“Consecrating our lives to the maternal care of our Blessed Mother Mary and finding consolation and comfort in Her Immaculate Heart!”

(Based on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary)

There is a well-known incident in the life of St Francis de Sales…

During the period from December 1586 to January 1587, St Francis underwent a terrible crisis, a temptation, a trial.

There were several causes:

His natural tendency to anxiety
The problem of predestination (a Calvinist position which says that God has determined the eternal destiny of every human being. He has chosen some to eternal life and foreordained others to everlasting punishment) keenly discussed in theological circles in those days.
A mystical dimension to the trial: an unselfish, pure love of God and total surrender to Him, in which lay the answer to his problems as he was being tempted to despair of his salvation.

One day in January 1587, St Francis went into the church of St. Etienne des Grès.

He went to the chapel of our Lady and knelt down in front of the statue.

He was inspired to make an unconditional surrender of his salvation to God, using the words:”O God, Just Judge and Merciful Father, at least in this life will I love You, if it is not given to me to love You in life everlasting”.

Then he saw there a card with the prayer – The Memorare: “Remember, O Most Gracious Virgin Mary…”

He took it and earnestly prayed it.

He was instantly healed.
The temptation vanished.
Strength and confidence returned to him.
He consecrated himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and decided to dedicate his life to God with a vow of chastity.

The Gentleman Saint, St Francis de Sales found consolation and encouragement by dwelling on the Immaculate Heart of our Blessed Mother Mary…
… and consecrated himself to Her maternal care.

Today, on the Feast Day of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we too are invited to admire and venerate the deep love and affection of our Blessed Mother…
… and to seek Her help and intercession to lead a life in closer union with the Lord.

The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Blessed Mary is celebrated on the following day of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of the Lord.

Jesus in a vision to Lucia (one of the Fatima visionaries) said: “I want My Church to…. put the devotion to this Immaculate Heart beside the devotion to My Sacred Heart.”

Lucia would also say: “The work of our redemption began at the moment when the Word descended from Heaven in order to assume a human body in the womb of Mary.
… From that moment, and for the next nine months, the Blood of Christ was the Blood of Mary, taken from Her Immaculate Heart
… the Heart of Christ was beating in unison with the Heart of Mary!”

Both these devotions are intricately linked.

The Catechism of the Church says:”Mary’s role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it.” (CCC # 964)

“This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ’s virginal conception up to his death”. (CCC #1172)

Saint Alphonsus Ligouri tells us, “After the love which we Jesus Christ, we must give the chief place in our heart to the love of His Mother Mary.”

It was in 1942, in the context of the devastating Second World War, that Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

St Luke gives a glimpse into this Blessed Heart of our Mother, when he testifies that “… Jesus’ Mother kept all these things in Her Heart” (Lk 2:51b)

What does the Immaculate Heart of our Blessed Mother teach us?

1) The Immaculate Heart of Mary teaches us that “everything in life is not understood.”

Mother Mary had to face a lot of hardships and struggles in life

Right from the moment of the Annunciation
… to the misunderstandings about her marital life
… the hardships at the time of the birth of Her Child
… the grievances and tribulations in the events post-birth and care of the Child
… the loss of Her Spouse, Joseph
… the misunderstandings that Her Little Babe had to face in His ministry
… the cruel death meted out to Her Beloved Child

With all these great troubles of life, we still find that Mother Mary remained trustful and obedient.

2) The Immaculate Heart of Mary teaches us that “sorrow and pain are an integral part of everyone’s life”

The Heart of our Blessed Mother faced a lot of pain and agonies
… sacrificing of a promising life ahead, for the sake of giving birth to God’s Child
… facing crisis in the family and possibilities of misunderstanding with her to-be-husband Joseph
… uncertainty during and after the birth of the Child
… living life as a widow and alone with Her Son away in a risky mission
… undergoing the deepest pain of seeing One’s Own Child facing a harrowing death

The Immaculate Heart of Mary teaches us that “being focused on doing God’s Will brings the greatest joy and happiness”

3) The Heart of our Blessed Mother was ever focused on doing God’s Will.

Just as Her Son would tell later on in life, “My food is to do the Will of the One who sent me” (Jn 4:34)…
… Mary also would sustain Her life on doing the Will of the Father at all times.

This would therefore turn out to be the source of strength and joy, even in the midst of the deep pain that Her Heart underwent.

The Immaculate Heart of our Blessed Mother is a model and example and inspiration for all of us too….

