Saturday, June 5, 2021
Bible Reflections I 06.06.2021 - MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST - SOLEMNITY I
Readings
I - Ex. 24: 3-8
II - Heb. 9: 11-15
III - Mk. 14: 12-16, 22-28
MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST - SOLEMNITY
The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ signifies the gradual transition of the Old Covenant of God with His people Israel through Moses - "You are my people and I will be your God” to the New Covenant with us, the New Israel through Jesus, the New Moses as “Children of God”, confirmed in the blood of Jesus.
Today’s Gospel passage is about the celebration of the Passover and the Institution of the Holy Eucharist. At the outset of the celebration of the Passover Jesus says, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Lk. 22:15). His desire in the Institution of the Holy Eucharist that assures us of His continual presence with us forever until the end our time.
After the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God”. An expression of His commission in building up a new world order. Thus Eucharist become a sign and symbol of His presence and mission.
As Christians and the followers of Jesus, every time we celebrate the Holy Eucharist, we are assured of God's presence with us and are commissioned to establish a new world order where freedom, fraternity and justice reign. We are prone to go by the existing world order and enjoy the temporary peace that the world offers.
But Jesus assuring His continual presence with us, commissions for a new world that implies saying ‘no’ to corruption, selfishness, casteism, racism, violence, revenge, exploitation, hatred and oppression and enjoy His everlasting peace. It’s a warfare between the friends of Jesus and the friends of the world. May we fight the battle with Jesus, hoping to raise our cup joyously with Him at the celebration of our eternal life with Him.
Friday, June 4, 2021
Bible Reflections I 05.06.2021 - Saturday I Indraya Manna I
Readings
I - Tobit. 12:1,5-15,20
II - Mk. 12:38-44
JESUS DENOUNCES THE SCRIBES AND PRAISES THE WIDOW
The Gospel passage of the day proposes two models of personality viz., the Scribes, noble and respectable persons but mere preachers and a widow, poor and insignificant but practitioner of the law. The former is the model of hypocrisy and the latter is the model of spirituality. One took delight in vain glory the other in the generous giving as the scripture says, giving up all that she had to live on, the two copper coins. It is the attitude that takes precedence over our actions.
We are living in the reality that is so much influenced by the ‘culture of publicity’. There are so many corporates, consultants and agencies besides the SNS platform that are working for the same cause. Scientific and technological developments have made publicity a click/tab away. Still we do find people like the poor widow, going about doing good out of their way noticed by none but God alone. For instance, during this pandemic we did find ordinary common people helping the affected out of humanity and not publicity by providing physical, moral and spiritual support by contributing their mite.
Somee have also volunteered to help even at the cost of risking their lives by offering frontline services or by providing a decent burial to the deceased. May God be glorified in their generosity. As Christians we are called to imitate our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ shunned publicity either while performing the miracles or while preaching in the public or when the people wanted to make him a king. Modelled after our Lord Jesus Christ may we live our lives challenging the existing culture of publicity.
Thursday, June 3, 2021
Bible Reflections I 04.06.2021 - Friday I
Readings: I - Tobit 11:5-15
II - Mk. 12:35-37
THE QUESTION ABOUT DAVID’S SON
In today’s Gospel we read Jesus quoting the Scripture to prove that He is not merely David’s Son but God’s own Son. The prophecy about the Promised One, the long await Messiah was already fulfilling in the person of Jesus. But in their stubbornness of heart, the Scribes, the Pharisees, the Chief Priests and the elders refused to accept this truth because of sheer jealousy, pride and prejudice. For in them was fulfilled the prophecy of Prophet Isaiah, “you will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving” (Isaiah 6:9).
We are not very much different from those hypocrites. We too wish to hear only what is pleasing and see what is satisfying. We even try to shun from our family and friends, dear and beloved ones because their truth hurt us. We pamper our inflated ego, enormous pride and escalated prejudice to hate people who are different from us and bypass the hurting truth that come from them. May the Lord grace us with an open mind and heart to understand what we hear and to perceive what we see accepting the uniqueness and difference in every person in our search for truth.
