08 – 13 FEBRUARY 2021, HOLY MASS REFLECTIONS
08 FEBRUARY 2021, GENESIS 1. 1-19; MARK 6. 53-56
Focus: Healing is not an automatic thing; it is not a passive reception of God’s grace; it needs faith, and true faith is an active orientation to God’s grace and cooperation to it. This implies a constant process of recognizing Jesus, seeking, running to him, touching him and thus getting healed.
In the first reading from Genesis, we see the narration of the first creation. God creates everything. This means that God is the author of all life. We owe our existence to Him. Everything that is created is good. Thus, reflection on creation should stir in us a sense of gratitude, a sense of dependence, a sense of beauty and dignity and goodness. In the gospel, we see Jesus on a “new creation” or “re-creation”. He is restoring the creation to its original beauty through his ministry of healing the sick. Evil and sickness are signs of imperfection, disruption of the goodness and beauty of the creation. Jesus is ever ready and available. He is already here and now. In fact, it is always God who takes the initiative all through the story of creation and salvation. The very presence and ministry of Jesus is a clearest sign and testimony of God’s commitment to the task of restoration and re-creation. The treasure is laid open before us. It is seen, it is shown, it is offered. It remains then how one approaches Jesus for this healing. For this, what is needed is to know about him, to recognise his presence, go near him wherever he is, to dispose oneself to be touched by him, and thus get healed. We can marvel at the depth of people's faith in Jesus. They believe that even a touch of his garment can transmit his power to heal their sickness. God is on this unceasing mission and project of healing the sicknesses. But, how many are aware that they are sick? How many realize the need to be healed? How many desire to be healed? How many approach Jesus? Instead, how many seek wrong means to overcome the sickness!
Direction: Let us remember that unless we feel the need of being healed from our sickness, we can never approach Jesus and receive healing.
09 FEBRUARY 2021, GENESIS 1. 20 – 2.4; MARK 7. 1-13
Focus: The external traditions and activities alone do not guarantee the authenticity of a person. The externals should help one to become more authentic, and also should express one’s being authentic
God created us in His own image and likeness. This shows our human beauty, dignity as well as sanctity. This interiority is the most important aspect of human person and society. No externals should mar or breach this. Rather, every external activity or tradition should help to live and foster this interior greatness. An exterior is sound when it corresponds to the interior and channels a clean and good interior. Whenever there is no such harmony between the interior and the exterior, whenever a good exterior becomes only a cover-up or substitute for a defective and unclean interior, then clearly it is hypocrisy. Unfortunately, hypocrisy is so prevalent always and everywhere. In the gospel, Jesus clearly exposes once again the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes. Following the traditions, rules and religious obligations is good. But all these should make one more authentic and benevolent. They alone cannot decide the quality of a person. This hypocrisy lies in these following aspects: 1) giving more importance to the human traditions and observances and neglecting the more essential divine spirit and moral precepts, 2) twisting the explanation of the religious matters to suit one's convenience and interests, 3) ignoring inner purity and using the external purifications and purity as a cover up and substitute for the internal purity. Human person will be true to his image and dignity, if there is harmony and not dichotomy between his inner self and outer acts. Life will be beautiful when there is a blend of a good exterior and a good interior, and not a conflict. Therefore, we should guard against the two possible dangers: one is, a bad interior and a show-off exterior; the other is, a good interior but not shown in a good exterior. Both are defective!
Direction: True integrity is an integration of both interior purity and external purity, being religious-minded and charity-directed.
10 FEBRUARY 2021: GENESIS 2. 4a-9, 15-17; MARK 7. 14-23, Memory of St Scholastica
Focus: Inner pollution is more dangerous and destructive than the external pollution. The life of a person or society degenerates when a person’s interior degenerates
We are living in a world which is concerned and worried about pollution of various sorts. It is anxious about ecological cleanliness. Thus, it also comes up on many diet regulations and restrictions. The whole purpose behind is sanity and sanitation. Such a concern is reasonable and helpful. But the problem is an excessive concern for the externals and an overriding neglect of the internal sanity and sobriety. How many are really aware that there is one another pollution that is more dangerous and alarming, and that is the inner pollution, the pollution by sin and evil? How many really bother to keep their hearts clean? How many sincerely check their inner health, that is, the quality of their thoughts, the quality of their words, their actions and their whole character and behaviour? How many take upon a course of inner diet, with certain self- regulation and self- restraint? Concretely in the light of the first reading from Genesis, how many consciously think of the dignity and duty of their vocation? How many seek always the tree of life and not the tree of death? How many are able to distinguish between good and evil? How many resist the temptation to try out what is hidden? How many defy God’s constant warning to avoid what leads to a culture of death? How many knowingly disobey God’s explicit commands, warnings and admonitions? How many give excessive importance to the features of their bodies while disfiguring their heart and soul? How many keep their external so clean and tidy while they defile their interior? How many invest so much of their money, time, energies and capacities on what is temporary and worldly but spend very little on what is eternal and heavenly? St Scholastica whom we commemorate today, the sister of St Benedict, always preserved this interior purity totally consecrating herself to monastic life.
Direction: The profile of a person will be good when he guards his file of life from what does defile his interior and negatively compile his heart.
