ADVENT FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 24

4TH SUNDAY ADVENT, 22 DECEMBER 20241: MICAH 5. 2-5a; HEB 10. 5-10; LUKE 1. 39-45 Focus: The mystery of Christmas reminds us that God saves us not through mere sacrifices and offerings but through personal self-offering in the incarnation of Christ 1. We are at the threshold of the holy Christmas. In this last stretch of our Advent journey in preparing ourselves fittingly, we are presented with the figure of Mary in the scene of her visit to Elizabeth. Indeed an Image and an episode, so pregnant, indicative, and significant! 2. She stands for the self-sacrifice and self-offering of God Himself. She symbolizes the very purpose of Jesus’ incarnation. This is very clear in the words of the second reading from the letter to the Hebrews: “Behold, I have come to do your will, o God!” 3. This Visit of Mary was not a mere courtesy visit. It is indeed a "Visitation". In the Bible, in the light of the Old Testament, Visitation of God is always an occasion, an encounter, an experience of God's intervention, especially in times of struggle or disgrace or a special plan of God. 4. God's visitation assures His accompaniment, His guidance, His support, direction, and accomplishment. It may be to remove that particular difficulty or to realize the special purpose. 5. God "visited" Elizabeth. Thereby He removed her disgrace of sterility, and graced her with a son, even in her old age. Further, this visitation was also perfectly oriented to God's salvation plan; because, this son, John the Baptist, was predestined as the Precursor of the Messiah, chosen to prepare the way of the Lord. 6. God "visited" Mary at a young age. Apparently, this invited her to the "disgrace" and challenge of motherhood, even without marriage. But this visitation is perfectly in tune with God's plan of the Saviour in the womb of Mary. Son of God as the son of Mary, without human intervention, is totally the sign and fruit of God's intervention in human history. 7. Thus Mary, being "visited" - graced and made a partner in God's plan of salvation, in turn, sets herself on visitation to Elizabeth. What a simple and powerful lesson: One who is graced by God, cannot remain stagnant. One who is visited by God's grace, cannot but visit others. Grace is always positively "contagious". 8. In other words, Faith manifests in Mary's total docility and surrender, at the annunciation of the angel, and filled her with the Holy Spirit, moves her to Elizabeth. Yes. True faith is never static, but ever dynamic and mobile. Faith moves to others on the wings of charity. 9. Seen in this divine and spiritual perspective, charity is not merely something human, purely psychological or emotional. It is not only a positive human action and interaction but much more a spiritual divine intervention. True Charity is God's own face turned towards the humans, a portion of God's own benevolence. 10. Perhaps, we can delve a little deeper into the richness of true charity, in the light of Mary's spirit of Charity, so as to check upon our own frequent practices of a shallow charity. 1) There is "sensitivity", - feeling for the other, being empathetic toward others in their plight and struggle, sensing others' needs, even without being asked. Elizabeth was in need of Mary's assistance, and Mary anticipates it. 2) There is "magnanimity" - Mary's spacious heart makes space for Elizabeth, and so moves beyond space, cuts across distances, and visits Elizabeth. 3) There is "nobility" of character - she is not puffed up, she does not put on airs, feeling great that she is the mother of the Savior. Neither does she think low of Elizabeth as a "poor old woman". Rather in her nobility, she treats Elizabeth with respect, dignity, and concern. 4) There is "availability" - Mary is not concerned only with herself, not centered on her own needs and interests. Rather, she sets aside her time and energies. She is not closed on herself. She is open and disposed to others. 5) There is "generosity" - that which is willing, prompt, and happy to give to others, that which does not count the cost in doing good to others, that which wants to do abundant and maximum good to others. 6) There is "serviceability" - the benevolence of heart, nobility of spirit, and generosity of relation, concretely become service in action. Mary puts herself totally at the service of Elizabeth. 11. Now, let us dwell directly on the scene of visitation. Mary meets Elizabeth and greets her. At that instance, two things happen: Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, and the babe in her womb, leaps with joy. This is the Beauty of Faith and charity. 12. At the presence of Mary, who embodies faith and charity, Holy Spirit and Joy are transmitted. In other words, Mary gives Spirit and Joy to others and moves others with the same. But this giving, this transmission of Holy Spirit and Joy was possible because Mary had Jesus within her. When we have Jesus in us, we will give others Holy Spirit and Joy. Direction: In fact, this is the simplest and the most fundamental duty and mission of each one of us: Bear Jesus and share Jesus to others, in giving Holy Spirit and Joy. The simplest question: What do I transmit to others - Holy Spirit or evil spirit? Joy or sadness?

ADVENT THIRD WEEK 24

3rd SUNDAY ADVENT, 15 DECEMBER 2024: ZEPH 3. 14-18a; PHIL 4. 4-7; LUKE 3. 10-18 Focus: Life is never free from fears and anxieties. There will be always something to worry and disturb us. But there is nothing to lose heart or be dissipated. The Lord is at hand. He will intervene 1. The recurrent theme of the holy Advent is, the Lord is coming; the Lord is at hand; the Lord is in your midst. 2. We hear in the first reading from Zephaniah 3. 14-18: The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. O Zion, the Lord, your God, is in your midst. The second reading from Philippians 4. 4-7 too assures us that the Lord is at hand. In the gospel too, John the Baptist preaches, saying, he who is mightier than I is coming. 3. But what does he do with his coming? What will happen if he comes? This question is very significant because many come into our lives and many go away from our life. And not all make a difference. 4. But, the Lord’s coming is crucial, because he makes a vital difference in our life. In the light of the word of God today in all the three readings, we get a clear picture of what the Lord does with his coming. 5. The Lord takes away the judgments against you, casts out your enemies. He is a warrior who gives victory. He will renew you in his love. The peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 6. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He will also call for a strict reckoning and judgment, for “winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire”. 7. If this is what happens with the Lord’s coming and his presence, then what shall we do? What should be our response toward his coming? This is the question that was posed by the people to John the Baptist in response to his preaching: “What then shall we do?” and the fundamental response that is expected is Repentance. 8. But what is this repentance? How does it manifest itself? What are its ingredients and implications? We can gather some of them again from the readings. A few of these are made clear from John the Baptist’s answers. 9. Accordingly, these components comprise a spirit of sharing generously, rising above accumulation and greed; secondly, a spirit of fairness against extortion and deception; third, a spirit of equity and truthfulness against all violence, domination, or manipulation. 10. Still further, how to repent? How to change the course of life? Do not fear; fear evil no more; let not your hands grow weak. Rejoice and exult with all your heart; rejoice in the Lord always, in all the situations. 11. Persevere and let all know your forbearance. Have no anxiety about anything. But in everything pray and supplicate to God with thanksgiving and deep-rooted trust. 12. Besides these explicit ingredients and implications of a repentant heart and changed life, we can also draw two, three features from the example of John the Baptist himself. 13. His clarity about his identity: some were already beginning to believe that he was the awaited messiah, and he could easily project himself so and win popularity, but he knew that he was only the precursor of the Messiah; he had absolutely no over-ambition to rob off messiah’s role for his self-glory. What a contrast from our bundles of ego-projections and ego-promotions! 14. Another component is the utter humility of John the Baptist: I am not worthy even to untie thongs of his (messiah’s) sandals. Again what a contrast from many who get easily puffed up even by simple roles and ranks! 15. Another feature that characterizes him is his focused and undaunted commitment to his cause. No temptations for false identity or no pressures for self-glory would swerve him from his focus and loyalty. Direction: If we truly take to heart the coming of the Lord that he will stand by us, vindicate our cause and also give a just judgment and recompense, then there is nothing to fear. Let us then rejoice!

ADVENT SECOND SUNDAY 24

II SUNDAY OF ADVENT, 08 DECEMBER 2024 (Baruch 5.1-9; Phil. 1.3-11; Luke 3.1-6) Focus: What a powerfully comforting message of Advent it is! He is coming. Therefore, “Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, and put on the beauty of the glory from God”. 1. Our God is a God of joy, God of glory, and not of sadness or misery. He is a God of fidelity, a God of hope, and not of infidelity or hopelessness. 2. Therefore He assures and promises us joy and glory, putting off sorrow and pain, darkness and confusion. 3. In fact, the very purpose and destiny of life are joy, beauty, and glory. God wants our life to be beautiful and glorious. 4. Life can be beautiful, only when it is joyful. And life can be glorious, only when it is joyful and beautiful. 5. In fact, this is the real salvation, which God comes to give us, by coming as one of us and to be with us. The real salvation is this, that our life is a thing of joy, beauty, and glory, and not of misery and darkness. The choice is ours – to make our life a beauty or misery. 6. If this is salvation, if this is the aim and meaning of life, then how to achieve this aim? How to make our life such? 7. The Word of God offers us a clear program of life. We know that to achieve or accomplish anything in life, to gain any success, there is always some program of doing, some dynamics, some mechanisms, some requirements, some equipment. 8. For example, to reduce obesity, cut down the fat, regulate the diet, work on exercise; to make oneself fit and healthy, keep active and keep mentally free; to make oneself efficient and effective, get skilled, enhance the talents and nurture aptitudes. 9. In the same way, to attain that eternal joy, beauty, and glory with the Lord, we also need to do some work-outs, some controlling, some regulating, some restraining, some training. 10. Some of the concrete details of this journey of life are put before us from all three readings. There are: 11. Be converted, i.e. repent, do not continue without any reflection and realization; pause a while and take stock of the direction and the quality of life; make a positive turn in life. 12. Be dedicated, i.e. prepare the way of the Lord, and not the way of the world; do not block the way of the Lord, but make the things conducive to that way. 13. Be straight, i.e. make straight what is crooked. 14. Be smooth, i.e. make smooth what is rough; apply the gentle balm amidst what is rude and blunt. 15. Be humble, i.e. make low the high mountains and hills of pride and arrogance. 16. Be mature, i.e. fill up the valleys of weaknesses and defects. 17. Be balanced, i.e. level what is uneven, of disorder and disharmony. 18. Be educated really of heart, i.e. be with insight and divine knowledge. 19. Be wise and guided, i.e. decide and follow what is best. 20. Be loving, i.e. let love overflow more and more. 21. Be just, i.e. produce a harvest of goodness and fairness. 22. Be steady, i.e. walk in the light of the Lord. 23. Be holy, i.e. stand before God pure and blameless. Direction: Let us know the Way – walk the Way – show the Way. Let us constantly liberate ourselves from the clutches of sin and evil, and experience the “saving” grace of salvation. Let us beautify and glorify our life, with real conversion and thus “enjoy” life!

