“May our Crucified Lord – the greatest embodiment of Sacrifice – fill us with the grace and courage to live a committed Christian life, like St Lawrence!”

(Based on the Feast of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr)

The year 258 AD saw a massive killing campaign unleashed against the Christians by the Roman Emperor Valerian.

Popular lore has it that a young Deacon had been placed in charge of the Church’s riches.

These treasures included the Holy Grail which was supposed to be the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper.

Emperor Valerian, who had just killed the Pope had set his eyes also on finishing off this young Deacon.

Having a good knowledge of the Church’s riches, the cruel Emperor commanded the Deacon to hand over all the “treasures of the Church” to him or that he too would suffer a dreadful death.

The deacon requested for a few days to collect together the vast amount of wealth.

Three days later, the Deacon, mustering immense courage, threw open the palace doors to deliver the “treasures”.
His hands were all empty – no silver nor gold nor any other precious ornaments.

Instead, flaunting behind him were the poor, the blind and the crippled of the town.
When he reached the throne, the Deacon daringly announced, “These are the true treasures of the Church!”

The Emperor was mightily enraged.
He sentenced the young fellow to a death by torturous grilling!

Literally, the executioners followed the command – barbecuing the Deacon to death on a gridiron.

However, the valour and the dare displayed by the faithful soldier of Christ was so great that, after a few minutes of being roasted, he said to his executioners, “This side is done… Turn me over on the other side!!”

That could be the height of boldness and courage, right?

And what’s more… call it Divine humour, the Church has named this Deacon as the Patron Saint of comedians, butchers, chefs and roasters!

Classic one, isn’t it?

The name of this Daring Deacon is St Lawrence, whose feast we celebrate today.

His daring life goes on to prove…
… that a passionate love for Christ can overcome any pain and persecution – including death!
… that the worth of being a true disciple is total fidelity to the person of Christ and to His Kingdom, even if it means bearing hardships and difficulties

We are invited, as the Gospel of the day says, “to be the grain of wheat that falls into the earth and dies” (Jn 12:24-26)

Our Blessed Lord expounds one of the most basic principles in nature:

New life emerges only when there is a sacrifice

Transformation in life happens only when a sacrifice is involved.

Vegetables, before being served at table…
… needs to be pulled up from the heart of the earth
… and passed through the torment of fire in being cooked

Meat, that comes with its tasty appeal, at the food table…
… needs to be first submitted to the slaying by the knife
… and passed through the flaming ordeal, in being rendered edible

Sacrifice, therefore, is nature’s way of passage to experience new life!

The Lord takes an appeal to this basic principle in saying that “unless a grain of wheat dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn 12: 24)

At the time of Jesus…

The soil would be ploughed and shallow trenches dug out to create the bed for the seeds.
The wheat grains were dropped into the trench and covered with loosened soil

A little sneak into the wheat yielding statistics (roughly – since it varies from place to place, depending on the soil, seed variety and other factors) reveals the point that Jesus explicated about “a grain of wheat which dies, yields much fruit”

If we consider an acre of land…

Two bushels of grain would yield around 40 bushels of wheat
That translates to, around 150 kg of grain yielding around 3000 kg of wheat!

Simplifying it, gives an equation (very roughly): 1 kg of grain sown would yield around 20 kg of wheat!

That’s enormous, isn’t it?

This is the power of sacrifice that Jesus alludes to, with an example from nature.

As Christians, we are challenged to live a life of Sacrifice, in order to yield the harvest of God’s Kingdom.

Greater our sacrifice, greater would be the fruits…
… that are yielded for the glory of God and His Kingdom!

The Gospel passage refers to two ways of making this sacrifice…

1) Dying to the world
“He who hates his love in this world, will keep it for eternal life” (Jn 12:25)

2) Serving the Lord wholeheartedly by following Him
“If anyone serves me, the Father will honour me” (Jn 12:26)

Can we personalize these two dimensions of sacrifice….?