11 FEBRUARY 2021, GENESIS 2. 18-25; MARK 7. 24-30, Memory of Our Lady of Lourdes
Focus: True faith is always humble and surrendered and it is rewarding. At times, faith may be challenged and tested, but those who persevere will reap the fruits
True faith does not cancel all the problems. It means that if one has faith, it does not mean that there will not be any problems. Faith does not guarantee absence of problem or suffering. In fact, true faith proves itself only in the face of challenges and adversities. Faith shows us the way to do when faced with a problem. It gives the confidence and courage. It fills one with undying hope even in hopeless and desperate situations. It makes one deeply humble and totally surrendered to God. Humility and surrender are not against self-dignity or honour of a human being. In fact, the account of creation of woman in Genesis reminds us that it is God who creates both man and woman, unites them together, and bestows on them a singular dignity. Their dignity consists in their humility. Their freedom consists in their surrender. Their continued beauty consists in their recalling and reliving their original beauty of communion. This is indeed the possession by the Holy Spirit. But at times, this is thwarted and distorted by the possession by the evil spirit. In such moments, what to do? Turn to Jesus for healing. The pagan woman in the gospel turns to Jesus. The pagan woman with her deep faith, wins Jesus' mercy and thus the healing of her possessed daughter. Her humility makes her not to retort when Jesus speaks derogatively, almost equalling her to a dog. Her perseverance makes her answer with a firm trust that even the dogs eat scraps fallen from the children's table. The memory of Our Lady of Lourdes that we celebrate today reminds us once again that God always blesses and rewards the simple and the humble. Our Mother reveals herself as the Immaculate Conception to a simple village girl Bernadette of 14 years. She appeals for rekindling of faith and conversion. She does not promise cessation of difficulties but the power of God to face them. A faith that is testified in a life of conversion is what God wants from us.
Direction: The more we are blessed and gone higher, the more we must remain humble and steadfast in our faith and loyalty. Let us not seek false dignity and greatness in false status and arrogance, but in humility and surrender
12 FEBRUARY 2021: GENESIS 3. 1-8; MARK 7. 31-37
Focus: Sin is not merely a cluster of evil acts, but it is more a fundamental disposition and orientation; It is a fundamental alienation from God, a grievous rupture of the intimate relationship with Him
There is a dramatic description of first sin in the first reading from Genesis. The Satan, represented by serpent, cunningly tempts and entices the first parents, Adam and Eve. The devil knows where to strike and how to appeal. It can present even the worst as the best. The offer is something very attractive and fantastic: equality with God Himself, to become like Him, to know like Him. This is one temptation that is perennial, and that is, seeking self-glory, elevating oneself to the level of God, assuming total independence and self-sufficiency. The biggest temptation is man’s desperate search to organize his life without God, and thus to do away with God. In other words, this is a closure to God’s grace. As long as man is closed to God’s action, he cannot experience the fullness and fulfilment of life. Without openness to God, man will experience insufficiency and inability in many ways. Therefore, what is needed is “to be opened”. Precisely, it is to be opened to God’s grace. In fact, the whole fault of the first parents was that they were opened to the Evil one, and not to God. They hide themselves from God, while they happily engage themselves in lively dialogue with Satan. But Jesus in the gospel reverses the situation. Jesus heals a deaf and dumb man. His actions like putting his finger into the man's ears, spitting and touching his tongue and pronouncing the healing command, "ephphatha" - all these show his personal concern and trouble for us. Today, the same invitation and command is addressed to each one of us: "Ephphata" (be opened). You who are deaf to God's voice and message, you who are deaf to the cries of the needy and struggling, be opened to your inner listening. You who are dumb not speaking God's word and good word, be opened of inner speaking. For this, we need our hearts to be opened. Only when there is an opening to God’s grace, only when we are open to His touch and healing, we will be set free from our inner bondages, and our inner energies will overflow into streams of health and wholeness.
Direction: This is the high time that we sharpen our listening to become more attentive and clear our speaking to become more responsive and concerned.
13 FEBRUARY 2021: GENESIS 3. 9-24; MARK 8. 1-10
Focus: Sin may bring quick results, temporary benefits and shallow pleasures, but eventually it lands one into misery and destruction
Sin alienates the humans from God. They lose that intimacy and freedom with God. They lose their sense of worth and dignity. They lose the sense of confidence and joy. The expulsion of the first parents from paradise is very symbolic of this essential loss. It is not merely being driven away from a place, but it is a basic being driven away from their original dignity, intimacy, beauty and joy. In consequence, guilt and shame, hunger and thirst, struggle and toil, want and dissatisfaction become their lot. But, the Saviour averts this sin situation by his offer of salvation. In the gospel, in Jesus we see this contrasting situation. We see a contrast in how Jesus draws the people to himself and thus turns them to God. He understands our situations of struggle and want. He does not want to leave us to struggle with our desert of dryness and hunger. He feels compassion for us. He attends to our want. He alleviates our hunger. He satisfies our needs. Those who approach Jesus will never be disappointed or turned down. They will never be allowed to collapse on their way. They will have their fill and full. They will have, not only enough but abundance (7 baskets still left over). As humans we are, living on this earth, we cannot wish to be totally free from situations and experiences of dryness, want and worry. The fact is, struggle and toil is part of our human life. But, we can always find ways and means to address these concerns. We can have the direction and strength to resolve them appropriately. And the best means is to confide in Jesus and to turn to him. Also, from our part, offer to him all the little we have, the seven loaves and few fish, to join to his mighty abundance. He will surely multiply them to feed the multitude.
Direction: When we hunger and thirst for God, when we sacrifice something in preference to his presence and word, surely God will take care of our needs.
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