A compass is an instrument used for navigation and orientation that shows direction.

It is used to find the right direction to get one to where one wants to go.
·      A compass helps to guide through unknown terrains.

·      A compass helps to direct well, without being lost.

·      A compass helps to keep right the focus.

A compass in life is a requirement in order to be constantly having the right target and aim.

The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus, as a person, in perfect control of His life; as a result of being in union with His Father – the Compass of His life..
… and He, becomes the Compass in the life of His disciples – to guide and direct them to safety!

The Gospel is the incident of Jesus walking on the waters, as the disciples travel in the boat, caught up in the midst of a strong sea wind.

This incident follows the “miraculous” event of the multiplication of five loaves and two fish, to feed a “massive” number of people. ( Jn 6: 1-15)

The people were greatly amazed and excited about this “super-miracle”.
This is evident in their words, “This is truly the Prophet, the One Who is to come into the world” (Jn 6: 14)

·      The people had seen an astonishing miracle.

·      The people had witnessed Someone who was able to provide them food.

·      The people had experienced Someone who could provide them security and strength.

But Jesus realized that all such excitement and exhilaration, would lead the people to make Him a King…

He knew that they would….
… be stuck to only material satisfaction and physical contentment
… not understand the heavenly and transcendental meaning of the miracle

And so Jesus withdrew to the mountain (Jn 6:15) to be with His Heavenly Father, alone.

His Beloved Father was the “Compass” of His life – the One who led Him….
…. to guide through unknown terrains
… to direct well, without being lost
…. to keep right the focus.

United with His Father, Jesus reaches out as a “Compass” to His struggling disciples…
They were being tossed up by the mighty waves and their boats were lashed by the mighty winds. (Jn 6:18)

But Jesus enters this “chaotic” scene….and ensures His peace and calm.
·      The disciples were lost…

·      They had missed sight of their direction…

·      They were disoriented in their focus and sight…

·      Fear had seized them

·      Anxiety was drowning them.

But the Lord, the “Compass” of Life restores back their calm and focus and direction.

·      Nothing is lost, when we have the Lord as the compass of our lives.

·      Nothing will be drowned, if we hold on to Jesus, as the compass of our lives.

The disciples realised this… and they experienced the calming effect in their lives.

Are we also ready to have God as the “Compass” of our lives?

In prayer… In faithfulness.. In trust… let us be ready and open to be led by the True Guide of our lives!

God bless! Live Jesus!

Here’s a simple question… from the world of the Gospels…

Which is the only miracle, besides the Resurrection of our Blessed Lord, that is mentioned in all the four Gospel accounts?

Well, it should not be too difficult to answer this one…
…
Or, is it a tough one?
…

Well, the answer is…
…. Yes…. it IS the miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves.

The feeding of the people, by the mighty deed of multiplication of the loaves, in the only miracle, besides the miracle of the Resurrection of Jesus, that finds a mention in all the four Gospels.

And each of these Gospels also have something unique to speak of this incident:
>> Mt 14: 13-21: mentions about five thousand men being fed,”without counting women and children”
>> Mk 6: 31-4: mentions of making the people to be seated in”groups and clusters of hundreds and fifties”
>> Lk 9: 10-17: also mentions of five thousand men and being seated in clusters of fifty and also mentions Jesus, “looking up to the heavens”.
>> Jn 6: 5-15: mentions of a “little boy”, who is the provider of the five loaves and two fish and also that “the Lord gave thanks for it”,before distributing it to the people.

      
The Gospel of the Day presents this account of the multiplication from the eyes of St John, the Evangelist.

Since this miracle finds its parallel with the Resurrection, as the only one mentioned in all the four Gospels, we could highlight some of the outstanding features of this “massive” miracle

>> The multiplication of the loaves fed a massive crowd.
Five thousand men could mean, that including women and children, it would have easily exceeded over twenty thousand people!.

This easily was the miracle that Jesus performed with the greatest number of witnesses and participants.

>> The multiplication of the loaves was a miracle of “creation”.
There are other miracles of Jesus, mentioned in the Bible, which could fall in the following categories…
>> Miracles of healing: Curing of many sicknesses and diseases
>> Miracles over nature: Powerful control over the forces of nature
>> Miracles of exorcism: Casting out demons and liberating people from them
>> Miracles of transformation: Transforming an object to something else or even of people
>> Miracles of restoration: Restoring people to their original state of life and good condition

But the miracle of the “multiplication” is unique in the sense, that it resembled “creation”.
God created the world “ex-nihilo – out of nothing”; Jesus now creates the loaves from nothing, and feeds the people.