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Bible Reflections I 03.06.2021 - Thursday I
Readings: I - Tobit 6:10-11,7:1,9-14,8:4-9
II - Mk. 12:28-34
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
In today’s Gospel we read one last question posed by one of the Scribe followed by the chief priests, the elders, the sadducees and the other scribes to Jesus, “which commandment is the first of all?” As a faithful Jew Jesus responded saying, to love the Lord God above all else, and to it he added the second, to love the neighbours as oneself.
The whole week we had been reading about Jesus answering one question after another, about his authority, payment of tax to Caesar, resurrection of the dead and about the first commandment, with utmost wisdom and prudence. It was possible because he was aware of His identity as the Son of God the Father and he was always united with Him in prayer.
In the context of our world today we are faced with wickedness, plotting, fault finding, injustice, corruption, misunderstanding, hatred, rash conclusions and violence. The Gospel passages of the week invite us to become aware of our own identity as Children of God and to be always united with Him in prayer as did Jesus our Lord so as to combat the current context with prudence and wisdom. Jesus has walked the way. He has said, “Behold I’m with you until the end of time”. Let us hold fast to the hands of Jesus and tread our path courageously facing everyone and everything.
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Bible Reflections I 02.06.2021 - Wednesday
Ordinary Time – Week 9
Readings:
I - Tobit 3:1-11, 16-17
II - Mk. 12:18-27
THE QUESTION ABOUT THE RESURRECTION
The Sadducees were ‘liberals’ while the Pharisees were ‘conservatives’ comparatively. Still the Sadducees insisted that the doctrines be grounded in scriptural foundation while the Pharisees were content that they be based on their tradition. In today’s Gospel the Sadducees question Jesus about the resurrection, life after death, the doctrine in which they actually did not believe expecting to embarrass Jesus, the carpenter’s son and assert their premise on resurrection. To their surprise Jesus quotes the scripture and evince them that there is life after death and that our God is God of the living and not of the dead. He astounds the Sadducees quoting from the Book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?” He is God of the living and not of the dead and that they are wrong in their belief.
Appearance is deceptive. We have our own set mold categorizing people in our mind as cleaver, foolish, intellectual, illiterate, virtuous, wicked, good and bad based on the place they come from, family they belong to, their caste and their tribe. The rough jack contains sweet fruits, the lovely ripe fig often contains dead bugs, precious gold is mixed in mud and in charcoal do we find exquisite diamonds. Therefore go beyond appearances and prejudice to discover the truth in everything, every happening and every person. Give up prejudice against persons under the pretext of their appearances and hailing and explore the truth, goodness and beauty present in them.
Monday, May 31, 2021
Bible Reflections I 01.06.2021 I FEAST OF ST. JUSTIN
Ordinary Time - Week 9
Readings: I - Tobit 2:9-14
II - Mk. 12:13-17
THE QUESTION ABOUT PAYING TAXES
In today’s Gospel some Pharisees and Herodians precisely try to trap Jesus asking, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” If he says ‘yes’ he would be against the religion and if ‘no’ he would be against the Romans and their nation. In either cases he would be a traitor. The simple fact is that they wanted to get rid of Jesus though they were convinced that He was sincere, impartial and showed difference to no one. They wanted to get rid of Jesus precisely because He was not fitting into the frame that they had for nation, religion and people.
It so happens in our lives too that we discriminate and estrange people when they don’t fit into our mental frame that is set already. In our pride, arrogance, anger, hatred and jealousy we suppress, neglect or evade others. We wish to get rid of those people no matter how good they are by false branding, negative comments, misrepresentation, untrue accusations, delusive remarks and fabricated gossips. May our emotions towards Jesus, Pharisees and Herodians in this passage help us to examine and align our lives in the path of truth and transformation.
