The Power of Intercession
March 6, 2008
Gospel: Exodus 32:7-14
In the passage of today we have the picture of a powerful intercessor, Moses, interceding before God for the people who turned away from him by worshipping a golden calf. To intercede means to take the place of another in prayer. Intercession does not mean praying with someone for their needs but in place of those not praying for themselves. Since we are all sinful and weak, we all have gaps in our prayers and need someone else to “stand in the gap,” to take our place, to intercede.
“Thus I have searched among them for someone who could build a wall or stand in the breach” (Ez 22:30).
Moses became a great intercessor. He didn’t feel like standing in for the Israelites in prayer, especially after their disobedience and constant complaining, but still he did. He prayed to God: “Let Your blazing wrath die down; relent in punishing Your people” (Ex 32:12). “So the Lord relented in the punishment He had threatened to inflict on His people” (Ex 32:14).
There was a Moses who interceded for the people of Israel. There was a Lot who interceded on behalf of his people. All the prophets were intercessors before God. Jesus himself was an intercessor before God the Father and when He left us He promised us another intercessor, The Holy Spirit, who came to the apostles in the form of tongues of fire. It is the Holy Spirit who dwells within us who makes us cry out, “Abba, Father!”
Take a look into the miracles of Jesus. He was always eager to perform miracles in behalf of those who interceded for others. It was Jairus who interceded for his daughter, the Syro-Phoenician woman interceding for her daughter, four men bringing a paralytic to Jesus, even breaking the roof of the house of Peter.
Don’t stop interceding before the throne of the Mercy of God, for all that you have in your life may have come to you through the intercession of someone praying for you. So, intercede for your family, your children, friends, leaders of the world. May God bless us all.
Most Holy Trinity
March 5, 2008
Gospel :Jn 5:17-30
In an ecumenical meeting, a meeting where the different Christian denominations come together to work together for unity, someone said, “ the whole problem for the disagreement among the theologians of different denominations is that of ‘Trinity’; God, one and three. Let us put aside the dogma of the Trinity and give importance to Jesus. Only then we can attain true unity, and we can be a united church”.
That is a dumb idea. Do you think that putting aside Trinity and giving importance to Jesus will help us to become a united church? Never! In fact t it is when we pay attention to Jesus and his words that we come to know the reality of Trinity. Jesus is the one who revealed the Holy Trinity to us.
For example listen to the Gospel of Today. It is a great insight into the mystery of the Blessed Trinity and the relationship between the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We are told how Jesus receives his Mission from God the Father and executes it with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Our vocation in this world is nothing but to give expression to their love here on earth. God, me and my neighbour. Let us pray today for the grace to order our lives based on this Trinitarian love and unity and to become praises of God’s Glory here on earth. May God bless us. Amen.
(photo in front page from shootgardening.co.uk)
So Nothing Worse Will Happen to us…
March 4, 2008
Gospel: Jn 5:1-16
Imagine yourself being in the sick-bed for the last thirty-eight years of your life. And there was nobody to help you in any way. You were left alone, uncared for, abandoned and ridiculed. Then all of a sudden, someone comes to your life, and not only cares for you, but heals you completely. But the very next day, you forget about him and about his great mercy.
That is what happens in the gospel passage of today. And that is what happens to many of us. When we go through personal tragedies, disappointments, insults, and other negative experiences we depend on God as if there is no one else to turn to. But once we come out of those experiences and our life begins to flourish once again then we forget God and we find all kinds of excuses for not supporting the church and its ministries to the point of saying,”… all that I have worked for is mine - why should I give to the church?”
Although we go away from God once we have everything, our God does not leave us. As it happened in the life of the man who was healed, God, again and again, breaks into our lives, appears in the ways of our lives, reminding us of one thing: “look you are well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may happen to you”.
Only living a life in remembrance of God’s mercies will empower me to embrace everything in my life with appreciation and grace. Otherwise, my life will turn out to merely be a relentless search for pleasure, position and approval from others; all of which can never satisfy my life. So the important lesson is: “Never ever forget the Lord and his mercies to you”. Make him a partner in every commitment you make and every decision you take, so that “nothing worse may happen to us”.
Read the Signs!
March 3, 2008
Gospel: Jn 4:43-54
In today’s gospel passage, Jesus says, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” When we apply it to our spiritual life, many a time we get an occasional glimpse of what is wrong with us, but we don’t face the facts. We simply close our eyes thinking, ‘I can deal with it later’.
Once, a pilot, who was flying over the ocean, radioed the control tower from his airplane: “I am out of gas at sea, four hundred miles from shore. What should I do? Urgent!”
