10 – 15 JANUARY 2022: HOLY MASS
REFLECTIONS
10 JANUARY 2022: 1 SAMUEL 1. 1-8; MARK 1. 14-20
Focus: The good and humble people may be regarded as miserable and insignificant in the sight of the world, but they will merit God’s special grace because of their humility
1. The perspective of God and the perspective of the world are always in contrast. People whom the world considers disadvantaged and weightless are blessed and privileged by God. This is what we see all through the history of God’s intervention and action in human salvation.
2. God always chose what was ordinary and small in the sight of the world but made it great (cf. 1 Corinthians 1. 26-31). Today’s readings testify to this way of God’s acting. He chose Hannah, the second wife of Elkanah. She was persistently despised and persecuted by his first wife because of her barrenness. In the gospel too, Jesus chooses Simon and Andrew, John and James to be his disciples and apostles. They were mere ordinary fishermen.
3. But, God raises them to heights. Hannah becomes the mother of Samuel, one of the greatest prophets. The mere fishermen become the greatest fishers of souls. God graces them and raises their dignity to new heights. This is what happens when God’s grace touches upon the human ordinariness and misery: disgrace turns into grace; misery changes to glory; ordinary becomes extraordinary; insignificant becomes most significant; tears turn into joy.
4. All that is needed to obtain this mercy of God is openness to receive God’s call and surrender to depend on Him and follow His ways. Hannah prayed in tears and fasting. She surrendered her misery to God. The first disciples accepted Jesus’ call and immediately left everything and followed him.
5. They truly responded to the first proclamation of Jesus, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel”. It was the right and appropriate time for them. They entered into the kingdom that was near in and through the person of Jesus. They changed their way of life and believed in Jesus.
Direction: When we suffer, being despised and humiliated, let us not feel miserable or depressed. As long as we are right in the sight of God, we can still be strong and happy
(REFLECTION 2 ON MARK 1. 14-20 FROM 2021)
Focus: The Kingdom of God is not a location but a situation of a life of faith and conversion. It needs both members to be part of it and promoters to make others part of it
Jesus begins his ministry. Immediately he makes very clear the focus and essentials of this ministry. The goal is the Kingdom of God and to get closer to it. The requirements and means are repentance and faith in the gospel. To repent means not merely feeling sorry for the wrong; rather, it arouses profound anguish for failing and offending God. Further, it is also a genuine and radical turning away from all sin and evil. True repentance not only abstains from particular acts of sin but also cuts off one’s links and clinging to sin. Turning away from evil opens up to turning toward God. Anguish over the offense to God opens up to passion and surrender to God. This is what faith is and what faith does. Thus, repentance and conversion on one hand, and love and surrender, on the other hand, are one whole of true faith. This is truly belonging to the Kingdom. This is the mission of Jesus.
To carry out this mission, some ministers are needed. Hence he calls some disciples. The invitation to them is both a personal privilege and a mandated mission. That is, upgrading and elevating them from being mere fishermen to being fishers of souls. And their mission is to "fish" souls for God. What is needed on their part is to respond and receive the call, to renounce everything, and to dedicate themselves totally to his following.
Direction: God's call is always elevating: it raises us to a new dignity. It is His grace to call us, dignify us, and empower us. It is also our responsibility to respond and cooperate selflessly to His grace. This is our vocation and mission
11 JANUARY 2022: 1 SAMUEL 1. 9-20; MARK 1. 21-28
Focus: In a time of degenerating authority, we need to rediscover and recapture the right spirit of authority and learn to exercise the same type
1. It is not a sweeping judgment to say that today authority is getting corrupted. It is becoming synonymous with manipulation, discrimination, and domination. The real spirit of authority which is nobility and dignity of character is corroding. The real purpose of authority which is service and benefit of others is sidelined.
