Children need to see parents doing good

Socrates one said, “Get married: if you get a good wife you will be happy, if not you will become a philosopher. I have not met many philosophers in Palm Springs. Each Sacrament has its own objective thus help us to make our lives better. What is lacking in receiving sacraments is the due preparation for each sacrament. Baptism witnesses unprepared, hurried parents and god parents. Confirmation is treated as an additional grace: buy one and get one free attitude, along with Eucharist. Though Priesthood has a very long preparation, the church is worried about the quality of priests in many angles: it is not so much becoming a priest, rather being a priest. Good families always produced good priests. The Sacrament of Marriage is most often misunderstood and misused in Christianity.

Church teaches us that “Marriage is a lifelong and faithful union of a man and a woman mutually committed to sharing their life and love together. Modeled after and strengthened by God's own love for his people, it's an intimate partnership in which each person gives the other freedom to grow and which is directed toward bearing fruit.” This teaching is ideal and often kept in books than practiced. The media alarms us frequently that 50% of the nations marriages end up in divorce. The slogan: "The family that prays together, stays together" is well known. Divorce rate for Christians who attended church regularly, pray together or who meet other conditions is only 1 or 2 percent. Just saying you are a Catholic is not going to guarantee that your marriage is going to stay together. Divorce is more or less the past tense for Marriage.

The spirit of Holy Family is the antidote for all that work against a marriage. ‘Family’ is a collective force which promotes which brings out not just the family name, but family values. I grew up in a family where my mom and dad had differences but never gave up on each other. My parents are available to all who come home especially on Sundays. Their untiring hospitality has always moved me. Their ability to include their children in their hospitality is a sure sign of a good family. Children need to see parents doing good both inside and outside their family. It gives them a sure hope of bringing quality in future families. Jesus grew in wisdom: growth of the children is the outcome of committed and loving parents. Parents who are unable to show their love and commitment not just in empty words but in concrete actions, in front of their children would hardly inspire them other ways.

Children need to show back what they have done with the inspiration they got from their parents like the way they do the homework. Parents must see to it that their children are encouraged and supported in practicing the inspiration of the parents. How deep do I know my own family? What Christian Value does your family share with other? Does your family possess any of these values: heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another? What does my family need to grow? How can I help my family to reach its goal? Let us pray that God continues to give us the wisdom to see Him in our families. Amen.

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Martyr: To bear Witness to the Truth and the Light

A Danish philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard said, “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins.” Every period in history is marked with its own special spirituality. St. Stephen lived in the early Christians era and certainly possessed the spirituality of that time: to embrace martyrdom for Christ. The word, ‘Martyr’ comes from Greek which means to bear witness. ‘To bear witness’ in our language is to provide evidence for.

What do we provide evidence for in normal circumstances? It is always the truth. Gospels generally speak of bearing witness to two important elements of our Christian living. In spiritual sense, we provide evidence for the Truth and Light. We should remember here the words of Jesus; I am the Truth (Jn 14:6) and the Light (Jn 8:12). Only when someone experiences the Truth and the Light, can he bear witness to it. We can provide evidence only when we know and experience Jesus.

We face two important questions here. The first question is: if the word ‘Martyr’ means ‘to bear witness’, who do I bear witness to? Being martyr certainly includes certain amount of inspiring others, influencing other and setting examples to others to love God intimately. We bear witness to Christ’s love, truth and light to increase the faith in ourselves and others. The second question is: what evidence do I have to bear witness to that Truth and Light? The evidences necessarily have to come from my own personal life. Only when I have personal encounter with the Truth and Light against what is false and what is darkness, I will be able to bear witness to it; if not I bear false witness which is against the teaching of the 10 commandments.

St. Stephen was a great model to imitate in his spirituality and the way of life. We are all called to possess the spirit of martyrdom, not necessarily in shedding blood and letting our bodies be killed rather, by bearing witness to the Truth and Light that we see in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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Christmas: A Day of Gratitude

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. For business persons, it is a great concept and a money-making source. For children, it is a season for recreation and play. For people without God, it is a holiday season with Santa Claus and Christmas trees. For people of other faiths, it is a great time to revive relationships. For some, it is the only time to think of people who are important to them: their father, their mother, their close friends etc. and send them expensive cards with readymade words. For some Christians, it is the only day of obligation in a calendar year: not that they are angry with God or the priest and the Church, but it is often old fashion versus new fashion. Taking part in Mass is old, standing out is new. Responding is old keeping silence is new. Singing is old, sealed lips are new.

