6 th week days mass reflection of the year 1

13 - 18 FEBRUARY 2023, HOLY MASS REFLECTIONS 13 FEBRUARY 2023: GENESIS 4. 1-15, 25; MARK 8. 11-13 Pivot: Demand for signs? Indicative: True faith does not seek and demand signs from heaven. A deep faith does not depend upon favours and blessings alone 1.      Jesus invites all to believe in him and be saved. But the Pharisees want a sign to prove his identity and credentials. They argue with Jesus. Seeking a sign in itself is not wrong. We see that in the gospel of John, miracles are called ‘signs’. So, signs are important and they are given. 2.      But the whole problem is concerning the motive and purpose of seeking them, the kind of signs, and the openness to recognise them. They demanded signs with the motive of testing him. They forgot that the purpose of signs is to strengthen faith. 3.      Their purpose was to strengthen their unfaith. Seeking a sign was a pretext not to have faith in him. They would easily justify that they did not believe because there was no sufficient evidence. Thus their very motive was vitiated. It was “not to trust him and only to test him”. 4.      A genuine seeking of signs indicates that we face a difficult situation that is beyond our human capacity to resolve. It indicates that we realise our human insufficiency. We turn to God. We depend on His intervention. We trust in His love. Thus a sign is meant to deepen our faith in God and our relationship with Him. 5.      We also need to understand what is a sign. Often like the Pharisees, there is a tendency to equate signs with miracles and favours. They are also signs as they manifest God’s power and intervention. But signs are not only they and we shall not expect them always. 6.      But there are many general and regular signs in the form of insight, message, inspiration, comfort, encouragement, guidance, caution, and discernment or forbearance and surrender. In different problematic or unclear situations in life, these signs help us either to resolve and overcome the difficulty if possible or surrender and bear with patience. 7.      Thus a sign essentially is an indicator, a pointer, a signpost, or an aid from the above. It is a light that illumines our path and guides us. A sign is not a tool to evade our responsibility but a way to deeper commitment. Through signs, God helps us to help ourselves. In this sense, signs are never lacking. They always abound. 8.      But we need to be open to see and recognise them. The Pharisees could not see them. Even if they saw, they would not accept them. The reason was their prejudice and jealousy against Jesus. This negative mindset was a block to see and accept signs, of which Jesus himself was the biggest sign. 9.      In the light of the first reading, this was because of the lack of fraternity and benevolence. Cain killed his own brother Abel because of the lack of fraternal love and benevolence. His fraternity and benevolence were dominated and clouded by prejudice and jealousy. Imperative: There are still plenty of signs of God’s power and goodness in different ways. But we need to deepen our humility and trust in Him on one hand, and also a sense of fraternity and benevolence on the other hand   (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021, 15 FEBRUARY)   Focus: External signs such as miracles and grand interventions may help faith but cannot generate faith or prove God's power   1.      As humans we are, many times our faith depends on seeing and experiencing concretely God's action and intervention. Accordingly, we wish that our intercessions for various needs are granted immediately. 2.      In other words, miracles and favours become the proof for the efficacy of our prayer, and also for the attention and care of God. In a way, we are unconsciously putting God to test, to prove His goodness and power by granting what we plead for. 3.      This is the same mentality of people of Jesus' own time, who demanded signs from heaven. How foolish and unbelieving they were! There were already many miracles, so much preaching the gospel of God's love and mercy, comfort, and consolation. 4.      And more than all these, Jesus himself is the biggest sign. Therefore, what is needed is not to test God but trust; not asking God to prove His power but to prove our fidelity to Him through our perseverance. 5.      If we sincerely examine, many of us are no different from those Pharisees who demanded signs from heaven. It is not because they wanted to believe and confirm their belief, but rather they wanted to justify and disguise their unbelief. 6.      Are there not enough more signs in our own times? Why do we want signs at all? What are actually signs meant for? Do we realise that primarily signs are meant to direct our focus and attention in the right direction? 7.      They are meant to comfort and strengthen us in the wrong times and ignite us with renewed courage and commitment. They are not to substitute but only to complement our responsibility. Many times, signs are demanded to shirk away from our responsibility. 8.      Like Cain from Genesis, why do wrong and then have the countenance fall? If we do well, surely God will accept and bless us. We will not need special signs. The greatest sign of God’s presence is charity, that is, to be a “keeper, a custodian of the other” as a brother and sister. Jealousy, violence, and destruction are countersigns.     Direction: If in every prayer, we only ask God to fulfill our desires and grant us favours, then why at all pray especially for God's will to be done?   (REFLECTION 3 FROM 2022, 14 FEBRUARY) Focus: Many times the problem in faith-life is not the absence of God’s grace but the openness to see it, receive it, and cooperate with it; it also requires a humble and trusting heart to understand God’s ways of acting   1.      In the gospel, the Pharisees demand Jesus for a sign from heaven. The purpose is not to strengthen their faith but only to test his power. Surely there were enough and more signs in the form of his teaching, preaching, and healing. His miracles were powerful signs of God’s mercy and power through him. In fact, he himself was the greatest sign of God’s presence, guidance, and power. 2.       They see all these signs but they refuse to accept them. How many today are like these Pharisees? Signs of God’s love, goodness, and holiness abound. His care, His light, and his power are abundant. But many just reject them 3.       Therefore, what are we to do? “Trust God and not test God”. We need not test God’s power and fidelity. We shall not test His concern by the mere granting of favours to us. We shall not test His power by the mere removal of all difficulties from our life. We shall not test His mercy by the mere healing of us always. Rather, we need to trust and surrender wholeheartedly. Let us trust Him even when things go wrong, even when we do not receive what we want. 4.       “See the signs and follow what they signify”. If only we are a little more open and humble, there are plenty of signs of God’s grace all around us. Signs are not necessarily miracles and healings alone. A sign is anything that signifies to us the ways of God. A sign is anything that indicates God’s grace and teaches us to be responsive and effective. In that way, even negative experiences like Corona, sickness, failure, persecution, et cetera also are signs. 5.       “Test your faith and bear testimony to it”. Our faith is tested by trials and adversities. Through our perseverance, we bear testimony to the depth of our faith. True faith does not seek exemption from afflictions as a sign of the power of faith. Rather, it accepts them and endures through them as a sign of its genuineness.   Direction: In the name of the power of faith, let us not put God to the test. Let us not reduce the quality of faith merely to the quantity and the number of favours received. Let us check and see whether we too are making the Lord sigh with a sense of disappointment and helplessness over our lack of receptivity   14 FEBRUARY 2023: GENESIS 6. 5-8, 7. 1-5, 10; MARK 8. 14-21 Pivot: Evil is pervasive! Indicative: It is a fact that evil is on increase. There are many misguiding pressures and influences. We need to focus on Jesus and remain clear and firm 1.      God “regretted” that he had made man on the earth, and His heart was “grieved”. This was the experience of God in Noah’s time. It was because man’s wickedness engulfed the whole earth. As it is said, the weight of sin was so unbearable that the earth was not able to bear it. Therefore, God decides to “revamp” the earth, wipe out the sinning creatures, and thus “lighten” the burden of the earth 2.      In our times too, this is very true. Evil and wickedness are on a whirlwind tour. The earth is acutely engulfed in sin. Evil hardens and closes the hearts toward God’s works and wonders that are always active. Many have cognition power but do not recognise God’s presence and action. Many have memory power but do not remember them. Many have intellect but do not understand or comprehend. Many have eyes but do not see. Many have ears but do not hear. 3.      Further, many easily allow themselves to be influenced and led astray by evil influences and temptations. They do not discern and decide. Jesus indicates this by the symbolism of the “leaven of the Pharisees and that of Herod”. 4.      In such an evil prevalence, what must we do? Let us be like Noah. Even when all the rest were steeped in evil, Noah was found to be “truly just”. He did not allow himself to be contaminated by the dirt of the evil that surrounded him. He did not eat the bread, baked with the “leaven” of wickedness and falsity of others. He did not drown himself in the “flood” of sin. Rather, he was “floating” and sailing ahead amidst the flood in the “ark” of God’s grace. 5.      Today too, for sure God must be regretting and grieving over humanity because of the increasing wickedness. Perhaps, the various natural calamities and disasters are strong indicators and consequences of this sin-infected flood. We need to guard and rise against such flood by getting into the “Ark” of faith and righteousness. Imperative: God is both just and merciful. In His justice, He wants us to live justly, guarding ourselves against all the infection and ruin by sin. In His mercy, He wants to save us through the ark of faith (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021, 16 FEBRUARY)    Focus: Negative influences assail us at any time and all the time, and we need to be cautious about them. 1.      This is our human predicament that is being constantly exposed to evil. All the more, in our own times, evil seems to be on a rampage. Exactly as in the time of Noah, we see that the wickedness of man is great on earth and all the thoughts seem to be thoroughly evil-oriented. 2.      In Jesus’ time too, there were negative examples and the false influence of the Pharisees and scribes that shake true faith and misguided others. This is exactly the leaven of the Pharisees and that of Herod. We will never lack these wrong-footed influences, deviations, and distortions. Many are under false influences. 3.      