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ESTIMATE THE COST

08 Thursday Nov 2018

Posted by Word Ignite in Bible Commentary, Blogging, Catholic, Charity, Christian, Church, Contemplation, Culture, Discernment, Ecumenism, Faith, History, Holy Spirit, Humility, Judiasm, Latin Church, Lent, Literature, Love, Meditation, News, Parables, Philosophy, Psychology, Reading, Religion, Sociology, Spirituality, Teaching, Theology, Uncategorized, Wisdom, Writing

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Valuables and invaluables, life gains momentum by the thrust of both. Or does it really?  Except for the ones who are homeless, utterly poor, or afflicted with desperation, excluding them, the rest of the population in almost every part of the world, spends on things and services which are not in anywhere relative to their income. There is no estimation of what’s available at our disposal to make a life..how much ever short or long lived that life may be.

Historians believe or rather claim that it took around 2000 years…yes, you read it right, 20 centuries to finish building the great wall of China. According to a 2009 estimation, it would have costed £54 billion to build this 13, 171 mile structure. The two year executive education program run by the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania costed a student a whopping $192,900 in 2016. Brian Acton tweeted this on Aug 4, 2009, “Facebook turned me down. It was a great opportunity to connect with some fantastic people. Looking forward to life’s next great adventure.” And then he moved on to created a multi-billion dollar company called ‘Whatsapp’. Whether you’re ambition soars as high as building a wonder of the world or you aspire to graduate with the most expensive degree offered in the world, so that you earn the highest salary ever offered, or you wish to multiply the wealth of your enterprise by investing in a pathbreaking business idea, any of this will demand of you to make an estimate  of what you have, what you can give, what you can expect in return and what it will make of you in the end. An intricate due diligence of the sacrifices to be made, challenges to be faced, obstacles to be overcome, so on and so forth.

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No matter how great is the desire of your heart, is there any desire that can cost you your life and yet let you keep it? There’s none such desire save one. The desire to be a disciple of Christ. Being a disciple of Christ, not merely a follower, comes with an incomparable cost…your very life. In today’s world, more than ever, money plays a very important role in acquiring or possessing comfort or luxury. In the ancient of days as well, money in the form that it was used, played a significant role in determining the standard of living. In the Old Testament however, we learn a very unique role of money, which directly influenced the state of the soul. In ancient Israel, BEKAH, SHEKEL AND TALENT were important currency. Bekah has special significance because it was used as atonement money, for the service of the Tabernacle. From the age of twenty and above, every Jew had to pay half a shekel of silver (1 Bekah) as a ransom for his soul. The Lord promised them that there would be no plague upon them if they paid this tax faithfully (Ex 30:12:14).

A Disciple of Christ is called to renounce himself/herself completely. There is nothing so dear or precious in this world than his Lord Himself, for a disciple to hold on to. The Lord categorically explains the COST OF DISCIPLESHIP in His own words in Luke 14:33, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has, cannot be my disciple”. This cost estimation preludes with a very severe warning. Luke 14:26 says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brother and sister, yes, and even his own life, he CANNOT [emphasis added by me] be my disciple“. In our case, after reading this, and in the case of the great crowds that accompanied Him (Luke 14:25), after listening to Him, we all might be tempted to re-think about fulfilling the 4th commandment given by God Himself. However, there is no love on earth or in heaven that the human heart can experience and reciprocate to, than the love for God and fulfillment of His word, while at the same time obeying every commandment of His. There is none greater than God and therefore there is none that we should obey first than God Himself. The crowds, no matter how great, followed The Lord for miracles, food, astounding speeches and discourses, love and even an escape from their day-to-day tensions.

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Are we the same, one among the crowds, or even worse, among the mob that follows Him to trap Him, attack Him and then finally abandon Him. It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. It is in giving that we receive. It is in loving that we are loved much more. It is in forgiving that we are soaked in Divine Mercy. It is in total abandonment to God and absolute emptying of oneself do we become Disciples of Christ. No ambition, no career, no relationship, no wealth, no prosperity can atone our soul, except for the cost that was paid by the Son of the living God. Only 1 Bekah each was so precious that it could atone for their souls, among the chosen people of GOd. In the case of you and me however, it was not money (as underestimated by Judas), rather t’was One soul that had the power to atone and redeem all souls, starting from the beginning of time and until the end of it. That One soul, that one Bekah of the Divine economy, is Jesus Christ. The perfect estimate, most accurate for salvation of all mankind. Life Himself in return for all life.

So, just like the temple money had to be Jewish and could not be Roman money (which had pagan images), the cost of Discipleship has to be our own lives (the image of God) and not any holocaust or vain sacrifice (pagan). So, let us not undervalue the cost that our Lord paid for our eternal freedom and life, let us not underestimate the work of grace, which empowers us to pay the singular cost of discipleship. Because everything else, as King Solomon – the richest of all, once said, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity”.

