THIRTY THIRD SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

tr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> THIRTY THIRD SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B: (Daniel 12:1-3; Heb 10:11-14, 18; Mark 13:24-32) Theme: We are called to attend and embrace the Lord who comes Reflection: We are in the movement towards the end - Recapituation – Parusia – Apocalypse: We are heading towards the end of the Liturgical Year B. Within few days we will be starting the New Year of the Liturgy. The conclusion of every Liturgical Year is with the Solemnity of the Christ, the King which falls next Sunday. In this context, the Church asks us to reflect over the end of times. The Church through the reading of today presents to us what is the final end of the creation. According to the Scriptures and the Christian theology the end of times does not mean the end of the world. The end of times means the recapitulation of whole universe, of whole history and of whole human life in the Lordship of Christ. Recapitulation is the Pauline term (Eph 1:10) used to signify the gathering of every creature under its “Head”, its Lord, its Prince, its King for its final meaning of life. This recapituation has also two connotations in the biblical language: parusia and apocalypse. The first is the Parusia which means the presence: coming of the Lord and its ultimate sense is that “all will be in all” (1 Cor 15:28); everything will find its place and participation in the Kingdom of God; in fact, for this every Christian repeat the words of Jesus in the great prayer of Our Father: “Your Kingdom Come and Your Will be Done” (Math 6:10). The second is the apocalypse which means revelation: God will be manifested in His Ultimate Glory; every veil will be removed and everything will be made crystal clear; every creature will see God face to face and this the fullest of revelation. Our Christian journey is always towards this end: our final meeting with the Lord. - It is a journey with Hope: The biblical revelation provides us the picture of our Christian end. It is to participate in the eternal life that God has promised to us in his project of love. We are already inserted into this participation in the eternal bliss through the sacramental life. But it is still to be achieved in its fullness. Here we encounter the challenge of life: we are given the taste of eternal life but we have to still walk towards it realization. Human life is already made for this: to meet the Lord here and now with the commitment of life in faith and to become one with him at the end of our earthly existence. Here we see the tension between what we are now and what we have to achieve in future. This is the tension in Christian terminology: between “Already” and “Not Yet”. We are already in the Lord but we have not yet seen the final glory. In this context the only redeeming element we have is hope. In the existential tension of humanity the only solution is to hope. Hope will make us live. Without hope we are already dead. Pope Benedict XVI proclaims that the hope sustains the life. His words enlighten and inspire us and keep us walk in faith to live. “it is true that anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life (cf. Eph 2:12). Man's great, true hope which holds firm in spite of all disappointments can only be God—God who has loved us and who continues to love us “to the end,” until all “is accomplished” (cf. Jn 13:1 and 19:30). Whoever is moved by love begins to perceive what “life” really is. He begins to perceive the meaning of the word of hope that we encountered in the Baptismal Rite: from faith I await “eternal life”—the true life which, whole and unthreatened, in all its fullness, is simply life. Jesus, who said that he had come so that we might have life and have it in its fullness, in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10), has also explained to us what “life” means: “this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3). Life in its true sense is not something we have exclusively in or from ourselves: it is a relationship. And life in its totality is a relationship with him who is the source of life. If we are in relation with him who does not die, who is Life itself and Love itself, then we are in life. Then we “live” (Spe Salvi, 27). - Hope recalls for the research and vigilence: Hope does not mean that we keep aside all our responsibities and wait for God’s intervention. Hoping means leading the life with continuous and untiring research for the meaningful life and vigilence to safeguard it from the evil powers. o Research makes us to see God as the source of life and our destiny. It encourages us to follow what is pleasing to Him and thus enpowers us to accomplish it at any cost. It also enables us to distinguish between that which passes away and that which remain for ever: that which is temporary and that which is eternal, that which is accidental and that which is definitive. Today’s gospel presents to us that everything will pass away and disappear and what remain without any destruction is “the word of God”: God and his love. o Vigilance makes us attentive and careful in the every step we put forward. It reaches us safe to our destiny. It illuminates our path and makes us to see well our road towards our communion with God. It allows us to question ourselves: where are we coming from? What is the origin of our life? Where are heading to? And what is our destiny? Vigilance means to keep awake and answer these question with an adequate significance. It makes us look for the better way. It help us to refresh always our mind, heart and the spirit, thus our words, actions and life. It reminds us that we are accountable for every word we speak, every action we fulfill and every testimony we manifest. It first of all indicates the path that is correct and makes us follow it without missing the way: without slipping into the pit of ruin and destruction. Thus hope makes us to live and to live for the promise of eternal life. Readings: Promise of Eternal Bliss for those who keep awake and attentive in faith and in charity - Those who are in dust will wake up again (first reading): We are given a promise of hope through the imaginary description of Daniel. Those who are in the dust will rise again. Who are those that are in the dust? It may have two meanings: first deals with the present life and the second denotes the eschatological meaning. Remain in the dust means to remain without life. o Firstly, it happens often in the existential contexst of man: Man is often desperate and confused with the different forces of life: his life is surrounded by various tensions. He does not live anymore voluntarily. He is forced to live. He is afraid of death, therefore he continues to live. Life is not really a life in his context. He is heavey with the burdens of family incomprehensions, social-economic-political surpress, and spiritual fluctuations of faith. On the one hand, he is dragged to this situation by the passing passions of the world and the flesh. On the other hand, man has given up his capacity to discern what is enough for him. He often blindly placed in the crossroads of the life: he is faced with different directions without knowing what way to take up. Even in the christian life this has taken place. Christian knows and acknowledges what and who is the Truth, the Way and the Life, Jesus. Still he finds himself in the dust of desparation because he has surrendered himself to the modernity of the world. Giving priority to the daily requirements of the world he has pushed back the life of faith. He has lost his Christian dignity and capacity to combat with the evil tendencies. He has fallen into the trap of false prestige, passing power and unnecessary ambitions. His state of life is exactly as in the state of dust: without having true life. Yet, there is a promise to such man and to such christian: a return to life, a coming back to the new life. There is always a way out for him: way of conversion. Infact, the possibility of resurrection from the worldly clutches is offered to him. It is always at the door of his life. He has to only open the door and make it enter. This new life is given to man in and by the mystery of Jesus Christ here and now. As the second reading reminds us: Jesus has offered once and for all a sacrifice of salvation and made whole humanity perfect (Heb 10:11-14). o Secondly, it will take place in the final consummation of the world: the promise of God remains forever. His words remain forever. Daniel proclaim through his visions that all thoso who are in the dust will come back to life. The second meaning of “staying dust” is eschatological. It means that “all those who are dead” ( those returned to the dust) will be resurrected in the end of days for the final judgement. All will see “the day” in which the Glory of the Lord shines. Those who lived according to the faith and love for the Lord will participate in that glory. In stead, all those who refused to accept and to follow the Word will be thrown away into the eternal darkness. - The day will certainly come (Gospel): Although nobody knows when and how, the return of the Lord will surely take place. Jesus himself promises it in today’s gospel and his words will not pass away. The coming of the Lord should not frighten us. The words used, either in the first reading or in the gospel, are “time for anguish”, “judgment”, “the signs from the heavens” – they belong to the apocalyptic language. These words seem to terrorize us, but in reality they are not. They only alert our conscience and our attitude. We need not to fear of all these that will happen in the future. They serve as the guiding steps: they help us to walk in the way of the Lord with reverential fear. In reality, these words and images found in today’s readings, invite us to place our trust in the mercy of the Lord. We need to stand before him not with the terror but with the fear. The fear of the Lord, here, means the reverence, the admiration. It means the gratitude towards God who shows his power not in punishing us but in kindness and forgivenss. A fear which means the hope. The illuminating words of Pope Benedict will encourage us: “A world without God is a world without hope (cf. Eph 2:12). Only God can create justice. And faith gives us the certainty that he does so. The image of the Last Judgment is not primarily an image of terror, but an image of hope; for us it may even be the decisive image of hope” (Spe Salvi, 44). The words of the Pope remind us that there is a task to accomplish: task of committed faith, unwavering hope and unconditional love. Conclusion: Time to prepare the balance sheet our life - We need to prepare the accounts our life: what is the consequence of the reading we have heard? The readings call for our attention and our vigilance. They invite us to prepare an account sheet of all that we have done in life. One day, we need to stand before Jesus and answer his questions. We need to submit to him the list of the things he has called us to fulfill and the things that we have actually done in life. If there is a correct balance between what he demanded from us and what we have accomplished we are safer side. We will see the glory of the Lord. We cannot in any way escape his questionaire. We cannot in any way bypass his judgment. Especially, in our present situation, we need to examine and see how far we have reached in our journey towards him. We need to observe and make an account of the “walk of faith” we started one year ago. The liturgical year is coming to end. Every year, we need to prepare our progress report. Each word we have uttered is accountable. Each action we have accomplished is accountable. Each moment of testimony of life is accountable. We need to make a careful balance sheet our life. In other words, this is nothing but an assessment of our life: evaluating the good we have done and the bad we are tempted to do. What is the result of this preparation of an account of life? - We need to better our future: the result of an examination of all that have done is the betterment of the life. We can better our words we speak, actions we do and the testimony we give. We will be able to add little more kindness to our words. We will be able to add little more vigor to our actions. And we will be able to add little more truthfulness and faithfulness to our testimony. Human life is always a life forward. Christian life is always a life forward and upward. We need to grow. We need to better. We need to clear our way to reach the Lord. All this will take place effectively with the preparation of account of life. It will provide to us the clear picture of our status: what we are and where we are. It will also serve us as a torching light to show our direction. We will be able to place ourselves in the correct position of faith, hope and love. Once we return to original dignity of being the children of God, we have the possibility of walking straight in his ways this time. Only this way we can do justice to our theme of today: let us prepare ourselves to embrace the Lord who is coming.

