“Being firm and joyful in being an ‘ambassador for Christ and His Kingdom!'”

(Based on Acts 13:13-25 and Jn 13:16-20 – Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter)

In 1994, Rwanda became a place of terror.

>> While the world turned its back, and the embassies were evacuating their citizens…
>> While even United Nations peacekeepers were packing their bags and boarding flights out of Kigali…

There was one man who chose to stay.
>> Carl Wilkens.

An American missionary.
>> Not a soldier or a diplomat.
>> Not even a politician.
Just a man who had tasted the love of Christ…
… and could not walk away while thousands were walking to their deaths.

The U.S. embassy urged him.
>> His own government told him: “It’s too dangerous.”

But he said, “If I leave, who will help them?
>> Who will speak for those who have no voice?”

He stayed – risking his life to protect Tutsis from genocide.
>> He hid them. Fed them.
>> Drove through bloodied streets to bring aid.
And through his courage, hundreds were rescued!


Carl Wilkens became, in effect, an ‘ambassador’ of compassion…
… his presence reflecting a higher Kingdom, one rooted in Christ’s love and courage.

[Source: Wilkens, C. (2011). I’m Not Leaving. EPPress.]


The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus, the “Ambassador” of His Heavenly Father…
… and in turn, invites each of us to be His Ambassador and of His Kingdom in our world.


Jesus says: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send, receives Me, and whoever receives Me, receives the One who sent Me” (Jn 13:20)

Jesus came into this world to reveal the love and mercy of God.
>> He is the Love made flesh and the Mercy incarnate.


While on earth, Jesus sought to be the perfect Representative of God, His Almighty and Beloved Father.

Finding deep communion in long hours of prayer, Jesus would emphatically give witness to His Father…
… by His mighty deeds of power, spectacular wonders of healing and His heart-touching words of eternal life.


This mission of being the Ambassador of the Father, was however, not without its shares of pain for Jesus…
… He had the face the pain of being rejected by His own people
… He had to bear the agony of being betrayed by His own chosen one
… He had to face the humiliation of the worst form of execution known those days

Yet, none of this could deter the Lord from choosing to be the “Ambassador” for the Kingdom of Heaven.


He today invites each one of us to be an “Ambassador” for Him and His Kingdom.
… Being convinced and passionate in preaching the message of the Lord and His Kingdom to others.
… Making our very lives as a witness of the Love and Mercy of God.
… Seeking the good of all and uplifting everyone.
… Bringing others to faith in Jesus and make His message of love and holiness to spread to all.


St Paul in his Second Letter to the Corinthians echoes this call and invite of the Lord, to be His Ambassadors…
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us” (2 Cor 5:18-20).


Let’s realise that “you don’t always need a pulpit to preach…
… you need a life that proclaims Christ!”

Let us be firm and joyful in being an “ambassador for Christ and His Kingdom!”


God Bless! Live Jesus!


—————————–
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE –
The Fourth Commandment – The Family and the society
>> Obedience toward parents ceases with the emancipation of the children; not so respect, which is always owed to them.
>> This respect has its roots in the fear of God, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (CCC # 2217)
——————-

“Being docile to accept God’s ‘strange yet protective’ Will working in our lives!”

(Based on the Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle)

The dungeon was dark.
>> The air thick with hatred.
The pagan guards sneered as they held out the cup.

“This is poison,” they told a certain holy person.
>> “Drink, and die with your so-called faith.”

Any ordinary man would have begged for mercy.

But this man, was no ordinary man.
>> He took the cup.
>> He raised it in silent trust.
And with a steady hand and a prayer on his lips, he drank.

The poison coursed through his veins…
… but did not kill him.

And just when the guards expected to see him collapse, a miracle erupted:
Those around him, already blinded by the same deadly drink, suddenly received their sight.
>> Not only did the poison fail to harm him…
… it became a source of healing for others.

The prison shook with confusion.
>> Chaos erupted.

And by the time they scrambled to find him, he had vanished – hidden, invisible to their eyes, shielded by Heaven itself.

The holy person was St Mathias.


Indeed… when God’s hand is on your life, no chain can hold you, no poison can stop you…
… and no enemy can find you.


Faith is not proven by walking away from the fire…
… but by standing in it, knowing God is in control.


Today is the Feast of this Apostle, St Mathias.

He is the Apostle, chosen by lot, to go “into the place of the traitor Judas”.

The Acts of the Apostles describes:” that he may take his place in this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell.” (Acts 1:25)

St Mathias had one of the most unique privileges as well as one of the most awkward moments.
>> He had the unique privilege of being counted the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ.
>> He had the unique awkward moment of taking the position left blank by Judas, the betrayer.


