, and they are the only means to fight back. Jesus fought back with these means. Thus His wilderness experience was quite positive and creative; He spent the forty days and nights in intimate union with God, which alone gave Him strength to fight back and chase away Satan and to ascent the cross. Lenten observances should enable us to follow the footsteps of Jesus.
Fr. George
February 18, 2007
Penance Is Attachment To God
Jesus did not eat and drink for forty days in the wilderness. We call it fasting by Jesus. For Him fasting was being alone with the Father in total oblivion and complete attachment. To become totally attached to the Father, we have to be totally detached from the world and even from our own self. That is the meaning of fasting and penance. Hence Lenten season is not necessarily a period of negative orientations like self-denial, abstinence from food, drink, smoke, sex and the like. All these have to contribute towards the attachment to God. In the process we become more tuned to the word of God, we spend more time on the word, which prompts us to be alone with God, to converse with God, to listen to God and to allow God to communicate intimately with us. This communion enables us to examine our life, our actions and inactions, the things we do, which we should not have been doing, and the things we do not do, which we should have been doing. It should lead us to repentance and repairs in our relationship with others, with ourselves and with God. A change of heart and a change of ways are involved! Lend and Easter together also signify our baptism, dying and rising with Christ. That is why the Catechumens go into intense preparation and initiation during Lent, at the end of which they are baptized and confirmed and thereby assume the newness of life. Along with them the other faithful renew their baptismal vows. Ash Wednesday should remind us of these and orient us toward.
Fr. George
February 11, 2007
Does Jesus Really Mean It?
At the first hearing of the blessings of Jesus or the Beatitudes from the gospels according to Matthew 5: 1-11 or Luke 6:20-26, we don’t feel that they could be true or real for our times. The people of Jesus’ time also thought like us! We are not impressed by the homilies we hear about them repeatedly. However, it is worthy giving a thought! Again another sermon, isn’t it?!! This world with all its wealth, its glittering splendor, with its fascinating pleasures is chasing us day in and day out. We are running after those tempting pulls. And they seem to be real and going to be everlasting. We are not ready to take this world as passing. The warnings about global warming and nuclear holocaust do not bother us much. Spiritual leaders once upon a time, used to tell us that we are being tempted by the concupiscence of the eyes and of the flesh and by the vanity of the world and also constantly tempted by the devil. We seem to have chased away the devil out of the world except for our movie productions! Is he really out? May be we have to be on the look out and ask ourselves if there could be any truth on what the spiritual leaders were saying. Are our chasing after all that this world is offering giving us happiness and peace? Are we ever satisfied with the world? If the answer happens to be negative, may be it is worth considering the beatitudes of Jesus and give them a chance in our lives.
Fr. George
February 4, 2007
The Call & Response
Andrew, his brother, once brought Simon to Jesus, Who renamed him Peter, meaning, “rock”. But Simon was not impressed. He went back to his family trade of fishing. He didn’t mind later lending out his fishing boat to Jesus. When the day’s work was done Jesus turned to Peter who also had finished his work and washed his net to go home. He did not make any catch, was disappointed and deadly tired and was badly in need of food, sleep and rest. And Jesus tells him to cast his net into the deep. He didn’t want to do it. However, here was a great teacher and he couldn’t resist Him. Peter cast his net and lo! The big catch! Peter looks into the eye of Jesus, falls down at His feet and cries out: “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man”. Here comes the moment of realization. Earlier Jesus saw Simon and recognized the Peter in him but Simon did not recognize his Master in Jesus. Now he does, and the wisdom dawns on him that he is a sinner, unworthy to look into the eyes of the Lord! And, he lost the battle! He was caught by the Lord and assigned as a fisher of men and women. Look at the multitude of fish he caught. He had to call his companions James and John to haul them to shore. It was wealth for a long time. And they “left everything” – the boat, the big catch, their parents – everything – and followed Him! No turning back! Once the Master Fisherman catches you, no escape for you! Aren’t you in His grip?
Fr. George
January 28, 2007
You Are The Prophet!
The call to a prophetic mission is dangerous. It may cost you your life. Once called you do not have any escape route nor an option but to accept. The One Who called you gives the power, the word and the Spirit and an assurance of deliverance. However, you will have to go through the agony in order to come to the ecstasy! Jesus went through that, and all the prophets before and after Him. Once you are made the prophet and placed before the people, you have to “gird up your loins, stand up and tell the people everything” that He commands you! You cannot afford to break down before the people unless you want Him to break you down before them! And you are made a “fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the whole land, against kings, princes, priests and the people. And they will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you”! (Jeremiah 1:17-18) A highly tempting offer, and seemingly impossible to happen. However, I am inclined to believe and testify to its happening. The only test available is to try it yourself. For you too have a prophetic call and, if you accept, the consequences are going to be the same that followed Jesus, the prophets and every true follower of Jesus. As Paul says to the Corinthians, even prophecy will come to an end and love is the lasting things and you need plenty of true love with all its qualities Paul lists in order to be a true prophet testifying to the Truth. Not easy, but not impossible!
Fr. George
January 21, 2007
Our Roots
Just like the umbilical code relates us to our moms, determines our pedigree, gives us life breath and blood, so too the place where we grew up has a definite role in designing our life and its paths, orienting our ambitions and goals and launching us into the outer world with a mission. Jesus was no exception for this rule. He comes back to Nazareth, the village where He was brought up. Here the Spirit of God launched Him in His life’s mission to proclaim release to the captives and to liberate the oppressed. We live in a land whose people constitute a mosaic of nations and races, brought together from all parts of the world. It could be a prototype of heaven where people from the east and the west, from the south and the north will come and sit for the banquet. Each one comes along with the richness of one’s unique roots with a mission for others. This uniqueness should enrich and also liberate others. We have to go back to our roots to discover the depths of our riches and be strengthened to share them with the guests at the banquet table. Each of us also should to be tuned to be receptive in order to be enriched by others. Our Eucharistic table and the congregation in the church should give us a foretaste of this banquet and it is our mission to make this gathering our heaven on earth by the richness we share and receive. We could recover our freedom here and now! Let us give a try!