Dying to the worldly values which glorify the self – power, positions and honour- and instead seek to live in humility, self-discipline and selflessness!
Constantly making efforts to serve the Lord in every aspect of our life – words, deeds, thoughts – and leading a life that brings glory to God and serving His people in every little way possible

Giving up sins – both personal and social – and constantly rejecting alluring temptations to remain fixated by worldly standards; instead focussing on the transcendental dimensions of life
Prioritising the Lord and His Kingdom in every aspect of our life and remaining focussed on Him alone – even amidst persecutions or hardships to give up the Gospel Lifestyle

St Paul reminds us to become cheerful givers – offering ourselves totally to the Lord and His Kingdom (Cf. 2 Cor 9:6-7)

St Lawrence, today stands as a beautiful model and example of total self-giving

The courageous and bold Deacon, St Lawrence is a powerful model for us to lead a life of Christian Sacrifice.

May our Crucified Lord, Who is the greatest embodiment of Sacrifice…
… fill us with the grace and courage to live a committed Christian life!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“May we amend our attitude of ‘running away from silence by wanting noise always,’ and thus experience the Presence of the Divine!”

(Based on 1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a, Rom 9:1-5 and
Mt 14:22-33 – 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A)

A young man went to a sage, whom he had often seen going to a forest.

Curious to know what the sage did in the forest, he asked him: “I wonder what you do in the noise of that forest, everyday!”

The sage replied: “Have you any time tried to hear the voice of the forest?”

“Voice?” queried the young man in surprise, “I never hear voice.

I only hear noise.

And the only noise I hear in the forest is when the woodcutter crashes the wood, or the leaves and the fallen branches break beneath his foot.”

“Ah, that’s the difference between you and me”, said the sage, as he continued:
“I still myself in silence, in the forest, and I hear clearly the voice…
… of one limb of a branch grinding against another
… of the fall of a nut
… of the flutter of the wings of birds
… of the scamper of a rabbit
… of the gentle stirring of the wind!

That’s the difference between you and me…
… You run away from silence by wanting noise always!

I seek for silence, by moving away from noise!”

What about us?

Do we also run away from silence by wanting noise always…
… or do we seek for silence, by moving away from noise?

We live in a world of noises.
Noise is everywhere.

Music. Talks. Discussions. Commentaries. Arguments….

Apparently, much of life’s beauty is drowned in this sea of noises.

The word “noise” apparently comes from the Latin root word of “nausea” which means a sensation of vomiting and uneasiness….

Are we surrounding ourselves with too much noise – too much of an uneasy environment….
… that we even fail to listen to the Voice of the Spirit of the Lord?

We need to quieten ourselves.
We need to hear… the still, soft, gentle voice of the Lord!

The first reading of the Day presents the remarkable experience of Prophet Elijah encountering the Lord in a tiny, whispering voice (1 Kings 19: 11-13)

The Gospel of the Day begins with Jesus spending quiet moments with His Heavenly Father (Mt 14:23)

What is our attitude to Prayer?

1) Shopping-list Attitude
We reduce our prayer time to mere presenting to God all our various wants and demands and desires and requirements.

Much of time is spent is considering God as a mere giver and granter of gifts and objects.

2) Complaint-Box Attitude
We spend much of our prayer time in whining and cribbing about the various disturbances affecting our life.

Prayer gets reduced to a time of only grumbling and protesting and raising many grievances.

3) Character-Assassination Attitude
Though not much acknowledged, we may spend our prayer time in speaking the ill of others, in making comparisons to the lives of others and even wishing the negative of other people for our advantage.

Pleasure is found much in speaking of the faults and negatives of other people and prayer acquires an “other-centeredness”, but in a very negative sense!

4) Recitation-competition Attitude
Prayer becomes reduced to a mere recitation of a fixed set of prayers, holy invocations and muttering of words.

Sometimes, much of this mumbling of expressions go without any concentration, or even knowing and meaning the value of the words.

Of course… It is not necessary to get critical and too self-conscious of our style of prayer.

But we also need to know: Prayer is more of a relationship…
… Prayer is spending time with our Heavenly God…
… Prayer is just “being” with Him!

Prayer is more…
… of giving myself as I am to the Lord, than mere receiving!
… of experiencing the silence of the Lord, than mere babbling words!
… of a communion with the Lover of our Souls, than mere external expressions!

The readings of the day invite us to a Life of Prayer…
… to a life of discovering the power of Silence
… to a life of finding quiet moments with the Lord.

