7th week days mass reflection of the year 1

20 – 25 FEBRUARY 2023, HOLY MASS REFLECTIONS   20 FEBRUARY 2023: SIRACH 1. 1-10; MARK 9. 14-29 Pivot: No substitute for prayer! Indicative: The world of today bothers so much to develop intelligence and knowledge. But it miserably lacks and fails in wisdom. It does not realise that wisdom is the most important need 1.      In the gospel, we have a very vivid description of a boy possessed by an unclean spirit. It makes him deaf and mute. It seizes him violently and often throws him down, rolling around. he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. Often throws him into fire and water to kill him. 2.      This exactly represents our present society. It is a society that is possessed by unclean spirits. The signs and effects are quite obvious. Many have an unclean spirit. They are so polluted and corrupted. 3.      Many are deaf and mute. They cannot hear God and good. They do not pay attention at all. They have neither the time nor the heart to listen to others. They are mute. They do not speak God and good. They do not raise their voice to stand for justice or to offer comfort to others. 4.      These possessed people are violent. They emit foam and fury. They grind their teeth in hatred and retaliation. They are so rigid and hard-hearted. They throw themselves down, roll around and make a mess of things. They create scenes and fear in others. Often these become self-ruinous and ruin others as well. 5.      Therefore, the world needs healing. And as we are God’s chosen people, the world may turn to us for healing before they approach the Lord. It is sad that often we too fail just as the disciples failed to drive out the unclean spirit. 6.      When asked, Jesus plainly tells them that the failure to heal is due to the lack of prayer. Matthew adds in 17.21 “fasting” too to prayer. Therefore, it is clear that it is only prayer that can drive out the demon. Prayer is surrender to God in faith, 7.      Perhaps this is what the disciples lacked and so failed. They trusted in themselves. Perhaps they were complacent. They forget that their power is not their own. It is derived from the Lord and is delegated by him. Therefore, their power works only when they depend on their Lord. 8.      Perhaps they were also tempted toward self-glory. They wanted to display their power before the people. They wanted to make impression on the people about their greatness. In this process, they fail to pray and seek their power from the Lord. 9.      In this context, the first reading suggests to us that we need wisdom. Yes, that wisdom that comes from the Lord, which is eternal, prudent understanding, and discerning and which springs from the fountain of the word of God, is needed to seek our power and light from the Lord on the ground of prayer. Imperative: As gifted with God’s power and engaged actively in His mission, we may be in the limelight and popular. But let us always bear in mind that if left to us, we will fail. Let us then never be self-seeking   (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2022, 21 FEBRUARY) Focus: Wisdom is not merely a matter of intelligence, knowledge, and capacity. Rather it is a matter of a clean heart and a virtuous living.   1.      The first reading speaks of wisdom. In the gospel, Jesus shows what blocks such wisdom. It is the unclean spirit. This needs then healing from the unclean spirit. Accordingly, Jesus heals a deaf and mute boy with an unclean spirit. The details of this unclean spirit are indicative of a lack of true wisdom. When one lacks wisdom, he becomes mute and deaf to the promptings of the Spirit.  He becomes unsteady. He is thrown down. He falls into frequent convulsions, foaming at the mouth, and grinding his teeth. He becomes rigid. All these are but signs of evil. 2.      Then, what are the conditions to drive away the evil spirit? The most essential is prayer and faith in the power of Jesus. The disciples could not do the healing because of the lack of the spirit of prayer. The boy’s father could obtain his son’s healing because of faith. 3.      What is faith? Faith is turning to Jesus in humility and prayer. What is prayer? Prayer is turning to Jesus in humility and faith. The boy’s father trusted in Jesus in his need with deep humility, saying, “I believe; help my unbelief”. On the other hand, the disciples fell inadequate in this spirit of humility and faith. 4.      Here we do not debate the disciples’ faith in Jesus. We do not also contend that they wanted to sideline Jesus. We may not attribute any wrong intention to their attempt to heal. Perhaps, they sincerely intended not to “disturb” their master. They might have thought that they can “manage” the thing by themselves. They might have also sought some self-recognition. However, all these factors are not so important for us. 5.      