Do I realise that “not everything in life can be understood”; yet life is still worth living and making it beautiful for others and for God?
Do I accept that “pains and problems” are part and parcel of life; yet, holding on to the Father’s Hands will assure us of a spiritual joy and heavenly peace?
Do I seek to constantly seek and do God’s Will in my life, and be committed and faithful to the tasks that are entrusted to me, as part of my vocation?

Saint Louis de Montfort beautifully reminds us: “If you put all the love of the mothers into one heart it still would not equal the love of the Heart of Mary for her children.”

Let us consecrate our lives to the maternal care of our Blessed Mother Mary and find consolation and comfort in Her Immaculate Heart!

Immaculate Heart of Mary, may we rest in You!

Happy Feast of the Immaculate Heart of our Blessed Mamma!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Being united with the Sacred Heart of the Lord – renewing our consecration this day to Him and persevering to live love – in purity, faithfulness and truth!”

(Based on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus)

There was an elderly Christian lady who was extremely popular with the kids, due to her kind and simple way of talking.

Once, while interacting with them, she asked: “Do you know, kids, that there is a big difference between the Divine attitude and the human attitude!”

And she went on to say: “The Divine attitude is to ‘give give, give and forgive!
The human attitude is usually ‘get, get, get and forget!”

This is indeed so true!

God always loves to give and forgive

We, however, often tend to only get, and then finally, we forget!

True love, by its nature, moves out of oneself…
… and gives in total self-giving to the other
… to the one who is loved!

Are we ready to make a journey towards having this Divine attitude of self-giving?

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus – in which is displayed the greatest expression of Love…
… God who madly loves humanity and gave Himself up, in entirety for us, Whom He loves!

Love is one of the most used words in any language.

There is much literature available in any language on Love – poetry, novels, short stories, dramas, epics…

But Love is also one of the most misinterpreted, misunderstood & misused words.

The word ‘love” in our modern world, is highly commercialized & sensationalized, and very often, ends up losing its real meaning.

It’s in this context, that today we celebrate the Feast of Love – symbolized in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus!

The Sacred Heart of Jesus shows us what is True Love!

Love is not just a passing and fleeting dimension of feelings or words or emotions or sentiments…
Love, affects our core!

Love, as expressed in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is Merciful, Sacrificial and all-embracing.

1) The Sacred Heart of Jesus – a Merciful Heart

The Lord condemns sins, but loves the sinner!

There is hope for the worst sinner and acceptance for the fallen saint!

Love is indeed merciful!

2) The Sacred Heart of Jesus – a Sacrificial Heart

The Heart of the Divine Lord was pierced for love of us. Though He knows we are sinners and we are betrayers…
… yet, the Love of the Lord knows no bounds.

He sacrifices Himself, for us.
He died, that we may live.
He wounded Himself, that we may be healed!

Love is indeed sacrificial!

3) The Sacred Heart of Jesus – an all-embracing Heart

The world indulges in the categorization of people based on class, status, caste, language etc…

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, destroys all such pitiable discriminations and inhuman inequity, by expressing love to all!
There is light and love and joy and peace to ALL people!

Love is indeed all-embracing!

The Feast of the Sacred Heart is a reminder and a challenge to each one of us to possess this Heart – His Heart – The Sacred Heart!

Is my Heart
… Merciful?
… Sacrificial?
… all-embracing?

We live in times when heart diseases and ailments are on the rise…

Physically: Heart attacks, holes in the heart, congestive heart failures, narrowing of the arteries…
Emotionally: Broken hearts, fearful hearts, anxious hearts, discouraged hearts, lonely hearts, rejected hearts…
Spiritually: Unforgiving hearts, sinful hearts, unrepentant hearts, lukewarm hearts, lustful hearts, unfaithful hearts…

We all, possess one or more aspects of these hearts.

Perhaps, we need a ‘spiritual heart surgery’… a change of heart – to be more like the Heart of Jesus!

In Ezekiel 36:26, the Lord says, “A new heart I will give you…”

Jesus, the Lover of our hearts, today, invites us, to look into His Sacred Heart…
… and find rest and consolation: “Come to me, all you who labour, and I will give you rest!”

Let us seek to unite our hearts, in whichever state it be…
… to the Sacred Heart of our Lord!

The Sacred Heart is burning with love for each of us!

The Love of Jesus gives, forgives, outlives;
And ever stands with open hands
And while it lives, it gives,
For this His love’s prerogative
To give, and give, and give!

Let us cast ourselves, into this Burning Furnace of Love, and be filled with a Deeper Passion and Zeal for the Lord!

Love is, indeed, a powerful word…
… but it is our duty to preserve its purity!

Let us be united with the Sacred Heart of the Lord
… renew our consecration this day to Him
… and persevere to live love – in purity, faithfulness and truth!

