DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
(Second Sunday of Easter)

The Divine Mercy Sunday. The first Sunday after Easter is celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday. In 1930, Jesus appeared to Faustina, A Polish Nun, and revealed to her the nature of God’s love. Jesus said to her: “My love is unlimited and available to all, especially to the poor sinners”. Jesus blessed her with a prayer for mercy. Sr. Faustina started a special devotion to the Divine Mercy of Jesus and popularized it. Our Late Holy Father Pope John Paul II encouraged this devotion and in 2000 on the day of her canonization, the Pope advised the universal church to celebrate this devotion on the first Sunday after Easter.

Mercy, another name for God. God is merciful and compassionate. The whole Bible is a series of stories that proclaim the unfailing and unconditional love of God towards humanity. The expressions like “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. See, upon the palms of my hands, I have written your name; your walls are ever before me” (Isaiah 49:15-16) talk volumes about the nature of God’s love. The Evangelist John beautifully summarized the depth and width of God’s love in the following statement: “ For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that every one who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” John 3:16).

Divine Mercy! What does it Means? The word mercy is derived from the Latin word misericordia. Miseriacordia is a combination of two words: miseri and cordia. Miseri means suffering and cordia means heart. Misericordia means a heart that is willing to suffer for others. God is merciful means that God has a heart which is willing to suffer for us, willing to do anything for us.

Jesus, Mercy incarnated. “I desire Mercy not sacrifice, I haven’t come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:13). These words of Jesus beautifully explain how much Jesus possesses the heart and mind of God. Paul says: “God, who is rich in mercy, brought us to life with Christ” (Ephesians 2: 4). Sharing the mercy and love of God was Jesus’ mission. Jesus invited everyone “To find rest in him” (Matthew 12:28-30).

The readings for the second Sunday of Easter further substantiate this point. The Gospel (John 20:19-29) talks about two specific actions of Jesus that reflect his mercy and compassion.

1. When Jesus came to the room where disciples were hiding out of fear and remorse, he said to them: “Peace be with you, receive the Holy Spirit”. Jesus did not bring the past. He did not scold Peter for denying Him on the way to Calvary. Transcending the past, forgetting everything that had happened a couple of days ago, Jesus offered them peace and reconciliation.

By offering them the Holy Spirit, Jesus was absolving them from their failures because God the Holy Spirit is the principle agent of sanctification. This is evident, if you recall the prayer of absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. “God, the Father of Mercies, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, has reconciled the world to Himself and sent the Holy Spirit upon the church for the forgiveness of sins…”

2. Jesus showed the same mercy towards Thomas too. When Thomas was reluctant to believe in the resurrection, Jesus came to him, showed his wounded hands and satisfied his desire in the way Thomas wanted.

The way of mercy is the way of Grace. God is merciful. It is not enough to receive mercy from God. We need to show mercy to others. This is evident when Jesus said: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7) and “I desire mercy not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Mt 9:13). The disciples understood this message. After they themselves witnessed the mercy of Jesus, they started a new life style based on the same principle. The second reading (Acts of the Apostles 4:32-35) is the practical application of this new life style. “They took care of each other. There was no one among them who was in need”. Jesus expects us to show mercy to one another. On the day of the final Judgment, the only criterion that Jesus is going to use will be ‘whether we were merciful to one another’ (Matthew 25:40,45). Finally, as the second reading (1 John 5:1-6) states: When we practice mercy in our daily life, we proclaim that we are the children of God.

PURIFICATION AND CLARIFICATION
Fist Sunday of Lent, February 21

Tiger Wood, “I thought I can use whatever I have, to get whatever I want. Today, I realized that this is a wrong philosophy. I messed up my life. I want to return to my religion”.

Lent is a time for purification and clarification

The Temptation Story of Jesus helps us to identify our own temptatations and they also teach us the ways to overcome them। For instance: Jesus was hungry. He was tempted to change stone into food. It is important to eat when we are hungry. However, changing a stone into food is not a normal way of earning our bread. The Word of God helped Jesus to realize it. Means do not justify the goal.