Am I able to discover silent moments in my working activities?
Am I able to feel God’s presence in the things and objects that I use and handle?
Am I able to realize the gentle charisma of the Lord in the din and noise of the day?

Storms in life are bound to happen…
Waves of hardships are sure to hit our boats of life…
… but if we are rooted in a true spirit of prayer and communion with the Lord, we will be firm and strong.

In true silence and serenity, we will be hear the words of the Lord:
“Take courage, it is I!
Do not be afraid!” (Mt 14:27)

Let us seek the Lord…
… in true prayer
…in serene silence
… in the midst of life’s noises and clamour and clatters!!

Yes, may we amend our attitude of “running away from silence by wanting noise always…
… and instead seek for silence, by moving away from noise

And thus experiencing the Presence of the Divine!”

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Pulling ‘both the oars’ of faith and works, so that the ferry ‘of our lives’ may move across the river!”

(Based on Hab 1:12-2:4 and Mt 17:14-20 – Saturday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2)

Two men were once seriously disputing the relative importance of faith and works…
… when they came to a ferry (boat) over a river.

As they started across they asked the ferryman his opinion on the subject.

Was faith alone enough in life?
… or was also works of faith important for a good Christian life?

In answer…
… the boatman, who was a strong believer in God, pointed to his two oars.

“One,” he said, “I will call faith, the other, works.

If I pull only on this one oar – the right oar – I get nowhere, but go round in a circle.
Just so if I pull only on the left oar.
But when I pull on both oars, then the ferry moves across the river.”

That was indeed a very sensible explanation, describing the relationship of faith and works.

The Gospel of the day is the incident of how the disciples fail to heal the boy and how Jesus intervenes to cure and teaches the importance of possessing strong faith.

These two incidents show contrasting dimensions…
On one side, immense glory being revealed and the Divine splendour being manifested

On the other, lack of faith being exposed and the failure in the Kingdom ministry

On one side, the three disciples basking in the light of heightened faith and devotion

On the other, the other disciples being lost in the darkness of inability to put the faith to effectiveness

And how often is this the experience of our own lives too…
There are some moments when we experience the loftiness of God’s glory and power

There are other moments when we fail miserably to evoke His presence and are unable to feel His Presence

There are some times when faith makes us to feel that everything is so glorious and wonderful

There are other times when our faith hits rock-bottom and our spiritual life loses its sheen and all seems so miserable

This is the reality of our lives – contrasting experiences of glorious faith at some instants and miserable lack of trust at other times.

But the Gospel of the day ends with an encouraging exhortation by Jesus to have a strong and sturdy faith – the faith the size of a mustard seed

“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Mt 17:20)

When the disciples were unable to bring about a healing to the epileptic boy, the Lord sure did rebuke them for their “lack of faith”.

But after having healed the child, He does not linger with the reproaching or admonishing attitude…
…. instead as a loving friend and a caring master, gently but firmly encourages them to be stronger in their faith.

This is the approach that He has towards us too…

He knows that we have our weak moments and situations of disbelief and doubts
He knows that there are periods when our faith is merely on the lips and not really from the depths of our hearts
He knows that there are times when annoying circumstances encroach our faith-life and all our efforts in devotion meet with bitter conclusions

Yet, with firmness and fondness, Jesus invites us to keep seeking to grow in our trust in Him and have faith of the size of the mustard seed.

Let us pull “both the oars” of faith and works…
… so that the ferry ‘of our lives’ may move across the river!

Today – August 08 – we celebrate the Feast of St Dominic, the Founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans).

St Dominic boldly followed this Call of the Gospel and lived an austere life in much humility and love of God, and who promoted the Devotion to the Holy Rosary.

He challenges us to “arm ourselves with prayer rather than a sword; to wear humility rather than fine clothes”

On this First Saturday of the Month, as we renew our love for the Immaculate Heart of our Blessed Mother, let us also empower ourselves, like St Dominic, with the armour of the Rosary.

Let us dwell, with Our Blessed Mamma, who perfectly lived the life of being a True Disciple of Jesus – and live with “faith and works” through the waters of life!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Bracing ourselves up for the challenging, yet exciting ride with the Lord, as His disciple!”

