“Joyfully exclaiming the Awesomeness of our Triune God and His Splendour!”

(Based on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity)

A family was visiting an art museum.

As they went around with much amazement, excitement and wonder, they came to a famous painting titled “Wheatfield under the clouded sky”

This painting was by Vincent van Gogh – a Dutch painter – a very influential personality in the history of Western art.

As the children gazed in admiration at this classical painting, the mother of the family, exclaimed: “If this work of art, that portrays the beauty of nature, makes us acclaim so much…
… how much more is the Beauty, Power and Goodness of the God Who has created all of this nature!”

And with a great sense of gratitude and appreciation to the Awesomeness of God, she went on to say:
“God writes with a pen that never blots…
… speaks with a tongue that never slips
… and acts with a hand that never fails!”

Yes, our God is an awesome God!

And the entire world – all of nature – beautifully sings forth the glory and splendour of God, Who is in total charge!

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity is a beautiful day to dwell on the Awesomeness of God and the Mystery of His Splendour…
… and to live this mystery by doing everything for God’s Glory and being united as one family of God!

At the heart of the Mystery of the Trinity are three fundamental truths:

The Oneness of God: God is One
The Distinctiveness of the Three Persons: The Father is not the Son and the Spirit; the Son is not the Father and the Spirit; the Spirit is not the Son and the Father.
The Equality of the Three Persons: The Father is God, the Son is God, the Spirit is God

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life.

It is the mystery of God in himself.
It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them.
It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the “hierarchy of the truths of faith” (CCC, #234)

This Feast is an invitation to understand that at the core and depth of everything in our life – is the mystery of the Trinity!

The history of the world… salvation history… our personal history…

The Liturgy… the Sacraments…our prayers…
… all of them are encompassed by the life and mystery of the Trinity!

This points to the tremendous fact that our Triune God is in total charge and control of everything in our life
… that God is in perfect sovereignty and power!

We are sometimes prone to a lot of strategies and planning.

When things don’t turn out the way we
have planned, we get worried and anxious.
When situations don’t fall in line with what we envisaged, we get tensed and upset!

But, today our Triune God tells: “I am in total control!”

When my life seems to be in a complete mess and nothing is understood by us, God says, “I am in total control”

When circumstances around me go haywire and I lose control of things, God says, “I am in total control”

St Paul tells us: “So we are always of good courage; we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord…
… for we walk by faith, not by sight!” (2 Cor 5:6-7)

This is not to say that we need to be passive or lethargic in life

It is not even to say that we should not have plans and strategies

But this is a great reminder to know and realise that our Triune God is the Ultimate Master of our lives, and His providence protects us!!

There are no “by chance” happenings for a believer!

Everything finds its place, in the Permissive Will of the Lord!

Do I trust in Him…
… to lead me from darkness to light?
Do I believe in Him…
… to lead me from depressing moments to joy?
Do I have faith in Him…
… to lead me from confusing moments to clarity?

The Life of the Trinity is also a call…
… to build our families and communities in love
… to reach out to the other, through self-giving and self-emptying

As we gaze at the “large canvas of miracles” that we experience every day and every moment of our life…
… let us joyfully exclaim the Awesomeness of our Triune God and His Splendour, by confessing: “God writes with a pen that never blots…
… speaks with a tongue that never slips
… and acts with a hand that never fails!”

Yes, in all what we think, in all what we say, and in all what we do…
… let all Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, Amen!

Happy Feast of the Most Blessed Trinity!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Rooting out pessimistic mind-sets and focussing instead on self-growth in holiness and humility!”

(Based on 1 Pet 2:2-5, 9-12 and Mk 10:46-52 – Saturday of the 8th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2)

Once, a preacher was speaking the Word of God to a great crowd.

As was his practice, he was concentrating more on the content of his message and of its effect upon the hearts of people, for transformation…
… rather than the precise literary form of it.

Among his audience, was seated a certain fussy gentleman.

He had been known for making extremely critical remarks and comments.
At the end of the prayer service, this person went up to the preacher and said:
“By the way, I noticed that you made eleven mistakes of grammar in your sermon.”

“Very likely,” replied the preacher, very coolly, “I don’t doubt it for a minute.

My early education was faulty. I often wished that I had received more schooling.

But I am using all the grammar I know in the service of Christ.

How is it with you?”

Well, we don’t know how did the fussy gentleman react to this bold and true reply of the preacher.

(Hopefully, he went home and read a chapter of the Bible and prayed for a humbler heart rather than just revising his skills of grammar!)

When the heart is closed to God’s spirit, the focus dwells only external and peripheral factors…

The heart gets closed to spiritual appreciation…
The mind remains curious only for rhetorical arguments!