Christmas for Christians is a day of gratitude. Gratitude leads us to prayer, where our hearts are filled with wonder and praise. Christmas leads us to the sense of wonder. God presents himself as tiny, fragile, vulnerable, and dependent compared to the strong, muscular, powerful, parenting and patronizing people we are in front of God. We often see parents and friends finding similarities between the child and parents. This child Jesus not just resembles certain features, rather is the ultimate replica of God the Father. This child is not a super child in any way: it cries, disturbs the parents middle of the night, and also smiles beautifully, holds our finger tight, kicks with both the legs to show excitement. He is confused, anxious, and fearful, always in need of the warmth of the mother. Christmas makes us wonder in a new way. God so weak and vulnerable is asleep with his creation which is strong and powerful.

If there is no Christmas, we would not have experienced this sense of wonder at all: we would have missed touching his soft little cheeks, fingers and toes; missed to see him sleep peacefully, see him cry, see him reach out to him mom, his confused looks and his innocence. This brings in a great lesson of all time: to reach at the cave of one’s heart, one must become childlike. A child has a great power to make us focus our attention completely whoever we are, whatever degrees we hold. God not only became childlike, God became a child. This proves that God will go all the way, take any risk, sacrifice any level, and give up anything to reach the cave of our hearts.

How do we stand near the crib? What goes on in our minds and hearts as we see this child in the manger? I too want others to know that I can be liked, loved and I want others to know that I can love affectionately too. Do I see others as loveable and wanting to be loved? Am I ready to present myself loveable; childlike? Christmas is indeed tenderness for the past, courage for the present and hope for the future. I wish you all Merry Christmas!

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Zechariah: a prophet who went before a prophet

The speech skill is a wonder. Scientists tell us that to produce a phrase, about 100 muscles of the chest, neck, jaw, tongue and lips must collaborate. Each muscle is a bundle made of hundreds or thousands of fibers. A simple "Hallo" can transmit a lot of things. The voice's tone shows if the speaker is happy, pleased, bored, hurried, angry, sad, scared, aggressive or dominant and the intensity of these states; irony, affection, support or joke.

Zachariah’s loss of speech though seems to be a punishment is indeed a reward for his faithfulness and loyalty to God. He understood that God is gracious. That is what exactly means by the name John: God is gracious. To be gracious always take in the qualities of being kind, merciful and compassionate. The Name Zechariah is a common Jewish name which means ‘God has remembered’.

John revealed the secrets of Zechariah’s spirituality and silence through the way he proclaimed the message of Christ’s coming. The long waiting in months of silence and prayer convinced the faith of Zechariah that brought up his son according to the will of God. John the Baptist is the result of the challenging dialogue with the Angel and a meditative response in silence to the love of God. Zachariah is indeed a prophet who went before the prophet who went before the Messiah to prepare the way for the Lord.

Christmas is a day away. Let us be busy preparing the way for God to come in to our hearts, homes, families, relationships. Let us pray for opportunities to make way for God in our own small ways. Amen.

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Mary had two contradictory experiences

Every religion has God sharing humanity in some way directly or indirectly. In Judaism we witness God sends Judges, prophets almost always to announce bad news to people: ‘if you do not turn away from your wicked behavior, you would all be killed.” Very often the prophets and wise people brought the vengeance of God, wrath of God, the disappointment of God and the consequences if they continue to go ahead in the same fashion. Hinduism has the various Incarnations (avataras) of God Vishnu coming to fight against the evil forces and giving the people freedom.

The name Jesus, the derivative of Joshua means God is my salvation gives us a different picture about the King, Priest and Prophet in Jesus. He is not bringing the vengeance, wrath or disappointment of God, rather the love, mercy and compassion of God. Angel Gabriel was sent to Mary first to experience God’s love, mercy and compassion. That changed her life and responsibility forever. Though Mary had the ‘Angel experience’ in her life, down the line, she had to experience the ‘how-can-this-be?–experience’. That is how God builds his Kingdom of love.

Mary would not have had the same Angel experience again, but one experience can fill her life-time. God comes directly to us in the Eucharist and constantly tries to reach our hearts day after day. Our ‘how-can-this-be’ experiences are too many that we hardly have any Angel-experiences. How can I ever understand my wife or husband? How can make my children or parents happy? How can I do this or that to be useful, loving and caring or religious even? Too many anxieties press us to the core that we at times do not want to have an Angel-experience, since that is going to increase our responsibilities and change our lives forever.

Practically all our how-can-this-be questions have answers in our Angel-experiences. All our Angel-experiences make us not only servants of God, but also close friends of God and ever closer as children of God. Let us continue to pray for Holy Spirit to come upon us so that we all have the ‘Abba experience’ today and now. Amen.

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Prepare yourselves for the Messiah! PART TWO

Dear Friends!

