Month: June 2015

11 Jun 2015 (Based on Mt 10:7-13)

Fr Jijo Manjackal MSFSLeave a comment

108 is a free telephone number for emergency services in India, currently operational in around 17 States of the country.

The 108 Emergency Response Service is a free emergency service providing integrated medical, police and fire emergency services.

It’s interesting to see that there are different versions to tell why this number 108 is chosen as the ’emergency number”.

One explanation (which some of us would have seen in the form of sms’s or multimedia photos) is this ‘108’ is a number derived from the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 10, verse 8.

What is Mt 10:8? “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons”

This message of the Gospel reaches out as an aid and help in times of emergency to those in trouble and difficulty.

The Gospel of the Day contains this “emergency verse” in the mission commission that Jesus entrusts to his chosen Twelve.

Jesus has already inaugurated His mission of spreading the Kingdom of God.

This mission is characterised especially by reaching out to those in need and those in tribulations…
• To the sick, with the medicine of healing and comfort
• To the suppressed, with the balm of acceptance and love
• To the sinner, with the comfort of forgiveness and mercy

The chosen Twelve are also entrusted with this same commission of bringing the Kingdom of God to the lives of people: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons” (Mt 10: 8)

The Kingdom of God becomes a sign and symbol of bringing healing and wholeness to people.

This is the mandate that is entrusted to each one of us, as well, as Christians.

Today we celebrate the Feast of St Barnabas.
He is named as an Apostle in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 14:14), and was a companion to St Paul in his missionary journeys.

The name “Barnabas” means the “son of encouragement”.
And true to his name, he became a wonderful instrument of encouragement and consolation to the early Church.

The Gospel of the Day and the Saint of the Day invite us to adopt these traits in our life as a Christian: Being a source of encouragement in the “emergency” situations of the lives of people.

• Can I be a person who can be reached out, in consolation..
… when people undergo problems, crisis and face difficulties in life?

• Can I be a person who can be an encouragement…
… when people pass through the lowly valleys of discouragement and despair in life?

• Can I be a person who can be a healing balm and a soothing medicine…
…when people face immense heartbreaks and painful moments in life?

Jesus is an answer and solution in any “emergency” situation.
• It is in Him we find our strength.
• It is in Him we find our remedy.

May we too be “persons of encouragement” and be a source of healing, in situations and crisis of “emergencies”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

10 Jun 2015 (Based on Mt 5:17-19)

Fr Jijo Manjackal MSFSLeave a comment

A university student was seen with a large “K” printed on his T- shirt.

When someone asked him what the “K” stood for, he said, “Confused.”
“But,” the questioner replied, “you don’t spell “confused” with a “K”!

The student answered, “Well, you don’t know how confused I am!”

The confused state of mind led to be boy to display a totally confused and puzzled look!

How often is this true in our own lives as a Christian…
• We fail to have certain convictions in our faith… and the resultant life that is displayed outside, is one of confusion or uncertainty.
• We fail to be sure of what our life of faith is…and as a result, we fail to bring people to experience God’s love and instead, sometimes even lead others astray.

The Gospel of the Day is a peek into the conviction that Jesus had in His life of preaching and mission and a challenge for us to become persons who become fervent and convinced in teaching the commandments of the Kingdom of God.

The Gospel is a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfil” (Mt 5: 17)

One of the distinguishing features in the preaching and teaching ministry of Jesus was His deep conviction and certainty.

• Jesus did not speak as if He was blabbering on some unknown topic.
• Jesus did not mutter words as if He was whiling away time to talk on a strange issue.
Instead, Jesus was thoroughly convinced of what He spoke and taught.

It was this deep-seated conviction that made Him to say that He had “come not to abolish the law or the prophets”.

The message of Jesus contained newness and freshness.
• However, it was not a preaching that was entirely new
It was a teaching that was born in deep certainty and delivered with utmost conviction.

• He was the fullness of the teachings of all the Law.
• He was the fulfilment of the prophecies of all the Prophets.

This gave it a fresh crispiness.
This gave it a refreshing perspective.

Do we also possess a similar conviction and certainty in our Life of Faith, just as Jesus displayed?

The Lord demands such a requirement.