Consequently, as Jesus reproaches in the gospel, hearts are hardened. Having eyes, many do not see and having ears, they do not hear. They easily forget the immense good that happens in their life. The disciples had already seen the miraculous power of Jesus when he fed the multitude with a few loaves and fish. Yet, they were much worried about lacking enough bread. In these aspects, they too fall into the same category of faithless Pharisees and Jews. 4.      What then is the remedy? We should constantly lean on Jesus and remember his miracles which are powerful manifestations of his love for us. In the face of wrong influences and pressures against faith, we must cultivate the spirit of turning to God in surrender and perseverance. 5.      Like Noah in Genesis, we must keep ourselves uncontaminated and righteous even amidst evil and misguided generations, with false leaders like the Pharisees and Herod.   Direction: What we must try is not so much avoid all the negative influences, which is not at all possible. But rather, to resist them, and to persevere till the end, resting on Jesus   (REFLECTION 3 FROM 2022, 15 FEBRUARY) Focus: Temptations and deceptions often torment us and all the time we are not able to surmount them. Therefore we must be ever conscious, cautious, and judicious   1.      The word of God today cautions us against the power and pressure of negative influences. In the gospel, Jesus cautions his disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. The leaven of the Pharisees indicates their self-righteousness and hypocrisy. The leaven of Herod signifies his ruthless worldliness and power-seeking. Just as the leaven can ferment the whole dough, so also the wrong ways of the Pharisees and Herod can strongly exert a negative influence on his disciples. 2.       Therefore, the disciples of Jesus must be deeply alert and attentive to sense any such evil influences that try to lure them and lead them astray. They must be conscious to discern such deceptive forces. In the light of Jesus’ warning, they must try to perceive and understand, have the eyes to see, and have the ears to hear. They shall not harden their hearts. Instead, they will keep them ever flexible and open to God’s power. 3.       Particularly, they shall constantly remind themselves of the many wonders that God has been doing and continues to do in their lives. Jesus asks them to remember the miraculous feeding of thousands with a few loaves and fish. In the same way, he is asking all his present disciples never to lose sight of God’s blessings and favours received without ceasing. They must always bear in mind that whenever God takes control of our life situations, there is full satisfaction and even surplus.   Direction: Often the evil influences are too strong to counter. A strong evil influence can be fittingly countered only by a stronger good influence and that is from God. Therefore, allow yourself to be influenced and led by God and not by the evil   15 FEBRUARY 2023: GENESIS 8. 6-13, 20-22; MARK 8. 22-26 Pivot: Get rid of blindness! Indicative: In life, all of us suffer from some degree of blindness. Often we do not see God or others or our own self with clear sight. We need healing from Jesus 1.      Life becomes meaningful when there is Progress, change, and renewal. And these can be lasting when it is a steady and gradual process. The subsiding of the flood in the time of Noah was a gradual and steady process. It took time. 2.      The healing of the blind man in the gospel was again a gradational process. From the state of total blindness, he came to be partially blind when he could “see people looking like trees and walking”. Then he became fully sighted when he could “see everything distinctly”. 3.      Many questions may remain unanswered such as why Jesus led him outside the village. Why he did not heal at a stretch but in a second phase or attempt? Why did he order the healed blind man not to go into the village? et cetera. These may not be unimportant. However, we need not make speculations 4.      But we can draw some plausible lessons and indications. One lesson is, that our recovery and restoration is a process that must be progressive and gradational. We need not expect a sudden and total change all of a sudden and at one shot. 5.      The fact that Jesus took him outside the village before the healing and he told him not to go into the village after the healing shows a dissociation from the village. This may indicate that Jesus did not want the blind man to be unnecessarily disturbed or distracted by others. 6.      Whether before or after the healing, the presence of others may create a situation of needless discussions or apprehensions, or judgments. This can take away the main focus on healing. Dissociation from such a situation can make the blind man more focused on his blindness and on God’s compassion that restores his sight 7.      Being away from the people can also avoid all the clamour and glamour of applause and popularity at the healing. What is important is not that the people sing his laurels but the blindness is removed. There is no self-seeking glory. 8.      Further, all the simple details in the healing episode indicate the personal touch and concern of the Lord. He took the blind man by the hand. He led him outside the village. He put spittle on his eyes. He laid his hands on the man. Then he laid his hands on the man’s eyes a second time. He restored sight to him. Then he sent him home. 9.      