We all experience different kinds of hunger: hunger for food, hunger for pleasure, hunger for job, hunger for fame, hunger for name….They are real. We need to handle them properly. How do we satisfy our hunger? Where do we turn to fulfill them? Similarly, gifts and talents are given to us for the good of the community. Jesus used his ability to create food when he saw the hungry crowd.

Jesus turned to the Scripture for answers……Scripture is our reference point. “It is not how much we achieve but how much we overcome that matters…”

WELCOME TO LENTEN REFLECTION AND PRAYER

St. Denis is offering series of reflections during lent based on the book:
The Tragic and Triumphant Cross

When? February 18, 25, March 4, 11, 18, 25
Where? POTTHOFF HALL
TIME: 7.30pm

PRESENTERS:
Msgr. Jim Loughnane
Fr. Sebastian Vettickal, cmi

ALL ARE WELCOME……….

WHO KNOWS? GOD KNOWS!
SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

There was a farmer. He lived a happy life spending most of the time taking care of his farm with the aid of his horse. One day he lost his horse. Neighbors came to sympathize with him. “What a shame”, they said. “Who knows? God Knows?” He replied. A week later this horse returned with another horse. The neighbors came to share his joy. “What a blessing”, they said. “Who knows? God knows”, he replied. One day while riding the horse his son fell down from the horse and broke his leg. Again neighbors came to offer their sympathy. “What a shame”, they said. “Who knows? God knows!” he replied. A week late a war broke out in their country. The king ordered all men over 18 years of age to join the military. They spared his son because of his broken leg. Once again neighbors rushed to his house. “What a blessing?” they said. “Who knows? God Knows!” the farmer replied.

ATTITUDE THAT BEATIFIES

Life consists of a series of ups and downs. In order to cope with these fluctuating situations of life with a calm and serene mind, a person needs an authentic vision on life and a right attitude. The readings for this Sunday talk about two mutually opposing attitudes: the right attitude and the wrong attitude. God-bound people have the right attitude of life and the earth- bound people have the wrong vision of life. Without seeing the deceptive nature of material offerings earth bound people make the worldly riches their final goal. They are eventually faced with two problems. First of all, the very thing in which they place their trust cannot help them in times they needed it most. Secondly, as it is confined to this world, it cannot go beyond the time and space aspect of our existence. Naturally it cannot connect the events of life and in turn presents things incomprehensible. On the other hand, life founded on God gives a completely different perspective on life. The beatitudes talks about that. Beatitude is an invitation to empty our heart from material possessiveness and fill it with the Spirit of God. God-bound people withstand any storms of life.

BLESSED ARE THE POOR…!

Jesus started his teaching proclaiming the beatitudes. Jesus’ audience were people with broken hearts and broken hope. They were poor, victims of prejudice and victims of religious oppression. They were real people with heavy burdens. The interesting thing about Jesus was that he found blessings in their seemingly desperate situation. Jesus did not condemn their situations. Instead, he showed them the possibility of using their situations as a means of blessings. He did so by helping them to relate their present day struggle with the cross that bridges to heaven. Jesus showed them how they could transform their poverty and other struggles as a means for achieving eternal happiness. No situation is hopeless for a person who places his trust in God.

BLESSED ARE THE RICH…!

Jesus had no problem with the Rich. In fact he blessed the rich. So, he appreciated the gesture of the one who multiplied his talents and disapproved the behavior of the lazy man. He went to the extent of saying, “For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich. But from the one who has not, even what has will be taken away.” Jesus was not against the rich. Jesus wants us to take responsibility of our lives. Jesus criticized only three categories of people: Those who put wealth in place of God; those who were unwilling to share; and those who amassed wealth through illegal means.
If I do not fall in any of these categories, there is justification for my wealth.
In the parable of the rich and Lazarus, he criticized the rich man because of his insensitivity to the need of his neighbor and his unwillingness to share.

