Saturday, August 7, 2021
Bible Reflections I 08.08.2021- Sunday I Indraya Manna I
Readings
I - I Kings. 19: 4-8
II - Eph. 4: 30-5:2
III - Jh. 6: 41-51
IN THE EUCHARIST IS THE LIFE ETERNAL
In the first reading, God refreshes and rejuvenates the disheartened prophet Elijah by feeding him through an angel to pursue his journey to Horeb, the mount of God. The prophet stood for the truth courageously but fled in fear to save his life. In the second reading, St. Paul exhorts the Christians to be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another as Christ has forgiven, in a nutshell to be imitators of God, as his beloved children. In this way one becomes a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. This is a daring and dauntless venture that demands absolute effort and resoluteness to live by the divine values that is difficult and demanding. Hence, to refresh and rejuvenate the Christian living, God gives His only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour as food and drink with the assurance of life eternal as we read in the Gospel passage today.
St. Paul in his letter to the Romans says, “do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind’ (Rom. 12:2). This is the challenge of the Eucharist as well, as Jesus says, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (Jh. 13:15).
Being imitators of Christ demands love to hatred, peace to discord, unity to disunity, generosity to avarice, selflessness to selfishness and kindness to arrogance. It for this that we are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). Whenever we stand for what is right, noble and truthful, we stand for God earning the vengeance and hatred of the world. As an understanding and empathetic friend, Jesus comes to as food and drink to strengthen, heal, support, encourage, revive and renew our assiduous effort, striving spirit and vanning strength until we reach our home with him in heaven.
Friday, August 6, 2021
Bible Reflections I 07.08.2021 - Saturday I Indraya Manna I
Readings
I - Deu. 6: 4-13
II - Mt. 17: 14-20
FLAVOUR BY FAITH
Today’s Gospel passage is about Jesus curing a boy with a demon. Absence of faith in both, the man who brought the boy and the disciples made the miracle an impossible one. It is in this context Jesus says, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’, and it will move, nothing will be impossible for you”. Faith as mustard seed can flavour life and favour all things.
With the two waves of covid, the economy has slashed radically, leaving the people under poverty, unemployment and misery. Common people are caught up into the clutches of depression, discouragement, despair, helplessness and hopelessness. There are people who are unable to get even one square meal in a day, inability to cope up with the educational expenses have left many children as dropouts from the school this year, students who have completed their higher education with great struggle remain jobless with shattered dreams and vanning hope, some people are with guilt feeling of losing their dear ones because of their inability to afford to their medical treatment and some are mourning at the sudden demise of their dear ones.
Covid has adversely affected the social, economical and psychological dimensions of the people. Amidst all these adversaries there are still opportunities and possibilities for the one who nurtures his spiritual dimension in faith. Yes, faith can topsy turvey all setbacks into success, failure into accomplishment, adversity into prosperity and defeat into victory. Let our mind and heart resonate with this prayer: “Jesus Lord, increase my faith”.
Thursday, August 5, 2021
Bible Reflections I 06.08.2021 - Friday I Indraya Manna I
Readings
I - Dan. 7: 9-10, 13-14
II - 2Pt. 1: 16-19
III - Mk. 9: 2-10
Transfiguration of the Lord (Feast)
TRANSCEND, TRANSFOM AND TRANSFIGURE
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the transfiguration of the Lord. In the Gospel passage we read, Peter, James and John witnessing the transfiguration of the Lord in all his glory, glowing in dazzling white. There Elijah and Moses appeared to him and Jesus was talking to them. Elijah is a great prophet and also associated with the arrival of the Messiah: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord” (Mal. 4:5). Moses is the liberator and the Law giver. Appearance of Moses and Elijah with Jesus symbolize that Jesus is the compendium of Law and Prophesy and this is affirmed by the overshadowing of the cloud that symbolize the presence of God.
The first reading is about the vision of Daniel, in which he sees God sitting in his throne with all dominion, glory and kingship. The vision of God usually beheld the mission of the Prophet among the people viz. repentance of heart and restoration of the covenantal relationship with Him. Hence it is a call for a commission and an invitation for rejuvenation and restoration of retarded relationship.
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Heb. 1:1). Peter, James and John were given such a privilege of witnessing the transfiguration of the Lord with the mission embedded in the voice of the Father, “This my Son, the Beloved; listen to him”. To listen to Jesus, the prophet par excellence, the liberator from our sin, slavery and suffering and the Neo Law giver.