Let us take note of blindness, whether total or partial. At times we may be totally blind, filled with egoism or indifference. We may fail to see God, others, and our own selves. At other times, we may be partially blind by prejudices and lack of clarity. We may misjudge and misinterpret others. Imperative: Often, we are blind. We do not see God and good. We do not see God as our liberator and restorer. We do not see others with a fraternal eye. We do not see ourselves honestly. We need to regain our sight   (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2022+2021)   Focus: The religion of many is false and shallow because they reduce their religion only to some practices and traditions, but their hearts are far from God; their hearts are impure and contaminated by the world, and they miserably fail in the supreme principle of charity   1.      In the light of the gospel, we are invited to be healed of our blindness. In the case of the blind man in the gospel, we see three phases or stages: one is his first condition of total blindness. Second is his partial healing and partial sight when he has a blurred vision of seeing people as trees, walking. The third is his total recovery of sight when he saw everything clearly. 2.       Many do not have this right vision and continue to live blindly. We too are affected by the same blindness. We need to approach Jesus to have our sight restored. It may not be instantaneous healing. It is steady progress. But steadily we need to be fully clear-sighted. We need to grow from complete blindness of egoism and greed through a partial sight of mediocrity and negligence to the perfect sight of fraternity and generous charity. 3.       Now to which of the three phases do I belong? Am I completely blind? Am I so indifferent and distant from God, failing to see His love and His will? Am I partially blind? Do I look at others through prejudice and narrow sight, not as humans but as trees, walking? Or am I really a healed person, able to see everything clearly?   Direction: “Do you see anything?” is the question of Jesus to the blind man in the process of healing. Our recovery of sight need not be always sudden and whole. It can be progressive. But what is important is that we constantly approach Jesus and beg him to touch us, so that we can see clearly the true religion and follow it   16 FEBRUARY 2023: GENESIS 9. 1-13; MARK 8. 27-33 Pivot: Live and abound! Indicative: In creating the whole creation and especially creating the humans in His own image and likeness, God has a definite purpose: to live fully and let others live joyfully 1.      We are reeling through a devastating culture of death. Aggression, violence, and destruction mark this culture. Life is not valued. Values of life are not appreciated. Life is stifled and suffocated. In such a context, we need to rediscover and restore the value and beauty of life. We need to foster a culture of life. 2.      Today’s first reading of God’s dialogue with Noah makes this clear. God is concerned about life. He declares very clearly that He will demand a strict accounting for any life and all the more human life. No life should be tampered with because all life is the gift of God and thus any violation of life is a violation against God Himself. 3.      God makes a covenant with Noah and this is a covenant of life. It is an assurance that life shall not be destroyed but protected and promoted. God is a living God and He is a life-giving God. God lives and His covenant lives whenever and wherever the value and the values of life are safeguarded. 4.      Seen in this perspective, sin is whatever disrupts and destroys life. When men fall to the sway of sin and destroy their life, God sends His only Son to be the Saviour, the Christ. Jesus then truly is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. This is his identity and his mission is to save life and restore it to its original beauty and dignity. 5.      Blessed are those who realise this identity and mission of the Lord and surrender and commit themselves to the Lord! Peter declares this realisation. He answers to Jesus’question, “Who do you say I am?”, by saying, “You are the Christ”. 6.      This is clearly not his knowledge. This is the knowledge, the revelation by God. Whoever thinks as God thinks and does what God wants to do, is with God. But whoever thinks as ordinary human beings according to human considerations and calculations, is in company with Satan. 7.      That is why when Peter rebuked Jesus against the path of suffering, rejection, persecution, and eventual death, Jesus sternly rebukes him in return. He reproaches, saying, “Get behind me, Satan”. Imperative: In life, oftentimes, we may not understand God’s ways. We may think quite humanly according to human standards. Particularly we may not understand the salvific value of suffering. We may resent and resist. But let us realise it is God’s way and surrender to it (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021, 18 FEBRUARY) Focus: Faith is essentially a personal love and experience of Jesus and a personal imitation of him   1.      "Who do people say I am?", and who do you say I am?" These questions of Jesus are not so much questions of curiosity or self-check or indirect eagerness to hear good about him. They are fundamental indicators of true and profound faith. 2.      True faith cannot depend only on the knowledge or the experience of others. It is ultimately a matter of personal encounter, a personal experience, and a relationship with Jesus. My faith should make him "live" and "live to me". My life should be a testimony that "he is the Son of the living God, the Messiah". 3.      Such faith should make me rise from the ordinary and false perspectives and standards of the world. This is seen in Peter's objection that the Messiah should not suffer, as he too succumbs to a cozy and pompous picture of the Messiah. 