Sunday, May 30, 2021
VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY English Bible Reflections I 31.05.2021I
Readings: I - Zeph. 3:14-18
II - Luke. 1:39-56
VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY - Feast
Humility is the mother of all virtues. It is in being humble that our love becomes more genuine, expressed in selfless service and ardent worship. Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Visitation of our Blessed Mother Mary to St. Elizabeth.
Mary did not sink in the glory of the greetings and the Good News of the angel Gabriel. Instead the highly favoured one, full of grace and the mother of the Lord, as the scripture says, “went with haste” to help her cousin Elizabeth who was with a child in her old age. This is selfless service.
Elizabeth praises Mother Mary calling her “Blessed among all women” and “the Mother of the Lord”. Mary was unperturbed by her praises instead attributed them all by magnifying the marvelous deeds of the Mighty God. This is ardent worship.
Today we run after subscribers, likes, friends, fans and followers for every click and post aspiring to become familiar, popular, successful, recognised and in short we wish to become someone great even at the cost of basic humanness. The feast of the day teaches us that we become great in our selfless service and ardent worship. Like our Mother Mary if we learn to humble ourselves before the lord, we will realise that we are His followers and not masters designing our own way. May we in our selfless service to the humanity express our ardent worship to the Lord in all humility and charity.
Saturday, May 29, 2021
Sunday Bible Reflections I 30.05.2021
Readings
I - Deu. 4: 32-34,39-40
II - Rom. 8: 14-17
III - Mt. 28: 16-20
MOST HOLY TRINITY - SOLEMNITY
God chooses Israel to send the Promised One, His Son, Jesus; Jesus chooses the disciples to make everyone His disciples and the Holy Spirit chooses these disciples to help them choose God and God alone. This is the crux of all three readings today.
Choosing God demands love to hatred, forgiveness to revenge, selflessness to selfishness, humility to pride and meekness to arrogance. If we choose God, we precisely choose to boycott the allurements of the standards of the world. We will be suppressed, mocked, scoffed, humiliated and jeered by everyone who belong to the world.
Therefore choosing God is a challenge. Courage! The Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the promised one of our Lord is with us to help us conquer the world with all its glitter and glamour and to tread in the path of our Lord Jesus Christ by choosing God again and again.
As the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, May our hearts recite this prayer throughout the day:
Thank you Father for choosing me
Thank you Jesus for sanctifying me
Thank you Holy Spirit for guiding me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.
Friday, May 28, 2021
Indraya Manna IDaily English Bible Reflections I May, 29,2021, Saturday I
Ordinary Time - Week 8
Readings: I - Sir. 51:12 - 20
II - Mk. 11:27 - 33
JESUS’ AUTHORITY IS QUESTIONED
In today’s Gospel the chief priests, the scribes and the elders interrogate about the authority of Jesus asking, “By what authority are you doing these things?” ‘These things’ here means the cleansing of the temple in particular. Jesus consents to answer posing a conditional query to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me”.
Jesus counter questioned them because he was not speaking to the ordinary people but to the chosen and the privileged, the learned and the cleaver; and the elite and the spiritual who were on their finger tips about the law and the prophets. They were of course waiting for the fulfillment of the prophesy in the coming of the Messiah which is mentioned in the book of Prophet Malachi.
The sick and the sinners; the poor and the marginalized; and the lost and the least were able to discover the Messiah in Jesus while the so called spirituals were stubborn to accept the truth that they were already in the days of the long awaited Messiah because he was not compromising rather he was a sign of conflict and contradiction to them. It was because of the prejudice, jealousy and hatred they had towards Him.
Even today truth is accepted only when it is convincing to our whims and fancies, compromising to our thought patterns and not contradicting our life style. Let us not discriminate, alienate or exclude people and search for the truth only in the people appealing to us. Truth can be hidden anywhere and in any person. Let no prejudice or sordid mind prevent us from discovering it. Let us with an open mind and courage go beyond, walk an extra mile to discover the truth even if it hurts us for God is truth. Those who discover truth discover God Himself.