~ John Roger Anthony

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We are His manger

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

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In the beginning there was nothing, not even time. Then The Word was spoken and everything came into being, within time and beyond. This Word was with God (John 1:1), the same Word who affirmed to His people of disbelief that “even before Abraham, I am”. The Word created everything good, seen and unseen. Man, dearest creation of The Word among all He created, let disobedience ruin the sanctity of a covenant that was born from the bosom of eternity. Sin and its master (Satan) seeped-in amidst what was meant to be infinitely blameless. To blot out this offence, so grave that only The Almighty Himself would have to reconcile, The Word became incarnate. The One who was Most Holy – (hágios: means “likeness of nature with the Lord” because “different from the world”), seated on the throne of righteousness, who created everything Holy, now wills by His merciful and everlasting loving heart to be one in flesh among the unrighteous. Because what is His cannot be lost forever. He had to reclaim, rebuild and renew.

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The Word walked in the cool of the day (righteousness and unblemished nature, cf: Genesis 3:8). But now sin caused His immaculate being to walk on the sod of corruption, deceit and everything unclean. He fearfully caused man to be born out of nothing and nurtured him in His sacred paradise, a paradise where the aroma of sanctity wrapped every matter & spirit. But behold, man caused that very ‘I am’ to be born in a cave where the stench of cattle’s waste and dirt repelled any human dwelling. But the Lord of humility, the God of love, the Master of mercy, chose to make an undesirable cave; repudiation of purity, become a sanctuary of The Divine where the humble & poor (Shepherds), the wise & just (Magi) were led to worship. Wrapped in swaddling clothes, in a manger lay ‘Emmanuel’. Guarded on one side by the carpenter; the renowned off-spring of David, whose obedience and faith made him the foster father of ‘The Logos’, and on the other side cared by the virgin whose immaculate nature entitled her to become ‘The Theotokos’.

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My dear friends, in the words of St. Paul, “do you (and I) not know that your (and mine) are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you (and me), whom you (and I) have received from God? (1 Cor 6:19-20). Sin makes us unmindful of this truth. Our body & soul which was meant to be a heavenly abode, has been corrupted into a dungeon of sin. Our body & soul which was created to be a holy temple, by sin is now vulnerable to the fatal danger of becoming a tomb for the dead. This sleaze of iniquity, however, did not have any power to repel The Word to reclaim, rebuild and renew.

So do not be afraid. Do not lose hope. Do not feel rejected. The Word is Jesus. The Babe of Bethlehem who has the earnest desire to be born in the manger of your heart. Even if it is shabby, He sees it worthy. Even if it is unclean, He can make it serene. Even if it is miserable, He will make grace feasible. And even if it is unwanted, for Him it is most wanted. Repent and believe, you are His homeland.

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Glory to the new born King. Merry Christmas, dear friends!

Serving you for God’s glory

03 Wednesday Dec 2014

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From Horn to Halo

01 Saturday Nov 2014

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One of the finest corporal and mystical moments on earth, throughout the history of mankind, has been the conception of a human life in the womb of a woman. This moment is by all means the dawn of the incarnation of God’s impeccable will in that human soul’s life. It is mystical because it is only God who knows all about the mystical initiation of the human soul within the life form. Due to the ingenious of divine creativity and complexity, the womb of the mother can certainly be considered as the first environment for a human life to experience saintly virtues. Such virtues which the pregnant mother is most expected to manifest them towards the child in her precious womb. The interesting fact at this point in time is that whether or not the mother has conceived the child by her consent, or whether or not the child in the womb is the fruit of the sanctity of marriage, the mother is given an abundance of grace by God to care, nourish, protect, love and sustain this helpless form of human life in her womb. What is expected of the woman is to willingly and joyfully cooperate with that Divine and exclusive grace that calls for her to be an embodiment of saintly virtues of being courageous, kind, reverential, wise, sacrificing, charitable and above all, God fearing, in being the instrument of fulfilling God’s Omniscient plan for that soul, which He fearfully and loving created, and chose to bless it with the shelter of that mother’s womb. This is how a human person, each one of us, experiences the call to Sainthood, from the very moment of our conception.

annunciation - Leonardo Da Vinci

The Angel of God Almighty, Gabriel, appeared and announced glad tidings (Luke 1:26-39) from the ‘author of life’ (Genesis 2:7), to the humble and God-fearing Jewish virgin maiden called Mary in Nazareth, the daughter of Joachim and Anne, betrothed to a virtuous and righteous Jewish carpenter called Joseph. Upon receiving divine revelation of becoming the Mediatrix (Luke 1:38) chosen by God to be the instrument of His merciful grace to all mankind, Mary (the woman predestined by God, even before the continuation of the human race, to be the mother of His Son) was courageous to ask the angel of God, “how can this be, since I am a virgin?” This is manifestation of courageous conversation with the divine realm is an outstanding example of how person is called to dialogue with God to understand the call to holiness and obedience to Divine will. What is this if it is not a virtue of a saint? Mary’s ancestors were testimony to such courage for conversing with God, to understand (if possible) and (or) simply obey. Think about the courage of Abraham when he asked God, “shall a child be born unto him…? (Genesis 17:17)”. Moses said to God, “who am I, that I should go…? (Exodus 3:11)”. Jacob wrestled with the angel of God until the divine power obliged to bless him (Genesis 32:24).