The needy and the poor are the Sacraments for the rich. When they approach the poor with their sharing hands they are administering the sacrament of their own salvation. Jesus said to the people who were sensitive to the needs of others “Enter the Kingdom of God, for you gave me food when I was hungry; You welcomed me when I was a stranger; you cared for me when I was sick…..” The rich have a better chance to please God as they have enough resources to serve the poor.

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A priest gave a beautiful sermon. The sermon had three points. The first point was: Get all you can. To this an old rich man said, “Amen”
Next the priest said, “Keep all you can” Again the miser said, “Amen. ”
Then the preacher said, “Give all you can” And the selfish man said, “What a shame to spoil a good sermon”.
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PLEASE NOTE: I WILL NOT BE POSTING REFLECTIONS DURING LENT. I WILL RESUME MY BLOG AFTER EASTER. THANK YOU!

YES! YOU CAN!
FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
(Is 6:2-8; 1Cor 15:1-11; Lk 5:1-11)

Yes! We can! We heard this slogan during the last presidential election campaign. Many psychologists believe that we become what we believe. Many people, however, do not believe in themselves. They constantly find excuses to shy away from taking responsibilities. The scripture reading for the fifth Sunday of Ordinary time presents three great biblical figures (Isaiah, Paul and Peter) who debated with God when they were called for ministry.

EXCUSES OR EXPRESSION OF GENUINENESS

A few days ago I said to a person: You would be a good lector. Would you please consider becoming one? This person said: “Sorry, I am very nervous to face people.” Later I found out that this person is a professor at a university. People bring excuses to avoid responsibilities. Excuses lead to empty victories. On the other hand, excuses can be expressions of who we are. They can be expressions of our state of being. In the stories of Peter, Paul and Isaiah, their excuses were not defense mechanisms but genuine confessions of their lives. It was a genuine surrender. Isaiah was in the presence of the Holy, Peter was experiencing the divine manifestation of Jesus’ power, Paul was aware of what he had done to Christ. They were taking their place before God. They were seeing their humanness. They were proclaiming that they were not in the realm of God to take up His mission, but are creatures with creaturely imperfections.

SENSE OF UNWORTHINESS AS THE BEGINNING OF DISCIPLESHIP

According to Matthew, Jesus started the Sermon on the Mount, saying: “Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of God.” Standing before the Lord with complete transparency is the supreme quality for discipleship. When God calls someone for ministry, it is not their expertise but their willingness to serve that God counts. For it is not us but God working through us. Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not worry about what you are to say and how you are to say it; when the hour comes you will be given what you are to say. For it is not you who will speak but it will be the spirit of your Father in you” (Mt: 10:19-20). God spoke to Jeremiah, “They will fight against you but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you.” God empowers whoever He commissions for ministry. For example, God cleansed the lips of Isaiah. An Angel touched his mouth and said, “Your wickedness is removed, your sin is purged.” God in His goodness makes us good enough to serve Him.

YOU ARE PERFECTLY FIT

People who performed great things in the past were not always great from a worldly standpoint. For example, St. John Vianney, the patron saint of priests, was below average in intellectual capacities. He struggled to complete his seminary studies. Jesus’ selection of the Twelve Disciples tells us the same truth. Only one among the twelve had a surname! You may not be fit for a particular ministry but definitely there are ministries that are suited for you. It is not the power associated with a ministry but the manner in which you perform a ministry that makes you powerful. In many movies, the minor characters get more applause than the main character.

FOCUS ON THE MISSION, NOT ON YOU

Problems creep up when we turn to ourselves for resources to solve the issues. People who had successful ministries were always preoccupied with the needs of the people whom they were serving. That’s the key to success! As Jesus clearly spelled out in the gospel, our mission is to become fishers of men. Our focus must be on people. People and their struggle give us power beyond our imagination. For example, the scene of people suffering in Haiti inspired many of us to make contributions beyond our calculations in spite of our financial restraints. “Yes, I can! Here I am Lord, Send me.”

