“Orienting our lives more and more to the Lord, and seeking to live more intimately connected to Him!

(Based on Acts 12:24-13:5a and Jn 12:44-50 – Wednesday of the 4th Week in Easter)

“I keep six honest serving-men…

They taught me all I knew;
Their names are ‘What and Why and When, and How and Where and Who’”

— Words of the author, Rudyard Kipling who is famous for his book, “The Jungle Book”

This concept of 5W’s and 1H – What, Why, When, Where, Who and How – is extensively used in journalism, especially while writing a factual news story.

It is said that one of the classical methods in writing the opening paragraph of a news story should contain answers to…
… as far as possible, all these 5W’s and 1H.

The Gospel of the Day describes St John presenting a ‘Recapitulation Passage’ on Jesus.

This passage gives a neat answer in tune with the concept of 5W’s and 1H…

WHO is Jesus?
WHAT did Jesus do?
WHY did Jesus come?
WHERE did Jesus come?
WHEN did Jesus come to be?
HOW did Jesus come?

1) Who is Jesus?
St John presents Jesus as ‘the Saviour of the World’: “… for I do not come to condemn the world, but to save the world” (Jn 12: 47b)

Jesus is not the one who condemns or denounces or reviles a person…

Instead He is the One who saves, the One who redeems and the One who atones.

Have I accepted Jesus as the Saviour of my life…
… or is He just some great teacher or just a wonderful philosopher or even just a great Man in my life?

Do I grow in my conviction that the “WHO” of Jesus primarily consists in Him wanting to save me from my sin, and wanting me to lead a holy and sanctified life, so that I can belong to Him completely?

2) What did Jesus do?
St John presents Jesus as ‘speaking the Word of Life’: “Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge Him; the word that I spoke, will condemn him…” (Jn 12: 48)

Jesus, the Eternal Word, spoke His words, which guarantees life, and life in abundance (Jn 10:10b)

That is why St Peter confessed to Jesus, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6: 68)

Am I keen in listening to the words of Jesus, that He speaks to me, especially through His Holy Word in the Bible?

Do I seek to live and base my life on these Words and teachings that the Lord speaks to me?

3) Why did Jesus come?
St John presents Jesus coming ‘to lead from the darkness of death to the light of eternal life’: “I came… so that everyone who believes in me, might not remain in darkness; … His commandment is eternal life” (Jn 12:46, 50)

The Lord, who is the light of the World, came to the world so that all may share in His Life, His Eternal Life.

Am I fixated in the mundane pleasures and transitory luxuries of the world, and giving no heed to the spiritual side of my life?

Do I orient my life towards to the higher aspects of life, gazing heavenward, and preparing my spiritual life to be worthy of eternal life?

4) Where did Jesus come?
St John presents Jesus as ‘coming to this world’: “… I come into the world…” (Jn 12: 46)

This is a significant lesson that we are taught: that Jesus came into this world.
He came to sanctify and redeem our world.

At Incarnation, Jesus descends to our world… sinful, corrupt and prone to evil tendencies.
He does not abandon this world…
He does not give up on any of us…
He does not forsake us in our misery…

Do I make space for Jesus to enter into my world, even if I am aware that I am sinful or prone to bad habits or constantly falling into failures?

Am I willing to accept the transformations that will be demanded of me, when Jesus descends into the realms of my life, and exhorts me to be walking with Him on His way of the Cross?

5) When did Jesus come to be?
St John presents Jesus as ‘existing with the Father, from eternity’: “… and whoever sees Me, sees the One who sent ME; … I say as the Father told Me” (Jn 12: 45, 50b)

Jesus, the Son, is the visible image of God, the Father.

With the Father, He has existed from all ages, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
He is the Lord who is unchanging.
He is the Lord who is all-knowing and all-loving.
He is the Lord who has the complete control over my life.

Do I possess the faith to be firm in my trust in the Holy Providence, knowing the Jesus knows everything, especially in my moments of hardships and trials?

Am I reflecting the image of God in my life, just as Jesus reflected the image of His Heavenly Father, knowing that this is possibly only by being in close union with the Lord, in devotion and discipleship?

6) How did Jesus come?
St John presents Jesus as ‘coming as the light to the world’: “I come into the world as light… ” (Jn 12: 46)

Jesus came to the darkness of our world, by being the Light.
All His teachings radiate with truth
All His deeds shine with holiness

Am I firm in my principles and values to hold on to the teachings and commandments that the Lord, lovingly invites me to live?

Am I courageous to be the shining light even when many forces of darkness around me, try to put off this holy radiance of the Lord?

When we offer ourselves wholly to the Lord, His Spirit will lead us and guide us…
… just as we see in the Acts of the Apostles

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said:
“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.

Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” (Acts 13:2-3)

Let us orient our lives more and more to the Lord…
… and seek to live a life that is intimately more connected to Him!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“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!

“Experiencing God’s Intimate Love and sharing His Love to all!”

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

An ingenious teenager, tired of reading bedtime stories to his little sister…
… decided to record several of her favourite stories on tape.

He told her: “Now you can hear your stories anytime you want.

Isn’t that great?”

She looked at the machine for a moment…
… and then replied, “No. It hasn’t got a lap!”

The little girl loved the stories that her elder sister recited to her…
… but what she loved most was her lap – the warmth of her love and affection!

No gadgets can ever replace love!

No modern technology can substitute personal affection!

We are called to be people who “experience God’s Intimate Love and share His Love to all!”

Yes, we are “valuable and precious”
… and called to become a good shepherd to one another!

The Gospel of the Day echoes the amazing 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 images in the whole of the Bible.

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…

1) 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 one is uniquely important to Him
He loves each one!
He treasures each one!