Courage is an integral virtue to live joyfully as saint. God, through his loving kindness, grants the grace to be courageous to the simple and the meek, and through their willing cooperation with that grace; fulfills His extraordinary plans, as well as establishes the continuity of His covenant of love and mercy for all. Odoardo Focherini (1907-1944) from Carpi in Italy was an insurance agent, journalist and father of seven children. With the support from his wife and guidance from Cardinal Pietro Boetto of Genoa, he established a rescue network that transported 100 Jews to safety into Switzerland. This hero of God, exemplary Catholic of this century, was arrested and martyred in a concentration camp in Hersbruk, Germany. His last words were, “I declare I am dying in the purest apostolic Roman Catholic faith and in full submission to the will of God, offering my life as holocaust for my diocese, for Catholic Action, for the pope, and for the return of peace to this world.”

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Faith and holiness makes a person partaking in the everlasting banquet of love and joy. Saints are beaming instruments of faith. They are like trumpets that the angles play to reverberate God’s glory, authority, fidelity, love and mercy. In the tender age of thirteen, Agnes a Roman girl suffered martyrdom for her impeccable and undeterred love and faithfulness to Christ Jesus. St. Agnes was endowed with scintillating beauty and so many young men queued to marry her. But she kept saying “I am already promised to the Lord of the Universe. He is more splendid than the sun and the stars, and He has said He will never leave me!” The Governor promised Agnes wonderful gifts if she would only deny God, but Agnes refused. He tried to change her mind by putting her in chains, but her lovely face shone with joy. Next he sent her to a place of sin, but an Angel protected her. At last, she was condemned to death. Even the pagans cried to see such a young and beautiful girl going to death. Yet, Agnes was as happy as a bride on her wedding day. She did not pay attention to those who begged her to save herself. “I would offend my Spouse,” she said, “if I were to try to please you. He chose me first and He shall have me!” Then she prayed and bowed her head for the death-stroke of the sword.

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Pope Francis, calls the bride of Christ; the Holy Catholic Church, to be a ‘field hospital’. In this world of battlefield Catholicism, men and women of all ages are both ignorant, deprived or rejecting divine love and mercy. Pope St. John Paul II by his saintly testimony of life empowered the world with his words, “Do not be afraid”. Today, God calls each one of us to be His saint. He calls us to be truthful when we smile at a neighbor / stranger, forgive and reconcile with family / acquaintance, share or lend, wish / pray for well being. He calls us to be faithful and bravely rise of being His testimony and voice for the poor and marginalized as well as bearers of the sanctity of sacraments. He demands of us to be instruments of wisdom to the young, humbleness and kindness to the old.

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Whether we are poor or rich, powerful or meek, intellectual or ignorant, beautiful or less endowed, whether we are famous or not yet to be discovered, whether we are struggling to be righteous or humble, we are all called to be truthful in our pursuit of sainthood. To be a saint means to be hopeful, patient, collaborative, child-like, holy and cheerful. The one who desires to be a saint will love God and His Magesterium first, be hungry to serve God in His people, enjoy for unity in diversity, will stand and speak-up for truth and justice, will not be afraid of getting dirty to be cleansed as well as clean, will strive to excel in every walk of life – in all circumstances, will laugh whole-heartedly at simple joys in life, will not shy from crying in times of much happiness or sorrow, nor will fear failure. Will not be ashamed of the crucifix nor the cross that is to be borne, will protect the helpless, strip-off to cloth the naked, abstain to feed the hungry, love unconditionally the one who feels dejected. A saint to be will not endorse arrogance or corruption or deceit, nor will judge by appearances. Will hate sin and its master; the devil. Will forever strive to live holy. We are all called to be saints, now and forever. Let us answer this call, now and forever, and begin to live in the company of saints here on earth.

 

Enter the Kingdom!

29 Wednesday Oct 2014

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Reflection on the Gospel of Luke 13:22-30

Another question led to this teaching. The thematic connection with Jesus’ words implying the small beginning of the kingdom should be obvious. As elsewhere, Luke recorded Jesus teaching lessons and using illustrations and expressions, which the other Gospel writers recorded Him using in other contexts. Jesus’ repetition is understandable in view of His itinerant ministry and His great skill as a teacher. Luke employed similar geographical summary statements in Acts, too, to indicate divisions in his narrative (e.g., 12:25; 14:27-28; 16:4). They give a sense of movement and progress, in material that is essentially didactic. Jesus’ general movement was toward “Jerusalem” and the Cross, though He seems to have proceeded without haste and with many pauses for teaching. The goal is the important feature, not how Jesus reached it. He gave the following teaching on the way.

