Saturday, 27 January 2024

IV week days mass reflection of the year 24

29 JANUARY - 03 FEBRUARY 2024, HOLY MASS REFLECTIONS 29 JANUARY 2024: 2 SAM 15. 13-14. 30, 16. 5-13a; MARK 5. 1-20 Focus: Which spirit – benevolent or malevolent? Indicative: Our behaviour depends on the kind of spirit that we possess. If it is a good and Holy Spirit, our conduct will be upright, and if it is an evil spirit, our conduct will be wrong 1.      In today’s word of God, we have two contrasting spirits, a benevolent spirit, and a malevolent spirit. The benevolent spirit is a godly spirit, symbolized by David in the first reading, and the malevolent spirit is demoniac, symbolized by the demon-possessed man in the gospel. David was attacked to be dethroned by his own son Absalom and he was cursed by a relative of Saul. 2.       But, how noble and humble David was! He offers no resistance against Absalom. He did not react against the cursing man. Even when his men wanted to kill the cursing man, David rebuked them, saying that it was permitted by God Himself. 3.       If God Himself wanted it that way, then who are we to block the way of God? Besides, he believes that such humiliation can become an act of atonement and reparation to obtain God’s mercy. 4.       On the other hand, in the gospel, we have a man possessed by an unclean spirit. He lives among the tombs, indicating his alienation from others. He was bound with chains and shackles, indicating boundedness by sin. He could not be subdued by anyone, indicating being uncontrollable and rebellious. 5.       He was always crying, indicating the nature of grumbling and lamenting. He was cutting himself with stones, indicating self-inflicting actions. All these are the typical characteristics of an evil spirit. 6.       Jesus heals the demon-possessed man whereby he becomes well-clothed and regains the right mind. Interestingly, Jesus sends the legion of demons into a herd of two thousand pigs. They run and get drowned in the sea. 7.       Certainly a huge loss! Perhaps through this, Jesus wants to make it very clear that the sanity and well-being of a human person are far more important than any material gain.   Imperative: The healed demon-possessed man goes around and bears testimony to God’s mercy. The greatest sign of our healing will be when we become zealous witnesses to the mercy of God  (Reflection 2) Focus: Faith puts a clean spirit into us, strengthens us, and makes us worthy in God’s sight; But the unclean cannot stand the presence of the Holy One, and cannot resist the power of grace as well   1.      In the gospel, Jesus encounters and confronts a man with an unclean spirit. There are very precise details regarding the possessed man's condition. These are very indicative. They indicate what are some of the clear signs of being evil-possessed. 2.      Living among the tombs indicates living aloof, cut off, and estranged from others. Shouting and crying indicate the spirit of grumbling, lamenting, and arguing. Bound in chains indicates being bound in the fetters of sin and evil. 3.      Not being controlled and subdued indicates undisciplined and unreined freedom. Bruising himself and others as well indicates all the acts and habits of self-ruin and harm to others. Legion indicates that evil is not a single isolated act but is always a bundle, a pack, and a series of wrongs. 4.      All these unclean forces always surmount and torment us also. All of us need healing and need to be made clean. But many a time, like the possessed man, we do not want to be healed. And like the people, we do not value and appreciate the healing, because we are more concerned about the material interests (loss of swine), rather than the persons. Only faith makes us approach Jesus, seek his healing touch, and be clean.   Direction: Let us come out of our wandering aimlessly among the tombs of our estrangement from God and others, and run to God to be restored to sanity and integrity.   30 JANUARY 2024: 2 SAM 18. 9-10, 14, 24-25a, 30 – 19.3; MARK 5. 21-43 Focus: Touch that Enlivens! Indicative: Healing is nothing but a matter of touch. Whoever encounters Jesus and experiences his touch, will surely be healed and begins a new life 1.      True faith is never mediocre. True faith believes even the impossible to happen, for as the Bible says, “Nothing is impossible for God”. True faith is to hope for the best even in the worst and hopeless situations. 2.       This is what we see in the gospel. There are two miracles by Jesus: one is the miraculous healing of a twelve-year-long hemorrhage of a woman; the other is, bringing to life the dead daughter of a certain Jairus, an official. 3.       Tremendous was the faith needed to believe in Jesus’ power even in such desperate situations. Jairus continued to believe even when he got the news of the death of his ailing daughter. The woman with the bleeding disease persisted to believe even after twelve years of huge resultless spending. 4.       Both the miracles were the effects of the power of the touch of Jesus. The woman was cured because she touched the garment of Jesus. The dead girl was restored to life because Jesus touched her with his hand. This confirms that the touch of Jesus is powerful and is healing. Those who come in touch with Jesus cannot continue sick or dead. They will be healed and revived. 5.       Both the miracles bring new life to the concerned persons. For the woman with a haemorrhage, it was really a new life. She was on the verge of total ruin: all her resources were exhausted; all her human dignity was exasperated; her hopes evaporated; the beauty of living was disfigured, and the joy of life was robbed. 