What is important to note is that the disciples did not turn to Jesus. They did not direct the boy’s father to their master. They did not approach him for his intervention. They lacked the humility to refer the matter to their Lord. They fail to be aware that their power comes from the Lord. This is the failure in prayer!   Direction: True wisdom leads us to seek to nurture a clean heart, a devout spirit that fears God, to get healed by the Lord, and to live a life of true spirituality and integrity.    21 FEBRUARY 2023: SIRACH 2. 1-11; MARK 9. 30-37 Pivot: Desire to be great but how? Indicative: To desire to be great is not wrong. But what are the means that we seek to pursue and obtain this greatness, is the real issue 1.      Today’s word of God focuses on the theme of greatness. Who is great? How does one become great? What is true greatness? First of all, the greatness that Jesus teaches and proposes is unlike the greatness of the world. 2.      For the world, to be great means to be first, to be placed over others, and to exercise power to command them. It also means to be associated with big and important people, that is to have an “elite circle”. To be great is to feel and display one’s importance. 3.      Thus, often worldly greatness is understood in terms of importance, power, position, status, domination, commandability, influencing, controlling, and leading others. In this way, greatness is not necessarily connected to the character and virtue of the person. 4.      But Jesus challenges this idea of greatness. He proposes a new one. It is to be first by being “the last and the servant of all”. In other words, to be great is to be humble and serviceable. True greatness consists in humility and service. That is why Jesus says, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all”. 5.      It is also to receive even the small, insignificant people, associate with them, and treat them with respect. That is why Jesus says, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me”. A child generally indicates vulnerability and insignificance. To be great also means to be prepared to walk the way of the cross and suffer like Jesus. 6.      The first reading from Sirach gives us some more concrete details about greatness. It is “to serve the Lord”. It is to “stand in justice and fear”. It is to “prepare oneself for trials, remain undisturbed in adversity, patient when tested in the crucible of humiliation”. It is to be “sincere and steadfast of heart”. It is to “incline one’s ear and receive the word of understanding”. 7.      True greatness waits on God with patience. It clings to him and never forsakes him. To be great is to “fear the Lord” always and in everything. Thereby those who fear the Lord would trust the Lord, hope for good things, and love him.   Imperative: Whatever happens, those who are great would not turn away from the Lord. Rather they would be steadfast in his mercy. And they will be wise in all their ways.   (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021, 19 SEPTEMBER)   Focus: Greatness is a natural desire and aspiration of everyone. There is nothing wrong in itself. But the problem is when it is wrongly understood and wrongly pursued and acquired through false ways and means   1.      In the gospel, the disciples were engaged in a discussion about who was the greatest. Today we are invited to reflect once again a little deeply and sincerely about our own concept, pursuit, and means of gaining that greatness. Jesus dispels the wrong notions of greatness and clarifies what it means to be truly great and how to become rightly great. 2.      In the first place, real greatness is not something material. It does not consist in money and material possessions. But the world wrongly thinks that the more you have money and an abundance of things, the more you are great. Those who have little or less, those who are not well-to-do, and poor are regarded as insignificant, unimportant, and not worthy, and thus are treated with disrespect and contempt. 3.      Accordingly, the whole concern and struggle of life is to accumulate as much money and material things as possible. There is a total disregard for the kind of means that are employed to acquire them. All that matters is to become moneyed and possess things by hook or crook. That is why we find steep materialism and consumerism, deception, and unaccountability. Sane values are often thrown into the sea. 4.      Real greatness is not something merely social. It does not consist in power and position, status and prestige. But the world wrongly thinks that the more you are in power and authority, the more you are in a big position and hold a high social status and prestige, and the more you are great. Those who are ordinary, those who do not hold a notable post or job, and those who do not have an above-the-ordinary standing and ranking in society, are not respected and not taken seriously. 5.      