13 – 18 SEPTEMBER 2021: HOLY MASS REFLECTIONS
13 SEPTEMBER 2021: 1 TIM 2. 1-8; LUKE 7. 1-10
Focus: True faith includes humility and deep trust as its essential pre-requisites. Such faith will never go unrewarded
1. In the gospel, Jesus presents a pagan centurion as a great model of faith. He praises him with an unparalleled compliment that “not even in Israel have I found such faith. Thereby Jesus makes it clear that true faith is not merely adhering to a faithful fold, but more adhering to the hold of faith. It is not a mere theoretical matter of holding on to certain traditions or faith matters, but a personal matter of holding on to Jesus. What matters most is adherence to Jesus in deep trust and humility.
2. The first reading from 1 Timothy 2. 1-8 asserts, “God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth”. And Jesus becomes the realization of this divine will. Therefore, the centurion approaching Jesus is symbolic of all without exclusion approaching the source of salvation. He is the one mediator between God and man. In the healing of the context, Jesus concretely mediates God’s grace.
3. The centurion on his part responds to this grace. He makes a fitting response by his deep trust as he tells Jesus, “Lord, do not trouble yourself… But say the word and let my servant be healed”. He is totally convinced that Jesus has the power to heal his sick servant even in such a desperate situation as near to death, and even by the mere power his word over distance.
4. His humility is commendable because he readily recognizes that Jesus’ authority transcends his own. He entertains no false dignity because he conscientiously lowers himself before Jesus. His humility is not out of low self-esteem and not out of self-deprecation. He is quite aware of his own authority and the dignity of his position. But in humility, he realizes and admits that his power and authority are nothing compared to the immensity of Jesus’ power, holiness, and worth.
5. This greatness of his faith is still furthered by his benevolence toward all without any discrimination, be it toward his servant irrespective of status or toward Jews irrespective of the religion or the nation. When humility, trust, and benevolence go together, there is no wonder that miracles do happen.
Direction: Those who trust in God may go through times of test, but God will never fail them. While humility leads one to trust, benevolence flows out from the trust
14 SEPTEMBER 2021: NUMBERS 21. 4-9; PHIL 2. 6-11; JOHN 3. 13-17: EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
Focus: Cross which is a symbol of crime, punishment, shame, and suffering is dignified, sanctified, and glorified as a symbol and channel of fidelity, sanctity, and salvation because of the Lord who is crucified
1. The ways of God are often in contrast to the ways of the world. Cross is a powerful proof of this. Cross in the sight of the world is a burden that a criminal carries and that carries him to his eventual death on it. And crucifixion is an ignominious penalty. But God transforms the same cross into an instrument of grace that carries the burdens of sinners and puts to death the sin of humanity. It becomes a carrier and assurer of salvation.
2. In the cross we see the dialectic and the “salvific tension” between God and man, between this world and heaven. In hate and evil, men have lifted up Jesus on the cross while in love and goodness God allowed himself to be lifted up. We see in the first reading from Numbers 21. 4-9, an image of a bronze serpent would become the source of revival from death for all those bitten by a serpent. Similarly, Jesus raised high on the cross becomes the source of new life for all those bitten by the serpent of sin.
3. In the cross we see the divine powerlessness that becomes the source of empowerment for all those weakened by the power of sin. The God full of power empties himself so as to fill us with the heavenly riches and strength. The crucified hanging on the cross is not a failed criminal languishing in misery. Rather he is a nailed victor furnishing us with glory.
4. On the cross we see the perseverance and fidelity of God to humanity and to his redemptive mission to the end. He preferred to climb the cross as a criminal and not to climb a horse as a king. He declared, “Those who wish to be my disciples, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me”. True to his own words, he totally denied himself, took up our crosses of sin, and followed the way and the will of God.
5. On the cross we see the sanctity and dignity of suffering. Suffering is not something automatically despicable and detestable. Suffering which is due to depraved human situations, suffering that is no one’s fault, and especially suffering for God and good, is meritorious. It is in fact a sharing in the very suffering and death of Christ. It is a continuation of his own mission of salvation.