Fr. George
January 14, 2007
Insure And Be Carefree!
We insure our life, health, home, vehicles, property, and even the education of our kids. We have learned from our experience that these are good practices and the insurance companies give us a false assurance of a hassle-free life! Seldom do we realize that they are fleecing us and making us life-long slaves, though we have hardly any other option. Our legal system also is on the side of the companies for obvious reasons. We often forget to go for an insurance, which is free of cost and offering us absolute and everlasting safety, peace of mind and happiness. The young couple at Cana did take that insurance by inviting the Mother of Jesus to their wedding. The damage control she did was total, really hassle-free and the parties did not have even to report the problem to the insurer. The tool with which Mary prevented the disaster was absolute faith in her Son. She grew in this faith by “pondering in her heart” everything that was spoken about Him by many, like the angel Gabriel, Elizabeth, the shepherds, the wise men of the east, Simeon in the temple, Jesus in the temple and all that. Jesus, though tried valiantly to evade, did not have any defense against His mother’s faith. The greatest surprise is that Mary’s faith happened to be the green signal for Jesus to go public! Why not try Mary’s techniques and her company in your life? GOOD LUCK!
Fr. George
January 7, 2007
May The Lord Shine Upon You!
The world was in need of a Redeemer! Many hoped for His coming. Most fancied that He would come in a ‘decent’ manner! The so-called chosen people of God had the assurance of the prophecies. The wise men of the East had just a star in the firmament and the endurance to take the trouble and the Star Divine did shine on them. The chosen race had the misfortune to discard the good tidings announced to them. The light could not shine on them. The shepherds had a rough life, living all the time out in the open, enduring all the onslaughts of the changing seasons. These ‘hopeless’ and marginalized lots were chosen by God to be enlightened first. When they received the good news, they did not wait for a moment to make any plans or calculations. They just rushed to the spot. They found the Redeemer in the child wrapped in swaddling clothes. They worshipped. They believed. They were not shy to proclaim! The light shined upon them. They became the chosen and the blessed! God refused to appear where they expected Him. He came in a manner least imagined by anyone. He continues to repeat the same tactics even today. Do we have the simplicity and openness to receive Him when he appears before us in His terms? If you have, blessed are you! The Epiphany is knocking at your door!!
Fr. George
December 31, 2006
Adieu, 2006! Welcome, 2007!
A year too has passed, never to return and a new one is coming, a new blessing and an extended gift of time from the Lord, which also will not wait for us. Whether we move with it or not, time will be moving on without a stop until the Lord calls it to a halt! Along with time life also should be moving, never to be static. Let us look at our own self to se if it is moving or static. Moving with the time should enable us to read the signs of the time. We have just celebrated the Christmas of 2006. We continue to boast that ours was (or is?) a Christian country and claim that its values were shaped with Christian principles. Did we ever notice that there were Christians and their organizations, which made Christmas time just a “holiday season” and purposefully took away Christ and His birth from Christmas? Imagine, Christmas without Christ in the name of modernity and secular values! There were many in history that tried to silence Christ and miserably failed. As we believers step into a New Year, let us pause and reflect: “where does Christ stand in our lives?” Is He excluded from it? One corner we must search is our own family life and relationships. Have they gone with the wind or do we still consider them sacred and God’s gift? Every dawn is a proclamation that God continues to love and care for us. Let every day of the New Year be a New Blessing to you!
Fr. George
December 24, 2006
Merry Christmas
All those born in the cozy comforts of wealthy mansions and palaces have gone into utter oblivion. The one born on a freezing winter night in a wayside cattle shed and was wrapped up in swaddling clothes has been marching ahead in triumph through the last 20 centuries and it has been unending celebration all over the world! When we realize that this hapless Baby in the manger is the Supreme Lord of birth and death, we cannot but bend our knees in adoration, forgetting the logic of human mind! The cradling of a poor village girl Mary and her itinerant life companion Joseph and the company of a few animals in the shed constituted bliss for this Baby. Could this be a wake-up call for those who find no peace of mind in the midst of material affluence? If only they realize that happiness is not a gift of the competition plagued market economy, but it is the benevolence of this Child in the manger! How narrow, simple, torturous and treacherous were the path He walked? However, He has been cause of the rise and fall of many and the object of unending controversies? If only the world realized that His weapon of Love, sharpened by forgiveness, is the only instrument that is really conquering human hearts and minds and that alone is the salvation for the world! “Glory to God in the Highest! And Peace and Good hope for those with Goodwill on earth”!
Fr. George
December 17, 2006
Pray With Thanksgiving
Make your prayer and supplications to God “with thanksgiving” Paul exhorts the Philippians. God knows your needs. When you present them with thanksgiving, you are consciously acknowledging His bounties to you. This acknowledgement will bring to you “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding”. Peace and happiness are the ultimate goal of all our prayers. Praise and thanksgiving are the sure ways to be heard by God. Zephaniah’s prophecy is the same when he tells us to “rejoice and exult with all your heart because the Lord is in your midst”. The Bible does not assure us that there will not be any disaster. They are there. However, when the Lord is in your midst you shall not fear them. It is the Lord’s business to defend as a warrior and to give victory. The Lord is guaranteeing your victory! Just believe, trust in the Lord, and be happy. John the Baptist is giving us some of God’s concerns which, if we care for, will lead us to the same happiness and peace: “whoever has two coats and food must share with the one who doesn’t have”; “collect not more than what is due” and use not what is not necessary. In other words, by your capacity and propensity to spend more do not deprive the others their necessities. If you are mindful of this you will be really “preparing the way” of the Lord and will be genuine in your prayer: Amen!, Come, Lord Jesus!
