Many of us would have come across the acronym “RSVP” in Invitations for marriage, baptism, birthdays, wedding anniversaries or some other social events. 

>> RSVP stands for Repondez S’il Vous Plait ( in French) which is translated as

Reply, If you please!

The purpose of this RSVP is that the person sending the invitation, would like you to tell him or her, whether you accept or decline the invitation.

Today, Jesus, the King of all Hearts, presents a thrilling and a pleasant invitation…”Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden…”(Mt 11:28)

Every invitation is to contain “By Whom”, “To Whom”, “What” and a “When”!

Lets analyse these aspects in the Invitation of the Lord

1. By Whom is the invitation:

 Jesus came into the world, primarily as a Saviour!

 

>> He’s in deep love with us!

“…You are precious in my eyes and I love You!” (Is 43:4).

As a Beloved Lover, it is He who tugs at the strings of our hearts & beckons us to Himself.

2. To Whom is the invitation:

 He extends His cordial and warmest invitation to each one of us who is weary and heavy-burdened….personally!

The Greek word for Weary is ‘Kopiao’…which means to toil & become weary to the point of exhaustion! .

>> Weary could refer to the internal exhaustion caused by seeking Divine Truth through mere Human Wisdom.

>> Heavy Laden could be the external burdens caused by futile peripheral efforts & works to seek the Divinity.

Many of us certainly, reach the point of exhaustion and fatigue in our everyday works and life and in our search for salvation.

Yes, You and I, each one of us, is today, an honoured and a privileged Invitee!

“Behold, I stand at the door and Knock!” (Rev 3:20).

 

3. What is the invitation:

To rest in His Sacred Heart & to Learn from Him Gentleness and Humility.

A haughty heart robs the person of spiritual insights…

Pride renders a person to look only to oneself; the gaze on the Lord is considered meaningless.

This is where the Pharisaic Mentality went wrong. They saw legalism as the vehicle to heaven. They lost sight of God’s desire for the heart.

>>They glorified the Law of Moses, but failed to see the Glorious God of the Law!

The Kingdom belongs to the Gentle and Humble…and that’s what Jesus invites us to learn!

4. When is the invitation:

“Why delay good things in life?”

 The Yoke of the Lord is easy.. because it is HE who takes up the burden…

… we are only sharers in His Divine Yoke!

He gives us a yoke which is made to fit our needs and abilities perfectly well!

And the Time is NOW!

The Invitation is already posted and the Master is waiting!

What is our Response….

RSVP…. Repondez S’il Vous Plait?

God Bless! Live Jesus!

A mother took her three children to a fine restaurant for a dinner.

>> It was a crowded Sunday and they could only get separate seats.

As food was served, the youngest daughter – 6 year old Mary – who was seated at the far corner of the restaurant…

… loudly enquired from her mother: “Mother, don’t people say grace before meals in this place?”

A wave of silence wrapped the entire restaurant!

The mother did not know how to react.

But soon enough, the manager of the hotel, who was at the counter, said in an assuring voice to the child: “Yes we do. You may start!”

All the people bowed their head in silence

Little Mary closed her eyes, joined her hands and bowing her head…

… in a loud and crystal voice prayed: “Bless us O Lord, and these your gifts, which we are going to receive from your goodness, through Christ our Lord… Amen!”

The child found it strange to observe that none of the elders were praying…

… So she went “out of the way”

>> And did something that was very beautiful

>> And taught others an action to be imitated

A child “goes out of the way”…

… in expressing love and affection by trying to imitate the kind acts of the elders

… in trying to help others – giving a hand at the household chores, or doing little works

The Gospel of the Day – Lk 18:12-14 – is an invitation by the Lord to re-discover this “forgotten” child-like dimension of our lives: “To go out of the way”!