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There are Three Classes of people:
The few who make things happen
The many watch things happen
The majority who have no notion of what happens
(Nicholas Butler)
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All that is necessary for the victory of evil is that good people do nothing.
(Edmund Burke)
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LOVE NEVER FAILS
4th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME-C

Taj Mahal is a major center of attraction to any tourist who visits India. The wonder of Taj Mahal lies not only in its immeasurable beauty but also in the unfathomable love behind its construction. Emperor Shah Jahan’s heart was broken at the death of his beloved wife Muntaz Mahal. His love towards her was so deep that he wanted to immortalize his love for her. He took 22 years and used 20,000 people to complete this epitome of love. Later, even after he was ousted and imprisoned, he celebrated his love for her, looking at Taj Mahal- the symbol of his love for her, through the prison windows. Such was the power of his love. Taj Mahal announces to the world the unfailing nature of love. Love never fails. “Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away” (Song of Solomon 8/7) St. Paul, today, talks about this eternal nature of the spirit of love.

LOVE FAILIURE!

There is an inner urge in every human person to love and to be loved. Everyone talks about the beauty and fruit of love. In spite of all this talk and excitement about love, everyone finds it difficult to stay in love. Where is the problem?

1. The problem lies in the fact that many of us are confused with the concepts of loving and liking. They are two different realities. Liking is the function of instincts of which we haven’t much control. It is an instinctual behavior. Anything that flows from an instinct is not premeditative. A human Instinct responds to whatever appeals to the senses. It can be the look of a person, the color of an object, the way she/he dresses, a certain manner of behavior, a particular quality of a person and so forth. We subconsciously fall in love with whatever is appealing to the senses. Very often we fall in love with people because of certain fascinations that have a quick impression on the senses. This sort of love ceases to exist as soon as these qualities disappear. Love based on liking alone is doomed to fail because the external appearances are transient.

On the other hand, love is a decision. It is an act of the will (Thomas Aquinas). Therefore even though we may not like someone, still we can choose to love him/her. In genuine love, likeability is only one aspect of many. Likeability definitely makes love easy; likeability makes a person more lovable. Even though, we may disagree with someone or do not like certain behavioral patterns of a person, still we can make a decision to love him/her. The decision to love someone helps us to look for the likeability in that person. That in turn changes our attitude towards him/her.

2. It is also important to know the difference between Eros love and agape love. Eros lies in the realm of sensuality and Agape on the other hand belong to the divine milieu. In the former case, we love a person because of the goodness in him/her. We love him/her as long as he/she serves my purposes. How often we hear people saying how the other disappointed them! Relationship based on Eros is destined to fail.

On the other hand, in agape love, our love is a reflection of the goodness within us. This love enriches the other rather than the lover. It enriches the receiver rather than the giver. This is the nature of God’s love. God’s love to the world does not add anything more to His Being. In agape, we love a person, not for what he is but for what he could be. Every person is created in the image and likeness of God. Every person is a potential saint. Every sinner has a future as every saint had a past. Our love is not based on his/her past but on his/her future possibilities.

NO LOVE, NO CHRISTIANITY

If there is no love, there is no Christianity. If we don’t abide in love, we don’t know anything about God because God is love. Love is not a quality of God. God is love. Jesus himself underscored this view when he said: ’By your love you will reveal that you are my disciples’ For example, the second reading (1John 4:7-10) starts with this advice: “Beloved, let us love one another, because God is love; everyone who loves is begotten by God”. Jesus repeats the same message in the Gospel: “As the Father loves me, so also I love you. Remain in my love” (John 15:9-17). Therefore, Christian vocation, as St. Therese of Lisieux put it rightly, is a call to love.

CRITERIA OF CHRISTIAN LOVE!

How do we know that we really love someone? What are the parameters of love? Christian love has three characteristics:
1. It is other oriented. The moment you start to think about others and their growth, you have begun to live Christian Love. If your life and activities do not bring happiness and growth to others, yours is not Christian love.
2. Christian Love is action oriented. Love is not an abstract thing. It should take on a concrete form. For example, we make available our time, talents, and treasures to the person we love. In genuine love there is always an exchange of words, an exchange of persons and an exchange of gifts. God so loved us by sending His own Son. Jesus loved us by giving His own Body and Blood. We must show our love through concrete actions.
3. Christian Love is expensive. There is no genuine love without a price or sacrifice. For example, to forgive someone who offended us or to defend somebody whom we don’t like…is really a sacrificial act. The amount of sacrifice that goes along with our concrete actions measures the real depth of our Christian Love!!