THIRTY SECOND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

THIRTY SECOND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B: (1Kings 17:10-16; Heb 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44) Theme: Slogan of Christian Faith is – “Donate with the heart” Reflection: We need to make an analysis of our movement towards others - Attitude of giving with the heart: The Church invites us today to learn the attitude of giving the heart rather than the economic help. Indeed, the extention of the charitable help in the form of clothes, provisions, and the money is important. Even this help has to be done with the conviction of the heart and with the loving soul. Donation is the moment in which the true solidarity and being-with the other is manifested. In the Christian faith the giving, or the offering, is the virtue that takes precedence of all the prayerful formulas. Charity has to be the result of faith and faith must lead to the action. Faith without actions is useless and action without faith is not perfect. Therefore, prayer and reflection has a value when they are followed by the concrete actions. Otherwise, charity remains only as the word to be spoken and the good topic to be written. The Church does not will that our faith remains only within the walls of the beautiful edifice. Giving is an human virtue and giving with love is a christian virtue. Thus, the exortation of the Church through the readings of today is this: let us learn to give and give with the true love in the heart. - Church is the testimony of the charitable works: Infact, Church itself is the great manifestation of the solidarity with the world both in its proclamation and in its reaching out to the needful society. Pope John Paul II expresses that there is a demand for a compassionate response from the Christians for the needs of the world (NMI, 50). To follow the Pontiff faithfully it is better to listen to his own words: “The scenario of poverty can extend indefinitely, if in addition to its traditional forms we think of its newer patterns. These latter often affect financially affluent sectors and groups which are nevertheless threatened by despair at the lack of meaning in their lives, by drug addiction, by fear of abandonment in old age or sickness, by marginalization or social discrimination. In this context Christians must learn to make their act of faith in Christ by discerning his voice in the cry for help that rises from this world of poverty. This means carrying on the tradition of charity which has expressed itself in so many different ways in the past two millennia, but which today calls for even greater resourcefulness. Now is the time for a new "creativity" in charity, not only by ensuring that help is effective but also by "getting close" to those who suffer, so that the hand that helps is seen not as a humiliating handout but as a sharing between brothers and sisters. We must therefore ensure that in every Christian community the poor feel at home. Would not this approach be the greatest and most effective presentation of the good news of the Kingdom? Without this form of evangelization through charity and without the witness of Christian poverty the proclamation of the Gospel, which is itself the prime form of charity, risks being misunderstood or submerged by the ocean of words which daily engulfs us in today's society of mass communications. The charity of works ensures an unmistakable efficacy to the charity of words.” (NMI, 50). Church first of all witnesses charity by its presence and social upliftment work. She also calls the christians “to be with the needy”. To be means to share and to participate in the conditions of the others. - How is our movement towards others? Today, with the inspiring readings, the Church calls us to analyze what we are for others and how we move towards others. Present and modern man who is burdened with innumerous tensions needs more of the attentive presence than economic or material help. The material help feeds the needy for the temporary satisfaction and he is again in need. Instead, what is demanded of the christian charity is the loving presence and solidarity of the heart. Pope Benedict XVI affirms this in his Encyclical Caritas in Veritate, 2 when he says that “Charity is at the heart of the Church's social doctrine. Every responsibility and every commitment spelt out by that doctrine is derived from charity which, according to the teaching of Jesus, is the synthesis of the entire Law (cf. Mt 22:36- 40). It gives real substance to the personal relationship with God and with neighbour; it is the principle not only of micro-relationships (with friends, with family members or within small groups) but also of macro-relationships (social, economic and political ones). For the Church, instructed by the Gospel, charity is everything because, as Saint John teaches (cf. 1 Jn 4:8, 16) and as I recalled in my first Encyclical Letter, “God is love” (Deus Caritas Est): everything has its origin in God's love, everything is shaped by it, everything is directed towards it. Love is God's greatest gift to humanity, it is his promise and our hope.” Charity means, thus, looking in the face of the person with love and brotherhood. Jesus has done this and He asks us to do the same. This is the true, sincere and generous that the Christians are called to manifest. This is the summary of the readings and we understand it better when we reflect the readings. Readings: The Look of Jesus penetrates the intention of the heart - Faith in the Prophet of God (First Reading): The widow in the first reading is the model for the confidence that we need to place in God’s providence. The prophet of God has visited the widow and asked for some bread. The widow is perplexed and afraid. She is perplexed because of the scarsity of the flavor of wheet she has. She has only a very small portion of the flavor. She knows that it is not sufficient for her and her son and if she shares it with a another person it is not enough even for one time consumption. She is afraid of losing the little she has and is also afraid of dying of the lack of bread when this little gets over. But the man of God, the prophet admonishes and encourages her: “do not be afraid … first of all prepared a piece of bread for me and than for you and for your son” (v.13). The widow is able to see in the words of the prophet a word of God. She is able to recognize that it is not just this man who is asking but it is God himself who is requesting her for the bread. Once she realizes she does not hesitate anymore. Her perplexity and her fear have disappeared. She is filled with the faith in the man of God and confidence in the hand of God. She prepares the bread and three of them eat for several days. Her complete faith in the divine providence has saved her from the castigue of the nation. She has given to God with the complete trust and confidence and enjoyed the consequence: the life does not see death even in the darkest conditions. - Offering of the totality of life (Gospel): The widow in the Gospel is the model for the utter dependence only on God. Jesus is in the temple observing well those who are putting the coins in the offerty box. There are many who are dropping in the box good amount. Each one opens his pocket, takes out his purse and chooses one amount from the number of currency notes and puts it in the box. They are good insofar they are sharing their havings with God and with others. They are pleased to offer from their abundance. They feel it as an obligation to give something of their earning and savings. It is good. Behind all these obligatory givers there comes a poor widow. By her social status itself she is considered to be poor and below margin. By her appearance too she look very poor. Jesus is curios to see her. Until now he has seen many rich and well being men who come with the head high and the neck stiff and dropping the money with lot of vigor. Now he is more attentive towards this poor widow. He watches her carefully. The widow comes to the offerty box. Opens her small bag of cloth. She takes out what she has. There are only two coins. She does not hesitate. She drops two coins immediately in the box. Jesus is taken up by wonder and astonishment. She admires and praises her act. He immediately calls his disciples and offers them a teaching: “In truth I tell you: this widow, who is very poor, has dropped into the treasury more than all others. Infact, all have put some part of their overflow. She, instead, in her misery, has put everything she has, everything she has for living” (vv.43-44). What is asked of a christian is exactly this: offering the totality of life to the one who has given the life. And the widow is the greatest example for us today. - Not the Logic of the World but of the Heart: The widow of the Gospel does not follow the logic of the world. Logic of the world tells you that you share, with you human attitude, atleast something of what you are and what you have. If the widow has to follow this she has to give only one coin as an offering. She does not want to think as the world thinks with regard to the offering to God. Infront of God she does not want to hesitate. Infront of God she does not want to count. Infront of God she does not go for play of life. Infront of God she does not hide anything or draw back to herself anything. She did not give place to the logic. She has given prominence to the heart. Heart knows what is prior and important in life. She knows that if she offers two coins, all that she has, she will not have anything for the next moment. She does not think of the future. All that she believes is that it is God who gives and it is God who asks from us everything of our life. By offering all that he has he has thrown herself on the shoulders of God. She has placed herself completely in God. She has commended her life into the hands of God. This is the logic of the heart and this is the logic of the spirit. The world and its calculations do not understand this. We instead are to surpass the logic of human mind and give importance to the logic of the heart and soul. And we find our life in God as the widow has found her life in God. - Jesus’ look enters deep into giver’s intention: It is only Jesus who finds the difference. He recognizes and scrutinizes the intentions of the giver. He observes not only with the eyes but with the spirit. He observes not only the hands that put the money into the treasury but also the deepest motivations of the heart. His look is so deep that it penetrates the mind and soul. His look can find out with what kind of motive the people offer. It is this look that makes the difference between the many and the poor widow. He does not see just the quantity (how much) of what is given. He sees only the quality (with what intention) of what is offered. Giving is just an human goodness but offering life is the Christian love. Jesus infact asks us for this: not the quanity of life (how long and how well one lives) but the quality of life (how much one gives himself for the others). Conclusion: Not the Quantity but the Quality of the help to be manifested - “Not-enough” leads to the “More-than-enough”: What we need to learn today is that once we have offered to God and to others with the complete trust and confidence it will create a miracles. “I have only a little”, “I am poor and what can I give”, “it may not be enough for all”, “my small portion of help cannot change the world”, these are the excuses that we find for escaping from the generous help we need to extend. For God and infront of God these phrases would not work. For him anything is possible. He can bring anything and everything out of nothing. He is Omnipotent and Almighty. He providence is always availabe for those who place their faith in him. The flavor and the oil of the widow, in the first reading, are never over. The little has become abundant and what she thought “may not be enough” has become “more-than-enough”. She thought the she would live only for a day or two with what he has. But when she has given to the man of God, or to God, all that she has given, it has become every flowing that they ate it for many days. The widow in the gospel has given only two coins but it is not something for Jesus. It is everything for him. He sees whole of her life in those two coins. His admiration is always for him. It is with this attitude that we need to do our charity. We may be poor to offer more, we may be incapable in many things, we may be considered to be the least of all. This does not matter God. God wants that we manifest what we have with the whole heart. God wants that we spend our energies, our talents and all that we have for the glory of God and for the well being of the other. It is the quality of life that God wants from us, not the quantity of life. The two widow are the encourging examples for us to imbibe this attitude. - Life of thanksgiving is required of us: We should not hide anything for ourselves. In reality, Christian life is not for its own sake. Christians are not themselves. Their presence and their power is for the upliftment of the world. Their word and their deed is for the manifestation of their solidarity and love to the needy. True thanksgiving consists in this. What is Eucharist in which we participate now? It is an act of thankgiving. Jesus gives thanks to the Father for the love he revealed to the world through him. Jesus gives thanks not with the prayers and formulas alone. His ultimate thanksgiving is revealed in His Self-Offering, His Body and Blood, on the Cross two thousand years back and under the form of bread and wine now infront of our eyes. Such a kind of thanksgiving is the true charity that God demands from us. Let us learn from the act of Jesus to give ourselves in totality to God and to our fellow beings. Infact, this is an act of love: love of God and love of the neighbor.

THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B: (Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Heb 7:23-28; Mark 12:28b-34) Theme: When we love, we are not far away from the kingdom of God Reflection: Love is the Only Virtue that empowers life - We are called to enter into the dimension of love: Today, the Church is admonishing us to enter into the dimension of love. Love appears as a small and a sweet word. But it’s depth, its height, its width and its fullness reach beyond the human measure. Some time back we have already noted on this aspect of love. We said that when ever we talk of love, the only possible starting point is from above: the divine love. God is love and His love permeates the whole universe. Every single creature has its origin from this love and has its destiny to this love. Every being, alive and active, manifests God’s love to the world. God cannot exists outside love. Man has no life without love. Love is a knot between God and the human being. All other elements anywhere in the world are in connection with the love and from this love they recharge their power. In a single word, we can say that love is the only virtue which empowers life: both divine and human life. - God himself is the Essence of Love: Our God, according to our Christian faith, is the God of the Trinity. He is a God in Three Persons: Three Persons very intimately interlinked with the bond of love. The intimate relationship of love between them is so deep that any One of them cannot exist and does not will to exist without the other two. This is the true and authentic bond of love. How it could be possible that there are Three Persons but at the same time exist as One God is the question of the Christian Mystery. Above all the researches being made for the solution for the question there is one thing that is crystal clear. It is this: in love there is the unity of not only body and spirit but entire nature of the persons. It is with the essence of love that our God exists as the Trinity. Therefore, it is God who is the foundation and the fountain of love. We have the rays of love only from his divine nature. His divine nature is given to man in the time of creation: God created man in his image and likeness (Gen 2:18). It is in this act of creation that God, by sharing his divine nature, injected into man also the essence of love. Man is called into existence and destined to live only with this divine love. Infact, he is given this possibility when he is created very different from other creatures: his uniqueness is the love which he is endowed with. God goes out of himself and reaches to the other in the form of love. Therefore, love is not something which is fixed essence for itself. It is to reach out. It is to go out. It is to touch the partner. God touched man as his partner of love. - Love is a movement Outwards: Love is never and cannot be for its own sake. If it is so it is not true love. Love is a movement which goes out and touches the other. It’s very nature is to be contageous. God cannot hide his love but to share it within the bond of trinitarian relationship. His love is so immense that it moves outwards of himself: it reaches to man. God loved so much that world that he has sent His Only Son to save it from the pit of non-love. Man is created for love and in view of love. He has soon forgotten his nature of loving and being loved. He has chosen the way of pride and selfishness. He started closing himself from God and this is first sin. Sin, which is priorily a rejection of love of God, made him a stranger to God and kept him away from God. Love is something that goes out and reaches the other. But with the arrogance and avarice of man the movement took an “U” turn. The aspect of love is turned into an occasion of self-glory. Man has built the wall between himself and God and between himself and the neighbor. Even in this pathetic condition of man and even when man has been rejecting his love, God did not keep himself away from loving man. Love cannot draw itself aback when something raises against it. Instead, love faces every hurdle with patience and forgiveness. Then only it is love. God always loves. Man often responds to it with the tendency of personal freedom and prestige. God comes out of himself and reaches the other. Man instead closes within himself without being disturbed by the other. With the movement of God towards man and with the movement of man towards himself, there is a cross movement. God draws the line of love and man wipes it with the line of pride. This is the cross: one wills and the other rejects. - Cross – The Sign of Love: The cross movement that took place between the love of God and the wilful negligence of man is set right and modified. The cross movement is restored by Jesus. He balances both poles/beams by assuming into himself both the love for God and love for man. It is infact with the view of the cross that He, being God, has take the human form. Finally, on the cross and in the death, He brings down once again God’s love to man and man’s love to the fellow men. Thus, Jesus Christ becomes the personification of love and His Cross becomes the Sign of love. Suffering and sacrifice, then, become no more a condition of helplessness but a means of love. The man who has closed into himself has given the possibility of making again “Big U” turn which leads him towards God and towards his neighbor. Therefore, human life is re-empowered by the virtue of love. And man does not remain a mere creature but becomes a being of love. Readings: Indissoluble Unity between God’s love and Human love - Love of God is essential (first reading): The reading taken from the Book of Deuteronomy presents to us the Act of Faith of the people of Israel. God gives them the Ten Commandments through Moses. Moses once again proclaims to the people the essential element of their life: to love God. His words are very clear: “Listen, Israel: the Lord is our God, the Only Lord. You will love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength” (Dt 6:4-5). This is the primary and the only thing that every Israel has to do: loving the Lord, his God. - The question of the Scribe (the Gospel): The gospel presents to us one of scribes who comes to ask Jesus, “what is the first of all the commandments?”. This question becomes the starting point for the synthesis of while human existence. There can be many other complimentary quetions with this: what is the most important thing in life? What is the fundamental orientation of our words and actions? What is that which occupies our life most? Who is God and how much we allow him to act in our situations? How much space we leave for God in our hearts? What is driving force in our relationship with others? All these question arise from One Basic Question: what is priority of our life? With the posing of this question, the Scribe opens wide the whole question of our human life and love. His question is so effective that if one knows answer for this question, he can easily find answer for any other question. This is the first question that has to be asked and the last question that can be asked by anyone, anywhere and anytime. The whole human life depends on answering this question. If proper answer is found, human life finds its proper meaning and significance. Or else, it fails in its being human and becomes either inhuman or violent as animal life. The question is posed to the right person and Jesus answers to it in the only way possible: the way of love. Such a deep question and the answer that Jesus provides demand our attention today. - Love of God and Love of Neighbor (the Gospel): Jesus does not hesitate to give an answer to the Scribe. The question is about what is the first of all. Jesus replies immediately with what is first and what is second. He says that the first is to love God and the second is to love one’s neighbor. The attitude of Jesus is important and has to be comprehended well. He did not wait for the Scribe to ask what is the second of all the commandments. He did not even a gap and a brief lecture before proclaiming which is the second. He replies instantly with the love of God and love of neighbor. He never wanted to see the both commandments to be separated. Infact, for him there never exists any division between them. God’s love flows into human love and human love is perfected and fulfilled only in God’s love. He calls for the intimate relationship between the first and the second: between loving God and loving the fellow beings. - Indissolible Unity between the love God and love of neighbor: Jesus brings about this unity in two phrases. o First, he indicates the link between the Old and New Testaments. He answers not with something outside but with something that already exists in the Law that God, His Father, has given to the people of Israel. Jesus quotes the first commandment as it is (v. 29). He does not change even a single letter. It signifies that he has not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them (Math 5:17ff). He does not see the seperation between the Old Law and New Law. For him both are equally important because what is Old find its fulfillment in the New and what is New is already prefigured and preannounced in the Old. o Second, he links the love of God with the love of neighbor. He himself becomes the knot between the two movements of love. He is the Central Figure and the Synthesis in whom both the love of God and the love of man find their existence fully and perfectly. Infact, He is the Ultimate Testimony of this love. His love for God is so immence that He obeys him even to the death. His love for man is so great that He offers His Body and Blood on the cross. He was never for himself even for a single moment. He is always for the Father in the Spirit and for the world in the act of sanctification. His movement is always outwards. His life is always outreaching. Therefore, He manifests by his person and proclaims by his word that there is unseparable unity between the love of God and the love of neighbor. Conclusion: We are inside the kingdom of God if only we love - To Be in relation with God in prayer: We are invited first of all to be the testimonies of the contemplation. We need to recognize God’s presence within us. We need to profess our faith in Him with unconditional and uncompromised attitude. This is what the Scribe in the Gospel has done and the People of Israel are asked to testify. It is only by being with Jesus we can know where we are and what we are doing. It is only by an interaction with him that we enter into the deeper meaning of life. Prayer leads us to the faith and faith leads us to the knowledge and knowledge leads us to the love. Our christian joureny initiates with the prayer and ends with the love. - To Be in relation with the other in act: Our rapport with God in prayer and in faith guide us to the point of offering our entire existence for the well being of the other and for the meaninful development of the world. In prayer we raise our hands to God in praise and thanksgiving. In action we extend our hands to the needy. Love for God is expressed in our Charitable presence to the other. God’s love flows into us and through us to the others. We need to be mindful of this truth always. Like the scribe in the gosple we need to believe and affim the teaching of Jesus: You have said well, Master, and according to the truth – to love God and to love the neighbor surpass all other norms of life (v. 32ff). In prayer we go towards God and in act we go towards the other and thus it becomes a movement outwards: a gesture of love. - If we love we are not far away from the kingdom of God: We know what is love and we know how to love. Enough to see and meditate the Cross and the Eucharist and we understand the nature of love. We do not need any more philosophy, sociology, science, technology and even theology. We need only one thing to do: to open the closed doors of our life. Love is not just a feeling but a concrete act. We need to place our existence wide open before God and before the others and our love is manifested in the right manner. This is the love that Jesus is expecting us to live out. This is the love that Jesus is inviting us to pour out. If we have such love, which reaches outwards to God and to our fellow beings, then we are not away from reign of God. We need to hear those words from Jesus: you are not distant from the kingdom of God. We need to proclaim to the other the same words: you are not distant from my life. Are we ready to manifest such a profound love and thus become part of the Christ’s Banquet of love? Let us try to answer it before we receive him into our hearts.