Thursday, May 27, 2021
Indraya Manna - 28.05.2021 - Friday
May 28, 2021 Friday
Ordinary Time - Week 8
Readings: I - Sir. 44:1, 8-13
II - Mk. 11: 11-25
THE CURSING OF FIG TREE AND THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
Today’s Gospel says that Jesus from a distance sees a ‘fig tree in leaf’ which means that the fig tree is supposed to be with the fruits. But to the disappointment of Jesus he finds no fruit and curses the fig tree. The temple is supposed to be a place of prayer and worship. But it was made a business centre and a place of money making. The fruitless fig tree and the temple that targeted only business, provoked the anger of Jesus because they were deceptive and lost their purpose. They appeared to be what they were not.
We are the temples of God and are called to chant the praises and glory of God and this of course is a purposeful and fruitful living. Often at times we appear to be fruitful in our deceptive gestures, impressing words, pretention and falsehood forgetting that we are the temple of God. We can easily deceive people but not God who knows even the most secret thoughts of our hearts. We sadden and disappoint God with our dishonest and disintegrated living. Let us take up our lives as it comes and live to the best trusting in the grace and mercy of God. Let us resolve to be sincere to ourselves, to God and to our neighbours so that God may be pleased to have his throne in our hearts and that our lives may become purposeful and fruitful glorifying the Lord.
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
27.05.2021 Gospel Reflection
THE HEALING OF BLIND BARTIMAEUS (Mk. 10:46-52)
Today’s Gospel reading is about the healing of the blind beggar Bartimaeus. When the blind beggar Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by he began to shout and say, “Jesus, Son of David have mercy on me”. Many ordered him sternly to be quite, and the Bible says that he cried out even more louder. The more the people tried to make him silent, the more louder he cried out to Jesus for help.
This Gospel contains encouraging, consoling and inspiring message to each one of us. The situation we are living in today may be trying our faith and trust in God. The pandemic and its effects, unemployment, poverty, misery, debts, misunderstanding, confusion, helplessness, hopelessness, fear, anxiety, depression and all the drudgeries of life may tend to weigh us down from faith and prayer life.
Itt is here in such situations we are encouraged by the blind Bartimaeus, to call for God’s help even more louder and definitely Jesus will come to our rescue as healer and saviour. With this trust and confidence in God let us carry on our life gracefully with all its problems and worries placing all our hope in the Lord alone.
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
26.05.2021 - Wednesday.
26.05.2021 - Wednesday
Indraya Manna - Gospel Reflection
Mark 10: 32-35 (26.05.2021)
Jesus rules out the values proposed by the world to the subservient values of Christian living that enable one to take pride in calling oneself ‘a follower of Jesus’.
In today’s Gospel according St. Mark, Chapter 10, verses 32 to 45, Jesus is focused about His mission and walks ahead of His disciples and followers, towards Jerusalem to endure suffering, passion and death, for the salvation of the humankind.
The sons of Zebedee, Andrew, and John are keen about getting a place at the right and left hand of Jesus that would give them power and prestige, pomp and glory, reverence and recognition.
Jesus gathers His disciples enlightens and empowers them on the topsy turvy principles of the Kingdom of God. To be a leader is to be a servant; to be the first is to be the last and this is the strategy to inherit a place in the Heavenly Kingdom. During this time of the pandemic, how are we going to serve humanity? Am I going to be a volunteer at the service of the affected? Can I offer material help to the poor who are deprived of their livelihood? Will I offer my prayers in solidarity with the suffering humanity? Or will I ostracize my own family members and neighbors in the name of a pandemic? Let us strive our best to serve in our own little ways and inherit a place in the eternal place in the Kingdom of God.
Sunday, March 14, 2021
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