Does it make sense to talk about the Gospel, when there is so much suffering all around?
Here is a short video by Fr Jijo Manjackal MSFS throwing light on these relevant ‘questions of faith’ in this time of struggle and sufferings
CLICK TO VIEW THIS VIDEO ON “IS THE GOSPEL MESSAGE RELEVANT DURING THIS PANDEMIC?”
https://youtu.be/H7ywg_ikjdc
“Knowing that we are precious to the Lord, our Great Good Shepherd, and in turn, becoming a good shepherd to one another!”
(Based on Acts 4:8-12, 1 Jn 3:1-3 and Jn 10:11-18 – 4th Sunday of Easter, Year B)
A story is told of an official who was going around house-to-house, collecting data and statistics for the Census.
As he moved from one place to another, he came to a particular house, which was located high up in the mountains.
This was a poor family and the house was in a deplorable state.
The official approached the mother of the family, who was just outside the house, cleaning the premises.
Picking up the census form to be filled up, he asked the mother, “How many dependents do you have?”
“Well, there is Rosie, and Billy, and Lucia, Susie, Harry, and Jeffrey. There’s Johnny, and Harvey, and our dog, Willie and the cute little kitten Daisy!”
“Umm…excuse me, Ma’am”, interrupted the census-official, “that’s not necessary! I only need the humans”
“Ah!” she said, “Sorry about that! Well, there is Rosie, and Billy, and Lucia, Susie, Harry, and Jeffrey…”
But once again, the official cut short her words and said, a bit irritatingly, “No Ma’am! You don’t seem to understand! I don’t need their names. All I want is just the numbers!”
“Ah!” said the lady, surprisingly, “Sorry to tell again… but I don’t know them by numbers! I know them only by names!”
The members of the family were not considered in terms of numbers, but were valued by their names!
Each one in the house was special.
Each one of them was precious.
The Gospel of the Day echoes this similar melody of each one of us being “valuable and precious”, to Jesus, the Great Good Shepherd!
“I am the Good Shepherd” says the Lord, “I know mine and mine know Me” (Jn 10: 14)
The illustration of Jesus as the Shepherd is certainly one of the most endearing, popular and loved image in the whole of the Gospels.
Undoubtedly, one of the most popular and loved Psalms is Psalm 23 – the Psalm of the Good Shepherd.
The picture of Jesus, the Good Shepherd that immediately comes to our mind, is usually that of Jesus, holding a little lamb in His sturdy hands…
… or of Jesus, the Shepherd trudging through the grasslands with many sheep, following and walking with Him, happily bouncing and frolicking.
As we enjoy and bask in the joy of this image of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, it is apt that we also meditate and reflect on some dimensions of the Heart of this Divine Shepherd…
Each sheep is extremely personal, unique and precious to the Divine Shepherd’s Heart
The Good Shepherd has a very large number of sheep in His flock.
Yet each of us is uniquely important for Him
He loves each one!
He treasures each one!
The Divine Shepherd’s Heart is willing to make any sacrifice, even His life.
Unlike a hired hand, the Divine Shepherd has a tremendous sense of responsibility and attached to His sheep.
This makes Him to undergo any pain, any suffering, any sacrifice for the sake of His beloved sheep.. even to the point of laying down His life.
The Divine Shepherd’s Heart longs to bring back the ones which have strayed
The Divine Shepherd is aware of many sheep that are not yet part of His fold.
He longs for them…
He seeks to bring them to Him…
He yearns to make them part of His fold…
We are invited to deepen this our understanding of the Heart of the Divine Shepherd.
At the same time, we are also challenged to possess Heart, resembling that of the Divine Shepherd…
Do I have a heart that treasures and values each person that has been entrusted to my care…
Nurturing them, being responsible for them, appreciating and encouraging them…
Leading them to the pastures of holiness and the flowing waters of grace and mercy…
Do I have a heart that is willing to offer sacrifices for the ones entrusted to my care…
Making minor adjustments to help others…
Giving up certain comforts to reach out to the needy…
Foregoing personal luxuries to become a light to a person in darkness…
Do I have a heart that yearns to bring back the ones who have strayed away from the right path…
Those who have lost the focus in life
Those who are staying away from the Church and Her Precious Sacraments
Those who have addicted themselves to many vices and bad pleasures of life
The Church needs shepherds, after the Heart of the Great Shepherd.
St Peter, in the Acts of the Apostles, was made to understand the need to reach out the Good News of the Lord, even to the Gentiles…
… and make no distinction, in disseminating God’s Free Gift of Salvation to all!
The Great Shepherd constantly invites us all to give heed to His voice…
… and if necessary, to even correct ourselves so that we can be on the right path.
Often time, many of us, as shepherds go astray….
… failing to cater to the needs of the sheep
… failing to be faithful and honest to their vocation
… failing to be available and willing to forego personal comforts.