4.      Concretely, such a genuine and personal faith makes us rise above the worldly spirit of discrimination based on external factors like money and status. One who has faith is faithful to God and charitable indiscriminately to others.   Direction: We need to go on praying and striving for the gift of such wisdom that cultivates and fosters a sense and bond of equality and fairness toward every human person.   (REFLECTION 3)   Focus: Following Jesus is a call for a deeply personal God experience, and nothing else can substitute for it. It essentially involves struggle and sacrifice 1.      Discipleship is essentially a call to be rooted in God, in the intimacy of His experience, and nothing else can substitute for it. And this has to be something very personal, though it will certainly have wider implications in collective experience and commitment. 2.       The crucial question is who is Jesus for me? What is my personal experience of Jesus? What counts most is the personal experience of Jesus, and not merely what is heard or learned from others. What others say, what we learn from others, and what we receive from them, comes only to a certain point of the journey of encounter with the Lord. But ultimately it is each one personally that has to make the journey with the Lord. 3.       “Who do people say I am?”, “Who do you say I am?”, is a question posed by Jesus to his disciples. The same is today addressed to each of us personally. Is the question of Jesus, “Who am I?” (for the people / for you), a sign of identity crisis? A sign of a psychological process of self-realisation and self-discovery? A sign of natural human curiosity or inquisitiveness to know what others say about oneself? A sign of a natural, ordinary human seeking recognition and affirmation? The answer is a definitive NO. 4.       The question of Jesus, who am I? is a question that invites and challenges us for a sincere and authentic self-discovery, and for a profound and core identity. We can discover our true self, and realise our core identity, only in relation to Jesus, only in bonding with him, in intimacy and communion with him. 5.       “What Jesus is to us, makes us what we are”. It is not a mere matter of saying who Jesus is but experiencing and living who he is. Not enough that words and expressions about Jesus do abound unless experience does abound. All our acclamations and assertions, professions, and proclamations should not be mere collections of formulations, but rather expressions, extensions, and expansions of deeper and consistent experience and love of the Lord.   Direction: We the followers of the Lord can become more credible if our external proclamation is really rooted in a profound personal experience of the Lord and the spirit of surrender to the will and ways of God (REFLECTION 4 FROM 2022, 17 FEBRUARY) Focus: Learning and knowing more and more about Jesus is very good and needed. But it will not suffice. All our knowledge must lead to a personal experience of Jesus   1.      “Who do you say that I am?” was the question of Jesus to his disciples. This is not a question for self-knowledge or self-boost. This is also not a search for the discovery of self-identity. The purpose is to make them aware of his true identity. It is to make them aware of who he is to them. 2.       The question, “Who do you say I am?” becomes more important than the question, “Who do people say I am?” Personal encounter with Jesus, personal experience of him, and relationship with him are greater priorities than all the knowledge about him from others and various sources. 3.       The purpose of knowing the identity of Jesus is not intellectual but experiential and relational and thus personal. I will try to know who Jesus is because I want to experience who he is to me personally. I will discover his identity so that I can discover my own identity and live it. I will realise that my identity is only in relation to his identity. My identity ceases if it loses its essential connectivity to the Lord’s identity. I will not be who I am if I do not experience who he is. 4.       If I really know and experience him, then I must become like him. I must put on his mindset. I must set my mind on the things of God, and not on the things of the world. Like Christ, my core identity of belonging to him as his disciple must be seen and shown in doing the same mission. And this mission essentially includes suffering and the way of the cross. Anything that contradicts and resists this way of the Lord is satanic.   Direction: All our increase in the knowledge of Christ and familiarity with the Bible is something praiseworthy. However, all this is worth it if only it leads us to a deeper experience of the Lord and commitment to him   17 FEBRUARY 2023: GENESIS 11. 1-9; MARK 8.34 – 9.1   Pivot: To follow the Lord is not to follow the self! Indicative: Many desire many things in life. But how many desire to follow the Lord? If some want to follow him, they must also know what are the conditions. Mere wish is not enough   1.      In life, many good things do not happen because people do not put their intention into action. We have often the best of intentions, words, promises, and decisions but not actions. It is because they limit themselves to mere wishful thinking but not implementing what they wish. 2.      So today the Lord is drawing our attention to this fact of life. He is speaking about discipleship. He clarifies, “Whoever wishes to come after me, must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me”. Therefore mere wishing is not enough. It must follow the required course of action. It must fulfill certain conditions. 