(Based on Nah 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7 and Mt 16:24-28 – Friday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2)

Some of us have been to amusement parks…
… filled with many jolly and amazing rides.

One of the common yet interesting rides in these parks are the Roller Coaster rides….

The ones, which are constructed at dizzying heights
The ones possessing several dangerous and heart-wrenching ups and dips
The sight of which fills many a weak-at-heart persons, to have giddy feelings!

To those, however, who take up this challenge…
… it’s a sheer ecstatic and thrilling experience!

Welcome to Christianity…
… a Real-Time Roller Coaster Ride!

The ride is not easy…

But the Thrill of the Ride…
… is truly a genuine experience of Remarkable Joy and Peace and Happiness!

Chapter 16 of St Matthew’s Gospel continues the Theme of True Discipleship.

After having revealed Himself as being the Heroic, Awesome and Suffering God-Man, Jesus spells out clearly the demands of being His True Disciple:

To deny oneself… to take up one’s cross… to follow Him! (Mt 16: 24)

To follow Christ, we need to follow His terms!

We need to…

Lay down something…
Lift up something…
And then Follow the Lord

We need to…

Lay down our personal pleasures and comforts…
Lift up our daily duties…
And then Follow the Lord

The Lord demands.
The Lord expects.

Am I ready?

Am I a Christian who is zealous and devout and religious on a Sunday…
… but tepid and listless and impractical through the weekdays?

Am I a Christian who loves to wear religious articles around my body…
… but fail to adorn my actions and deeds with charitable and sanctifying works?

Am I a Christian who enjoys rattling off prayers and reciting many devout ejaculations…
… but fall short of translating those good words into a life of honesty and gentleness and humility?

Am I a Christian who takes the pleasure and benefit of being a member of the Church…
… but come to a sticky end in standing by the Church in Her moments of crisis and scandals?

Am I a Christian who relishes listening to Gospel Music, decorating houses with devout pictures and even spreading devotions to many saints…
… but not make the grade when it comes to living the Gospel values and morals?

Very often, our activities and works are centered only on acquiring the things of this world.

Surely, we have our own daily needs and wants

But beyond all these, a Christian ought to realize, that we are “pilgrims on this earth”

St Paul says, “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3: 20)
St Peter says, “… As aliens and sojourners… keep away from worldly desires” (1 Pet 2: 11)
Jesus says, “What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (Mt 16:26)

Sometimes we hoard up only material wealth and riches…
… failing to seek for the God who blesses us with the needs of our life!

Sometimes our prayers become only petitions for transient things…
… failing to raise a word of thanks to the Lord Who always sustains us!

The Lord invites us to take up the challenges of being a Christian.

As a Christian, our lives have to be qualitatively different from others!

Let those who see us – be it in our workplaces or in our friend’s circle or any other place – make remarks such as…
… “Ah! Here is a person who displays a lot of trust and hope in a living God!”
… “Here is somebody who remains firm even in difficulties, because he/she knows there is a Loving Father caring and protecting always”

Yes, Christianity is indeed a Real-Time Roller Coaster Ride

To those who take up this challenge…
… it’s a sheer ecstatic and thrilling experience!

At Baptism, we have signed a document…
… which entitles us to the Great Privilege of being the Child of God

But by Baptism, we also have agreed to many terms….
… which obliges us the Great Duties of being a Soldier of God!

Being a disciple and soldier of Christ is a demanding affair.

Let us brace ourselves up for this challenging, yet exciting ride with the Lord.

God Bless! Live Jesus!

“Let us always have the joy to proclaim: ‘In Jesus I rest. In Jesus I stay calm!'”

(Based on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord)

A Christian businessman had the following note stuck on his door: “I follow the ‘submarine spirituality!’”

One of his client – interested in this caption – asked him its meaning.

To that, the man replied:
“No matter how furious the storm upon the surface of the ocean…
… the submarine is able to submerge to the deep and finds a place whose calm no storm ever disturbs.

Deeper things of life are always calm and steadfast!
In Jesus I rest. In Jesus I stay calm.
In Jesus, I follow a submarine spirituality!”