Accordingly, the efforts of many are always geared to climb to the higher rungs in society, regardless of the rightness of their actions. That is why we find so much spirit of power-mongering and power-corruption. We find corrosion of the right values and an explosion of compromises. We also find excessive eagerness to dominate and suppress others, with the feeling that "I am superior to others, am greater, better, and worthier than others”. 6.      Further, real greatness is not merely intellectual. It does not consist in great intellectual calibre, academic excellence, and achievement or bundles of knowledge or reckoning honours of educative contribution. The world wrongly thinks that the more you are intelligent and competent, the more you excel academically, and the more you are considered great. Those who are just average or dull, those who are poor in grasping, and those who do have a poor performance track, are despised as useless. 7.      Accordingly,  some spend an enormous time and energies on their intellectual pursuits. In the process, they do not realise that they become "brain-wise monsters and heart-wise dwarfs ". 8.      Then what is true greatness? How does one obtain it? The gospel and the other readings make it clear. True greatness consists in not desiring to be placed over others, dominating and bossing over them. It is not eager to be first in power and position but first in service. 9.      True greatness is the commitment to God's will and mission. Subsequently, it also implies the readiness and courage to face the consequences, to go through the ordeal of the way of the cross, even to the extent of death. This is what Jesus did. This is what we find in the lives of the prophets, the righteous exemplified by the suffering servant of Yahweh. 10.  True greatness is receiving even children that is, the vulnerable and the uncountables and negligibles in society. It accepts and respects them. This is contrary to the mindset that one becomes great by association with big people. This is why often we find that great people may have their own "social circles", or "privileged elite". They create an aura around them that there is an air of inaccessibility and unconcern and uninvolvement. 11.  Further, true greatness consists in receiving the exa mple of a child. Among numerous qualities of a child, in this context, those that the truly great would embody are purity and guilelessness of heart, total trust and dependence on God, love for God and always seeking to please Him.   Direction: In the ultimate analysis, to be truly great is to consistently nurture spiritual tenacity and productivity and to lead a righteous and forbearing life   22 FEBRUARY 2023:  JOEL 2. 12-18; 2 COR 5.20 – 6.2; MATTHEW 6. 1-6, 16-18, ASH WEDNESDAY   Pivot: Repent and return! Indicative: Repent and turn away from your sin, so that God may relent from His just judgment and His mercy may be resent 1.      Today is a very special day. We enter the season of Lent, a season of grace, a call for repentance and conversion. The purpose is to remit, rearrange, transform, and elevate our life which is often disordered and disfigured because of sin and evil. Thus we can live a more beautiful, more tranquil, more joyful, and more pleasant life. 2.      Therefore this season is also a season of joy, and not of sadness, as many think or imagine. Repentance and penitence are not signs of sadness, but the expressions of our awareness of sin, of our desire to make reparation and recuperation, of our firmness to detach ourselves from everything that separates us from God, of our concrete effort to grow in faith and charity, and in sum, to enhance in a life of devotion and virtue. Therefore, when there is work and the increase of grace, there is certainly an increase in holy joy. 3.      Today, the ashes we place on us, indicate and teach us how we must spend these days of Lent. 1)      First of all, the ashes indicate our origin and our end: therefore the words are pronounced: you have come from dust, and you will go back into dust. God created us, He gave us this life, He breathed his own life inside us, and He shaped us in his own image. So we must always have a deep and lively sense of gratitude, of dependence, of an inseparable bond, and then always try to grow in the spirit of trust and likeness. 2)      We must never forget our origins. But unfortunately, it happens in our days, that man neglects God and the spiritual side, because of development, material comfort, of human capacities. The world thinks it is self-sufficient, and does not need God, and therefore tries to organize its life, throwing God out of the space of life. Truly a situation that reminds us and relives the time of the "tower of Babel". 3)      We must always remember our end. Our goal is to re-go to God where we came from. Reaching our origin is the last point of this earthly journey. Therefore we must always recognise the transience of life on earth. Life on earth is only a limited duration. Everybody someday and in some way has to go away. The earthly life is like a journey, a pilgrimage, with a stabilized destination, with a destiny beyond. 