Luke did not identify the questioner, who could have been a disciple or a member of the ubiquitous crowd. The questioner evidently wanted to know if he or she was correct in concluding, from Jesus’ previous teaching (e.g., Mark 10:23-26), that only “a few” people would experience salvation. For the Jews, and probably for the questioner, salvation meant entering the kingdom as well as entering heaven. The identity of the people to whom Jesus responded is indefinite and unimportant. Jesus did not answer the question directly. Instead of giving an impersonal answer, He explained how a person could enter the kingdom. A “narrow door” pictured an unpopular and difficult entryway (cf. Matt. 7:13). Jesus meant the door was the way He taught, in contrast to the more popular way that the religious leaders taught. Striving referred to believing Jesus despite the intrinsic difficulty of believing and the opposition of others (John 10:9).

heaven's gate

“Many” people would “seek to enter” the kingdom through ways other than the narrow door, but would be unable to enter. One writer argued that the striving in view involves submitting to Christ’s Lordship. But submitting to Christ’s Lordship is nowhere a condition for entrance into the kingdom. Only faith in Jesus is. The revelation that God would soon shut the narrow door of opportunity—to enter heaven and the kingdom—should have moved Jesus’ hearers not to delay believing in Him. In one sense, anyone can believe as long as he or she is alive. In another sense, it becomes more difficult to believe as one procrastinates and as one grows older. However, in view of Jesus’ illustration of the banquet that follows, it is more likely that He was thinking of the beginning of the kingdom. When the kingdom began, it would be impossible for unbelievers to change their minds and be saved. Therefore, in view of the kingdom’s imminence—when Jesus uttered this warning—His hearers needed to believe without delay.

According to Dr. Constable’s Notes on Luke 2014 Edition, when the kingdom began, no amount of appeal—based only on friendship or familiarity with Jesus—would avail. Jesus had extended fellowship to His hearers, and had taught them the way of salvation, but they had rejected His offers. In Matthew, Jesus clearly identified the person who shut the door as Himself (Matt. 7:22-23). He will also be the person who will utterly forsake and pronounce judicial rejection on unbelievers for their lack of righteousness (Ps. 6:8). The phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth” elsewhere describes eternal punishment in hell (Matt. 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30). There is no reason to conclude that it means something else here. “Weeping” expresses sorrow (Acts 20:37; James 4:9; 5:1), and “gnashing” or grinding the “teeth” pictures anger and hatred (Job 16:10; Ps. 35:16; 37:12; 112:10; Lam. 2:16; Acts 7:54). These feelings will arise in people outside the kingdom as they view others within it.

heaven

The judgment at the beginning of the kingdom is in view. Evidently God will raise dead Old Testament saints to life then, to enter the kingdom (Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2). The Old Testament revealed that Gentiles would also participate in the messianic banquet that will inaugurate Messiah’s earthly reign (Isa. 25:6-7; 60; 62:2-9; 65:13-14; Ezek. 34:12-14; 39:17-20). People coming from the four compass points would be Gentiles rather than the Jews, who lived primarily in Palestine. Jesus said that many Jews would not enter the kingdom (Matt. 8:10-12). Many of Jesus’ hearers were undoubtedly trusting in their Jewish blood and heritage to get them into the kingdom, so Jesus’ words would have shocked them. The people who are “last” in this context probably refer to Gentiles, whom the Jews regarded as least likely to enter the kingdom (Matt. 19:30; 20:16; Mark 10:31). The ones who are “first” were the Jews. They considered themselves to be superior to Gentiles in many ways. They were also the first and the foremost objects of Jesus’ ministry.

The Early Church Father St. Cyril of Alexandria in his sermons on Luke says, “For wide is the door, and broad the way that brings down many to destruction.” And what are we to understand by its broadness? It means an unrestrained tendency to carnal lust; a base and pleasure loving life; luxurious feastings, and revelling and banqueting, and un-resisted inclinations unto everything which is condemned by the law, and displeasing to God: a stiff-necked mind that will not bow to the yoke of the law: a life accursed, and relaxed in all dissoluteness, thrusting from it the divine law, and utterly unmindful of the sacred commandments: wealth and the vices that spring from it, scorn and pride, and the vain imagining of transitory boastings. From all such things must those withdraw who would enter in by the strait door, and be with Christ, and keep festival with Him.”

Stay, Watch and Remain with HIM

22 Wednesday Oct 2014

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Reflection on Gospel of Luke 12:39-48

My brothers and sisters, in order to better understand today’s Holy Gospel; let us explore the context of both, the Hebrews of the time in which Jesus was speaking, and, the wisdom of the Gospel for today and forever. The Hebrew term for slave, eved, is a direct derivation from the Hebrew verb, la’avÖd (“to work”), thus, the slave in Jewish law really only a worker or a servant. The eved differs from the hired worker (sakhir) in three respects: he receives no wages for his work, he is a member of his master’s household; and, his master exercises patria potestas over him – for example, the master may choose a wife for the slave and retains ownership of her and he has proprietary rights in him.

Our Lord talks about the servant: the servant who is obedient to his master’s wishes and whom his master will find busy upon his arrival. He also does not mince words while talking about the one who knows the master’s wishes but does not carry them out and that he will be ranked among those undeserving of trust. He is very clearly speaking to each one of us. Many countries around the world have witnessed slavery. It has a very negative connotation to it and rightly so [considering] for example, the way it was carried out in America. But there is another kind of slavery that is a freely chosen slavery. That is, a slavery that we choose to make ourselves obedient to another.