LET’S LIVE LOVE, TO GIVE LOVE!
LET’S LIVE JESUS, TO GIVE JESUS!

Happy Feast to Jesus, our Beloved…
… and Happy Feast to all of us, His lovers!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Being willing to be an apostle of encouragement, ‘by putting back the stars’ in the lives of people!”

(Based on Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle)

A story is said of a man who lived a very fine life.

Being a carpenter, he had helped in the construction works of the church.
He was also very benevolent in helping people who needed his counselling and guiding skills

However, at a particular phase in his life, many things went wrong…

His wife had a sudden death and the man found himself at a deep loss
There was also a financial crisis that he faced, with a few people exploiting his simple innocence
These and many other experiences left him quite broken, dejected and defeated.

It was at this time, that attending a Sunday Mass, he heard the priest preaching on the Love and Providence of God.

The sermon touched him much… the Word of God moved him greatly.
After the Mass, he approached the priest to have a talk with him

The priest welcomed him cordially, and the two spoke for a long time.

After his sharing, the man felt extremely relieved and coming back home, he told his neighbour:
“What a man he is…!

“When I went into his office, all the stars had fallen out of my skies – but one by one he put them back again…
I feel so much stronger and hopeful, now…!

Experiences in life are often such…
… unfair and unjust
… partial and discriminatory

We therefore are in need of encouragements in life…
… to lift our sagging spirits
… to boost our depressed minds

In situations where “the stars fall out of our skies”…
… we need encouragements and support to have them “one by one, be put back again!”

Today, Holy Mother the Church celebrates the Feast of St Barnabas – who was an immense source of encouragement…
… and invites us to also become persons of encouragement to others.

The Holy Bible presents many characters and personalities, who assume great importance and are in the highlight, by virtue of their words and deeds.

But there are also a few, who remain in the background, and yet are strong and powerful characters…
… St Barnabas, whose feast we celebrate today, is one such personality.

The word “Barnabas” in Greek means… “the Son of Encouragement”.

And true to his name, St Barnabas lived a life, “encouraging” the Christian Faith.

It’s amazing to see the very many practical ways in which St Barnabas can be a model and example for our Christian lives

Let’s pick up a few areas in which St Barnabas was a source of encouragement…for our practical Christian life.

1) Religiously:
Barnabas was of the tribe of Levi (Acts 4:36)
The tribe of Levi served particular religious duties for the Israelites and had political responsibilities as well.

The spirit of a strict Jewish System was much strong in Levites.

Yet, Barnabas breaks away from that strict religious system, to embrace Christianity – all for the Love of Jesus and His Church.

Am I willing to let go of my many faith-prejudices and false religious-notions and embrace Christ and His Church, for the love of Jesus and His Kingdom?

2) Cultural
Barnabas was from Cyprus, in Turkey (Acts 4:36)
… and yet, he becomes a missionary to work in Jerusalem and other far-away places.
He transcends cultures and places, and moves beyond his own cultural, linguistic and ethnic boundaries – all for the Love of Jesus and His Church.

Am I willing to let go beyond my cultural, linguistic and ethnic barriers, for the love of Jesus and His Kingdom?

3) Financially
When the Early Church was in need, Barnabas sold his field, and gave the money to the Apostles (Acts 4:37)

He was sensitive to the needs of the Church and was willing to be self-giving – all for the love of Jesus and His Church.

Am I willing to let go of my richness, possessions and attachments, for the Love of Jesus and His Kingdom?

4) Psychologically
St Paul, after his dramatic conversion, was not easily accepted by the Early Church because of his ignominious past (Acts 9:26).

But Barnabas took the lead in helping Paul to be part of the preaching ministry, as Scripture testifies:
“But Barnabas took him (Paul) and brought him to the Apostles…
… He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus” (Acts 9:27)

It was St Barnabas who supported and encouraged St Paul, in his initial days of struggle – all for the Love of Jesus and His Church.

Am I willing to accept and encourage people who are misunderstood and are mistreated, for the love of Jesus and His Kingdom?

5) Spiritually
St Barnabas was a person mightily filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:24)
Yet, he was happy and content to ‘play second fiddle’ – playing the minor and supportive role to St Paul, in his missionary endeavours.

He was willing to remain humble and meek – all for the Love of Jesus and His Church.

Am I willing to let go of my tendencies of spiritual pride, and instead remain humble and meek, for the love of Jesus and His Kingdom?

In life, we come across many who are broken and dejected, sad and hopeless…

We find many who “have the stars fallen out of their skies”

Can we become persons who encourage, console and strengthen them, “by one by one, putting back the stars” in their life?