4)      So we cannot attach ourselves to this world, we cannot behave like being permanent on earth. As St. Paul says to the Corinthians in his second letter in 5. 1, 9-10: when this dwelling of the body, the tent of earthly life, is destroyed, we all have an eternal home, prepared and made ready by God for each of us. On that day everyone must stand before the Lord for his judgment, and each one will be judged according to his good works and evils, according to the quality of his way of life. How many are foolish, living without any sense of responsibility and accountability? How miserable their fate will be! Those who refuse imperishable in preference to the perishable will certainly be rejected for the same imperishable. We reap what we sow! 5)      The ashes also denote our weakness, our fragility, and our human unworthiness. Without God, without His help, we are nothing like dust and ashes. Without the breath of His Spirit, we will be without life, without energy. This awareness must safeguard us against arrogance and unbridled autonomy, and grow in us the spirit of humility. 6)      The ashes still indicate the state of annihilation. Nothing remains at the end. This fact must arise in us a profound spirit of detachment, of sacrifice. Be careful of too much attachment to things, to worldly profits, to great avarice. What is worth acquiring the whole world, but losing our soul? How much stupidity to cling to superficial things but to let go of the essential things! How much sadness to accumulate useless things but not obtain anything worthwhile! Imperative: We are given three pillars to construct the edifice of the Lenten season, and three equipments to continue our Lenten journey. They are namely, prayer, fasting, and charity. Let us then begin our steps forward with confidence and firmness.   (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2022, 02 MARCH) Focus: Reflect, Repent, convert, and live rightly! This is a constant invitation for us. Blessed are they who hearken to this call for a worthwhile life and live accordingly! 1.      Today we celebrate Ash Wednesday, a very unique day whereby we step into a new liturgical season. It is the holy season of Lent. Lent is very special in the life of the church and of many Christians. Not that the other seasons are not important. But lent makes a difference because of its very nature and the process and the purpose. 2.       Lent addresses directly our human fragility. It lays bare before us our vulnerability that is prone to fall. It reminds us of our basic transience. Ashes with which we are smeared today indicate this sense of earthly nothingness, perishability, and impermanence. This sense is quite explicit in the pronouncement, “From dust, you have come and unto dust, you shall return”. 3.       Thereby the holy lent urges us to focus our attention on our sinfulness that fails us in faith and charity. In lent, there is a focused concern with sin and evil. But the purpose is not to feel guilty, melancholic, and discouraged. The purpose is essentially positive. It is to repent and return to the Lord. 4.       That is why in the first reading, God summons us through prophet Joel, “Rend your hearts and not your garments; return to me with all your heart”. In the second reading, in his first letter to the Corinthians, St Paul exhorts, “Be reconciled to God… so that we might become the righteousness of God”. 5.       How to tread this journey of repentance and conversion? In the gospel, Jesus takes our attention to the three fundamental means of our whole Christian living and growth. These are in fact the three Jewish pilastric practices. They are namely prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Jesus cautions us against hypocrisy in practising them. It is not to make a show or display one’s religiosity. 6.        All these should be done in a spirit of humility, and right intention. The purpose is to grow righteous in the sight of God and toward others. Accordingly, our prayers must help us to draw closer to God. Our fasting must help us to be more self-disciplined. Our almsgiving must deepen our sensitivity and fraternal responsibility and charity.   Direction: Behold, now is the favourable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. God will certainly listen to us and help us. For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; He will relent over disaster. He will reward you (REFLECTION 3 FROM 2021, 17 FEBRUARY)   Focus: Lent is a God-gifted time to be bent on God, to repent for evil, and to be intent on good   1.      We step into the holy season of Lent. Let us entrust our whole journey of Lent to the loving guidance of the Lord, so that this time may be truly a duration of renewal. 2.      This is Ash Wednesday! What does this day of ashes signify? What do the ashes denote? In the practical sense, ashes indicate total annihilation and nothingness. Hence the expression: "gone/reduced to ashes". 