 

The 18th Chapter of St Luke begins with the disciples asking their Master: “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” (Mt 18: 1)

Taking a child, Jesus exclaimed: “Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 18: 3)

Continuing to speak of the worthwhile qualities of a child…

… Jesus presents to us the image of a Shepherd who goes “out of the way”, in search of the lost sheep.

Jesus says: ” If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray…

… will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills, and go in search of the stray?” (Mt 18: 12)

The shepherd loves all his hundred sheep…

… yet, when one gets strayed, he makes “an out-of-the-way effort” to get the lost one back.

He does not give up on the strayed.

>> He doesn’t desert the lost.

>> He doesn’t abandon the one, gone from his circle.

This attitude of going “out of the way”…

>> “taking an extra pain”

>> “dripping an extra sweat”

… would seem weird and strange to the calculative, pragmatic and business-minded head of ours, in this modern period!

We might question:

>> Is it not a waste of time to go after the “lost sheep”…

… of an obsessed drug-addict or a habitual drunkard or a consistent smoker?

>> Is it just too futile to awaken a “lost sheep”…

… of a soul in slumber, where there is no focus on spiritual life, where there is slackness of prayer and sacraments and where worldliness and materialism have crept and conquered?

>> Is it of any use to go after the “lost sheep”…

… of a couple who are constantly bickering and a family which is broken up with regular fights and misunderstandings?

>> Is there any sense in trying to restore the “lost sheep”…

… of a community whose members seem disinterested, who are lethargic, who have their own personal and hidden agenda and who always back-talk and back-bite?

>> Is it just not meaningless to revive the “lost sheep”…

… of a society or a nation where corruption has taken deep-roots in hearts of people and all sincere efforts of transformation often gets dumped into the bin?

The True Shepherd however, in all such situations, of the “lost sheep” …

… “goes out of the way”

>> The Good Shepherd makes an extra effort in getting them back!

This Good Shepherd today invites us to be partakers in restoring the lost ones.

 

 

A critical danger in the process of “growing- up” is the tendency to lose our “natural child-like” qualities.

 

>> As a child, we were free to express our emotions…

… but when we “grow up”, we tend to hold them up all within (only to burst out one day!)

>> As a child, we were easily dependant on those who cared for us…

… but when we “grow up”, we become arrogant towards them and seek ‘independence’

>> As a child, we were able to enjoy and relax in the present moment…

… but when we “grow up”, we get caught up in the snare of the past and shrink with fear of the future.

The Lord invites us to get back the “lost” child-like faith and trust.

>> We need to realise that we are always little children to our Heavenly Father!

>> He loves to care for us… He longs that we depend on Him entirely!

Yes, children sometimes teach elders great lessons, isn’t it?

Let us be willing to “go out of the way”…

>> And do things that are very beautiful

>> And teach others actions, that can be imitated!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

  A young man went up from his home in the countryside to the city to join the University for a degree.

 

As a resident student, he had his own room in the hostel.

 

After he had settled in, his Mother, a godly, devoted Christian, decided to pay him a visit.

 

> She was delighted to see the campus and felt good with the ambience.

> She was also happy that her son was taking a keen interest in his studies.

 

However, when she went to his room, she was greatly shocked.

 

The kind of pictures that he had fixed to the walls of his room in the hostel made the mother feel embarrassed!

 

They were portraits of semi-dressed artistes, film stars, and suggested much that was sensual, and unbecoming a young man who had been devoutly trained at home, as he had.

 

The mother said not a word.

 

Instead of expressing her displeasure, she went home.

The following day, sent across a framed picture of the Divine Mercy of Jesus, with the request that he would hang it in his room.

 

A few weeks later she visited again him.

 

This time, however all the other pictures in the room were gone…

Only the picture of the Divine Mercy was there!

 

 

When she asked him about it, he replied, ‘You see, mother, I could not have those pictures along-side this Sacred picture. They would be out of place!’

 

 

Evil cannot exist beside the Sacred!

>> Where there is the presence of Holiness, evil finds itself disturbed and distances itself!