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In today’s Holy Gospel, our good Lord Jesus teaches us that, preparation is very important for so many things. A wise person would not begin to prepare a recipe without making sure that they have all the ingredients at hand. It’s not different when it comes to the spiritual life. Spiritually speaking we prepare ourselves to meet the master by daily prayer, by acts of sacrifice and charity, by reading sacred scripture. Most importantly we prepare ourselves by receiving the Sacraments of the Church, fortified with Sanctifying Grace. So we prepare by going to Confession and receiving the Lord in the Holy Communion as often as possible. Spiritually we need to be prepared to meet our master, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus talks about the master of the house possibly arriving at the “second or third watch of the night.” Being faithful isn’t a fling or a flash in the pan. We know that there will be “ups and downs,” moments of two steps forward and one back. Through it all we are called to persevere. Going the distance is not easy, but how beautiful it is! Pope Saint John Paul II gave us an indelible example of perseverance. What treasure does the Lord expect us to vigilantly guard in this present life? It is the treasure of the gifts he has won for us – the gift of salvation purchased by his blood on the cross which has ransomed us from slavery to sin, Satan,and death – and the gift of his Holy Spirit who works in and through us to make us a a new creation refashioned in the image of God. The Father and the Son through the gift of the Holy Spirit come to make their home with us. But we can ignore their presence, close our ears to their voice, or reject them through pride and unfaithfulness.

Satan comes like a thief in the night to rob us of our faith and to draw us away from God. He works with the world (that society which is opposed to God) and with our flesh (our sinful inclinations) to make us believe that we can find treasure and happiness apart from God and his will for our lives. The Lord Jesus calls us to be vigilant in watching for his return and to be ready to meet him when he calls us to himself. The Lord gives us his Holy Spirit so that we may have the wisdom, help, and strength we need to turn away from sin to embrace God’s way of love, justice, and holiness. The Lord’s warning of judgment causes dismay for those who are unprepared, but it brings joyful hope to those who eagerly wait for his return in glory.  God’s judgment is good news for those who are ready to meet him. Their reward is God himself, the source of all truth, beauty, goodness, love and everlasting life.

Lord Jesus, you have captured my heart for you. Make it strong in faith, steadfast in hope, and generous in love that I may seek to please you in all things and bring you glory.  Keep me ever watchful for the coming of your kingdom.

 

Abba, Yithqadash sh‘mak

07 Tuesday Oct 2014

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Gospel, Luke 11:1-4

Today’s Holy Gospel illuminates not only the personal relationship man can dare to have with God the Father of all creation, but also laid the indestructible foundation of the eloquent summon “At the Saviour’s command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say…”, proclaimed by a Roman Catholic Priest during the Holy Eucharist.

Before contemplating on the crux of today’s Gospel, let us for a moment feed our minds and souls of an important aspect of the humanity and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many believers and non-believers alike ask, if Jesus was God why did He have to pray? And even if He prayed, though being God, was He praying to Himself? To address these questions, we should not fail to omit the Catholic teaching about the Holy Trinity. The Apostolic Faith clearly teaches us that God is three persons in One being. Those three persons; ‘Godheads’ – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are uniquely distinct in their individual essence, but One in Divinity. Because these are three distinct persons, it should not be difficult at all to comprehend that it is usual for one of the Persons to speak to one of the other Persons. In such a case, as with Christ praying to the Father, he isn’t talking to himself because he is talking to another Person.

fra-angelico-sermon-on-the-mount500x478

Further on prayer, during the Biblical times, Jews were noted for their devotion to prayer.  Formal prayer was prescribed for three set times a day.  And the rabbis had a prayer for every occasion. It was also a custom for rabbis to teach their disciples a simple prayer they might use on a regular basis. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, He lovingly taught them a prayer, which in essence is a pragmatic conversation of love and hope by ‘the children’ with ‘their Father’ in heaven. The “Our Father” is in the plural. While teaching this prayer, Jesus did not call upon as, ‘My Father in heaven’, or teach them to say ‘your Father in heaven’. Instead by addressing His Father as ‘Our Father’, He, by His love for all of mankind, authenticated and authorized us into full communion of His Divine Son-ship, as well as, Kingship, He being the only Begotten Son of His Father.

The ‘Our Father’ is a community prayer, where humanity as a whole is prayed for, whether in a group or in case of a single person praying it. It is a prayer that encourages and confirms confidence in us to call as our Father and converse with Him.

The Lord’s Prayer, as it is called, recognizes the presence of the Most High God in heaven, praises and glorifies his holy name, acknowledges the rightful submission of human will, to that of the Father’s most holy will; ‘as it is in heaven’. It is essential for the flesh and spirit to sustain, Jesus ensures to subscribe those needs to the care of Divine providence. To His vicious and inhumane persecutors, from upon the cross, He said “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” As a precursor to this confidence in His Father’s ever abounding Divine Mercy, He taught humanity; through His disciples, to be assured of that same mercy upon each and every one who desires for it with a contrite heart. In doing so, He consequently teaches each one to be as forgiving as His Father is, towards their wrong doers. Remember what He said in Matthew 18:22, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

For the Saviour said, ‘When you pray, say, ‘Our Father.’ And another of the holy Evangelists adds, ‘who art in heaven’… ”He gives his own glory to us. He raises slaves to the dignity of freedom. He crowns the human condition with such honour as surpasses the power of nature. He brings to pass what was spoken of old by the voice of the psalmist: ‘I said, you are gods, and all of you children of the Most High’ (Psalm 82:6). He rescues us from the measure of slavery, giving us by his grace what we did not possess by nature, and permits us to call God ‘Father,’ as being admitted to the rank of sons. We received this, together with all our other privileges, from him. One of these privileges is the dignity of freedom, a gift peculiarly befitting those who have been called to be sons. He commands us, therefore, to take boldness and say in our prayers, ‘Our Father.
This is a quote from ‘The privilege and responsibility of calling God Father’, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

When children speak with their parents they try to transmit, through their words and body language, what they feel in their heart. We become better praying men and women when our relation with God is more intimate, as that of a father with his son. By teaching the ‘Our Father’, Jesus himself left with us his own example, and conformity in the truth that He is the Way.