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 2024

09 DECEMBER 2024: GEN 3. 9-15, 20; EPHES 1. 3-6. 11-12; LUKE 1. 26-38, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Thrust: Stainless and spotless! Indicative: God in His benevolence kept Mary immaculate. It is quite valid because she was to be the abode of His incarnate Son and so it would be a worthy and sinless abode 1. On 08th December every year, we celebrate the immaculate conception of our sweetest Mother Mary and as her beloved children, we rejoice. It is a key dogma that we hold fast to. Thereby we believe that Mary was conceived immaculately and she remained sinless till the end of her life. 2. The immaculate conception of Mary is not a momentary happening, a one-time event limited only to that moment. It refers not only to the moment of conception in her mother’s womb. Rather it extends and embraces her whole life, from womb to tomb. Mary’s whole life was an unceasing act of immaculate conception. 3. She was already conceived immaculately in the eternal plan of God, and that continued at her birth and till her death. Mary’s immaculate conception points to God’s eternal plan of salvation. Things do not happen by chance. Everything has a place and purpose in God’s eternal will and designs. He destined Mary to be the Mother of His incarnate Son. 4. Mary’s immaculate conception blends God’s gift and human acceptance, God’s offer and human cooperation, privilege and responsibility, grace and duty. No doubt that it was God’s unique choice and gift. However, she was not a passive receiver or indifferent spectator to the divine show. 5. For her part, she actively cooperated with God’s gift. She offered no resistance to the fulfillment of God’s plan in and through her. She surrendered her whole life in unreserved commitment. What she received gratuitously, she strove to merit by her humility and fidelity. 6. Her immaculate conception was the starting point of an enormous duty. It was great to be conceived immaculately without the stain of sin. But that was no guarantee or shield against the attacks of sin. It did not exempt her from the perils of evil. She had to wage the battle for life. She had to work hard every moment to preserve and foster the grace of her immaculate conception. 7. Her immaculate conception points to Mary’s purity of heart. She was immaculate, pure, and guileless. No malice or evil could find a place in her. Like a lotus amid dirty water, she kept herself immaculate amid all the dirty and stained world. 8. She could be immaculate because her intentions and heart were totally free from any stain of egoism and self-seeking interests. She allowed no selfish motive to stain her heart or divert her focus. Her whole attention and orientation were doing God’s holy will. Her whole concern and striving was to cooperate with God’s plans and fulfill the sacred role entrusted to her. Imperative: Mary’s immaculate conception points to the secret of her life. In surrender to God, with purity of heart, be committed to cooperating with God’s plan and accomplishing it

Advent FIRST SUNDAY 24

I SUNDAY ADVENT, 01 DECEMBER 2024 Focus: We step again into the holy season of Advent. Let us remind ourselves of the very purpose of advent, its significance and live and fulfill its purpose 1. It is once again the season of advent. What immediately comes to our mind is the holy Christmas. For many, advent is nothing more than some days that come before the birthday of the Lord 2. It is the duration for preparing the cribs, for installing the stars, for singing around the carols, for practicing the Christmas choir, for decorating and illuminating the churches, for planning some programs and organizing some get-togethers, for inviting or visiting the friends and relatives, for doing some special shopping for special festive dresses or articles, et cetera. 3. We do not undervalue the importance of all the above-listed. Our only concern is that the holy advent is reduced only to these items. Certainly, advent is a time of preparation preceding the holy Christmas. All these preparations form part of this preparation. 4. But it is a preparation much more than these. It is a preparation of a deeper and higher realm. It is a time of preparation of hearts, of the families, of lives both collectively and personally. It is a time of preparing to go to meet the Lord who is coming. 5. It is preparing a fitting birthplace for the one who will be born among us. It is preparing enough and clean space for him to enter. It is preparing the whole earth itself to receive the Lord who will encounter us. 6. In the first place, advent is a commemoration and celebration of a past bygone event. As such, it must serve as a special occasion to draw inspiration for our imitation. It must make us recall the event of incarnation of the loving God amidst our sinful condition. 7. It must inspire us to be deeply impressed by the selfless love of God that empties itself of the heavenly glory and embraces our human misery and struggle. It must make us imitate the same spirit of the incarnate Savior. It must make us live up to the very purpose of his birth, that is, to allow him to be with us and to transform us. 8. Thus, our preparation and celebration will be meaningful, only when they blend together all the three dimensions of time, that is, the past, present, and future 9. We remember gratefully and joyfully the past, so that we can meaningfully and committedly live the present, and thereby become worthy of the eternal presence of God. Our celebration will be very inadequate if it is limited only to recall the past, if it does not affect and change our present, and does not charge and orient us toward the future. 10. In this sense, advent is a threefold appropriate present preparation. Firstly, for the celebration of the past events; secondly, /irth of the Lord because he is with us; thirdly, orientation for the future joy of the eternal communion with God. 11. We celebrate his past birth, his present life within and amidst us, and our eternity with him. Our advent preparation must look behind, look and walk onward and forward, and look and rise upward. That is why, Jesus says, “when these (adverse) things happen, “raise your heads and look up because your redemption is near” 12..It is in this sense of future orientation the gospel speaks of the end times in the future. Future and end need not be exclusively in time sense, as something that lies in the far distance at the end of completion of all time and space. 13. It is not a fixed, definite time. Rather it is the appointed time. It is the time of judgment. Thereby, advent becomes really significant when it is not only backward-looking but forward-looking and marching.W 14. We commemorate and celebrate the past because it affects our present and leads us to the future. Advent should prepare us fittingly for a worthy immediate celebration, for a worthy ongoing living, and for a worthy eternal destiny. 15. Jesus cautions us against three factors that trouble this fitting preparation: dissipation, drunkenness, and cares of the world. All these three hinder our fitting preparation and making a productive blend of the past, present, and future. Dissipation makes us tied down to the regrets and negative impacts of the past. 16. Drunkenness creates an illusory world, dissociates us from the present reality and responsibility to it. It can be understood more as a pleasure and comfort-seeking life, and not just something to do with drinking alone. 17. Cares and preoccupations of the world do not allow us to rise higher, to the lofty future. All these three fail in the productive use of the past, commitment to the present, and orientation to the future. Direction: Advent is a sacred commemoration of the past, contribution to the present, and further construction for the future

34 th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

34TH SUNDAY: CHRIST THE KING: 24 NOVEMBER 2024: DAN 17. 13-14; REV 1. 5-8; JOHN 18. 33-37 Focus: Christ is the king of the universe. But it is not in terms of power and subjugation. Rather it is in terms of love and animation 1. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King with great joy and honour. This Sunday marks the last Sunday of the ordinary liturgical year as we will step into the holy season of Advent next Sunday. 2. This placement at the end of the ordinary year can indicate something significant: our whole life with all its ordinariness culminates in the kingship of Christ. We find our end and fulfillment under the reign of Christ. Our entire life must be geared and oriented toward Christ the Lord. 3. The concepts of king, kingship, and kingdom are not strange to us. History has seen a great many kings and kingdoms, both benevolent and malevolent, both just and unjust, righteous and wicked, promotive and destructive. But when we say and celebrate Christ as King, there is an enormous difference. 4. One obvious and explicit difference is he is a king with no demarcated territory of the kingdom. There are no boundaries. There are no disparities or inequalities. It is a boundless, boundaryless kingdom. 5. It is a way of life. It is open to all and embraces all. There is equity and justice. There is no hierarchy of higher or lower, no scope for subjugation and suppression. There is no division and discrimination. There is no partiality or favoritism. 6. There is no aggression or violence. There is no death and destruction. There is no falsity and deception. There is no manipulation and corruption. There is no ruthless seeking power and popularity. Rightly, he is a king of hearts. He is the king of souls. He is the king of communities and families. He is a spiritual king. 7. Thus his kingdom is not a location or domain. It is a reign and ambience of love, justice, mercy, joy, and peace. It is a reign of truth and authenticity, loyalty and commitment. It is where one readily makes himself “the first to become the last and the servant”. 8. It is the divine reign where one “serves and not craves to be served”. It is where one loves selflessly even to the extent of “dying for the other”. It is where one seeks relentlessly the will of God. It is where one can affirm courageously, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let everything happen according to your holy word and will”.I 9. In sum, Christ is king when and where he reigns with his virtues and values. Where there is love and not hatred, peace and not violence, reconciliation and not retaliation, forgiveness and not grudge, altruism and not egoism, truth and not duplicity, humility and not arrogance, unity and parity and not division and discrimination, magnanimity and not malice, generosity and not jealousy, purity and not pollution – there and then is Christ the king, his kingship and kingdom. 10. Today, many followers of this unparalleled and unique king sadly “profane” and “secularize” their king because they themselves are such, stung by high profanity and mundanity. 11. They forget that they are citizens of a spiritual kingdom and not a temporal one. They forget that it is a spiritual reign and not a material domain or gain. They forget the very fact that they are only members and subjects and not the king or master themselves. They ignore the very pillars of this kingdom and build petty kingdoms with worldly pillars and ingredients. Direction: Time is ripe now to demolish all the false kingdoms based on money, manipulation, and deception, corrupt power and lording authority, discrimination, and aggression, malice, and destruction. Let our prayer be sincere: “Let your Kingdom come!”