Fr. George
December 10, 2006
The Great Leveling Up!
Today’s Bible lessons give us the assurance that a time of level playing is coming. The oppressed and the downtrodden through the centuries have been expecting a time of righteousness and justice. At that time the mountains of pride, dominion, wealth and affluence will be brought down and the valleys of lowliness, humility, poverty and abandonment will be leveled up and made even! May be we consider it impossible. What is impossible for man is possible for God and He is coming down to earth in human form to execute His justice and righteousness. At His coming “the garment of sorrow” will be taken away from the people of God and they will be adorned with “Godly Glory”! It is coming in no time and we are told, “to stand upon the heights” and be alert all the time. God has called and anointed us to be the foot soldiers for the establishment of this masquerading justice and righteousness of God! Paul exhorts us to be overflowing in love and be seen as pure and blameless to produce the “harvest of righteousness that comes from Jesus Christ”. Let us remember that the “voice from the wilderness” was not unheard; in fact, it was so powerful that it took the whole earth by storm and the triumphant march is still on. Let us be part of it and shout: Amen!, Come, Lord Jesus!
Fr. George
December 3, 2006
Look Up And Raise Your Heads!
We are in Advent. This is the season of ardent expectation and joyous tidings all over. However, this week’s gospel message is predicting the end of the world and “distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and waves” (Luke 21:25). Most people think that doom’s day predictions are very negative and detestable. The fact is that when the prophets and Jesus make the predictions about the “period of suffering” (Mark 13:24);, and “time of anguish”(Daniel 12:12)., they do emphasize that it is not the end, but a new beginning, a new creation, a new way of life, which give us great hope, consolation and joy. For us it is the coming of the Son of Man with power and great glory, a time to “stand up and raise our heads” (Luke 21:28) for the moment of our vindication, our glorification and entering into the peace and happiness of God which will never come to an end! While these predictions are for the final coming of the Son of Man, in Advent we prepare for His first appearance in human form to begin the process of collecting humanity and weaving them together with the thread of love. He is the Prince of Peace, He is the endless ocean of Love in which we are invited to swim, dance and get drunk! On your mark, set, GO!!! Come, Lord Jesus, Come!
Fr. George
November 26, 2006
Theocracy
In the beginning muscle power might have forced people into submission giving birth to authority and autocracy. Multiple authority centers might have brought about war leading to kingdoms and empires. Today democracy is the panacea for human governance. And there are passionate “democrats” zealously trying to “export” and “impose” democracy on others! Strangely democracy is defined as “rule of the people, by the people and for the people”! Only pessimists would say that democracy has degenerated itself into “moneyocracy”, rule of money, by money and for money and that rulers of most democracies are ultimately obedient servants of business interests that throw out money for election campaigns. The common man who is supposed to be the kingpin of democracy is cast out! Here comes the relevance of THEOCRACY, the reign of God and CHRIST THE KING. Reign of God might have been the innermost craving of humanity from time immemorial! It is reign from within. The power that motivates will be love that Jesus came to teach. In the reign of Christ all forces working against love will be vanquished. It is a state of living the law of love engraved in the very heart of all beings and love will be the only surviving force with creation! “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb” (Isaiah 11:6) and we pray: THY KINGDOM COME!
Fr. George
November 19, 2006
After The Time Of Suffering
End of time is coming, though some refuse to admit. Perhaps we are looking for a second deluge as in Noah’s days, an Exodus like escape, fire and sulfur rain as in Sodom and Gomorrah, a final earthquake and destruction and the appearance of the Son of Man on the east! None of these may happen or many more are already happening at different places and times. The seven capital vices are triggering them and will bring the final end, greed leading the battle. Over exploitation of the resources of mother earth is forcing nature to hit back. Desire to have dominion over others prompts nations and groups to employ weapons of mass destruction. Satan has employed all these tools most effectively. Unlimited craze for worldly wealth and pleasures continue to motivate humanity to do most of the wrong things it does. It has created an impression that God doesn’t exist or His laws need not to be taken seriously! So it is not God who is hastening to bring down the end, but man himself by misusing the greatest of God’s gifts, human freedom! These human activities have already brought suffering to billions on earth and they will continue on a wider scale and finally human existence will come to an end. This is what prophet Daniel and Jesus speak in today’s readings :“after the time of suffering” (Mark 13:24); “There shall be a time of anguish…”(Daniel 12:12). Only the wise that remain alert can read the signs of these times! Will somebody stop and listen?
Fr. George
November 12, 2006
Giving All
Trusting widows play a significant role in this weekend’s readings. At the point of poverty, when giving even the smallest amount of what they had could imperil their health and well-being, they trusted God and gave anyway. What is important about their giving is not what or how much they gave, but how they gave it. Without selfishness, they gave to help others. Their giving was from the heart, with little hope or intention of receiving any sort of reward or recognition for their generosity. The monetary values of the widows’ gifts were small, but their value measured in the Kingdom was priceless. There is a significant similarity between their gift and the gift Jesus gave each of us. The widows offered their lives for God. Jesus offered his life for us.