Direction: Exaltation of the cross is in fact the exaltation of God’s will and plan of salvation that is being accomplished then and even now through numerous cross-bearers in passion and loyalty
(REFLECTION FROM 2020)
Focus: Cross for us is not a parking lot but is a guiding signal; Cross is not a problem of misery but an emblem and path to glory
1. Today we exalt the cross. But the exaltation of the cross does not mean the exaltation of suffering, of misery, desperation, isolation, betrayal, jealousy, selfishness, or cruelty. Yes, apparently and from a human perspective, the cross stands for and indicates all these.
2. But it is not any cross. It is the cross of the crucified Saviour. Cross cannot be isolated or dissociated from the crucified. For, it is that cross, sanctified by him, that cross which is transformed from a tool of misery and punition, from a sign of evil and criminality, into a symbol of perseverance, an instrument, and means of salvation and glory. Therefore, the cross as it stands for suffering is not glorified in itself, but only in its relation to the crucified. Death on the cross is not a helpless submission to one’s miserable fate. Rather it is a conscious, determined, committed, and noble act of self-offering to God’s will for our sanctification.
3. Thus, the exaltation of the cross means the exaltation of the spirit, the value, the thrust, and the goal of the cross. Cross stands for taking a stand for Christ, for values, for the gospel. Cross means standing for a cause. It calls for a relation of intimacy, loyalty, and commitment to the crucified. Cross is a matter of standing for a cause, for a person, a matter of fidelity and of dedication.
4. Cross means facing consequences, bearing suffering for the sake of Christ and his values. Cross is a call to be vertical-oriented, heaven-directed, in line with Fulton J. Sheen’s thought that ‘a cross is made when the horizontal bar is placed against the vertical bar, i.e. self-will is put against God’s will. Therefore, make and carry the cross of placing God’s will across self-will and interests.
5. Cross is a call to be a “contrast” people, in the light of St Paul’s assertion that “to the Jews, a stumbling block, and a folly to the gentiles, but for us, the believers, Christ, the crucified is the Power and Wisdom of God”. We live in a world that is so permissible, where any false value is allowed, justified, and even promoted, in the garb of the modern, change, and reading the signs of times. What is wrong has a free hand and is considered as a matter of intelligence, while the right is labeled as a block, as a folly. This is really powerlessness, without the inner power, the spiritual power, the moral power. This is really folly.
6. In such a society, we as the bearers of the cross and followers of the crucified, are called to be stumbling blocks, positive signs of contradiction and folly, i.e. resistance and contrast. Therefore, let us not easily get upset when we are beset with crosses of unfavorable situations; let us turn them into learning and growing experiences of purification and sanctification, and also gracious occasions to suffer and offer for God and good. Our crosses become glorified if they are for God’s sake and his values’ sake
15 SEPTEMBER 2021: HEB 5. 7-9; JOHN 19. 25-27, MOTHER OF SORROWS
Focus: Jesus carried the cross and died on it offering us streams of new life. Mary his mother and our mother carried the same cross in her heart all through her life and accompanied him along the way of the cross to the end of death on the cross. The same mother accompanies us also on our way of sorrows.
1. Today we commemorate Mary as the Mother of Sorrows. In the first place, it does not mean she is a sorrowful mother, given to sadness and devoid of joy of life. Rather it means that she herself has gone through experiences of sorrow. She knows the bitterness and pain of human suffering. By God’s grace, she was exempted from the stain of sin. But it did not exclude her from the situations of the struggle of preserving that grace of sinlessness. Just as Jesus in his humanity became completely one like us except sin, so also Mary was totally one with us except sin.
2. Seven sorrows or dolors are specified in her life: prophecy of Simeon, flight into Egypt, loss of Jesus in the temple, Mary walks the way of the cross along with Jesus, Mary stands at the foot of the cross, Mary witnesses the death of Jesus and receives his dead body, Mary lays Jesus' body in the sepulcher.
3. The mention of only seven instances or situations does not mean that Mary’s sorrow was limited only to those moments. These are actually indicators of an entire life that bore the marks of suffering. Just as Jesus was born, already destined to suffer as the Saviour, so also Mary was destined to be the mother of sorrows by her vocation and mission as the unique collaborator in God’s plan of salvation.