33rd SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

33RD SUNDAY, 17 NOVEMBER 2024: DAN 12. 1-3; HEB 10. 11-14, 18; MARK 13. 24-32 Focus: Our life is a short duration with a definitive orientation toward an eternal destination. Therefore, let us be aware of the end times and befittingly prepared to meet the end for a new beginning 1. The Word of God speaks of the end times. The first simple lesson is this: there is an end to our life. This life on earth as humans is only temporary and transient. There is one day when we need to leave this world. 2. If this is so, it must make us think seriously about why there is so much evil, greed, and selfishness in the world. If everyone has to disappear from this earth sooner or later, why do people go on endlessly accumulating money and other material things for generations as if they are going to be permanent on this earth? 3. Second consideration is: This end moment is not only the moment of death but also a time of reckoning and judgment. Death is not merely a cessation of life. It is a threshold to another phase of life that will be judged at that moment. Everyone will be judged according to the quality of their life on earth till death. 4. Everyone has to submit a strict account of their life. God is the Judge. And He judges whether one merits eternal salvation or deserves eternal damnation. That is why the first reading from the book of Daniel declares that “some (will be sent) to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 5. The third consideration is: One may not know the exact time or the mode of the end day. But what is sure is that there will be an end day and judgment and destiny. And there are enough and more signs that direct our attention on to our last day. These are the so-called end times in terms of natural calamities, social unrests, corrosion of human values and relationships, et cetera. 6. Fourth consideration is: These are not to frighten us but to caution us, awaken us, challenge, and change us. That is why Jesus compares this to the seasons of the fig tree. Just as the nature of the fig tree indicates the corresponding seasons, so also “when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near at the very gates”. 7. Fifth consideration is: This fact of the end times and end day shall make us more responsible to prepare ourselves to meet that destined day and the destiny thereafter in a fitting way. What does this imply? 8. This summons us to be “wise”. This concretely implies depth-awareness and follow-up. That is, to be aware of the fact of culpability, the vulnerability and unpredictability of earthly life, and the need to live a life of accountability. 9. Sixth consideration is: When one lives such a life of wisdom in awareness and uprightness of life, then there is no need to fear or be panicky. They can be serene and joyful for their reward is immeasurably great. 10. They “shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book”. “For by a single offering Christ Jesus has perfected for all time those who are sanctified”. “They will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out his angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heavens”. “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever”. Direction: It will be really foolishness to live an unaccountable and blameworthy life that deserves a just judgment, knowing fully well that our judgment and destiny depend on a wise and accountable life

32 SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

32° SUNDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 2024: 1 KINGS 17. 10-16; HEB 9. 24-28; MARK 12. 38-44: "Poor widow" Focus: Our God is a God of giving. It is a giving that is so generous beyond portions or proportions 1. "Generosity pays willingly and God repays generosity more generously". What does this mean? The first part, "Generosity pays willingly" means that those who are generous are ready to give away readily, promptly, and joyfully. They know that it costs them, it demands an amount of deprivation, giving up, sacrifice. But they readily pay the price. They bear the burden of others. 2. The second part, "God repays generosity more generously" is evidently clear in its meaning. Those who give generously can rejoice because their giving is not a waste. God takes it into account. He values and appreciates them much. And He rewards them much more abundantly than the extent of their giving. 3. This is what is seen in all three readings. They impress upon us how meritorious is giving. A generous giving merits an abundant reward. The poor widow in the first reading from 1 Kings 17. 10-16 gives to the prophet Elijah so generously the little portion of the meal that she preserves for her and her son. Practically it was the last meal for them because they had no more except to die. As a result, she was rewarded abundantly: the jar of the meal was not spent and the cruse of the oil did not fail. 4. Similarly, the poor widow in the gospel also gives two copper coins to the synagogue treasury. Apparently, it is very little. But it is very big in the sight of God because “she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living”. Accordingly, she merited the high praises of Jesus and thus his blessings as well. For sure, she would merit God’s salvation as well. 5. In the second reading too from the letter to Hebrews, we have another example of this same culture of giving. And here the example is none other than Jesus himself. Unlike the other high priests, he did not offer various offerings for the atonement of sins. Instead, he offered his own self; as the text says: he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to bear the sins of many and to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And the fruit of this selfless self-giving is the expiation of sins and salvation. 6. These examples of generous giving should not be mere matters of biblical knowledge or good exhortations. Primarily they should challenge us for an honest self-examination about our own spirit of giving. They should lay bare our frequent tendencies and instances of greed, dishonesty, manipulation, and accumulation. 7. They should seriously put to question our undue craving for and attachment to money and material possessions and very often even slavery to them as well. They should make us ashamed and repent about our lack of sensitivity, generosity, and sharing. They should inspire and induce us to be generous and joyful givers. 8. Let us recall the inspiring words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 9. 6-7: Verse 6: "The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." Therefore, don't give sparingly; give bountifully, generously. Verse 7: "Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." Therefore, don't give begrudgingly; give freely and cheerfully. Direction: Often what is lacking is not the quantity of resources, but the quality of sharing those resources. The problem is not the lack of having but the lack of giving

30th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

30TH SUNDAY, 27 OCTOBER 2024: JER 31. 7-9; HEB 5. 1-6; MARK 10. 46-52 Focus: When we are weighed down by the burden of difficulties, let us not lose heart. Let us turn to Jesus. Let us trust in His compassion. Let us cry out to him. And we will surely experience his relieving intervention. 1. Today the Word of God invites us to focus on blindness. There is the healing of a blind man in the gospel. The scene is dramatic. There is a blind beggar. He cries out to Jesus to have mercy on him. The annoyed and irritated people chide him and try to quieten him. But he continues to shout aloud. 2. Jesus calls for him and asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?”. He replies, “Master, let me receive my sight”. Jesus says, “Go your way; your faith has made you well”. Immediately he received his sight. 3. Some simple details are notable. The blind man is a beggar. He is reduced to beggary. This shows the loss of human dignity and also his condition of dependence on others’ mercy. 4. Thus, blindness is not merely a matter of physical deformity. It is more pervasive affecting the whole person. And the blind man is aware of his need. He needs sight, not only the physical. He needs the ability to see his own lost dignity, lost beauty of life, and the lost joy of relationships. 5. He is clear about what he wants. Jesus too wants us to be clear of what we really want. That is why, Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And he rightly replies, “I want to see”. Sight is his priority and nothing else because he knows that with the regaining of sight, he will regain all that has been lost. 6. That is why he starts crying out aloud. He would persist despite people’s rebuke. He would catch the attention of the master. He was determined to stop the master’s mercy on the roadside. And when Jesus called for him, he was already sure of the Lord’s healing. 7. He would no longer need his mantle. He would no longer need to sit on the roadside. He would no longer need to beg. That is why, symbolizing the change to come, he throws off his mantle. He springs up from the ground. He hastens to Jesus. His faith wins the master’s favour! 8. At this point, we can note that this physical blindness is more symbolic. It indicates wider and more pervasive blindness. What Jesus heals is not merely physical blindness. His healing is a restoration of the holistic sight. 9. Sin causes different layers of blindness. Sin makes us blind toward God, toward others, toward our own self, toward life, toward society, and toward the whole creation. 10. The question of Jesus is very valid: “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man knew what he lacked and what he needed. Do we know what we want? Do we realize what we lack? Do we realize that we are blind in very many ways and that we fail to see very many things? 11. How often we are blind toward God, failing to see His love, His will, His holy plans? How often we are blind toward others, failing to see them as our brothers and sisters, as our fellow travellers, who have their own good and also struggles? 12. How often we are blind toward our own self, failing to see us as we are, with our merits and demerits as well? How much do we fail to see our true image in the likeness of God, and also the false sheathes that are covering heavily this deeper image? 13. How much do we fail to see life as a blend of the pleasant and the unpleasant, good and bad? How often do we fail to see the true nature of life as transient on earth and destined toward eternity? 14. How much do we fail to see our duty toward society and also its role in our life? How often do we fail to see our moral obligations as social persons? 15. And how much do we also fail to see the whole creation as a handiwork of God and thus nurture a sense of steward and care toward it instead of manipulating and destroying it? Direction: All of us are blind in different ways. We must realize and accept it in sincerity. We must in faith run to the Lord for sight. But once healed, we must walk the Lord’s way and not our own way. This is really to be in tune with the promise of God in Jeremiah 31. 8-9: I will make the blind and lame walk in a straight path in which they shall not stumble.

29th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

29th SUNDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2024, ISAIAH 53. 10-11; HEB 4. 14-16; MARK 10. 35-45 Focus: A true leader is a disciple of the Lord. One who does not follow the Lord cannot lead the followers. 1. Human history has been a story of power-struggles and conflicts. The operating principle has been domination. The means have been subjugation and suppression. 2. All this has been in the name of asserting and exercising their authority. The aim is to prove and acquire greatness over others. 3. What is seen in all this struggle and conflict is a false concept of greatness and a wrong way of gaining it. Today, the Lord is teaching us a new way of being great, the right way of achieving and living it. 4. That is why, he says clearly, "it shall not be so among you". So in the first place, are we different from the worldly way of greatness? If we also follow the same wrong principles of greatness, then what is the difference of us as the followers of Christ? 5. Behind all this power struggle and hunt for greatness through domination, there is one thing essentially lacking. This causes all this distortion. And that is humility. When humility is lacking in regard to God, to others and to one's own self, then there is this fall into falsity. 6. Failing in humility with regard to God means that one is not aware of God's greatness, holiness and goodness. Such an awareness makes one aware of his own contrasting littleness, unholiness and evilness. 7. This contrast will surely guard him against all layers of false dignity and self-glory. Before the might, sanctity and benevolence of God, who is he! How unworthy he is! How much he is inadequate! What is there to pride or boast about! 8. Failing in humility in regard to others implies an approach that belittles and despises others. It fails to treat others with respect and equity. It fails to recognize that each person carries an inviolable respectability and honour irrespective of his social standing or riches. It categorises others as worth or unworth, as big or small, as important or insignificant. 9. Failing in humility with regard to one's own self indicates a false self- image. One refuses to see himself as he is, especially not accepting his own fragility and imperfections. With a blown up image, one rates himself better, greater and higher than others especially on material, intellectual and social levels. 10. Therefore, unless one realises and overcomes these three aspects of failure of humility, he cannot arrest his seeking false greatness that runs on domination and subjugation. 11. This directs us to the only remedy and antidote that can heal the situation. That is the imitation of Christ especially in his humility and selfless service. 12. Even though Son of God Himself, YET he did not cling on to his equality with God, but he humbled and emptied himself, taking upon himself the form of a servant. He declares quite explicitly, "I came to serve and not to be served". 13. Thus, he shows the true concept and path of greatness: greatness consists not in domination but self- donation, not in subjugation but rejuvenation, not in suppression but submission, not in subordination but coordination, not in degradation but upgradation, not in discrimination but dignification. Direction: True greatness is in humility and service. This is a great challenge against all the present power corruption in lording over others with a sense of false status and shallow dignity. It is high time to humble ourselves in selfless service!