St Barnabas invites and exhorts us…
… Are we willing to be a “Child of Encouragement?”

Happy Feast of the “Apostle of Encouragement!”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Being bold and daring, to rise up to the occasion and ‘standing for God!’”

(Based on 1 Kings 18:20-39 and Mt 5:17-19 – Wednesday of the 10th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2)

Great incidents and heroic stories can inspire and challenge us greatly.

The Bible is most certainly a power-filled storehouse of such great incidents and heroic stories…
… which inspire us to be more zealous in serving the Lord
… which challenge us to be more enthusiastic in our following of the Lord

One of the most powerful incidents, which has this dual dimension of “inspiring and challenging” is the one found in the First Book of the Kings, Chapter 18, verses 20-39.

This incident is known by many titles …
The Challenge of Elijah, the Prophet

Elijah and the prophets of Baal
… and many more.

The incident is familiar to most of us…

After a drought of three years, the prophet Elijah presented himself to Ahab, the king of Israel, with the promise that the Lord would provide rain.
Elijah, then went on to challenge 450 prophets of the pagan god named Baal and 400 prophets of another pagan god, Asherah to a contest on Mount Carmel.

His words of challenge to them were powerful: “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21).

The game of challenge began:

Each side (The numerous prophets of Baal v/s Elijah, the solitary prophet) made sacrifices to their God without building a fire…
… and the lighting of the fire was to be performed by the strongest god (God!)!

Baal was silent.

The confident prophet Elijah began to even mock the prophets of Baal:
“Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened” (1 Kings 18:27).

The time then came for Elijah to intercede for the revealing of the Glory of God…

He poured a large amount of water over his sacrifice and asked Jehovah to reveal Himself by consuming the sacrifice.
“Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench” (1 Kings 18:38)

When the people saw the clear victory of Jehovah, they fell on their faces and said:

“The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”

Elijah then commanded the people to seize the prophets of Baal and to not let one of them escape.

God then sent the rain he had promised and the drought ended (1 Kings 18:41-46).

One of the most powerful messages derived from this incident is that…
…” When we stand for God, we experience God standing by us!”
… “When we uphold the Lord, the Lord reveals His Glory through us!”

Prophet Elijah, who stood for the Lord, and was bold to proclaim His Power…
… became the mighty instrument through whom God would reveal His glory!

Elijah, the prophet, through whom God manifested His Glory…
… foreshadowed the Great Prophet, Jesus, Who would be the fullness of God’s Glory! (Col 1: 19)

Jesus is not just the Great Prophet, Who is the Voice and Word of God
Jesus is not just the Supreme Law-Giver, through Whom everything came into being
… Jesus would be the fulfilment and the completion of the Law and the Prophets (Mt 5: 17)!

Jesus goes on to present a mighty challenge to His followers:
“Whoever relaxes one of the least of the commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven;
But he who does them, and teaches them shall be called great in the Kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:18-19)

This is a powerful invitation that the Lord presents before us:

“Are you willing to stand up for me?”
“Are you willing to uphold my virtues and the Kingdom values by your life?”

Just as Prophet Elijah, in his days, found challenged by paganism, our world today is faced with innumerable challenges…

A spirit of materialism, that seeks to devour all people into a life of comfort and cosiness…
… at the loss of dependence on God and faithfulness to Divine Providence

A spirit of relativism, that does away with even fundamental truths and basic institutions…
… by seeking to dilute the virtues for which the Church champions and makes void Christ’s teachings

A spirit of division, that slays communities and societies on peripheral grounds like colour, language, caste, region etc…
… and causes people to even divert from essential elements like faith, worship, communion etc

A spirit of indifference, that makes people to behave as strangers to one another…
… and making one to be insensitive to the needy and hurting the Triune Image of God within oneself

As Christians, more than ever before, the challenge is before us…

To stand up for God…
… and know for sure, that He will stand by us!
To uphold the Lord…
… and experience truly the Glory of God revealed through us!

May the great incidents and the heroic stories of the Bible continue to always “inspire and challenge” us…
… and help us to be bold and daring – to rise up to the occasion… and “stand up for God!”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Being ready to be the salt of the earth!”

(Based on 1 Kings 17:7-16 and Mt 5:13-16 – Tuesday of the 10th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2)

A commonly known story (found in different versions) is told of a king who once asked his daughter how dear he was to her.

“As dear, as dear – as salt!” said the daughter, in all her innocence.

The king thought that this was very little and a “cheap” way of expressing her love to him.

And so, being unhappy, remained extremely disappointed with his daughter.