3.      In the ordinary common religious sense, ashes denote sacrifice, renunciation, and detachment. Hence the expression: "I have nothing but ashes". 4.      In the biblical spiritual sense, ashes denote repentance and penance. We find in the Bible, applying ashes to atone, repent, and do penance. 5.      The day of the ashes, with the call, from dust you have come, and unto dust, you shall return", or "repent and believe in the gospel", reminds us of the temporariness and transience of our earthly existence, and also our origin from God and our destiny to Him. Life is a temporary transit, we are due to God, we are his due, destined to reach him and be with him. 6.      Therefore, in this temporary and impermanent sojourn, toward our eternal destination, how to conduct our life? With the spirit and lessons of the ashes positively. That is, in surrender to God, with a sense of nothingness; in attachment to God, with a sense of detachment; and in renewal and transformation, with a sense of repentance and penance. 7.       In the light of the gospel, to conduct and travel this journey, 3 acts are proposed as effective means: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. However, the insistence is not so much on the activity itself, i.e. prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, but rather on their purpose and end They are namely, love and intimacy with God; self-discipline and self-restraint; and concern and charity. 8.      Therefore, in love, let us grow close and surrendered to God; in renunciation, let us grow more disciplined and charitable; in renewal, let us grow more and more transformed!   Direction: Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are not merely religious practices, but are true means and testimonies of religious spirit and living.   23 FEBRUARY 2023: DEUT 30. 15-20; LUKE 9. 22-25 Pivot: Destined for life! Indicative: In life, often many make wrong choices and decisions. This clearly shows that mere intelligence and knowledge are not enough. Something more is needed 1.      We can condense the whole thrust and direction of the word of God into two themes: Life and wisdom. Life is our ultimate end and goal. We are destined for life and life in eternity. God wants us to live fully and joyfully here and now and later eternally. 2.      We can live so only when we have wisdom. First of all, wisdom is a precious gift of God. It is a fundamental choice for God that leads to all other choices. It is not only an intellectual assent but clarity, conviction, and commitment 3.      A wise person is illumined and solidified by God to see clearly, to be convinced strongly, and to be committed fully. Accordingly, a wise person chooses life in preference to death, prosperity in preference to doom, the true God in preference to the false gods, the blessing in preference to curse, and the world in preference to the soul 4.      This leads him to a particular way of living and acting. He would love the Lord, walk in his ways, and obey and keep His commandments, statutes, and decrees. He would not turn away his heart and be led astray and adore and serve other gods. He would prefer to lose the world and the earthly gains for the sake of the Lord and the spiritual benefits 5.      The most authentic effect and evidence of wisdom and a wise life is becoming a disciple of the Lord. A wise person who is intent on eternal life will surely become a disciple. He would fulfill the three essential conditions for discipleship, namely self-denial, cross-bearing, and loyalty to follow 6.      A disciple in wisdom gives up his false self instead of propping up self-interests and blown-up ego. He would cultivate a spirit of detachment and retrenchment. He would bear his various crosses in patience and surrender. He would ceaselessly commit himself to emulate the Lord in virtue and life Imperative: Let our constant prayer be not only for this or that particular favour or benefit but primarily for the gift of wisdom to love the Lord and be committed to him (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2022, 03 MARCH)   Focus: Know the ways of the Lord, and obey them; love the Lord and follow him. But, this is a strenuous and challenging path. But it is undoubtedly rewarding!   1.      Many people today possess many things. But there is one thing that is drastically lacking. That is wisdom. Wisdom is not mere intelligence and knowledge. It is the essential inner capacity to distinguish, discern, and decide between good and evil, blessing and curse, life and death, and true God and false gods. It enables one to lose one’s life for the sake of the Lord instead of gaining and preserving it for the sake of the world. It realises that it is no use to gain the whole world but lose one’s own self. 2.       