We have a duty to pray for one another
We have a need to support and strengthen each other
May each of us, lean closer to the Heart of our Divine Lord, knowing that each one of us precious and special to Him…
… resting in the bosom of His Presence
… feeding from the Food He offers in the Holy Eucharist
… attuning ourselves more to Him by listening to His Holy Word
And thus, becoming a good shepherd…
… according to the Heart of the Great Good Shepherd!
God Bless! Live Jesus!
Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism:
GOD CREATES AN ORDERED AND GOOD WORLD AND UPHOLDS AND SUSTAINS CREATION
Because God creates through wisdom, His creation is ordered.
The universe, created in and by the eternal Word, the “image of the invisible God”, is destined for and addressed to man, himself created in the “image of God”…
… and called to a personal relationship with God.
Our human understanding, which shares in the light of the divine intellect, can understand what God tells us by means of his creation…
… though not without great effort
… and only in a spirit of humility and respect before the Creator and his work.
Because creation comes forth from God’s goodness, it shares in that goodness – “and God saw that it was good. . . very good”- for God willed creation as a gift addressed to man…
… an inheritance destined for and entrusted to him.
On many occasions the Church has had to defend the goodness of creation, including that of the physical world.
God is infinitely greater than all his works. But because he is the free and sovereign Creator, the first cause of all that exists, God is present to his creatures’ inmost being: “In him we live and move and have our being.”
In the words of St. Augustine, God is “higher than my highest and more inward than my innermost self”.
With creation, God does not abandon his creatures to themselves.
He not only gives them being and existence, but also, and at every moment…
… upholds and sustains them in being
… enables them to act and brings them to their final end.
“Growing in the Love for the Holy Eucharist and deepening our faith and conviction in Him!”
(Based on Acts 9:1-20 and Jn 6:52-59 – Friday of the 3rd Week in Eastertide)
In the early 1970s, during the Vietnam War, Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan was the Archbishop of Saigon.
The Communists saw him as a threat.
On the Feast of the Assumption – 1975 – he was arrested and shipped off to a prison in North Vietnam.
He stayed there for thirteen years, nine of them in solitary confinement.
During his imprisonment, he couldn’t celebrate Mass or receive the Eucharist.
However, the Archbishop was allowed one luxury: to write letters to friends outside prison.
When he did, he often asked them to send him what he called “his medicine.”
They knew what he meant.
They sent him cough medicine bottles…
… filled with wine and small bits of bread.
Sympathetic guards smuggled him some wood and wire, and from that he made a small cross, which he hid in a bar of soap.
He kept all this in a cardboard box.
That box became his own private altar.
Every day, at 3:00 p.m. – the hour of Christ’s death – he would place drops of wine in the palm of his hand, mingled with water, to celebrate Mass.
The greatest ongoing miracle in history was able to take place.
That cramped prison cell became as beautiful and as blessed as any cathedral…
… a sanctuary for the glory of God.
He did this for thirteen years…
… till he was finally freed in 1988.
This is a man who understood – with every fibre of his being – how precious Holy Communion is.
What about us?
How deep is my understanding, faith and love for the Most Holy Eucharist?
The Holy Eucharist – the Body and Blood of Jesus – is the greatest treasure that the Church offers to Her children…
Yet, the Holy Eucharist sometimes, also becomes the great barrier for people to misunderstand and misinterpret the Church.
The same was true even in the time of Jesus.
The mention of His Body and Blood caused great division, misunderstanding and led to the misinterpretation of Jesus.
The Gospel of the Day is an account of the Lord declaring the necessity of being partakers of His Body and Blood to be having a share in eternal life.
Jesus continues His discourse on He being the “Bread of Life”.
The Lord surprises His hearers by saying that He is “the bread that came down from heaven” (Jn 6:51a)
He shocks them even further by saying that “the bread that I give is my flesh for the world” (Jn 6:51b)
This caused a dispute among the people, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” (Jn 6:52)
The bold declaration of the Lord that He would give His Flesh and His Blood as food and drink, caused a huge scandal among His listeners and it cause deep divisions and disputes.
The same is so much true in our own world, when the Church declares the Holy Eucharist to be the True and Real Body and Blood of the Lord, there is so much dispute and division caused.
Not many are able to accept this understanding
Not many are convinced of this teaching
Not many even believe this to be true
Not many are passionate either
The Catechism of the Church declares that “the mode of Christ’s presence under the Eucharistic species is unique”
“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.”
Questions now arise before us…
May we understand that in the Most Holy Eucharist – the greatest ongoing miracle in history – takes place.
It is this miracle that can turn even a cramped prison cell to become as beautiful and as blessed as any cathedral…
… a sanctuary for the glory of God.
Let us grow in the Love for the Holy Eucharist and deepen our faith and conviction in Him.
May Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist always be praised…
… and may our Blessed Mother Mary, the Mother of the Eucharist, intercede for us!
God Bless! Live Jesus!
Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism:
THE WORLD WAS CREATED FOR THE GLORY OF GOD
Scripture and Tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth: “The world was made for the glory of God.”
