An incident is told of a great ship that was stranded off the coast of South America. 

 

Week after week, the ship lay there, in the still ocean waters with not a hint of a breeze. 

 

The captain was desperate; the crew was dying of thirst. 

>> The salty ocean waters stared at the members of the ship.

 
Finally, one day, on the far horizon, a steamship appeared.

 

As this tiny boat, approached them, the captain of the great ship called out:

“We need water. Give us water!”

 

The steamship replied: “Lower yourselves, and life will be yours!”

 
The captain – an experienced person, and who knew that it was impossible to get potable water from the oceans – was infuriated.

 

But the steamship gave the same reply, “Lower yourselves, and life will be yours!”, and sailed away.

 
The captain was all by himself – feeling angry and desperate!

 
But a little later, when no one was looking, a cleaner boy of the ship, lowered a bucket into the sea and then tasted what he brought up: It was perfectly sweet, fresh water! 

 
How was that possible?

 

The ship had been stranded, just out of the oceans, into the mouth of the River Amazon (Amazon makes up for nearly 1/5th of the earth’s fresh waters!)

 

For weeks together, they had been sitting on top of all the fresh water that they needed.

>> But it remained undiscovered!

 
So it is, often, with our Christian Lives as well!

What we are really seeking, is already inside us: Waiting to be discovered!

>> The Holy Spirit, Who has been dwelling within us, from our Baptism, gently whispers to us: “Lower yourselves, and life will be yours!”

 

Today, on this Great Day of Pentecost, we are invited to open our hearts to recognize the Power of the Holy Spirit…

… and to become aware of the inherent greatness in our vocation as Christians.

 
On the day of Pentecost, in the Upper Room, as the disciples were gathered in prayer, along with Blessed Mother Mary, “the Holy Spirit filled the entire house in which they were” (Acts 2:2)

 
It is to be noted that the word used to describe the coming of the Holy Spirit is the Greek word “aphno” which means “suddenly”

>> “And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind…” (Acts 2: 2)

 
The coming of the Holy Spirit was “sudden”.

>> This energetic entry of the Holy Spirit is a glimpse to one important characteristic of the person of the Holy Spirit: Vitality!

 

The Holy Spirit is a spirit of life… of energy… of vivacity… of animation… of dynamism!

>> Where the Holy Spirit is, there is the great movement of the will, the mind and the heart!

 

It was this “sudden” coming of the Holy Spirit, that transformed the small group of Jesus’ disciples into mighty warriors of the Kingdom of God.

Fear was transformed into power…

> Timidity was changed into boldness…

>> Uncertainty was converted into conviction…

 

 
Our own lives need an encounter of this “life-transforming” experience.

>> Is my Christian life, dull and slow – merely laced with routine actions of prayers and sacraments?

>> Is my life of faith, lethargic and tepid – simply being pulled on, without any particular awareness or lived without any enthusiasm?

… then, we need the mighty movement of the Holy Spirit to impress life and vitality to our life and our faith!

 

 

The Holy Spirit is undoubtedly one of the most shy person of the Blessed Trinity and therefore, also often, neglected in our daily prayers or devotion

>> The study and awareness of the Holy Spirit is certainly, in general, given lesser priority and importance in comparison to the other Persons of the Trinity

>> The Feast of the Pentecost is very often not accorded the “solemn” tone in comparison to other feasts like Christmas or Easter

 

But let us realize, that in the Holy Spirit and in the celebration of this Feast, we have a great treasure to cherish and enjoy.

>> Each Christian ought to build an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit.

>> Each Christian must become more aware of the role of the Holy Spirit in daily living

 

How wonderful it would be if we could inculcate a few practical resolutions to grow in our intimacy and union with this Powerful and Dynamic Personality of the Blessed Trinity:

… wishing “Good Morning, Holy Spirit ” to Him as we begin the day, thanking for His protection and seeking His help through the day

… invoking a tiny chaplet, “Come Holy Spirit, fill our hearts and minds” as we begin a particular activity or work

… making a short examination of conscience at the end of the day, introspecting our lives in overcoming sin, being grateful for His guidance and seeking to grow spiritually in holiness, with the power of the Holy Spirit

… co-operating with the Holy Spirit to become effective agents of unity in our homes, our communities, our places of work and our churches.

