29 Week: Thursday 22 October 2020


Reading: Eph 3:14-21 and Lk 12:49-53
St. John Paul II

In today’s Gospel Jesus says: “I came to set fire on the earth” (v. 49). “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? On the contrary, I say, I came to bring division” (v. 51). What did he mean by these words? The fire that he brought on earth is the fire of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is something so new, so innovative and creative, that it can only burn prejudices and projects contrary to it. The Bible says that God created man and woman in His image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26). However, in reality, it is we who often create a God in our image and likeness. We project our desires, projects and characteristics on God, so that He doesn’t bother us. Something similar is true of Jesus. These verses challenge the common idea of a calm, passive Jesus without a transformative project. 

Whoever finds this Kingdom cannot escape its consequences, Prophet Jeremias says, “How can I escape you, how can I not speak, if your voice burns in my chest? How can I escape you, how can I not speak if your voice burns me inside?”

The arrival of the Kingdom does not bring passiveness, or neutrality. Everyone will have to choose – That is why the letter to the Hebrews clearly states: “The word of God is alive, effective and more penetrating than any double-edged sword; it penetrates to the point where the soul and the spirit meet, and as far as the joints and marrows meet ”(Heb 5,12).

Jesus is clear that his dedication to the Kingdom will encounter opposition from privileged groups, the owners of power, be it political power, economic power or, so often, religious power. For this reason, he predicts that he would have to undergo “baptism” – not that of water, but of fire, of suffering, which purifies how gold is purified in the crucible. The same is true of those who prophesy today.

Jesus brought Shalom – the peace that only God can give. The peace that is born as the justice of the Kingdom is lived. For without justice, apparent peace is nothing but deception and falsehood. Shalom, the peace of God, is not just the absence of a fight or war. Shalom exists as long as everyone enjoys everything that is necessary for a dignified life. 

Jesus says that the families themselves will be divided, because no one escapes the decision. Indeed, this would soon happen to Jewish Christians, when they were expelled from the synagogue, and the families split because of whether or not they adhered to the person and the project of Jesus. It may well be that we also have to lose friendships, relationships, prestige, not to mention business and power, if we choose to follow Jesus. Let us cheer up because the Kingdom of God near and let us allow it to enter into our heart. 
(By Fr. Jojo Kachapilly SDB, a missionary in Africa)

29 Week: Wednesday, 21 October 2020


Readings: Ephesians 3: 2-12; Luke 12:39-48
Life of Vigilance and the Possible Implicit Dangers

Today in the gospel, we are presented with two parables: the parable of the householder and the burglar reminds us that we always need to be vigilant – “if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through..” St. Peter tells us, “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8). The evil always lurks behind us.

Through the parable of the master and the faithful servant, the Lord reminds us of a vigilance amidst the possible implicit dangers. We can face many implicit dangers in our spiritual life of active watchfulness. The two most common dangers are getting locked in on ourselves and the gradual neglect of duty.

We can get locked in on ourselves in the here and now and concern ourselves only with the tangible things. This does not help us to raise our eyes beyond the present moment and its immediate urgency. The servant who gets locked in himself/herself will be very casual often at the risk of upsetting the divine order: “not serving the allowance of food at the proper time.” We become so casual and the habit of neglect catches on us. It will be first manifested in our attitudes and then in our actions. The neglectful and the casual attitude servant will always be characterized by “there is still time- a postponement attitude” (“My master is taking his time coming”), malignant behaviours (illtreats others), self-indulgence (eating and drinking and getting drunk), ignorance and irresponsibility. A young priest who is very enthusiastic and fervent in the initial months of ordination might lose out his fervour to the point of not praying his breviary, reciting the rosary, reading the bible, etc. Few rationalize saying, “work is prayer” and give up on prayer.  We often grow monotonous and bored slowly but surely leading us to neglect the most important things in life. Let us take some time to reflect on a very peculiar aspect of our life – the “used to” aspect of our daily actions. Remember that the servant who grew “used to” a life of self-importance and self-indulgence lost out on the respect of others in human terms and a severance from a close relationship with the master in spiritual terms. You know what God wants of you and if you stubbornly persist in your ways, you get beaten by your own self-inflicted lashes. So, start to stop doing what you know to be wrong today.  If life bores you, remember that “everything smaller than heaven bores us because only Heaven is bigger than our hearts” (Peter Kreeft). What really matters is keeping our eyes fixed on God to receive from him the criterion for right action and the capacity for it.