Mary’s little Lamb

21 Saturday Jun 2014

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When I was in grade 1 of school, all that the nursery rhyme / poem ‘Mary had a little lamb’ ever meant to me was simply to impress my teacher and get a chocolate from her and a star in my report card. Now after more than two decades, that rhyme has been the inspiration of contemplating about something more significant and special and heartwarming.

Mary, the Blessed Virgin of Nazareth, was chosen to be the mother of God. She conceived Him by the Holy Spirit and she raised Him up under the shadow of the Spirit. The son of the living God dwelt among men, but at the same time, He was also the son of man. As an infant and child, Jesus had a modest and righteous upbringing, as God continually guided His earthly parents through His commands. On one hand Jesus was this adorable young Jewish boy, who would have spent His growing childhood praying diligently as The Law instructed, playing around the house with His parents and children around the neighbourhood, running towards and throwing around His arms around His parents and asking them to carry Him in their arms. And on the other hand, Jesus was also the little lamb of God, who was sent on earth as ransom to be paid for the remission of Sin in the world, by His very death on the cross one day.

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The rarity of information about the childhood of Jesus in the canonical gospels led to a hunger of early Christians for more detail about the early life of Jesus. This was supplied by a number of 2nd century and later texts, known as infancy gospels, none of which were accepted into the biblical canon, but the very number of their surviving manuscripts attests to their continued popularity. Most of these were based on the earliest infancy gospels, namely the Infancy Gospel of James (also called the “Protoevangelium of James”) and Infancy Gospel of Thomas, and on their later combination into the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (also called the “Infancy Gospel of Matthew” or “Birth of Mary and Infancy of the Saviour”). The other significant early infancy gospels are the Syriac Infancy Gospel, the History of Joseph the Carpenter and the Life of John the Baptist.

One of the most vivid documented witness / testimony of His childhood were about the time when He went to the Temple of Jerusalem with His parents to celebrate the Passover. This journey to the temple itself was nothing less than a spiritual experience for the Jews, especially to those who made this pilgrimage with their young children. And so, just like such families, Jesus would have travelled with His mother Mary and Father Joseph, on foot, or rode an oxen or ass, since it took several days to reach there. The distance from Nazareth to Jerusalem is seventy miles. The feast was held near the close of March or the beginning of April. This was springtime in Palestine, and the whole land was bright with flowers, and glad with the song of birds. As they traveled, parents told their children of the wonderful things that God had done for Israel in ages past. And often they sang together some of the beautiful psalms of David.

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Lamb of God (Greek: ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, amnos tou theou; Latin: Agnus Dei) is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

This Lamb of God, Jesus, who was to be sacrificed, from the plague of sin that constantly devours men and women in the world, would have been this humble, gentle, fair, young lamb in the arms of his young, adorable and loving mother Mary. While sleeping, lambs seek out their mothers and will sleep as close to them as possible. The most adorable, young Lamb of God, Mary’s Jesus, would have been His mother’s singular delight when He would have cuddled with her while going to sleep. Just like a healthy lamb which usually stretches when it rises this little Jesus, lamb of God, would have been the apple of His mother’s eye, especially when his tiny little soft hands would be stretching as He wakes up in the morning and rubs His eyes, with a cute little yawn making His Mother waiting to run towards Him and hug Him rightly and kiss Him good morning.

A number of apocryphal texts, the Infancy Gospels grew up with legendary accounts of the intervening period, and these are sometimes depicted. These stories were intended to show Jesus as having extraordinary gifts of power and knowledge, even from the youngest age. One common tale has the young Jesus fashioning sparrows out of clay. When admonished for doing so on the Sabbath, he causes the birds to fly away.

Mary’s little lamb is the heavenly Father’s most precious possession. He is the lamb who willingly came into the world, to be born as a man, completely vulnerable to every possible assault of sin, corruption and death. He is the lamb who brought such immeseaurable delight to His beloved parents on earth, by being an obedient and righteous Son. He is the lamb whose gentle, kind and loving heart, calls every human person (irrespective or religion, belief, rationality, caste or creed), to be part of the flock of His Father, and enjoy an eternal feast in the pastures of heaven.

