There is a cute story of Little Johnny who was sick on a Palm Sunday.

>> This prevented him from going to Church that day and stayed home with his mother.

His father returned from church holding a palm branch.

The little boy was curious and asked, “Why do you have that palm branch, dad?”

With joy, Daddy replied, “You see, Johny… When Jesus came into town, everyone waved palm branches to welcome and honour him; so we got palm branches today”

“Aw, Good Lord!” grumbled little Johnny. “The one Sunday I can’t go to church, and Jesus shows up!”

The innocence of Li’l Johny made him to feel that He had missed the Lord when He come to town.

But when we think a little deeper, we also realise, that sometimes we are similar…

We miss the Lord so often!

We fail to take notice of the Lord very many times!

• Every day at Holy Mass, the Lord, really, substantially and truly comes to us in the Holy Eucharist.

Do I miss to see and be nourished by Him?

• Every moment, we have His Holy Word in the Bible, through which the Lord reveals and teaches more about Himself.

Do I miss the chance to read and experience Him?

• Every now and then, we encounter the Lord through different situations and in many people in need, in despair, in absolute trouble.

Do I miss the opportunity to serve Him and to learn from Him?

We are entering into one of the most important weeks of the Liturgical year… The Holy Week!

And we commemorate the start of this Holy Week, with the Passion Sunday, also known as the Palm Sunday.

The Lord today enters the town, riding on a donkey. (Mk 11:7)

The donkey has a specific symbolism..

In the olden day, military officers engaged in war and battles would ride on the most efficient animals: the fast and furious warhorses.

But after the victory in the war, the victorious officers would parade into the city riding on…. yes, a donkey.

That was the reason why the people shouted out when they saw Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey.

In the First book of the Kings 1: 38-4, we read of how Prince Solomon used the royal donkey of his father David, for the ceremonial procession on the day of his coronation.

The new Solomon, Jesus, the True Prince of Peace and the King of Kings today enters His city, Jerusalem on a donkey as well!

• A new reign of peace was being signaled.

• A new kingdom of love was being ushered.

Are we ready to welcome the King of Kings and the Prince of Peace into our lives?

• He is not the glorious King of might and wealth…

But He is the Spectacular King who will reign on His throne of the Cross.

• He is not the proud Emperor who parades much show and pomp…

But He is the Wonderful Lord who displays His compassion and love by His wounds!

Are we ready to welcome this King into…

Our lives?

Our homes?

Our hearts?

The Passion of the Lord is about to begin…

>> Are we going to be part of the people who crucify Him…

…Or are we going to be people who repent of sins and seek to live a life worthy of the King?

He died for love of us.

>> He suffered to save each of us.

Are we going to remain stubborn and adamant and continue to be a people who shout, “Crucify Him”…

… Or shall we repent, fall on our knees, seek a transformation, and, with palm branches in our hands, truly exclaim and acclaim Jesus as the Lord, shouting, ” Hosanna to the King of Kings! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Wish you a Blessed Palm Sunday…

… and a Glorious Holy Week!

Let us be intimate with the Passion of the Lord and experience His tremendous love…so that we too may worthily and honestly shout, on Easter Sunday, “Alleluia! He is risen!”

God Bless! Live Jesus

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Quotable-quote-a-day-with-St Francis de Sales (SFS) – “The heart of a person who is open to receive the gift of God is like wax in God’s Hands, ready for every impression of the Eternal Will.

>> Such a heart knows no personal preference, equally prepared for anything…

… Its one aim, is the fulfilling of God’s Will.

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A person who had his house near the forest, found a large number of rats that had infested his house.

Not finding an easy way to get rid of this menace…

… he went to the city to find a solution.

A flavoured poison for rats, attracted his attention and he bought a few to his house.

He kept a few of these boxes of flavoured poison around his house, including one under his bed.

That night he could not believe his eyes!

>> Below his bed, was a feeding frenzy…

… a number of rats were relishing the flavoured poison!

The following morning, he checked the boxed and found them all clean – perfectly licked!

In order to make sure that his plan would work, he tried the same method the following day as well..

… placing the boxes of flavoured poison everywhere.

The rats once again, savoured the “poisonous food” again!

But in the few days that followed…

… everything was quiet!

The tasty and popular “food” did its trick!

All what is “popular” need not, always be good!

>> Some “popular” things can lead to “death and destruction!”

The one who chooses “goodness over popularity”…

… are the ones who will prevail and persevere!