Right vigilance means that we try with all our strength and with great sobriety to do what is right. It means that you and I live, not according to our wishes but according to the signpost of faith. “Looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus is our model in being faithful to the Father. He always sought the will of God till the point of shedding his blood. He would have succumbed to the temptations of the evil one. He was tempted in every way but did not sin.
(By Fr. Anesh Chacko SDB)

29 Week: Tuesday 20 October 2020


Readings: Eph 2:12-22, Lk 12:35-38
Sr. Paul of the Cross
“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.”

Being awake is a recurrent reminder in the new testament. We find it repeated several times. In the gospel of today we are reminded of that by Jesus himself. We have often heard the saying, ‘begin with the end in mind’. It is an advice often given to entrepreneurs that they should have an exit plan even as they begin their business. It often allows one to be realistic in one’s expectations and plans.

In the gospel today Jesus is asking the disciples to be ready, to be like men who are waiting for their master’s arrival. But the reality is many of us wander through life aimlessly. I am certain that the experience of the pandemic taught many of us that things we thought were the most important things in life are not so significant after all. We might have changed our vision of life altogether. Today the gospel is reminding us that Christians are to have heaven as their ultimate end, the final goal. Reminding ourselves of this fact can help us live each day for God.

In Jesus’ words there is an immediacy. His parable reminds us of a sobering fact that we know not the day nor the hour when our lives will end. Therefore, we need not only be focused but also to be vigilant, as we confront the realities of today.

In the gospel parable the roles of the master and the servants are reversed. It is the master who serves the servants on his arrival because he found them faithful. There is a hint in it for each of us. When we serve others, we serve ourselves. It is in our service that we find the majesty of God and it is in our service that we share the fatherhood of God. It is in our service that our ultimate goal of heaven achieved.

Let us keep the door of our heart open to the master. May his grace enable each one of us to be at the service of others so that we ourselves can join the master’s table in heaven.

(By Fr. Sony PJ SDB, a missionary in Liberia)

29 Week: Monday 19 October 2020


Readings: Eph 2:1-10 and Lk. 12: 13-21

Eighteen times in his gospel Luke mentions wealth and its dangers. Yet, Jesus isn’t against wealth as such in Luke’s gospel. “Avoid greed in all its forms.” That statement of Jesus sets the tone of this gospel. Greed is an excessive desire to possess more than one needs or deserves. The man in the parable was very rich and now another abundant harvest was placed in his lap. What would he do with it? We would have been very edified, and God would have been very pleased if the rich man would have said, “I have enough for myself; I will give this harvest to help the poor.” Sadly, it seems, he never even considered it as one of his alternatives! His attitude resembles that of Ebenezer Scrooge, the greedy and avaricious character created by Charles Dickens in his celebrated novella, ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Visited by the spirits, Scrooge, finally, was convinced that there was more joy in sharing with others than hoarding everything for one’s self. The rich man of the gospel died clinging to his material possessions. God calls him a fool, “a rich fool.” Is it going to be our fate, too?

The occasion for this parable is on true and false security: a home is often wrecked by quarrels over money and sharing of inheritance. Two brothers are no more even on talking terms! What we own and possess should actually give us a feeling of security. But often the contrary is true! They often deprive us of the security which comes from belonging together, in the peace and comfort of a home…A sense of insecurity is reigning supreme in the world of today…at no time men spent so much money on security as today…they insure against any possible insecurity: accident, fire, disease, life, and so on…Insurance companies have funds of colossal amounts both at the national and international levels… At no time have men spent more on national security and defence…

Jesus speaks here of the two great teachers who teach us of real security: Death and God…Security does not lie on a human and a material foundation…this is what death teaches us. We are to look for security in the merits we entrusted to God by our sharing and letting go of things…Both teach us of real and lasting values: Eternal values.

