14 – 19 JUNE 2021: HOLY MASS REFLECTIONS
14 JUNE 2021, 2 COR 6. 1-10; MATTHEW 5. 38-42
Focus: The ways of the world are always contrary to the ways of God. It really needs a change of heart to rising above the ways of the world, and courage of the Spirit to be loyal to the ways of God
The ways of the world are always in contrast to the ways of God. In such a context, Jesus invites us to follow a new set of rules, a reversal of the values. It is no more grudge, revenge, and retaliation but forgiveness and reconciliation. It is no more an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Rather it is offering another cheek as well to the one who strikes on one cheek. It is no more avarice or profit-seeking, but concern for the need of the other. It goes even to the extent of forgoing one's own due and rightful gain. Thus, it is to be generous enough to give away the cloak as well to the one who sues for a coat or to give readily to the one who begs or borrows.
This is exactly what Paul and the other apostles lived: they suffered but they always rejoiced in the Lord. They were persecuted but remained strong and loyal. They were slandered but stood truthful. They were despised as poor but they were so rich spiritually and enriched others. As Paul enumerates in the first reading from his 2nd letter to the Corinthians (6. 1-10), what they faced was a series of afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labours, watching, and hunger. But what they showed was great endurance by the Holy Spirit, power of God, genuine love, knowledge, forbearance, kindness, and truthful speech. They fought and conquered the forces of evil, not by revenge and retaliation but with the weapons of righteousness. They put no obstacle in anyone’s way. They never conducted themselves blameworthy in their ministry. But they presented themselves as commendable servants of God.
Direction: The value and meaning of life and all the more the life of a disciple of Christ is not in aggression and retaliation, but in forbearance, reconciliation, and condescendence
15 JUNE 2021: 2 COR 8. 1-9; MATTHEW 5. 43-48
Focus: The outstanding difference between God and man is the depth and extent of God’s mercy which forgives, loves, and helps even the greatest enemy
We are living in a world of three dominant trends, namely, comparison, competition, and imitation. These prevail even from very childhood itself. It can be with regard to anything, be it a simple dress, education, opportunities, skill and talent, intelligence and competence, social status, earning money, power, position, popularity, etc. And everyone tries for excellence and perfection. But this is mostly to outsmart and out-beat others. Thus, unfortunately, these tendencies to compare, compete, and imitate are mostly with regard to worldly things and self-interests. Accordingly, pursuit for perfection often degenerates into selfishness, jealousy, greed, deception, and corruption.
It is in such a context, Jesus is proposing today the best and perfect model to compare with, compete with, and imitate. It is God the Father Himself. “Be merciful AS your heavenly Father is merciful”. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”. God has a contrasting and disconcerting style of functioning. He loves and forgives even the most destructive enemy. He is benevolent and equitable to “let His rain and sunshine upon all, both the good and the bad”. Therefore, our model is God Himself in His compassion, mercy, and perfection. We are thereby invited to put on God’s own mindset. That is, to cultivate a selfless love even to embrace the enemy, to bless them, to pray for them, to be courteous to all and to help all, to show equity toward all without any discrimination. This is the excellence for which St Paul praises the churches of Macedonia, where he refers to their generosity to support others
Direction: It is good to be just in following and demanding what is lawful, rightful, and reasonable. But it is better to be loving in being merciful and compassionate. A “dry justice” condemns, while a “fertile charity” condones
16 JUNE 2021: 2 COR 9. 6-11; MATTHEW 6. 1-6, 16-18
Focus: Seeking recognition and reward for one’s goodness or good works may be natural to some extent, but an excess seeking would make even the good a shallow show
There may be some who are indifferent and are not much bothered to be engaged in doing good works or some spiritual practices. But there are some others who may do actively something good and spiritual, but with an impure motive of seeking recognition and applause. This takes away the merit and beauty of their good practice. Jesus in the gospel warns of such people especially in reference to prayer, almsgiving, and fasting, which are the three fundamental pillars of the religion. The fault is not doing them because they are praiseworthy and highly recommendable. The fault is but doing them with an impure heart with a lot of negativities and without any desire and decision to change for the better. We must always remember that ultimately all our external practices must deepen our interior purity leading to a clean and selfless action and living. In this context, we must constantly check and see whether our prayers are helping us to grow in the spirit of closeness and communion with God, surrender, and loyalty to Him, in dedication and witness to Him; whether our almsgiving fosters in us a consistent spirit of sensitivity and charity towards the needs and difficulties of others; whether fasting enhances the spirit of self-discipline and restraint within us.
Therefore, all our spiritual or good activities must proceed from a heart that is genuine and gives generously and cheerfully. They must be produces of an abundant harvest of righteousness. We must bear in mind that we receive as we give. If we give generously, we will also receive abundantly. If we give only little and that too reluctantly, we will also receive little. That is why, St Paul affirms: he who sows sparingly, will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. God loves a cheerful giver and He will enrich in every way every great generosity.