4. Thus, the seven sorrows are not isolated experiences of sorrow. In each of them, we can detect and feel the intensity of pain. In all of them, there is suffering due to experiences of uncertainty, separation, suffering, and death, all concerning the most loved one, and that is Jesus. Thus, what is notable in Mary’s suffering is that it is in reference to Jesus. She suffers because she loves him so deeply, intimately, and passionately. She suffers because her son would suffer.
5. Another aspect of her sorrow was her love for sinful humanity and her concern for their salvation. Just as God in His infinite love and mercy is anguished over human sinfulness, Mary too shares the same pain for humanity. Their leaning to sin, their constant fall into sin sorrows her tender maternal heart.
6. Thus, Mary’s sorrow would denote these two essential components: the “personal”, that is her personal love for Jesus, and the “salvific” or “missionary”, that is her commitment and anguish over the mission of salvation. Nevertheless, in both there is “com-passion”, that is she suffers together with those who suffer, be it her son Jesus or the other sons and daughters.
7. Today, the mother of sorrows stands for us like a mother who understands our human predicament, cares for us with the deepest concern, shares in our lot in solidarity, bears our burden in silence and patience, and assures us a re-ignited hope in our own human struggles.
Direction: In our sorrows, let us shelter ourselves in the maternal bosom of Mary. Like her, let us become a little more strong and persevering in times of trials. Let we become more tender and sensitive to feel one with the suffering and struggle of others. Let us become more compassionate to alleviate the pain of others
(REFLECTION FROM 2020)
Focus; Passion leads to compassion, Fidelity blends with sensitivity, Affection stirs up affliction, Love suffers with the suffering
1. As we celebrate the feast of Mother of Sorrows, let us once again venerate our sweet Mother with devotion, appreciate her with deep esteem, and imitate her with passion. Let us entrust ourselves to her maternal care and guidance. Mother of Sorrows does not mean that she is a sorrowing, sad, lamenting, joyless person. It means that she too experienced the pain and sorrow of life, that she too bore the burden of suffering.
2. As we may know, seven sorrows or dolors are highlighted in her life: prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, loss of Jesus in the temple, Mary walks the way of the cross along with Jesus, Mary stands at the foot of the cross, Mary witnesses the death of Jesus and receives his dead body, Mary lays Jesus' body in the sepulcher.
These are not isolated or the only moments of sorrow. Rather they denote some main instances and occasions of her pain and suffering, even though her whole life was a continuous story of pain and affliction. Her life and faith were constantly tested through the crucible of suffering. The seven dolors are in fact only a few indicators of an entire life that has been soaked into suffering. This is the Mother’s “com-passion”. It is not a mere feeling of pity or sympathy. It is “deep communion with” the one who suffers. The much-more-than the physical passion of her Divine Son leads Mary to a profound interior passion within her and unfolds itself in a touching compassion
3. Further, these seven sorrows also are like sample sufferings. Because they are also quite real in our own life. We also often go through the same experiences and assaults of suffering. The seven sorrows manifest clearly the suffering lot of any and every human, as being confronted with the very same situations and experiences, such as the fear of the future, of the impending danger of death, of separation from the loved ones, of encounter and accompaniment with the suffering innocent, of witnessing the pangs of pain of the most beloved, of bearing with the hardest reality of the beloved’s death
4. In the prophecy of Simeon, when he predicts that her tiny child will be the cause for the rise and fall of many, and that a sword will pierce through her heart, there is the sorrow of fear of an uncertain future.
5. In the escape to Egypt, of young mother Mary with her little Jesus and husband, to protect the child from the cruel Herod, we see the sorrow of protection from impending danger of death.
6. In accompanying Jesus on the way of the cross, we see the deep anguish of a mother's heart and her unfailing accompaniment even in the inglorious testing times.
7. In standing at the foot of the cross on Calvary, there is the unshakable faith, solidarity, and courage, to be loyal even in the most disgracing moments.
8. In witnessing the death of her most beloved son, in pangs of pain and desperation, we see the sorrow of sharing and bearing silently the painful loss of the most precious.