The control tower replied: “Here are your instructions: say an act of contrition, then wait for the touch down”.
Let us not wait for something tragic to happen to us, before we straighten up our life style. Let us not wait for the signs and wonders from our God. Let us make it a practice of our daily life to make an examination of conscience to see where we stand before our God and do what is necessary to stay closer to him and to our neighbors.
(photo on front page from worth1000.com)
Evangelization
March 2, 2008
Gospel: Jn 9:1-41
The story of the healing of the blind man in today’s gospel is very powerful. But more amazing is the transformation that happens in him as he goes on narrating his story to other people. When he first speaks to the Pharisees he says, “a man named Jesus healed me”. Later he calls him ‘a prophet’. And finally he realizes that Jesus cannot be a sinner and he must be one coming from God. At the end of the gospel passage we see Jesus once again helping him to understand and accept him as the Christ, and to confess his faith in him.
For this man who received healing from Jesus, telling and retelling the miracle that had happened to him turned out to be a process of growth in his faith. He even invites others to be part of his journey: “Do you want to become his disciples?”
Most of us who are Christians have a wrong approach to ‘evangelism’, spreading the Gospel of Jesus. For us evangelic work means to make others hear the Gospel of Christ, to make them experience Jesus’ love and forgiveness. But this Blind man opens before us another important dimension of Evangelism: We need to evangelize, but not just for the sake of those others who need to hear the Gospel, but in order that our own faith may grow and flourish. My evangelic work should help me to better understand what I believe and how I might more clearly communicate it with others.
May God bless us.
True Prayer
March 1, 2008
Gospel: Luke 18:9-14
We have a beautiful parable for our reflection. The parable about the publican and the Pharisee. The Pharisee took up the position and spoke this prayer to himself, “O God I thank you. I am not like the rest of humanity; greedy, dishonest. I am not like this tax collector…” That is how not to pray. That is a dysfunctional prayer. He is praying to himself, he is not praying to God. He is praying to satisfy his own desires. He is confirming what he is in his egotism. He lives in his narrow little world. What he is doing is a mockery of prayer. You may feel sorry for this Pharisee. But before you feel that, examine your own consciousness. If you’re coming to the church on a Sunday merely as part of your Sunday routine, then you are not different from this man. If you have not gone to confession for many years, then you are not different from this self-righteous Pharisee.
See how the tax collector prays. He would not even lift his eyes to heaven. He beats his breast and prays, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner”. Now that is prayer. That is what prayer is; what a prayer should be. We do not pray to affirm all that we do as right, we should not pray to force God to provide us all that we want; instead, our prayer should be something that allows God to break into our egotism and permit him to replace our will with his will.
The prayer of this tax collector has made its way into the spiritual life of the Eastern Christians as the “Jesus prayer”. There is a famous book called “the way of the pilgrim”, a classic in spirituality that explains the way one should pray and live this prayer. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me: a sinner”. In many of the monasteries of the eastern church this is how the Monks pray. This is a simple method. First of all, be aware of the presence of the Lord, then slowly concentrate in your breathing in and breathing out. As you breathe in, say ‘Jesus Christ son of God’ and as you breath out, ‘have mercy on me a sinner’. Whenever you are distracted in prayer, try this method. This prayer will allow the power of God to come into your life and shatter the egotism and pave the way for spiritual progress. May God bless us.
(pic on front page from allposters.com & Danny Hahlbohm)
Love: the Supreme Law of Life
February 29, 2008
Gospel: Mk 12:28-34
It is said that St. John the apostle lived to a very old age. Towards the end of his life he was so feeble that he had to be carried to the church. Though he was unable to preach at length because of his advanced age, he always wanted to say something to the people during the Eucharistic celebration. His messages were brief and always the same: “my children love one another”.
Everybody was bored with this repetition and finally someone told him “Master why do you always say the same thing? John patiently and calmly replied, “Because it is the command of the lord; if only this is done, it is enough”
The Pharisees prided themselves in the knowledge of the law and their ritual requirements. They made it a life-time practice to study the 613 precepts of the Old Testament along with the numerous rabbinic commentaries. They tested Jesus to see if He correctly understood the law as they did. Jesus startled them with his profound simplicity and mastery of the law of God and its purpose.
In response to the question about which was the greatest commandment, Jesus first cited Deuteronomy 6:5, “you shall love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might”. And then He cited Leviticus chapter 19:18, “you shall love your neighbor as your self”.