Hence, He would say, that “whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so, will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 5: 19)

Our Christian lives are sometimes marked by an unwanted uncertainty and confusing convictions.
• We know a little bit about our faith…but not deep enough.
• We know a little bit concerning our teachings…but not in its depth.
• We know a little bit about the virtues we are to live…but not fully convinced of it.

As a result of this ‘unsure’ attitude and ‘confused’ mentality, we are unable to
… (1) live a true and honest Christian lives
… (2) witness and teach others our genuine faith

May the Saint of the day, Blessed Bogumilus be an inspiration for us to have a deeper faith and fervour in our Christian Faith.

This holy person from Poland was consecrated Archbishop of the Polish See of Gniezno.
Bogumilus recited the divine office with much care and devotion.

Each day before celebrating Mass, he would prepare by prostrating himself in prayer, extending his arms in the form of a cross.
It was thus that he asked the angels to present his prayers to God, and petitioned the Blessed Virgin Mary to obtain for him the purity of heart requisite to consecrate the Eucharist worthily.

He gave much of his time to mental prayer, which he punctuated with fervent aspirations: “May I love you, O Lord, my strength; O Lord, my pillar, and my refuge, and my deliverer.”

On his deathbed, Bl. Bogumilus experienced a vision of the Madonna and Child, surrounded by a throng of angels, inviting him to heaven.

May we not remain confused Christians; rather experience the love and mercy of the Lord, and make efforts to grow into being Convinced and Certain and Confident Christians!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

09 Jun 2015 (Based on Mt 5:13-16)

Fr Jijo Manjackal MSFSLeave a comment

Here is a lovely story of a humble little monk named Telemachus living out in the farming regions of Asia.

Telemachus had no great ambitions in life.
He loved his little garden, and tilled it through the changing seasons.

But one day in the year 391, he felt a sense of urgency, a call of God’s direction in his life – to Rome.

Rome was the heart and soul of the mighty empire.

The feelings of such a call frightened him, but he went anyway, praying along the way for God’s direction.

When he finally got to the city it was in an uproar! The armies of Rome had just come home from the battlefield in victory, and the crowds were turning out for a great celebration.
They flowed through the streets like a tidal wave, and Telemachus was caught in their frenzy and carried into the Colloseum.

He had never seen a gladiator contest before, but now his heart sickened.

Down in the arena men hacked at each other with swords and clubs.
The crowds roared at the sight of blood, and urged their favorites on to the death.

Telemachus couldn’t stand it.
He knew this wasn’t the way God wanted people to live or to die.

So little Telemachus worked his way through the crowds to the wall down by the arena. “In the name of Christ, forbear!”, he shouted.

Nobody heard him, so he crawled up onto the wall and shouted again: “In the name of Christ, forbear!”

This time the few who heard him only laughed. But Telemachus was not to be ignored.
He jumped into the arena, and ran through the sands toward the gladiators. “In the name of Christ, forbear!”

The crowds laughed at the silly little man, and threw stones at him.

Telemachus, however, was on a mission.

He threw himself between two gladiators to stop their fighting. “In the name of Christ, forbear!” he cried.

They hacked him apart!
They cut his body from shoulder to stomach, and he fell onto the sand with the blood running out of his life.

The gladiators were stunned, and stopped to watch him die.
Then the crowds fell back in silence, and, for a moment, no one in the Colloseum moved.

The site of the dead man, and the reaction of the crowd, led the emperor and his guests to silently stand, turn and leave the Colloseum.   

After a few minutes, the Gladiators put their swords down and they too left.  
All that remained in that giant stadium was the scrawny lifeless body of the young man.  

History claims that this was the very last gladiator game at the coliseum.   

The memory of that man screaming to the crowd, and the image of the blood thirsty lust of the crowd had changed the hearts and the minds of the Romans in that instant. 
Within an hour, the emperor issued an edict forbidding any future games of war within the Roman Empire.

• There was no more killing in the Colloseum.  
• There were no more gladiator matches in Rome. 
All because one man, stood up….and said “In the Name of Jesus, forbear!!”.

He, as a true Christian, became, the salt of the earth and light of the world.