2. It is in this context the word of God is resurging the true authority. True authority is to be seen in terms of spiritual tenacity, moral credibility, and authenticity of life. This is what we see in Hannah in the first reading from 1 Samuel and in Jesus in the gospel from Mark. Hannah was persistent in her prayer. She was spiritually so profound and totally surrendered to God.
3. Jesus was totally united with his Father, spiritually vibrant. He was integral and credible. He was so authentic without any trace of duplicity. This was his real authority and not merely the divine power to work some miracles. This was the authority that made him different and distinct from others in authority.
4. Jesus’ authority was thus holistic, both in words and deeds. That is why he could teach and preach powerfully and also could heal and exorcise authoritatively. This type of authority is a serious warning and challenge to those in authority in our present times. How sadly the authority of today is mostly devoid of spirituality, morality, and authenticity! How many today turn their authority into a tool for self-projection, self-promotion, and self-glory! How much does authority degenerate into a means for subjugating and overpowering others!
Direction: Unless the present authority regains that lost touch of spiritual fervor and moral authenticity, it will not be powerful to demolish evil and establish good
(REFLECTION 2 ON MARK 1. 21-28 FROM 2021)
Focus: Real authority is not a matter of some external power to dominate and subjugate others, but it is the experience and exercise of a deep interior and spiritual power
People find Jesus different from their authorities - the scribes and Pharisees. What distinguishes him from them is his authority in his teaching and acting. But, it is not a formal or juridical authority that derives from a certain office or position. For, Jesus had no such power and authority. But he had tremendous spiritual authority and moral authority. It is an authority that is rooted in his communion with the Father. It is also an authority that blossoms and manifests itself in a sound character and conduct. It is this authority that gives his teaching conviction and clarity, and his acting the power of healing. It is the power of God that is seen in holiness and goodness, in spirituality and integrity, in faith and charity, in devotion and dedication. It is the power that challenges and expels the evil powers. It is the power that changes one to God and impels and fosters spiritual energies. Precisely it is this power and authority that was lacking in the Pharisees and scribes but was abounding in Jesus. Hence the difference! It is this spiritual and moral authority that is badly needed today from every follower of Christ. A follower of Christ should be a deeply spiritual and moral person. All the more, those in authority must make sure that their role is not a power-wielding tool, but a grace-building channel.
Direction: Preaching eloquently and healing evil spirits are not mere matters of special gifts of the Spirit but are to be marks of authenticity. Spiritual and moral authority is much more important than mere juridical authority
12 JANUARY 2022: 1 SAMUEL 3. 1-10, 19-20; MARK 1. 29-39
Focus: When we remain close to God, for sure God will touch and transform us; He will speak to us and empower us to be a prophet in His name, as He did with Samuel
1. In the first reading from 1 Samuel, we have a dramatic scene of the call of Samuel. Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. The Lord called him by name twice. But, he had not yet known the Lord. Yet, he shows his prompt readiness in his words, “Here I am!” But once he discerns the Lord’s call through the help of his guru Eli, he throws himself before the Lord in total docility saying, “Speak, for your servant hears”.
2. This is the whole purpose and content of all our vocation and mission: To stay intimately with the Lord, to listen to him attentively, and to be a prophet of the Lord, set on his mission. This is what Jesus did. The gospel text of today places before us one day in the life of Jesus. This in fact gives us a beautiful summary of all the days of his life. It was one whole of praying, preaching, and healing. These were the essential ingredients of his life and ministry. They were a perfect blend and never at conflict.
3. There was no neglecting one or excluding one because of the other two. They were complementing and supporting each other. In fact, there was no conflict at all between his personal life and public ministry. One flows into the other. It was a mission-oriented life and life-permeated mission.
4. This harmonious life and mission of Jesus is a great lesson for today where often there is a great tug of war between life and ministry. Often, there is excellence in ministry but indifference, indulgence, and incongruence in life. There is so much activity in ministry but without authenticity in real life. Thus, often the spirit and fact do not correspond with each other. Thus, often there is so much neglect of prayer and moral values in preference to the bundles of activities of the ministry.