St. Bonaventure explains that God created all things “not to increase His Glory, but to show it forth and to communicate it”, for God has no other reason for creating than his love and goodness:
“Creatures came into existence when the key of love opened his hand.”
The First Vatican Council explains: This one, true God, of his own goodness and “almighty power”, not for increasing his own beatitude, nor for attaining his perfection…
… but in order to manifest this perfection through the benefits which he bestows on creatures, with absolute freedom of counsel “and from the beginning of time, made out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal”
The glory of God consists in the realization of this manifestation and communication of His goodness, for which the world was created.
“Let us seek to satisfy our hunger for God, by growing in our love for Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist – the Bread of Life!”
(Based on Acts 8:26-40 and Jn 6:44-51 – Thursday of the 3rd Week in Eastertide)
Saint Mother Teresa was known for her immense devotion to the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist.
She found her strength for her services of mercy, by being united and spending time with the Eucharistic Lord…
… everyday!
She has spoken very beautifully about the Holy Eucharist:
She says: “When Jesus came into the world, he loved it so much that he gave His Life for it.
He wanted to satisfy our hunger for God.
And what did He do?
He made himself the ‘Bread of Life.’
He became small, fragile and defenseless for us.
Bits of bread can be so small that…
… even a small child can chew it!
… even a dying person can eat it!”
Have we discovered our Love for this “Precious Bread of Life?”
The Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of St John can be called as “the great discourse on the Bread of Life”
Jesus declares Himself as the “Bread of Life” (Jn 6:35), Who came down from heaven.
On hearing this statement of the Lord, the Jews “murmured” about Him (Jn 6:41)
They knew that Jesus was only the son of Joseph.
They knew the father and mother of Jesus.
They were very familiar with His human origins
Therefore, the statement of Jesus that “He was the bread, Who came down from heaven” caused a great deal of “murmur”.
The Greek word that is used here for murmur is a word, “gogguzo”…
This “gogguzo” means…
… any low, continuous sound as of a brook, the wind, trees etc or low indistinct voices
… a mumbled or private expression of discontent
… to show “smouldering discontent”, droning on in a low, constant murmur
A similar “gogguzo” was also expressed by the Israelites, in their long journey in the desert.
When Moses led the large multitude of the Israelites through the desert, the impatient crowd, raised their voices in complaint against Moses and Aaron, “Would that we had died at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread” (Ex 16:3)
The Israelites also “murmured!”
In response to this “murmuring” of the people, God Yahweh provided them with the “flesh of the quail” and the “bread of the Manna” (Ex 16: 4-15)
In the Gospel, when the Jews “murmured”, Jesus provides them with a reply of the “flesh of His body” and the “bread of His Life”
Jesus told them, “Stop murmuring among yourselves… I am the Living Bread that came down from heaven… the bread that I give is my flesh for the world ” (Jn 6: 43, 51)
The Israelites were given perishable flesh of the quails and they who ate the Manna, died.
But Jesus, now gives His imperishable flesh of His Own Body and offers the Eternal Manna as the Bread of our life!
It is in the Holy Eucharist, that the Lord offers this imperishable food and salvation to each of us.
What is our perception and passion towards this True Life that Jesus offers in the Holy Eucharist?
The Israelites in the Old Testament as well as the Jews in Jesus’ time, “murmured”…
Do I also “murmur” and remain indifferent to believing in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist?
Do I also “murmur” and fail to prepare myself well to receive Jesus, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?
Do I also “murmur” and become unmindful or even disrespectful to the Presence of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, in the Chapels and in the Churches?
May this lengthened meditation on John 6 – the “the great discourse on the Bread of Life” – help us to deepen our faith and zeal for Jesus, in the Most Holy Eucharist.
It is this devotion and union with the Lord, alone, that can make us also, in turn, a Eucharistic people – breaking and giving ourselves – for the welfare and salvation of the world!
In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, Philip, inspired by an Angel of the Lord reaches out to a royal official – an Ethiopian eunach – and delivers the Word of God and the Salvific Message of the Risen Lord.
When we have a deep passion for the Lord in our hearts, we too will reach out the Message of God’s Love and Mercy to the world around us.
Let the words of St Francis de Sales inspire us: “”When the bee has gathered the dew of heaven and the earth’s sweetest nectar from the flowers, it turns it into honey, then hastens to its hive.
In the same way, the priest, having taken from the Altar, the Son of God (who is as the dew from heaven, and true son of Mary, flower of our humanity)…
… gives Him to you as Delicious Food!”
Let us seek to satisfy our hunger for God…
… by growing in our love for Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist – the Bread of Life!”
God Bless! Live Jesus!
Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism:
CREATION – WORK OF THE HOLY TRINITY
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”
Three things are affirmed in these first words of Scripture…
… the eternal God gave a beginning to all that exists outside of Himself
… He alone is Creator (the verb “create” – Hebrew “bara” – always has God for its subject)
… the totality of what exists (expressed by the formula “the heavens and the earth”) depends on the One Who gives it being.