 


 

 

God’s mule or Satan’s Muse

14 Saturday Jun 2014

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Since the past many years, television audiences in many countries around the world have received the culture of the so called ‘reality shows’ with much appreciation and have either accommodated or enthusiastically accepted all sorts of content in this category of visual broadcast entertainment. This genre; if I may call it so, of TV entertainment, is produced for all groups of age and social preferences. It is undeniable that for the past few years or almost a decade now, reality shows have become programs with arguably the highest TRP rating across networks. One common feature of these shows is the selection process or auditions of participants who desire to take part and win if the show is a competition or make the most of the global platform such as the TV, for fame and future career prospects in the entertainment industry. The experience during these auditions either drains the contestant off emotions, rob…yes rob them from their real life circumstances & environments, present them with great opportunities, build constructive or exploitative relationships, or, molds or destroys their spiritual & moral principles. Nevertheless, the world watching them on TV is not only entertained but also emotionally gets quite attached to these entertainers & to their entertaining reality.

In a situation such as the above, the entertainer always has one objective in mind, and that is to ensure the audience is entertained. Most of the times if not all the time, it is what the audience wish to see; is delivered than what the entertainers wish to entertain with. The Bible we find there were entertainers too. There was Herod Antipater (Greek: Ἡρῴδης Ἀντίπατρος, Hērǭdēs Antipatros; born before 20 BC, who entertained the whim of his brother’s wife Herodias (whom he had coveted), by commanding the beheading of John the Baptist upon the demand of Salome; Herodias’ daughter. Centuries before Herod there was Ramesses the First, the founding Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt’s 19th dynasty, who entertained the lust for slaves and their fatal exploitation by his people Egypt around  1292–1290 BC. There were also ‘priests’ of Baal; who is regarded in the Hebrew Bible as a “false god”. These priests whose confrontation with the Prophet Elijah is also mentioned in the Quran (37:123–125), sacrificed people even as young as children, to entertain and seek favors from this unseen and occult deity.

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Then the world has and continues to witness the atrocities and indescribable crimes of hate & immorality, simply to entertain deluded ideologies, principles, lust of mind & body, and worst of all to use God & religion for the destruction of man’s spirit, mortal life and even the soul, and to shamelessly justify it all by branding it as ‘the will of God’. There continues to be an influx of dictators, anarchists, Generals at war, false prophets, terrorists, pedophiles, rapists, cannibals, those with the lust for unnatural sexual orientations, so on and so forth. There are many other such characters who have in one way or the other been the muse for horrendous and obnoxiously camouflaged evil plots of Satan here on earth. The Prince of darkness has been convincingly fulfilling his desire of eternal destruction of man’s soul and his lust for perpetual separation of man’s soul from its maker whom he knows is the one true God. This is how he transforms the vulnerable among mankind, as his muse for evil and eternal damnation.

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On the other hand there are the righteous, the humble, the holy, the virtuous, the gentle, the patient, the compassionate, the merciful, the sincerely loving, the suffering, the godly, willingly submitting themselves to entertain the will of God – a will that calls for the good of all of humanity, preserves human dignity, nurtures the innate desire for holiness; embedded in our spirit by the Spirit of God Himself. Noah entertained God’s desire of renewing the face of the earth through ‘washing off’ all that was evil & corrupt in the world. Abraham entertained the will of God by letting himself be molded as the father of all nations, through passing one of the greatest tests of faith an earthly father could possibly have had to face. Elijah from the being, timid and unwilling became fearless and prophetic, thus entertaining God’s desire in His life and for His people. Moses who had no faith in his capacity of being the leader God destined him to be, obediently and faithfully submitted his will to the most Holy desire of God, to liberate His captive people, thus entertaining Divine providence among the nation of Israel – the chosen ones. David, Solomon, Esther, Ruth, Jeremiah, Daniel, Nathan, Jacob, Job, Hosea, Jonah, and then all those pivotal vessels of God in the New Testament, from the Blessed Virgin Mary up to the righteous of today, they have all surrendered their body, mind and soul to entertain the most immaculate and endearing will of God the most high. They all chose to be the mule that carried God into Jerusalem, the city of holiness. Thus choosing to be a vessel of humility and complete obedience to God.

The mule is highly patient, sober and tolerant like a donkey and courageous, vigorous and strong like a horse. An obedient child of God who’s only desire is to obey God’s will is like a mule who silently yet courageously, patiently yet vigorously carries God to ends of the earth, thus stretching the length and breadth of the heavenly Jerusalem here on earth. This is how a righteous person entertains God’s will as an obedient mule. The reality of God is eternally joyful, whereas Satan’s is a show which is far from reality. Beware. So, are you God’s mule or Satan’s muse?

Gregorian chant & pregnant!

06 Friday Jun 2014

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In the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini of the Holy Father our beloved Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, he proclaims the following – “Para 70: As part of the enhancement of the Word of God in the liturgy, attention should also be paid to the use of song at the times called for by the particular rite. Preference should be given to songs which are of clear biblical inspiration and which express, through the harmony of music and words, the beauty of God’s Word. We would do well to make the most of those songs handed down to us by the Church’s tradition which respect this criterion. I think in particular of the importance of Gregorian Chant.” (Given in Rome, at St. Peter’s, on 30 September, the Memorial of St. Jerome, in the year 2010, the sixth year of his Pontificate).