This is the call of the Gospel of the Day.
Jesus says, ” You are the salt of the earth” ” (Mt 5: 13)  and “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5: 14)

• In ancient Greece, salt was considered so valuable it was called, “theon”, divine.
• The Romans believed that nothing was of more value than salt except the Sun. Roman soldiers were even paid in salt.
• An ancient Near Eastern custom still practiced among some Arabs today is that a pact of friendship is sealed with a gift of salt.

This call of the Gospel has gained significant importance and urgency in our world today.

We live in times and generation when the need to be a “salt” and “light” has gained tremendous urgency…

• The world is losing a taste for things of everlasting value and instead relishes more of transient materials.
Can I be a “salt” in such situations giving the taste of eternity and goodness, to revive lives and to orient them towards the real joys of life?

• The world is fast degrading and losing values in various areas like moral life, social situations, cultural integrity and religious fervour.

Can I be a “light”, casting away the darkness of ignorance and shedding new illumination and radiance for the revival of sanctified lives?

• The world today, and even the Church, sometimes, is sadly deeply getting corrupted and there are strong strands of  infection and contamination affecting various core dimensions.
Can I be a “salt” which rubs in consciousness for transformation and change and be a healing agent to prick the conscience of people to lead an integral life?

• The world and even the Church, sometimes, is easy on closing the eye to the evils that are constantly rising, and fails to be a powerful voice for justice and peace
Can I be a “light” which casts its powerful rays on the dark shades of wickedness and expose the inhuman elements of the society, helping towards a harmonious and pleasant world?

“Salt” and “light” are symbols of purity.
To be the “salt” and “light” in the world, demands a high level of perfection and holiness  in our lives. 

May we be willing to rise up to the challenge of being the “salt of the earth” and “light to the world” even if it requires giving up many of our comfort areas of life, so that our Christian values can be preserved and the love of God may shine forth to the world!

God bless! Live Jesus!

08 Jun 2015 (Based on Mt 5: 1-12)

Fr Jijo Manjackal MSFSLeave a comment

There is an eating disorder named ‘Pica’.

Pica is the craving to eat what is not edible.

It is characterized by an appetite for substances that are non-nutritive such as paper, clay, metal, chalk, soil, glass, sand etc.

There are different variations of pica, as it can be from a cultural tradition, acquired taste, or a neurological mechanism such as an iron deficiency or a chemical imbalance.

‘Pica’ can lead to intoxication in children, which can result in an impairment in both physical and mental development.

Now in the spiritual realm, many of us could be affected by a ‘Spiritual Pica’.

• A Spiritual Pica would refer to a craving to enjoy what is non-spiritual.

• A Spiritual Pica would mean a strong desire to enjoy what is unholy.

The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus giving an antidote to this tendency by presenting the Beatitudes.

The Beatitudes are a beautiful proclamation and an exhortation…

… to set one’s hearts on the higher and nobler things of life

… to be delighting in the true and heavenly aspects in life.

Jesus, the Teacher went up the mountain, and after He had sat down, began to teach (Mt 5: 1-2)

When we go through the list of the Beatitudes, one of the standout aspects that we notice is the ‘tone’ and the ‘mood’ that is expressed by Jesus…

• There is a lot of joy that is expressed…

• There is a lot of peace that is radiated…

When seen from a worldly perspective, the Beatitudes present a grim and gloomy picture…

They speak of…

People who are poor… people who are mourning…

People who are too modest… people who are in want…

People who are merciful…people who are clean at heart…

People who are peacemakers…people who are persecuted…

From the worldly eyes, these are not people who are “great” or “happening” or “cool”

Instead, they are usually categories of people who are put down or who rarely come to the limelight or those who considered weak and fragile.

But, the Lord reverses this notion, and places these sections of persons in the category of being Blessed!

What is the reason?

• Blessedness for the Lord is an attribute that is solely associated with God and dependence on Him

• Blessedness for the Lord is a virtue that is directly a result of one’s faith in the Lord and reliance on His providence.

This is the greatness and paradox in Christian Life.

• One is invited to live a life of immense happiness and joy…

…but the result is not an achievement of one’s own merit, but is a fruit of one’s dependence and trust in the Lord.

• One is encouraged to enjoy a life of peace and delight…

… but the  outcome is a not an accomplishment proceeding from sheer hard-work or personal efforts, but is a grace obtained because of one’s faith, love and commitment to the Lord.