“In the beginning was the Word. . . and the Word was God. . . all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”
The New Testament reveals that God created everything by the eternal Word, His Beloved Son. >> The Church’s faith likewise confesses the creative action of the Holy Spirit, the “giver of life”, “the Creator Spirit” (Veni, Creator Spiritus), the “source of every good”.
The Old Testament suggests and the New Covenant reveals the creative action of the Son and the Spirit…
… inseparably one with that of the Father.
This creative co-operation is clearly affirmed in the Church’s rule of faith: “There exists but one God – He is the Father, God, the Creator, the author, the giver of order.
He made all things by Himself, that is, by His Word and by His Wisdom”, “by the Son and the Spirit” Who, so to speak, are “His Hands”.
“May Jesus, the Bread of Life, always be the source, strength and summit of our Christian living!”
(Based on Acts 8:1-8 and Jn 6:35-40 – Wednesday of the 3rd Week in Eastertide)
One of the simplest moral stories that all of us have heard is that of the thirsty crow.
One hot day, a thirsty crow flew all over, looking for water.
For a long time, he could not find any.
He felt weak, and lost all hope.
Suddenly, he saw a water jug below the tree. He flew straight down, and was delighted to see some water inside it!
Sadly, he found that the neck of the jug was too narrow and it was impossible for him to access the water.
He tried to push the jug to tilt, for the water to flow out but the jug was too heavy.
The crow thought hard for a while.
Then looking around it, he saw some pebbles and an idea struck him.
He started picking up the pebbles one by one, dropping each into the jug.
As more and more pebbles filled the jug, the water level kept rising.
Soon it was high enough for the crow to drink.
His plan had worked… His thirst had been quenched!
The moral of this story is to “Think and work hard, you may find solution to any problem”.
But when we consider this story from another perspective, we notice that it also shows the deep craving inside every creature, to satisfy one’s thirst.
One is restless till this thirst is fulfilled…
One is impatient till this craving is satisfied…
This agitated thirst is also innate in every human being…
… a thirst for the Divine, for the Transcendental.
And this thirst, compels humans…
… to search… to seek…
… for the source of satisfaction
… for the fountain of fulfilment
But how wonderful it would be to be knowing and to be convinced that this “thirst” can find its fulfilment only in God.
And how wonderful it would be, if all human beings could be properly guided and correctly directed on this path of finding true contentment.
The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus promising this fulfilment and contentment to all those who come to Him and believe in Him – the Bread of Life.
Jesus declares, “I am the Bread of Life; He who comes to me shall not hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst” (Jn 6: 35)
The crowds who had been fed by Jesus, by the miracle of the multiplication of loaves, came in search of Jesus… probably expecting more…
They wanted still more…and they express this to Jesus, “Sir, give us this bread always” (Jn 6:34)
In John Chapter 4, we read the story of the Samaritan woman, by the well of Jacob, who had also expressed a similar desire.
She said to Jesus “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water” (Jn 4: 15)
This desire to receive bread or water, so that one may not hunger again or be thirsty again, is the innate desire and longing within each human being…
Each of us, deep within, are thirsty and hungry…
… wanting to drink water and eat food that will quench the longing, forever.
It is this search that makes people to go out and seek the various sources of satisfaction.
Some feel to have found this fulfilment…
… through worldly pleasures and bad habits like smoking, drinking, obsession with sex, drugs etc, which only lead to momentary external satisfaction and short-lived bursts of thrill.
Some feel to have found this fulfilment…
… in the various philosophies, new-age patterns of life and naturalistic means of spirituality etc, which may have traces of truth, but fail to provide authentic and fullness of life.
The Book of the Acts of the Apostles records one such notable example of Saul.
Saul (who is also called Paul) failed to understand and grasp “The Truth” and persecuted all those who followed “The Way!”
“But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison.” (Acts 8:3)
But Jesus, today, boldly and unambiguously declares that it’s only in HIM that true and complete fulfilment of life can be found: “He who comes to me shall not hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst” (Jn 6: 35)
Are we convinced of this fact, that it’s only in Jesus, that I can achieve true and complete happiness…?
Like the Prodigal Son (Lk 15:11-32), we may have strayed away from this path of truth, to seek our own means and ways to find happiness and satisfaction.
But the Lord, today, calls us back to Him…
… to His Heart
… to His Church
… to His Eucharist
… to experience Him fully.
To those who have strayed…
… the call of the Gospel, is to come back to the paths of truthTo those who are holding on to Him…
… the call of the Gospel, is to deepen the conviction, that in Him alone, can the hunger of my soul and the thirst of my heart be fulfilled.To those who have strayed…
… the Lord invites to build the virtues of humility, docility and openness to the Spirit.To those who are holding on to Him…
… the Lord invites to build the virtues of patience, firm trust and a passionate longing.
May Jesus, the Bread of Life, always be the source, strength and summit of our Christian living!
God Bless! Live Jesus!
Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism:
CATECHESIS ON CREATION
The truth about creation is so important for all of human life that God in His tenderness wanted to reveal to His People everything that is salutary to know on the subject.
Beyond the natural knowledge that every man can have of the Creator,God progressively revealed to Israel the mystery of creation.
He who chose the patriarchs, who brought Israel out of Egypt, and who by choosing Israel created and formed it, this same God reveals himself as the One to whom belong all the peoples of the earth, and the whole earth itself; he is the One who alone “made heaven and earth”.
Thus the revelation of creation is inseparable from the revelation and forging of the covenant of the one God with his People.
Creation is revealed as the first step towards this covenant…
… the first and universal witness to God’s all-powerful love.
And so, the truth of creation is also expressed with growing vigour in the message of the prophets, the prayer of the psalms and the liturgy, and in the wisdom sayings of the Chosen People.
Among all the Scriptural texts about creation, the first three chapters of Genesis occupy a unique place.
From a literary standpoint these texts may have had diverse sources.
The inspired authors have placed them at the beginning of Scripture to express in their solemn language the truths of creation…
… its origin and its end in God
… its order and goodness
… the vocation of man
… and finally the drama of sin and the hope of salvation.
“May the Holy Eucharist – the Bread of life – become the essential, the integral and the most fundamental constituent of our ‘Spiritual Diet!’”
(Based on Acts 7:51-8:1 and Jn 6:30-35 – Tuesday of the 3rd Week in Eastertide)
Our generation is a much trendier and health-conscious one….
Right?
People, especially, in the urban areas, do spend a great deal of time and energy in seeking to be more fashionable, better-looking and being healthier.
As part of this inclination, the modern trend is being highly conscious of the “diet” that one takes…
One is keen to know which food will help one’s body to remain fit and healthy
One is conscious to supplement foods that will keep one stronger and also appeal to the taste buds, at the same time.
One is also eager to plan out one’s meals and food-eating habits that suits one’s lifestyle, in order to promote good health, shape and wellbeing.
But it would be nice and good to also check what is the condition and state of our “spiritual diet”.
We do tend to give a lot of importance to our “physical diet” in terms of the food to be eaten and that which are to be avoided.
But what is the importance that we accord to our “spiritual diet”?
Is my “spiritual diet” nourishing – my soul, my spiritual wellbeing?
Is my “spiritual diet” leading me to good health – of holy thoughts and purity of heart?
The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus, the Spiritual Dietician, exhorting the most important element that is to be part of the “spiritual diet” of everyone who follows Him – the Holy Eucharist – through the “Bread of Life” discourses.
After the feeding of the large multitude of people by the multiplication of the loaves, the people sought Jesus.
Jesus, knew their hearts longed not for Him, but for the bread-giver!
Jesus knew they were following not Him, but the food-provider!
So Jesus sought to put the matters in the right perspective and teaches them about the real food that they should be longing.
It is in this context that Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life; He who comes to me shall not hunger and He who believes in me, shall never thirst” (Jn 6: 35)
Jesus declares Himself as the Bread of Life.
The Greek word that is used here for “bread” is “artos”.
“Artos”….
… refers to food composed of flour mixed with water, and baked.
… also refers to food of any kind or food in general.
As “bread” or “food” is essential for the physical life
… Jesus as “the bread of life” is required for the spiritual life!
Without bread, physical life would perish….
… Without Jesus, the bread, spiritual life would perish!
St Stephen wholly adopted Jesus to be the “Bread of his life” and thus could heroically offer his life as a martyr!
While being stoned, Stephen would imitate our Blessed Lord in reaching our forgiveness to his persecutors: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (Acts 7:60)
When Jesus becomes the Bread of our Life…
… we learn from Him
… we imitate Him
In the Holy Eucharist, Jesus offers this “Bread of Life” for us…
… to be our nourishment and strength
… to be our sustenance and energy
… to be our life and forte
What is our disposition and attitude towards Jesus, the “Bread of Life” in the Holy Eucharist?
History is a witness, that through centuries, there have been many saints, both men and women, who have lived for major chunks of their lives, just on the Holy Eucharist.
They would take no food or drink, but ONLY received the Holy Communion, everyday.
A few notable among these saints are…
…. St Catherine of Siena (in the 1350’s….. prior to her death, for seven years, she took no food into her body, except the Holy Eucharist)
… St Nicholas of Flue (lived in Switzerland as a hermit, in the 1400’s… for nearly 19 years, lived without any food, except the Holy Eucharist)
… Blessed Alexandrina da Costa of Portugal (of the 20th century… for the last thirteen years of her life, lived on the Holy Eucharist alone)
Our Lord himself explained to Blessed Alexandrina why He gives this grace to his some of His saints:
“You are to live by the Eucharist alone,” Jesus told her, “because I want to prove to the world the power of the Eucharist and the power of my life in souls.”
This greatest Treasure of Lives – the Holy Eucharist – the Bread of Life…
… eagerly longs for our reception
… keenly awaits for our adoration
As Pope Benedict XVI says,
“In the Sacrament of the Altar, the Lord meets us, men and women created in God’s image and likeness, and becomes our companion along the way.