 

But human life often finds itself engaged and engrossed with evil things…

>> The pull to be bad constantly lurks in human minds…

>> The urge to be sinful often prowls in human hearts…

 

The Gospel of the Day is an exposition of this evil side of life that often endangers human hearts, and pops its head up, especially when encountered by goodness and holiness.

 

 

 The Gospel is the healing of the paralytic, when Jesus comes into His own town.

 

Seeing the paralytic being brought on the stretcher, and admiring their faith, Jesus had said, “Courage child, your sins are forgiven” (Lk 5:20)

 

However, some of the scribes got irked hearing these words and said, “Who is this who speaks blasphemy?” (Lk 5:21)

 

But Jesus, who knows the hearts of people…. who reads the thoughts of all.. said:

“What are you thinking in your hearts?” (Lk 5: 22)

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read the parallel verse, in the following way:

“Why do you think evil in your hearts?” (Mt 9: 4)

 

Another translation of this verse would read:

“Why do you harbour evil in your hearts?”

 

“Harbour” is a place on the coast, where ships may moor in shelter, especially one protected from rough water by piers, jetties, and other artificial structures.

>> It is also to keep a thought or feeling, (typically a negative one) in one’s mind, especially secretly

 

 

The Lord exposes the evil intention of the Scribes in questioning His action of cleansing the paralytic.

 

For the paralytic, it was a great moment…

… of being cleansed from sin, and being restored to holiness

… of having a very personal encounter of the Saviour and receiving wholeness

 

It was a sacred time…a holy instant!

 

 

But where there is the presence of Holiness, evil finds itself disturbed and distances itself!

>> Evil cannot exist beside the Sacred!

 

Therefore, when the paralytic was encountering goodness and holiness, the evil side in the scribes popped its head up, and questioned and quizzed our Blessed Lord.

 

 

The same question that Jesus asked the scribes is now thrown to us:

“What are you thinking in your hearts?” or “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” or “Why do you harbour evil in your hearts?”

 

>> Am I a person who is unable to tolerate the good things happening in other people’s life?

>> Am I someone who gets irked and irritated when the other person prospers in happiness?

 

We sometimes adorn the walls of our hearts with many filthy stuff -uncharitable thoughts, indecent words and jokes, hurtful views of people or crude perspectives of situations.

 

The Lord feels hurt and sad by this our “harbouring of evil in our hearts”

 

Are we ready to throw of all those unbecoming stuff from our hearts, and place the Divine Mercy of the Lord, enthroned in our hearts?

 

 

God Bless! Live Jesus!

It was December in the year 1903.



After several attempts, the Wright brothers – achieved success in getting their “flying machine” off the land.

They were very much thrilled!

They telegraphed this message Katherine, their sister, informing her of the great invention:

“We have actually flown 120 feet! Will be home for Christmas”

The sister was also super-excited.

She rushed to the editor of the local newspaper, to share the great news and showed him the telegraph message.

The editor glanced at the message and said:

“How nice! So the boys will be home for Christmas!”

Oops…

The Editor had completely missed the big news, isn’t it?

The big news was that “man had flown for the first time in history!!”

>> But he totally “missed the point”!

How often is this our experience too in life – Missing the Important Points and settling for lower ones!

We often fail to give attention to the most important things of life…

… instead, we get carried away by some other less priorities of life!

>> Isn’t it?

Something similar had happened to the people of Israel as well…

>> God had promised them of the coming of the Messiah…

… but they “missed the point”..

… and thus, failed to recognise the Saviour He came!

God had promised that Prophet Elijah of old would return…

… but they “missed the point”…

… and thus, failed to recognize the Prophet when he came!

 

This is what John the Baptist in today’s Gospel will point out…

… that people “missed the important points” in life!

>> And so he calls them “to repent” and come back to realise and recognize the priorities of life!