Wisdom thus makes us make a fundamental option for God. It strives ever to obey God, love Him, cling to Him, walk in His ways, and keep His commandments, His statutes, and His rules. In the gospel, in Jesus’ own words, it would be a threefold way of life of a disciple: to deny the self, to take up the cross, and follow the Lord. 3.       In fact, this triple path is the way of the cross. This is the way of the cross of the disciple which is actually the replica of the way of the cross of the Lord. The Lord’s suffering and death are the climax and summing up of an entire life of self-denial, cross-bearing, and doing God’s will. 4.       A follower of Christ has no other way except the way of the master. We must renounce all the self-centrism and self-interests; we must retrench all the layers of the ego, the false self. We must accept and bear patiently and perseveringly all our daily crosses and difficulties. We must constantly imitate the Lord in his virtues and mission with untiring zeal and commitment.   Direction: Following the Lord is not an easy thing. It involves a lot of sacrifice and suffering. But it is not a futile task. It is very rewarding. The Lord will bless us abundantly   (REFLECTION 3 FROM 2021, 18 FEBRUARY)   Focus: To live a worthy life is to live in the spirit of wisdom; true wisdom consists of an essential choice between two sets of values.   1.      The essence of a right and happy living is growing in wisdom. This wisdom shows us clearly how foolish it is to bother so much to gain the whole world but lose one's own precious soul, that is, lose the spiritual wealth and depth and authentic happiness. 2.      Wisdom also realises that it is more worthwhile and beneficial to choose God, life, blessing, and holistic prosperity, in contrast to the world, death, curse, and doom. Then wisdom consistently pursues the path of these right choices. 3.      This is the way of wise choices that are laid down in concrete details in Deuteronomy: Love God, listen to Him, be loyal to Him, follow His commandments, and walk His way. In the words of Jesus in the gospel, it is: deny self, take up the cross, and follow him. 4.      “Denying the self” is not self-rejection, but self-injection. This implies, on one hand, ejecting out all that is the false self, ego-swelling, and self-interests, and on the other hand, injecting into the self, the positive attitudes and pursuit of self-emptying and self-giving. 5.      “Take up the cross” does not mean to go about as burdened and crushed people under the weight of the cross of suffering. Rather, it means to accept our daily crosses of unfavourable and unpleasant situations, to bear patiently, lovingly, and trustingly loads of difficulties and challenges. 6.      And “follow Jesus” means to walk constantly in his footsteps, to imitate his life and mission in the practice of virtues and values. In the words of Deuteronomy from the first reading, all these conditions of discipleship would mean: obeying the voice and commandments of God, loving Him, cleaving to Him, walking in His ways, by keeping His commandments, statutes, and ordinances. But all this struggle and fidelity is not a futile project. It is highly rewarding: God will bless abundantly.   Direction: There is no use in claiming and boasting about one's intelligence unless one makes the right choices and follows them.   24 FEBRUARY 2023: ISAIAH 58. 1-9a; MATTHEW 9. 14-15 Pivot: Not only the act but the whole life! Indicative: In all religions, there are many religious practices and activities. It is not enough that they are done devoutly but they must bring about a change in life 1.      No religion lacks some devotional exercises and religious obligations. Many perform them faithfully. For sure, prayers, fasting, and almsgiving are practised in every religion. But the real issue is how much change takes place in their concrete life 2.      Often, their devotion does not correspond to their life. The fidelity, rigour, enthusiasm, and generosity shown in the religious domain often are not seen in day-to-day life. Thus, we see many who donate huge sums in their temples but are either so greedy or indifferent to the needy. Many are so faithful to their prayers but are very deceptive toward others. Many are so rigorous in fasting but are devoid of self-discipline 3.      Their bundles of prayers do not really bring them closer to God. Their fasting does not help them to be pure before God. Their almsgiving does not increase their spirit of sensitivity and compassion 4.      Thus we see often religious actions fail to groom persons in an intimate relationship with God and steady kindness and justice toward others. Pious practices may abound but they do not touch and change the spirit, attitudes, and perspectives of the person. In short, religious fidelity may not lead to an authentic life of faith and charity 5.      So it is no wonder that there are many who believe and perform many things in the religious domain but do not live a good and holy life. This is where a life of contradiction emerges and religion and spirituality become shallow and lose their credibility 6.      