In this Sacrament, the Lord truly becomes food for us, to satisfy our hunger for truth and freedom.
Since only the truth can make us free, Christ becomes for us the food of truth.”
During this time of the lockdown, when we are unable to “physically” access the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist…
… we are to patiently grow – in hope – with a deeper and a renewed love for the Holy Eucharist.
We are invited, to have an intense longing for Him Spiritually
We need to frequent the Sacrament through an Act of Spiritual Communion.
(AN ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION – PRAYER
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You, Amen!)
Yes, let us renew our love and commitment in receiving the “Bread of Life” more frequently, more devoutly, more passionately and with greater preparedness!
Let us revive our affection and dedication to spend more time with the “Bread of Life” in the Blessed Sacrament, to gain strength, to atone for sins and to offer the world for its sanctification and healing?
May the Holy Eucharist – the Bread of life – become the essential, the integral and the most fundamental constituent of our “Spiritual Diet”
God Bless! Live Jesus!
Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism:
It is not only a question of knowing when and how the universe arose physically, or when man appeared, but rather of discovering the meaning of such an origin:
… Is the universe governed by chance, blind fate, anonymous necessity, or by a transcendent, intelligent and good Being called “God?”
… And if the world does come from God’s wisdom and goodness, why is there evil?
… Where does it come from?
… Who is responsible for it?
… Is there any liberation from it?
Since the beginning the Christian faith has been challenged by responses to the question of origins that differ from its own.
Ancient religions and cultures produced many myths concerning origins. All these attempts bear witness to the permanence and universality of the question of origins. This inquiry is distinctively human.
Human intelligence is surely already capable of finding a response to the question of origins.
The existence of God the Creator can be known with certainty through his works, by the light of human reason, even if this knowledge is often obscured and disfigured by error.
“Transcending and rising up higher, to live our lives in the grandeur of Jesus and His Everlasting Kingdom, instead of merely being fixated in slimy earthly pleasures!”
(Based on Acts 6:8-15 and Jn 6:22-29 – Monday of the 3rd Week in Eastertide)
There is an old legend of a swan and a crane.
A beautiful swan alighted by the banks of the water, in which a crane was wading about, seeking snails.
For a few moments the crane viewed the swan in incredulous wonder and then inquired: “Where do you come from?”
“I come from heaven!” replied the swan.
“And where is heaven?” asked the curious crane.
“Heaven!” said the swan, “Heaven! Have you never heard of heaven?”
And the beautiful bird went on to describe the grandeur of the Eternal City…
She told of streets of gold, and the gates and walls made of precious stones; of the river of life, pure as crystal, upon whose banks is the tree whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations.
With eloquence, the swan described the beauty of the other world…
… but none of it, strangely, seemed to arouse the slightest interest of the crane.
Finally the crane asked: “Are there any snails there?”
“Snails??” repeated the swan; “No! Of course there are not!”
“Then,” said the crane, as it continued its search along the slimy banks of the pool, “you can have your heaven. I only want snails!”
The crane was satisfied with the lowly earthly “snails” and failed to have any interest for the divine “heavens”
How often we are also like this crane….
… interested only in earthly affairs, and least attracted to the heavenly realms
… busy only with gathering earthly pleasures but rejecting offers for heavenly happiness
The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus chiding the people for following Him, just for the sake of earthly desires, and instead, invites and exhorts them to seek for higher and heavenly longings in life…
“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (Jn 6: 27)
The people had witnessed Jesus’ great miracle of the multiplication of loaves.
• Their hunger had been satisfied.
• Their appetites had been gratified.
In Jesus, they found a person who was able to answer the bodily needs.
In Jesus, they found a person who was able to satisfy their material desires.
The people desired to crown Him as their King!
Is this not a trend in our society as well?
How often are the bread-givers and money-makers held in high esteem, even in our days…
… at the expense of people who are unable contribute much or do much work.
Think of the aged, the sick, the invalids in our own houses, communities and societies, who are unable to work or contribute anything materially…
How often do we neglect them!
How often do we put them down!
How often do we call them as useless!
We sometimes glorify people based only their work, their position and their activities…
The “being” of a person is often neglected
… only the “doing” of a person is exalted!The “essence” of a person is often not given value
… only the “work” of a person is given credit!
But Jesus refrains from being a victim to this mentality of the society.
• He refuses to be their “Bread-Boss!”
• He rejects to being their “Materialistic-Messiah!”
And so when people, come to Him, Jesus recognizes their motive in seeking Him…
… and He chides them saying: “Amen, Amen, I say to you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs but you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (Jn 6: 26-27)
The Lord seeks to lead the people to desire and long for the higher realities of life.