Listening to Jesus tantamount to living the Neo Law of Jesus. The Neo Law of Jesus is the New Commandment based on Love: love of God and love of neighbour. One cannot exist without the other. They are the two sides of the same coin. One cannot say “I love God and hate my neighbour” or vice versa. The feast of transfiguration invites us to transcend from all our selfishness, ego, pride, jealousy, hatred, envy, greed, avarice etc… and transform into persons of love, peace, joy, happiness, tenderness, compassion, empathy, gentleness, care, concern etc… so as to be transfigured restoring the image and likeness of God in which we were created. Let our mind and heart resonate with this prayer during this day: “Lord Jesus, help me to transform, transcend and transfigure for your greater glory”
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Bible Reflections I 05.08.2021 - Thursday I Indraya Manna I
Readings
I - Num. 20:1-13
II - Mt. 16: 13-23
Dedication of St. Mary Major (Optional Memoria)
CHOSEN TO BE THE CHURCH OF GOD
In today’s Gospel passage Jesus calls Peter ‘blessed’ and ‘Satan’ simultaneously under two different contexts. Jesus praises Peter when his answer aligned with the plan of the Father in Heaven and calls him ‘Blessed’ and rebukes him calling ‘Satan’ when he becomes a stumbling block to the plan of God. Jesus choses that ‘Blessed’ Peter as ‘Rock’ and establishes his Church upon the leadership of that ‘Rock’, Peter. From then up till now the Church has been victorious over all heresies and havoc caused to it, true to the words of Jesus, “the gates of hades will not prevail against it”. With and upon the weak being is build the great, divine, holy and mighty Church of God as the bible says, “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the corner stone” (Eph. 2:20).
Today the Church remembers the dedication of St. Mary Major Church, Rome, a great and gigantic church built in honour of Mother Mary. The site for the Church was chosen by the Blessed Mother herself through the miraculous snow fall at that site as she promised. The purpose of every church besides being a place of worship, glory, honour and praise to God, binds brothers and sisters in fraternity, unity and equality. St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of Holy Spirit within you” (1Cor. 6:19). We are the temple of God, called to be the sign of fraternity, unity and equality reflecting the presence of God. In this our living we become the worship, honour, glory and praise to God. This may inherit the wrath of the world upon us and the people of this world may hate, haul and hurt us but they can never prevail over us. With the blessings and grace of God let us try to project the presence of God in us to the people around as we keep repeating: “Lord Jesus, help me to project your presence in my life”
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Bible Reflections I 04.08.2021 - Wednesday I Indraya Manna
Readings
I - Num. 13:1-2,25 -
14: 1,26-29,34-35
II - Mt. 15: 21-28
COURAGE CONQUERS, PERSISTENCE PAYS AND FAITH FAVOURS
In today’s Gospel Jesus referring the Canaanite woman a dog reverses the stereo mindset of the Jews raising her to the standard of the people of God as did the Jews. Because the Jews took pride in parading themselves as people of God. The Canaanites were considered as enemies, sinners and outcasts. The Canaanite woman with such a helpless background but with a great courage in her heart goes amidst the chosen crowd to seek Jesus with a tremendous faith that Jesus would definitely heal her daughter and persistently pervaded the mindset of the Jews without getting offended. Jesus uses the courage, persistence and the faith of the Canaanite woman to instruct the Jews and include everyone under the umbrella of the Children of God.
Prayer with utmost faith shatters the shackles, reaches the royal realm of God and gets request rewarded. Jacob wrestled with God and got the name Israel (Gen. 32:22-32), the walls of Jerico fell with the prayers and praises of God (Jos. 6: 1-27), Holofernes the giant was beheaded at the hand of a woman with the back up of prayer (judith13), blind beggars effort and calling out of Jesus with faith obtained sight for him (Mk. 10: 46-52), woman with the hemorrhage, touching the hem of the garment of Jesus in faith was healed instantaneously (Mt. 9: 20-22), the centurion obtained healing for his servant even in the off-physical presence of Jesus with an utmost faith in him (Mt. 8:5-13). Jesus says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you” (Mt. 7:7). St. Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians says, “…Pray without ceasing” (1Thess. 5:16). Let us not get easily discouraged rather pray the Lord persistently, with great courage and tremendous trust, for courage conquers, persistence pays and faith favours as it did with the Canaanite woman who pleaded Jesus.