The Gospel of the Day is the presentation of how Jesus remains as a Symbol of “Goodness being chosen over popularity”…

… in the face of extreme hatred and pitiless feelings.

Life often crushes us and cause immense disappointments.

• When things don’t shape up as we plan, we get greatly frustrated.

• When people don’t behave in the way we expect, we get totally devastated.

But through today’s Gospel reading, the Lord invites us…

… to not get shattered or disappointed with life’s bad-turns or evil-leanings…

…Rather, to gather strength and courage to fight the evil, arm oneself in faith and hope and seek to live a life of holiness and conviction…

>> “Seek Goodness over popularity!”

The Gospel of the day, on this eve of the Holy Week, introduces us to culmination of the sharp antagonism and hatred that was building up against Jesus.

Jesus had raised up the dead Lazarus (Jn 11: 1-43)

This event garnered a lot of attention…

… many people began to believe in the person of Jesus, as the Messiah and Lord.

>> But many others, also began to have a greater bitterness towards this Man who was working wonders!

Many people grew in their following of Jesus and placed a greater trust and confidence in Him

>> But many others, had their flames of jealousy intensified and began to have greater plotting to finish off the “law-breaker” and “blasphemer”

• The good that the Lord had done, was apparently turning out to be an evil for the Lord!

• The “life-giving” action of the Lord would immediately result in a “life-taking” act on Him!

• The event of blessing to Lazarus would apparently turned out to result in an occasion of curse on Him [since dying on the cross was considered to be a curse ( Deut 21: 23)]!

In the ensuing planning and plotting by the chief priests and the Pharisees, the High Priest said, “… it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish” (Jn 11: 50)

• Jesus had grown to be a big threat for them

• Jesus had gathered up much popularity and had become a menace for the leaders.

Therefore, the High Priest suggested a “quick-solution”… to kill Jesus!

But, everything in life has a purpose…

… Because God is the ultimate ruler, preserver and nurturer of this universe!

• They plotted death but God planned life

• They were selfish but God made Him the Saviour

• They sought for political gain, but God ensured spiritual gain.

• They hoped to spare one nation, but God saved the whole world.

• They intended the worst evil for Jesus but God turned it into the greatest good.

• They wished to scatter all His followers, but God brought them together as one holy nation.

Our life also follows this same pattern…

• The events we think are bad, also have a purpose in God’s mind.

• The moments that we consider as cursed, also can be turned to a blessing by God.

Sometimes, it’s just too hard to accept this teaching… too difficult to understand this concept…

But we have a beautiful answer in this our painful moments: the Cross.

Look to the Cross and find strength from Him…

… who was abused though He was pure

… who suffered immensely, thought He was faultless.

… who underwent tremendous agony, thought He was sinless.

This was the way of God…

…mysterious to us, but life saving for the world.

… baffling for us, but redemptive for the world.

What is most important is not to get discouraged or disheartened…rather…

… to seek the Lord wholeheartedly in all those situations

… to be faithful to the Lord in steadfastness and patience.

.. to be strong and joyful, finding strength in the love of the Lord.

Everything…

…YES… everything in life, happens for good!

All what is “popular” need not, always be good!

… b’cos some “popular” things can lead to “death and destruction!”

The one who chooses “goodness over popularity”…

… are the ones who will prevail and persevere!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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Quotable-quote-a-day-with-St Francis de Sales (SFS) – “Honours, ranks and dignities are like saffron…

… which grows better and flourishes when trampled underfoot!”

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Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one’s own death.

Though it has many and wide range of reasons and factors, the cause is frequently attributed to mental disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, alcoholism, or drug abuse.

>> Stress factors such as financial difficulties or troubles with interpersonal relationships also often play a key role.

In this fast-paced world, where indifference has grown in a humongous manner, suicide is certainly one great tendency and trend.

This suicide is, mainly, of the physical order.

• How many of us have, however, thought of the threat of suicide occurring, even with respect to our spiritual life?

• How many of us, have considered, that there is a danger of suicide happening, even with respect to our life of faith?

The Gospel of the Day is a warning to be aware of the danger of “suicide” from a spiritual angle that can occur in the soul of each person.

Jesus continues His revelation to the people, of He, being the ambassador of God, His Father.

He tells the people that “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin” (Jn 8: 21)

The Lord refers to “dying in one’s sin”

This aspect of “dying in one’s sin”, which would be equivalent to a person committing suicide in the spiritual sense, could consist of various ways:

1. A person dangers oneself to “suicide” in the spiritual sense, when one is too self-righteous – an attitude of “I know everything – even more than God!”

