19 – 24 JULY 2021: HOLY MASS REFLECTIONS
19 JULY 2021: EXODUS 14. 5-18; MATTHEW 12. 38-42
Focus: Signs are not tests or proofs for the power of God or the efficacy of faith. They are reminders and reassurances of God’s unfailing intervention and the reward for one’s trust
In the gospel Matthew 12. 38-42, some Pharisees and scribes demand a sign from Jesus to convince them and make them believe him. Actually, signs are meant to deepen and strengthen the faith. But their intention is the opposite. They want to validate their unfaith, and not consolidate their faith. They seek excuses for not believing, rather than confirmations for believing. True faith generates from a humble openness to God’s grace, a profound experience of God and a strong conviction. In this way, no one can generate or create faith. A faith that is based on mere favours and signs, a faith that builds itself on proofs and evidences will be shallow and unsteady. Signs must help us to deepen the faith, because they are manifestations of God’s powerful and merciful intervention.
There is nothing wrong with expecting signs. But the problem is to expect them as proof for God’s power. Signs are not the measuring rods for the power of God or power of faith. They are not the primary things. Unfailing trust in God and a loyal relationship with Him are the real matters. Signs can make sense only in such an atmosphere of trust and loyalty. Jesus accuses those people as “evil and adulterous generation” because they were evil-intentioned and unfaithful as marital infidelity. Had they not seen the mighty works of God in their history? Do they easily forget how God worked wonders to liberate them from the slavery in Egypt? Do they forget the sign of God’s sparing the Ninevites at the preaching of Jonah and their consequent repentance? Do they easily lose sight of the wisdom of Solomon? Are these and numberless acts of God’s intervention not enough signs to stabilize their faith? And Jesus himself is the greatest sign of God’s love, wisdom and mercy. The authenticity of his life, the effectiveness of his ministry are the most compelling signs.
Direction: In times of adversity and crisis, the solution is not to lament or reproach like the frightened Israelites. The fitting response is: Not to fear, but stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work for you today. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be still
20 JULY 2021: EXODUS 14.21 – 15.1; MATTHEW 12. 46-50
Focus: God is never away from us and is never indifferent toward our struggle. What is needed is to be ever conscious of His mercy and to strive to be faithful to Him
God smote the Egyptians drowning them in the red sea (Exodus 14. 21f.). He divided the red sea and made a dry path for the fleeing Israelites to walk through. But He closed it upon the chasing Egyptians to their perish. Further, He accompanies and leads them by a pillar of fire in the night and cloud by day. Consequently, people fear the Lord, believe in Him and His servant Moses. This whole Exodus event becomes unique and central in their history. In fact, it is such profound experiences of God’s power and mercy that make their history sacred and salvific. Time and again, they recall and remind themselves of their new status as the people of God, specially chosen and guided by God. The more they were aware of this new dignity, the more they remained close to God and loyal to Him. Whenever they neglect this truth, they fail in their fidelity toward God and others as well.
Awareness of our unique call, our new dignity, our sacred duty and relationship with God and others is crucial in living out our faith-life. In the words of Jesus in the gospel, this is belonging to a new family of God. This new family has no boundaries and it is not bound by any such boundary-marks like caste, colour, region, language, race, culture, rite, status, power, etc. These are not the criteria that determine the extent of belongingness and affinity. They do not and should not count at all. The only criterion and norm for the adherence to this new family is “doing the will of the Father”. That is why Jesus poses the straightest question and answers it, saying “Who is my mother, my brother and my sister? Whoever does the will of my Father”. Therefore, doing God’s will is the sole unifying factor. It is the edifying and testifying factor as well. Claiming to belong to the one new family of God but behaving like members of the old family, fragmented, divided and discriminated against one another, is nothing but a contradiction and a deception!
Direction: How unfortunate it is that people of a new spiritual family are driven by divisions and discriminations and yet acclaim to be a mother, brother and sister to Jesus! All those who do not do God’s will, are automatically disqualified from any affinity to him.