Peace and calm are assured for those who are willing to “go into the depths” and allow the Lord to ensure the serenity of the soul

This is the experience of Transfiguration!

The Gospel of the Day (Mt 17:1-11) – on this Feast Day – recounts the beautiful narration of the Transfiguration of Jesus…
… whereby the disciples are given a glimpse to experience “the Glory of peace and calm!”

One of the easy tendencies in life is to “get used to”…
… Get used to doing the same works and dealing with the same people.

A tendency of “monotony” creeps in

The danger with “monotony” is that…
… it can drain away enthusiasm from the works one does

This danger of “monotony” is a strong possibility even in our spiritual life.

We begin to take our faith for granted
We tend to view our devotions with casualness.
Prayers seems boring.
The Holy Eucharist feels meaningless
Pious practices fails to generate any passion

The same danger was true even in the case of the Disciples.

The disciples had been with Jesus for a while now…
They had seen Him…
… performing many wonders
… teaching and addressing the crowds
… being the subject of many oppositions too

But slowly, as human tendency is – a feel of monotony would have begun to creep into their lives.

It is at this stage, that our Blessed Lord chooses three of His “core” disciples – Peter, James and John, and in their presence gets Transfigured! (Cf. Mt 17:1-2)

The Transfiguration experience was something very special and unique for these disciples…

They saw our Blessed Lord glisteningly shining – “His clothes became dazzling white.” (Cf. Mt 17:2)
They witnessed Moses and Elijah (Cf. Mt 17:3) – the great Lawgiver and the mighty Prophet – along with Jesus, Who was the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophet!
They heard the Divine Voice – “This is My Son, the Beloved; with Him I am well pleased; listen to Him!” (Mt 17:5) – from the cloud; reminiscent of God Yahweh who would speak to His people of old, from the clouds

The three disciples were being introduced to a new perspective of their Master.

They saw Jesus – not in the usual way – but arrayed in His Divine Glory and Honour!

Jesus had not become something that He was not…

He is always God and is always the Second Person of the Divine Trinity.

All this while, the eyes of the disciples were kept away from seeing the fullness of glory – only sparks of Divinity was revealed to them

But now, here was a moment, though short – the Transfiguration – when the chosen disciples could come face-to-face with Divine Glory!

The moment of Transfiguration had made them see things in a new light…

Jesus was still the same – but they now saw Him, for a short moment, with a Glorious Glow

That is the splendour and glory of the moment of Transfiguration…
… when woundedness is refined into beauty
… when sufferings are graced into meaningfulness

Have we had this Transfiguration Experience?

Surely, we have had…

But perhaps, many of us fail to recognise it.. or acknowledge it

A moment…
… when our words have touched and sparkled a sad soul.
… when we ourselves have been healed in our brokenness by some Divine intervention
… when we experienced the light of God’s healing, restoration, forgiveness etc through the Sacraments of the Church
… when a pulse of joy and satisfaction raced through our veins in having rendered, perhaps, a tiny but significant act of service and care to a needy person
… when, in our brokenness or deep pain or lethargy, an encouraging word has revived our bent spirits

Many are such moments of Transfiguration in our life…

The deeper we look, the more we find, that God has blessed us immensely with such “Transfiguration” experiences.

St Peter, later in his ministry, would acknowledge these glorious moments of the Transfiguration: “We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.” (2 Pet 1:18)

It is these “Transfiguration” moments that will help us remain strong, even through the rough waters of troubles and struggles.

The power of Transfiguration on Mount Tabor helped to remain peaceful and calm…
… through the stormy moments of Crucifixion on Mount Calvary for Jesus!

The ‘submarine spirituality,’ whereby “no matter how furious the storm be upon the surface of the ocean
… the submarine is able to submerge to the deep, and find a place whose calm no storm ever disturbs”
… is the invitation to which each one of us are called to.

May this Feast of the Transfiguration help us to be reminded of the assurance of the Lord that: “Deeper .things of life are always calm and steadfast!”

Let us always have the joy to proclaim:
“In Jesus I rest. In Jesus I stay calm.
In Jesus, I follow a Submarine Spirituality!”

Happy Feast of the Transfiguration!

God Bless! Live Jesus!