Is the world, and our own communities, turning into a society of ‘rich fools?’ Are we making our barns bigger, storing as many things as we can accumulate? Do the goods of this world making us lose sight of the things that are eternal? Jesus’ warning is ever pertinent and valid for all ages: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

(By Fr. T. C. Joseph SDB)

29 Week: Sunday, 18 October 2020


Isaiah 45:1, 4-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b; Matthew 22:15-21
DIFFERING LOYALTIES?

Two puppeteers were arguing over who should control the strings of the puppet on the stage. As they argue, one tries to wrest the strings from the other. The puppet is pulled this way and that as each puppeteer pulls the string to an arm or leg, hand or foot.
Our varied commitments can do the same to us. Family, school/ workplace, church, government: to a varying extent, these determine the way we spend our time, energy, resources and money. We feel pulled in different directions, and we feel helplessly out of control.
Who or what should take priority?

This Sunday, in response to the Pharisees’ and Herodians’ carefully-formulated and absolutely-loaded question (“Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not”), Jesus responds to our important question.
Jesus’ response is equally loaded: “Repay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
First, there is no dichotomy between God and the many Caesars in our lives; each has its rightful place. But: God first, everything else next.

Second, “repay” what belongs to God. What belongs to God? In one word: everything! My resources, my time, my being, me… I belong to God!
Jesus illustrates this when he asks for a coin and asks: “Whose image is this?” The emperor’s image, stamped on the coin, showed that the coin belonged to him. We, stamped with the image of God, belong to him!
Jesus challenges us repay to God what is his – ourselves.

Belonging to God means belonging to one another! To give to God is also to share the goods of the earth with all people and with all of creation!
How am I going to give myself to God in the week ahead? No deductions, no exemptions!

Today is Mission Sunday. How will I give myself to the mission of proclaiming God, his love and his kingdom?
May I allow God to tug at the strings of my heart and mind. Then, my differing loyalties will not leave me out of control; I will discover balance and equanimity.
(By Fr. Vinod Mascarenhas SDB)

28 Week: Saturday, 17 October 2020


Readings: Eph 1:15-23 and Lk 12:8-12
St. Ignatius of Antioch

Don’t be surprised, if one day, I do not know you!

Jesus the second Person of the Triune God, left his beautiful heaven above and became a man to let us know that we are God’s children. “The spark” of the divine is in our frail human nature yearning to be united with the Divine after the earthly sojourn here on earth. The good news Christ came to give us is, “we are precious, created in God’s image and He loves us truly till the very end”.

Christ wanted all to know the father and the Holy Spirit through him. “If you see me you have seen the father” was Jesus’ reminder to the Apostle Philip. He is the witness of the Holy Trinity, the perfect image of God the Father and the Holy Spirit. He has acknowledged the nature of God, to the humans. Just as he acknowledges God’s mercy and love to the people, he expects all Christians, God’s children to acknowledge the Triune God in front of the heathens, non-believers who mock and ridicule Jesus and his message. “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the son of man also will acknowledge before the Angels of God.”

In today’s reading, Christ who had taught not to publicise our good deed before men; the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, praying in secret and not to display the charitable works done, to be bold witnesses,  cities on a hill top, light and salt of the world. A Christian has to ‘mirror’ Christ. Our love for Christ should impel us to know him more. Our knowledge of Christ should make us love God more and more. Ultimately, our love-filled LIVES, ought to manifest and acknowledge Christ in thoughts, words and deeds. Knowledge and love are inseparable.

You call me the Way, but you don’t follow me.
You call me the Light, but you don’t see me.
You call me the Teacher, but you don’t listen to me.
You call me the Lord, but you don’t serve me.
You call me the Truth, but you don’t believe me.
Don’t be surprised, if one day, I do not know you!