Fr. George
November 5, 2006
God And Neighbour First
Jesus is very clear and assertive today. The most important commandment is to put God in the first place. The neighbour is immediately after or in an equal place. In fact, there is no love of God without love of the neighbour. Commandments of God are to be obeyed, are indisputable and non-negotiable. Full obedience will bring about the fulfillment of the promises of God to humanity. When love permeates our being, all the seven so-called capital sins or vices, namely, pride, avarice, envy, anger, lust, gluttony and sloth, will have no place in human life. In fact, there will be no need of further law or prohibition by any agency. Eucharist is the visible celebration of this love and a big THANQ to God for His gift of self. Here our love for the neighbour will express itself in greeting and getting to know each other in the church, in our intercessory prayer for the universal church, in the sharing of our time, talent and treasure for the common good, including offerings for the various needs of the church and the needy. In the sign of peace, we make a final and immediate reconciliation with our neighbour and extend our hand of friendship in preparation for our union with the Lord in Holy Communion. And we go out “to love and serve the Lord and His people.” Then our whole life is aimed at this serving and will be an extension of the Eucharist, fully obeying the first and foremost commandment.
Fr. George
October 29, 2006
Mercy From ‘Davidson’ A Must!
In the incident of today’s gospel, those who were squeezing Jesus wanted to have His attention and they did not get. But the one who dared to call aloud to “DavidSon” (Son of David) got it. The difference between the two was that the losers did not realize what or who they were and the winner knew who he was and was not ashamed of himself. Very often some of us do not want to be seen by others because we want to hide something from others, or we are unhappy about ourselves, we do not accept ourselves as we are, may be we want to be like someone else. There are others who do not like themselves, but also do not like to be changed or transformed. Most of us want to be healed, but some refuse to be healed. This refusal follows from the refusal to accept self as it is. Faith and healing from God has to start from accepting what we are. Then we need the humility to pray for healing, no matter what the others think. My praying to God should not be dependent on what others think or say about me. It should originate from a humble heart and be shot at God, taking the plunge, and you will see God stopping in front of you just like He did before Bartimaeus. Do you want proof? Take the plunge!
Fr. George
October 22, 2006
Missionaries? Are They Real?
Jesus calls: “come, I will make you fishers of men”, “follow me”. And they follow. All look a fantasy and unbelievable! Are they really unbelievable? Look at the innumerable missionaries down the centuries to our own times! We do ask: how can they forsake everything, father, mother, brothers and sisters, house, property, name, fame, wealth, power and all, and be on the mission? Mother Teresa, while nursing to a dying leper, said to a businessman: “I will not do this for a million dollar. Yet I do it because I see Jesus in this man”. That is the prime motive of a missionary to start the journey. Missionary means “the sent”. To be sent you have to be on the way to discipleship. Today is World Mission Day. Missionaries are our own brothers and sisters and are humans just like us. They are in the world and are chosen from among us and sent to be the frontline soldiers for us, to proclaim our faith. They need our support, prayers, love, concern and contributions. The practice of giving mass and prayer intentions is for helping priests and missionaries to somehow make their both ends meet. Now-a-days bishops and religious superiors are struggling to help the priests because there are no many mass intentions or donations forthcoming. All our funeral donations, bequeathing and the like go to Cancer, heart, stroke, dog, cat and the like foundations. People do not care for the needs of their church, of the priests and missionaries. What is wrong with the Church or with us?
Fr. George
October 15, 2006
Is It A Sin To Be Rich?
Today’s gospel passage reminds me a humor I Fr. Isaac shared with me many years ago. He said: “after our life of renunciation, penance, fasting, vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, if it so happens that Jesus never existed as we know Him or He is no more out there, how miserable we would be?” He said it as a joke. However, is it not an existential problem for most us when we are really confronted with the word of God? The demands of Jesus to the rich young man prompts us to ask if being rich is a sin. May be we have a wrong idea about sin. We rarely give importance to the stewardship implications of God’s entrusting us with riches. Possession of riches does not amount to sin, but allowing ourselves to be possessed by riches is definitely a sin and that will lead us to perdition! Then salvation becomes as impossible as the camel going through the needle eye. The worldly tells us that wealth, power, position, dominion over others, etc., will bring us security and the so-called security God gives is just an illusion! It is good to give more attention to today’s small passage from the book of Wisdom: “all good things came to me along with her”. Wisdom here is equivalent to God or wisdom of God. Let us ponder on the power of the word of God from today’s letter to the Hebrews! Only a discerning disciple can understand this and he or she will be ready to bear the cost of discipleship!
Fr. George
October 8, 2006
Stewardship And Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is a subject of loud talk. In the creation story today we have God’s wish that man should not be alone. He formed the first family to be together, never to be alone and never to be separated. The fruits of this togetherness are, and should be, our children. They need to be nurtured, fostered and taken care by both the parents together. If there is any breach of this togetherness, it amounts to domestic violence. If children are deprived of the love and care of any one of the parents he or she is not doing her/his stewardship properly and will be accountable to the giver of life and maker of the order of the universe. This deprivation to the children and unhappiness to the other partner can happen due to the selfishness of one or the other or both, unwillingness to take the pain of being together along with enjoying the pleasures, due to the refusal to realize the real meaning of love, due to rushing into relationships without proper preparation, reflection and mature decision, due to total surrender to material things and bodily pleasures, and ultimately, due the neglect of God and His commandments and the “hardness of heart” Jesus is mentioning in today’s gospel. It is a sad commentary on the stewardship undertaken by couples or men and women, and for which they will be accountable to God. May God enable us to take domestic stewardship seriously.
Fr. George
October 1, 2006
Are You Jealous?
The disciples could not tolerate an outsider doing miracles in the name of Jesus! Why? Because they were the only heirs of Jesus and His mission, with the sole possession of truth! Fantastic? Isn’t it? Jesus forbids them from prohibiting the outsider. Moses rebukes Joshua, his successor, in being jealous. For Joshua, Moses alone was the prophet. Moses expresses his wish that if all the people could prophesy. Look at the generosity and openness of Moses as the leader. He did not want to retain the gifts of God to himself. Jesus today opens His kingdom to anyone who does not oppose Him and His rewards to those who do the slightest good in life, to give a cup of water to drink! Of course, at the time of Jesus and until recently water was a free gift of nature and of God. Now we have made it one of the costliest stuff and a private property of predators to be traded for big money. And here comes the reward for those predators in the words of James today: “you have lived on earth in luxury and in pleasure; your riches have rotted, your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire”. Neither is Jesus mild in condemning those who cause a slight slander to the little one and He does not promise us an easy ride to His kingdom. May be, we need to pause and think where we are, and in what direction we are marching!