3.      Now the Lord lays down three essential conditions to be his disciple. Deny one’s own self, Take up one’s own cross, and Follow the Lord. All these are mutually inclusive. The following of one condition faithfully implies that of the other two as well. Therefore one cannot say, “I follow one and the others, No”. 4.      To deny self is to restrain and overcome our ego, and egoistic interests. It is to constantly purify and rise above our selfish inclinations. In a world where life is becoming more and more self-centred, where ego has become the centre and norm of everything, we need to set aside our ego. This also calls for a deep spirit of detachment and self-sacrifice. 5.      Taking up one’s own cross is the second condition. Each has his own crosses in life. These crosses can be varied. They are the difficulties, problems, and sufferings that we come across. In every cross, there is a sense of burden, struggle, and pain. We need to realise that no one is exempted from crosses. 6.      So, first, we need realism to see the crosses as part of life and all the more as part of discipleship. We need to accept them. We need the spirit of courage and determination to struggle to overcome them when it is possible. And we need patience, forbearance, and perseverance when they are not under our control. 7.      Finally, follow the Lord. Follow him not only where it is convenient but always and everywhere. We need to follow him especially when it is a matter of standing firm and bearing witness to him. It is a matter of practicing his virtues and values, his approach, and ways of action. 8.      All this needs focus and wisdom. We need the wisdom to discern that following the Lord, and gaining one’s soul for eternal life is more important than gaining the whole world. This makes us focused on the Lord and committed to following him. 9.      The people in the first reading who start to construct the tower of Babel lacked this wisdom and focus. They were foolish, worldly, and focused on self-glory. Hence, God thwarts their earthly designs.   Imperative: Many in the world suffer from short-sight and short-term goals. They do not go beyond the self and the world. Their whole life is spent boosting up the self and pleasing the world. They are lost!   (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2022, 18 FEBRUARY)   Focus: Today there are some staunch so-called “religious” people. They claim themselves to be faithful followers and adherents of the religion. But they hopelessly lack the spirit of holiness and human goodness   1.      In the present times, we are going through a new type of religious crisis. What does this imply? We see a religion devoid of fraternity and charity. We watch a spirituality without the integrity of character. We witness a religious fidelity without sanctity. We observe a religious adherence without coherence of life and benevolence to others. We have many who loudly declare to follow God but never follow His ways of sacrifice and love. 2.       This is the malaise that corrodes many religions today. Religious allegiance and adherence are equated with religious fanaticism. Religious passion and dedication are equated with hate and aggression toward other religious followers. This is really a false practice of religion. What religiosity it is, what spirituality it is, what fidelity it is if there is no holiness and no goodness? 3.       Jesus presents the same theme of harmony between faith and works in the light of discipleship. True discipleship fulfills three essential conditions: self-denial, cross-bearing, and following the Lord. Self-denial is not self-hate or self-despisal. It is giving up of the ego, a denial, and restraint of all selfish interests, a spirit of renunciation and retrenchment 4.       Carrying the cross implies the spirit of humble acceptance of the afflictions and adversities of life, and patience and forbearance amidst them. It also means that there is no grumbling or lamenting or despair in the face of difficulties. It is a holy resignation and joyful surrender to everything that befalls us. Good or bad, positive or negative, everything becomes an occasion for self-offering to the Lord. 5.       Following the Lord implies walking in his footsteps, imitating his example, resembling his life, and being loyal and committed to his mission, come what may. Unbounded zeal and undaunted commitment mark a true disciple of Christ. There is no lethargy or sluggishness in the case of a true follower.   Direction: In our society and times, there are many who are rated super brains with high intelligence and competence. But what is so much lacking is wisdom; it is a wisdom that realises that “it is no use to gain the whole world but lose one’s own soul”   (REFLECTION 3)   Focus: True faith is always authentic and concrete. It always shows itself in concrete works of charity and helps to others. To be truly faithful to God is to be charitable to others   1.      In our present times, faith is becoming very expressive and acclamative. People want to demonstrate their faith and their religious allegiance. Consequently, we find the performance of many religious activities, organisation of many religious programmes, and conduction of many spiritual sessions and conventions. 2.       All this is very good. They can help toward manifesting as well as deepening our faith. But what is missing and what is essential is that our experience and concrete life of witness must go together. Our faith must be seen and shown in the quality of life of good actions. 