John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, had come, preaching the message of repentance and conversion of heart (Mt 3:1)

The Gospel of St Matthew says that John the Baptist…

… wore a clothing made of camel’s hair

… had a leather belt around his waist

… had food of locusts and wild honey (Mt 3: 4)

This appearance was very similar to that of Elijah, the Prophet (2 Kings 1:8)

 

But in their encounter with John the Baptist, the people failed to recognise him as the Elijah “who was to come”

>> They “missed the point”!

And thus John the Baptist came to be …

… rejected

… derided

… finally killed!

Jesus also will echo this aspect when He will tell later in His ministry:

“I tell you, Elijah has already come and they did not recognise him; but did to him, whatever they pleased” (Mt 17: 12)

John the Baptist realised that the people were “missing the point” with respect to…

… having a false hope in their patriarchal faith

… understanding the law and the prophets

That’s why, he tells the people – quoting the patriarch Abraham and the prophet Isaiah – …

… “Do not presume to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father'” (Mt 3:9a)

… “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths” (Mt 3: 3b)

The people of Israel had perhaps taken for granted…

… that their great heritage – consisting of great patriarchs like Abraham and Isaac and Jacob – would be credited to them, for their salvation!

… that the oracles of the prophets – like Isaiah – did not apply to their life and they could go on living a life as they pleased!

But John the Baptist…

>> The fearless prophet

>> The unassuming forerunner

 

>> The uncompromising martyr

… would challenge them with the Kingdom ‘ringtone’: “Repent!” (Mt 3:2)

All his life would be an echo of this Kingdom Ringtone – “Repent”

… “Repent” – for you have “missed the point” of living as per the commandments of the Lord

… “Repent” – for you have “missed the point” in failing to recognise the Truth and Power of the Lord

… “Repent” – for you have “missed the point” by giving priority to your own whims and fancies of life

Many times in our life, we too “miss the point” in our encounter with the Lord…

>> He gives His Beautiful Word to us…

… but we fail to be encouraged by It and live by It

>> He makes many wonderful promises of assurance and guidance…

… but we fail to live a life of trust and confidence

>> He offers Himself wonderfully in the Sacraments, especially Confession and Holy Eucharist…

… but we fail to derive the necessary fruits from Them

Today, the Gospel invites us, to look at God’s Promises, God’s Word’s and God’s Will…

… and discover the true purpose of it in our lives.

This is more true as we prepare for Christmas…

CHRIST is the BIG POINT of Christmas

But perhaps…

… we “miss the point” by giving much priority to only external decorations and festivities

… we “miss the point” by forwarding Advent greetings, but failing to practise them ourselves

… we “miss the point” by commercialising this whole season, and failing to dare to grow spiritually

>> Yes, let us dare not “miss Him”!

May we prepare our hearts to receive His Word as He wishes, in our life…

… and seek to live, in total accord with Him!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

 A story is told of a blind boy who was flying a kite.

 

He enjoyed this pastime along with others of his own age.

 

A passer-by, knowing him and wanting to mildly tease the blind-fellow, said:

“Hey, boy! Do you know where is your kite?

You don’t know whether it is on the ground or up in the sky, do you?”

 

“Oh yes,” said the blind lad, “I do know! It is now quite a fair height up in the air.”

 

“How do you know that?” asked the passer-by, “you surely can’t see it.”

 

The boy replied, “I can’t see it, it is true, but I can feel the tug of the string!”

 

 

The ‘tug’ of the string help the boy to realise the presence of the kite and to sense its height in the air!

 

 

The awareness of the presence of the Divine power in our lives, is such…

>> One may not be able to always see the presence of the Divine, but the believer can surely experience its power and strength!

 

This experience of “the Divine tug of the string” keeps the life of the believer moving forward and helps to depend on the Divine Presence for strength in life.

 

 

The Gospel of the Day is an invitation by Jesus to grow deeper in this “awareness and dependence” on Jesus in our life as a missionary of the Kingdom of God.

 

 

After having summoned and authorized the disciples, Jesus sends them ahead of Him, to the places of mission.