In contemplating the emotional and physical state of mind which my dearest mother might have experienced while she carried me in her womb during this month in which I was born, I am led by the Spirit to dwell upon the bond which she would have shared with me then; being sacredly guarded and formed in her gentle womb – my first earthly abode. Science teaches us that during the last month of pregnancy, babies start test-driving some nifty skills like blinking and dreaming and regulating their own body temperature. By week 31 of pregnancy the baby signals from all five senses, perceiving light and dark, tastes of what the mother eats, and listening to the sound of the mother’s voice (I can hear you Mommy!). In week 33 alone of pregnancy they say, the baby grows by an inch, which is why the mom experiences some serious kicks and pokes in her gut!

Alright, now if you have started to think where this is all leading to, then I am glad that I have your attention, and that is for what I wish to share about how a mother could play an important role in transmitting an ancient and rich Catholic heritage, to her child in her womb, by using her body & mind’s exclusive dynamics, her unique & creative feminine nature so intricately & passionately designed by God. This antique yet rich tradition is the “Gregorian chant”.

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The Gregorian chant has always been regarded as the supreme model or sacred music. “Special efforts are to be made to restore the use of the Gregorian chant by the people, so that the faithful may again take more active part in the ecclesiastical offices, as was the case in ancient times.” Pope Pius X echoed the teaching of the Council of Trent and of many Popes who preceded him, who regard for the very special sacral character of the Chant. This is re-iterated by the Second Vatican Council in the decree on the liturgy – Sacrosanctum Concilium: “The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy; therefore other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.”

Carrying a baby in the womb is carrying the gift of life which is exclusively available only from God, for God alone; who is Spirit, is the ‘giver of life’. I once read from a post on facebook by the ‘society of Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen’, which referred to what he felt at the sight of a woman who was in her ‘family way’. He noted that a pregnant woman is the bearer of sanctity within her womb, and it is virtuous for a person to genuflect before that womb with child, for it is thus bowing in reverence before sacredness; that which is called life (who in person is Christ Jesus).

It is interesting to note that parents instinctively use a special low-keyed rhythm of speech to attract and keep their baby’s interest. Psychologists call this ‘motherese’. Your baby will further encourage you to speak in motherese by his/her intense response when you use it. Nevertheless, since the babies when are still in the womb, during the Third Trimester of pregnancy can listen to sounds that surround them, it is therefore a spiritual and serene experience to feed the baby’s senses with the spectacular nutrition of sacred music of the Gregorian chant. This chant which is as good to be compared to the imagination of the music of the choirs of heaven, is very natural to the human voice (this seems to transcend the East-West division in Christianity). Its intervals and patterns are easy to imitate – after a few tries – and the larger part of the repertoire is made up from stock phrases or ‘units’ rearranged in different patterns.

Researchers once asked pregnant mums to listen to various types of music through headphones and then measured their babies’ movements with ultrasound. Most babies became more active when the music was on, especially if their mum was listening to music she liked. What is fascinating is that though the music was not played for the babies themselves, they were yet responding to it through their mum’s emotional responses to the music. A baby in the womb has the sense of hearing formed in the 16th week. At this juncture I would like us to journey for a moment to the time when Our Blessed Mother – the Virgin Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth who was with child in her old age (Luke 1:39-56). While at the event of “The Visitation”, St. Elizabeth was already six months pregnant and scripture testifies that she was old at that time. Elizabeth who herself was filled with the Holy Ghost; she cried out with a loud voice, “Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. How have I deserved to be thus visited by the mother of my Lord? Why, as soon as ever the voice of thy greeting sounded in my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed art thou for thy believing; the message that was brought to thee from the Lord shall have fulfillment.” (Luke 1:39-45). At this moment in the lifetime of Divine Incarnation (birth of God in the nature of Man & God – Jesus), sprung forth from the lips of the Immaculate Mary; ‘The Magnificat’! In the womb of his mother St. Elizabeth, baby St. John (The Baptist) rejoiced and soaked his being with this Divine rendition of sacred testimony which the Holy Catholic Church till this day sings in worship of God. The handmaid of The Lord; now becomes the handmaid of her pregnant cousin beloved Elizabeth, and thus nurses the spirit of her nephew John in his mother’s womb with verses that are later adorned as sacred hymn by the Church.

pregnant woman with husband listening to music

Sacred music, my friends, plays an important role in a Christian’s life. How wonderfully Christian it is for parents, especially for a mother – the vessel of life, to mold her child’s heart and mind with the illustrious compositions of music which elevate even the angels’ desires of worshiping God for all eternity. By doing so, the child is given a unique dignity it rightly deserves of being a hand-made creation of God and to the sanctity which God Himself gives irrevocably to life. Finally, the Gregorian chant, whose position in the cause of worship and liturgy is so esteemed, should be a virtuous recommendation for expecting mothers, that they may listen to it during the course of carrying their child in the womb, and that therefore; their child receives the pristine sound of such glorious music, that which heaven so joyfully appreciates and sings in praise of God Almighty. Such sacred music transports the mother and child in the womb; spiritually from the realm of time & space, into an indescribable realm of the cosmic world which is out of time & space. Therefore, since a Christian family is a miniature Church, it is right and just to sing praise to The Lord with music of the pious Gregorian chant, as Father, Mother and Child, even if the child is in the womb.


 

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