THIRTIETH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

THIRTIETH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B: (Jer 31:7-9; Ps 125; Heb 5:1-6; Mark 10:46-52) Theme: We are the Community that makes possible interaction between God and man Reflection: We need to create a space of confidence towards Jesus - We are in the thirtieth Sunday of the year. It means that we are coming closer to the completion of the liturgical year of B. We have only four more weeks to go. In the context of these last days of the year, the Church invites us to recall all that God has done in the year that is moving backwards. The responsorial Psalm reminds it: The Lord has done great things for us (Ps 126:2). This is not only an affirmation of faith. But also it is an invitation to recapture and to summarize all the gifts, the marvels, and the great things that God has done in our daily life. We should not confuse with the ricapitulation of our whole walk thoughout the year. It is not that each Sunday God gives us a different gift and now we need to collect them into one basket. God’s highest gift for us is Jesus Christ who is always present with and in us through the Eucharistic Celebration. In fact, each Holy Mass is the mystery of Jesus in its entirely. We should not break it. But each Sunday the Church has been guiding us in our way towards our christian perfection unveiling to us step by step the characters of the Christ’s mystery. We need to thank God for this ultimate gift of His Son. We need to gather together all the amazing works of God in our life. This Sunday calls us for this task. In order to collect and recollect them, in mind and heart, we need to create a space: space for the mystery of Jesus. - An attitude of seeing God’s work in us: What do we do by creating a space for the mystery of Jesus? And why do we have a need of a space at all? An answer for these questions is this: God, who is naturally good, merciful and loving, does act within us and in our lives but we need to observe and accept them as His. God’s marvellous works may not be always in the great manifestations. God operates even with the slightest and minute ways. We often fail to see his presence with us. We often ignore that good that happens to us. We often wait for the great things that radically and suddendly happen in our life. We often expect that God has to hold us directly with our hand and guide us. This is our human expectation. We manifest often our blindness in watching the deeds of God. It is understandable. But God acts as he wills and where he will and how he wills. He does everything in his manner. We need to see them. We need to embrace them with great faith. We need to accept them as his gifts. This is what God wants from us. His gifts cannot be ignored and rejected by us. He wants that we have the eyes to see and a good sight to observe them. How can we see them? We can see them only when we create a space for God. We need to reflect on every moment of our life. We need to imbibe an attitude of attention to what God is accomplishing in and through us. We need to come out of our blindedness. We need to open wide our eyes of trust. - The blind man of Gospel is our strength and example: The attitude of blind man is in creating a space for Jesus. This is what is asked of the disciples and of us by Jesus. Today’s Gospel passage builds the bridge between the last Sunday’s message and today’s. In the last Sunday we have see Jesus posing them a question: what is you want from me? And the two sons of Zabadee ask Jesus to grant them two posts in his kingdom, one at right and one at left (Mark 10:35-38). The similar question is posed by Jesus to the blind man: what to do you want from me? His request is for the restoration of the sight. We can note well that the question of Jesus is same always but only the attitude of various people is different: disciples ask for the important posts and the blind man for the well being. What is the difference between them? What made them to act with different manner? The difference lies in creating a space for Jesus: space of trust and space of grace. The disciples creating a space for themselves. In stead, the blind man creating a space for Jesus. We need to ask Jesus for this: “so that I may see, Lord” (Gospel). Seeing means creating a space for the interaction with the Lord. Seeing means manifesting a total trust in his work. Seeing means embracing the salvation that Jesus offers for us. The blind man of the Gospel has done it and he is encouraging us to do the same: to create a space so that Jesus saves us. Readings: Jesus’ act of salvation is manifested in the integral healing of man - A journey from the Desert to the Rivers of water (first reading): In the first reading we come across the story of the people of Israel who were under the slavery and their journey into the land of freedom and life. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of the people of different situations: people who are blind, limp, who are with the sufferings and with the lamentations. He speaks of the salvation of these people: God leads them again from the land of exile to the rivers of water. They were in the cry but are guided to the consolation (Jer 31:9). They were in the deportation of Babylon and now they are in their return to Jerusalem. The salvation that God brings is the integral well being of man. Man is whole only when he enjoys the freedom of bieng God’s children. God, by delivering them from the slavery of sin and suffering, brings them into the dignity of liberation: He restores to them the true image of His children. Therefore, this is the pasqual journey of the people of Israel. It is the journey of grace because God, as the merciful and kind Father, listens to their cry for help. It is the journey of grace because God, in his loving initiative, brings them from the land of perdition and disperation to the land of joy and peace. God restores their life in its integrity and this is the salvation that God offers to man. The similar instance happens in the Gospel. - A movement from the physical blindness to the spiritual interaction with Jesus: Gospel presents to us an interaction between two persons. It is a meeting of two hearts. It is a movement of two lives. There is a reciprocal movement: not one way but double way. From the human point of view, there is a blind man who first of listens to the passage of Jesus and shouts for help: he comes to know that Jesus is passing by; does not waste even a single moment; does not feel ashamed either because of public or because of his condition; but comes forward crying out to Jesus to come and do something for him; this movement of his shows an immense and unwavering confidence in Jesus. From the divine point of view, there is Jesus who moves his heart towards the blind man: Jesus stops, asks him to come closer, finds out what he wants from him and finally gives back the sight, this movement of Jesus shows an immense and never deteriorating love towards the human need. With this reciprocal movement the miracle happens. Miracle is not possible only with one sided action. Prior action has to be interacted with the necessary response. Only then something unusual and extraordinary takes place. This is manifested in the healing of the blind man by Jesus. If the blind man was not to recognize who Jesus was and was not in the position to call upon him for the help, the situation would have been different. If Jesus was not to be attentive to the cries of the blindman, the healing would have been difficult. The movement from the both sides made possible an interaction between them. And this interaction between the need of man and the attention of Jesus made possible a miracle. Finally, everything is restored: blind man started seeing again. He makes a movement from the physical blindness tot he spiritual interaction with Jesus. - The salvation of Jesus is the integral restoration of man: With the miraculous healing of blind man Jesus proposes what kind of salvation he has come to bring. He came to restore man to the image and likness of God: this is the only salvation he intends. Man has lost his image because of the physical disabilities and also because of the spiritual failures. Jesus’ mission is call man back to the integrity, totality and wholeness. Jesus himself has revealed this in his words and deeds and all the healing acts are the manifestation of the design of salvation. In reality, his evangelizing action consists in the intense process he initiates for the individual healing and social healing and he infact reveals it that he “came to seek and save the lost” (Lk 19:10). His message to his predecessor John the Baptist is the same message of bringing man to the total healing: “Go and refer to John all that you have heard and have seen: the blind have received the sight, the limp walk, the lepers are healed, the deaf are able to listen, the dead rise again, to the poor the good news is preached” (Math 11:4-5). There are many other innumerous references in which the salvation of Jesus is manifested in the physical healing and spiritual restoration of man. Even Peter proclaims that Jesus has healed and saved all those who are under the power of the devil (Act 10:38). In all these one element is evident: that Jesus has come to save man and his saving action is first of all for the restoration of man to his totality of being God’s child. Conclusion: Our proclamation to the world: “Do not be afraid! Get up! He is calling you!” - We need to guide the discouraged and disperate to Jesus: we have seen that Jesus has come to heal the man and to offer him the totality of salvation. It is Jesus’ mission. His mission is always through the various means he choses. He selects his disciples to be the mediators between Him and the world. It is crystal clear in today’s Gospel. If we summarize the whole context it is understood well. There are three important personalities in the gospel account: o First, the blind man: he realizes the passage of Jesus; acknowledges the power of his presence; expresses his need of being healed of his blindeness. o Second, Jesus: he listens to the voice of the needy blind man; he understands that his request is sincere and true; he accepts the space of trust he has created for him; he finds out what he wants from him; finally he heals him as he has desired. o Both the story is not over with this. Jesus would have done it personally without any others medium of help. But Jesus desires that there is someone in the middle. He himself creates a need for the mediator: because he knows the role of mediator well since he himself is the mediator between God and man. Thus, he brings into the scene the third personality: the role of the disciples. He sends his disciples to call him. The disciples have brought the blind man to Jesus. o Third, the apostles: therefore, we see the role of the apostles now. The words they utter are very meaningful and encouraging. They say to the blind man: Do not be afraid! Get up! He calls you! (Gospel). The interaction between the blind man and Jesus, which could have well been private and individual, takes place infact with the mediation of the apostle. This is the will of Jesus for the apostles: he wills that his followers have to be the mediators between the needy of the world and the salvation of God. o Now, we are the followers of Jesus. We need to be a community which brings each needy faithful to the presence of Jesus. We need to repeat the beautiful words of the apostles in today’s gospel. Jesus wants us to be the mediators between Him and the world. We need to proclaim to man who is desperate and discouraged: O you! Who is in need of restoration! Do not worry about your life! There is one who takes care of you! There is one who loves you! There is one who always calls you to his side! It is Jesus. Courage! Come, for he is constantly calling you! o How often we repeat these words to those who are in need? How often we manifest ourselves as the community that makes possible an interaction between the world and God? How after we are ready to carry the cries of pain, burdens of the suffering of our fellow brethern to Jesus taking the place of his mediators? Let us learn to the community which carries the need of others to Jesus and which fetches to them the grace of Jesus. In a word, let us learn to the place of interaction between Jesus and our fellow being. - Complete trust in Jesus makes us his disciples: Like the blind man in the Gospel, we need to get back our sight: we need to get back our life in him. Often we are floating on the passing waters of the worldly powers and desires. Often we lose our trust in him because of the science and technology which questions the reality of God and which creates in us, thus, the doubts of faith. Often we express our infidelty to Jesus because of constant struggles of life. Amidst all these situations, we are given today an example of renewing our trust in Jesus: the example of the blindman. The true and authentic disciples is the one who proclaims his proper faith and gives the testimony to it with the life. This is the mission that each of us, every christian, is entrusted by the Church: to help others and to bring them near to Jesus. Such is the mission of the Church: she participates in the joys and in the hopes, in the anguishes and in the sorrowfulness of the men; she takes the side of every man and every woman, every place and every time; she carries a good news to them. Let us be a Church of similar attitude: let us be the mediators of God’s grace to the world. Eucharistic celebration is the moment of interaction between Jesus and us: God invites us to his presence, throws on us the light of the Word, feeds us with the life of the Bread, and finally restores to us the integrity of being.

TWENTY NINTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

TWENTY NINTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B: (Is 53:10-11; Heb 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45) Theme: We, Christians, have to dominate the world with the service, not with the authority Reflection: True wisdom is to make ourselves least and servants of all - We are to be wise. We are to be in the school of Jesus. We need to sell everything away inorder to accumulate treasures in heaven. We need to choose Jesus in order to inherit the eternal life. Only Jesus can give the ultimate sense and destiny to our life. In front of true wisdom, wisdom which comes from the Word of God, Jesus, everything else values nothing. This is the message of the last Sunday. This Sunday the readings demonstrate what is the purpose of gaining this wisdom. Wisdom is never for one’s own profit and one’s own growth alone. It is to be at the service of all. If we are truly wise we are to place ourselves available for others. This reveals that the wisdom is not just having the knowledge of the life but it is a task to make ourselves last of all and if needed servant of all. Being wise means to fatigue for others. Being wise means to face the risk for the good of others. Being wise means to endure sufferings and insults for the well being of others. If we put it in one phrase: being wise means to carry our daily cross as the faithful servants. The true wisdom, thus, cannot be reduced only to the feelings of emotions and sentiments and to the superficial manifestation of our availability to others. It is, thus again, to place ourselves completely at the service of others, even to the point of losing our life. - Perennial desire of man is to dominate others: The reality of the world is obvious. The desire of man is to be above all. Human apsiration is to dominate the world and therefore, others. Man aspires for the importance in the community. He strive always for the recognition in the society. He wants that all look at him and all feel his presence. It is the common desire of man. It already came into the world in the beginning of creation of man in freedom and in dignity. First man, in his freedom opted to be like God and thus entered the aspirations to be above all and to dominate everything. In fact, it is the human dignity to grow day by day and to become capable of ruling the world. Jesus also reminds us this in today’s gospel: those who are considered to be the rulers of the nations, dominate them and the leaders oppress the people (Mark 10). Jesus presents the situation of the nations and the attitude of their leaders. He shows that they aspire for power and authority and once they sit on the chair they show their domination, not their service. Indeed, this kind of power and domination destroy the dignity of man. Each man is naturally given the dignity of freedom and good life. Man is never created to be slave. Man is never created to be dominated. Man is never created to be controlled. He is created to live happy with all human equality and justice. But the reality has been changed. Man has become arrogant and selfish. Man has reached to the state of accumulating everything for himself. He has learnt an attitude of using other for his self glory and self growth. In the context of this domination Jesus present to us, to the world, an attitude of service and losing ourselves for the well bieng of others. - We are to be on the contrary to the world: We are not to be floated away with the waves of the world’s aspirations. We are not to become fry to the false images that the world present to us. We are not to become slaves to the misconceptions and temporary ideologies of the world. Jesus calls us back. Jesus asks us to stop. Jesus invites us to swim opposite to these waves. It is difficult task to counter the challenges of the world. Yet, it is not impossible. Jesus himself shows us how. He makes himself a servant and last of all. With the attitude of service and with the readiness to offer his life, He becomes both victorious and model for us. With the incarnation He allowed himself to be a man. With the passion and death He allowed himself to be a servant. He fought against the passions of the world. He battled against the aspirations of the flesh. His war was until offering his life on the cross and until to the death on it. He never gave up being a true man, who always stands above all these false ideologies of power, domination and authority. A single fine example for us is his victory over the temptations of Satan in the desert after his forty days of prayer (Math 4:1ff). He did not give up for the false hunger, hunger of the body. He did not fall fry to the false prestige of power. He did not become slave to the self glory and dominion. In all these, he has become both victorious and exemplary for us. We are called to do the same. We are to travel against the passings passions of the world. We have to respond to the world, as christians, not with tit for tat, not with the eye for eye, not with the ear for ear, not with the word for word and not even with the sword for sword. Our only instrument of winning the world is the service. Jesus encourages us little more with the light of today’s readings. Readings: To drink the chalice of Jesus means – carrying the cross of service - Suffering servant of Yahweh (first reading): The text of the first reading, from the book of prophet Isaiah, presents us the figure of the “servant of Yahweh”, the servant of God, the innocent just, who burdens himself with the iniquities of the men (Is 53:4). He suffers and give the life for the salvation of all. This suffering servant is rappresented in Jesus: because it is Jesus who is the true “servant of God”. He is the ture “lamb of God” (John 1:29)who takes on himself the sin of the world for our salvation. It is Christ, as it is reminded in the second reaidng, who is the high priest and who offers himself for the redemption of all. By making this offering of himself, as he himself is both God and man, he is “the only mediator between God and men” (1 Timothy 2:5). St. Leo the Great, the Pope, in the Fifth Century, comments on this and states that “it was convenient that Christ, ‘the power of God and the wisdom of God’ (1 Cor 1:24), to be born in such a way to bring himself to our level through his human nautre and to be infinitely superior to us through his divinity. In fact, if he were not true God, he would not have brought us the salvation, and if he were not true man, he would not have given us the example” (Leo the Great, The discourse 1 for the Nativity of the Lord). - He is like us in all things except in sin (second reading): Suffering servant of Isaiah is the prefiguration of Jesus Christ. He is the servant who in His death and resurrection, offers himself as the sacrifice of reparation. In being such a servant he opens the way of the hope, sign and manifestation of love of God. This is the truth that is proclaimed by the second reading of today. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews hold that “Jesus, the Son of God (…) was himself put to the test in every thing like us, excluding the sin”. In the same way, the author invites us to maintain the confessin of faith exhorting us to come to the grace and to receive the mercy so that in the given moment we can resist what is not good (second reading). - Among you it should not be like this (Gospel): In the gospel, Jesus proposes the new mode of understanding the power and position in the society. James and Jacob wanted to get the good positions in the kingdom that Jesus is going to establish. In deed, they were not knowing exactly what they are asking for. In reality, they were not in the capability of understanding the track of Jesus. In fact, they could not but think in the terms of power and authority whatever that Jesus was doing. Jesus knows that they were not not in anyway different from others. Jesus undersands that they did not learn even a single attitude from his teachings and miracles. Jesus takes the question of the two disciples as an occasion to give a response not only to both of them, or to the twelve of the his apostles, but to everyone who accepts to follow him. He responds not only to them but to the perennial aspiration man: a never ending desire of man for power and prestigious post in the society. As all aspire, the two apostles also have aspired. It is not a particular thing. But Jesus’ answer stands out to be special and particular. He tells them: “But among you it is not like that; who wants to become great among you shall be your servant, and who wants to be the first among you shall be a slave of all. Even the Son of Man infact did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life in ransom for many” (gospel). Jesus makes it clear that the world may have its ways and its aspirations, but his followers should learn an exactly opposite attitude. - Radical Discipleship: Jesus does not want that his followers misunderstand his teaching. He makes it utterly clear by degrading himself to the utmost level of stewardship in washing the feet of his disciples. It is only in that moment he gives an ever living example of being servant. He transforms his words into action at the Last Supper. It is here that he commands them to learn from him: the attitude of service. It is here that he makes it clear that drinking in his chalice is to participate in his redemptive action: becoming servants and to pour out one’s life for others. Jesus asks the disciples to drink from his chalice and with that he invites them to take up the cross of service and self-sacrifice. This is the radical discipleship that Jesus proposes. His disciples cannot be but like him in everything. For this Jesus himself is the ultimate example: He is the Promised Messiah who has fought and won the temptions of the political messiahship who is characterized by the dominion over the nations (Math 4:8-11; Luke 4:5-8). He is the Son of Man who has come to serve and to give his life (Mark 10:45; Math 20:24-28; Luke 22:24-27). He is the one who teaches and makes himself last and servant of all (Mark 9:33-35; 10:35-40; Math 20:20-23). The only way for us is the Way of Jesus. Conclusion: Christian Vocation – to serve all and to give life for others - We have to dominate the world but only with the service: The teaching of Jesus is clear for us. We want to be first, great and masters. Jesus is willing us to be last, small and servants. The choice is before us. The decision is in our hands. What are we to prefer? We prefer to be as we aspire or we prefer to be as Jesus wants? What do we make of ourselves: disciples of Jesus or friends of the world? Jesus only invites and questions. The answer is always in, with and by us. Not that we do not excercise the power and authority. We can and we have to. But in the way that Jesus shows us. We need to do everything with the service-mindedness. In the family for example: we need to know how to work for the members of the family. We need to know to listen to all, to be available for all, to renounce and give up if needed our idea so that others may have the chance of expressing themselves. It is in respecting and safeguarding the rights of others that the attitude of service lies. In the place work, for example: we need to be little charitable. We need to know doing everything for the good of others. There will be sometimes competition. There will be sometimes incomprehension. There will be sometimes play of prestige and authority. There will be sometimes the persons who create unnecessary and untimely damages. Inspite of these, we need to be service-minded. It is in giving preference to the common good that the Christian attitude of chairty lies. In a word, we need to pour out our time, our physical and mental energies, our presence and our personal requirements, for the good of others and for the well-being of all those who are around us. - Christian language of service is the Cross of offering and suffering: Jesus, through the proclamation of today’s gospel, shows us that the unique and the only walk we make towards our eternal bliss is to go after him with the cross on our shoulders. He asks us whether we are capable of drinking his chalice and sharing his cross with hm. The chalice may be bitter but he drank it before us and by drinking it himself he makes it drinkable. The cross may be heavier but he carried it before us and by taking it upon himself he makes its light. Even in their failure to understand everything that Jesus asks, the disciples answered immediately and with one voice: yes, we will drink (gospel). Cross is made the sign of service and love. For few it may be stumbling block. For few it may be the foolishness. For few it may be the weakness and helplessness. But for us, it is the language of love: love to offer oneself and love to suffer for others. It is this chalice of service we need to fill our life. It is this cross of suffering we need to bear on our hearts. The Eucharistic celebration and our participation in it invites us to transform ourselves in to the chalice and cross for the glory of God and for the well-being of our community. Are we ready for this challenging demand? Are we ready to take up this responsiblity? Are we ready to become his true and authentic disciples? We need to answer before we come for the consumation of His Body and His Blood in the Holy Communion. Let us prepare ourselves for the worthy reception of the Chalice and Cross.

TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B: (Wisdom 7:7-11; Heb 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30) Theme: We are invited to make our passage towards the True Wisdom Reflection: Orientation of human life – walking towards betterment - Human life moves forward and upward: God is love and he has ordained humanity to live in this project of life. Man and woman share in the creation and generation of new creatures with and within the bond of marital and family love. All others forms of love, described and defined with the haman relationships, flow from this mutual love which has its origin in God. We are called to create the community of love. This is the message that the Church has given us on the last Sunday. Today, the same liturgy of the Church is inviting us, through its reaidngs and proclamation, to make our way towards the Wisdom. In fact, human life is not to be stopped. It is a continuing process. It walks towards its day by day development. It looks for betterment every day. If human life stops its walk towards its wise future it becomes ruined and contaminated with the filth of false images and damaging ideologies. Human being is given life, divine life. He has filled with the divine breath. He is created to be with the divine being. His life is always in and for God. This is his destiny. Each individual in the world has to arrive at this destiny: to participate in the divine life. In the words of today’s gospel: to inherit eternal life. Man is not destined to turn back to his worldly and material life. He moves forward with the hope and upward with the grace. - Passage is unconditional: this movement of man, this passage of man is compulsary. There is no othe way for the human life. If it misses this passage it loses its significance itself. In fact, every liturgical celebration reminds us of this passage. Every Eucharistic feast guides us into the path that Jesus himself made. Jesus has made his journey/passage from this world to the Father and from the darkness of death to the light of life. The whole mystery of Jesus is consisted in this pasqua of Jesus, passage of Jesus. When we celebrate the mystery of Christ’s life, death and resurrection in the faithful celebrations, we participate in the life of Jesus himself. This participation in Jesus makes us to continue our journey with him. The nature of the river water is to be always in running. Other wise it gets contaminated and stagnant. So also the human life. Human life is made for the passage towards its destiny. If it stops this movement it becomes filthy and useless. Therefore, the passage is necessary. - Daily battle is needed for the authentic life: Every day offers us the package of joy and package of sorrow. We meet both the moments: that of tremendous hope and that of unavoidable conflict. It is the human battle. It is everyday war. Battle between what we are and what we have. War between our internal desires and our external incapacities. We are faced with the conflict and complex situations of life. It is our daily experience. First question that arises from this constant struggle of life is this: what to do? What more can I do? We all know what happens in life. There is uncertainty: we cannot give guarantee for anything. There is limitation to our decisions: our liberty is curtailed by the various conditions, like family, friends, relations, faith and so on. There is an attachment to the material and perishing goods: we are filled with the innumerous desires, for power, for riches, for health, for beauty and so on. We are conscious of our incapacities. But we never give up. We want to move ahead. We want to fight. We want to battle with the life. We search for an answer for the question. What I can do to have a peaceful life? But the answer demands more requirements. Human formation, personal maturity, conviction of both material and spiritual values, knowledge of the reality and finally the authentic conscience are the requirements. Only when we possess these qualities we can arrive at the genuine answer for the internal happiness. This is called the prudence and wisdom. It is called the wisdom of the heart. It enables us to avoid unnecessary and unreachable wants of life and empowers us to walk towards our betterment with and within the possibilities we have. Readings: An invitation to prefer the life than the material possessions - To be wise means to be in the school of Jesus: Wisdom is the gift of the Spirit and thus it has divine origin and divine destiny. Therefore, it has also divine purpose. Man is given this gift so that he walks towards the divine destiny he has offered. As the wisdom filled beings we are called to place ourselves in the school of Jesus and in the path of Jesus. He makes us wise. His teaching gives us illumination. His presence gives us