28th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

28TH SUNDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2024, HOLY MASS REFLECTION WIS 7. 7-11; HEB 4. 12-13; MARK 10. 17-30 Focus: Wisdom is one thing that is lacking in the world of today. This leads to all other deviations and distortions, ending in destruction 1. The world of today can feel great and proud because of its advancement and progress in various fields. But there is one thing that is lacking. 2. This brings to mind the very same remark of Jesus to a rich young man in today’s gospel: “you lack one thing”. He had the sincere desire to inherit eternal life. He had been faithful to keep the commandments of God. But that is not enough. He still lacks something. 3. What is this that is lacking? In the light of the first reading from Wisdom, it is wisdom that is lacking. He lacked wisdom. He lacked the wisdom to realize the value of wisdom. 4. Wisdom is preferable to sceptres and thrones. In comparison to wisdom, all wealth is accounted as nothing, all gold is as sand and all silver is as clay. She is to be loved more than health and beauty. 5. Lacking this wisdom, the rich young man failed to realize transitoriness, the secondary value of riches. He failed to be aware of the dangers of riches. He failed to detach himself from the entanglement to the riches. 6. He failed to share generously his riches with the poor and needy. He failed to make a choice for the Lord to follow him. He failed to realize that heavenly riches are much more important and lasting than material riches. He failed to realize that eternal life is the most precious treasure than all the earthly wealth. 7. It is in this context that the statement of Jesus makes sense: “How difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom!”, declares Jesus. Yes, really difficult. Why? Many reasons; there are different possible dangers because of riches: 1) Riches can make one feel self-sufficient and complacent, a feeling that I am enough by myself, I have enough, I do not need anything or anyone, I do not need God. 2) Riches can make one distant from God: when one does not feel the need of God, when one does not realize the role, value, and importance of God in one’s life, then naturally there is the distance from God. 3) Riches can make one arrogant toward others. Riches give a false sense of dignity, security, and greatness, a false sense of superiority. One thinks that he is on top of the world and all others are under him; a feeling, I am greater than others, bigger than others. Therefore, there is every tendency to disrespect, degrade and despise others. 4) Riches can make one materialistic and earth-bound. Riches mislead one to think that the value of life consists in things, in the abundance of material possessions. Consequently, one will lose sight of the value of human relationships and spiritual concerns. Material wellbeing becomes the norm and goal of the whole life. And so, one easily becomes greedy, money-minded, comfort-seeking, dishonest, and manipulative. Thus, instead of being masters over the material things, one becomes a slave of them. 5) Riches can make one prone to bad habits and vices. When there is money, there is easy access to pleasure; money becomes the wide door to all kinds of deviations and aberrations. That is why very often children and youngsters get spoiled and ruined by drugs, smoking, drinking, flirting, etc. because of money in hand. Money is the easy trap for many temptations and attractions. Take away the money and you will see how much bad can be reduced and controlled. 8. Does it mean that rich people cannot be good? Does it mean that rich people cannot be faith-people, cannot be closer to God, and cannot be saved? Does it mean that riches are to be condemned and despised? 9. No. we are not generalizing and categorizing. We are rather speaking of the serious dangers, which are very real in many cases. 10. However today Jesus is showing us the right perspective, the balanced approach towards riches. There are some cautions, some responsible measures, some guiding principles, in the light of Peter’s question and Jesus’ answer. 1) First, God and love for the Lord should be our highest priority, and not riches or things. It is this which makes the disciples renounce everything and follow the Lord. 2) Second, Make the Word of God the guide and the norm of our life, as the second reading from the letter to the Hebrews extols the word of God. Allow the Word that is living and active, and like a sharp sword to pierce into the deepest recesses of the heart. Lay your life bare before the discerning wisdom of God, in all honesty, and docility. 3) Third, cultivate constantly a spirit of detachment, even amidst riches and possessions. We should not be possessed by our own possessions. The root cause of all evil is the attachment to riches. In this context, it is worth noting what St Francis de Sales admonishes: Let not riches be in your heart and let not your heart be in the riches. But let your heart and riches be in God We must be like a pharmacist who has poison in his store. But he will not die of it because the poison is not in his body but only in his store. In the same way, we too even though being surrounded by many material things, should not be contaminated and spoiled by them. 4) Fourth, grow in the spirit of giving and sharing. The paradox with riches is: the more we accumulate them, the more we lose them; but the more we use them and share them for good, the more they get accumulated for heaven. Direction: What we preserve with greed, is our loss of capital without interest; but what we always give away in generosity, is our investment with profit. Let us then grow more sober and rich in the sight of God.

27th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

27th SUNDAY, 06 OCTOBER 2024: GEN 2. 18-24; HEB 2. 9-11; MARK 10. 2-16 Focus: Dissension and hurt are the order of the day and family life too is badly affected by the same ill fate. We need to rediscover the missing elements 1. The Word of God strongly focuses on one of the hallowed and crucial institutions and pillars of the society. It is marriage. Today, this is cracking and crumbling. Family conflicts are increasing. Joy of married life is missing. Divorces are ever on hike. Jesus addresses this issue and invites us for a right perspective. 2. Jesus categorically rules out divorce. The most obvious and valid reason is it is against God's will and design. God wills and designs that a married man and woman remain together life long. There is no question of breakage or separation. The church too, in tune with Jesus' teaching, does not sanction divorce. 3. Some may argue that this is not fair. Times are changing. Problems are varied and complex. We cannot apply the same age old rules . If one of the partners is not good, if the married life is joyless and frustrating, how can we be so heartless to keep them together? Rules are ultimately for the good and happiness of the human persons. 4. We do not undermine the validity of these arguments. But our focus is not so much about divorce or no divorce. Our concern is something deeper. It is to see the missing links in the bond of marriage and family. It is to honestly see what exactly goes wrong with the present marriages and families. In which way, we can restore and regain the lost beauty and happiness? 5. The basic problem is a problem of perspective and mindset. For many today, marriage is no longer something divine or holy. It is more a social arrangement, a cultural tradition. The obvious reasons are such as convenience, the establishment and maintenance of family, a legitimized physical union for sexual satisfaction and procreation and begetting of children, assurance of social and financial security, et cetera. 6. Certainly this is more practical and useful. But, this can drastically reduce the aspect of stability, durability and bindingness of marriage bond. It cannot work merely on the principle of "As long as it works". The operating principle must be not usefulness alone but faithfulness. 7. It is here the teaching of Jesus and church becomes vital and directing. Marriage is not merely a social contract but a spiritual covenant. It is not merely a cultural tradition but a mutual devotion. It is not merely a useful agreement but a meaningful commitment. 8. For the Catholic church, the value of marriage is forcefully safeguarded by understanding it as a "Sacrament". It is a relationship with God and with each other. It is not like any other relationships. It is deeply intimate, holy and committed. God Himself is the author and designer of it and He continues to be its sustainer and fulfiller. It is not time-bound suiting to one's convenience but permanent. In other words, it is "indissoluble". 9. This understanding need not be tied or bound to religion. It is valid and highly recommendable to all irrespective of religion. Because it can serve as a timely and appropriate remedy and antidote for the present crisis in marriage and family. It brings out very powerfully the sanctity and fidelity in marriage. In fact, the sense of holiness and commitment is the most missing link in the chain of marriage. Nothing else like education, money, position, intelligence, competence can substitute for it. 10. And only such a sense of sanctity and fidelity can enhance a married life of love, humility and responsibility, in patience and perseverance. Only such a rediscovery of the beauty and value of marriage can rebuild married life on faith in God and commitment to mutual good. In fact, this holds good for any walk of life, even for the consecrated life. Direction: Fidelity to God and fidelity to each other can recapture the lost dignity and joy in married life, and for that matter any consecrated community life.