This miracle of the multiplication also reveals some of the finest qualities of Jesus, the Messiah…

>> His sensitivity to the needs of the people
While the disciples were just eager to send the crowd away, Jesus reaches out to them in compassion and love.

>> His ability to effect changes in the mindset and thinking-pattern
The disciples could see no way, in that desert to feed the gigantic crowd. They had only question marks before them.
But Jesus, sheds new light on their minds and helps them find a solution, even in the seemingly impossible situation

>> His perfect control in a situation of panic
Though there would have been panic in the minds of the disciples, Jesus impresses upon them the fact, that He is in total charge and in complete control.
As the Lord and Creator, He knows exactly what is to be done in the moment of crisis and calamity.

>> His attitude of raising His heart in thanksgiving at every situation
We read that before the actual multiplication happened, Jesus “took the loaves, and gave thanks…” (Jn 6: 11)

Its amazing to imagine that situation:
… Thousands and thousands of people, eagerly waiting, hungry and exhausted….
… Having just Five Loaves and the Two Fish – which was scarcely able to meet the hunger of a couple of people…
… Jesus still raises His Heart in thanksgiving and gratitude!

It is tremendous faith that allows a person to raise one’s mind in gratitude, even in the midst of utter poverty, deep need and barren nothingness!

>> His consciousness to gather the remaining pieces, after the miracle
The Lord, “Who came save and seek the lost” is also highly mindful of gathering up the remaining broken pieces of the loaves.
The disciples get trained to become aware of “what is often considered as wasteful” can also become resourceful!

The disciples are reminded that even things that are usually “discarded” and regarded as being “unwanted and useless”, can become sources of strength and nourishment!

This beautiful and unique miracle of the multiplication, is a reminder to each one of us also:

Am I able…
… to be sensitive and responsive to the needs and desires of those around me?
… to see the brighter side of life, with the Grace and strength from God, and rub the fragrance of this positivity onto others in my life?
… to rise above the situations of panic and disturbances, and be calm, knowing that I have a God, who is ultimately in total and perfect control of every situation of turmoil?
…  to lift up my heart to the Lord, in thanksgiving, at every moment and situation of life, even when the chips are down or when I pass through the dark tunnels and the deep, despairing valleys life?
… to be aware of the “unwanted” talents in me, the “excess” people of the society and the “discarded” peripherals of the world, and seek to make the best use of them and collect them to be part of the mainframe scene?

God Bless! Live Jesus!

A few days back we celebrated the Easter Vigil.

The Easter Vigil is called as the mother of all vigils.
In the liturgy of the Easter Vigil, a Paschal Candle is prepared.

The priest marks the candle, in the shape of the Cross, Alpha and Omega – the first and the last Greek letters and the present Year, 2017.

He uses the following words:
… Christ yesterday and today (on the vertical arm of the cross)
… the Beginning and the End (horizontal arm of the cross)
… the Alpha (alpha above the cross)
… and the Omega (omega below the cross)
… All time belongs to him (numeral 2 in upper left corner of cross)
… and all the ages (numeral 0 in upper right corner of cross)
… To him be glory and power (numeral 1 in lower left corner)
… through every age and for ever. Amen (numeral 7 in lower right corner)

These words declare the Supreme authority and Heavenly glory of Jesus, the Son of God.

However, it can happen so, that at times, in our life…
… such fundamental factors of faith are taken for granted…
… such basic truths of our spiritual life are presumed as known…

Therefore,  it is sometimes good take a pause in our spiritual life, and ask ourselves, this fundamental question,
•      ” Am I really trusting and believing in Jesus, as the True Son of God, the One who is all-powerful and Holy”?
•      “Is my faith and spirituality truly built on the great foundation, that the Lord is the ultimate beginning (Alpha) and the end (Omega) of everything?”

The Gospel of the day is an invitation to make this examination of the basics of our faith and spirituality and to renew our belief and trust in the Lord.

The Gospel passage begins with the verse, “The One who comes from heaven is above all” (Jn 3: 31)

This verse refers to the Divine origin of the Lord.

At the Annunciation, Angel Gabriel had announced to Mother Mary that Her child “will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (Lk 1: 32)

This Divinity of the Lord was affirmed by Him through the various works of wonders and great deeds…
… of healing many in afflictions and sicknesses
… of accepting many of the rejected and unwanted
… of strengthening many of the oppressed and the abused
… of preaching many on the need for repentance and striving to enter the Kingdom

•      His personality shone with Divinity….
•      His character radiated with Holiness…
He sought to become the Way-revealer, the Truth-instiller and the Life-giver.