In the process of living the life of WITNESS: being accused, condemned, insulted, and even imprisonment would be the order of the day. In times as these, followers of Christ should not panic since, “the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour, what you ought to say”. (The sad fate befalling Rev. Fr. Stan Swamy to be arrested and imprisoned, since he fought for equality, justice and dignity, is a good point of reference)
Should we be fearful and anxious? Are we alone in this war? Certainly not! God in his goodness has given us a power beyond all reckoning: The Holy Spirit to be wise and take courageous stand every step of the way. We only need to be docile and run to the eternal fountain of the Holy Spirit for strength and courage, “how much more will the heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Lk 11:13)

Where God is, there is no fear! Where God is, there are no anxieties or worries! Where God is, there are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness etc! Christian’s Vocation demands that ‘we glorify God by our lives”. Our life of integrity and witness to God’s protection and love, is the medium, a Christian acknowledges Christ. Trusting in the eternal words, “the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour, what you ought to say”, we continue to live our lives for God’s Glory and our own salvation.
(Fr. James Kamei SDB)

28 Week: Friday, 16 October 2020


Readings: Eph 1:11-14Lk 12:1-7
According to me, the key to understand today’s readings is Lk 12:7: “You are of more value than many sparrows”.

Let us begin with the Gospel reading where Jesus gives us two “Do nots”:
1) Do not be afraid, because God takes notice of you.
2) Do not succumb to bad influence of hypocrites because what is covered up will be uncovered one day.

First, do not be afraid, because God takes notice of you. He knows you through and through (Ps 139), even the number of hairs on your head. Jesus gives us the great assurance of divine protection in all circumstances. Nothing will happen to us without God’s knowledge. Whiling speaking to his disciples about persecutions Jesus said; “You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish (Lk 21:16-18). You are of great value to God. He loves you with an everlasting love (Jer 31:1).

In the Old Testament, God’s people always found in Him safety and protection. In the book of Samuel we see the people who gathered around Saul telling him about Jonathan: “Must Jonathan die–he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die” (1 Sam 14:45).

Second, do not succumb to bad influence of hypocrites because what is covered up will be uncovered one day. Or in other words, because you are of great value, you should not debase yourself by yielding to any evil influence. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy”, Jesus says.  You are already great in God’s eyes in worth and value, and therefore you do not need to claim higher standards, as  the Pharisees did and become hypocrites. You are better than the best that they try to project! “You are of more value than many sparrows!”
The first reading from Ephesians helps us to understand what the greatness of the disciples consist in.

Look at how St. Paul defines our great identity in just four verses:
1) In Christ we are chosen and are destined for the purpose of God (v.11): As our inheritance is in Christ, we have been “destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will (v.11). Our destiny is God, not Gehenna. We have a divine inheritance and a divine destiny. This gives us great worth and value.
2) We set our hope in Christ (v.12): Our hope is in Christ because having heard the Word of truth, the Gospel of salvation, we have believed in him. He is the pledge or guarantee for our divine destiny. The resurrection of our Crucified Lord is the source of our eternal life.
3) We are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit for redemption (v.13): The divine seal which is imprinted on us is the pledge of our redemption. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, which is initiated at our Baptism.
4) We are God’s own people, we exist for the praise of God’s glory (v.12, 14). We belong to God! This is the most fundamental truth about human existence. Throughout the Old Testament we see God reminding the people that they are his own possession.

“You will be My people and I will be your God” (Jer 30:22).
“I will claim you as My people, as I will be your God” (Ex 6:7).
You are of more value than many sparrows”.
From Paul’s letter we can conclude that the reason for our great value is our ‘Trinitarian connection’. It is the Trinitarian love which defines who we are and what our destiny would be: In Christ we are chosen and have our hope; with the Spirit we are sealed; in God the Father we become his children, his own people.