9. In holding the dead body on her holy lap and consigning it to the tomb, we see the sorrow of an irreversible separation from the loved ones.
Thus, this feast can be a great fount of comfort, consolation, encouragement, and hope for us. She who went through immense pain and suffering will certainly understand and empathize with all the suffering lot. One who herself suffered, will certainly understand our struggles and fears. One who experienced the pains of life and bore them, will certainly accompany us and alleviate our own suffering. Mother, passionate with love for us, is also compassionate toward us. She will be our refuge and strength and guidance.
Direction: As a worthy fruit of this feast, three things can stand out as directions for us: one, seek her refuge and aid, intercede to her, in our own times of need and suffering. Second, take inspiration and guidance from her, to respond to our sufferings and difficulties, not in frustration and hopelessness, but in courage, surrender, and hope. Third, to be compassionate like Mary to those who suffer and are in need.
16 SEPTEMBER 2021: 1 TIM 4. 12-16; LUKE 7. 36-50, Memoria, Sts Cornelius, and Cyprian
Focus: Love covers a multitude of sins. When there is love, everything changes. In love, God forgives the multitude of our sins, and in the same love, we must repent and be forgiven and lead a forgiven life of newness given
1. In the gospel there is another touching episode: Jesus is a royal guest at a Pharisee’s house and a sinner woman anoints his feet. And then follows a corrective of Jesus about love and forgiveness. What is striking is the exuberance of the passion of the sinner woman for Jesus. She is least bothered about the despisal from the people. Her only focus was Jesus, to touch him and to manifest her love for him. All her gestures revolve around his feet: she stands behind him at his feet, wets his feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair, kisses them, and anoints them with an alabaster ointment. Certainly, these are acts out of unbounded love and humility.
2. She stands in sharp contrast to the host Pharisee, by her passionate love and humble surrender. He was formal but she was personal. He was self-righteous but she was self-conscious and humble. His was superficial respect but hers was a profound reverence. He was bound within the barricades of law and legalism but she was free and totally surrendered. He had a dry sense of social obligation but she had a fertile spirit of personal submission. He was self-complacent but she was repentant. He entertained negativity and resentment but she had only love and passion.
3. The contrast is very striking even by their external positions: the Pharisee was sitting with Jesus at the table but the woman sits at his feet. But love makes the whole difference. In love, she wins the heart of Jesus and finds a place there. In love, she obtains his forgiveness. She is not discouraged by her sinful past. She had faith in Jesus. She had love for him. She hoped for his forgiveness.
4. The admonition of Paul to Timothy in the first reading (1Timothy 4. 12-16) comes true in her life: “Take heed to yourself and to your teaching; hold to that, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers”. She held to the teaching and to the love of Jesus and thus could save herself. As Paul says again, “Do not neglect the gift you have”, she did not neglect the gift of forgiveness but changed her life.
Direction: Faith is not so much following certain rules and performing some religious duties. It is also not so much never falling or failing. Faith is essentially love for Jesus, humility to repent and surrender, and loyalty to live a changed life.
(REFLECTION FROM 2020)
Focus: God does not keep a rigid account of our faults but wipes away all of them, provided we deepen our love for Him and fall at His feet, for Love is the seedbed for the forgiveness of God and the renewal of human life
What a contrast between the self-righteous Pharisee and the sinner-woman! The host Pharisee’s approach was formal hospitality but the invader woman’s was a profound love for Jesus. Her love was abundant and extravagant, in sitting at Jesus’ feet, kissing them, washing them with her tears, wiping them with her hair, and embalming them with costly perfume. All these are certainly eccentric gestures but very personal gestures, derived from a profound love for Jesus. There were no self-interests or any other ulterior motives like making good impressions or gaining recognition and applause. This sinner woman teaches us today a great practical lesson: Love God passionately and it will take care of the rest; because love makes us humble to see and accept our unworthiness, drives us to surrender totally to God’s mercy. Further, it ignites within us a burning ardor to rise up from our imperfections. Sure it is that our fragilities and imperfections are abundant but let us know that the grace and the mercy of God is superabundant and once we are open to it, then the change will be radical. What we are till we encounter grace and are touched by it, maybe different. But once encountered, love and passion for the Lord should be the only overriding force. She allowed herself to be completely overwhelmed by the mercy of God. She responded to God’s grace with a “crazy” love. How rightly St Francis de Sales affirmed: “Love makes the lovers alike”. If we truly love God, we cannot but avoid what is contrary to Him and grow in His likeness.