Direction: Life and ministry are not contradictory but complementary. What we are and what we do must go together. Otherwise, people may appreciate us for the works we do but blame us for the life we live
(REFLECTION 2 ON MARK 1. 29-39 FROM 2021)
Focus: God became one of us and one like us in every respect except sin so that he knows our fragility and struggle and come to our rescue
So touchingly, the letter to Hebrews draws our attention to the infinite sensitivity of God toward us. Being deeply sensitive to our misery of bondage, God sends His Son to be like us, to make expiation for our sins. He is able to help us because he himself has suffered and been tempted. The whole ministry of Jesus shows this divine sensitivity and solidarity toward the suffering humanity. He preaches the good news, offering comfort and hope to the downcast. He heals the sick. He liberates those in bondage by driving out demons. He cures Peter's mother-in-law of her fever and cures many of their infirmities.
Receiving the gospel and the healing from the Lord, what next? What is our response and duty? When touched and cured by the Lord, we need to share it with others and serve them. This is what Peter's mother-in-law did and those who got healed by Jesus. The world of today needs so much the gospel of comfort and hope. It stands in need of liberation from many oppressing forces. It needs healing from many contagions. The world needs rediscovery, restoration, and re-integration of the lost energies and the lost beauty and joy of life. Only that is the real effect of Jesus' redemptive mission.
Direction: It is not enough that we listen to God's call and are healed but we need to immediately share the same in constant sensitivity and service.
13 JANUARY 2022: 1 SAMUEL 4. 1-11; MARK 1. 40-45
Focus: Many times in our life, things happen against our expectations and calculations. Instead of questioning God’s ways, it is better to be humble and surrender ourselves to His holy will
1. In the first reading from 1 Samuel 4. 1-11, we have a very interesting episode. The Israelites were defeated by the Philistines. Then, they bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord to the battle camp and fight again being dead sure of their victory. But again they are defeated worse than before. Even the ark of the covenant was captured and the two sons of Eli, the priest were also killed
2. This looks very strange and even very discouraging. They trusted in the presence of God through the ark of the covenant and they expected that God’s mighty power would defeat their enemies. But not only did they lose the battle but also the ark itself was captured. Does it mean that the Lord is not powerful? Does it mean that He is indifferent? Does it mean that the presence of God makes no difference in our life battles against evil?
3. Nothing of these. Perhaps, the point here is the need for humility, trust, and surrender. They trusted in the ark of the Lord; but did they really trust in the Lord of the ark? They thought that the very physical placement of the ark in the camp would ensure their victory, while there was no place for God in their hearts or camp.
4. They expected a magical display of God’s power but did not allow Him to personally take control of the situation. They were not humble enough to plead God. They did not surrender themselves to God for His protection. Rather they surrendered themselves to the ark. They gave more importance to the symbol and ignored the Lord symbolized.
5. In contrast, in the gospel, we have a leper who stands as an example of humility, trust, and surrender. He was humble to realize his misery of leprosy and the need for healing. He was humble to implore Jesus and kneel before him. He was humble to respect Jesus’ freedom, saying, “If you will…”
6. He trusted in Jesus’ power as well as mercy. That is why, he says, “If you will, you can make me clean”. He totally surrendered himself to Jesus’ will. Hence, he was rewarded with healing. Jesus was personally moved with compassion, stretched out his hand, touched him, said to him, “I will; be clean” and thus healed him.