Fr. George
September 24, 2006
Want To Be Great? Be Small!
James in today’s letter is contrasting peace with disorder, conflicts and disputes. These three are the order of the day in the world, in our homes and sometimes in our churches even. What about in our minds? It is there that these are originally generated, nurtured and shot out! Who can change the situation? Just you and I! And it is never late to begin. Today is a good day and this day will never come back. The opportunity we lose today will never be given back again. And here is the importance and significance of the message of Jesus: in order to win, to be the first, be the last of all and be the servant of all! Idiotic, isn’t it? Yes it is. Precisely that is what Jesus did in His life. And you need the extra sense to make sense out of it. Wisdom that only God gives you can lead you to the enlightenment Jesus is trying to bring to you. And to be enlightened by Jesus you have to be like the child he is upholding today. Can you become one? The answer will decide whether you are with Jesus or not! May the Lord be with you!
Fr. George
September 17, 2006
Who Am I?
Jesus is making an opinion poll today. Who do they that I am? And who do you say that I am? Jesus seems to be curious. He gets many answers. There is no indication that He was delighted by any or got panicked. However, when Peter said that He was the Messiah, he got serious and told them that it was true, but the time was not ripe to reveal it to the people. Jesus took this opportunity to tell them for the first time about the suffering and death He was going to face. Naturally Peter and his companions could not swallow the idea of the Messiah undergoing suffering and death. For them the Messiah was the one who should save and liberate the people. It was too early for Peter to realize that suffering and death are the sure means of salvation for the self and also for saving others. And if our friends and well-wishers tell us something contrary, take the courage with Jesus to tell them to get behind and not to stand on the way. “Those who lose their life….will save it”! Once we learn this lesson, we will find the answer to the question: who am I and Who Jesus is to me! And this discovery should lead to the ultimate happiness we are aspiring for!
Fr. George
September 10, 2006
Did Miracles Ever Happen?
Yesterday’s miracles might not look so today. At the time of Jesus of Nazareth nobody could have imagined that a man born blind could ever see the light of the day. When Jesus gave sight to the blind, that was a miracle. Today our medical doctors give sight to the blind. Science has given man the capacity to do it. Hence, it is no more a miracle but just employing the infinite capacity of nature to change, regenerate, recoup and to recreate. But what about nature? Is it not a daily miracle happening in one seeing? Who is the author of nature? Has man achieved the capacity to create nature afresh or add anything to it with similar capacity to regenerate? Of course, man has learned to build on nature and also to destroy it, but not to create it anew. Man has created what is called the world order. And is the world in ORDER today or in DISORDER? If the world has to be in order the miracle Isaiah prophesied should happen, namely, “God will open the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf…”, and will bring in the realization that all God’s children are equals, as James is advocating in today’s epistle. In order that this to happen, God’s finger should go into man’s ears, His spittle should touch man’s eyes tongue and His “Ephphatha” should explode in the world, in the place of the Christian or Islamic atom or neutron bombs! Let us desire for it, decide for it, pray for it and struggle for it!
Fr. George
August 27, 2006
Who Or Which Is Your God?
In today’s readings, Joshua is putting the fundamental question to the Israelites: which god are they going to serve, is he the One who liberated them from the slavery of Egypt or someone else from around them? And Jesus puts the same question in different words to his twelve disciples: “do you also wish to go away?” The answer for both groups boils down to be the same and that is reflected in Peter’s words: “Lord, to whom can we go since we have realized that you are the Holy one of God and that you have the words of eternal life?” If the same question is put to us, we may not have a different answer. However, is the situation in any way different from the Israelites of Joshua’s time or those of Jesus’ time? Do we really believe that Jesus is our personal Saviour, that Jesus is the Redeemer of the world? And do we believe in the words of Jesus who said, and on whose behalf it is being said every day: “this is my body, take and eat; this is my blood, take and drink”? If we want an answer, just look into our own behavior! How much we desire to have this meal? How intense are our preparations for it? How pure do we keep our hearts for partaking in this meal? With how much reverence and fear we approach this mystery? What amount of love do we have in us, which Jesus taught us by His life and death? How sincerely do we forgive and reconcile before we dare to approach this great gift of God? Our answer will be the answer to the questions of Joshua and Jesus!
Fr. George
August 13, 2006
Let The Simple Turn In And Be Filled
The Book of Proverbs calls the simple ones to turn in and enjoy a fine meal and get going with insight into life with God. St. Paul continues this invitation by admonishing us to live with wisdom so that we may not be fooled, that we may not “be drunk with wine but be filled with the Spirit”. The persistent call of Jesus to eat His body and drink His blood is again addressed to the same group of simple ones. They only can accept the message of Jesus because it needs belief. It is easy for the simple ones to believe. Jesus promises a state of no hunger and no thirst. He promises resurrection and a heavenly banquet and life everlasting. Unless you are simple, unless you are a ‘non-intellectual’, you cannot grasp and accept these promises, especially when eating His body and drinking His blood are conditions for the fulfillment of these promises. The ‘intellectuals’ cannot believe just because these promises are unbelievable! They are not prepared to “taste and see the goodness of the Lord”! The important and interesting part of today’s gospel message is that God and food are inseparably linked and food for man is God’s constant concern. God in the form of bread is becoming food for humans! That is the Eucharist we are invited to partake and to celebrate. Let us rejoice and be grateful for great gift.
Fr. George
August 13, 2006
Eating The Flesh!