Direction: Love is the greatest remedy and antidote for the wounds, inflicted by sin. Love is the reason both for forgiving from God’s part and also for receiving the grace of being forgiven from our part.
17 SEPTEMBER 2021: 1 TIM 6. 2-12; LUKE 8. 1-3, St Robert Bellarmine
Focus: The Kingdom of God is not a confined territory, reserved only for a few. It is a domain open for all. Anyone can walk in there. It is also the mission of all who received the gift of faith
1. In the gospel we find Jesus on his mission that is establishing the kingdom of God through preaching and healing. But mission for him was never a private affair or personal agenda. It was always the “Father’s affairs” and common and altruistic benefit. He never monopolized all doing as a solo performance. It was teamwork, a collaborative enterprise. His Twelve were always beside him.
2. Besides, as per today’s gospel, we also find some women disciples accompanying him and sustaining his team and his work with their means. What is praiseworthy is Jesus respected all, accepted all, and involved others in their due scope.
3. This participatory nature of Jesus’ mission can be a great indicator and corrective for our own times. This must make us check honestly the way we go about our ministries, our administration, and our style of functioning. Why do we often find ministries becoming self-centered, saddled with self-interests and ulterior motives? Why does mission become a private enterprise with no scope for others? Why there is so much domination and manipulation? Why there are often divisions, discriminations, and conflicts, all in the name of doing one and the same mission?
4. How much mutual respect, acceptance, and collaboration is there in our working for God? Why still there is gender inequality and disparity, treating women with suspicion and prejudice?
5. It is one church and one mission. All have their due right and duty as well to be part of this one believing community and the work for the kingdom. But often we find so much gap between the “privileged and less privileged”, between those “closer to the church and distant from the church”, between those “gifted and capable and the ordinary and incompetent”, between “the important and the other insignificant”.
6. It is not that all would be given the same or equal roles and functions. The charisms are different, the needs are different, the capacities are different. We understand this factual differentiation. But what is blameworthy is discrimination in terms of importance and honor. In the house of God, in the mission of the kingdom, there is no disparity like ‘higher level or lower level’, ‘more important or less important. All are important and respectable.
Direction: The church will be more faithful and effective in its mission of spreading the kingdom of God if it consciously works against and eliminates the steep categories of division, discrimination and learns to work in more unity and collaboration
(REFLECTION FROM 2020)
Focus: Gender is not a valid qualification or criterion in the following of Jesus. There is no difference or discrimination in serving God
We live in a society where love and justice are constantly and violently wounded by various shallow factors like caste, religion, region, language, et cetera. The consequences are disunity, inequality, division, and discrimination. But Love and justice are two essential pillars of the edifice of God’s kingdom. Inequalities and discriminations on the basis of factors like gender are not at all compatible with God’s reign. Anyone and everyone can follow Jesus. If God Himself who is all-holy and all-dignified, does not discriminate or despise anyone, who are we to prevent someone? Already in a time when women enjoyed no respect or recognition or dignity in society, Jesus was radical to be accompanied and supported by women-followers.
In our own times, in a way, we can be happy that there is some change against discrimination and alienation of women and encouraging more participation, involvement, and empowerment. But much more is desirable. It is not a matter of involving more or less, not a matter of juxtaposing male and female roles. The guiding forces should not be competition or subordination, which will tend to unhealthy substitution and domination. Women are there not as rivals to compete or substitute or dominate men. Both men and women should discern what are their due scopes, roles, and functions, and strive for the common good of the whole mystical Body of Christ.