prudence. His power makes us divine. He is the answer for our life. He is the destiny of our life. Yes, indeed, man is given the material goods so that he becomes better being for God. But what happnes now is that man is controlled by them. Jesus admonishes: man may win whole world/ all the material goods possible in the world; but if he loses his soul what can he gain by them (Math 16:26). He is highest Good possible. We are called to follow him. Our wisdom consists in this: it is He whom we have to desire more, look for more and love more. In him we have abundant riches: riches of eternal life. It is for this purpose Jesus invites us to leave and sell out everything we have so that we have a space for him and place for his action. All the reaidngs and in particular the gospel stand as the ultimate example for this. - Material goods are nothing infront of the Wisdom (first reading): we have beautiful prayer of the author of the Book of Wisdom. He prays not for any worldly possessions but for the wisdom. He considers everything that of the world as vanity before the wisdom he finds and embraces. Spirit of wisdom values more than anything else for him. He prefers for it instead of choosing crowns and thrones and for him riches are nothing (v.8). Even the gold and argent cannot be compared with it because before the power of wisdom they are just like sand in the seashore (v. 9). Wisdom is loved more than the health and beauty (v. 10). When it is there, everything will come along with her (v. 11). It is the same teaching that Jesus proposes with regard to the kingdom of heaven. He calls his disciples and his people to vote for the kingdom rather than the worldly wealth. His invitation is clear: you seek first the kingdom of God and all other things will be given to you (Math 6:31-33). In fact, in the Old Testament itself we have a beautiful example for this: King Solomon has asked for the wisdom and God gives him even the riches. There are various references in the bible: “where there is the treasure, there is your heart” (Luke 12:34); the attachment to the wealth is the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10); we have not brought nothing into the world and we will not carry with us anything (1 Tim 6:7-8); and “the end of all things is near, therefore, be moderate and alert to dedicate youself to the prayer” (1 Pet 4:7). In fact, In the Christian proclamation wisdom has the first place and the material goods come only after her. - First thing – follow the commandments (Gospel): Gospel is very inspiring. It illuminates our mode of chosing. It guides our minds and hearts to make right choice. The Letter to the Hebrews brings to our knowledge the power of the Word of God. It reaches to the depth of our hearts. It makes us kill what is bad and futile in the soul. It enables us to fill our life with the presence of the wisdom. It is for this purpose called as the “double-edged sword” (Heb 4:12 – second reading). In the gospel we find a young man coming to Jesus. The dialogue between Jesus and young man looks very usual but takes us to the extraordinary and challenging demand of life. Young man has come to Jesus with a question: what I have to do in order to gain the eternal life? Jesus starts with the common teaching and answers him to follow the commandments. “Oh! That’s all. That is very simple. That I know and I am already observing them from my childhood” is the counter of the young man. The quest of young man can be considered here. He knows that it is not enough. He is aware that what he is doing is just peripherial and external. He is also conscious that there is something else and something more to do. That’s what is expressed in his next question: what more I need to do to inherit the eternal life? - Just one more thing is needed – go, sell, give to the poor and come and follow me (Gospel continued): with the second question, the yound man is coming to the right path. He is moving towards the authentic search. He is making his passage towards the wisdom. Jesus finds this spark of desire in him. Rays of mercy overflowed in his eyes. He fixes his sight on him. He loves him so much. He wants that this young man truly enters into life that endures for ever. This time his words are little more kind: just one thing is missing. This time his invitation is radical: go home, sell all that you possess, give it to the poor, come and follow me and you will have a treasure in heaven. No more external performances. There is a need for internal conversion. There is a demand for the total change of mind and heart. With lot of joy Jesus must have expected that this young man does as he has indicated. In fact, Jesus desired for the return of this man to the possession of the eternal bliss. But the young man goes back with gloomy face and sorrowful mind. He could not accept the invitation of Jesus because it more demanding. It asks for total renouncement of his riches. It asks for total abandonment of self. He came with lot of desire to gain the eternal life but went out with lot of discouragement. He thought Jesus would ask for something else than his riches. He was also ready to give up anything except his possessions. Finally, he proved himself to be the salve of what he has. Finally, he opted for ignorance and wealth than the wisdom and heavenly treasure. Jesus continues his teaching. He asks for the total foregoing of all that one has and one possess in order to enter into His kingdom. Young man has lost forever the opportunity for eternal life because he is intimately attached to the world and its pleasures. Conclusion: A call to imbibe the attitude of prudence and wisdom - Often we resemble the young rich man: Like the rich young man in the gospel, we often satisfy ourselves with the minimum we do. We are often content with our external performances of faith. We come to the church. We participate in the mass. We offer prayers. We recite rosary. We make pilgrimages. And we think that we have fulfilled our obligations. And we feel that we have observed the commandments. Yes. With this we remain mere pious christians. We have to move ahead. Pious practices are not enough. We need to make a radical choice for the wisdom. We need to enter into the depths of Jesus’ invitation. Jesus wants our whole life. He is not satisfied with the lips with which we pray. He is not content with the hands that we extend to help others. He desires more from us. He wants little more from us. He wants our heart and our soul. He fixes his king look upon us and calls us to the profound and radical giving up everything for His sake and for the cause of his Gospel. Are we ready to do as Jesus is asking us or we just imitate the rich young man and remain unmoved. We become stagnant and tastless. Our life is full of worldy pleasures which pass away soon and we are just useless as the first reading reminds us. We are not aware of what we are losing: we are losing eternal life and heavenly treasure. Rich man went away sad. If we do not make any movement towards Jesus we also walk out of the Church unsatisfied and with the gloomy faces. - Jesus is the Precious Pearl: In the world that is changing rapdily it is hard to understand and digest the values that Jesus proposes. Man claims that God himself placed the whole creation in his hands. Modern man thinks that he can do anything with the goods around him. Fine. He is the master of the material things. It is plan of God. God from the beginning of the creation ordered and ordained man to make use the things and thus carry on the project of generation. The ordine of God is neglected. Man, who supposed to be the master, has become the slave of the world. He has fallen in the trap of worldly desire. He is controlled by pleasures and attractions of the material life. He has forgotten that the world around him is the providence of God and not his merit. God did not want this. The truth is something else: the things of the world are temporary and passing. Man may claim for the power and authority but how long he can exercise it. Certainly not for ever. Even in his life itself he becomes servant for others and other realities. Man may claim for the riches and wealth and he may work hard for accumulating them. But how long he can enjoy these possessions. Certianly not for ever. He has to leave them to somebody else and go away. Man may claim for the beauty and health and he spends hours together to gain and maintain it. But how long? He soon meets the sickness and death. Everything that man possesses, thus, has the limited time value. Not that man does not need worldly things. He needs indeed as long as he is in the world. Jesus does not condemn having the material goods. He condemns only man’s attachment to them. He condemns the man who is becoming slave to these riches. We invites us not to put our trust in these passing pleasures. Instead, he is calling us to follow him. Yes, Jesus is the heavenly treasure and eternal life. - Our immediate mission is to make the passage towards Jesus: we are never expected to be the same. If we are today as same as yesterday, what is the use. If we come to the church and return to our homes without carrying the word of God, without learning something more from the gospel, what is the spiritual growth we make. If we remain with the same gloomy face and heavy heart even after listening to the wisdom of God, what we can gain. We need to do something more. We need to better ourselves. Our present should travel towards the future, not backwards to the past. Our faith has to grow day by day by words and by deeds. We need to become better Christians. This is the passage we are asked to make. We move closer and closer to Jesus so that we move distant and distant from our earthly attachments. With this we inherit the eternal life. With this, however, we gain the tremedous peace of mind and heart in this life itself as Jesus promises to Peter in the gospel. We need to treat what we have only as the providence of God and offer it to the growth of kingdom of God. Infact, Jesus is not asking the young rich man to go to the school of philosopy and theology and he is not asking him to frequent the library to acquire the knowledge of the eternal life. He invites him to choose him: “follow me” (Mark 10:21). He is the Wisdom of God whom man has to value more than any earthly riches. He is the Word of God whom man has to listen and follow more than any earthly knowledge. He is the Treasure of Heaven and He is the Eternal Life. Therefore, today we need to move towards Him. We need to enter into his circle. We need to follow him with a radical change of heart. We need to make our passage towards our betterment by travelling towards True Wisdom: Jesus Christ.