ST. FRANCIS FEAST INTRO IN HINDI

संत फ्रांसिस का पर्व 2024 यदि आप सकारात्मक सोचते हैं…… तो ध्वनि संगीत बन जाती है, गतिविधियाँ नृत्य बन जाती हैं।" मुस्कान हंसी में बदल जाती है, मन ध्यानमय बन जाता है और जीवन उत्सव में बदल जाता है… जी हाँ जो लोग ईश्वर से प्रेम करते हैं, उनके लिए हमेशा वसंत का समय होता है और इसी कारण हर जगह सुगंध की लहरें फैल रही हैं और आनंद की किरणें इस पवित्र जगह के हर कोने में भार रही हैं। हां, प्रिय दोस्तों, आज हमारे दिलों में एक असीम ख़ुशी और स्पंदनशील प्रेम है, क्योंकि हम "ईश्वर के प्रेम के संदेशवाहक," और "पर्यावरण के संरक्षक," संत फ्रांसिस असीसी के पर्व का जश्न मना रहे हैं। हम आप सभी आदरणीय फादर्, सिस्टर्स और आप सभी को इस पवित्र यूखरिस्तिया समारोह में दिल से स्वागत करते हैं। आज का दिन दुनिया भर के सभी फ्रांसिस्कन समाज के लिए एक अनुग्रहपूर्ण दिन है, क्योंकि हम अपने पिता फ्रांसिस का पर्व मना रहे हैं। यह प्रेम का दिन है। यह संगम का दिन है। यह आनंदित होने और उन आशीर्वादों और कृपाओं के लिए ईश्वर को धन्यवाद देने का दिन है, जो हमें हमारे संरक्षक संत फ्रांसिस के माध्यम से मिली हैं। फ्रांसिस का जन्म सन् 1182 में इटली के असीसी में एक धनी व्यापारी के पुत्र के रूप में हुआ था। उनकी संपत्ति और जीवन के प्रति प्रेम ने उन्हें असीसी के युवाओं का नेता बना दिया, लेकिन एक बार जब उन्होंने अपने बुलावे को समझा, तो उन्होंने अपना हृदय और मन पूरी तरह से ईश्वर की ओर मोड़ लिया। क्रूस से ही था फ्रांसिस ने अपने जीवन का आदेश प्राप्त किया। क्रूस पर मसीह को देखकर उनका मन पिघल गया, और मसीह के दुःख की स्मृति उनके दिल की गहराइयों में अंकित हो गई। किसी भी इंसान ने कभी भी उस असीम प्रेम का वर्णन नहीं किया है, जिससे फ्रांसिस ने अपने "प्रेमी" मसीह के लिए जलाया था। वह अक्सर कहते थे, "महान प्रेम है उसका प्रेम, जिसने हमें इतनी महानता से प्रेम किया।" फ्रांसिस पवित्र मिस्सा बलिदान/ ख्रिस्तीयाग से इतने प्रभावित थे कि वह अपने भाईयों से कहते थे, "पवित्र मिस्सा बलिदान/ ख्रिस्तीयाग वह क्षण है, जिसमें हम ईश्वर के प्रेम को देख सकते हैं, छू सकते हैं और चख सकते हैं/ अनुभव कर सकते हैं ।" फ्रांसिस के लिए समर्पित जीवन प्रेम और संबंधपूर्ण जीवन था। यह ईश्वर के साथ जुड़ा हुआ एक संबंध था, मानव जाति के साथ जुड़ा हुआ एक संबंध था, और प्रकृति के साथ जुड़ा हुआ एक संबंध था। हम मानते हैं कि केवल प्रेम ही रचना और पुनः सृजन की क्षमता रखता है, और संपूर्ण ईश्वर की सृष्टि को एकजुट और पुनः एकजुट कर सकता है, और फ्रांसिस ने इसे मसीह के प्रेम के माध्यम से किया, जो सृष्टि में प्रकट हुआ। हां, प्रिय दोस्तों... नम्रता उनका मुख्य गुण था, गरीबी उनके जीवन का मार्ग था, सरलता उनके जीवन का नियम था, ईश्वर और पड़ोसी से प्रेम उनका आध्यात्म / धर्म था, आज्ञाकारिता उनका संरक्षक था, अतिथि सत्कार उनकी स्वाभाविक विशेषता थी, प्रार्थना और ध्यान के क्षण उनकी एकमात्र पोषण थे... इसी तरह से उन्होंने खुद को दूसरों से अलग किया और पूरी दुनिया में कई लोगों के जीवन पर प्रभाव डाला। आज माता कलिसिया आनंदित है क्योंकि उसे संत फ्रांसिस के रूप में दूसरा मसीह मिला है। आज पूरी सृष्टि हर्षोल्लास में है क्योंकि उन्हें एक पुत्र मिला जिसने उन्हें मां, भाई और बहन के रूप में प्रेम किया। आज हम फ्रांसिस्कन खुशी में हैं क्योंकि हमें फ्रांसिस के रूप में... एक पिता मिला है जो हमारा मार्गदर्शन करते हैं, एक संरक्षक मिला है जो हमारे लिए मध्यस्थता करते हैं, एक आदर्श मिला है जो हमें प्रेरित करते हैं, एक नेता मिला है जो हमें मार्ग दिखाते हैं, एक भाई मिला है जो हमें शिक्षित करते हैं... और एक साथी मिला है जो हमारे साथ साथ चलते हैं हां, प्रिय दोस्तों, वह हमारे संरक्षक संत फ्रांसिस हैं और हम गर्व से उनके दिखाए हुए मार्ग पर चलते हैं। आज हम प्रार्थना करते हैं कि हम सभी ईश्वर के प्रेम और करुणा के संदेशवाहक बनें और जिन लोगों की हम सेवा करते हैं, उन तक यह संदेश पहुंचाएं। आज हम ईश्वर को धन्यवाद देते हैं कि आप सभी प्रिय फादर्, सिस्टर्स और प्यारे भाइयों एवं बहनों हमारे साथ इस समारोह में शामिल हुए हैं। हम आपसे प्रार्थना करने का आग्रह करते हैं कि संपूर्ण फ्रांसिस्कन समाज के लिए, विशेष रूप से हमारे CFMSS समाज or FSLG समाज के लिए प्रार्थना करें—हमारे संस्था के लिए, हमारी मदर जनरल, हमारी सभी प्रांतीय प्रमुख और उनके काउंसलर्स के लिए और हमारे संस्था के प्रत्येक सदस्य के लिए, ताकि हम अपने फ्रांसिस्कन परिवार में बढ़ें और जहां भी हों, प्रेम, शांति और आनंद की सुगंध को फैलाएं। इन मतलबों के साथ, आइए हम इस पवित्र मिस्सा बलिदान में भाग लें।

26th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

26th SUNDAY, 29 SEPT 2024: NUM 11. 25- 29; JAM 5. 1-6; MARK 9. 38-43, 45, 47-48 Focus: Those who do holy and good works in the name of God and with His power, cannot work against God. If they are against God's will and plans, it means they are not really God-centred but self-oriented 1. In the gospel, the compelling theme is the gravity of sin. Sin is so grave that it is better to “sever those parts of the body that cause to sin”, or to “do away with that person that causes another to sin”. 2. Certainly Jesus sounds stern in his words: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it off". Then, "if someone leads another to sin, let him be thrown into the sea, with a millstone tied around". 3. Why such a severity? Obviously for two reasons: it causes spiritual ruin because it loses eternity. Second, it causes fraternal ruin because it misleads another to sin. 4. This awareness of the gravity of sin and the severity of its penal consequences is very timely and relevant for our times. Truly we are living in a time and a society where the sense of sin, the fear of sin is rapidly diminishing. 5. It is a permissible society where all sin and evil is permitted, justified, glorified and even promoted in the name of fun, enjoyment, modernity and progress. Sin is taken lightly and for granted. 6. In such a society, we need to reawaken a moral and spiritual consciousness. It is not that we want to moralize our whole life, increasing a sense of guilt and remorse. It is also not to promote a punitive or penalizing culture. It is also not policing human conduct and action. 7. It is more recapturing the lost sensitivity and consciousness, both spiritual and fraternal. We need to become more and more people of spiritual depth and moral responsibility. Only such a culture can save the society from its decadent culture of terror, violence and destruction. 8. Therefore, we need to foster a counter- culture that counters sin and its destructive effects. What does this remedial culture consist of? Some of the components are outlined in today's word of God. 9. First, enhance the spirit of wisdom which realizes that it is better to lose a limb but gain eternal heaven than to have all limbs intact but lose heaven and be thrown into hell. This wisdom is often missing because of which people hastily opt for temporary gratification and forfeit lasting satisfaction and fulfilment. 10. Then, counter two strong evil army chiefs. They are namely jealousy and excessive entanglement with riches. The beauty and happiness is many times reduced mainly because of ego- clashes. Jealousy reigns high in the life of many. 11. They cannot tolerate other's growth and good performance. The same happens in the spiritual realm as well. Many cannot accept and appreciate when some others do well or come up. 12. In the first reading, Moses and in the gospel, Jesus stand as contrary to jealousy. They are not moved by the force of jealousy. Rather, they are so magnanimous to rejoice when others receive gifts of God and excel. 13. St James in his epistle warns us to guard against the evil of riches. In fact, riches in themselves are not wrong. What is wrong is excessive lust for riches and attachment to them. James heavily denounces the rich and how they deal with others. 14. All riches and money are meant for being truthful and faithful. Greed and arrogance are the offshoots and agents of this false culture. In contrast to them, Learn to remain humble. Cultivate a constant spirit of giving and sacrificing. Learn to be good. Direction: Fear of sin and fear of God are two missing elements in the present society. An aversion toward sin and reverence and love for God are the greatest need of the hour.