The Gospel of the Day presents such a critically harsh and uncharitably closed attitude…
… of the chief priests and scribes and elders towards the person and ministry of Jesus.

This is expressed in their volatile question to Jesus: “By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?” (Mk 11: 28)

The context of today’s Gospel is the presence of Jesus in the city of Jerusalem.

Chapter 11 of St Mark’s Gospel has a progressive sequence…

1. The entry into Jerusalem (Mk 11: 1-10)
2. The entry to Bethany and cursing of the fig tree (Mk 11: 11-14)
3. The re-entry to Jerusalem and cleansing of the Temple (Mk 11: 15-18)
4. The re-entry to Bethany, observation of withered tree and teaching on faith (Mk 11: 19-26)
5. The third entry into Jerusalem and questioning of Jesus’ authority (Mk 11: 27-33)

The popularity of Jesus was on the rise…
… He had a rousing welcome to the city of Jerusalem

The impact of Jesus was also on the rise…
… He had performed a daring cleansing of the Jerusalem Temple

These factors had greatly disturbed the religious leaders.

In Jesus, they perceived a threat.
… a threat to their attitude of subjugating people to their yoke, than to service of God

In Jesus, they sensed a danger.
… a danger to their personal wishes and agenda of having a monopoly over religion

In Jesus, they identified a menace.
… a menace to their comfort-rendering style of spirituality and way of life.

And so, they – the chief priests and scribes and the elders – sought to put Jesus to the task…
… and questioned His authority on doing such deeds and performing such actions.

Their eyes were closed to see the goodness of the Lord

Their hearts become clogged to examine their own maligned conscience
Their lives were rendered blocked to be willing to make necessary changes for the good.

Instead…
… they only found fault with the Lord
… they only become critical of the ways of the Lord

When the heart is closed to God’s spirit, the focus dwells only external and peripheral factors…

The heart gets closed to spiritual appreciation…
The mind remains curious only for rhetorical arguments!

Is such an attitude prevalent among us also…

A mentality of harshly criticising…?
A tendency to inhumanly condemn…?
… without any consideration to humanness or acceptance or self-examination etc.

May we be able to root out all such pessimistic mind-sets…
… and focus instead on self-growth in holiness and humility.

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Giving heed to the warnings and exhortations of the Lord, and building our lives by co-operating with the Grace of God!”

(Based on 1 Pet 4:7-13 and Mk 11-11-26- Thursday of the 8th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2)

The Gospel of St Mark has many “sandwich” passages.

“Sandwich” stories are a literary technique in which the narration of one story begins…
… but is interrupted by another story, before finishing the first one.

Some of the examples of these “sandwich stories” are…

In Mk 3: 20-35, we have…

Mk 3:20-22: Jesus’ family members set out to seize Him
Mk 3: 23-30: Jesus speaks to the Pharisees on their accusation of Him
Mk 3: 31-35: Jesus family comes to meet Him

In Mk 5: 21-43, we have…

Mk 5: 21-24: Jesus is pleaded by Jairus to heal his daughter
Mk 5: 25-34: The woman suffering from haemorrhage is healed
Mk 5: 35-43: Jesus heals the daughter of Jairus

In Mk 6: 7-33, we have…

Mk 6: 7-13: The disciples sent on a mission
Mk 6: 14-29: Herod’s opinion on John the Baptist and the narrative of the beheading.
Mk 6: 30-33: The disciples return from the mission

In Mk 14: 1-11, we have…

Mk 14: 1-2: The Conspiracy against Jesus
Mk 14: 3-9: The anointing of Jesus at Bethany
Mk 14: 10-11: The conspiracy plan by Judas to betray Jesus

Such kind of “sandwich” layers illustrates points for reflection by showing ..
… similarities and contrasts between the outside and the inside layers.
… the first and the last as “the bread”‘ and the centre one as the “filling” of the sandwich!

Today’s Gospel also follows this “sandwich-story” structure: Mk 11: 12-25

Mk 11: 12-14: Jesus cursing the fig tree
Mk 11: 15-19: Jesus cleansing the Temple
Mk 11: 20-24: Jesus’ teaching on the withered fig tree

There are many similarities and contrasts between the “bread” – the outside layers and the “filling” – the inside layers in this ‘sandwich’ passage…

Symbols

The fig tree represents the people of Israel
The Temple was the symbol of the worship and faith of the people of Israel

Reaction of Jesus is “at the entry”

The fig tree was cursed when “Jesus was nearing”… on His way to Jerusalem
The Temple was cleansed as Jesus “entered” the temple

“Leaves seen, but no fruit”