Finally, being elevated to such a great dignity, worth and value, we should live our lives gratefully accepting it, faithfully preserving it and joyfully glorifying the Giver of such a gratuitous gift.
Dear friends, you are of more value than many sparrows”. Live for the praise of His glory (Eph 1:12). May we not only glorify God but also become the glory of God!
(Fr. TC George SDB, former South Asian Delegate of Missionary Animation)

28 Week: Thursday, 15 October 2020


Readings: Eph 1:1-10 and Lk 11:47-54
St. Teresa of Avila

I have seen people taking their precious time and spending money to visit some of the tombs of saints like Mother Theresa of Calcutta, St. Oscar Romero, St. John Paul II etc. These saintly heroes in their lifetime stood for some social and evangelical principles and they are honored and remembered in our time. Unfortunately, these visits have become part of a “tourist package and not as an inspirational package” because it requires courage to imitate and live in a radical way.

In today´s Gospel Jesus confronts the Pharisees and the Doctors of the law. The latter group had a great admiration for the prophets in the past, so much so that they continued to maintain their tombs with great pride and show but their lack of willingness to follow the truthful sacrificing spirit of the prophets. Prophets were seen as men of God. The difficulty and resistance of accepting his message to recognize the word of God in it has a long and dramatic history in Israel. Therefore, Jesus reminds them that the rejecting behavior is nothing new, but it is almost a continuation of the past (hereditary). Therefore, they need a very radical change of behavioral pattern. Along our life journey, we meet people who are masters in teaching us what is right to practice, but they are extremely poor in witnessing and sharing life. It’s the famous saying: Do what I say but don’t do what I do. This is certainly not God’s will for us. Today’s Gospel calls us to conversion, overcoming all types of hypocrisy. We will only be truly happy if we truly contribute to the happiness of the other. In the last part of the Gospel reading calls  the doctors of law as great experts in law but the expertise is not channeled to promote human well-being and worst still is that  they try to block the spiritual “good will journey” to eternal life.

Today we are presented with one of the great Doctors of the Church. The unique importance of S. Teresa d’Ávila among the other saints of the Catholic Church is due not only to her spiritual perfection, but also to her role as God’s providential instrument to indicate to all the faithful which way they must go to reach that same greatness of love. Teresa is important, in other words, not only because she was holy, but because she taught how someone becomes holy. His famous Book of Life, initially written for the instruction of his nuns, is a clear example and at the same time human and divine, of the steps that each soul must take on this path of love that we call holiness. And one of the most important points of the doctrine of S. Teresa is the relative value – in fact, minimal, if not negligible – of the “external signs”. For holiness does not consist in having visions or experiencing overwhelming ecstasies, nor should it be sought by the consolations that occasionally accompany it. Let us not, therefore, be like that “evil and perverse generation” of the Gospel, which seeks a great and striking sign, while the greatest sign of love, Christ himself present in the intimacy of our inner castle, is right beside him. 
(Fr Jojo Kachappilly SBD, a missionary in Angola)

28 Week: Wednesday, 14 October 2020


One Step Method to Belong to Christ: Crucify Self-indulgence
Readings: Galatians 5: 18-25; Luke 11:42-46

We live in a culture of immediate self-gratification or “I want it now” culture. Google delivers thousands of results in fractional seconds; WhatsApp texting and email messages fly faster than you can dial a phone. If you are in a restaurant or a wayside dhaba, you cannot wait for your ordered item more than 5 to 10 minutes.  Our technological advancement, specifically the vast reach of the internet has perhaps made us to madly pursue the quest to quench our infinite curiosities. Our mobile phones have become extensions of our selves. We have become greatly involved in ourselves and our preferred mode of communication has now become non-invasive or less intrusive and impersonal. We are part of this culture of the immediate self-gratification. In the dynamics of the self-gratification, we are controlled by our desires and the need to fulfil them. We forget that we are part of a larger human society, belonging to a family, a state, a nation, a religion. St. Paul tells us, “none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord, so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom14:7,8). St. Paul is very clear on our belonging to Christ. He gives us a one-step method to belong to Christ: crucify self-indulgence. You cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires (Gal 8:24).  

