“Nourishing our relationship with the Lord and reflecting the fruits of this affiliation in our daily lives!”

(Based on Acts 15:1-6 and Jn 15:1-8 – Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter)

A young man once checked into a serene hilltop retreat center…
… lush trees, birdsong in the morning

He was told it was a place to reconnect… spiritually.

But just a few hours in, he grew restless.
His phone showed zero network range.
No signal. No data.
No Wi-Fi. No messages.

And then came the meltdown.

In frustration, he muttered, “Ugh! I feel totally disconnected from the world!”

An elderly priest nearby, seated quietly with his Rosary, gently smiled and said:

“Son, if only we felt this disturbed when we’re disconnected from God.”

The young man was stunned.

He had been more distressed by the lack of Wi-Fi than the lack of prayer in his life.

So often true in our lives too, isn’t it?

We refresh apps..
… but do we refresh our hearts?
We seek network towers…
… but do we seek the True Tower of Strength?

The Gospel of the Day invites us to continually nurture and nourish our relationship with the Lord…
… and to reflect the fruits of this affiliation in our daily lives.

Jesus says that, “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit, because without me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15: 5)

These are highly powerful words of the Divine Lord…”WITHOUT ME, YOU CAN DO NOTHING!”

There are a few implications of these powerful words….

1) Its a great message of hope
The statement of the Lord is a deep assurance that in every moment of our lives, we can bank on Him.

St Paul realized the deep understanding of this message of hope and could cry out, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13)

We can place our hope in the Lord…
… even when all seems lost and crashed in life
… even when things hit rock bottom in our life

2) It’s a great message of warning
The statement of the Lord is also a grave warning that in every moment of our lie, we can crack without Him!

The Prodigal Son realized the depth of such a break of relationship, when he had gone away from his father, and found himself in dire needs.

He would therefore say, “I shall get up and go to my Father and I shall say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you…’ (Lk 15: 18)

We are warned by the Lord…
… in every moment, we need to be dependent on the Lord
… in every situation of life, we cannot achieve true success by our own merits and talents

Sometimes in life, when things go on well and when everything seems fine, we tend to forget that it is the Lord, Who is ultimately leading and guiding us.

We get into a feeling that it is my achievements and hard work alone, that is the cause of every success and smile that I enjoy.

But once in a way, when emptiness engulfs our lives, maybe by way of…
… a sickness or a death…
… a financial difficulty or uncertainty of the future…
… crisis in relationships or breakage of human bonding
… or any other problem or difficulty…

We realize that there is a loss in our relationship with the Lord, the Strength of our life!

Unless we stay connected to this Mighty Network, our lives will stay in gloom and shadow!

When we are connected with the Lord, even in the midst of any crisis, the supply of inner joy and peace will always remain constant!

St John of the Cross says, “Oh, how happy is this soul that is ever conscious of God resting and reposing within its breast!”

The early Christian community gives us a beautiful example of coming together in the name of the Lord in order to resolve a crisis (Acts 15:1ff)

They realised that every human problem has its solution and consolation in the Lord!

Let us always seek to be united with the Lord…
… realising that ‘the fruits of our life don’t come from our talents – they come from our being tethered with the Vine!”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Inviting Christ to calm the storm within and to experience His Divine Peace!”

(Based on Acts 14:19-28 and Jn 14:27-31a – Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter)

It was a cloudy afternoon, and the flight had just begun to descend.

But suddenly there were a few bumps and a strong turbulence.

People started glancing nervously out the windows. The usual cabin chatter faded, replaced by disturbed tension.

One lady clutched her hand purse.
Another gripped the armrest.
A man muttered, “I don’t like this.”

But in the middle of it all, a little girl sat peacefully in her seat, colouring her book.

She was calm. Focused.
Not the slightest trace of worry on her face.

A woman sitting beside her leaned over and said gently, “Sweetheart, are you okay? Aren’t you scared?”

The child looked up, smiled, and said simply:
“No. My daddy’s the pilot…
… and he told me before we took off that he’d get me home safely.”

Boom!

That’s trust.
That’s peace.
Not because the skies were smooth…
… but because the heart knew Who’s in control.

That’s the peace the Lord – the Pilot of our life – offers!

Not necessarily a change in the weather, but a change in the heart.

The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus warning us of the dangers of increased anxiety levels and troubled moments…
… and instead invites to lead a life of peace.

Jesus says in Jn 14: 27, “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid”

The context of this statement of Jesus is the discourse at the Last Supper.

Jesus informs of his imminent going away from the disciples, which made them sad and anxious.
They had placed their hopes in Him.
They had offered their lives to Him.