It is in this context that God is outspoken in both readings. In the first reading from Isaiah, God speaks out his mind that fasting which fails in justice and charity is not pleasing and even detestable in his sight. 7.      In the gospel, Jesus indicates that fasting (and for that matter all religious practices) will lose their value if they do not lead to the presence and intimacy of the Lord, the real “bridegroom”. They must help us to celebrate his presence and also to regain his lost company if it happens so. Imperative: It is the right time that we examine whether our religious practices renew our life and make us more holy and charitable   (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2022, 04 MARCH)   Focus: The practice of religious activities like prayers and fasting is very good and needed. But we must check and see whether they remain limited only to the domain of religion and piety or do they lead to a change in daily life   1.      Very often the religion of many is limited only to some religious practices. Their devotion is confined mainly to some pious prayers or proclamations. What they believe is not shown in how they live. What they profess is not lived in what they practise. What they proclaim is not testified in their real life. It is like the wedding guests who celebrate the feast but ignore the bridegroom who is the cause and centre of their celebration. Or it is like mourning at a wedding. 2.      Similarly, all our religious practices and activities will become empty and meaningless if they fail to take us closer to God and to others. Just as the whole wedding moments are directed toward and centered around the bridegroom, so also all the religious practices are oriented toward the Lord. They must take us into intimacy with him, to enjoy his presence, to celebrate life with him. 3.      The fault of the Israel people was this: they followed a dry and shallow religion. For their daily schedule was filled with bundles of practices but their hearts were empty of any real spirit of faith. They prayed, fasted, and gave alms. But they were estranged from God. They were self-blown and self-filling. They were indifferent and unconcerned toward others. 4.      They lacked humility, charity, and fidelity. They were self-righteous and complacent. They were insensitive, ununderstanding, and unsympathetic. They were despising and offensive. They always rated themselves far above the other ordinary mortals. They were demanding and exacting toward people. But toward their own selves, they were lenient and self-indulgent. 5.      Further, the greatest deficiency in any religion is a lack of charity toward others. It is a failure to loosen the bonds of wickedness and undo the straps of the yoke of injustice and oppression. It is to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and clothe the naked. The right type of fasting (in fact all the religious observances) is to humble oneself, not to seek our own pleasure, not to quarrel and fight and hit.   Direction: There is an eager tendency in the present times either to do away with all the traditional practices like fasting, or not to connect them to real-life renewal   (REFLECTION 3 FROM 2021, 19 FEBRUARY)   Focus: All our religious practices gain their full meaning and merit when they are blended with good works.   1.      Insistently, the Word of God makes it clear to us that our spiritual life and actual life should go together. They are not two separate and dissociated domains. Religious disciplines like Fasting become more pleasing to God and meritorious when they take us close to God and others. 2.      The purpose and end of all our spiritual observances are twofold: one is, to enjoy the presence and closeness of Jesus, "the bridegroom"; the other is, to overflow the spirit of the religious practice into the practice of concrete duties of fraternity and acts of charity. Isaiah details some of these: act justly, set free the oppressed, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, etc. 3.      Therefore, there is no use in doing all religious practices without changing the concrete life. Why fast without giving up self-pleasure? Why fast, if we do not abstain from oppressing others? Why fast, if we do not refrain from quarreling and fighting? Why fast, if one does not turn away from his wickedness? Why fast, if one does not grow humble? 4.      The point is not only concerning the particular practice of fasting. This applies to all our religious observances. God wants that all our religious practices lead us to a good life. They become means as well as expressions of a life of righteousness before God and toward others. Thus, when piety and fraternity, when devotion and justice, and religiosity and integrity blend together, they will find God closer and more pleased.   