A few months, later, the King sponsored a great feast for the people of his land.

The daughter, made sure, that every dish that was brought to the King, remained unsalted

And thus nothing tasted good to the King.

It was then that the King realized his mistake!

The absence of the salt – which rendered the food tasteless – made him realize the value of salt…
… and the intelligence, in the answer of his daughter!

And thus, the King loved his daughter recognizing the importance of salt – and happy to being loved “As dear, as dear – as salt!”

The Gospel of the Day is the beautiful reminder by the Lord, to recognize the importance of “being the salt of the earth,” and to be on the guard, that our Christian lives don’t become tasteless or bland..
… by “not losing the saltiness!”

As Jesus proceeds with the Sermon on the Mount, He declares…
… “You are the salt of the earth” (Mt 5: 13)

It is fascinating to recognize the greatness of this statement of Jesus, in our present day context…

Imagine this…

There are over eight billion people in the world…
… spread over seven continents and around 195 countries…

There are people belonging to thousands of tribes, ethnicity, languages etc…
… and again hundreds of temperaments, personalities, outlooks and characters.

Among all these various people, the Lord – the Creator of the whole universe – declares to each one of us…
… YOU…
… Yes, YOU, His beloved creation, and the one whom He loves deeply:

“You are the salt of the earth”

Perhaps, this statement of the Lord may cause us surprise and trigger us to ask Him:
“You must be kidding, Lord!

I mean…. Look at the vast expanse of the world – millions of people in here, variety of languages, behaviours, temperaments, personalities…
… and amidst, all this, You expect, Me…
Me? To be the Salt of the Earth?!

We might even pose a question:
“Do you expect Me, a puny little thing, to really be the Salt to the Earth?

I am just a Nobody!”

But the Lord – who knows us through and through – would thunder back and tell us:
“Do not say, you are a nobody!

I am precise in calling You…!

You have been baptized in Me, and you have My Spirit dwelling in You.

Long back, some of my servants also expressed their inability in a similar fashion…
… Abraham
… Jeremiah
… Peter

But they were raised… by My Grace and their co-operation.

You too, have a responsibility towards Me and My Kingdom…
… and You will do much in doing little, when and as I wish!”

Perhaps, these magnanimous words of the Lord would overwhelm us…
… but still, filled with unworthiness, we may cry out, expressing our helplessness:
“But Lord, the challenge is just too great!
I do have some talents and capabilities, that You have bestowed on me.

But will those be enough?

I just feel that I am too small and insignificant, to be making a real difference in the world!”

This is where the Lord will remind us…
“Of course, I don’t deny that it is going to be easy for you to be the Salt of the Earth!

You will struggle…
… You will have to walk the hard path, as did even my Beloved Son on His Way of the Cross.”

The Lord will also remind us that “the salt that He spoke of”…
…was not the pure, refined type that is available today.

The salt of the olden days, when exposed to moisture, could easily become insipid.

It could become tasteless and useless… good only to be thrown and trampled down!
In the same way, we, as the ‘Salt of the Earth’, need to be highly careful.

If we expose ourselves, too much to the worldly and material affairs, we will lose your saltiness!

If we pollute ourselves by the many vain pleasures in the world, we will end up being ineffective!
And then we will be useless…only to be trampled upon! (Mt 5:13b)

Our life is like… as St Paul writes in the Second Letter to the Corinthians is a… ‘Treasure in Clay’! (2 Cor 4:7)

When preserved and careful utilized, we will remain precious

If not handled carefully, we will end up spoiling a wonderful fortune!

We are to be the Salt of the Earth…
… in whichever state of life we are
… to whichever vocation we are called to
… in whichever works or activities we engage in

We are to be the salt…
… that gives taste, to those who have lost meaning and hope in life
… that preserves the virtues of the Gospel and teachings of the Church in a world of decay
… that symbolizes purity even though the world around you plunges into immorality and sin
… that makes you part of the Sacrifice that is offered to God as described in the Law (Lev 2:13)

Yes, we need to remember, that we have a great calling… to be the Salt…
… to give taste to the world… to preserve the Gospel values… to be a symbol of purity…to offer your life as a sacrifice.

We are indeed precious!

Let us never let ourselves be diluted with the waters of worldly pleasures and thus become insipid!

Perhaps, like the king in the story, we sometimes, don’t recognize the importance of salt…
… the importance and immense responsibility in being “the salt of the earth!”

The Lord, today, reminds us:
“Your Christian vocation has to become dear to you….
… “As dear, as dear – as salt!”

Are we ready to be the ‘Salt of the Earth’…?”

God Bless! Live Jesus!