However, many of us, fail to look upwards and gaze higher…

… instead our aims remain sometimes peripheral and stuck to being worldly.

We get afflicted by a ‘Spiritual Pica’….

… craving to enjoy what is non-spiritual.

… a strong desire to enjoy what is unholy.

The Lord today challenges and invites us to go beyond such materialistic tendencies and instead become a person of being truly Blessed.

May we seek the intercession of Blessed Mariam Thresia, who by her saintly life shows us the way to true blessedness and holiness of life.

God Bless! Live Jesus!

07 Jun 2015 (Based on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi)

Fr Jijo Manjackal MSFSLeave a comment

It was the 14th century in Bologna, Italy

A little girl was deeply in love with Jesus!
Her parents were devout Catholics, known for their charity and generosity to the underprivileged of Bologna.

So intense was her love for the Lord, that at the age of 9 (which was extremely unusual), she entered the cloistered Dominican community.

To receive Our Lord in Holy Communion became the burning desire of her heart.

But the custom of the place and time had fixed twelve as the earliest age for reception of first Holy Communion.

This pious girl kept begging for an exception to the rule, but the chaplain of the community refused.

Her prayers were miraculously answered on the Feast of the Ascension in 1333.

After Mass, she stayed in her place in the chapel, where one of the nuns was putting away the sacred vessels.
Suddenly, the nun heard a noise and turned towards Imelda.

Hovering in mid-air, as the little girl was knelt in prayer, was a Sacred Host, the Blessed Eucharist, shining with a bright and forceful light.
The frightened nun ran to find the chaplain.

By the time the chaplain arrived, the rest of the nuns and other onlookers had crowded, awe-struck, into the chapel.

When the priest saw the shining, hovering host, he put on his vestments, went over to the girl, took the miraculous host in his hands, and gave her Holy Communion.

Some minutes later, after the crowd had dispersed, the mother superior came over to call her for breakfast.
She found the girl still kneeling, with a smile on her face.

But the girl was dead!
She had died of love, in ecstasy and bliss, after receiving Christ in the Eucharist.

The name of the girl was Imelda Lambertini.

Today she is Blessed Imelda, the Patron of the First Holy Communicants. Her incorrupt body, interred in a Church in Bologna.

Imelda had discovered the greatest treasure on the earth – the Most Holy Eucharist.
Have we?

Today we solemnly celebrate the Great Feast of the Corpus Christi – the Body and Blood of Jesus.

The Catechism of the Church teaches, “In the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained” (#1374).

On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus with His chosen disciples, celebrated the Passover Meal, taking the bread and wine, solemnly declaring, “This is my Body” (Mk 14: 22) and “This is my Blood” (Mk 14: 24)

The following day, Jesus would carry out this sacrifice of offering Himself for the expiation of the sins of the world, on  Mount Calvary.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist is the perpetual continuation and adoration of the sacrifice of Calvary.
• The Holy Mass is not another sacrifice.
• The Holy Mass is not a repetition of the sacrifice of Calvary.
• The Priest at the Holy Mass is not offering a different sacrifice.

Instead,
• The Holy Mass is the same sacrifice of Jesus.
• The Holy Mass is the perpetual continuation and adoration of the sacrifice of Calvary.
• The Priest at the Holy Mass is Jesus Himself, the High Priest and Victim of the Sacrifice.

What is our understanding, love and commitment to the Holy Mass?

In the Holy Eucharist, we have the promise of the Emmanuel God, “I am with you always, till the end of the age” (Mt 28: 20) being fulfilled.
Do we also cultivate the growth and longing to be with our Saviour Lord?

We live in times when…
…  there is a lot of indifference growing
… there are several newer problems and crisis cropping up

We live in a situation of faith where…
… there is a tendency to dilute many of the spiritual values
… there is a strong opposition to living holy and sanctified lives

For all such struggling moments and trying situations, we have an answer and solution in the Holy Eucharist.

 The Eucharist is the story of a God who longs to dwell with us and in us.
 The Eucharist is the saga of a God who is madly and passionately in love with us.

He longs for us..
He craves for us….
He desires for us…

From the Cross, our Blessed Lord cried, “I thirst” (Jn 19: 28b)
Shall we not respond, with a positive affirmation, to this cry of the Lord?