Direction: It is a mistake that some think the Word of God is downplaying and even substituting the practice of fasting with the practice of charitable acts. No. They are not substitutions but restitutions of the true spirit, extensions, completion, and perfection of the same.   25 FEBRUARY 2023: ISAIAH 58. 9b – 14; LUKE 5. 27-32 Pivot: Leave and live! Indicative: The Lord calls us any time and anywhere to follow him. He does not bother about our qualifications or worthiness. All that matters is the willingness to follow him 1.      The call of Matthew can be emblematic of any other call. In the first place, it gives us a profound sense of consolation and encouragement with great assurance that the Lord is never conditioned by our weaknesses and failures. He is not influenced or swayed over by human judgments or labels 2.      The Lord was least bothered about the sinful condition of Matthe and the social stigmatisation of him as a sinner. What matters for him is not the background check-up but the forward march. He does not expect readymade saints or already fully-fit disciples 3.      He knows what he can make of us if only we respond to his call and cooperate with his training and formation. Apart from Jesus’ unconditional mercy in calling Matthew, what is striking is Matthew’s instant and prompt response 4.      No sooner Jesus calls him, “Follow me”, than “leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him”. What an act of promptness! What a spirit of total detachment and renunciation! For a man who was always preoccupied with accumulating and hoarding, leaving everything would be terrible 5.      Mark! he did leave, not only something but everything. Discipleship becomes meaningful when the giving up is total and not partial or half-measures. He left everything “behind” because the Lord is in front. When the priceless treasure is before him, why cling on to what is behind which is of minor value? 6.      The clause that he “got up” denotes not only a physical act of getting up from his place but it symbolises the very life that he takes up. It is getting up from his sinful life, a life of deception, injustice, and self-promotion. In the words of the first reading, it is to turn away from “following his own ways, seeking his own interests and speaking malice” 7.      With this decisive turn, Matthew begins to follow the Lord. His life changes totally. It is no more living for himself but for the Lord. It is no more cheating the people but being authentic. It is no more working for money and temporary profits but for the kingdom and the heavenly riches Imperative: The real call of the Lord is not one time or one-day affair. It is an unceasing process, a daily striving, a consistent transition from the world to the Lord and his kingdom (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2022, 05 MARCH)   Focus: The most consoling and encouraging feature of our God is that He is never judgmental or condemnatory. All that He wants is that we turn away from our sin and begin to follow Him   1.      The Lord calls Levi or Matthew in today’s gospel. It was something annoying and radical to call a tax collector to follow him. For as known, tax collectors were labeled and despised as sinners. It would certainly invite a lot of criticism and the Lord knew it. Yet, he goes ahead unperturbed. This call is in perfect tune with the very purpose of his coming to earth. He declares emphatically: “I have come not to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance”. 2.       This does not mean that one continues in the same state of sin. In a way, being sinful becomes a launching pad for soaring high. The Lord does not care much for our backgrounds or our credentials. All that matters the most is whether we hearken to his call and respond to him and follow him; whether we are willing to repent and change our life. 3.       This repentance and renewal consist in making a decisive transition, a shift from having sinned to becoming graced. Some of the details of this transition are well-marked in the first reading from the prophet Isaiah. On one hand, it is turning away from a life of sin. It would mean not going our own ways, not seeking our own pleasures, not talking idly; it would call for taking away the yoke of oppression and injustice, the accusing of others wickedly. 4.       On the other hand, it would commit us to care unselfishly for the hungry and the afflicted; to keep the Sabbath holy and honorable and delightful; to repair the breaches, and to restore the strayed and scattered. 5.       Then, the results are marvelous. Our light will rise in the darkness; we will be revitalized; we shall be like a watered garden, like a never-drying spring of water; our ancient ruins shall be rebuilt. The Lord will make us ride on the heights of the earth.   Direction: A worthy living of our vocation means deep gratitude for the bounteous gift of it, a deep awareness of our sinfulness and unworthiness, and a constant striving to shift from sin to grace