… purposely creating a few seconds of silence in the schedule of our works or our activity or through the course of the day, and talking to the Holy Spirit, as a friend, in the cave of our heart

… listening to the still, gentle voice of the Holy Spirit in the depths of our being, speaking to us to be more active to read God’s Word in the Bible and to partake of the Sacraments more frequently especially Confession and Holy Eucharist.

 
The Lord has blessed our lives with the gift of the Holy Spirit.

> He longs to be empower our lives…

>> He earnestly wants to be in total control of our lives…

 
But for this, He needs our permission…

 

A permission in the form of…

… longing for Him

… making sincere efforts to live a life casting away sin

 
Let us realize that by our Christian Vocation, we are constantly in touch with “Fresh Waters” of Grace.

 

>> May we be aware of the worth of the “source of life” that is with us, and live a life worthy of it…

Are we ready to constantly give heed to the call: “Lower yourselves, and life will be yours”…?

 
Wish you a very Happy Feast of the Holy Spirit – the Pentecost!
Happy Birthday to our Mother Church!

> May we cherish the life offered by our Mother, in the Sacraments, and especially receive the sweetness of the Holy Eucharist more worthily and enthusiastically!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

The experience of teachers in a school with the students is pretty interesting.

 

Each student is unique in their character and nature.

>> The relationship with each student is also unique

 
Undoubtedly…

… some students tend to be more in the limelight… due to their high vibrancy and level of enthusiasm

… some students remain in the shadows… due to their soft and timid nature

 

But the teacher shares a unique relationship with all.. with some more close, with some just normal, with some just casual…

… Sometimes the most naughty one, or the mischievous one gets special attention

…sometimes, the most silent one gets a special favour of affection and care

 
The Greatest Teacher, Jesus also had his class of students… his chosen twelve.. the Apostles.

 

He shared a unique relationship with all of them, undoubtedly.

>> Yet, among the twelve, there were some with whom Jesus had a special bonding

 
• One among them was very vocal, emotional and actively in the limelight… 

• The other was more silent, affectionate and passively in the backgrounds…

 
The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus, the teacher in conversation with these two of His students, with whom He had a special bonding – Peter and John.

 

• Peter was the one, very vocal, emotional and being active in the limelight…

• John was the more silent, affectionate and remained passively in the backgrounds…

 

 
We are the end of the Gospel of St John.

 

Jesus had engaged Peter in a one-to-one conversation reviving His commitment to Him and the Kingdom by asking him, three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

 

Peter was also entrusted to be the Shepherd of His Church on the earth

 
However, Peter was also curious what would be the future of the other disciple.

 

 

His curiosity is a common human trait: a keen desire to know the future and the prospects of other people.

• Sometimes this trait can also degenerate into jealousy…

• Sometimes this trait can also be reduced to envy…

 

1. In the parable of the workers in the vineyard… those who came at the end received the same one denarii as the first.

 

The complaint of those who toiled the whole day was not just that they received a less pay; but more so, that why did the last ones get a higher pay!

 

The generosity towards the others, made them to feel envious

 
2. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the prodigal son was given a grand reception on his arrival back.

 

The complaint of the elder son was not just that he never had enjoyed a luxurious time with his friends; but more so, that the younger sin who had committed many sins, was given a special welcome.

 

The generosity towards the younger son, made him to feel jealous.

 

 
Realizing the possibility of this common human trait, Jesus chides Peter who was over-curious to know of the future of John; instead He re-focusses Peter’s attention on what is most important: Following Him.

 
Therefore Jesus tells to Peter: “What concern is it of yours? You follow me” (Jn 21: 22)

 
The same advice is rendered to us also…

• We sometimes tend to be too anxious about the life of the other… but fail to have a proper control in our personal lives!

• We sometimes tend to be over-curious about the future of others… but fail to live our lives worthily!