21 JULY 2021: EXODUS 16. 1-5, 9-15; MATTHEW 13. 1-9
Focus: People’s faith and faithfulness is wavering and easily deviating. But God is ever merciful and faithful. He does not act immediately according to people’s infidelity but His fidelity
The people were hungry in the wilderness. They begin to murmur once again against Moses and God. They recall and even relish the food as slaves in Egypt. They forget the disgrace of their slavery. Rather the material concern dominates the higher concerns like freedom, dignity, faith, fidelity, etc. But God is not angered by their ingratitude or fluctuating faith. He is aware of their concern. He is also clear of His priorities. In that context, what was most needed and urgent was food and a spiritual discourse. He provides them manna from heaven. Yes, our God is a God who cares and provides. Certainly, He knows our various concerns. But, He wants us to give priority to the higher concerns above the merely physical and material.
Our story should not be like that of the Israelites. Again and again, they become forgetful, ungrateful and unfaithful. They succumb to the pressure of worldly preoccupations. They fail to rise up to the higher designs of God. They fail to understand God’s grace and fail to respond and cooperate. Ultimately what matters in our life is our receptivity and productivity. This is what Jesus teaches us through the parable of the sower. God always supplies to us and plants in us the seeds of His grace. There are four types of soil – wayside, rocky, thorny and fertile. The question is not so much which category of soil we are. In fact, we have all the foul kinds within us. At times, we are like the roadside soil, so indifferent and completely closed to God’s grace. At times, we are like the rocky soil, with no roots and depth and easily exposed to and scorched by the heat of difficulties. At times, we are the bushy and thorny soil, choked by many needless pressures and pleasures of the world. And at times, we are also like the fertile soil, producing a rich harvest.
Direction: The beauty of our Christian life is in constantly turning our roadside, rocky and bushy soils into a fertile soil. The more we succeed in making ourselves receptive and fertile, the more we will be productive and fruitful
22 JULY 2021: SONG OF SONGS 3. 1-4; JOHN 20. 1-2; 11-18, FEAST OF MARY MAGDALENE
Focus: Seek and you will find. But you can seek if only you love what you seek. And you can love what you seek, if only you realize the value of what you love. And you can know the value of what you love, if only you personally experience the value of it
Today we celebrate the feast day of St Mary Magdalene. She stands as an icon of the lover, depicted in the Song of songs. She loves the beloved. And she seeks him. Mary Magdalene too loves the Lord passionately as her most beloved. She feels totally united with him and intimate to him. She cannot bear any separation from him. But with Jesus’ death, there was an irredeemable distancing. She misses him terribly. So she suffers excruciating pain and anguish. She weeps bitterly. She begins to search for him. She finds him. She is consoled. She is strengthened. She is renewed because she is charged with a new mission. She shares her personal experience with others. She becomes a live and convincing witness for the Lord.
Mary Magdalene can be a great teacher and guide for all of us. The greatest lesson for us is: Love him and seek him. This is the power charge of our whole life. Then, find him and bear witness to him. This is the power discharging through our mission. Those who love and seek him will surely find and witness him. But, there is a process and this does not happen all of a sudden. That is, healing by the Lord, turning to him, keeping close to him, following him in his footsteps, serving him in ministry, accompanying and walking with him on the way of the cross, standing near the cross, sharing in his agony and abandonment, and nurturing an undying love even after death. In fact, these are the concrete ways and expressions of our loving him and seeking him. Do I love and seek him? Then do I also allow the Lord to expel the seven demons from me like Mary Magdalene, maybe, symbolizing the seven capital sins? Do I make an about turn, a change over, a shift in my life to the Lord, away from evil? Do I keep close to him? Do I follow him in his footsteps? Do I serve him in ministry here and now through small little acts of service and support to the community and others as Mary Magdalene did? Do I have the courage and the loyalty to walk the way of the cross? Do I persevere till the end to stand near the cross on Calvary? Can I share the same anguish and thirst of the Lord? Do I miss him deeply? Do I seek him anxiously? Can I weep for him because I cannot bear the separation from him? Can I also encounter the risen and living Jesus even among the tomb experiences? Do I also shoulder the responsibility of bearing witness to the Lord? Can I say “I have seen the Lord” like Mary Magdalene?