And this is the wish of the Lord for each one of us too, that we…
… be interested not only in worldly affairs; rather, we be more attracted to the heavenly realms
… be busy not only with gathering earthly satisfactions; but, we accept and embrace more of heavenly happiness
It is true that “to the hungry one, food and other material wants demand higher urgency”
• It is not denied that “to the one whose basic needs are not met, material satisfaction is important”
But having said this… one must also be willing to accept, that beyond these material aspects, the human person has greater needs – on a spiritual sense, that of the soul, towards the transcendental realities!
What is needed therefore, is a proper prioritizing…
• Does God and the Heavenly realities mean more to me, than earthly desires?
• Does Jesus and His Virtues occupy primal position in my life, than the worldly values?
A true prioritizing and firm conviction alone can help us to be the true witnesses of Jesus, the Messiah.
Jesus is our model and example, Who, in His life, accorded the first and primal place to God and His Will.
The lives of the saints and the martyrs are also proof for this fact.
In the Acts of the Apostles, 6:8-15, we read of how St Stephen, the first Martyr of the Church, “was filled with grace and power, and could withstand any persecution”, because he had a made a choice for Jesus and His Kingdom, above all!
He rejected all worldly promises and desires that blocked his view of the Kingdom!
Are we going to be a people, merely fixed in searching, through the slimy banks, for ‘snails’ of earthly pleasures?
Or can we become people, who transcend and rise up higher, to live our lives in the grandeur of Jesus and His Everlasting Kingdom?
God Bless! Live Jesus!
Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism:
CATECHESIS ON CREATION
Catechesis on creation is of major importance.
It concerns the very foundations of human and Christian life: for it makes explicit the response of the Christian faith to the basic question that men of all times have asked themselves:
“Where do we come from?”
“Where are we going?”
“What is our origin?”
“What is our end?”
“Where does everything that exists come from and where is it going?”
The two questions, the first about the origin and the second about the end, are inseparable. They are decisive for the meaning and orientation of our life and actions.
The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man.
These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers.
Allowing our faith in the Lord to grow, transform and bring renovations in our life!”
(Based on Acts 3:13-15, 17-19, 1 Jn 2:1-5a and Lk 24:35-48 – 3rd Sunday in Easter, Year B)
An American reporter once visited the office of the great Nobel-prize-winning physicist, Niels Bohr, in Copenhagen.
(Niels Bohr is famous for his contribution in the field of quantum physics especially by his understanding of the atomic structure)
The reporter was amazed to find that over Bohr’s desk was a “horseshoe”.
(A horseshoe, by superstition, was considered to be bringing good luck and good fortune.
Horseshoe charms and amulets have been used, down through centuries and civilizations, to ward off the evil and bring in good fate!)
This horseshoe was securely nailed to the wall, with the open end up, in the approved manner (so it would catch the good luck and not let it spill out!)
The reporter said with a nervous laugh, “Surely you don’t believe the horseshoe will bring you good luck, do you, Professor Bohr? After all, you are a scientist!
The genius scientist, Bohr, chuckled and said,
“I believe no such thing, my good friend.
No… not at all!
I am scarcely likely to believe in such foolish nonsense.
However, I am told that a horseshoe will bring you good luck, whether you believe in it or not!”
The scientist, with his reasonable mind, did not have faith in the horseshoe bringing in any luck…
However, at the back of his mind, he still continued to possess the horseshoe, wanting to have any favours or luck, if it all it brought any!
The mind, with its reasons, said no, to an act which required faith…
The heart, however, still chose to seek and enjoy any benefits that it could bring!
Our faith in the Resurrection of the Lord, is perhaps similar….
Our minds sometimes, do not really have faith or trust in this mysterious miracle of the Resurrection…
Yet, we continue to hold on this mystery, expecting favours and benefits!
Isn’t it so?
Like Neil Bohr, we refuse to be active acknowledgers of the object of faith and yet want to enjoy the benefits of the same…
We fail the live the life and fruits of the Resurrection… and yet, we wish to have spiritual gains…
We fail to actively profess and live our faith… and yet, we wish to enjoy many providential graces…
Is our Faith in the Resurrection of mere theoretical and pragmatic value or have we embraced it as our life-giving and life-motivating truth?
Is our Belief in the Resurrection, only a springboard to grab many blessings and favours or has it become the foundation stone for a passionate and vibrant faith?
The Gospel of the Day presents the Risen Lord encountering His Disciples and strengthening their belief and faith in His Resurrection.
The Disciples after the death of their Master, had been a frightened lot.
They were even unable to believe some of the appearance stories of Jesus, to people who were associated with them.
But the Lord today appears to them, and casts away their fears and apprehensions.
He says to the disciples, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts?” (Lk 24: 38)
Jesus invites the disciples to throw away doubts that He is a ghost, and instead to believe that He is truly Risen, in human flesh and blood (Lk 24:39)
He invites the disciples to open their eyes, and dispel the shadows of suspicions, and instead be convinced that by His Resurrection, “the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms were fulfilled” (Lk 24:44)
This experience of the Risen Lord would find its empowerment, for the Disciples, on the Pentecost Day, when the Holy Spirit would fill them with power and strength.