When Jesus told that He is going away, the Jews said, “He is not going to kill Himself, is He, because He said, “Where I am going, you cannot come?” (Jn 8:22)

The Jews failed to understand the words of the Lord, because they were filled with pride of their knowledge, and considered themselves to know everything.

They were filled with a certain obstinacy in being open to the words of the Lord, and failed to see that there could be also other possibilities of looking at the words of Jesus.

2. A person risks the danger of “suicide” with respect to one’s faith, when one fails to set one’s eyes heavenward, and instead gets fixated with earthly things.

Jesus said to the Jews, ”You belong to what is below. I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world” (Jn 8: 23)

The Jews had their thoughts and deeds centred only on the things of this world and failed to transcend their minds heavenward.

They were filled with a certain worldliness that made their concerns to be limited.

They were unable to understand the heavenly realities that the Lord presented before them, and even shut their eyes to make an attempt to understand them

3. A person exposes oneself to the perils of “suicide” from the spiritual point of view, when one is wilfully ignorant of the Truth.

Though Jesus had spoken much, performed much, the Jews still ask Him,” Who are you?” Jesus then said to them, “What I told you from the beginning” (Jn 8: 25)

The Jews had great many opportunities to discover faith in the Lord, as He had exposed them to many great wonders, taught several teachings and performed many deeds to show His divinity.

Though, they were learned in their scripture and laws, they failed to recognise the Source of the Scripture and the Giver of the Law.

• Their minds were adamantly closed to the Reality.

• Their hearts were purposely shut to the Truth.

The Lord moaned that these Jews were risking the danger of “committing suicide” spiritually…

… of “dying in one’s sins”.

This warning is addressed to us also….

• Am I exposing myself to the risk of “losing my life, in sin”?

• Am I endangering myself to the peril of “forfeiting my soul, in sin?”

Let us be wary of these menaces…

… to be adamantly self-righteous and being proud with our own knowledge and failing to trust in the mighty wisdom and power of the Lord.

… to be engrossed only in the affairs of this world and failing to raise our hearts to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness”.

… to be obstinately closed in spirit, to the promptings of the Lord through various inspirations and failing to see the hand of God in the wonders that occur in our lives.

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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Quotable-quote-a-day-with-St Francis de Sales (SFS) – “Christian Doctrine clearly proposes to us…

… the truths, God wills us to believe

… the goods, He wills us to hope for

… the punishments, He wills us to fear

… the things, He wills us to love

… the commandments, He wills us to fulfil

… and the counsels, He desires us to follow

>> All of this is called the Signified Will of God, because He has signified and made manifest His Will and that intention…

… that these things should be believed, hoped for, feared, loved and practised!”

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The story is told of a poor little girl who was shivering her way along a main street in a great city on a cold evening.

Seeing the beautiful lights of a church building and hearing the music coming from within, she went in and warmed herself as she listened.

The homily of the day was on the verse: “I am the light of the world.”

After the Mass, she went to the priest and said: “Did you say you are the light of the world, sir?”

The priest replied: “No, dear child. Christ is the light of the world…

… and I am only trying to reflect His Light!”

The little lass looked at him for a moment, and then solemnly requested:

“Well, sir, I wish, you would come down and hang out in our street…

… ’cause it’s awful dark down there!”

As Christians, we are to reflect the Light of Christ!

>> Are we ready to “come down and hang out” in some dark streets of our world?

The Gospel of the Day is the declaration of Jesus as “the Light of the World”…

… and the subsequent opposition and rejection by the Pharisees.

John 1:4 describes: “In Him was Life, and that Life was the Light of men.”

Jesus as the “Light of the world” brought hope and happiness in the life of the people…

… restored health to the sick

… dignity to the shamed

… hope to the rejected

However, not all received this “Light” in a positive manner.

The Pharisees, the scribes and the elders of the Law, considered Jesus to be…

… a stumbling block

… a thorn in the flesh

And so they failed to understand and accept the “Light of the world!”

What about us?

Do we accept “Jesus, the Light of the world?”

… Do we allow Him to illuminate in all the areas of our life?

… Do we permit Him to shine forth in all our thoughts, words and deeds?