But His announcement of departure caused worry and anxiety to the disciples.

But Jesus, who knows their hearts and gauges their emotions assures them, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, do I give it to you” (Jn 14:27)

The disciples entered into an anxiety-mode as their hearts got wearied with what was to come immediately.

But Jesus invites them to go beyond such peripheral worries, and be assured of a peace that comes as a result of trusting in Him, the Lord of all future!

When one is imprisoned in the immediate worries of life, one fails to enjoy the true freedom of peace and joy

When one is landlocked amidst the borders of impending fears and troubles of life, one is unable to move out to experience real inner tranquillity and serenity

Are we finding ourselves often in situations, when our “hearts are troubled?”

Then Jesus, the Master Doctor of hearts, needs to be immediately consulted…

He gives us the tablet of His peace which would subside our fears
He gives us the tonic of His soothing Word which would calm our troubles

Troubles will, without any doubt, always haunt us…
… but we need to grow in our understanding that in all this, Jesus, is in perfect control of our lives.

Indeed, we can’t stop the storm from raging around us…
… but we can invite Christ to calm the storm within!

Let Jesus, the Doctor of hearts and the Pilot of our lives, take complete charge of our lives

In Him, we shall experience fervent joy.
In Him, we shall live with true peace.

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Living in a way that will make the Lord ‘feel at home!'”

(Based on Acts 14:5-18 and Jn 14:21-26 – Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter)

One evening, a little boy was helping his mother prepare the guest room.

They were expecting a relative to visit, and the boy was full of excitement.

As they fluffed the pillows and folded the blankets, he paused, then looked up and asked innocently:
“Mamma… if Jesus came to our house, where would He sleep?”

The mother smiled warmly and said, “Well, my dear boy, we’d give Him the best room, of course!”

But the boy wasn’t done. With eyes wide and voice soft, he asked: “But what if He didn’t want to leave?”

The mother was surprised at the question.

His doubt echoed in the stillness.

She sat beside him, pulled him close, and whispered: “Then, my child…

We’d change everything.
We will keep the room always ready…
We will clean the house every day…
And most of all, we’d live in a way that will make Him feel at home!”

And she added, “Because if Jesus wants to stay, then this house must become a home for God.”

The little boy smiled.

And that night, they left the guest room light on…
… just in case He came.

That child asked the question that every soul must ask: “If Jesus came, would He find a home – or just a room?”

Too often we welcome Him as a guest for Sunday…
… but forget Him by Monday.

The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus throwing light on this beautiful theme of God wishing to make a home in our hearts:
“Those who love me, will keep my word, and My Father will love them and we will come and make our home with them” (Jn 14:23)

The story of the Bible is of God Who longs to dwell with His people.

In the Old Testament, we see the Garden of Eden was a beautiful communion of the first parents with God.

The atmosphere was so much homely…
… so much loving.

Sin caused a rupture in this homely bonding between God and human beings.

But the Lord, still longed to dwell with His people…

He accompanied the Israelites in their journey through the desert…
… being with them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
He also established His glory among the people of Israel by dwelling in the ark of the covenant.

Every now and then, the people sinned and lost this presence of the Lord

Through the prophets, the Lord would invite the people to come back to His homely presence.

Finally, in the fullness of time, God decided to dwell with humans, when the Eternal Word became flesh…

Jn 1: 14, “And the word became flesh and dwelt among us”

To perpetuate His continual presence, Jesus also gave us His Body and Blood, in Real Presence…
… when He instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper with the culmination of His Sacrifice on the Cross, and His rising from the dead.

This then, is the story of the longing of a God who yearns to dwell with His people.

Jesus re-iterates this constant longing of the Lord, by promising:
“Those who love me, will keep my word, and My Father will love them and we will come and make our home with them” (Jn 14: 23)

The Lord wishes to dwell more close to us..
He longs to have a home in our hearts…

Do we make the space for Him?

The Lord promises to come and make His home in our hearts, if we love Him and keep His Word.

Loving Him requires giving Him the highest priority and precedence in our lives

Keeping His Word requires following His teachings and commandments at all times.

Loving Him means to constantly long for Him and to have our thoughts centered on Him

Keeping His Word means to make decisions and choices based on His Gospel virtues

Loving Him means to free our hearts from undue and inordinate attachments

Keeping His Word means to go against our personal choices to preserve His Will and plans

The Acts of the Apostles gives us the account of Paul and Barnabas giving a powerful witness in Lystra…
… and demonstrating the Power of the Lord, Who was given the highest priority in their life! (Acts 14:5-18)

The Lord wants a space in our hearts, to dwell in us…

Maybe, some rooms of our heart has been rented to many unwanted habits…
Maybe, some areas of our lives are occupied by unfit tenants of sin and evil…
Maybe, some quarters of our mind are accommodated with unholy and bad thoughts…

God is knocking at our doors, seeking a home for His Son…

Let’s realise: “Holiness begins when hospitality is extended to the Holy One.”