TWENTY SEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

TWENTY SEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B: (Gen 2:18-24; Heb 2:9-11; Mark 10:2-16) Theme: We are the visible signs of God’s love in the world Reflection: God is the Fountain of Love - Today the church asks us to continue the message of the last Sunday. Last Sunday we have reflected on the creation of the community by embracing and including all. Today, through the readings we are given a teaching radically profound. We need to be the visible signs and effective means of God’s love in the world and for the world. Love is the word often named and utilized in this contemporary world. Man thinks that he can intepret the significance of love in the fruitful manner with his sociological, philosophical and theological terminology. Love, though seems to be very easy to comprehend and to live, is very much demanding and challenging. Love is nothing but participating in the divinity of life. - No human logic can explain the true love: Human logic succeeds to solve many of the human situations and complex conditions of everyday life. However, when it comes to the authentic love, it has its short comings. It fails us to enter into the true significance of love. As a consequence, man falls into frustration and selfishness and finally form and reforms love as he wants. The final result will be that love looses its flavor of divinity. Love is not a human creation but has entered into human life. This is divine plan. Therefore, when we talk of love, our starting point should never be a man or the world but God. - God is the fountain of love: love has its origin and its content and its destiny only in God. He is the form of love and he is love. Scriptures reveal to us this truth. “God is love and he who loves God is in him and he is in God” (1 John 4:8). Even prior to the creation of man there is present the sphere of love. Therefore, we cannot start from our mind set the topic of love. We need to go to the roots. We need to sit at the fountain. We need to stand on the basement. The root, the fountain and the basement of love is none other than God. God is love and love is God. Love cannot be single. It is in the sharing. God himself is not alone and not single. He is the community: community of love. - Trinity – The Only Author of Love: Our God, Christian God is not a single God. If he is single then there is no place for love. Love cannot exist in itself. It exists for others and in others and in the reciprocal donation between the persons. If God has to be love, he has to be more than one person. Only then love can make its natural passage from one to the other. Christian God, by revealing himself as love, reveals that he is the community of three persons: the Father, the Son and the Spirit. He exists as the Trinity and thus as the community of love. He lives in love and love is the substance of his community life. Other than this, it is difficult to comprehend love. Love of the Father flows to the Son in the total self-donation because he does not retain for himself anything but gives everything to the Son. Love of the Son is revealed in his ultimate obedience and union to the Father in the act of total surrender and self-offering as Christ and as Jesus. The reciprocal flow of love between the Father and the Son happens and takes place in the Spirit. With this mysterious sharing of unconditional self-donation of each other persons of the Trinity, the true love is manifested. Triune God becomes the content and container of love. Thus, he is the author of love. No other love which does not connect it to this love can exist as true love. - Divine love in the human vessel: The Triune God has willed to share his love not only within himself but with reality outside himself. He created for himself a companion, human companion, an image and likeness of himself. With this act of creation, already the essence of divine love has flown into the human sphere. God did not keep for himself the nature of love. He wanted to extend his community of love. He extended it through the creation of the world and in particular with the creation of man and woman, the first ever human community of love. Readings: God has a project of love for humanity - God has created man and woman in the image of love (first reading): God is Trinity and thus a community of love. When such God created man, he has created him in his image and likeness, that means, he created him in love and for love. Thus, the first thought of God in the creation of man is that of giving man a concrete possibility for loving. The Book of Genesis emphasizes this truth. God is a community of three persons in love. Man cannot be single if he is created in love and for love. In this context God thought of creating already a human community. We can note it well in the account of first reading: “it is not good for man to be alone … I will create for him a helper who can be always for him” as the words expressed in the Gen 2:18. God has created for him a mate, a soul mate, a companion who can give him utmost love. Man could not find a partner in any of the creatures. But when he saw the woman, he is immediately connected to her. It is the nature of love. Man with the highest degree of joy exclaims: “she is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” and they do not exist anymore as two but become one flesh and one spirit. That is the nature of love. In love one finds his soul companion as in God himself three persons live as the soul companions. Already in the creation, by creating man and woman, God has a project of love for humanity. Man finds the woman but woman is not created by him. It is the plan and design of God who is love. God created two, man and woman, with the different features and with the different characters but they are always united in the essence of love. It is same as the Trinity: three persons are different but are united very intimately with the bond of love. It reveals that love is never man’s creation but God’s plan. In spite of the physical and mental differences, God knotted as one flesh and one spirit both man and woman. It is the work of love. - Jesus affirms that God never wants division and divorce but life of love (Gospel): God has inserted his project of love into humanity in the creation. It is God who unites both of them. They are similar but not equal. If they consider their essence and existence in their human logic they can never stay together because of the various differences. But it is God who unites them. He has already united them in the bond of His Love, not their love. His love can surpass all the logical explanation of man. Jesus explains this truth in his confrontation with the Pharisees. First of all, he understand that they have come, not in order to know God’s plan for man and woman, but to trap him with the law. Jesus answers them with the same law telling that Moses has allowed for the divorce between the married couple only because of their hardheartedness. Jesus goes little ahead, in fact, he goes to the origins and to the roots of this marital love. He recalls the project of God, not as the imposition of the law but as the commitment of love. He says that God’s plan from the beginning is not to separate man and woman and their love but to perfect them in their mutual donation of the self. They are never two after their matrimonial bond but they become one. The man and woman are inserted from the beginning into the project of love. The love between the community of Triune God has generated the humanity. So also, the love between man and woman has to generate another creature. In love and only in love, man and woman can become authentic collaborators of God and they partake in the power of creation. - Love between man and woman is the archetype and highest example: it is manifested in the creation of God and also in the proclamation of Jesus that love bond between man and woman is the primary fruit of the Trinitarian love. It is this truth that makes the matrimony and family life as the archetype of love and model for all other types of love. Love is expressed in different ways: love for the country, love for the profession, love for work, love between the friends, between the parents and children, among the children and among the relatives, love for the neighbor and love for God (Benedict XVI, Encyclical Deus Caritas est, 2). In all this multiplicity of meanings, the love between man and woman, in the matrimonial bond, emerges as the love par excellence. After the love between the persons of Godhead, the next possible true love is that of between man and woman because it is the intention and act of God himself. God is the creator and man and woman in love become the co-creators with God. This truth should never be underestimated and overlooked. - Beauty of love is present only the matrimonial bond between man and woman: love is holy and love is sacred. It passes though the human body when man and woman commit themselves for the authentic act of love. Love reveals the beauty of human relationship. It makes possible the discovery of the other in the joy of shared love. In the egoism the doors are closed for the others and walls are build to hinder the relationship. But in love, closed doors are broken, hearts are opened and mutual self-giving is made possible. Love is the only answer for the egoistic attitude. Love gives itself. Love is not possessive and obsessive but it the gift of total self. It is in this love that the other person appears as the image of God and as the fruit of God’s love. When this divine love is found and embraced the human relationships become beautiful and even human life becomes beautiful. For all this, the fountain is the love of the matrimony and family. It is from this that the holiness of love flows to the society and to the world in large. Conclusion: We are the visible and effective signs of God’s love - The church admonishes about the reality of marriage and family: the designs of God’s love is revealed to the humanity in the mystery of Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God descended into the world. In His immense love God has united himself to the humanity. Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, has assumed the human form and human flesh in the mystery of Incarnation. In other words, God has entered into the bond of love with the humanity. God has taken to himself and for himself humanity in the person and action of Christ. Jesus takes the human body from the consummation of divine-human love between Mary and the Spirit. This is the highest form of marital relationship. In the mystery of passion, death and resurrection, Jesus takes for himself the humanity/world as his bride. Eternal wedding of love has taken place between Jesus and the humanity in the pouring out of his blood for his bride on the cross. Jesus made his bride purified and sanctified so that she becomes worthy of his eternal and unconditional love. The same bond of love now takes place between the Church and the world. Church is concerned of the world and its return to its creator. The church’s mission and responsibility is to announce to the world what she has believed: the love of God for the humanity which comes down only in the bond of marriage and family. The church believes that bond of marriage and family is founded by the creator and is stablized in the divine love (Gaudium et Spes, 48; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1603). - Our need to be attentive to the teaching of the Church: some times we consider church and her teachings as out-dated and not reaching to the levels of modern morality. But church cannot decieve herself by preaching her nature. Church is always faithful to her Master and Lord, Jesus Christ, and his teaching. She never goes against the prophetic and loving message of her Spouse, Jesus. Though the world misunderstands and insults her of her ever affirming message, she never stops her mission of spreading the truth. Her teaching on the marriage and family is also part of her mission of evangelization. Her strength and her power is always from the presence of Jesus in the form of Eucharist and in the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. Though the morality is changing and its values are deteriorting in the technological world, the church remains always faithful to her teaching. She is not afraid of proclaiming the kingdom of God with its presence and with its sacraments. We need to attentively listen to what the Church says though at times her teaching is hard for the ears. - Humanity is the capacity for mutual love: being created human means being created in love. Therefore, man is capable of loving. In fact, only in loving he can be truly human. If he neglects this truth he becomes inhuman. If he fails to understand this he becomes like any other animal which lives by instinct. Man is man only in and for love. Outside love and without love man cannot exist in his natural manner of humanness. It is love that makes man human. We have to learn this human attitude: to love and to be loved. Love is the donation of the totality of being. It is the capacity to give and receive everything in gift. It is not pretending or possessing the other for oneself, instead, it is loving the other even to the extent of giving one’s life for the other. Jesus has done the same. He has totally donated his life for his spouse, the Church (Eph 5:25ff). Each man and woman has personal vocation and as the couple has the common and special mission of sowing the seeds of love and thus creating the human family. Only in this way we can be the visible signs of God’s love in and for the world.