The psalmist invites us to “taste and see the goodness of the Lord”! Prophet Elijah is enabled to run for forty days with the strength of the bread provided by God. Jesus takes a very uncompromising stand on eating His body and drinking His blood! The only group that seemed to have swallowed that idea was Peter and his companions, just because they had nowhere but Jesus to go to, because they have come to believe that there was life and truth in the person of Jesus and they just believed that what Jesus was saying should be sensible. The form Jesus finally gave His flesh to eat and His blood to drink was quite acceptable. Because Jesus made a transformation through His word! And we know through this Word only God created the heaven and earth all that is in them and this same God is capable of transforming bread and wine, which were prepared with human hands, into the body and blood of God made man. And we believe that this is the greatest of miracles happening on our altars everyday. By receiving the body and blood of Jesus our body and blood are fused with those of Jesus and that same blood is flowing within each of us Catholics, the big family of God and that makes us one body in Christ. Christ, thus, is the unifying force of humanity and we celebrate that act of unification in the liturgy! Isn’t it wonderful? When Paul says today to Ephesians not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, he reminds us to remain united in the one body of Christ Jesus!
Fr. George
August 6, 2006
Revelation!
The transfiguration story reminds us that even in the midst of all confusion, God is powerfully at work. We are just like the apostles, wishing to be on mount Tabor all the time, cut off from reality, not knowing the happening around and within us! We do see but do not perceive, hear but do not listen, touch but do not feel, suffer but do not have endurance, and love but do not persevere! Our own mount Tabor may happen to be just the opposite of what the real one is; there is ecstasy, excitement, transformation and oblivion except God and His voice! And when we do not see or hear God the way we want, and do not get the type of answer we want from Him, we jump into the silly conclusions that there is nothing as sin and there is no God, and that becomes our escape to go our way and to conform ourselves to this world. We conveniently forget that God created this world and us, and entrusted it to us, either to keep it renewed and re-created or to plunder and destroy. God has given in our hands the tools, the methods and the controls and also His most precious gift of FREEDOM, which will remain with us to use or misuse until this world passes away. And God is not going to interfere with it! What are we doing with our freedom? Digging our own grave? Not sure? Look at the world around, the warlords and their arsenals, the terrorists, and the global policeman! May be we are hastening the coming of the Son of Man with the clouds! And are you prepared?
Fr. George
July 23, 2006
No Time, I Am Busy !
Paul is telling the Ephesians in today’s reading that Christ has broken down the walls that divide people, walls like race, caste, color, gender, riches, poverty, and so on and paved the way for a NEW HUMANITY, whose characteristics are reconciliation and living in peace with one another. We believe in this great truth Paul is telling us. However, we find peace nowhere in today’s world. Why? Just because we have cast out Christ from this world and from our lives, we refuse to be reconciled and we like war, enmity, segregation, and loneliness. We do not have time for others, time for friendship, and fellowship, no time to live and to love! We are so busy! And we also conveniently forget that Christ brought peace and reconciliation by a process of kenosis that is self-emptying, self-denial and taking up the cross Himself. And He said categorically that this was the Way, the Truth and the Life! Hence, if you are looking a way out, here it is. If you are looking for truth and life, you have it in Christ and only in Christ. Are you really looking for these?
Look at the life of Christ presented in today’s gospel. Jesus and the disciples wanted rest after long days of continuous work and they moved into a lonely place. But people reached there before they reached and Jesus forgets about the rest He and the disciples badly needed. They were busy. Still they had time and plenty of it! What about us?
Fr. George
July 16, 2006
The Messenger And The Recipients
The message of Amos is reinforcing that of last week, of God’s choice and God’s mission are irrevocable! In today’s gospel Jesus is sending out his disciples with a mission. The prerequisite to qualify for this mission is to get rid of all their possessions and get free to move. We may be inclined to ask ourselves what does this mean to us? Are we to leave everything behind and start on this unknown destination? All our possessions are there just for a while. They are there for our use, not necessarily to cling on to or worship and retain them as if they are our destination. What we need to do is to dispossess our minds of all these utilities and keep it open and receptive. Those who are sent by Jesus are told that there would be some to receive them into their homes and provide for them. Could it be that we are ones for this latter mission? Many knock at our door and wait, in need our attention, love, generosity, hospitality, caring, healing and so on. We need a discerning eye to see them! Do we open our doors and our hearts to them? Today they are “the sent” to us and tomorrow we might be “the sent” to them. Riches, health, capacity to work, to serve, etc., are only for a time. When you have, remember, you may have to be at the receiving end at other times. Be aware of what you are and make use of what you have judiciously! You will be blessed. epend on and he is sent just to proclaim and giving fruits is God’s business!
Fr. George
July 9, 2006
The Messenger And The Medium
The Lord is sending prophets to announce to His people His word and He warns the prophets that the people might even refuse to hear, and still he must proclaim! The refusal might be because the message is harsh and not sweet for them. May be God’s message challenges them to change and to a different mode of living and action. Sometimes the refusal may come because of the person who does the proclamation. God creates people differently and He chooses them for His mission not necessarily looking into their perfections. St. Paul is speaking about the “thorn in his flesh” so that he may not be elated because of the revelations given to him. The revelation and the call are gifts from God and the choice is also exclusively of God. The one who proclaims is but a medium and a messenger. And Lord Jesus Christ himself was rejected just because He was the son of an insignificant village carpenter! There are situations when the message is delivered not in the form and style, which the audience expects, like one of our anonymous parishioners walking away from the parish because stories relating to his/her life are not narrated in the proclamation. Sometimes the audience “knows” the one who proclaims and what he is going to say! After all “can anything good come from Nazareth?” Ultimately, as Paul says, it is God’s Grace alone that the preacher can depend on and he is sent just to proclaim and giving fruits is God’s business!