The fig tree bore only leaves, but no fruits were found on it
The Temple had many activities (leaves) but no faith or religiosity was seen (fruits)

Jesus performs an action of fury and rage

The fig tree is cursed and it withers
The Temple is cursed and cleansed

Some of the key messages of both these stories invite us to reflect on our own life…

1) God’s demand to be fruit-bearing
The fig tree as well as the Temple failed to bear fruits…

As Christians, we are expected and demanded by God to bear fruits and be co-operative to the graces that God has blessed us with

2) Importance of repentance and cleansing
The fig tree is judged for its fruitlessness while the Temple is cleansed due to its uncleanness

As Christians, we are to repent and cleanse our hearts of all defilements, lethargy and sluggishness and become relevant and effective people of God

3) Harsh consequences are in store for the unfaithful and unfruitful
The fig tree is cursed while the Temple undergoes the wrath of the Zealous Jesus

As Christians, we are to realise that strong consequences are for sure, if we fail in our duties and responsibilities

The Gospel of the Day is a strong exhortation by Jesus…
… to become aware of our Christian duties
… the need to be faithful and ever watchful
… and become zealous in bearing fruits for the Kingdom of God.

Let us give heed to the warnings and exhortations of the Lord, and build our lives by co-operating with the Grace of God…
…so that we become persons of “Faith and Fruitfulness!”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Having our hearts opened, in perseverance and passion, to seek the wonderful experience of the Divine!”

(Based on 1 Pet 2:2-5, 9-12 and Mk 10:46-52 – Thursday of the 8th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2)

A man was sharing his experience of life with a group of youngsters:
“One night, a few years ago there was a total eclipse of the moon.
Everybody was talking about it.

Many even stayed up till the early hours…
… in the hope of witnessing it.

And I was asking myself: ‘Why all this interest in the moon, simply because it is disappearing?’

Of course, I don’t deny that it is a wonderful phenomenon.

But I am also convinced that most of those people wouldn’t see a full moon in the sky…
… much less stop to admire it!”

And the man said, “It brought to my mind the words of Emerson: ‘The fool wonders at the unusual; the wise person wonders at the usual.”

True vision not only admires at the unusual phenomenon of life…
… but also greatly esteems and appreciates the little beauties that are scattered all around!

Do we have the vision to appreciate the great miracles in and around us…?
Are we passionate and enthusiastic about the wonderful blessings we enjoy every day…?
… or ARE WE BLIND?

This vision to appreciate and be enthusiastic in life has its roots in an experience of the Divine.

It’s this experience that becomes a launching-pad to live a passionate life for the Lord and for His Kingdom!

The contrast is also true…

A lack of experience of the Divine makes the spiritual journey a lethargic one…
… sometimes makes it even non-existent!

The greater the experience that one has of the Divine, the higher will be one’s enthusiasm and interest in spiritual matters.

The Gospel of the Day presents the experience of the Divine by a blind person and his consequent expression of happiness and delight in the Lord.

Blind Bartimaeus experiences the Divine healing power and gives vent to his deep joy in the Lord by ‘following Him on the way’.

Jesus was passing through the land of Jericho.

As he was leaving Jericho, with His disciples, the news reached the ears of Bartimaeus.
He was blind.

We do not know how long was he so.
We do not know what was the reason for being so.
But we know one thing…
… that he would have heard about the wonders and fame of Jesus.

The very mention that “Jesus of Nazareth” was passing that way, made him to spring into pleading for mercy.

Just as the steps of the lover sounds sweet to the Beloved…
Just as the strains of music sound sweet to the singer…
So, the mention of the name, “Jesus” sounded healing and wholeness for Blind Bartimaeus!

With his might and strength, he cried, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy” (Mk 10:47)

The crowd tried to dissuade him.
The people surrounding made efforts to silence him.
But nothing of this could prevent this determined person to cry out to his God!

Even though Bartimaeus was “physically blind,” he had the willingness to have “true vision!”

The people on the other hand, were “physically fine” but lacked the true vision…
… to see the great presence of God’s Power in their midst!

This persevering and passionate pleading of Bartimaeus was amply rewarded.

Jesus called him, and said to him, “Go your way, your faith has saved you!” (Mk 10:52a)

This tremendous healing experience, fanned to flame the sparks of Divine Love within blind Bartimaeus!

He immediately received his sight and followed Jesus on the way (Mk 10: 52b)

This experience became a launching pad to nurture a life-long relationship with the Divine!

We too require a deeper experience of the Lord, to nurture and strengthen our spiritual life.