Direction: How much of my life is directed by humility, trust, and surrender? How often do I too expect a magical intervention of God into my life? Am I stuck only to images and devotions, without a personal relationship with God? We must remember that having holy things in our possession and dealing habitually with them is no guarantee for protection and success
(REFLECTION 2 ON MARK 1. 40-45 FROM 2021)
Focus: God never despises us because of our misery and despicability due to sin. He is ever compassionate toward us to stretch out his hand and to touch us
We need humility and surrender to receive and experience God's presence and power. The leper in the gospel had this humility and surrender. In humility, he pleads with Jesus, "If you wish, you can make me clean", and he surrenders himself totally to his healing touch. Jesus too immediately responds in caring assurance, "I wish, be healed". While humility and surrender lead to healing, healing too leads to a duty of spreading the same powerful goodness of the Lord, far and wide, like the healed leper.
But, sadly, on the contrary, there is so much hardness of heart and rebellion. Though the people of Israel abundantly witnessed God’s mercy and benevolence, yet they rebelled so stubbornly again and again. They hardened their hearts and fell away from the living God. The same danger is always very real in our case as well. There are always the forces of sin to deceive us and lead us astray. We may easily become hard-hearted and rebellious. We must ever take care to hold fast and firm to our faith.
Direction: There is no need to lose heart at our fragilities and failures. All that is needed is trust, humility, and surrender to confide in God and be healed.
14 JANUARY 2022: 1 SAMUEL 8. 4-7, 10-22; MARK 2. 1-12
Focus: True healing is holistic because it changes the whole person and makes him whole. Those who are only physically healed but are not changed in their life are only partially healed
1. One greatest malaise of our present society is a rapid and steep decline of faith. This pertains not only to the religious domain but also to all the fields and spheres of life. There is a lack of faith in families, in religious circles, in politics, business, and what not. The immediate consequence is interior unhealthiness. Those who lack faith and are not faithful can never be happy and healthy in the full sense.
2. The people of Israel in the first reading lacked this faith in God. They are fascinated by the concept and the rule of earthly kings of their neighborhood. They completely forget the fact that God is the greatest king, the king of kings. No other king can replace God for His might and benevolence.
3. They also totally lose sight of the enormous mercy of God toward them in their history. Even the wise warning of Samuel about the perils of an evil king that will befall them like slavery, suppression, extortion would not dissuade them. They are obstinate in their demand. Consequently, they not only reject Samuel’s advice but God Himself.
4. In the gospel too we have an example of faith and lack of faith respectively. The friends of a paralytic, brought to Jesus through the roof exemplify this faith. The scribes who blame Jesus for blasphemy embody this lack of faith. The four friends of the paralytic realizing the almost impossibility of reaching Jesus through the crowd make an opening in the roofing and let down their friend on the bed straight in front of Jesus. On the other hand, the scribes harp on Jesus’ healing words, “Your sins are forgiven” and accuse him of blasphemy.
Direction: True faith is essentially making an opening in the heart and opening the heart to the Lord; lack of faith is closing the heart to the Lord. Faith heals while unfaith sickens
(REFLECTION 2 ON MARK 2. 1-12 FROM 2021)
Focus: God always promises His abundant blessings, and the greatest is rest and serenity here and now and the eternal “rest” in heaven. It needs faith to believe and to live worthy of those promises
In today’s gospel, Jesus heals a paralytic. He not only heals him physically but also pronounces, “Your sins are forgiven”. This becomes a moment of controversy. While the simple people glorify God, the scribes blame him for blasphemy. They fail to see Jesus’ power and sinless heart. They do not see the authenticity and depth of his spirituality. They do not appreciate his integrity in life. They do not feel happy at his kindness and selfless service. They cannot tolerate his solidarity with all, in a spirit of equity and justice, rising above all prejudices and discriminations. They feel threatened. They boil with jealousy. They are totally at disease and at loss, because he becomes a question mark, a challenge against their own hypocrisy, shallow spirituality, self-righteousness, and lack of sensitivity and charity. They cannot come up to his level. Therefore, the only way is to bring down his level. Consequently, they attribute wrong motives to him. They show him in the wrong light. They blame his intimacy with God as blasphemy, his compassion as a breach of law, his mercy as social defiance. They make use of every opportunity to demonstrate their stiff resentment and resistance to him.