It is usually hard to fill up empty spaces of vacancies and opportunities.
>> And it indeed gets too hard to fill up the vacancy of being counted among the exclusive Twelve Apostles.

This task gets too complicated especially if the vacancy was created as a shameful result of “betrayal” and “treachery”

St Mathias had to fill in the gap left by the “traitor” Judas Iscariot.
>> Yet, Divine Providence had it that St Mathias should replace Judas, to be “counted as one among the Twelve”.


Life sometimes is such…

We are asked to take up tasks that may seem highly uncomfortable
>> We are invited to draw up duties which may seem highly insulting

Are we willing to accept them, seeing God’s providential hand in them?
>> Are we ready to undertake them, knowing God’s Will is at work in that?

Let us trust in the mighty and assuring words of Jesus, “You did not choose me, but I chose you…” (Jn 15:16)


St Matthias stands in the place of the traitor Judas

But not as another traitor…
… but as one who knows the treachery of human hearts and the need for Heavenly Grace.


The Feast of St Mathias is a reminder of this naked and frightening, yet remarkable and bold truth:

There is a possibility of being a traitor in all of us
… like Judas
>> But there is also the glorious chance of being His faithful apostle
… like St Mathias.

There are elements of betraying God, within each of us…
… like Judas
>> But there are also graces of being passionately committed to the Lord…
… like St Mathias.


May St Mathias intercede and inspire us…
… to be docile to accept God’s ‘strange yet protective’ Will working in our lives
… to be bold to take up the challenge of filling up gaps caused by betrayal and uneasiness
… to be aware of God’s mighty Providence guiding every action of the Church and the world.

Let’s remember: God’s Will may not always make sense…
… but it always makes saints!


Happy Feast of St Mathias, the Apostle

God Bless! Live Jesus!

—————————–
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Fourth Commandment – The Family and the society
>> As they grow up, children should continue to respect their parents.
>> They should anticipate their wishes, willingly seek their advice, and accept their just admonitions. (CCC # 2217)
——————-

“Allowing the ‘tender touch’ of our Blessed Lord to ‘warm” our cold hearts!'”

(Based on Acts 11:19-26 and Jn 10:22-30 – Tuesday of the 4th Week in Easter)

Two explorers who were at extreme parts of the Arctic (= area surrounding the North Pole)…
… were describing (or rather, boasting!) about the extent of cold in their places.

“It was so cold where I was,” said the first explorer, “that the candle froze and we couldn’t blow it out.”

“That’s nothing,” said his rival.

“Where I was, the words came out of our mouths, in pieces of ice…
… and we had to fry them to hear what we were talking about.”


Well… of course… that’s quite a bit of exaggeration!
>> But its also a ‘freezy’ reminder to us to check how are our words, our hearts and our lives!

Do we spew out “cold words” of hostility and animosity?
>> Are our hearts and lives “cold” with indifference and lethargy?

We need the “tender touch” of our Blessed Lord to “warm” our “cold hearts” …
… and in order to come to experience “abundance of life” in Him!


The Gospel of the Day presents the dimension of “coldness” that was experienced by the people, who encountered Jesus, in accepting Him as the Lord of Life.


The Gospel passage the Day begins with St John giving a dual-context in the encounter between Jesus and the people…

The religious atmosphere of the time: “The Feast of the Dedication was then taking place in Jerusalem” (Jn 10:22a)
>> The physical atmosphere of the time: “It was winter” (Jn 10:22b)

The Feast of Dedication was also called as Hanukkah.
>> This feast celebrated the liberation of the city of Jerusalem from Antiochus, the Syrian King.
>> This King had desecrated the Jerusalem Temple by building an altar to Zeus and sacrificing pigs on the Temple Altar.

The Feast of Dedication celebrates the day that Israel regained control of the temple and re-consecrated it to the one true God!


However, it is to be noted that though year after year, they gathered to celebrate the re-dedication of the Temple…
… their hearts were, perhaps, still far from God Yahweh!
… their lives were, perhaps, still, yet to be in accordance with the Will of God!

This is what St John, the Evangelist, points to, when he speaks of the physical atmosphere of the time: “It was winter” (Jn10:22b)


This statement was not just about the weather or the season of the year
>> He was describing “a season of life… a season of faith!”

It was his style of diagnosing the interior condition of the “Faith of the People” who had come for the Feast of the Dedication!