 

 

The Lord advises us the same too, “You follow me!”

 
The vocation and life of Jesus, the teacher’s two special students – Peter and John is also a reminder of two ways or levels of Christian holiness…

• The Life of Peter… lived in witness to Christ by a life of martyrdom

• The Life of John… lived in witness to Christ by a life of loving sacrifices in life

 

Each one of us are to…

… live in holiness, filled with love, like St John

… live in commitment, willing to give up even our lives, like St Peter

 

 
On this eve of the Great Feast of the Pentecost, let us prepare our hearts to receive the fire of the Holy Spirit.

 

May we be animated and constantly live in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, so that we too may be Christ’s faithful and dynamic witnesses…

… and like St Peter and St John, become “special students” of our Great Teacher, Jesus!

 

God Bless! Live Jesus!

A young man was supposedly crazy about his girlfriend.

 

He spent an entire evening telling the girl how much he loved her.

 

He said that he couldn’t live without her…

… that he would go to the ends of the earth for her

… yes, go through fire for her, or die for her.

 

But as he was leaving he told her,

“I’ll see you tomorrow night dear…

…. if it doesn’t rain!!”

 

A whole evening was spent on lavishing sweet words of love…

But as he left her…

…. he made conditions in his expression of love

… he put forward clauses in his demonstration of love

 

How often is our love also such..

>> We tell to people in our live that we love them… but fail to show it in actions

>> We tell to others that we care for them a lot… but do not show them in deeds

 

And how much more true is this in the case of our love of God…

We profess our sentiments of love, but fall short of living it up in our commitment

 

The Gospel of the day presents St Peter grappling with his weaknesses in expressing his love for his Master… and Jesus, knowing very well the frailties of his chosen one, entrusting great responsibilities on him.

 

Jesus in His post-resurrection appearances to the Apostles, engages in a special one-to-one conversation with the Peter, the leader of the chosen ones…

 

It’s interesting to see the choice of the Lord for Peter as the leader of His chosen ones.   

                                                                                                                                                                                 

Peter was a fisherman by profession…

>> Like the waves, his faith and trust in the Lord would also often waver…

>> Like the winds blowing heavily, his zeal for the Lord would also often vacillate…

 

Yet, the Lord chooses him to be a “fisher of man” for His Kingdom…. expecting him…

… to be like the fish – finding life and vibrancy only by being in the waters of grace and mercy

… to be like the net – gathering up the children of God and keeping them together

… to be like the boat – not being stuck on the shores, but ready to launch into the deep waters of evangelisation

 

Peter had undoubtedly a lot of interest and zeal in the Lord… and in His Mission.

>> Yet by nature, he tended to be more emotional… indecisive…fluttering

 

And this caused him to deny the Lord three times, during the passion of the Lord..

 

But the Lord, in His infinite mercy, restores the brokenness in the relationship, with His healing love.

 

Our lives too, so often, resembles that of Peter.

>> We fluctuate in our commitments to the Lord…

>> We easily break many of the resolutions made to the Lord…

>> We very often go astray, despite having experienced much love from the Lord…

 

 

Yet, Jesus does not abandon us.

> Like the Shepherd, who comes after His lost sheep…

>> Like a Potter, who remoulds His work when dis-shaped…

>>> Like a Physician, who attends with patience for His ailing patient…

The Lord comes to us…

 

And with much hope puts forward the same question, that He asked Peter:

“Do You love Me?”

 
The Lord awaits an answer…

 

It will be easy to jump in and say “Yes, Lord, I do love you”.

But…

>> Let our answer, not just be triggered by emotional feelings…

>> Let our answer, not be simply impelled by a ritualistic custom…

 

Rather, from the depth of our inner-being…

… acknowledging our sinfulness and failures…

… realising our weaknesses and shortcomings…

 

Yet….

              …trusting in the goodness of the Lord…

              … hopeful in the mercy of the Lord…

             

Let us, as tell the Lord…

              “Yes, Lord, You know everything….. You know, I love you!!”

 
 

God Bless! Live Jesus!