He is the One “Whom the Father loves” and “to Whom the Father has given everything” (Jn 3:35)

•      Have we given our lives entirely to Him, who is above all things?
•      Have we entrusted ourselves entirely to Him, who has been entrusted everything by the Father?

At the Holy Mass, one of the most beautiful prayers is called as the “Doxology”.

In this, we render all the praise to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit.
“Through Him, With Him, In Him…. O God Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is Yours, forever and ever, Amen!”

It would be good, to make this prayer of the Doxology, our own, in our works and activities.

•      This could be a conscious way of acknowledging the Divinity of the Lord in all our activities.
•      This could be a meaningful way of saying that the Lord reigns in all our works and deeds.

Let us revive our hearts to firmly install the Lord as the True Alpha(the beginning) and the True Omega (the end) of all our activities… and our life itself!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

In a particular place, in the medieval ages, there lived a certain monk.

This monk, once, announced that he would be preaching next Sunday evening on “The Love of God.”

It was Sunday evening…
The sun began to set…

As the shadows fell and the light slowly ceased to come in, throughthe glass-stained windows of that marvellous Church, the congregation gathered, were eagerly waiting…
Their eyes were fixed on the monk who was to preach to them….

In the darkness of the altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix.

First of all, with the candle, he illumined the crown of thorns on the Crucifix..
Then, the two wounded hands…
Then the marks of the spear wound on His side…

Then, in the hush and silence that fell, the monk blew out the candle and left the Church.

There was nothing else to say!
A beautiful sermon on the “Love of God” had been preached!

•      The sacrifice of Jesus, on the Cross, reveals the depth of God’s Love.
•      The price that Jesus paid on the Cross, demonstrates the intensity of God’s Love.

It is this love of God that Jesus spells out, when He says to Nicodemus, in today’s Gospel, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but may have eternal life…” (Jn 3:16)

This verse, John 3:16 has some of the most unique credits….
… it is perhaps one of the most favourite verses of the entire Bible
… it is perhaps one of the most known verses of the entire Bible

In seven phrases, this verse, reveals the gist and the core of the entire Good News…
… For God: The Great Lord and the Creator of the entire universe
… so loved the world: The Great Purpose of God
… that He gave His only Son: The Great Sacrifice
… that whoever: The Great Open Invitation
… believes in Him: The Great Condition
… should not perish: The Great Desire
… but may have eternal life: The Great Promise

Jesus was teaching Nicodemus that the heart of God’s love would be revealed in the sacrifice and death of His Beloved Son, on the Cross.
The Cross is not for condemnation…
The Cross is not for judgement…
The Cross is for salvation… the Cross is for hope!

•      To the one who believes and trusts in this power of the Cross, there is hope and salvation.
•      To the one who rejects and refuses this power of the Cross, judgement and condemnation is self-inflicted  and self-imposed.

•      God doesn’t want to condemn… He only wants to redeem.
•      God doesn’t desire to judge… He only wants to save.

The Cross of the Lord invites us today…
… to be faithful to the salvation won by the Lord, always
… to seek the grace to live a life in the light, always
… to make efforts to walk the path of truth, always

God Bless! Live Jesus!

It was a place named Bokalia, which means the place of cows, on the east of Alexandria in Egypt.

The Great Feast of Resurrection, that year, 68 A.D., coincided with the great pagan celebration of god Syrabis.

A huge multitude of the pagans, assembled and attacked the Church at Bokalia and forced their way in…

These targeted their chief enemy in that church…
       seized him…
              bound him with a thick rope…
                     dragged him in the roads and streets..
And they cried out, “Drag the dragon to the place of cows!”

They continued dragging him with severe cruelty.
His flesh was torn and scattered everywhere…
… the ground of the city was covered with his blood.

They cast him that night into a dark prison.

The next morning, the pagans were back to take him from the prison.

They tied his neck with a thick rope and did the same as the day before – dragging him over the rocks and stones.

Finally, this great warrior of God delivered up his pure soul in the hand of God…
… and received the crown of martyrdom…
… the apostolic crown, the crown of evangelism, and the crown of virginity.

Nevertheless, his death did not satisfy the rage of the pagans and their hatred.

They gathered much firewood and prepared an inferno to burn him.
However, a severe storm blew and heavy rains fell.
>> This frightened the pagans, and they fled away in fear.