6.       She was literally dying. Thus, her healing was not merely a physical matter. It was much more: it was a new life with a new dignity of the person and new beauty and joy of life. 7.       The mention of 12 years can be indicative. The girl raised to life was twelve years old, and the woman suffered from a haemorrhage for 12 years. The girl began a new life at 12. The woman too began a new life after 12 years of intense suffering. 8.       Jesus’ healing command, Talitha cumi (Little girl, arise) to the dead girl can be very indicative. It indicates that essentially all healing is a matter of rising. It is a rising from our misery, from our sickness, and from our death.   Imperative: True healing is a constant rising from hopelessness to hopefulness, from sickness to health, and from death to life. As long as we do not rise up and walk, we are not healed! (Reflection 2) Focus: True faith is not at all a matter of the power of one’s belief and getting things done by God. Rather, it is a matter of believing totally in the power of God, with total humility   1.       Let us reflect on the two healings in the gospel: the raising from death to life of the daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, and the healing of a woman with a haemorrhage. Truly the faith of the official and that of the woman is praiseworthy and meritorious. They place their total trust in Jesus' power and compassion. 2.       The official believes. He firmly thinks it is enough that Jesus lays his hands over his daughter. When he approached Jesus, she was at the point of death, and as he was rushing home with Jesus to heal her, she was already dead. But even then, he believes and takes Jesus to his home. 3.       His faith is marked by deep humility. Seeing Jesus, he falls at his feet and beseeches him. He keeps aside all his authority as a ruler of the synagogue. He does not consider it below his dignity to bend his knee before Jesus. Deep within, he acknowledges and believes the power of Jesus that is far superior to his own as a ruler. 4.       He knows that the divine and spiritual power of Jesus surpasses his worldly power. Such genuine humility is accompanied by an unswerving trust in Jesus’ merciful power. That is why he pleads to Jesus, “Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live”. 5.       The woman with the bleeding disease too believes. She firmly thinks it is enough that she touches the edge of his cloak. Unlike Jairus, her approach to Jesus was a silent act. She touches Jesus’ garment from behind and gets instant healing. But she confesses the healing at Jesus’ query, “Who touched me?” 6.      What is very remarkable in their faith is the extremity of their condition. The ruler believes in Jesus, even at death point, and the woman believes in Jesus even after 12 long years. Even in their most desperate situations, they do not give up hope. 7.       There were funebrial cries all around Jairus’ house. And the woman consulted every possible doctor and spent her every penny on her haemorrhage. Both were facing the most desperate and depressing situations. 8.       We can also note on the part of Jesus a couple of simple but significant factors. He shows personal concern. He goes personally to the house of the ruler. There was a great crowd around him. He was fully engaged. But he does not turn down the plea of the ruler. He takes the girl by the hand as he brings her back to life. He also tells the people to give her something to eat. 9.       Yes, Jesus never rejects our pleas. He listens to us. Of course, at times, we may not get what we pray for. But that does not mean that he does not care for us. His goodness to us cannot be calculated only in terms of favours. 10.   Another factor is he always transmits his power to us. It is this power that went to the diseased woman and healed her and raised to life Jairus’ daughter. Further, what is striking is that he seeks no recognition or fame. What a fantastic miracle of raising from death! It is the best means and time to shoot into gigantic popularity. 11.   But, he tries to minimize the glory of it, by saying that the girl is not dead but is just sleeping. He puts all the crowd outside the girl’s room, except the girl’s parents and his three disciples Peter, James, and John. 12.   After the miracle, he strictly charges them not to tell anyone. What a contrast to many of us who do a drop but do bundles of publicity and get mountains of popularity! 13.   At the end of all, what is needed on our part is to approach him in deepest trust and get into the realm of his touch. Jesus’ touch transmits power that gives new life. The diseased woman begins a new life with health, joy, and serenity. The ruler’s daughter receives a second life. 14.   Today, Jesus continues the same life-giving words that he pronounced to the dead girl, “Talitha cumi”, “Little girl, I say to you, arise”. Just as the girl instantly got up and walked, so too we must constantly allow Jesus to lay his hands and touch us. Once touched and healed, we must get up and walk steady and sane.   Direction: Faith may go through trials and may be tested. But God will never deny and deprive His grace and never frustrate the trust and hope of those who confide in Him   31 JANUARY 2024: 2 SAM 24. 