May this Feast day…
… be  a reminder for us of the deep, unconditional and exciting love of the Lord
… be an occasion for us to revive our spiritual lives and to renew our commitments
… be a day to resolve to be more zealous and passionate with respect to the Holy Eucharist
… be an opportunity to renew our lives to be a “Eucharist”- broken & shared – to one another

Blessed Imelda would sometimes exclaim, “Tell me, can anyone receive Jesus into his heart and not die?”
This ought to be the ideal in our passion and love for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

• In the Holy Eucharist, we have a treasure that is unparalleled and unmatched
• In the Holy Eucharist, we have a promise to eternal and a joy that knows no bounds.

May we grow in the love of the Holy Eucharist, for, as Bishop Fulton Sheen says, “The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white Host”!

Wish you a very Happy Feast of the Holy Eucharist!
May our Blessed Mamma of the Holy Eucharist, help & intercede for us, to love the Lord more!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

Reflection Capsule for 06 June 2015 (Based on Mk 12: 38-44)

Fr Jijo Manjackal MSFSLeave a comment

A money-collection drive was being been conducted in a particular Church for a particular intention.
The people were free to put in as much contribution as they wanted for the noble cause.

One gentleman stood up and announced a rather large contribution, and the people applauded greatly.

A few moments later, an old lady stood up and announced her donation.
But it was greeted with silence.

The priest, however, in reply to the cold response of the people, stood up and said emphatically, “Ladies and gentleman, I believe I hear the applause of the nail-scarred Hands!”

The people understood what the priest meant, and slowly but surely applauded the old lady’s generosity.

The Gospel of the Day presents such a similar act of appreciation by Jesus over the apparently “tiny” yet really “great” contribution by a widow to the Temple Treasury.

The passage of the day is the culmination of the 12th Chapter of the Gospel of St Mark.

This has been a volatile passage…

1. Jesus tells the parable of the Tenants (Mk 12: 1-12)
… thereby giving out a sharp message to the Jews to accept the Messiah and not forfeit the many graces and blessings that they had been blessed with.

2. Jesus gives a fitting response to the question of paying taxes (Mk 12: 13-17)
… thereby exhorting the concerned people to not get stuck to earthly obligations and instead gear one’s life in total allegiance to the Lord Creator

3. Jesus corrects the false notion regarding the teaching on Resurrection (Mk 12: 18-27)
… thereby challenging to live a life in worthiness of eternity and to have the correct and deeper faith in the Living God and His Teachings

4. Jesus makes clear the greatest commandments (Mk 12: 28-34)
… thereby inviting all to understand that there is only one true God and He deserves all the love and affection of our being and this love ought to be expressed in love of neighbour.

5. Jesus points out from Scripture that He is the Messiah, the Lord (Mk 12: 35-37)
… thereby opening the eyes of the people to read Scripture with greater openness to the Spirit and an invitation to accept Him as the Lord of their lives.

These five pronouncements finally concludes with Jesus denouncing the action of the scribes especially in devouring the lives of the poor widows.

Jesus says, “The scribes devour the houses of widows, and as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers” (Mk 12: 40)

• Widows were an easy trap to be cheated…
• Widows were easy pickings to be exploited…

However, the chapter ends with a beautiful counteract…
A widow – symbol of all the other widows, who have been cheated, or oppressed or facing humiliations  – comes in to the Temple and drops in her ‘everything’ in the treasure!

This is indeed a powerful symbol of faithfulness and duty…
• She is a symbol of being oppressed – yet she is heartily generous
• She is an object of being condemned – yet she is mightily liberal

And she becomes a symbol of self-giving and total-emptiness.

This poor widow becomes a great challenge for us in our lives…
• Life may bite us hard with cruel luck and bad destiny…
• Life may oppress us through various elements in the society…
• Life may cheat us in the form of many people or circumstances…

Yet, through all this…
Like this poor widow,
• Can I be firm to still give to God in gratitude?
• Can I be faithful to do my responsibilities even if unrewarded?

May the Blessed Mother Mary, who Herself was a poor widow, and gave Herself entirely to the Lord…

And Jesus, who like the poor widow, gave Himself entirely to His people and in doing God’s Will…
… be our inspiration, our strength and our hope!

God Bless! Live Jesus!