 

 

In the Gospel of Matthew, the same passage beings with the statement, “Preach, as you go…” (Mt 10:7)

 

Some other translations would read as “As you go, make a proclamation…”

 

 

 

This is such wonderfully practical, and yet at the same time, a phrase that is often overlooked: “Preach, as you go….” / “As you go… make a proclamation”

 

 

 

Preaching or Proclamation in our times, is often picturised with a limited understanding.

 

Preaching or proclamation is often understood as that which takes place…

… only from the pulpit or during a service in Church

… only in the form of speaking and explaining the Word of God

 

 

But the words of the Lord are worth noting:

“Preach, as you go….” / “As you go… make a proclamation”

 

Preach, as you go about doing your daily duties and activities

>> As you go about your responsibilities and works, make a proclamation

 

Preach as you go around meeting different people by sharing His love and joy to all

>> As you go about engaging in numerous actions, make a proclamation by sharing His presence

 

The act of preaching and proclamation of the Kingdom of God is to be reflected in our every action and movement…

… Whatever we do, may it become an act of proclaiming God’s abundant blessings!

… Whatever work we take up, may it become a moment of preaching God’s amazing providence!

 

 

Such an act of Preaching and Proclamation makes it mandatory that one grows deeper in the “awareness and dependence” on Jesus in the life as a missionary of the Kingdom of God.

 

>>The act of proclamation needs the “awareness” that I am continuing the Great Mission work that has Jesus as the “Initiator”, the “Sustainer” and the “Finale”!

>> The act of preaching needs the “dependency” on the Lord to realise that the Lord alone can provide all the graces, strength and courage for the mission!

 

 

This is what was epitomized by St Francis Xavier, whose feast we celebrate today.

>> This Patron of the Missions, was filled with a tremendous zeal for salvation of souls and contained in him a contagious enthusiasm of giving Christ to all.

One of his testimonial statement, while undertaking missionary activity in Japan, goes thus: “Sometimes I have lost my voice and strength altogether with repeating again and again the Credo and the other forms.”

May we give heed to the words of the Dynamic Missionary Saint…

 

>> “It is not the actual physical exertion that counts towards a one’s progress, nor the nature of the task, but by the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken”

>> “It is impossible to find a saint who did not take the two P’s seriously: prayer and penance”

… and seek to grow deeper in our missionary commitment!

Yes, one needs to feel the “tug and the pull of the Divine Lord”…when one goes through

… hardships and difficulties in being a missionary of the Kingdom, in hostile situations

… problems and challenges as we seek to live a true Christian life in the modern world

… meaninglessness or emptiness as we go through the ‘deserts’ and ‘darkness’ in life

 

 

And it is this experience of “the Divine tug of the string” that keeps the life of the believer moving forward and to depend on the Divine Presence for strength in life!

Happy Feast of St Francis Xavier!

 

God Bless! Live Jesus!

A little child, during a forest expedition, was asked by his father to get across a letter urgently to the village.

The father pointed over a trail, over which the boy had never gone.

“But Father” protested the child, “I have never been through this way.

I do not even see the path that will reach our village.

Will it be reasonable for me to travel along this path? ”

“Do you see the trail” replied the father, “as far as that big tree down there?”

The boy replied, “Oh, yes, I do see that far”

“Well” continued the father, “when you get there by the tree, you will see the trail a little further ahead; and so on, until you get within sight of the houses of our village.

Just have faith in me and obey my words!”

This is the journey of our Christian life?

… where the element of faith has to take over the aspect of seeing!

… where the element of obedience has to take over the aspect of rationality!

 

The Gospel of the Day is a beautiful exposition into these insights, which are highly essential for our life as a Disciple of Christ and a Missionary of His Kingdom.

The Gospel passage under consideration is the healing of the two blind men in the Gospel of St Matthew(Mt 9: 27-31)

One of the strange aspects that we could notice in this incident is what happens after the healing has taken place.