As we continue our reflection on reconciliation, let us focus on the Seven Sins. We continue to read the notes from LHJ (Life Healing Journey).

CAPITAL SINS

PRIDE: is a refusal to accept my human condition and its limitations. Trying to accept God’s authority is the excess of Pride. Being less than human, refusing to accept personal value and being responsible about the care of self is the neglect of pride. ADORATION is the virtue that puts my relationship with God in the right order; I am a child of God.

RESENTMENT: (anger) is a destructive blaming of others and a desire for revenge. Apathy, a form of revenge, is getting even by not caring any more. LOVE is the antidote to resentment. Resentment is self-seeking; love is other-centered, looks for the good of others.

JEALOUSY: (covetousness) is resenting others for having what we do not have or being what we are not. This involves avarice, greed, bitterness and especially selfishness. GRATITUDE is the antidote. When we are grateful, we can’t be jealous.

INTOLERANCE: (envy) is resenting others for not being like us and not thinking or acting the way we do. This includes prejudice and fanaticism. UNION is the virtue that helps us see people, situations and events through the compassionate eyes of Jesus.

LUST: is a destructive way to avoid monotony, boredom, loneliness and real intimacy. One extreme is to use people sexually for self-gratification. This leads to manipulation and violence. Another extreme is to deny our sexuality and refuse to become warm, caring and responsive to others. SACRIFICE is a form of love that makes us willing to suffer for another. Jesus loved this way.

GLUTTONY: is a need and demand for immediate gratification. It is impatience. We substitute our lack of love with the abuse of food, drink and even gossip. PETITION as a virtue is a willingness to wait for God to answer our prayers. Petition demands patience and helps us accept the things we cannot change.

SLOTH: is a refusal to cherish personal goals, ideals and values. It is laziness in the service of others. Religious sloth is indifference about our relationship with God. COMPASSION is the virtue that allows the pain of others to touch us and move us to respond. Compassion expresses care for others and hunger for God.

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Prepare yourselves for the Messiah! PART ONE

Dear Friends!
I would like to present to you the notes used in LHJ (Life Healing Journey) - a retreat package prepared and administred by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC), United States Province, as part of our preparation for the coming of the Messiah. These are not my notes and i did not write it. I would like to split the notes into two for better understanding.

Sin limits capacity to love and be loved

“I don’t go to confession any more”, is a frequent comment. There isn’t much guilt or regret attached to the statement. It’s a fact. However, we are missing a healing opportunity. In order to receive the full benefit of the healing aspect of this sacrament, we must expand our view of sin and how it impacts us. This sacrament is an experience of healing. It does more than forgive sin; it heals the effects of all sin on us and strengthens us with virtue.

Sin is not to be identified by feeling of guilt. Guilt is not a feeling; it is the acceptance of our responsibility for the evil effects of our actions. At the same time, personal moral sin is more than a behavior. Little children are taught what is right and wrong by learning the Ten Commandments. As adults we must look deeper. Jesus told us that a person’s heart is the real issue. We must look at why we are doing what we are doing. Conversion is not behavior modification; it is a CHAGE OF HEART. “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Mk 1:15)

The Church’s traditional teaching on the Capital Sins will help us discover the root causes of our sins. They are Pride, Resentment, Jealousy, Intolerance, Lust, Gluttony, and Sloth. Removing these Capital Sins is not enough; they must be replaced by God’s gift of virtue. These virtues are Adoration, Love, Gratitude, Union, Sacrifice, Petition and Compassion.

Before looking at the individual capital sins and the corresponding virtues, we first confront the forces of sin that are constantly affecting us. Original sin caused our basic disharmony. The result of original sin is an inherited inclination, tendency, attraction to destructiveness. All of us struggle with the conflict between good and evil. St. Paul said, “The things I want to do are the things I don’t do; the things I don’t want to do, I do.”

We are influenced by the sinful dimensions of society; we choose sin in the midst of a society where sin is prevalent. The sinful and selfish dimension of society enter our lives in ordinary ways. In the marketplace of society, values are advertised and sold. When these values are not in harmony with gospel values, we feel helpless to change can influence our way of thinking and acting. We are being challenged by the Church to rethink our values about Justice, Peace, Economics and the poor.

The hurts inflicted on us by others can effect the forces of sin us. When we feel rejected, we are tempted to punish. Personal sin is self destructive even when not willful. Even our unrecognized selfishness will limit our capacity to love. Worst of all, when we refuse to accept God’s authority and choose for ourselves what is right and wrong, we have chosen a life of slavery, blinded by the illusion of self-sufficiency.