The believers came and took the body, carried it to the church that they had built at Bokalia, wrapped it up, prayed over it, and placed in a coffin.
>> They laid the coffin in a secret place in this Church.

This is the heroic account of the martyrdom of St Mark, the Evangelist, whose feast we celebrate today.

It is to St Mark, the evangelist, that we owe, historically speaking, the first of the four Gospels.

Some of the distinct features and highlighting aspects of the Gospel of St Mark calls for our attention and reflection…

1. The Gospel of St Mark is the shortest among all the four Gospel accounts.
It probably also has the highest tempo, in terms of the language used and the pace at which the whole Gospel account moves.

>> This invites us to reflect on the urgency of the Kingdom in our lives. The time and place of the coming of the Lord is unknown. (Mk 13: 35-37) Therefore, it places on us, the need to be ever watchful, on the guard and ready for action against the evil, with lives sanctified and purified.
>> This also invites to reflect on the shortness of our lives, and how each day and each moment of our life (like each chapter and verse of the Gospel), is to be lived solely for the sake of the Lord, and making our lives a “true Gospel”, giving witness to Jesus Christ, the Crucified Risen Lord, the Son of God (Mk 15:39)

2. The Gospel of St Mark was possibly addressed originally to the persecuted and suffering Christians, of the early Church.
This meant to present Jesus, in the light of how He was able to withstand all pains, pressures and persecutions, in order to remain faithful to the Will of His Father and to the Kingdom Mission.

>> This invites us to fully embrace Jesus as the True Model for our lives. He is the Lord, who suffered immensely, took up every pain and bore every temptation, in order to remain faithful to His Father (Mk 14:36).
>> This also invites us to not be afraid of pains and sufferings in life and not to be bogged down by the illogicality of why things go absolutely haywire in our personal and societal lives. Instead, we need to look up to Jesus, who was crucified, and even from the Cross, the final act of His obedience, cried out, “Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani – My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mk 15:34)

3. The Gospel of St Mark is, traditionally, greatly associated with the life of St Peter.
Therefore, this Gospel makes a clear attempt at revealing some of the crucial events, feelings and character of Peter. It is an attempt, not to merely glorify Peter’s role; rather, it is also an account of how Peter, with all his failures and ‘foolishness’ was still accepted and moulded by Jesus, His patient Master

>> This invites us to face our own weaknesses and limitations of life boldly. Like St Peter, we too very often fall away, oppose the plans of God, be overly-zealous yet lazily lethargic and even betray the Lord. Yet, the Good Shepherd does not abandon us; instead goes ahead of us (Mk 16:7), to invite us “to make our life a beautiful one for Him”

>> This also invites us to not give up in life because of constant failures or be ashamed of our brokenness in life (Mk 14:72b). The Gospel of Mark is a parallel drama of the Glorifying Act of Jesus Christ and the Constantly Wavering Life of St Peter. The Gospel testifies that we are to glory not in our merits or prowess, rather to seek refuge in the wounds of Christ and to be totally dependent on the One who alone is to be our strength and guide.

Just like a lion, the Gospel of Mark brings out powerfully the life and teachings of Jesus, the Mighty Lion of Judah…
… mighty and bold
… fast and powerful,
… demanding and challenging.

The author, St Mark, himself was able to live up to be the witness and shed his blood for sake of the Great Lion of Judah!

Let us read this Gospel of St Mark…
… meditate on it..
… be challenged by it..
And strive to live the Will of the Father faithfully …
making our lives a “… Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”(Mk 1:1)

Happy Feast of St Mark, the Evangelist

God Bless! Live Jesus!

A businessman , once, wanted to sell his huge old castle along with his property.
The massive building had, however, been empty for months and needed many repairs.

Uninhabited  for many years, and been prone to many thieves, vandals and natural calamites, there was a lot of damage to the building.
Doors had been damaged…
Windows had been smashed…
The interiors were badly damaged…

As he showed a prospective buyer the building and the property, this businessman took pains to explain that he would replace the broken windows, bring in the engineering crew to correct any structural damage and clean out the garbage.

But the one who came to buy had other plans…

“Forget about the repairs,” the buyer said without giving heed to what the businessman was saying.
“When I buy this place, I’m going to build something completely different.
I am not interested in the building; I only want the entire site!”

The businessman was worried about the many repairs he had to do before he undertook the deal.
But the one who came to buy was interested more in the land, the site itself, than the building and the minor repair works.