Accepting Jesus as the “Light of the world” implies doing away with…

… all our habits of darkness – laziness, criticizing, rash judgments etc

… all our dark tendencies of the mind – jealousy, pride, lust etc

Accepting Jesus as the “Light of the world” also means that we in turn are to be “light in the lives of people!”

>> “You are the light of the world… let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Mt. 5:14-15).

The Season of Lent is an encouraging time to consciously practise “acts of light in the lives of people.”

We could…

>> Have bodily fasting or abstinence…

… and share some of the resources with the needy

>> Have “social media or internet” abstinence…

… and use the time in engaging in charitable works or spending time with the needy

>> Have “vices or bad tendencies” abstinence…

… and grow in the practise of virtues and holiness

Let the last two weeks of Lent be a time for renewing and strengthening our spiritual observances…

… so that we may truly seek to be a “light in the darkness!”

Yes, as Christians, we are to reflect the Light of Christ!

>> Are we ready to “come down and hang out” in some dark streets of our world?

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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Quotable-quote-a-day-with-St Francis de Sales (SFS) – “It is love that gives value to all our works; it is not by the greatness or multiplicity of our works that we please God…

… but by the love with which we do them!”

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A small boy had done something wrong.

>> Unfortunately for him, he got caught up by his elder brother.

Caught red-handed, the little boy found himself, in the midst of a room full of elders…

… stern and hard-looking – waiting to scold him!

(The elders wanted the boy to understand the seriousness of his offence)

The boy looked at each one – with a sense of remorse and guilt -and a tear-stained face.

Seeing no sign of any of the elders relenting, the little boy burst into tears and asked:

>> “Oh, won’t somebody forgive me?”

Forgiveness is a treasure, that is sought after by many people in our world today

>> So many are broken…

… so many are hurt

… so many are guilty

Maybe…

… they have committed mistakes, knowingly

… they have fallen into wrongs, without being aware

… they got trapped into situations of errors and faults

But each of them… asks us a question:

>> “Oh, won’t somebody forgive me?”

The Gospel of the Day is a beautiful testimony of a person who…

… found herself at the lowest ebbs of her life

… when everybody seemed to reject her

… and all seemed over and out!

Yet…

… was able to receive acceptance and forgiveness

… found herself to be called to renew her life

… and be given a chance, to live life anew!

All by the grace and power of the Lord, who intervened, and instilled a new hope and zeal in her…

… giving her an answer to the question: “Oh, won’t somebody forgive me?”

The incident in focus is the ‘infamous’ occurrence of the woman who was “caught” in adultery.

This is the story…

… of a tragic failure in life.

… of immense shame in life.

… of Generous Grace in life.

There are so many things to be pondered and reflected on, through this incident…

>> Think of the “mean” and “disgraceful” attitude of the people who “caught” this woman “in the act” (Jn 8:3)

… Were they fitted with “special probing and lusty” eyes, that devilishly gazed into “intimate exchanges”, that too on an early morning?

>> Think of the “self-appointed” role of these “moralists” who sought to restore the innocence of the land, without realising that, perhaps, their own eyes were filled with lust, their hearts drenched in obscenity and their lives soaked in vulgarity.

… How was it that their “clean” consciences and “true” intentions caught hold of only the woman, “caught in the act”, whereas, the man involved, was left, scot-free?

>> Think of the “deadly” trap that they were laying before the Lord, in seeking to find his opinion on the accused woman…

… How neatly they had trapped the Lord in a “most vicious” dilemma:

~~ If the Lord permitted death, it would be going against the Law of the land – of the Romans – since only the Romans were permitted to take the life of a person

~~ If the Lord did not allow to stone, He would be going against the Law of the Lord, which had ordered the stoning of the convicted adulterer to death.

>> If the Lord permitted killing, He would be going against His own teaching of mercy, and His fundamental mission of “coming to seek and save the lost”

>> If the Lord forgave her, He would be going against the principle of Justice, and that would be infringing the rights and duties of a Just God.

It was a near-perfect scene, for the religious leaders to dreadfully trap the Lord.

The woman had been caught “in the act” of adultery…

>> Jesus was now to be trapped “in the act” of breaking the Law…

The woman had been shamefully paraded and stripped of all her dignity…

>> Jesus was now to be gloriously humiliated and disrobed of His glory and majesty…

But all these were “mere” human thinking and wile wishes…

>> The wisdom of God is much greater than all human craftiness and cunningness

>> The mercy of the Lord extends much beyond all human wickedness and maliciousness.

In their wickedness, they failed to see, that they were testing the law with the Law-Giver Himself!