St Matthew says that, after their eyes were opened, “Jesus sternly charged them, ‘See that no one knows it'” (Mt 9:30)

>> He forbids the two men from making his fame known to others.

 

The Greek word that is used here for “sternly charged” is very interesting and revealing.

St Mathew uses the word, “embrimaomai”.

>> “Embri-mao-mai” literally means to snort with anger/displeasure(like a horse)!

In other words, Jesus “roared with rage” when He ordered the men to not proclaim about Him.

Why did Jesus adopt such an “angry stance”?

The Jewish people were longing for a Messiah who would save them from the pagan Roman Rulers.

>> Their understanding of the Messiah was purely from a temporal perspective – a prince who would wage a war and destroy the Roman enemies

If it was known outside that the Messiah, the much-awaited King had arrived, many Jews would undoubtedly seek to enthrone Him.

>> They would make efforts to usher in a physical kingdom with a violent expulsion of the Roman rulers!

We see such a tendency on many occasions in the Gospels, but more explicitly after the multiplication of the loaves in the Gospel of St John?

 

>> “Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry Him off to make Him King, He withdrew to the mountain alone” (Jn 6:15)

But, such a move would have jeopardized the Mission of the Lord!

>> He came not to be a king as any other king…

… rather He, the King of kings, came to reign over the hearts and lives of people!

>> He came not to be someone who would merely rescue from material oppression…

… rather, He came to be the Saviour who would free the world from sin and every bondage!

It is also to be seen that the two blind men addressed Jesus as “the Son of David” (Mt 9:27b)

>> This was the first time, in the Gospel of St Matthew, that Jesus was proclaimed by someone as “Son of David”

“Son of David” clearly pointed that Jesus was the Messiah.

>> The two blind men were confessing that Jesus is the Messiah!

 

Therefore, if the two men, excited and overjoyed as they were, with their miraculous healing, had gone around proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah…

… there was a grave danger, that the people would be instigated to a rebellion against the Romans

(Such an explanation is also supported by the fact that while healing or performing wonders among the Gentiles, Jesus did not forbid them.

>> The Gentiles, unlike the Jews, did not have any Messianic expectation as such.

For eg: After healing the Gerasene demoniac, Jesus tells him, “Go home to your family and announce to them, all that the Lord in His pity has done for you” – Mk 5:19)

There is also another point of consideration?

Jesus was the Perfect Physician.

 

He knew that the blind, when healed, cannot be exposed to the light, all on a sudden.

>> The exposure to the Light has to be gradual.

Jesus, the doctor-par-excellance and the Light of the World (Jn 9:5) knew, that there was great danger, if these spiritually blind would try to immediately go and spread about their experience with the Light

>> The Light would only end up harming them and also those to whom they preached!

 And therefore, “Jesus sternly charged them, ‘See that no one knows it'” (Mt 9:30)

What do these things entail for us?

A very important principle as Missionary of Christ and His Kingdom is implied here:

>> “Go only when we are sent to and to whom we are sent to”

This is one of the important basics of any publicly ministry of the Kingdom!

We need to know and realize?

>> The Mission belongs not to me?the Mission belongs to the Lord

>> The works and ministry are not my initiatives?they are solely entrusted to me by the Lord

It is His Work… It is His Ministry… it is His Mission!

>> We are to be His active instruments… We are to be His lively tools… We are to be His dynamic channels!

This realization is highly essential for an effective and faithful Missionary life.

Such a realization, therefore, directly implies the necessity of Faith and Obedience!

Yes, our life as a missionary ought to be one..

… where the element of faith has to take over the aspect of seeing!

… where the element of obedience has to take over the aspect of rationality!

May our Blessed Lord touch and open our eyes, to “see the trail” that is on ahead of us, in our journey of faith…

… and may hearken to His Words, “Just have Faith in Me and Obey My words!”

God Bless! Live Jesus!