Let us live in a way that will make the Lord ‘feel at home!’

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Resigning ourselves to the complete power and providence of the Lord!”

(Based on Acts 6:1-7, 1 Pt 2:4-9 and Jn 14:1-12 – 5th Sunday of Easter)

A visitor was once walking along a high part of the shore of the Dead Sea.

As he casually was strolling across and relaxingly enjoying, he lost his balance and fell into the water.

Swimming was an activity he had never learnt!
Desperation was a weakness that hastened to him quickly!

He could not swim and, in extreme anxiety, lest he should sink and be drowned, he began to fling his arms about frantically!

Was his life going to be terminated?
Was his enjoyable walk awaiting an anti-climax end?

At last, exhausted by wildly moving his arms for help, he felt he could do no more.

Then he found something strange happening…

The waters bore him up!

The water of the Dead Sea is so heavy with salt and other minerals that when he lay still in it he found he floated on the surface!

When he frantically moved his arms, in despair, there was immense fear of drowning..

But when he became still, he experienced the calm of support and strength!

Drowning was an impossibility, so long as he resigned himself to the power of the deep!

In our life of faith, are we ready to “resign ourselves to the power of the deep?”

The Gospel of the Day is an assuring lesson by the Lord – the Way, the Truth and the Life – to His disciples to trust deeper and place their hopes in Him.

The Gospel begins with the statement: “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (Jn 14: 1)

We need to highlight the context of this particular statement:
Jesus is having The Last Supper, with His chosen disciples…
… in a few hours from now, He will be undergoing an immense “agony” in the Garden of Gethsemane
… a little later, He would be undergoing excruciating humiliation and a painful death on the Cross.

Yet, with this impending dangers, the Lord is at peace within Himself

He not only nurtures a peace within; He even assures this peace to His followers exhorting them: “Do not be troubled!”

What gave Jesus this tremendous power to have inner serenity and peace, in the face of agonizing trouble?

It was His relationship with His Abba… His Heavenly Father!

He came to this world solely to do the Will of His Father…
… and it was the assurance of the Father, with Him, that would be the secret of His Success in Mission!

As Christians, don’t we also face immense pressures and difficulties in life?
… persecutions in witnessing our faith in the society
… challenges to live an authentic Christian life in a corrupt society
… struggles to live a holy life, in the midst of alluring sinful tendencies

What can give us power to have inner serenity and peace, in the face of such agonizing troubles?

It is only our relationship to the Father, through Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit!

It is PRAYER alone that can take us through the storms of life!

The Psalmist says, “I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Ps 4:8)

To be able to sleep in the midst of severe storms, is a sign of tremendous peace of mind!

Isaiah 43:2 promises:
“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown”

The one, who has faith and trust in God…
… has absolutely nothing to be anxious about, even amid any storm or squall

Jesus teaches His disciples this important spiritual principle: The higher one is in union with God, the lesser will be the anxiety-factor in life.

Even when Jesus faced the greatest storm of His life – His passion and death – He was able to go through the crisis in peace and serenity.

Before being arrested and taken for being crucified, Jesus assures peace and joy for his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you” (Jn 14: 27)

The Lord today invites us to have this same kind of faith and trust in Him and His Divine Providence.

Let us realize that we are a chosen generation – God has called and chosen each one of us to live a life in Him by totally trusting in Him!
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light!” (1 Pet 2:9)

Faith and Trust in Him also demands that we set proper priorities and make choices for the Lord and His Kingdom.

The community of disciples, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, is a beautiful inspiration for all of us to set proper priorities for the Lord.

When they realized that there was a danger to side-line the ‘Word of the Lord’ to other ‘works of the Lord,’ they set apart a few people for the charitable service while they others devoted to prayer and ministry of the Word:

“It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word!” (Acts 6:2-4)

Life will, undoubtedly, bring with it many storms and tempests in life.
We may experience lots of fear…
We may feel the end is near…

But the one who trusts in Him – the Way, the Truth and the Life – is assured of safety and security!

The more we are close to the Lord, the deeper would be this faith and confidence!

Drowning in life is an impossibility, when we resign ourselves to the complete power and providence of the Lord.

The power of the Lord is with us and beneath us…
… waiting to bear us up!

Do we trust?

God Bless! Live Jesus!