Direction: Not substitution but submission to Christ, not subordination but coordination are the norms of true followers of Christ. Whatever be the external differences and distinctions, the sole concern is to serve God and work for His kingdom
18 SEPTEMBER 2021: 1 TIM 6. 13-16; LUKE 8. 4-15
Focus: God’s grace is never lacking or scarce. It is abundant and constant. All that is needed is receptivity and cooperation to toil and bear fruit
1. The parable of the sower in the gospel is a very familiar one and already we had reflected on it a couple of times. However, we can always reiterate the core message, even if we may not offer a totally new message. The message that can be life-steering is: Life becomes fruitful in being receptive and productive.
2. Life is meaningful when it is truly fruitful. Many live meaninglessly because they fail to live that meaning and worth of life in bearing fruits. Unfortunately many seek the value and fulfillment of life in false and shallow things like sex, comfort, power, etc. Many mistake success as the fruitfulness of life. Some others consider pleasure and gratification as fruitfulness. This is in contrast to what St Paul exhorts in 1Timothy 6. 13-16 in the first reading: “I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
3. It is in this context Jesus proves this worldly thinking wrong. Fruitfulness has nothing to do with one’s possession or gratification. Real fruitfulness is a matter of spiritual fecundity. It is one’s total receptivity to the seed of God’s Word and abundant productivity in fruits of good character and actions.
4. Fruitfulness requires docility that is humble and prompt (unlike the roadside soil), a depth that remains rooted and firm in God (unlike the rocky ground), resistance and perseverance to grow amidst bushes and thorns (unlike the thorny soil), and assiduity to cultivate and produce an abundant harvest (like the fertile soil).
5. At this point, it is also good to bear in mind the magnanimity of God. He is never tired of supplying seeds in abundance irrespective of the type of response. However, there is not much use to extol the greatness of God’s Word which is the seed. It is more useful to examine and improve the quality of the soil of our hearts and lives.
Direction: Let us be abundant in fruits and not merely in seeds of good desires, intentions, and words. Let us toil diligently and cultivate responsibly and bear fruits of good actions abundantly
(REFLECTION FROM 2020)
Focus: The Effectivity of life is not merely a matter of efficiency but more a matter of profundity, receptivity, productivity, and fecundity. The whole issue is how one receives God’s grace and produces abundant fruits
In the gospel, we have the familiar parable of the sower. We have already reflected on this a couple of times in quite recent times. Normally, this parable is interpreted as referring to the different modes of responding to God’s Word, which is the seed, while Jesus is the sower. The four types of soil are made to refer to four categories of people, and we are called to reflect and discover which category we represent. Of course, this can be the basic frame of thought. However, let us try to be slightly different, at least in our emphasis and focus.
Few pointers for our reflection: See how the sower is gracious, gratuitous, and generous. He is so lavish in throwing the seed, he is indiscriminate about where the seed fell, he is also least bothered about even produce. He is abundant. He is unbounded. He is unexpectant. There are no calculations, no discriminations, no restrictions with His grace and mercies. This must be very comforting, assuring, encouraging, and challenging as well. This must make us more grateful and responsible. How much do we understand this free giving of God? How much do we respond responsibly and generously to God’s Word and insights? There is no one who is totally only one category of soil. As humans we are, we can be all the four types of soil at different times, in different situations. We can be totally negligent and indifferent, like the first soil by the wayside. We can be shallow and superficial, with no roots, no depth, no interiority, like the second soil of the rock. We can be too preoccupied, too busy needlessly, too much carried away by the worldly interests and pursuits that we feel choked up and suffocated, hindering the growth, like the third thorny soil. Or, we can be fertile, open and receptive, responsive and responsible, diligent and productive, as the fourth fertile soil. Finally, we too are called to be like the sower, gratuitous, gracious, and generous, rising above demarcations and discriminations, rising above minimums and half-measures, rising above self-interest, wrong motivations, and undue expectations.
Direction: Our constant striving must be to be more and more attentive, active, and productive like the fertile soil in the gospel
(REFLECTION ON PARABLE OF THE SOWER, in ref. to Matthew 13. 1-9, FROM 21 JULY 2021)
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 fertile soil. The more we succeed in making ourselves receptive and fertile, the more we will be productive and fruitful
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