3.       In the gospel, Jesus makes this very clear that faith is following him concretely in the real details of life. And they are A spirit of self-sacrifice in giving up ego, a spirit of patience and perseverance in carrying the cross of one's own burdens and vicissitudes of life, and also the cross of trouble, discomfort, and deprivation for the sake of God and good, and a spirit of indefectible loyalty and commitment in walking his path in imitating his footsteps. 4.       Therefore, it is not enough to say ‘Lord, Lord’ but is also needed to surrender to him. It is not enough to call Jesus ‘Master’, but is also needed to be loyal to him and to follow in his footsteps. It is not enough to acclaim him as ‘Saviour’ but is also needed to be saved and liberated, to experience and live that touch and power of salvation and liberation. 5.       It is not enough to praise him as a ‘Healer’ but also needed to be healed, to show the effects and signs of healing. It is not enough to proclaim his as a ‘guide’, but it also needed to be rightly guided and to avoid all tendencies to be wrongly influenced and misguided. It is not enough to attest him as ‘Light’ but is needed to be illumined, to be enlightened. 6.       It is not enough to sing him as ‘Love’, but is also needed to love him totally and passionately. It is not enough to claim him as our strength and power but it also needed to be strengthened and empowered by him. It is not enough to believe in him as our nourishment but is also needed to be nurtured by him.   Direction:  We must go beyond our contradictory tendencies and live a more harmonious life of grace. We must integrate faith and works. We must be ready to lose ourselves so as to gain it for eternity 18 FEBRUARY 2023: HEBREWS 11. 1-17; MARK 9. 2-13 Pivot: Be transfigured! Indicative: God created us in His own image and likeness. He wants us to be like Him. Sin reduces this likeness and makes us unlike Him. We need then to recuperate what we have lost 1.      We are living in a world where life is increasingly disfigured. Often, life is losing its beauty and charm. Thus many do not experience the joy and value of life. Dehumanisation in its various forms such as injustice, inequality, lack of respect and dignity, deception, dishonesty, selfishness, greed, and violence causes this disfiguration. 2.      Therefore, we need transfiguration so that the beauty and joy of life can be resurged. This transfiguration will be possible only with the help of the Lord because he himself is the Lord of transfiguration. Today’s gospel narrates the scene of the transfiguration of the Lord. 3.      This episode occurred not so much to display his greatness or parade his glory before the poor disciples. It is not to prove himself or impress them. The main purpose is to make them aware of his original identity so that their faith will not be shaken in testing times. Rather they will remain firm looking back and drawing their courage and strength from this transfiguration of the Lord. 4.      Thus the Lord transfigures himself with his heavenly glory before them so as to confirm them in their faith and re-commit them to him. His transfiguration is a prefiguration of our own transfiguration one day when we finish our earthly pilgrimage. 5.      Now how will we be transfigured on the last day? We will be transfigured on the last day when we strive to be transfigured every day. What does this imply? The gospel gives us some pointers. We need to be led up a high mountain apart by ourselves. 6.      That is we need to withdraw and raise ourselves from the earth, from the low and below interests. From time to time, we need to climb up from our ordinary preoccupations to be alone with God in silence and serenity. 7.      We need to stay in intimacy with him and relish his presence. It is this ecstatic joy that made Peter acclaim, “Lord, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents”. It was so cherishable that Peter did not want to miss it. 8.      We need to listen to Jesus because he is the beloved Son of the Father. We too will become the beloved sons and daughters of the Father if we listen to His Son. Listening to him implies that we accompany him always, encounter him and be in dialogue with him like Moses and Elijah. It also implies that we transfigure ourselves both interiorly and exteriorly. Imperative: There is an excessive concern about the external figure and its transfiguration. So much money and time are spent on beautifying the external body and material features. But what about the interior transfiguration, which is the beauty of the heart, and the worth of living? (REFLECTION 2 ON TRANSFIGURATION) Focus: Glory is our destiny and transfiguration is the way. Let us not be upset at the fact of misery but always raise our hearts to the destiny of glory by constant transfigured life, transformed heart   1.      Jesus is transfigured on Mount Tabor in the presence of 3 of his disciples. It is not a display of self-glory but a manifestation of his true identity. It is not to impress them but to confirm them in faith. His glory is not partial but total, both interior and exterior, as indicated by the glow of his face and clothes respectively. The experience of divine glory is so relishing, as indicated by Peter’s exclamation: “it is nice to be here; let us make three tents”. 2.       Jesus’ transfiguration points to our own transfiguration, being adorned with divine glory. This is possible through a constant integral transformation of our both interior and exterior, by attentive listening and adhering to the Lord. 3.       