We must know that shepherds, back then, in the society, reared sheep, mainly not for meat…
… but more for its wool!

This would mean that the sheep would spend much time with the Shepherd

This would create a great bond and affection between the sheep and the Shepherd!

2) 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 is attached to His sheep.

This makes Him undergo any pain, any suffering, any sacrifice for the sake of His beloved sheep…
… even to the point of laying down His life.

3) 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…

The Gospel according to St Luke Chapter 15 – the great Chapter of God’s Amazing Mercy – tells us of how the Good Shepherd goes out in search of the one lost sheep…
… reminding us that “each one of us is precious to the Lord” and He wants us back to Him! (Lk 15:3-7)

We are invited to deepen our understanding of the Heart of the Divine Shepherd.

At the same time, we are also challenged to possess a heart, resembling that of the Divine Shepherd…

a. Do I have a heart that treasures and values each person who have 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…

b. Do I have a heart willing to offer sacrifices for the ones entrusted to my care…

Getting out of our comfort zones 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…

c. 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.

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, 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.

May each of us, lean closer to the Heart of our Divine Lord, knowing that each one of us is 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!

In this tech-savvy world, let us remember…
… no gadgets can ever replace love!
… no modern technology can substitute personal affection!

We are called to be people who “experience God’s Intimate Love and share His Love to all!”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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

(Based on Acts 2:14a, 36-41, 1 Pet 2:20b-25 and Jn 10:1-10 – Fourth Sunday of 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?

The proclamation by St Peter on Pentecost Day touched the hearts of the people “who were open to the Voice of the Lord”; they realized that they were in need of God’s Merciful touch…
… “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” (Acts 9:37)

St Peter also reminds that Jesus, our Good Shepherd – though innocent and blameless – underwent a lot of suffering for our sake…
… and constantly calls us to turn away from our wayward ways, and return to Him
“He himself bore our sins in His Body on the Cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounds, you have been healed.

For you were going astray like sheep; but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” (1 Pet 2:24-25)

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 prayerful smile!”

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

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Living the Will of the Father faithfully and making our lives the ‘Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God’”

(Based on Feast of Saint Mark, Evangelist)

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

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

A huge multitude of the pagans, assembled and attacked the Church at Bokalia and forced their way in…
These targeted their chief enemy – a saintly man – who was in that church…
… seized him
… bound him with a thick rope
… dragged him in the roads and streets

And they cried out, “Drag the ‘dragon’ to the place of cows!”

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

They cast him that night into a dark prison.
The next morning, the pagans returned to take him from the prison.

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

Finally, this great warrior of God delivered up his pure soul in the hand of God…
… and received the crown of martyrdom…
… the Apostolic Crown, the Crown of Evangelism, and the Crown of Virginity.

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

They gathered a lot of firewood and prepared an inferno to burn him.

However, a severe storm blew and heavy rains fell.

This frightened the pagans, and they fled away in fear.

The believers came and took the body, carried it to the church that they had built at Bokalia, wrapped it up, prayed over it, and placed in a coffin.

They laid the coffin in a secret place in this Church.

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

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

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

1) The Gospel according to St Mark is the shortest among all the four Gospel accounts.

It probably also has the highest tempo, in terms of the language used and the pace at which the whole Gospel account moves.
a. This invites us to reflect on the urgency of the Kingdom in our lives. The time and place of the coming of the Lord is unknown. (Mk 13: 35-37). Therefore, it places on us, the need to be ever watchful, on the guard and ready for action against the evil, with lives sanctified and purified.

b. This also invites us to reflect on the shortness of our lives, and how each day and each moment of our life (like each chapter and verse of the Gospel), is to be lived solely for the sake of the Lord…
… and making our lives a “true Gospel”, giving witness to Jesus Christ, the Crucified Risen Lord, the Son of God (Mk 15:39)

2) The Gospel according to St Mark was most probably addressed originally to the persecuted and suffering Christians, of the early Church.

This meant to present Jesus, in the light of how He could withstand all pains, pressures and persecutions…
… to remain faithful to the Will of His Father and to the Kingdom Mission.

a. This invites us to fully embrace Jesus as the True Model for our lives. He is the Lord, who suffered immensely, took up every pain and bore every temptation, to remain faithful to His Father (Mk 14:36).

b. This also invites us to not be afraid of pains and sufferings in life and not to be bogged down by the illogicality of why things go haywire in our personal and societal lives.

Instead, we need to look up to Jesus, who was crucified, and even from the Cross, the final act of His obedience, cried out, “Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani – My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mk 15:34)

3) This Gospel is traditionally associated with the life of St Peter.

The Gospel according to St Mark attempts to reveal some of the crucial events, feelings and character of Peter.

It is an attempt, not to merely glorify Peter’s role; rather, it is also an account of how Peter, with all his failures and ‘foolishness’ was still accepted and moulded by Jesus, His patient Master

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

b. This also invites us to not give up in life because of constant failures or be ashamed of our brokenness in life (Mk 14:72b).

The Gospel is a parallel drama of the Glorifying Act of Jesus Christ and the Constantly Wavering Life of St Peter.

The Gospel testifies that we are to glory not in our merits or prowess, but rather to seek refuge in the wounds of Christ…
… and to be totally dependent on the One who alone is to be our Strength and Guide.

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

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

Let us read this Gospel according to St Mark…
… meditate on it
… be challenged by it

And strive to live the Will of the Father faithfully – making our lives…
… the “Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mk 1:1)
… and be faithful to the missionary mandate of the Lord, as St Mark writes: “And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it!” (Mk 16:20)

Happy Feast of St Mark, the Evangelist

God Bless! Live Jesus!