BIRTHDAY OF MOTHER MARY 24

BIRTHDAY OF MARY, 08 September Thrust: Nothing little in God’s plan! Indicative: God’s will and designs are always with a purpose and destiny. Ultimately they are oriented to our good and salvation. And Mary has a key role in the accomplishment of this divine plan 1. 08 September marks the birthday of our sweetest Mother Mary. At the very outset, let us salute and felicitate her with a happy birthday wish. As she is our most beloved mother and we are her predilected children, let us rejoice and celebrate this day with exuberant jubilation. 2. Her birthday is salvific. God in His eternal design of salvation already destined her to be the mother of His only Son who would be born of her as the incarnate Saviour. Thus, Mary has had a singular privilege in God’s sight. Thus, her birthday must remind us of our salvation and Mary’s unique role in that. 3. Mary’s birth is already a part of the preparation for and implementation of God’s salvific plan. Of course, every birth is also important and purposive in God’s holy designs. Yes, God has a purpose for everyone being born on this earth. However, Mary’s birth is singular and unequivocal for three reasons that cannot be matched by any other birth. 4. First, her birth indicates her “direct” link and association with God Himself and His plan itself. Secondly, it shows her “direct” role and participation as an incomparable collaborator with His plan of salvation. That is why she is rightly extolled as “co-mediatrix”. Thirdly, her birth indicates her “direct” link with us in the pursuit and attainment of salvation. She is one with us among the saved ones. She is also the guide and supporter for us on the way of salvation. 5. Her birth is a vital assurance, impetus, and strength for all of us that God is eternally concerned about us. That is why He chose Mary and made her the womb of His incarnate Son. She continued to be a spiritual womb, bearing Jesus all through her life. She reminds us that we too must become the abodes and the dwelling places for Jesus. Thereby she assures us of eternal reward. 6. There is also another special note on her birthday. A good number of places celebrate her on her birthday as Our Lady of good health. This is very meaningful and valid. It is because, with her birth, the process of restoring health is decisively set in motion. Sin has cast a mantle of sickness and infirmity over humanity. But God through the birth of Mary begins already decisively to lift off this cover. Her birth is ushering in the health-restoration process. Imperative: Let the birthday of the sweetest Mother Mary not be limited to pious devotions and grand celebrations. Let it be a time of reminder of the purpose of our own birth and a moment to rededicate ourselves

23rd SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

23rd SUNDAY, 08 SEPTEMBER 2024: ISAIAH 35. 4-7; JAMES 2. 1-5; MARK 7. 31-37 Focus: Life is all a matter of openness. The more we are opened to God and to others, the more we will be healthy and happy 1. "Ephphata", "Be opened"! This is what Jesus pronounces to the one with the defect in hearing and speaking. With these words, he heals him, setting right his hearing and speech. The command to be opened clearly implies that something was closed, something was blocking. 2. In fact, healing is essentially a matter of opening what is closed, freeing what is bound, releasing what is blocked. In human life, there are many aspects of this closure. 3. Before we speak of any such closures, there is a more fundamental closure, and that is a closure to God's grace itself. And this is the fact of sin. Sin closes man not to be open to God's offer of grace and love. Thereby he fails to accept it, receive it and refuses to cooperate with it and act upon it. Consequently, he fails to bear fruits of grace. 4. This closure by sin shows itself in various forms, especially in a spiritual and fraternal deafness and spiritual and fraternal dumbness, in reference to the gospel. The result of it is a conduct of partiality and discrimination as depicted in the second reading from the letter of James. When there is spiritual and fraternal deafness and dumbness, when one lacks this inner sensitivity, then there is a failure in the bond of fraternity and in respect, acceptance and concern. 5. Sin closes the power of hearing the voice of God. Whenever there is no heed and attention to the word of God, to his prompting, inspiration and insight, whenever we are disinterested and indifferent to the direction and guidance of God, we are spiritually deaf. Many suffer from this hearing impediment. Many close their ears as soon as some God or spiritual stuff falls on their ears. They tighten their ear-lids so that nothing godly forces its way within. How many are eager and keen to listen to God or something of God? 6. Sin also closes the power of spiritual speech. Thereby we fail to speak of God, speak of His love and mercy. Sin makes us dumb to any God-talk, making it as something unpleasant and boring. This is the reason why many feel resentful, distasteful and annoyed whenever God is the point of interaction or instruction. But on the other hand, any vain and worthless talk becomes interesting and absorbing. How many love to speak something of God or the spiritual? 6. Sin also closes the power of hearing the cries and sobings of others. Whenever one fails to listen to the pains and struggles of others, whenever one is least bothered about the needs and concerns of others, whenever one fails to feel and sense the pulse of others, there is fraternal deafness. How many really patiently, sensitively and attentively listen to others when they really need someone to pour out their heaviness of heart? 7. Further sin also closes the inner ability to speak for others, to speak in their favour and on their behalf. Especially when someone is wronged, when some are deprived of their due rights, justice, respect and dignity, when they cannot speak for themselves, if we fail to speak, we are no doubt dumb fraternally. Also, in normal life, when someone needs some words of comfort, solace, encouragement, and we fail to speak such words, then there is dumbness. Besides, when we fail to recognize and appreciate those deserving, we are dumb. 8. Therefore, it is high time that we overcome our stiff closures. It is the right time to be opened, primarily to God's gracious opening of streams of grace flowing upon us. Listen and take to heart the uplifting words of God in the first reading from Isaiah. God assures his abundant acts of opening and transforming. He opens the ears, the mouths of the deaf and dumb. He transforms dry lands into flowing streams, deserts into springs. Jesus fulfils this assurance in the gospel by healing deaf and dumb. We need to turn to the Lord. We need him to open our blocked and closed inner powers of spiritual and fraternal tenacity. We need to experience the same healing touch of "Ephphata"! Direction: God wants us not only to trust in His power to heal us of our hearing and speaking deformities. He also summons us to approach Him and get healed and whole

24th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

24th SUNDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 2024: ISAIAH 50. 5-9; JAMES 2. 14-18; MARK 8. 27-35 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 leading to a more profound gain and lasting victory 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. 3. What others say, what we learn from others, 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. 4. “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. 5. 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-realization 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. 6. 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, realize our core identity, only in relation to Jesus, only in bonding with him, in intimacy and communion with him. 7. “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. 8. 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. 9. 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 ‘Savior’ but is also needed to be saved and liberated, to experience and live that touch and power of salvation and liberation. It is not enough to praise him as ‘Healer’ but is also needed to be healed, to show the effects and signs of healing. It is not enough to proclaim his as ‘guide’ but is 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. 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 is also needed to be strengthened and empowered by him. It is not enough to believe him as our nourishment but is also needed to be nurtured by him. 10. In other words, 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. 11. It is in this sense we can understand the admonition of James in the second reading about harmony between faith and works. Faith without works, a faith that is limited only to lip service, is shallow and worthless. 12. A true faith experience also contains an unshaken spirit of docility and surrender to suffer and sacrifice, to be patient and persevering amidst trials and adversities, and to remain undauntedly loyal and committed. 13. This is the call that we get from the image of the suffering servant of Yahweh in the first reading from Isaiah. The same is the clearest indication and message in the gospel as well. Jesus speaks of his own suffering and death for salvation. He also places the same demand on his followers, “to deny self, to take up the cross and follow him” Direction: We must go beyond our contradictory tendencies and live a more harmonious living of grace. We must integrate faith and works. We must be ready to lose our self so as to gain it for eternity

25th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

25th SUNDAY, 22 SEPTEMBER 2024: WIS 2. 12, 17-20; JAMES 3. 16 - 4.3; MARK 9. 30-37 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 about gaining that greatness. 2. Jesus dispels the wrong notions of greatness and clarifies what it means to be truly great and how to become rightly great. 3. 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. 4. Those who have little or less, those who are not well to do, and are poor are regarded as insignificant, unimportant, and not worthy, and thus are treated with disrespect and contempt. 5. Accordingly, the whole concern and struggle of life is to accumulate as much money and material things as possible. There is total disregard for the kind of means that are employed to acquire them. 6. 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. 7. 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, the more you are great. 8. Those who are ordinary, those who do not hold a notable post or job, those who do not have an above-the-ordinary standing and ranking in society, are not respected and not taken seriously. 9. Consequently, 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. 10. 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." 11. 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. 12. The world wrongly thinks that the more you are intelligent and competent, the more you excel academically, the more you are considered great. 13. Those are just average or dull, those who are poor in grasping, those who have a poor performance track, are despised as useless. Accordingly, some spend their enormous time and energies over their intellectual pursuits. In the process, they do not realize that they become " brain wise monsters and heart wise dwarfs ". 14. 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. 15. True greatness is 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. 16. 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. 17. True greatness is receiving even children that is the vulnerable and the uncountables and negligibles in the society. It accepts and respects them. 18. This is contrary to a mindset that one becomes great by association with big people. This is why often we find that great people have their own "social circles", "privileged elite". They create an aura around them with an air of inaccessibility and unconcern and uninvolvement. 19. Further, true greatness consists in receiving the example of a child. Among numerous qualities of a child, in the 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. 20. Still further we gather some features of true greatness from the first reading from Wisdom: to be truly great is to be righteous so as to be inconvenient and opposed to the actions of ungodly; it is to be courageous to reproach them; it is to be gentle and forbearing even in the face of insult and torture. 21. The second reading from the letter of James offers us some more pointers to true greatness. It is to be free from all jealousy and selfish ambition. It is to be free from all disorder and every vile practice. True greatness consists in wisdom that leads to a life that is pure, peaceable, gentle and full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. It is to make peace and thus sow a harvest of righteousness. It is not to let loose our passions to be at war within. It is not to fight and quarrel out of avarice. 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