Direction: The whole journey and project of our life may be synthesized in four words: Love, seek, find and witness the Lord. And two vital questions can help us in this direction: “Why am I weeping?” and “What and whom do I seek?”
23 JULY 2021: EXODUS 20. 1-17; MATTHEW 13. 18-23
Focus: In a world of noise and commotion, many times we fail to be attentive and to hear the words clearly. We are then constantly invited to sharpen our attention and listen to the word of God because it alone helps us to grow and be fruitful
“Receive, nurture and produce”. This is the simple threefold principle for any growth and fruition. For example, a farmer receives the seed, he cultivates and nurtures it through various cares and makes it grow and then reaps a rich harvest, producing abundant fruits. Similarly, we as followers of Christ receive abundantly the seeds of the words of the kingdom. We must always try to provide the best conducive soil for the seeds. We must guard against being the roadside soil where the evil that snatches away the seeds. We must guard against being the rocky ground where we are not deep-rooted but waver at any little adversity. We must guard against bushes and thorns where the worldly interests dominate and suffocate our growth. Instead, we must constantly strive to become more and more fertile so as to produce an abundant harvest of fruits.
The Decalogue or the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament, Exodus 20. 1-17 are the authentic means and expressions of this growth and fruitfulness. The more we adhere to him, the more we will be authentic and effective. They are not just some formal code of ethics, a set of do’s and don’ts. They are the manifestations of a meaningful relationship with God and with others. They are the expressions of a right way of conducting oneself toward God and others. They are the embodiment of a holistic life of sanctity and morality. In this way, the commandments are no more forced burdens or coercions for fear or favour. Rather, they are free expressions of a spirit of true religion and social life. They are like the railway tracks that guard us against deviations and ensure a surer and right direction. They are not barriers but barricades. They are not curtailments of freedom but safeguards of constructive freedom.
Direction: We must foster a positive perspective toward laws and commandments. They help for self- discipline and self-mastery which go a long way in being spiritual and fraternal
24 JULY 2021: EXODUS 24. 3-8; MATTHEW 13. 24-30
Focus: We should remember that we are living in a world where there is a wild growth of weeds of evil. We need not be frightened or disheartened. Rather, we must continue to cultivate the good seeds patiently, hopefully and diligently till the end
The problem of evil poses a perennial puzzle to humanity. Why is there evil? Why is it prevalent and overpowering? Why is it so contagious and pernicious? Is God silent and inactive? Is He indifferent? Why should the good and the sincere suffer so much at the hands of the bad? How can the unjust prosper so much detrimental to the honest people? Will there not be an end to this sad story? More or less, this is the crux of the problem of evil. The formulations may slightly vary but the main content is the same.
The parable of seeds and weeds in the gospel Matthew 13. 24-30 is an attempt to address this perennial issue. In fact, the parable states the reality of evil and also the way to respond to it. It affirms that there is evil, there are weeds among the good seeds in the field of life. But interestingly, Jesus does not give any answer to why there is evil? The simple answer is, it is the work of the enemy, the evil one. But this cannot be an adequate answer because the question, how can the enemy plant the weeds? remains. This question as well as the answer are not so important. What is really important is to be aware and accept the reality that there are weeds in the field. We cannot expect only good seeds and plants. We must realistically accept the presence of weeds. Otherwise, we can become too idealistic to digest the reality; or we may become too agitated to keep trusting and cool. In the presence of the weeds, what should be our response and plan of action? Keep growing. Wait patiently for the day of harvest. Confide in God’s just judgment. The wild growth of the weeds should not discourage the growth of the seeds. Evil will never leave us. Many times, weeds seem to overpower the seeds. But in such times, in the light of the first reading from Exodus 24. 3-8, we must bear in mind that we are under a God of covenant, well-protected and well-directed. He will certainly bless and reward us for all struggle and fidelity. Therefore, like the Israelites, let our response always be: “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient”.
Direction: True it is that there is wild growth of weeds in our world. This is truly the reign of evil. The weeds of evil cause enormous trouble to the good seeds. There is every possibility for fear or discouragement or retaliation. But patience and hope are the need of the hour!
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