Fr. George
July 2, 2006
His Touch, Your Touch!
Nobody told people that a touch of Jesus could heal them. But they learned it and were asking for it and they did try to touch Jesus and wanted to be touched by Him. And those who did got healed. How many of us realize that we too can have a healing touch and our touches can also heal others? Sometimes I am inclined to ask if all our children get enough touches from their parents. Some of them get a lot. May be there are quite a lot who do not get it enough and that too from both the parents and grandparents and the elders and the siblings. These touches are not only for healing, they are for nurturing and for making them grow in the proper manner. If anyone wants to know the power your soft touch, and your endearing voice, take two plants of the same species, plant them in separate places. Give proper manure and water to both in the same measure. And to one you go, if possible every day, touch it gently, talk to it in a mild and soft voice and the other one just leave as it is, and see if there is any difference in the growth of the two plants. If you haven’t done this experiment early, you will definitely be amazed to know the difference in the two plants and the flowers they will produce. And once you realize this, you will know the power of your touch and the miracles touches can bring to you. Good luck to you.
Summer and holidays are not a bad time for experiments. And remember, there is no holiday for God and no vacation from Sabbath.
HAPPY AND GRACEFILLED HOLIDAYS TO YOU!
Fr. George
June 25, 2006
School Year Ends
There is a time to live and a time to die, a time to work and a time to play, a time to discipline the self and a time to relax, a time to love and a time to wait. All these timings have to be kept their proper order. Any living being is destined to only one death. If we do things in the proper order, we will end up with one death for which we do not need any special preparation. If we fail in this one act of living, we may end up in many deaths! Life will be sort of a misery and a continuous death. At this time of ending the school year it is good that parents and teachers try to convey this message to your children in order that they may learn lessons of life in the proper order and manner and enjoy life all through the days of their existence.
My dear young friends in the schools, I would advice you to look around you, how people live their lives and reflect. Do you see some people enjoying life in full and many others missing a lot? The most important reason for the missing part might be that you do not take enough time to take decisions when you are young, especially decision regarding studies, love, choosing a partner in life and planning for your life, etc. Life should not just happen to you, it must be planned and lived. Observation of your environment, people around, your own family traditions and reflection on these should precede your decisions for life. And you definitely need God’s grace to take the right decision. Wish you good times and everything good in life, God’s choicest blessings and only one death for you!!
Fr. George
June 18, 2006
Father's Day
It is difficult to believe God especially God the Father! I have this feeling whenever I read the parable of the prodigal son in Luke’s gospel, chapter 15. Is it possible for any normal father to misbehave like this? But I must believe in this Father because Jesus only showed Him to me. And it is amazing to think about Him and to know Him. The love and affection our earthly fathers shower on us is but a reflection of this Father’s love. My dad did not want me to become a priest just because he did not want me to be away from him, and he never told me that. Finally when I was ordained he was the happiest man and that happiness prolonged his life for another eight more months before he died on 14th June 1979.
I would suggest that when we celebrate father’s day all the sons and daughters should look into the corners of their dad’s heart where they have hidden all their love. For quite a few it is hard to uncover. The more it is hidden the stronger it is. Kids, search and research, and you will be amazed at the discovery! And all dads should look at the amazing Father whom Jesus is revealing in the parable. All your children need forgiving love and UNCONDITIONAL acceptance, howsoever bad they might be. And your love will transform them, and you too. Do you doubt? Dare to try! God luck, fathers!!
Fr. George
June 11, 2006
Trininty Sunday - The Triune God
God is one. God is three! It is Triune God! What does it mean? God alone knows! The idea, the persons are so familiar, so close, yet very distant and unintelligent. Exactly, unintelligent to us! That is why it is a matter faith and faith alone. We can imagine God the Father, we can understand Jesus and we can even catch up with the Spirit of God. But the fact that the only one God is at the same time Father, Son and Spirit and they are different persons, but one God, is something that surpasses human comprehension. All of them put together is beyond the grasp of ordinary and even extra-ordinary human beings, like St. Augustine! Trinity remains the greatest of the Mysteries to be unraveled! The only plausible way out is to believe, because Jesus said so, “baptize them in the name of Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”.
The beautiful side of Trinity is that it is a relationship; continuous and uninterrupted bonded by love alone. And love happens to be the other name of God. This father of the Son is also OUR Father and we the earthlings are children, one with this Son, and this Father and these CHILDREN are bonded together by the Spirit. Hence we all belong to the Family of the Triune God. Let us rejoice and be glad that we are children!!
Fr. George
June 4, 2006
Pentecost
Lent was a period of forty days before the resurrection. Pentecost means fifty days and these are after the resurrection. If the former was for fasting and penance, the latter is for feasting and celebration and the day of Pentecost is one for a new birth, in fulfillment of a long-standing promise and prophesy. After the physical absence of Jesus, the disciples were almost falling back into their old fishing nets and boats. However, when the promised Advocate did come, there was tremendous reorientation. The wind, the breath and the fire really changed the disciples and Peter’s maiden sermon testifies to the dramatic transformation that had taken place in him and in the other disciples and its effects on the listeners. It was the birth of the Church and the Spirit of God transcended all the barriers of time, matter, language, creed and caste. The Spirit’s presence unified humanity into a new race and changed the very direction of human history towards “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:23). Our gathering around the Eucharistic table is a continuing invitation for this transformation.
April 28, 2006
Ascension
Resurrection was the restoration of humanity to its pristine purity and status. Ascension is taking over the rightful position. Both happen by moving towards love, which is turning away from self and coming closer to the other, even to the point of giving up one’s life! Ascension took away the physical presence of Jesus from humanity, but His presence became powerful, abiding and universal. In fact, this presence is one that empowers the ones present to Him in truth and Spirit.