It is in this context, Jesus appreciates the friends of the paralytic who carry him and make an opening in the roof to reach Jesus, amidst the crowd. He hints at the lack of faith of the Jews. He also points to the sickening and harmful effect of sin, in declaring, "your sins are forgiven". He further indicates that the release from sin is more important than from any other sickness.
Direction: What God wants and aims at is not so much physical health but much more spiritual and holistic health.
15 JANUARY 2022: 1 SAMUEL 9. 1-4, 17-19, 10.1; MARK 2. 13-17
Focus: God’s ways and choices are not always comprehensible. Many times His designs are upsetting and unconventional but no one can question the wisdom in them
1. God chooses Saul as the king of Israel at the adamant request of the people. But why does He choose him? Is it just because he was very handsome and well-built and strong? Certainly not; because God is least bothered about the externals. Does not God know that later on, Saul would turn malevolent going against God’s heart?
2. In the gospel too Jesus chooses Levi, a tax collector as one of his twelve apostles. Certainly, it was not a bright choice, nor a right one. Levi was labeled as a sinner due to his job as a tax collector. He was despised by society. But Jesus calls him to follow him to be his disciple. What are his criteria?
3. We are not fully clear of Jesus’ criteria. But we can be sure that the criteria of Jesus are not at all in tune with the criteria of the world. It is not social status or dignity. It is not a high level of the family. It is not the person’s good looks. It is not intelligence. It is not competence. If these were to be the criteria, many of the clergy and religious will not stand the test.
4. It is ultimately God’s benevolent choice. It is His selfless love that wants to be in solidarity with us. It is His sharing love that wants to make us His companions and friends. That is why he freely and happily eats with tax collectors and sinners. He calls the sick, and not the healthy. He chooses the sinners and not the righteous.
5. He has also a purpose, a goal. He entrusts us his own mission. It is to spread His kingdom of love, justice, joy, and peace. For belonging to him, for following him, there are no conditions or criteria. All are welcome! What we are before the call is not the matter. What we will become in his following is what matters the most.
Direction: Instead of wasting time in reasoning out the criteria for God’s choices and actions, it is better to understand His will and expectations in calling us and strive to live worthy of His call
(REFLECTION 2 ON MARK 2. 13-17 FROM 2021)
Focus: God's ways are always mysterious and incomprehensible. It is better to surrender to them. To understand God’s ways, we need to rise beyond the merely human thinking and reasoning
God chooses whom He wants, often quite contrary to human expectations and calculations. Often, we are caught up within our mental frameworks and prejudices. We decide and insist that things should happen only that way, or that others must behave only that way. We apply the same human measurements and calculations to God as well. We tend to put conditions and restrictions even to God’s grace, deciding whom He should bless, how much, when, and how. We feel jealous even with regard to God’s mercy and generosity. This is what happens in the case of Levi. The call of Levi, a tax collector is totally unexpected and rather disillusioning for many. When Jesus calls him and goes to feast at his house, the Pharisees and scribes rise on their feet and begin to criticize Jesus, questioning, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But Jesus' choice is unconditioned and gratuitous. He does not go by human labels and categories, mental or social. He chooses not so much on the basis of what one has been and what one has been doing. But his choice is in view of what one will be and what one can be doing. One may be anything or nothing before being called but surely will be somebody and will do something. Jesus came, not to gather and entertain and elevate the righteous but to seek and transform the sinners into the righteous. He declares convincingly: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners”.
The call of Levi must make us re-reflect on our own vocation. We must become deeply aware of its immense value and grow in humble gratitude. We must also rededicate ourselves to strive to live worthy of our call. We need honesty and openness to realize what we are and to become what we must be.
Direction: The merit of one's vocation is nothing personal, not what one is, but what one will become and do for God. Left to ourselves, no one deserves to be called!
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