Something similar happens when we seek to hand over the property of our lives to God…

We, get perplexed and worried over the many little aspects…
But the Lord is interested in our entire life…
·      He demands a total transformation.

·      He requires a complete conversion.

This is what the Gospel of the Day also points to – “No one can enter the Kingdom of God, without being born of the water and the spirit” (Jn 3:5)

Jesus is in conversation with Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews.

The Gospel is particular to point out that “he came to Jesus at night” (Jn 3:2)

Nicodemus finds three mentions in the Gospel of St John..
·      One, in this meeting with the Lord. (Jn 3: 1ff)
·      The second, in a discussion with the chief priests and Pharisees who were discussing on the origins of Jesus, the Messiah (Jn 7: 45-52)
·      The third, at the burial of Jesus, along with Joseph of Arimathea (Jn 19: 38-41)

In all these three occasions.. we find an element of darkness that is associated….
·      It was in the darkness of a night when Nicodemus first came to meet Jesus…
·      Second, Nicodemus was engaged in a discussion of darkness that made plans to eliminate Jesus ..
·      Third, Nicodemus comes to bury the body of Jesus in the darkness of nature and human folly…

Darkness would seek to get associated with Nicodemus every time…
But Jesus, the light of the world , invited Nicodemus to move to the light… “Whoever lives the truth, comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God” (Jn 3:21)

Jesus invites Nicodemus to experience and live the Truth…
… that one needs to be born from above to see the Kingdom of God
… that one needs to be born of the water and the spirit to enter the Kingdom of God

The same invitation is rendered to each one of us…

We too may be often finding ourselves in the “darkness”…
But Jesus, the Light of the world invites us to embrace Him wholly, and to undergo a complete transformation.

What is needed is to let the Spirit of God to work in ways that He wants
·      We need to have complete openness to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit..

·      We need to have a total docility to the promptings of the Holy Spirit…

We need to allow the Spirit of God, “the Wind to blow where it wills… ” (Jn 3: 8)

The Lord seeks the complete property of our lives.
We may be worried of the complications in which a transformation is possible..
We may be thinking how can me, with so many complications in life, have a true conversion…

But the One who comes to occupy our lives has other plans…
He says “When I occupy your life, I’m going to build something completely different.
I am not interested in the externals; I only want the entire soul… the entire life!”

Are we ready and willing to give ourselves entirely to the Lord… to the Spirit of God and allow Him to “make us anew and renewed”?

God Bless! Live Jesus!

REFLECTION CAPSULE FOR THE DAY
(For the Easter Friday – based on Jn 21: 1-14)
     
Every person’s life consists of various strengths, talents, abilities and aptitudes.

>> These strengths and talents help a person to achieve triumphs in life.
>> These abilities and aptitudes push the person to climb up higher the ladder of success

However, it is said that “one’s greatest strength can also be the reason for one’s greatest fall!”

Sometimes strengths and abilities themselves can become….
… the reason for great depressions in life
… the gateway to a person to being tempted into false ways
… the entrance for a person to abandon one’s true calling and vocation of life

The Gospel of the Day is a strong picturisation of this aspect with the person of Peter, the prime Apostle of Jesus, in focus.

We are on the last chapter of the Gospel of St John – Chapter Twenty One.
>> The chapter describes another post-resurrectional account of the appearance of Jesus.

The disciples, have been greatly disturbed and devastated by the death of their Master, Jesus. 
Perhaps, all their hopes were crashed…all their aspirations had sunk.

Then, Peter, perhaps filled with greater sorrow than others, makes an important statement, “I am going fishing” (Jn 21:3)

>> He would have been more sorrowful because the Lord had always accorded a special attention to him. 
>> He would have been more tearful than others because he was the one who had primarily and publicly denied his Master.

And so he takes another lead… this time however, away from the Lord… “to go fishing”

In Mt 4:19, we read that Peter had received the glorious vocation of following the Lord…
” Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”

This was the vocation of Peter…. This was his calling…
… to follow Jesus closely and personally and intimately
… to be a fisher of people, for the Kingdom of God.

But when faced with the greatest crisis of his life, he sought comfort and refuge, in what was probably, humanly speaking,  his greatest strength – fishing!

All through his life, Peter was probably living close to the sea.
>> He knew the depths and the breadth of the waters.

>> They gave him a great deal of energy.
>> They filled him with a fresh dose of enthusiasm.

Fishing was his great strength.
>> Fishing was his way of life.
>>> Fishing was his big asset.