St. John says, ‘if any one says I love God and hates his brother then he is a liar”. John also writes: “God is love”. We are created in the image and likeness of God. Hence our image should be love. So, as Christians, and on a daily basis, we have to brighten up God’s image in us day by day by loving our brethren. St. John of the cross has a beautiful phrase: “In the evening or your life you will be judged by love”. God the supreme love will judge all of us, according to the measure we love in our lives. God bless us all.
Are You With Me or Against Me?
February 28, 2008
Gospel: Lk 11:14-23
Are you with me or against me? Jesus throws down an open challenge to all Christians in today’s gospel. Let us use this now for what it is; an aid, provided by the Son, for further reflection into God’s purposes for our lives.
At the beginning of the gospel, we see a mute person possessed by a demon. Each of us can see our own selves in his place; our situation prior to our baptism. Thanks be to God that, through baptism, we all are brought into salvation by Jesus Christ. Still, the question remains: where do we stand? With him or against him?
Due to our fallen nature, we all are inclined to sin. There are many of them, and today’s gospel clearly speaks about one of them, slandering; speaking ill of another person with an intention to destroy his, or her, name. This is very clear in the gospel. The enemies of Jesus could not stand the fame and popularity He was gaining among the people and, thus, they try to explain away his miracles, often associating them with Beelzebub.
Friends, we all have a tendency to listen to slander, or derogatory tales about others. This is the secret of the newspaper industry. They thrive on this principle. They know that, to get noticed, one must publish the scandalous dimensions of the news. It is nothing but the defamation of truth.
Today, when Jesus tells us “whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me, scatters,” know it involves a lot of things. It is He himself who told us that he was, and is, the truth. So what does it mean? It means whoever is not with the truth, is not with Jesus.
Let us follow the maxim: “when we have nothing good to say about someone, let us say nothing”.
May God bless us all.
Law and Love
February 27, 2008
Gospel : Mt 5:17-19
Jesus always criticized the Scribes and Pharisees for being too legalistic. Of course they were very strict about the laws and regulations and wanted to impose them on simple people. But when we read today’s gospel, we get the impression that Jesus himself appears to be a legalist. His words “Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law”,and “those who break the law and teaches others to do so will be least in the kingdom of heaven”.
But when we understand the words of Jesus in their proper meaning and context, they are much more enriching than being a scolding or correction. At the beginning of the Gospel Jesus tells us, “…do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill…”. Through his life, He showed us that the fulfilment of the law was, and is, Love or charity. Charity should be the governing force in the execution of any law. His words, “Sabbath is made for man, not man for Sabbath” and, “I desire mercy than sacrifice”, explain to us why love should be the fulfilment of the Law.
Observing laws and regulations, or imposing them on others for their own sake does not serve the purpose. But when they are observed for love of God and neighbour, for the good of the community and for the arrival of God’s kingdom, then they become the means of sanctification in our lives. Today, in a special way, let us pray for the lawmakers of our country, and for those who dedicate their lives so those laws lead to peace and harmony. May God bless us all.
Reconciliation and Forgiveness
February 26, 2008
Gospel: Mt 18:21-35
The 18th chapter of the gospel of Matthew is known as the chapter of reconciliation and forgiveness.
When Peter posed the question, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him?”, he also gave an answer to Jesus - seven times. He thought Jesus would be pleased with that answer. If one had to forgive only seven times then Jesus would have to send Peter away much earlier. The answer of Jesus was quite surprising to Peter and his friends; seventy times seven, without any limit and without any conditions.
At the root of Jesus answer is God’s nature of forgiveness. Our God is a forgiving God. It is not that we deserve God’s forgiveness; but He is a forgiving God, and that is his nature. The Bible teaches us that we are made in the image of God, so God expects us to do the same; which is, forgive our brethren unconditionally. It is an obligation that we take upon our own selves each time we pray the Lord’s Prayer.
Only a prayerful person can forgive from the heart. Saying our prayers does not make us a prayerful person. When we return to the Lord with the whole heart, in prayer, as we read in the Psalms “remembering the mercies of the Lord towards us” we become aware of the reality of sin in our personal lives and understand how often God forgives us, giving us opportunities to come back to Him. Naturally, that experience will enable us to share his forgiveness with others. God will shape our hearts to forgive seventy seven times.
Dear friends, let us not spare any effort to forgive our offenders, again and again. If it is not possible to tell them directly that we forgive them, at least let us forgive them from our heart and try to pray for them daily. Our prayers for them would ultimately prepare us for a complete forgiveness. May God Bless us.
(photo on front page from searchwarp.com)