Sin is anything that breaks or weakens our relationship to God, self and others. It limits our capacity to love and be loved. It limits our freedom. Reconciliation is the healing sacrament that changes and heals our heart, where the cause of sin resides. The Church’s traditional teaching on the capital sin help us discover the root causes of our sins. But removing these capital sins is not enough; the must be replaced by God’s gift of virtue. Virtue frees us to love and be loved.

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Zachariah’s speechlessness and Elizabeth’s seclusion

We have seen how God prepares Mary for the Incarnation of Jesus last week. Yesterday we witnessed God preparing Joseph for the coming of Jesus. Today the gospel talks about the preparation of priests for the coming of the Messiah. The encyclical Presbyterorum Ordinis talks about priests: “The priest is a member of the People of God, chosen from among other members with a particular call (vocation), in order to be consecrated by a special sacrament (consecration) and sent (mission) to perform specific functions in service to the People of God and to all humanity. A man chosen, a man consecrated, a man sent. These are undoubtedly, in their unity and inseparability, the fundamental characteristics of the image of the priest.”

Priesthood emerges from good families where the parents are chosen by God to show their sacrificial love and generosity to the plan of salvation. Zachariah and Elizabeth were chosen by God to bring their son in the way that planned by God. If we pay attention to the message of the Angel to Zechariah we will know that it is very similar to the message given to Mary in the Annunciation. This is also a sure sign that John takes part in the priesthood of Christ and prophetic spirit of Christ. This calls for our own priesthood and prophetic calling too.

Zachariah’s speechlessness and Elizabeth’s seclusion had great impact on the priesthood of John the Baptist. Parents’ prayers are indispensable for any priest and all those who share the priesthood of Christ. Parents go through a desert experience when their children undergo training to become priests or religious. Every priest and religious achieves milestones in life through their support and prayers. Parents always share those milestones as their own.

As we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Messiah, let us pray for our own parents and the parents of the priests and religious and thank God for the sacrifices that they made in glorifying God. Amen.

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St. Joseph represents a Family

Some people think of family as fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts. Married love is a love which is total; a special form of personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not thinking solely of their own convenience. Humanae Vitae when talking about Married Life proclaims that whoever really loves his partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves that partner for the partner’s own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself.

St. Joseph’s role in Incarnation of Jesus was often not realized or recognized. So often we think of Joseph as another saint and many institutions and churches are named after him. Rarely do we place ourselves under the protection of that faithful and just man, who was so closely united in love with Jesus and Mary. Joseph according to the Holy Book is a just man or a righteous man. This righteous man did not depend on his own righteousness or wisdom but that of God.

Family is seen as a social unit where the father is concerned with parking space, the children with outer space, and the mother with closet space (Evan Esar). But here, God chose Joseph to love lead, love and live the values of the Holy family. Joseph represents a family. Jesus was given to a particular family. Incarnation of Jesus was witnessed in a family. Plan of salvation took place in a family. God prepared both the partners for a great responsibility. God personally prepares two different individuals from two different backgrounds and mindsets to become one in mind and heart to welcome the Messiah. By welcoming Jesus, we as families feel the nearness of God as Emmanuel – God with us.

Let us pray that all the families continue to feel God’s presence in them and the parents understand and appreciate their responsibilities given to the by God.

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People of the Kingdom Vs people of the genealogy

Every life is a gift from God. No one can say that his or her life is an accident. All life is willed and guided by God. Though sin limits capacity to love and be loved, sinner is always in the presence of God. God would never lose sight of the sinners and their whereabouts. He was very much present in the life of Adam, though Adam sinned and wounded God’s Heart. Israel as a nation fell terribly and still God never left them.

God’s Wisdom is so great that He knows exactly how to include sinners in his plan of salvation. God said, my thoughts are not your thoughts. We would never include any so called sinners in our work or responsibility. We would certainly keep them away from our surroundings and throw them away from our society if need be, or put them in jail for all funny reasons – talk about police departments!

God includes all in His plan of salvation. God includes sinners in the most important mission of all – to bring salvation to all through the Messiah. He not only had sinners and prostitutes in the list, he also had people from other societies, the outsiders. Not all the decedents are from the straight parents. Not all follow the right line in a strict sense. Jesus’ blood is mingled in the sinfulness of man. He was a man in all sense except sin. God shows the depth of his love by sharing our own sinfulness. Incarnation is so central for human beings that it acts as the platform for understanding and loving God in a more intimate way.

The first book of the NT and the first chapter itself is very clear on the Mission of Jesus. His body is made up of a line so weak that his heart is all set to make a new line of people: not just the people of the Church rather, the people of the Kingdom. His weak past life is going to be enriched by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. Let us prepare ourselves for the coming of the Messiah so that we might feel the renewal of our hearts and project ourselves as people of the Kingdom. Amen.

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