“The Crucifix is our Taj Mahal. It is our supreme parameter for love. Whenever you waver, look at Calvary. You will return home with hope and confidence.”

PEOPLE OF THE GOSPELS
THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Last Sunday while I was having a discussion with the participants of the RCIA program, one person asked: “What is the importance of the Bible in our Spiritual living?” It was a great question. You may have numerous answers. However, Psalms 119:105 offers the best answer: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path”. The responsorial psalms for this Sunday Liturgy repeat the same: “Your words, Lord, are Spirit and Life.”

JESUS AND THE SCRIPTURE

The gospel talks about how Jesus was in the Synagogue, read the Scripture and discovered his mission in the Book of Isaiah. After reading the passage beginning with “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor…” (Lk 4:16ff), Jesus said “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled.” Scripture helped Jesus to identify His mission. A number of times in His public life Jesus turned to the Scripture for direction. For example, when He was tested in the desert, Jesus cited the scripture to defeat the devil’s plan for Him (Mt 4:3-11). If the Scripture was that vital in His life, how much more significant it should be in our lives!


JESUS, THE SCRIPTURE

Words reveal what is in one’s heart. The Word of God reveals God’s heart. In Jesus, the Word of God became Flesh. Jesus became the heart of God; the message of God. At the age of 12, Jesus said: “I must be about my Father’s business”. In the desert Jesus said: “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God”. On another occasion Jesus said to his disciples: “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work” (Jn 4:34). At Gethsemane Jesus said: “Not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42). And finally, on the cross He said: “Father into your hands, I commend my spirit”. (Lk23:46). Jesus started his life taking the job of doing His Father’s business and He faithfully completed it on the cross. Jesus, not only turned to the Scripture for guidance but also became Scripture, the Word of God itself. Hence Jesus said: Whoever has seen me has seen the Father; The Father and I are one” (Jn10/30, 14/9).

THE IMPORTANCE OF SCRIPTURE IN MY LIFE!

Since the Word of God is incarnated in Jesus, He became the True Way to Life. The Gospels sum up His life in words. The Word of God leads us to life in the following ways.

1. Word of God: The Lighthouse! The role of a light house for someone lost in the sea during night is beyond description. The Bible does the same to a lost soul. It removes the darkness. The first word uttered by God was: Let there be light. So Peter asked: Lord where shall we go? You have the words of eternal life! (Jn 6:66, 20:31). The Bible has the answer to all your problems.

2. Word of God: The Sounding Board! Scripture serves as a reference point for our thinking and acting (2Timothy 3:16). Scripture helps us to evaluate our present life style. For example, the Ten Commandments give us the right mind set we need towards God and others.

3. Word of God: The Divine Medicine! Jeremiah said, “When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and happiness of my heart” (Jeremiah15:16).

4. Word of God: The Guaranteed Hope! Though the grass withers and the flower wilts, the Word of our God stands forever (Is 40:8) The word of God is living and effective, sharper than any double edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart Hebrew 4:12) For just as from the heaven rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seeds to him who sows and bread to him who eats so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it (Is 55:10).

PEOPLE OF THE SCRIPTURE

The Word of God transformed the life of many. Paul discovered his mission when he was confronted with the Words of Jesus (Acts 9:3ff). Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Francis of Assisi, Francis De Sales, Vincent De Paul, Mother Theresa, Gandhi and many others talk volume about the life transforming influence of the Word of God in their lives. They became the
Gospel! For instance, Paul said: Imitate me as I imitate Jesus. Living the gospels is a process of listening, meditating, assimilating and delivering. This is what Mary did. She listened to the Word of God, pondered over it, made it part of her being and delivered it to the world in the form of Jesus. How do I approach the Word of God?