Monday, August 2, 2021
Bible Reflections I 03.08.2021 - Tuesday I Indraya Manna
Readings
I - Num. 12: 1-13
II - Mt. 14: 22-36
FIX FOCUS ON GOD
Today’s Gospel passage is about Jesus walking on water and bidding Peter to do the same when he asked for it. To the surprise and amazement of the disciples, Peter did walk on the water. But gripped in fright with the force of wind, as Peter began to sink in water, he cried out to the Lord for help, “Lord! Save me!”. Jesus put out his hand, held him and asked him just one question, “Why did you doubt?”. Peter despite witnessing multiple deeds of marvelous miracles and stunning healings, was weighed down with trembling fear all because he fixed his focus upon the wind and not on Jesus.
Don’t we too often reflect Peter in our lives? We should have been witnessing umpteen number of amazing works of God in our lives, still, when we are overwhelmed with worries, troubled with turmoil, engulfed in fear and surged in sorrows, where do we fix our focus? Don’t we tend to fix our focus either on ourselves or on the problems? Let us learn to fix our gaze at Jesus like Peter saying, “Lord! Save me!” so that we might be conquerors in all things through Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:37). May our mind resonate with this prayer as we keep repeating: “Lord Jesus, help me to fix my focus on you”.
Sunday, August 1, 2021
Bible Reflections I 02.08.2021 - Monday I Indraya Manna I
Readings:
I - Num. 11: 4-15
II - Mt. 14: 13-21
SHARED IS MULTIPLIED
Five loaves and two fish to five thousand men besides women and children with twelve baskets remnant is unimaginable, ungraspable and unfathomable. With man this is impossible but with God all things are possible (Mt. 19:26). In Today’s gospel we read Jesus telling his disciples, “give them something to eat yourselves”. To Jesus were brought all that they had: five loaves and two fish. Jesus blesses that too little into a more than enough for the multitude, as the gospel says, “They all ate as much as they wanted”. Not ‘each one, eat one bread’ but as much as each one wanted.
St. Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians says, “Give from your heart…for God loves a cheerful giver” (2Cor. 9:7). God sees the heart, the intention and the generosity with which we give and never what or how much we give. With God’s blessing, minimum is maximum, slight is surmounting, small is great, insignificant is embossing and mite is might. Any act of love has its own random effect that foster multiplication. Every kind act, daring deed, generous giving of money, means, energy, time and talent, courageous stand against injustice and inhuman act has its own impact on the new world order based on freedom, fraternity and justice. Let us share for a supremo world order of love, peace and joy.
Saturday, July 31, 2021
Bible Reflections I 01.08.2021 - Sunday I Indraya Manna I
Readings:
I - Ex. 16: 2-4, 12-15
II - Eph. 4: 17, 20-24
III - Mk. 6: 24-35
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD
In the first reading, through Moses the liberator, God feeds the people of Israel with manna, the earthly bread from heaven, who were on their journey to the promised land. Through Jesus, the New Moses, the liberator from sin and slavery, God feeds the people of New Israel with the Word of God and the Word made flesh, the heavenly bread form heaven to strengthen them on their journey to the paradise. Therefore as St. Paul exhorts in the second reading, we have to give up the old way of life and put on the new self in God’s way, in the goodness and holiness of truth.
There are two types of people with two types of hunger. One, eat to satisfy their stomach hunger and the other to satisfy their mouth hunger with variety of textures and tastes. There are also two types of people with two types of spiritual hunger. One, wish to satisfy their mere emotional requirements and the other wish to satisfy their real spiritual requirements in order to become worthy children of God befitting the Kingdom of God in all goodness, truth and holiness. In the ‘Our Father’ Jesus has taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”. In ‘daily bread’ Jesus connotes the bread to satisfy basic stomach hunger; and the Word of God and the Ecucharist that satisfy our spiritual hunger. Sound mind in a sound body.
When we are physically strong, we can also strive strongly nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist in the process of becoming Christ like that is the ultimate goal of every baptised Christian so that along with St. Paul we too can courageously one day say, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Let us in the silence of our mind and heart keep repeating this prayer: “Lord, give us this day our daily bread”.
Friday, July 30, 2021
Bible Reflections I 31.07.2021 - Saturday I Indraya Manna I
Readings:
I - Lev. 25: 1, 8-17,
II - Mt. 13: 54-58
St. Ignatius of Loyola (Memoria)
ATTENTIVE LISTENER AND ACTIVE ACCOMPLISHER
God chooses his predilects, empowers them with His words, and commissions them for a purpose, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jer. 1:9-10), with an assurance of His support and accompaniment “Fear not I am with you” (Is. 41:10). Therefore His chosen ones cannot but speak the truth as we read in Jeremiah, “I say, ‘I will not mention Him, or speak anymore in His name……..I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot’”. In the Gospel passage today, John the Baptist courageously admonishes the unlawful act of King Herod, living with his brother’s wife. His words were powerful, piercing, disturbing and deterring both Herod and Herodias. Herodias plotted so well that she had the head of John the Baptist on the platter through her daughter.