Connected with the desert fathers, there is a story of Abba Macarius receiving some fresh grapes. He wanted to eat them. But he chose not to and knew another monk who was sick and really liked grapes. He sent them to the monk who, upon receiving them, chose not to eat them as a means of practicing self-control and humility. He sent them to another monk who did the same and another after him. After some time, a monk gave the grapes back to Macarius himself. Recognizing what had happened, he praised God for living among such a community of brothers with such self-control. Even he didn’t eat the grapes.” This story might seem silly and very archaic. However archaic, this story might seem, it teaches us an important lesson of self-regulation – Sacrifice or delay of gratification. Practicing self-control or disciplining the self is very much part of Christian ascesis. The idea behind the delay in gratification is the fact that “something better might be attained in the future by giving up something of value in the present.” Sacrifice now and have a gain later. When I was growing up, I had read the stories of the many yogis in the Himalayas who after many years of ascetic practices attain a boon from the deity. So, sacrifice something today, gain a blessing in the future. Now what pleases the deity? Sacrifice. Sacrifice will improve the future. Two questions – what is the best effective sacrifice? How good will the future be if the most effective sacrifice could be made? The best sacrifice is the giving up of what is loved best as it is evident from the Abrahamic sacrifice of Isaac.  In the gospel reading today, Jesus lays bare the hypocrisies of the pharisees and lawyers. Jesus’ harsh words, “woe to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them,” (Lk 11:46) insults us too with an awareness of our inability to sacrifice or face the discipline of the state of life we choose to live.

Matthew Kelly, a renowned American author in his best-selling book, Resisting Happiness tells us that resistance hates discipline, abhors delayed gratification and any type of self-denial that makes our heart, mind, and soul strong.  CS Lewis once speculated that if God gave us perfect happiness in this life, it would be unjust since we would then stop seeking after God Himself.
Practice the delay of gratification today as a step to discipline ourselves to belong to Christ.
(By Fr. Aneesh SDB)

28 Week: Tuesday 13 October 2020


Readings: Gal 5:1-6; Lk 11:37-41

Freedom is something that all of us look for and strive towards. However, all of us think of freedom in different ways. Sometimes we consider freedom as complete lack of control from any external agency. Freedom to do what one likes! But in today’s reading St. Paul reminds the Christians of Galatia and us that true freedom is subjecting oneself to God’s law above everything else. God’s law is law of Love. It is an enabling virtue. Love elevates us from subservience to obedience and faith. For St. Paul faith is closely linked to fidelity. One’s faithfulness to the law should elevate us to the spirit of the law which is freedom in Christ. 

We find that Jesus sets the bar of generosity and love very high. In the gospel, Jesus showed us how he could mix with one and all, saints and sinners. He then used every such occasion to communicate the Good News. He takes up the Jewish laws of washing and cleanliness to drive home an important lesson to all those who observed him and followed him. When questioned about not washing before sitting down to dine, we often forget about the fact that nobody seems to have offered him the possibility of doing so. They didn’t have the courage to ask him but they question him in their heart. In a time of pandemic like the one we experience today nobody doubts the need for cleanliness for safety and protection. However, we do not always think of the millions of people who have to walk miles to collect a little water for drinking. We often forget about the millions of poverty-stricken people for whom access to water is a luxury. It is no fault of theirs but is often the result of injustice and greed. Our inability to share the resources of the world. But we insist on washing and hygiene without ever giving them the possibility. 

We become like the Pharisees in the gospel who are concerned about the ritual practices but refusing to speak up for the rights of others, being just to the downtrodden and unable to perceive the hardship of our neighbour. We make little effort to overcome our selfishness and desire for comfort. 

The Lord calls us today to exercise the law of love that frees us from fear and enables us to be compassionate. He invites us to look within us and cleanse the inside so that we are able to live a life that is free, free of everything that prevents us from experiencing the love of God and sharing it with others. 

(By Fr. Sony PJ SDB)