We sometimes remain blind to things of the spiritual dimension.
We sometimes feel rejected in our lack of progress in a holy life.
Yet, we are invited to cry out with full intensity, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Surely, this act of faith from our part, would meet with many oppositions…
… we may hear voices telling us that it is useless to cry to God and rely on His power
… we may be told that it is illogical and unreasonable to be banking on Divine assistance

But like Blind Bartimaeus, are we willing to transgress and traverse all such negative voices, and drown them with a wave of mightier faith…
… crying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Unless we undergo such a healing experience, our faith will remain shallow and our spiritual following will remain dispirited.

This healing is not just of the physical nature…
… rather it could be healing of the mind
… healing of the spirit
… or a social healing
… or an emotional healing.

The fact of being healed would make me more passionate about the Divine Healer!

The fact of being cleansed would make me more zealous about the Divine Sanctifier!

Yes, true vision not only admires at the unusual phenomenon of life…
… but also greatly esteems and appreciates the little beauties that are scattered all around!

We need to have the vision to appreciate the great miracles in and around us!
We need to be passionate and enthusiastic about the wonderful blessings we enjoy everyday!

May our hearts be opened, in perseverance and passion, to seek the wonderful experience of the Divine.

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Treasuring the Lord, knowing that true riches consist ‘not in the abundance of possessions, but in the fewness of wants!’”

(Based on 1 Pet 1:18-25 and Mk 10:32-45 – Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2)

A rich man, who was known to be quite pious and devout in his Christian life was once encountered by a young man…
… who questioned his integrity and credibility, and wanted to prove that all his pious actions were quite hypocritical.

“How can you,” asked the young man, “claim to be a true Christian when you have so much of wealth?”

The rich person who was also extremely generous and had helped a lot of people replied: “Well, I do agree that God has blessed me with a lot of material things.

But at the same time, I believe that all these blessings are purely a gift from God…
… and so I reach out to the needy!

And above all, I strongly believe that my wealth consists not in the abundance of my possessions…
… but in the fewness of my wants!”

The rich man had discovered the true purpose of riches in life…
… and had also unearthed the true spirit of having riches: Not in the abundance of possessions, but in the fewness of wants!”

How beautiful a lesson is this for us Christians…
…. who live in the world, yet are called to be out of the world.
… who live amidst possibilities of wealth, yet are called to be detached from them.
… who live with the prospect of gaining immense power, yet are exhorted to not be attached

The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus highlighting this essential element of Christian living: Being in the world, but living out of the world, with eyes firmly set on heavenly realms.

James and John, the sons of Zebedee approach Jesus and ask for a favour: “Grant to us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory” (Mk 10:37)

They sought for a prime place in the future Kingdom of the Lord.

They probably had the conception and understanding, that Jesus would rule in glory…
… and they being His chosen ones, sought for esteemed positions in this Glorious Kingdom.

They were certainly right that the Lord would surely one day rule in glory.

But they got it totally wrong in their understanding and perspective of the nature of this rule.

His was not to be a kingdom of arrogant display of power…
… rather one of serene majesty and mercy

His was not to be a rule of aggression and pomp…
… rather one of gentle splendour and grace.

The Lord had, according to St Mark’s Gospel, just made His third prediction, regarding His Passion, Death and Resurrection.

He was revealing the true nature and character of the victory that He was to gain.
He was exposing the manner in which His glory would be stamped upon all ages to come.

However, the disciples fell short in grasping these words of the Lord.

St Mark says that “they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid” (Mk 10: 32b).

Our lives are very often no different, from the ignorance that the disciples had and the wrong notion that was expressed by James and John.

We fall prey to seeking great honour and fame in being a Christian…
… but are unable to grasp the fact that ‘to be a Christian is to be living a life of simplicity’.

We yield to temptations of being obsessed to seek power and positions of futile vanity…
… and fail time and again to live up to the Christian virtues of humility and modesty.

We often become victims of engaging in dirty politics and authority-grabbing games…
… and become an anti-witness to the Lord who ‘came to serve, rather than be served’

We need to give heed to the words of the Lord who prayed that “we are in the world, but do not belong to this world” (Jn 17: 15)

A Christian life… ought to be hallmarked by detachment and separation…
… detachment from too much of worldly distractions and vain glory
… separation from sinful ways and evil tendencies

A Christian life… ought to be radiated with total focus and complete dedication…
… total focus on the Lord who ‘walked the talk’ by giving up His life in service
… complete dedication to the Kingdom of God which calls for a humble way of life

Let us learn this secret that being rich in the Lord consists “not in the abundance of possessions, but in the fewness of wants!”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

— Fr Jijo Jose Manjackal MSFS
Rome, Italy
Email ID: reflectioncapsules@gmail.com