Many of the people of Israel, were in a season of “winter”…
…”cold” in their hearts: to accept the person of Jesus – the One Who had inaugurated the Kingdom of God, going about doing a lot of works of salvation and healing!
… “cold” in their minds: to accept the teachings of Jesus – the One Who was exhorting them to live God’s commandments not just externally, but with the sincerity of the heart!
… “cold” in their lives: to accept the challenge of Jesus – the One Who was convicting them of their sinfulness and inviting them to a life of repentance and holiness!


It was this being in a “season of winter” that prompted them to ask Jesus with a sense of apathy and irritation:
“How long are you going to keep us in suspense?
If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly” (Jn 10:24)


“Tell us plainly” was the utterance of a frozen people…
… who had “winter” in their hearts and their minds
… who were “cold” and had begun to take their faith for granted
… who were “frozen” and were merely satisfied with external dedication of the Temple, without an inner renewal of the heart!

We need to examine our lives and check….
… Am I also a “frozen person?”
… Am I also, in a “season of Winter?”

Is my relationship with the Lord…
… a mere utterance of the lips and fails to affect my daily living?

Is my practice of devotion and my participation in the liturgy and sacraments…
… a plain ritualistic and a routine custom, without making me to truly enter into intimacy with the Lord?

Is my life of faith, just an ordinary and lethargic one…
… taking the grace and blessing of the Lord for granted
… and not wanting to make efforts to grow in love of the Lord and neighbour?


The Lord gives us the one straight answer: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow Me” (Jn 10:27)

We are called to dedicate not just our externalities to the Lord…
… but much more our internalities – our hearts, minds and lives to His Providence


Let us seek to come out of the “Season of Winter!”

Let us….
… be warm in the love of the Lord
… be enthusiastic, receiving the touch of the Divine
… be ardent, to seek, hear and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd!


God Bless! Live Jesus!


—————————–
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Fourth Commandment – The Family and the society
>> Children should also obey the reasonable directions of their teachers…
… and all to whom their parents have entrusted them.
>> But if a child is convinced in conscience that it would be morally wrong to obey a particular order, he must not do so. (CCC # 2217)
——————-

“Being inspired by the Good Shepherd Who sees, seeks and serves!”

(Based on Acts 11:1-18 and Jn 10:1-10 – Monday of the 4th Week in Easter)

There was a young teacher in a small town school.
>> She was the kind of person no one really minded…
… soft-spoken, simple, easily missed in a crowd.
>> But she noticed and she observed!

Every day, one boy came to school – quiet, polite, always keeping to himself.
>> However, every day at recess (break-time), he just sat there.
>> No lunch. No snacks.
>> He’d just sip from a small water bottle…
… and wait for the bell.

At first, the teacher wasn’t sure.
>> Maybe the boy just forgot his lunch.
>> Maybe it was just a day or two.

But the days became weeks.
>> And she realised, he was in need!

So, without saying a word, she started packing a little extra in her lunchbox.
>> One sandwich. One piece of fruit.
She would casually leave it on his desk before recess – no names, no notes, just… there.

The boy would look around. Hesitate.
>> And then, just eat.

Weeks passed.
One day, she found a note folded neatly beneath the sandwich wrapper: “You’re the only one who sees me. Thank you!”


Yes… you don’t need a staff and sandals to be a shepherd…
… just a heart that’s willing to care!

That’s what a true shepherd does:
>> Sees the invisible.
>> Loves without being asked.
>> Gives without needing applause.


The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus, the Good Shepherd, Who exhorts…
… to get involved in the lives of peoples and make a difference to them
… to be conscious of our own spiritual life and be zealous about it


Jesus speaks of Himself, as the Good Shepherd, who is close and intimate to the sheep.
>> It is this intimacy and closeness, that makes Him personally and affectionately concerned of His sheep.


The Lord also speaks of others, who are least interested in the welfare and safety of the sheep.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and robber” (Jn 10: 1) 


The difference in the attitude of the Good Shepherd and the thieves and robbers is this:
> The Good Shepherd has a deep intimacy with the sheep…
… others have no relationship!

>> The Good Shepherd is fully interested in the welfare of the sheep…
… others only care for their personal agenda and benefits!

>> The Good Shepherd will undertake any sacrifice, even of His life for the sheep…
… others will escape and run away from assuming any difficulties or hardships!


All of us in our lives are entrusted with “sheep” and we are to be shepherds to them…
>> This “sheep” could be anybody, based on our status and position in life.

They could be…
… family members, spouses, children
… students, work-colleagues, friends
… parishioners, lay faithful
… the needy, the wanting, those in distress
… our own selves


The question is:
In all such situations, of we being a “Shepherd,” do I fail to reach out to “our sheep”?