We are children of God who wishes that all of us be saved. Whenever we are astray, God calls us back on the right the right track through the Scripture, conscience, persons, signs and events. His voice is never compromising or appealing or pacifying but disturbing, contradicting, challenging and conquering. We have only two options before us, either to give heed and align our ways and inherit eternal life or rationalize and reject his words and impend for eternal destruction. Today we remember St. Ignatius of Loyola, the great soldier who disturbed by the word of God, gave up everything to become the servant of the King of Kings.
If God chooses us to be His mouth piece, let us courageously do so with no fear of people who can kill the body but are unable to kill the soul (Mat. 10:28), like St. John the Baptist who dared to point the unlawful act of the king and St. Ignatius of Loyola who shattered the worldly dreams of St. Francis Xavier with, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, but lose his soul?” Let us be both attentive listeners and active accomplishers of the Word of God.
Thursday, July 29, 2021
Bible Reflections I 30.07.2021 - Friday I Indraya Manna I
Readings
I - Lev. 23: 1,4-11,
15-16,27,34-37
II - Mt. 13: 54-58
INCLUDE ALL, EXCLUDE NONE
Today’s Gospel passage is about the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth, his hometown. Prejudice prevented the people of Nazareth from accepting the wisdom of Jesus and his deeds of divine power. A deliberate rejection just because Jesus was a carpenter’s son and Mary, his mother was a simple and insignificant woman of Nazareth. They did not have a great or a renowned background. Therefore the people willfully refused to reckon to the truth. Pride became their pitfall of faith and truth. Ultimately, their unbelief prevented Jesus from performing many deeds of power with them. In their prejudice and pride they became the losers.
Prejudice pollutes, pride prevents, anger avenges, jealousy jeopardises from accepting and rejoicing at the talents, goodness and the gifts of the other. With these attitudes we may tend to evaluate the background and eliminate, analyse the status and avoid, mount with criticism and marginalise and in the end hunt for reasons to reject and discard people. In this bargain we become the losers like those people of Nazareth who willfully missed Jesus, the Messiah for whom they so long waited.
We have to go beyond our likes and dislikes to behold the persons as they are and to savour the blessings that each one bring with them. Let us surpass all stereo typed settings in our mind and with a magnanimity of mind and heart accept persons as they are and all for the glory of God. Keep repeating this prayer as often as possible in the silence of heart praying: “Lord Jesus, help to accept everyone”
Wednesday, July 28, 2021
Bible Reflections I 29.07.2021- Thursday I Indraya Manna I
Readings:
I - Ex. 40: 16-21, 34-38
II - Jn. 11: 19-27
St. Martha (Memoria)
JESUS, A FRIEND FOREVER
“Faithful friends are beyond price; no amount can balance their worth” (Sir. 6: 15) and “whoever finds one finds a treasure” (Sir. 6:14b). Everyone tends to seek their friend at all times of their life viz. ups and downs, fear and anxiety, happiness and sorrow, joy and pain. Today the Church remembers St. Martha, the friend of Jesus and sister of Mary and Lazarus. Jesus, as their friend, besides being a guest, sharing their hospitality, love and joy goes to Bethany to share the suffering of the bereaved friends at the loss of their brother Lazarus. Martha and Mary would have definitely thought of Jesus as we read in the Gospel passage today, as Martha says, “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died” and affirms her trust saying, “But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of Him” and so was it done to her.
Loyalty, fidelity and faithfulness are the vaning concepts of the current consumeristic reality. Almost all relationship today are either utility based or highly self-centered. In the trending world of change and impermanency God’s love alone is strong and constant as the Scripture says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3). Jesus is the all-time friend forever as the lyrics of Joseph Scriven’s hymn, “what friend we have in Jesus” goes.
All we need to do is to get connected with Jesus through our prayer. In times of grief, pain, trials, temptations, discouragement, betrayal, sorrows and weakness, turn to Jesus, an understanding friend closer to us than the very air we breathe. Let us resolve to accept the forever friendship of Jesus as we celebrate the feast day of his friend Martha who served him with much love and care.
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