2, 9-17; MK. 6.1-6 Pivot: Faith is a must! Pointer: There is no doubt that God is all-powerful and everything is possible for Him. But, in His love for us, He respects us and gives us freedom. It is for us to allow Him to teach and discipline us and thus we grow 1.      Reproof, correction, and discipline are generally resented and resisted because they are not in good taste. Accordingly, often, unfavourable situations, unpleasant experiences, sufferings, and adversities are considered punishments from the Lord. 2.       But today the word of God reminds us that they are part of discipline for a child by his father. A certain discipline and chastisement is a necessary ingredient of any true love and a steady training process. 3.       For the moment, discipline may look painful and unpleasant, but it yields rich fruits of peace and righteousness. Therefore what is needed is, not to easily succumb to dissipation, not to waver and stumble, not to grow bitter, and not to get defiled and unholy. 4.       But this is possible, only when one really “believes” in the Lord. Such faith demands that one is not easily caught up with mere external factors, or carried away by human considerations or calculations. Sadly, Jesus’ people were stuck to the earthly origins of Jesus and his external credentials (Reflection 2) Focus: Faith opens up to the action of God's grace while lack of faith closes one's receptivity and forfeits the free gift of grace   1.      In the gospel, we see what lack of faith does not and cannot do. It is seen in Jesus' own people, in his own place. Those people are not able to rise above their narrow confines of territory and blood relationships. 2.      They see Jesus just as one of them and nothing more. They do not recognize the divinity in him. They cannot think of something beyond their human considerations and judgments. They are caught up in their human and cultural prejudices. 3.      Thus, his own people fail to believe in him and fail to accept him. Jesus is truly grieved over their unbelief. Consequently, they fail to obtain the grace of God offered through Jesus. 4.      The same danger of unbelief is ever real in our case as well. We too may grow so familiar with God’s grace that we take it for granted. We may lose the sense of the sacred. Therefore, it is high time that we “lift our drooping hands and strengthen our weak knees, and make straight paths for our feet”. It is the right time that we strive for peace with all and for holiness.   Direction: God is ever ready and eager to shower His grace upon us, but He wants our faith to be open to it, to receive it and to cooperate with it.   01 FEBRUARY 2024: 1 KINGS 2. 1-4, 10-12; MARK 6. 7-13   Focus: God’s presence: the greatest power! Indicative: Firmness and steadfastness are the main things that are lacking in the life of many. Instead, we find a lot of shakiness, wavering and compromising. This is all because of a lack of rootedness in God and in convictions 1.      As David was about to die, he exhorted his son Solomon to be steadfast in God’s ways. He says, Be strong and solid, and keep the charge of the Lord your God. Walk before Him in faithfulness with all your heart and with all your soul. Keep His statutes, His commandments, His rules, and His testimonies. 2.       And in fact, this is the same and simple mission of all of us. It is to cling to God always and to follow His ways. In other words, it is to establish God’s kingdom both within us and around us. It is the same mission that Jesus entrusts his disciples. 3.       He sends them two by two. They are told to bring people to repentance. They are empowered with his own authority to heal. They are ordered not to carry any material securities or conveniences like bread, bags, money, or tunics. They are told to move away shaking off the dust on their feet when rejected. 4.       The missionary implications are quite clear. To carry out and accomplish the mission, first of all, a personal adherence to the Lord in depth, intimacy, and commitment is essential. Doing the Lord’s work effectively depends on being with the Lord passionately. 5.       Mission is more a collective and collaborative work and not merely an individual enterprise. We need mutual support. The whole thrust of the mission is to lead people to repentance and not self-performance. The focal objective is to establish God’s kingdom and not petty kingdoms. 6.       In this process, the sole equipment is the Lord’s own power, and that is the power of the Spirit. Thereby, we should not excessively lean on worldly securities, guarantees, and conveniences. They can be made use but they cannot be the crucial determinants of our entire mission. 7.       The pursuit, as well as the quality of our missionary endeavours, cannot exclusively hinge on worldly securities. Nothing of the world can overpower or replace the power of God. 8.       An authority is truly the Lord’s when it is spiritual and divine and not secular or profane. And all power and authority are meant for healing and for no other purpose or objective. Any authority that does not bring forth healing is a false authority. 9.       Finally, we should be so detached even from the results. We should not expect only success but rather should be prepared even to shake off the dust from our feet.   Direction: Ultimately our mission is the Lord’s mission and not our private agenda. Success or failure is not our concern but doing God’s will and establishing His kingdom (Reflection 2) Focus: Fidelity to God is always rewarding and the greatest reward is God's own accompaniment and peace   1.      