The event of Jesus' transfiguration is a manifestation of his original divinity, identity, and glory. The purpose is not to display his glory, not to impress upon the three disciples his greatness. It is not self-directed, seeking self-glory. 4.       Rather, it serves as a fount of hope that prepares and strengthens the disciples, in the face of the cross and the death of Jesus ahead. The transfigured glory of Jesus illumines and assures the disciples that Jesus who meets the fate of the cross, is not a helpless failure, forced to such a miserable end; rather he is the glorious Son of God, who willingly and freely accepts the cross as God's will for salvation. 5.       It is not a fate of misery and damnation,  but a destiny of glory and salvation. Thereby when faced with the ignominy of the cross, let them not be shaken or shocked; let them not be dissipated or frustrated. Let them not be stuck with the cross and death, but rather let their focus go beyond the glory and eternity. Behind and beyond the disfigured crucified, one should see the transfigured resurrected Lord, re-vested with the original heavenly glory. 6.       Thus that simple Jesus, who is walking along with them as an ordinary man, that suffering Jesus, who will be subjected to the humiliation of the cross, is not a disgraced and defeated man. Instead, he is the glorious "beloved Son of the Father", attested so by the Father Himself from heaven. So do not lose faith in him, when things go contrary, but continue to keep trust and hope in him. 7.       Jesus' transfiguration is also an indicator, a forecast, and a foretaste of our own resurrection and the glory of the resurrection. It is a prefiguration of our own future glory. The frequent disfiguration of life, with all the vicissitudes and adversities, is not the final or permanent reality. 8.       Transfiguration is the ultimate and definitive experience. Misery is not an absolute fate, but glory is our eternal destiny. Therefore, the transfiguring experience must trigger us to direct our focus, beyond the temporary upsets of the cross, to the eternal upheaval of resurrection. 9.       This is possible only through a constant  REINVIGORATION of our original identity of being God's image and likeness. This in turn is possible through a faithful CONFIGURATION with Jesus. The more we are tuned and communed to him, the more we live and grow like him, the more we adhere to him In "attentive listening to him",  the more we shall experience and share the same transfiguring glory. 7.      If sin disfigures us, depriving us of our original beauty and dignity of being God's images, grace through Jesus transfigures us, restoring to us that lost light and radiance. The shining light and brightened glow will indicate that our transfiguration is more a matter of illuminating and brightening our darkened selves and false lives. 8.       The more we are enlightened, breaking off the sheaths and layers of darkness that often block and blur our radiance, the more we re-discover our real identity and radiate the light of that true image. 9.      Thus real transfiguration lies in the daily process of brightening up our lives. Light up the life, Daily on the "mountain" - of the vicinity, proximity, and intimacy with God, in a spirit and ambiance of solitude and serenity, in the heights of our spirits, in the focused moments of prayer, in a personal encounter with Moses and Elijah, signifying the Law and Prophets, i.e. the entire Scripture and Tradition. 10.   Transform and glorify life, wholly and fully, by changing both the interior,  indicated by the change of face, which is the index of the interior, and the exterior, indicated by the change in clothes. 11.    Let our every day be a continuous journey of removing the shades of darkness that reduce our glow. Let it be a vibrant march of regaining our lost radiance. Let the light of Christ make our hearts, and our life, more bright, with more hope and more renewal.   Direction: Often we want to see only glory and cling to such moments. But only the path of the cross and following Jesus will lead to glory.   (REFLECTION 3 FROM 2022, 19 FEBRUARY)    1.      In the gospel today, we have the transfiguration episode. This indicates that what is very important is to be deeply aware of the various “disfigurements” of our life. Then, strive sincerely for a “transfiguration” of it. For this, first of all, we need to participate and share the “transfiguration experience” of Jesus himself. We need to behold his heavenly glory and sanctity. We need to confirm our faith in his divinity despite the garbs of human fragilities. 2.       We need to relish the moments of being with him and desire to abide close to him again and again. Hear what Peter exclaims at the transfiguration experience of Jesus: It is good to be here. Let us make … tents”. We need to listen to the Lord as the beloved of the Father. 3.       However, we cannot hide ourselves only in such ecstatic moments. Taking our courage and strength from such deepening and strengthening experiences, we need to come down the mountain of Tabor. We need to gird ourselves with the task of living the transfiguring experience in our daily living. We need to change both our ‘face’ and our ‘clothes’ that is the face of our interior life and the clothes of our exterior actions and behavior.   Direction: Total transfiguration comes only with our resurrection. But we can commit ourselves to a daily transfiguration. This does happen when we constantly try to become more and more renewed and transformed persons