The "send-out" message of Jesus to the disciples was to open up, get out of the self, move towards the other, go forth and proclaim to the whole creation that God is with them and that God is Love! That is the dismissal message of every liturgy “let us go and serve the world”. And serving the world and God’s children is equal to serving the Lord!
Fr. George
April 23, 2006
Evangelization
The word Evangelization is not unfamiliar to us. However, is it our task, or just a casual invitation? Maybe not. It is an obligation, a command from God. “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love….; this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:10)
Spreading this message is Evangelization. A family together going to church is witnessing to God’s call and His love. If they take the trouble to give the first priority for this act of witnessing on all Sundays, postponing all other “pressing engagements and busyness”, they are evangelizing. If they walk through the street to the church every Sunday, that is a still louder witnessing and evangelization. If they share the car with other worshippers, it is an act of love and sharing of faith and that is a collective and mutually supporting witnessing. It may result in less emission of poisonous gas into the air, a little saving, which could be dropped in the offertory box as an addition to the regular.
The novelist Dostoevsky declares in Brothers Karamazov that love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams. Jesus proved it on the cross. When we lay down our lives or do an act of lesser gift of the self, it may bruise us, pierce us, and result in heartburns. It may force us to say no to our selfishness, to forgive and to bear with. Then it is true love; it is conversion; it becomes the most transforming and lifegiving power; it is allowing God to dwell in us, it is evangelization!
Fr. George
April 23, 2006
The Doubting Thomas
Good Friday was the day when all who followed Jesus, including the 11 disciples, were frightened, terrorized and scattered. John was the only one who dared to follow Jesus in His journey to Calvary and witness the happenings. However, after the death of Jesus, all of them including John lost hope, were depressed and went into hiding places and even planned to revert back to their old trades from which Jesus recruited them! On Easter Sunday it was the task of Jesus to gather them together again. This was done through the angles at the tomb, the mission given to Mary Magdalene, the Emmaus journey and the apparitions.
Fortunately for us, Thomas was not present when Jesus appeared to the other ten. Thomas’ reaction was quite natural. None of us would have put up with the loss of the excitement and confirmation Thomas was insisting upon. Theologians attribute it to his ardent love and intense desire to see Jesus. It seemed like a childish insistence. Ultimately it turned out to be a blessing, because here Jesus declared to Thomas that those who believed without seeing were blessed and we are among those blessed ones! And Thomas was made at this moment the first to confess Jesus as the Lord and God. And one aspect of the benevolence of Jesus is revealed on this occasion, namely, He will yield to us even in our childish demands. That was again another way Jesus exposed Himself as our Lover! Let us rejoice and sing Alleluia!
Fr. George
April 16, 2006
Christ Is Risen, Alleluia!
It is difficult to understand how God was willing to send His only Son to die, although it was for saving the whole human race, and how Jesus could agree to die so. We do not understand the agony of the Father and every angel in heaven as they watched Jesus suffer and die. It is beyond our imagination to comprehend the intense love for YOU and ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end. We don't understand it, but it sure does make life worth living. ”God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
The events on Passion Week are a bit depressing. They leave in our minds unsettled questions. On Holy Thursday at Gethsemane, Jesus prayed to the Father to remove the chalice of suffering and death from Him. On Good Friday, Jesus cried out from the cross “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).
God the Father did not remove the chalice. Neither did He forsake Him. Jesus had to submit to the will of the Father and die. But He was saved by resurrection. And the resurrection of Jesus is the guarantee for us that we too will live and reign with Him for all eternity. Easter demolishes the darkness of suffering and death and rouses hope in us. That is how we are a people of hope. Christianity is a movement that celebrates hope and our message is of hope to the world! Christ has overcome all things that hold us bound in our own sinfulness and He leads us towards the fulfillment of God’s kingdom. Love was that which motivated God to create and to redeem humanity from the fall. Love is the answer to the problems and challenges of the world today. “Love is now no longer a command; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to us” (Pope Benedict XVI). The Risen Lord enables us to mock at death with Paul: “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? (1 Cor. 15:55) ALLELUIA!
HAPPY EASTER!
Fr. George & Fr. Biju
April 9, 2006
Passion Sunday - Lessons For Us To Learn
This was the day Jesus had a triumphant entry into Jerusalem. All the people who were singing Hosanna to Him, the Son of David, the One Who came from above, were sincere and honest. For them it was so spontaneous and also instantaneous that they did not have time to think as to what was happening. However, for Jesus it was a planned action with sufficient calculation. He wished it to happen, was fully involved in the jubilations and He enjoyed it. But neither Jesus nor His disciples organized it except that they found a donkey and its colt for Jesus to ride on. Of course, the Spirit of God was moving around. Though it was the day of triumph for Him, Jesus knew that it was also the beginning of His descent and defeat at the hands of the very same people. He knew that in less than one hundred hours they would clamor for His blood!
The experience of Jesus teaches us that adulation and rejection are part of human existence. Rejection by one’s own kin, and by those to whom we have been good, is not uncommon in human relations. And Jesus was living fully as a man, not as God on this earth. The lesson for us is that for every ascent there is a descent, for every hill there is a valley. When we stand in the valley we are in the dark, we do not have the sunshine. But the ascent is there before us and on top there is light, hope and fullness of life. At moments of triumph let us not forget our roots and at times of trial let us not lose our hope. And we are not alone anytime; the Lord is with us!
Fr. George
March 12, 2006
Welcome To The Season Of Lent
Lent is a very special time--a time of change. Everybody thinks of changing humanity; nobody thinks of changing himself or herself.
When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it, too, seemed immovable. As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it. And now, as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family. From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country, and who knows, I may have even changed the world.
Inscribed on the tomb of an Anglican
Bishop in Westminster Abby (1100 A.D.)
What is one thing I might change during the season of Lent?
Fr. Biju.