It is the Lord who has entrusted us with the “sheep” and He expects us to be good and faithful shepherds.

The responsibility is great…
>> The duty is immense…
>> But do we get lethargic and indifferent, and fail in our duty to be a true shepherd?


Jesus, the Great Good Shepherd, is our model and example…
… Let us become more concerned of the welfare of our “sheep”
… Let us be willing to take up any sacrifice for the good of our “sheep”


Indeed, sometimes, the holiest things we’ll ever do…
… “is to prepare a simple sandwich and leave it for a needy one, with a smile!”

Let us be “the one, who sees…
… and seeks
… and serves!”


God Bless! Live Jesus!


—————————–
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Fourth Commandment – The Family and the society
>> As long as a child lives at home with his parents…
… the child should obey his parents in all that they ask of him when it is for his good or that of the family.
>> “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. (CCC # 2217)
——————-

“Never forgetting that ‘Jesus Christ is precious and He loves us very much!'”

(Based on Acts 13:14, 43-52, Rev 7:9, 14b-17 and Jn 10:27-30 – 4th Sunday in Easter)

The city train station was bursting with noise – announcements echoed, luggage wheels rattled, and voices layered over each other like a storm of sound.

In the middle of it all stood a small boy – about 7 years old – alone, calm, quietly waiting.

A concerned passerby approached and asked gently, “Are you lost?”
>> He shook his head: “No, my dad just went to get something. He told me to wait.”

The man looked around. “But how will you find him in this crowd?”
>> The boy replied, “I won’t. He’ll find me. I just need to stay where I can hear him.”

Moments later, through the blur of voices, the boy’s ears perked up.
>> His face lit up with joy.
>> He ran across the platform straight into the arms of a man calling his name.

“Daddy!” he shouted.
>> His father knelt and hugged him tightly.
>> “I told you I’d come.”


That boy wasn’t panicking.
>> He wasn’t trying to shout over the crowd. >> He knew his father’s voice, and he trusted that his father would find him.


Just like that, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, calls us by name…
… even when life is noisy and confusing, when we feel small or forgotten
… His voice will break through.


Have we discovered and tasted the deep Love of God in our lives?

God our Father loves us so much that He goes to any extent to ensure His protection, care and love.

Jesus, in today’s Gospel, tells us, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand!” (Jn 10:29)


All the pages of the Bible speak to us one important Truth: God is intimately involved with our lives!
>> He is not far away.
>> He constantly and consistently longs to have us with Him.


Jesus reminds us that as His sheep, we ought to “hear His Voice, know Him and follow Him!” (Cf. Jn 10:27)

This imagery of the Lord, as a Good Shepherd, is a very consoling, assuring and encouraging one


Sheep in the times and areas of Jesus were often reared for their wool, rather than the meat.
>> The sheep would be with the Shepherd for some time – and an affinity would develop among them

The shepherd would make all the efforts – even at the cost of comforts – to take care of the sheep…
… the sheep, would remain in submission to this affection, and faithfully follow the Master


As a Good Shepherd, the Lord looks at us, not as a flock – a group
>> Instead, we are seen and cared for, very uniquely – as individual sheep!

In the Presence of the Lord, we don’t need a ‘nametag!’
>> He knows us by name!

My worth is not in what I do…
… but in whose hands I rest.


It’s this awareness that I am loved, and uniquely cared for, that will strengthen us in moments of strife!

When we feel hurt, rejected, unloved, or lost, it can be overwhelmingly difficult to see God’s light.
>> When we go through temptations or times of distress, we may stray away and feel unworthy

But the protective care of the Lord is always with us, as He assures us, “no one shall snatch them out of My Hand!” (Jn 10:28).

Yes, we are invited to be His ‘own people!’
>> We are called to be His ‘inescapable people!’


The Merciful Father – our Good Shepherd – is waiting for each one of us…
… Whatever be the mess, that my life may be in!

Let us run into His embrace of Love, with sincere repentance and contrition of heart
>> And pledge to live for Him, and with Him… forever!


Let us never forget that “Jesus Christ is precious and He loves us very much!”
>> Let these words be repeated constantly in our life…
… with deep piety, profound conviction and committed service to one another!


Let’s remember: “I am not a statistic in God’s book…
… I am a heartbeat in His chest!”


God Bless! Live Jesus!


—————————–
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Fourth Commandment – The Family and the society
>> When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.”
>> A wise son hears his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. (CCC # 2216)
——————-