THE CALL AND MISSION OF MOSES AND IT'S RELEVANCE IN TODAY'S RELIGIOUS CONTEXT

THE CALL AND MISSION OF MOSES AND IT’S RELEVANCE TO TODAY’S RELIGIOUS CONTEXT INTRODUCTION Moses is one of the most significant figures in the Bible, known for his leadership, faith, and obedience to God’s call. His story begins in the book of Exodus, where he emerges as the chosen leader to deliver the Israelites from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. The journey of Moses—from his miraculous birth to his call by God at the burning bush, and his mission to lead God's people to the Promised Land—is filled with spiritual lessons that resonate with consecrated life and the mission of the Church today. 1. THE CALL OF MOSES Moses was born at a time when Pharaoh had ordered the killing of all Hebrew male infants. By God's providence, he was saved and raised in the Egyptian royal palace. Yet, despite his privileged upbringing, Moses was deeply aware of the suffering of his people. At the age of 40, he fled Egypt after killing an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. He spent the next 40 years as a shepherd in Midian, seemingly forgotten and hidden from the grand purposes of life. The turning point in Moses’ life came when God called him from the midst of a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-10). The bush was aflame, yet not consumed—a powerful symbol of God's presence. God revealed His holy name, "I AM WHO I AM," and commissioned Moses to go back to Egypt to deliver the Israelites from slavery. This call was profound for several reasons: - Unexpected Timing: Moses was 80 years old and living a quiet, humble life as a shepherd. It reminds us that God often calls us at unexpected times, even when we feel unworthy or inadequate. - Personal Encounter with God: The burning bush symbolizes the mystery of God’s presence—holy, awe-inspiring, yet deeply personal. Moses' call was not a random task but a divine encounter, showing that any true mission is born out of a personal relationship with God. - Hesitation and Doubts: Moses initially resisted God’s call, citing his weaknesses, such as his inability to speak eloquently. But God reassured him that it is not by human strength but by His power that the mission would succeed. This speaks to the consecrated life, where often we feel weak and unworthy, but God uses our limitations for His greater glory. 2. THE MISSION OF MOSES Moses' mission was clear: to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into freedom, guiding them to the Promised Land. However, it was not without challenges. The road to fulfilling his mission was paved with opposition, both from Pharaoh and the very people he was called to lead. Yet, through every obstacle, Moses relied on God's power, and each step forward was marked by a deeper revelation of God's will. - Intercession and Leadership: Moses stood as a mediator between God and His people, interceding on their behalf. His constant communication with God and his unyielding patience in leading a rebellious nation reflect the heart of a true servant leader. - The Ten Commandments: At Mount Sinai, Moses received the law from God, which formed the foundation for the Israelites’ covenant relationship with God. This covenantal relationship is similar to consecrated life today—where individuals and communities dedicate themselves to live according to God's divine will, in obedience, chastity, and poverty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. - Perseverance and Trust: Despite numerous trials, such as complaints from the Israelites, opposition from Pharaoh, and wandering in the desert for 40 years, Moses never gave up on his mission. His trust in God’s promise was unwavering. RELEVANCE OF MOSES’ CALL AND MISSION IN TODAY’S CONTEXT 1. Answering God’s Call with Humility and Courage Just as Moses encountered God in the burning bush, every consecrated person is called to a deep, personal relationship with God. The call to religious life, like Moses’ call, may come unexpectedly and at times when we feel least capable of fulfilling it. However, God's call is always accompanied by His grace. Moses reminds us that our limitations do not disqualify us from God's service; rather, they are the very avenues through which God works. In today’s world, where individualism and self-reliance are often glorified, Moses' story teaches us the virtue of humility and the importance of recognizing our need for God. His life encourages us to respond with faith when we are called to serve others, trusting that God equips those He calls. 2. Leadership as Servanthood Moses exemplified servant leadership. He was not driven by ambition or power, but by obedience to God and love for his people. His leadership was marked by deep compassion, humility, and perseverance. For consecrated communities, Moses’ leadership serves as a model. In a world where leadership is often equated with control or status, Moses shows us that true leaders are servants first—leaders who are willing to lay down their lives for others, to intercede for them, and to guide them towards freedom and deeper communion with God. 3. The Mission of Liberation Moses was called to set God's people free from slavery. Today, consecrated life involves a similar mission—freeing people from modern forms of slavery, be it poverty, injustice, ignorance, or sin. Just as Moses stood up against Pharaoh, today’s consecrated persons are called to stand against systems of oppression and work for the liberation of the marginalized and vulnerable. In the Church, consecrated men and women are often involved in ministries of education, healthcare, social justice, and spiritual direction, playing a critical role in helping people experience the love and freedom of God. This mission of liberation is at the heart of the Gospel and continues the prophetic tradition of Moses in the world today. 4. Perseverance in the Desert Moses spent 40 years leading the Israelites through the wilderness. Similarly, the journey of consecrated life is not always easy. There are times of spiritual dryness, community challenges, and personal struggles. Yet, Moses teaches us the importance of perseverance—of remaining faithful to God's call even when the way seems unclear or difficult. In today’s context, where instant results and success are often expected, the life of Moses encourages religious communities to embrace patience and trust in God's timing. The desert may be hard, but it is in the desert that we learn to rely more fully on God. CONCLUSION Moses’ life and mission offer powerful lessons for today's consecrated life and community living. His humility, perseverance, and deep relationship with God are models for those called to serve the Church and the world. His journey reminds us that every call from God is sacred, and every mission is rooted in His divine will. In a world filled with distractions, pressures, and challenges, the story of Moses continues to inspire and motivate us to respond courageously to God’s call, to lead with love and compassion, and to persevere in the face of trials, trusting that God is always with us. Just as Moses led the Israelites to freedom, so too are we called to be instruments of God’s liberating love in the world, guiding others to the true freedom found in Christ. Questions for Personal Reflection:* 1. *How do I perceive God's call in my own life?* - Am I attentive to His voice, especially in unexpected moments like Moses at the burning bush? 2. What doubts or fears hold me back from fully answering God's call? - How can I surrender my insecurities and trust in God's power working through my weaknesses? 3. In what ways can I be a servant leader like Moses, prioritizing the needs of others over my own desires? - How can I practice humility and perseverance in my daily responsibilities? 4. Am I patient and faithful during times of "spiritual desert" or difficulty, trusting in God’s guidance even when I don’t see immediate results? - How do I remain hopeful and connected to God during challenging seasons? 5. How am I living out the mission of liberation in my life? - Are there areas where I am called to be a voice for justice, healing, or freedom for those around me? Questions for Communitarian Reflection: 1. As a community, how are we collectively responding to God’s call? - Are we creating a space where each member can recognize and embrace their unique mission within the community? 2. What obstacles or doubts do we face as a community in fulfilling our mission, and how can we support one another in overcoming them? 3. How can we embody the servant leadership of Moses in our relationships with one another and in our ministry to those we serve? - Are we truly leading with love, compassion, and humility, especially towards the vulnerable? 4. What “modern-day Pharaohs” or systems of oppression do we need to confront as a community, and how can we work for the liberation of those enslaved by poverty, injustice, or sin? 5. In times of difficulty or spiritual dryness, how can we as a community foster an environment of faith and perseverance? - What practical steps can we take to strengthen our trust in God and support each other during challenging times? Sr. Elizabeth Rani cfmss

22 SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

22nd SUNDAY, 01 SEPTEMBER 2024: DEUT 4. 1-2, 6-8; JAMES 1. 17-18,21-22,27; MARK 7. 1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Focus: The external traditions and activities alone do not guarantee the authenticity of a person. The externals should help one to become more authentic, and also should express one’s being authentic 1. God created us in His own image and likeness. This shows our human beauty, dignity as well as sanctity. This interiority is the most important aspect of human person and society. No externals should mar or breach this. Rather, every external activity or tradition should help to live and foster this interior greatness. 2. An exterior is sound when it corresponds to the interior and channels a clean and good interior. Whenever there is no such harmony between the interior and the exterior, whenever a good exterior becomes only a cover-up or substitute for a defective and unclean interior, then clearly it is hypocrisy. 3. Unfortunately, hypocrisy is so prevalent always and everywhere. In the gospel, Jesus clearly exposes once again the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes. Following the traditions, rules and religious obligations is good. But all these should make one more authentic and benevolent. They alone cannot decide the quality of a person. 4. This hypocrisy lies in these following aspects: 1) Giving more importance to the human traditions and observances and neglecting the more essential divine spirit and moral precepts, 2) Twisting the explanation of the religious matters to suit one's convenience and interests, 3) Ignoring inner purity and using the external purifications and purity as a cover up and substitute for the internal purity. 5. Life will be beautiful when there is a blend of a good exterior and a good interior, and not a conflict. Therefore, we should guard against the two possible dangers: one is a bad interior and a show-off exterior; the other is, a good interior but not shown in a good exterior. Both are defective! 6. True integrity is an integration of both interior purity and external purity, being religious-minded and charity-directed. It is in this context, we must bear in mind the teaching of Jesus in the gospel that what defiles a person is the interior pollution. It is the pollution of heart by all the evil things such as evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. Truly inner pollution is more dangerous and destructive than the external pollution. The life of a person or society degenerates when a person’s interior degenerates. 7. The same idea of inner pollution is reiterated by the second reading from James 1. 17 ff. The epistle cautions us to put away all filthiness and wickedness, to keep ourselves unstained from the world and to practice a religion that is pure and undefiled. 8. Positively, it means to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only”. In the light of the first reading from Deuteronomy 4. 1-2, 6-8, it would concretely imply to “give heed to the statutes and ordinances of the Lord and do them”. 9. At the closure of this reflection, let us become deeply aware of this serious problem of our society, and that is an excessive concern for the externals and an overriding neglect of the internal sanity and sobriety. It is worth asking some simple questions: How many are really aware that the pollution that is more dangerous and alarming is the inner pollution, the pollution by sin and evil? How many really bother to keep their hearts clean? How many give excessive importance to the features of their bodies while disfiguring their heart and soul? How many take upon a course of inner diet, with certain self- regulation and self- restraint? How many keep their external so clean and tidy while they defile their interior? 10. How many sincerely check their inner health, that is, the quality of their thoughts, the quality of their words, their actions and their whole character and behavior? How many knowingly disobey God’s explicit commands, warnings and admonitions? How many invest so much of their money, time, energies and capacities on what is temporary and worldly but spend very little on what is eternal and heavenly? Direction: The profile of a person will be good when he guards his file of life from what does defile his interior and negatively compile his heart.