Direction: It is not proper to disregard and discard all religious practices, arguing that they are not bringing out any concrete change of life, or that the spirit and heart are more important than all the formal actions. It is better that both the interior purification and exterior transformation take place
17 JUNE 2021: 2 COR 11. 1-11; MATTHEW 6. 7-15
Focus: The quantity of words in prayer is not a necessary sign and guarantee of the quality of prayer. It is rather a matter of quality of heart
In the gospel, Jesus directs our attention to our power source, namely prayer. He outlines the quality of heart and not the quantity of words as the basic disposition of prayer. Besides, a spirit of forgiveness and not storing grudge becomes an essential pre-requisite and condition for God to accept our prayer. In this context, Jesus offers us the sublime model prayer, 'Our Father'. It is not one prayer among many. It is in a way the quintessence of prayer. It recognizes and reminds us that we are one family of God's children, bound by filial devotion and fraternal concern. We need to abide by His holy will and establish His kingdom. We must inculcate a constant spirit of dependence on God and contentment with the necessary. We must earnestly resist all inclination to evil and especially all the rush for unforgiveness.
In fact, the prayer ‘Our Father’ evidently teaches us what to pray for. But in the same token, it also implicitly cautions us against the possible onslaughts of the evil one. One is the spirit of disunity and division that disrupts the spirit of one family of God’s children. Second is desecrating and disgracing God’s holy name by unholy lives, by not living up to His holy name. The third is promoting one’s own will and interests, that is, one’s petty kingdom, against the one kingdom of God and His holy will. Fourth is a sense of greed and accumulation leading to discontentment. Fifth is harbouring grudges and an unforgiving spirit. Sixth is easily falling prey to the temptations of the evil one. This is similar to what the serpent did to Eve and Adam. This is what St Paul warns the Corinthians about being led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. As he attests, we must constantly be conscious that we are “betrothed to Christ to present ourselves as a pure bride to her one husband”
Direction: The Our Father is not merely a well-articulated or condensed prayer. It synthesizes the whole spirit of a praying heart. It lays bare that spiritual concerns are the priority in life. This essentially includes primacy to God and the Propensity of fraternity.
18 JUNE 2021: 2 COR 11. 18, 21-30; MATTHEW 6. 19-23
Focus: The eye is the lamp of the body. It directs the body. In the same way, the perspective or inner vision is that eye that directs one’s life. Wisdom is that sight that helps one to discern between what is worth-seeking and what is worth discarding and to follow what is worth
In the gospel, Jesus directs our attention to one greatest temptation that strikes many. That is, seeking and accumulating treasures on earth. It is foolish because they are temporary and transient. They are unreliable and unstable, and liable to loss and ruin. If not careful, they will easily distort one’s clarity of vision and deviates his way of life. Those who place their trust in them are like those whose eyesight is blurred and stumble in darkness.
Therefore, we need the light of the wisdom that gives us sound eye-sight. Wisdom is that sound eye that makes us see and realize that the treasures of heaven are far more worth than the treasures on earth, and they alone are worth-seeking. They are imperishable and permanent. Wisdom not only gives us the clarity of priorities but also enables us to pursue the treasures of heaven with perseverance to the end. It is this wisdom that overwhelmed St Paul so that he was maddened and possessed with passion for Christ. Nothing could stop his undaunted spirit. No labours, no imprisonments, no beatings, no lashes, no stoning, no shipwreck, no dangers of all sorts, no sleepless nights, no toil and hardship, no hunger and thirst, no exposure to cold, no pressures, no anxiety for the churches, no weaknesses – nothing of these would discourage him or decrease his spirit of determination and dedication, conviction, and commitment.
Direction: One who is wise will know clearly that the treasures of heaven are the greatest priority in life. It is very sad this inner sight of many is blurred because they are not rooted in God. Consequently, they are misled by the pursuit of the impermanent earthly riches
19 JUNE 2021: 2COR 12. 1-10; MATTHEW 6. 24-34
Focus: Anxiety is a dominant human phenomenon that rules life. It is natural and understandable. But the real question is about what and to what extent this anxiety is
Life on this earth is often wrapped in much worry and anxiety. Perhaps there is no sphere of life that is exempted from this. As humans on this earth, surely there are many needs, concerns, and difficulties. In that sense, surely we feel anxious since everything is not totally in our hands and is subject to many factors. There are duties to fulfill, tasks to perform, troubles to confront, afflictions to bear, perplexities to make sense, challenges to address, and problems to overcome.
But often the problem is, this anxiety is about the secondary or even worthless and destructive things. And it is exaggerated. Often, many are anxious about physical and material things like food, drink, cloth, and money. Today the Lord is exhorting us that such anxiety is not right because it does no good. No one can change a situation or resolve a problem by being anxious about it. More than this reason, we need not excessively bother about anything because our God is a loving, caring, and providential Father. He knows what we need, He knows the struggles of this life, and He also knows the human cravings. Therefore, why be overanxious when God is there to take control of everything? Left to ourselves, we are weak, as St Paul admits in the first reading from 2 Cor 12. 1-10. But, our weakness is supplied with enormous strength from God. Our weakness is turned into strength because of the surpassing grace of God. It is not that we become complacent with our human weakness. Rather our fragility accepted in humility becomes an entrance and opportunity for God’s grace to work on our weakness. Thus, when we are weak, then we are strong.
Therefore, it is better to surrender everything to God. It is wise to clarify the scale of priorities. We need to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. The logic is simple: if we take care of God’s concerns, God will certainly take care of our valid concerns.
Direction: We never lack God’s grace. It is always available and abundant. It is never less but always more than enough. What is important is that we join our human fragility with His divine nobility and cooperate with His grace
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