In the first reading, David in his last moments before death, gives Solomon his last message. What a testament and testimony! It is not property issues or business tactics. It is a clear and firm instruction to be faithful to God and to follow His ways. What a heritage he leaves to his son! How many parents hand over this God-fearing treasure to their children? 2.      In the gospel, Jesus sends his disciples on mission. It is not any mission, of one's will and fancy, but his own mission. This is very well-defined. It is a mission urging for repentance, expelling evil spirits and healing sicknesses of various sorts. 3.      The same mission is valid now and forever. We need to reawaken the sense of sin and repentance amidst a general situation of indifference, tepidity and permissibility where sin is permitted in the name of fun and progress. 4.      We need to dispel the evil and demonic forces of aggression and harm, selfishness and arrogance that powerfully cling to us and dictate our lives. We need to heal the sicknesses of hopelessness, distrust, distress and anger, fostering hope, trust, serenity and benevolence. 5.      The task is enormous and we need to be equipped. But the greatest equipments are not the worldly securities or facilities or human capacities. It is God's own light and power.   Direction: Mission is a constant journey, entrusted and accompanied by the Lord himself. A walking stick and sandals interestingly indicate this aspect of the journey 02 FEBRUARY 2024: MALACHI 3. 1-4; HEB 2. 14-18; LUKE 2. 22-40, PRESENTATION OF THE LORD Focus: Self-offering for Self-giving! Indicative: Our life will be meaningful only to the extent it is presented to God in the spirit of self-offering and for the good of others in the spirit of self-giving 1.      02 February marks the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the temple. It was after 40 days of his birth according to the Jewish law. In fact, he did not need to follow the laws and traditions. There was no need to be purified or offered as holy to the Lord because he is purity and holiness itself. 2.       His presentation in the temple is symbolic and significative. It signifies the function and effect of his messianic role. As the incarnate saviour and the messiah, he presents and offers himself to the Father in humble obedience. He becomes like us in every respect except sin. He subjects himself to human law and obligations in total solidarity with us. 3.       Further, his presentation ritual also indicates the effect of his messianic role. By his self-offering, he offers all as “pleasing” to the Lord. His purification ceremony indicates the purification that he brings to all. He propitiates the sins of the people. 4.       And the words in Malachi apply very well to his doing. “He is like a refiner’s fire and like fuller’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver”. 5.       From the presence of Simeon, a righteous and devout man, in the temple, it becomes still clear that the presented Jesus was destined for the “consolation of Israel”, “salvation that God has prepared in the presence of all peoples”, “a light for revelation to the Gentiles”, and for “glory to the people Israel”. 6.       The presentation of the Lord in the temple is a sacred call for each one of us, to be ever on the holy project of presentation, purification, and salvation. We are called to present ourselves as pleasing offerings to God. We need to constantly purify ourselves from all our burdens of sin. And we need to continue the same mission of salvation.   Imperative: The presentation of the Lord is a reminder of the beauty and duty of our consecration. We are consecrated to the Lord as offerings and we need to be committed to offering others also to God (Reflection 2) Focus: To offer oneself totally for one's own good is good but not great or out of the way. But to offer oneself for others' good is great and noble   1.      Today we celebrate the festivity of the presentation of the Lord in the temple. This is clearly symbolic and indicative of the nature and purpose of Jesus' life and mission. His human earthly life is an offering of the Father to humanity and for humanity for their salvation and redemption. 2.       Thus his life is sacrificial and his mission is redemptive. The ritual presentation of the Lord symbolizes his actual presentation by his death and resurrection. What a destiny and mystery! He came to die, but it is not to remain under the shackles of death to disappear completely. It is only to rise gloriously and thus make us live again. 3.       In his presentation is seen in one scene the whole story of his life and the culmination of it. In his presentation, we witness a totally different God, not a God who waits and appeases himself through various presentations and offerings by humans but a God who offers his own self. He does not offer merely some gifts and boons but offers his most precious Son. 4.       Thereby God reveals and reminds us of His very nature and of the nature of true love and also of the essence of salvation. Our God is a self-offering God; true love is self-offering and salvation consists in self-offering for others. 5.       Jesus' presentation in the temple is not merely a ritual fulfilment, not merely a chronological event in the history of his life, and not merely a part of his natural human growth. It is already an integral part of the redemptive process. 6.       