However, at the call of the Lord, Peter had given up this “earthly” asset and strength to embark  through “newer” waters of life with the “Great Fisherman of Galilee”

The Lord had given him a “higher” vocation…to become fishers of people.
>> But now Peter, dejected and depressed, “leaves” this Divine vocation and goes back to his earthly strength and livelihood – fishing.

His strength and ability of fishing had become….
… the reason for great depressions in his spiritual life
… the gateway to being tempted into false ways, leaving the way of the Lord
… the entrance for him, to abandon his true calling and vocation of life of being fishers of people

“One’s greatest strength can also be the reason for one’s greatest fall”!

But once again, the Lord comes to the rescue…
He had called Peter, for the first time, by the Sea of Galilee… by a miraculous catch of fish (Lk 5: 1-11)

He now again calls Peter, by the Sea of Galilee.. by a miraculous catch of fish.
… calls him to renew his commitment and love for the Lord
… calls him to go back to his vocation and give up his life for him
… calls him to leave his “earthly strength” of fishing, and to depend totally on the Lord!

The danger that Peter faced in his life can be a danger for us too…
>> Our greatest strength can also be the reason for our greatest fall!

What is the greatest strength of our lives?
Money? Prestige? Talents? Abilities? Self-Confidence?

Sometimes we find, that the very talents and abilities…. by which we are able to do the works, of the Lord, may themselves, become great snares of temptations…
>> We, therefore, need to be on the watch always… be on the guard at all times!

Sure, that it is the Lord Himself who has blessed us with various talents.
>> But all our capabilities, needs to find its source, strength and continuity, in and by the Lord.

May we put to effect all the abilities that the good Lord has blessed us with, for His Kingdom…and may we always be focussed on our Crucified Lord and be single-minded in our love for the Lord.

God Bless! Live Jesus!

It is said that an encounter with a mystery can cause one of the two reactions …
1. A fervent fear leading to veneration and devotion
2. A nauseating aversion leading to hatred and abhorrence.

The encounter with a mystery is always something overwhelming:
>>Iit causes either a transformation for the good or a change to run away from the truth and reality.

Mysteries are indeed powerful and can be life-transforming!

The Gospel of the Day presents this powerful dimension of the Apostles encountering the Mystery of the Resurrection, in the person of Jesus Christ, the Lord, risen from the dead!

The Resurrection Day of the Lord was perhaps the most baffling, confusing and puzzling day in the lives of the Apostles…

Just a few days back, they had witnessed the horrifying and painful death of their Beloved Master.
In their weakness, and fearing for their life, they had abandoned their Master.
>> Yet, heart of heart, these disciples would have been tremendously affected, at the loss of the One who had brought new hopes and expectations to their lives.

But now, the strange and surprising reports of the tomb being empty and the Lord appearing to two on the way to Emmaus have confused the poor disciples.

It’s in this state of fear, confusion that Jesus comes in their midst and appears to them.

“But they were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost” ( Lk 24: 37)

The disciples were face to face with a Mystery – the mystery of Jesus Christ, Resurrected.

And every mystery can cause two reactions…
… a fervent fear leading to veneration and devotion
… or a nauseating aversion leading to hatred and abhorrence.

The disciples were initially filled with a lot of fear and were startled deeply.
>> But as they slowly were in the presence of the Great Mystery, their hearts began to be filled with joy and holiness…

We are also witnesses to the Great Mystery of the Resurrection

What is our reaction?
>> Are we filled with fear and fail to live a life of true witnessing?
… Or are we filled with the calm and serenity that the Risen Lord promises?

There is a need to make an honest examination of our lives…

>> The Mystery of the Risen Lord is about joy and happiness
Do I radiate this joy to others…
… or do others only come across angry faces, irritated behaviour and unpleasant conduct in me?

>> The Mystery of the Risen Lord is about trust and confidence
Do I display this faith and belief…
… especially when we face many problems and crisis in life, to stand firm in hope?

>> The Mystery of the Risen Lord is about call to a new way of life…
Do I be courageous to embrace this new way of life in the Risen Lord…
… and be willing to do away with my sinful habits and tendencies to fall away from God’s presence?

The Risen Lord is in our midst, as He was with the Apostles…
… Especially in His Most Holy Eucharist
… Especially in His Holy Word of God.

Let us not be afraid of this Mystery…

>> Let us not have an aversion towards it…
… rather, let us grow in love of the Mystery of the Risen Lord… and seek to live it, more fully and more meaningfully in our lives.

God Bless! Live Jesus!