And so, the Benevolent Law-giver, bent down, and wrote with His finger…(Jn 8:6)

… just as He had, centuries back, written the Law on the tablet and given to Moses: “… tablets that were made by God, having inscriptions on them that were engraved by God Himself” (Ex 32:16)

>> He wrote, not a new law…

… but He wrote to make the law perfectly understood..

>> He wrote, not a new commandment…

… but He wrote to make understand the true spirit of the commandment…

“Let the one who is without sin, be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7)

This statement shattered all those accusers who heard it!

>> Those who came to cast the stone had themselves stoned brutally, by the guilt of their sin!

>> Those who came to enjoy parading the nakedness of the woman, themselves were stripped naked, by their sin and shame!

Justice had triumphed!

>> Mercy had excelled!

>>> Love had won!

All had left, save the one accused and the One who was Love and Compassion!

>> The one accused, stood in fear and trembling before the One who recreates and renews!

And so she was given another chance…

… to realise the mistakes of her life

… to amend her life

… and to start anew!

Life may very often reduce us also to the same state as this one who was accused.

We may find ourselves crushed….broken…accused…abandoned…shamed!

>> But the Lord, still gives us a chance….

Whenever we find ourselves lost, abandoned, broken, helpless…

… And ask the question: “Oh, won’t somebody forgive me?”

>> Jesus answers: ” I forgive you, My Child!”

Let us fall at the feet of our Compassionate and Merciful Saviour…

… and hearing Him telling us:

“Neither do I condemn you! Go, from now on… sin no more!

I forgive you, My Child!”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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Quotable-quote-a-day-with-St Francis de Sales (SFS) – “ Even though we commit many faults through human weakness, we should not become upset.

>> While detesting the fact that we have offended God, we can still experience a certain joy in humility, and a kind of delight in our miseries!

… Whenever you find yourself with more than you can handle, do not panic, but look to Christ!”

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An incident is told about a great Christian missionary who had pioneered the Christian work in a far-off island.

A group of well-wishers – some of them who wished to join this Missionary in his work – wrote a letter to him, asking:

“Have you found a good road to where you are?

>> If so, we want to know how to send other men to join you.”

The Christian Missionary however replied back:

“If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don’t want them.

>> I want men who will come if there is no road at all!”

The beauty of life is enhanced, when people are willing to take the “road less travelled!”

>> And this can happen, only “when one’s life is guided by convictions!”

It is convictions in life…

… that will help to experience true serenity and happiness.

… that will help to tide across the various storms encountered.

• Am I living a life of deep convictions in faith, which makes people to take notice of the Lord and help them come closer to Him?

• Am I filled with a deep passion for the Lord, which makes others to be attracted and fascinated to the Kingdom of the Lord?

The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus, boldly facing and withstanding the various storms of difficulties, and thus emerging as an Epitome of passion and conviction.

Jesus is progressing in His ministry.

• On one side, there has been a increase in His popularity ratings…

… many sick being healed, many oppressed finding solace, many rejected finding consolation.

• On the other side, however, there has also been an augmentation in opposition to Him…

… many being offended by His radical call of transformation, many finding Him blaspheming, many snubbed at His uncompromising authority.

But Jesus remains unperturbed!

• He continues to preach the Word of God…

• He continues to openly declare His relation with the Father…

• He continues to publicly affirm His mission and purpose on the earth…

Jesus is the Epitome of convictions and passion!

>> Nothing could make Him to compromise His convictions…

>> Nothing could make Him to lay down His principles of life…

Neither threats, nor adulations… neither opposition, nor exaltation!

• Can I also seek to grow in my life of conviction in my faith?

• Can I also try to deepen my passion for the Lord and His Kingdom?

One of the very popular and yet, good-to-remind quote is:

“My life may be the only Gospel…

… that people may encounter

… that people may read

… that people may experience”

Let our live radiate powerfully and convincingly the message of the Gospel!

The beauty of Christian life is enhanced, only when we are willing to take the “road less travelled!”

>> And this can happen, only “when one’s life is guided by convictions!”

May our Blessed Lord grant us the Grace to always live and stand firmly for “Christian Convictions!”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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Quotable-quote-a-day-with-St Francis de Sales (SFS) – “ Have Jesus always for your Patron..

… His Cross for a mast on which you spread your resolutions as a sail

>> Your anchor shall be a profound confidence in Him, and you shall sail prosperously!”

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