His presentation is also a representation and invitation for our own presentation. Just as he is presented by the Father through his parents for the whole of humanity, so too we must present and offer ourselves to God for the sake of others. 7.       It is only in self-giving and surrendering that we obtain our salvation. And it is only in this life of offering that we fulfil our mission of salvation of others. 8.       As long as we refuse to offer and surrender ourselves to God and for the good of others, our life will have no meaning and no destiny. All the forces of self-centeredness, self-closure, defiance, and unreined freedom are clear contradictions to the very essence of our life and mission!   Direction: Undue self-clinging and self-indulgence, losing sight of surrender to God, and commitment to others' good are self-destructive!   03 FEBRUARY 2024: 1 KINGS 3. 4-13; MARK 6. 30-34   Focus: Sensitivity leading to Compassion! Indicative: Perhaps the greatest defect of today’s world is the lack of wisdom. While it is so frantically seeking riches and honour, it is so badly devoid of the inner power to discern between good and evil   1.      King Solomon was really wise to ask God for wisdom in preference to riches, honour, long life, and victory over enemies. He knew that for a leader, an understanding and wise mind to discern between good and evil is crucial for good governance. Nothing else can really match and replace wisdom. 2.       God was so pleased with the wise supplication of Solomon and he grants him incomparable wisdom. Along with it, he also grants him riches and honour. However, such a gift of wisdom will abide only when one is faithful to God. 3.       For the Bible says clearly, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Thus, as long as Solomon was walking before the Lord like his father in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward God, he reigned in wisdom. But when he began to waver in his fidelity to the true God, his wisdom also began to wane. 4.       In the NT, a leader is presented more in terms of a shepherd. Jesus himself presents himself as a good shepherd. He also expects his leaders over his people to be true shepherds. In the gospel, Jesus feels compassion for the people. 5.       This certainly shows the very nature of God as compassionate. He feels concerned for us. He senses our needs. He feels deeply moved by our plight. 6.       But apart from God’s nature of compassion, the reason for his compassion is a note to reflect upon. He feels compassion for the people because they are like sheep without a shepherd. This speaks both of the sheep and the shepherds as well. 7.       The sheep are directionless and deviant, either because there is no true shepherd to follow or because they do not follow the true shepherd. The shepherds too are culpable because they do not shepherd their sheep. 8.       The shepherds fail to be good shepherds because they lack the essential trait of wisdom. They lack that understanding and wise mind to discern between good and evil. They are more worried about riches, honour, long life, and success over their rivals, rather than wise governance. They substitute wisdom with the things of the world.   Imperative: The gospel notes that the disciples had no leisure even to eat. In the light of this, what many of the present shepherds lack is that ceaseless and relentless commitment to God’s work. Shepherds who do not love and lead their sheep; and sheep who do not follow their shepherds!   (Reflection 2) Focus: In life, the priced things are not so many possessions and positions, but wisdom, integrity, compassion, and dedication   1.      In the gospel, once again we see the deep compassion of Jesus towards his disciples and the people. He does not bother about himself but thinks of the tiredness and hunger of his disciples and the need for food and relaxation. 2.      He is concerned about the lack of guidance and of inner sustenance of the people, and their need to quench their spiritual hunger. That's why he teaches them, boosts up, and elevates their spirits. 3.      One concern that is impelling and challenging is the situation of “sheep without a shepherd”. What a profound and realistic observation and evaluation of Jesus on the people of his time! Our times are no different from those. 4.      Truly, many people today are like sheep without shepherds. It is true that many are without direction and due care. Many are like sheep without proper guidance and sufficient nourishment, be it spiritual, psychological, or moral. They need good shepherds. 5.      In fact, strictly speaking, there is only one supreme shepherd and that is Jesus. And all those who are entrusted with the task of shepherding the sheep, are actually the herdsmen, the caretakers. Today, a serious reflection and self-check must be on the quality of these herdsmen. 6.      Their main failure in their shepherding is not following the sole shepherd Jesus. These herdsmen ought to keep watch over the souls. They need to be conscious that one day they must give account. They must do their duty joyfully, and not reluctantly or sadly. 7.      And all, both the sheep and the shepherds must have a clear conscience. Their desire must be to act honourably in all things. The constant striving must be to equip themselves with everything good, so as to do his will, and whatever is pleasing in his sight.   Direction: Passion for God and compassion for others should always make our life tireless and our mission relentless. If we bother about God's work and others' good, God will bother about what we need.  

No comments:

Post a Comment