It is this exhibition of power and force that we see in St Peter, when he boldly proclaimed Jesus as the Lord and Saviour (Acts 3: 13-15, 17-19)
The Risen Lord, became for the Apostles, the source, strength and summit for their expression of faith and trust.
Today, we are invited to have this similar faith – bold, passionate and zealous- in the Risen Lord.
However, sometimes, the Resurrection of the Lord remains only a mere “theoretical” dogma and fails to get converted to a “practical” and experiential reality in our life.
Our lives are still lived in “fear”… our activities are still conducted with “apprehension”
We live our lives without much “joy”… We spend our days without much “hope”
Our minds sometimes, do not really have faith or trust in this mysterious miracle of the Resurrection…
The Risen Lord today invites us… to believe in Him more deeply and witness His life more radically in our lives.
He offers His Holy Eucharist as His Risen and Living Presence in our midst.
He gives His Holy Word as His Dynamic and Transforming Reality in our lives.
Let us grow more and more, in our conviction and love for the Jesus, the Life and the Resurrection.
May our faith in Him, not be a “pragmatic” approach, just to receive favours and benefits… rather, may it grow, transform and bring renovations in our life!
“Lift up the light of Your Face on us, O Lord” we pray…
God Bless! Live Jesus!
GOD – THE CREATOR
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Holy Scripture begins with these solemn words.
The profession of faith takes them up when it confesses that God the Father almighty is “Creator of heaven and earth” (Apostles’ Creed), “of all that is, seen and unseen” (Nicene Creed).
Creation is the foundation of “all God’s saving plans,” the “beginning of the history of salvation” that culminates in Christ.
Conversely, the mystery of Christ casts conclusive light on the mystery of creation and reveals the end for which “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”: from the beginning, God envisaged the glory of the new creation in Christ.
And so the readings of the Easter Vigil, the celebration of the new creation in Christ, begin with the creation account. (Cf. CCC # 279-281)
“Rising above the situations of panic and disturbances, and being calm, knowing that we have a God, who is ultimately in total and perfect control of every situation of turmoil!”
(Based on Acts 5:34-42 and Jn 6:1-15 – Friday of the 2nd Week in Eastertide)
Here is 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.
This miracle of the multiplication of the loaves fed a massive crowd.
The Gospel mentions “five thousand men” (Cf. Jn 6:10)
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.
This miracle of the multiplication also reveals some of the finest qualities of Jesus, the Messiah…
But Jesus, sheds new light on their minds and helps them find a solution, even in the seemingly impossible situation
As the Lord and Creator, He knows exactly what is to be done in the moment of crisis and calamity.
It’s 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!
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:
Can I…
(1) …be sensitive and responsive to the needs and desires of those around me?
(2) … 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?
(3) … rise above the situations of panic and disturbances, and be calm, knowing that we have a God, who is ultimately in total and perfect control of every situation of turmoil?
(4)… 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?
(5)… 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?
When we seek to be on the side of the Lord…
… the Lord will defend, protect and strengthen us by the Power of His Faithfulness
This fact is very beautifully brought out by Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles.
In the context of seeking to annihilate the Christian Movement, he utters this very important truth: “So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail…
… but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them – in that case you may even be found fighting against God!” (Acts 5:38-39)
Let us always rise above the situations of panic and disturbances, and be calm, knowing that we have a God, who is ultimately in total and perfect control of every situation of turmoil!
God Bless! Live Jesus!
Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism:
God is the Father Almighty, Whose fatherhood and power shed light on one another: God reveals His Fatherly Omnipotence by the way He takes care of our needs…
… by the filial adoption that He gives us (“I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty”)
… finally by His Infinite Mercy, for He displays His Power at its height by freely forgiving sins.
God’s almighty power is in no way arbitrary: “In God, power, essence, will, intellect, wisdom, and justice are all identical. Nothing therefore can be in God’s power which could not be in His Just Will or His Wise Intellect” (Cf. CCC # 270-271)
“Reviving 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!
(Based on Acts 5:27-33 and Jn 3:31-36 – Thursday of the 2nd Week in Eastertide)
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, 2021
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 2 in lower left corner)
… through every age and for ever. Amen (numeral 1 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 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!
Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism:
Of all the Divine Attributes, only God’s Omnipotence is named in the Creed
To confess this power has great bearing on our lives.
We believe that His might is universal…
… for God who created everything also rules everything and can do everything.
God’s power is loving, for He is our Father, and mysterious, for only faith can discern it when it “is made perfect in weakness”.
The Holy Scriptures repeatedly confess the universal power of God.
He is called the “Mighty One of Jacob”, the “LORD of hosts”, the “strong and mighty” one.
Nothing is impossible with God, who disposes His works according to His Will.
He is the Lord of the universe, whose order He established…
… and which remains wholly subject to Him and at His disposal.
He is master of history, governing hearts and events in keeping with His will! (Cf. CCC # 268-269)
Reflection Capsules 