21 ST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

21st SUNDAY, 25 AUGUST 2024: JOSHUA 24. 1-2, 15-18; EPH 5. 21-32; JOHN 6. 6-69 Focus: Faith is not merely a matter of intellectual assent to some prescribed truths and beliefs; not only an emotional attachment to them; not only a devotional observance. But it is something more radical. It involves the whole person and life 1. There is a dramatic scene in today’s gospel. Jesus had a mixed experience – very discouraging on one hand and somewhat consoling on the other hand. It was discouraging because many disciples left him; consoling because his core disciples like Peter cling to him and profess their continued loyalty to him. 2. We need to recall the context. Jesus continued his discourse on his identity as the Bread of eternal life. Jesus not only says that he gives the bread of life, but he himself IS the bread of life. He invites and even challenges the listeners for a radical communion with him. 3. Many of the disciples that followed him and listened to him said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But what is really hard? Apparently, it is the crude cannibalism that is implied in his words because he says that we should eat his flesh and drink his blood so as to have eternal life. 4. But perhaps the real problem is not that; because as such it is not so hard to do. What is really hard is the radicality of his demands. He urges to believe in him as the life-giver. It is a challenge to believe in his identity as the Son of God. It is a challenge to abide in him, to live by him, and to orient one’s life to eternity. It is a challenge for a totally intimate and inseparable communion with him. 5. And this is certainly something very hard. Following him as “guest–disciples”, that is, as those who listen to his powerful preaching, watch his awesome miracles, and receive favours and healing from him may not demand much. It does not cost anything. But when it comes to the question of following what he teaches, especially his radical demands for detachment, loyalty, and commitment, then will come the real problem. 6. This is the typical mentality of many disciples even today. They are shallow, easy-going, and noncommittal. They appear very enthusiastic and devout. They may also attend or organize a lot of activities. 7. But they will listen only to what they like to listen to. They will do only what they like to do. When their life is challenged, when their values are questioned, when they are called for a personal change of life with more sacrifice, humility, fidelity, and commitment, then they are annoyed and upset. 8. It is in this disconcerting situation of being forsaken by many of his disciples, Jesus poses the question to the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” He was no “shrewd businessman” who may try to mitigate and dilute the truth for sale-ability and profit. 9. Certainly, it is hard to hear and practise. But Jesus places before us uncompromising truth and conditions. He leaves us always the freedom to choose. This is what Joshua too did in the first reading from the book of Joshua 24. 1ff. He asks the people, “Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the true God or the false pagan gods”. 10. We see a prompt response from Peter, saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have to come to know that you are the Holy One of God”. It is indeed a profession of faith. There is a firm conviction. 11. Similar is the firmness of faith of Joshua as he professes, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. What we see here are an unshaken faith and unswerving fidelity. The choice is very clear. Even if all others forsake the Lord, even if it is hard to hear and follow, even if it is demanding a lot, yet there is no turning back or turning away. 12. This is the same firm choice that the people of Israel also make, saying, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; therefore we also will serve the Lord, for He is our God”. 13. Now, this conviction and profession of faith and faithfulness are rooted in a profound personal experience. Joshua and the Israelites experience Him as a God of fidelity in their history as well as in the present. They are gratefully aware of Him as liberating and sustaining them all through their life. 14. Peter and the rest experience Jesus as the Holy One of God, the source of eternal life. They experience him as their Lord, inseparable, indispensable, and incomparable. He is the icon of fidelity, and this is also emphasized in the second reading from Ephesians 5. 21-32. Marital fidelity is compared to the fidelity between Christ and the Church. Therefore, he becomes the model of all fidelity. 15. It is our duty now to pose a couple of simple questions to ourselves. What do we like to hear from the Lord often? Why do we find his teachings hard? When adversities and afflictions come upon us, how firm and steady, how persevering and loyal we are? Can we also profess convincingly, “Lord, we will not forsake you. We will not go away from you. We will serve you and you alone”. Direction: How many of us can sincerely affirm “Lord, you have the words of eternal life. We firmly believe in you and experience you as the Holy One who gives and sustains life?”

20th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

20TH SUNDAY, 18 AUGUST 2024: PROV 9. 1-6; EPHES 5. 15-20; JOHN 6. 51-58 Indicative: Jesus, the Bearer of Life becomes the Giver of Life. One who possesses life, gives us the same life 1. Jesus recurrently reveals and declares himself as the Bread of life. First, there is a clear contrast between the manna of the past and the living bread. For that matter, there is an enormous contrast between worldly food and heavenly food. 2. The material food removes only the physical hunger, gives bodily strength, grants temporary satisfaction, and enhances the earthly life. But Jesus, the eternal bread of life, satiates the deep, interior spiritual hunger and thirst, fills with full strength, gives perpetual satisfaction, and fosters the Spirit-permeated life. 3. The focus and purpose is not on a self-revelation that ends in recognizing him as the Lord and worshipping him in faith. Rather, his self-assertion aims at the growth of the disciples’ faith in Him as the Eucharistic Lord. 4. This self-declaration unfolds both what he is and what he does to us. It is both personal and functional. Certainly he is the Bread of Life eternal. He is the giver of eternal life and as such, He gives us life. The focus is not on his identity but on how his identity has effects on us, how his identity of Eucharistic presence affects us. In simple how his identity changes our own identity. 5. The power-source that constantly sustains, nurtures and drives us ahead, is the communion with God. It is the divine communion that gives us power to life. To the extent that one is in communion with God, to that extent a new life becomes possible and meaningful. 6. Following is possible if and only if one is in communion with God, for we do not follow whom we do not know, or feel close. The communion between God and us is brought out so forcefully by the imagery of the the Bread of life (cf. Jn 6. 56-58). 7. Jesus continues to affirm, “I am the bread of life”. Those who receive this bread will experience three aspects: Life, Growth and Fruition. If there is no essential inseparable connection and communion between the Bread of life and the recipient, then there is no life, no growth and no fruition. 8. In other words, the threefold Eucharistic aspects are, Abiding in the Lord, living by the power of the Lord, and living forever. “Living” in terms of Mutual Indwelling If one is deprived of the nourishing bread, there is no life. The moment we are cut-off from God, there is no more vitality, no life-sap. The life-content from the Bread of Life flows into the one who receives and consumes it, there is life and mutual abiding. From this it is very clear why today many are lifeless: it is because they do not receive the sustenance and nourishment from the eternal bread of life. It is because they do not abide in God and God does not abide in them. Instead they prefer to reside in sin and evil, and they close or crowd their inner chamber so much that either God cannot enter within or that He will feel suffocated to stay therein. “Living by” in terms of Growth and Blossoming The one who eats the bread, gets strength and grows. The communion fosters life and energy. One who is communed with God, be it the vine or the bread, grows from strength to strength, by the power and the vigour he derives. From this it is again very clear, why today many do not blossom and grow, even after long years, even despite many human capacities and resources. In the case of many, growth is stifled, and they remain stagnant and sterile. It is only because they are not in communion with God - the vine and the bread of life. “Living for eternity” in Productivity and abundant fruition The one who gets nourished by the bread of life, in his strength, becomes productive and fruitful. In fact, these are the fruits of eternity and eternal life. One who lives in God, one who lives by God, will surely live forever. Again from this it is clear why many today are not really productive and fruitful, even though they may be rated very successful in the sight of the world, and why many are lost for eternity, even though they may be great gains in the temporary, why many experience their life fruitless and joyless, even though they have many enjoyments and fruits of the world. It is only because they do not live for eternity, they do not orient their lives towards eternity, they do not lead lives in eternal communion with God, in preference to temporary unions with many distractions and deviations of the world Imperative: .Live because Jesus Lives!

19 SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B 24

19th SUNDAY, 11 AUGUST 2024: 1KINGS 19. 4-8; EPH 4. 30 - 5.2; JOHN 6. 41-51 Focus: True love lives forever and promotes life. Those who live in love are truly the bearers and testimonies of life 1. "Life out of love and love out of life". This can be the whole summary of God and His relation to us. It is God who gives us life. The life we enjoy is His. This life is given to us because He loves us. True love shares its very self with others. 2. Therefore, the God who is love and who loves us immensely, shares His own life with us. Thus, we live in love. Our life can be truly meaningful only to the extent we live in God and in His love. Those who do not bear the marks of divine life and love are contrary to their very nature, essence and purpose of life. 3. Seen in this optic, love is both the beginning and the end, the foundation and culmination of life by God. It means, it is because of God's love we live, and love alone will be the sign and proof that we live. 4. Today, Jesus declares, "I am the bread from heaven, bread that gives life" "Those who eat me will not die but will live forever". This implies many elements that we have been reflecting. First, it is from heaven. Thereby, it is divine and not something earthly, material like manna in the Old Testament. 5. Second, it is a bread that gives life forever. Thereby, it is not something temporary and temporal. Those who eat ordinary bread die, and those who ate manna in the desert died. But those who eat this bread that Jesus speaks of, will live eternally. 6. Third, this is not a material bread, but Jesus himself. Jesus identifies himself with this bread of eternal life. He also clearly says that his own flesh is the bread. What does this mean? Here we need to avoid both the tendencies that can be defective. One is only literal and material, and the other, only metaphorical and symbolic. 7.Taken in the first sense, the eating of the flesh may be reduced to crude cannibalism. We are not eating the human flesh of Jesus. But at the same time, it is not merely symbolic. We are REALLY receiving, sharing the body of Jesus. 8. Here comes the whole beauty, depth and the mystery of the holy Eucharist. The presence of Jesus in the holy Eucharist which is the eternal bread of life is SACRAMENTAL. Jesus is truly, really and substantially present in the most holy Eucharist. The holy Eucharist not only symbolizes the body of Christ, but IS the body of Christ. 9. In fact, the flesh of Christ can also be understood as the humanity as in John 1. 14: The Word became flesh and lived among us. This is what gives us life. Thus there is a marvellous blend of humanity and divinity. Humanity taken up in love and giving life of divinity! 10. Now, we can revert back to our initial reflection on love and life. If Jesus becomes our bread of life out of love, love becomes the authentic and concrete sign, effect and expression of this life. In other words, the divine life that flows into us shows itself in a life of love. 11. But again how to recognize this love? What are its features or identity marks? The second reading from Ephesians 4. 30 - 5. 2 gives the answers. Such a love is shown in Christ-like self-giving. This further manifests itself in putting away what is negative and putting on what is positive. Get rid of all malice, bitterness, anger and slander. Instead, be kind, tender and forgiving. Direction: A God- given life is seen in a life in love which alone pleases God and testifies that are marked by God's ownership