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Tangere Domino

03 Friday Apr 2020

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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Divine contact with faith, heals and makes one clean.

St. Augustine puts forth the fact that ‘the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. This can be profoundly examined and understood especially through the various instances where our Lord Jesus heals people. One such instance is in the gospel of St. Mark 5:21-34. The Lord has revealed Himself as the word in the Old Testament and in the New Testament He reveals His Divinity through His Incarnation. Christ Incarnate is the sole saviour of the world. And what He means by saving is aptly described by Pope St. John Paul II, who writes in his book, ‘Crossing the Threshold of Hope, pp 70 “…To save means to liberate from radical, ultimate evil…Through the work of the Redeemer death ceases to be an ultimate evil; it becomes subject to the power of life…And, therefore, the world cannot be a source of salvation for man. Only God saves, and He saves the whole of humanity in Christ.” The woman in Mark 5:21-34; who suffered 12 strenuous and shameful years because of an infirmity, suddenly finds herself in close proximity to salvation. The one who is an outcast to her our people, is in search of The One who knew rejection from the very womb of his virgin mother. The woman who was branded unclean, knew that by faith in Christ; who was the closest to those who were unclean, will be surely be healed by Him. The Law of the Old Covenant in the book of Leviticus 15:19-30; concerning ritually unclean women did not dilute this unnamed woman’s courage and conviction in the Messiah. She did not fail to not only acknowledge but also believe in His presence among the chosen people of God on earth, in that time of history. She spent a lot of her money in various medical care but in vain. So it is not her trust in another stint of therapeutic cure, but rather, her belief in making personal contact with the Saviour, that healed her. 

Woman with blood hemorrhage touches the hem of Jesus’ garment

What’s really unique about this encounter that we need undoubtedly pay attention to, is how our Lord ‘brings to life’ the heart of the Law given to Moses by God, for His people’s government and righteousness sake. Leviticus 15 enlists the norms about uncleanness among women going through their cycle in the month and how they are to be purified, by the Mosaic rituals, based on the duration of the uncleanness. The matter is of serious concern because whoever comes in physical contact with this unclean person automatically becomes unclean and needs spiritual purification. Until then, the unclean person would not be permitted to have, proximity with God’. The Lord on the other hand, who is the Law Himself, given to Moses, written on the tablets, has now been touched by one who is unclean. And the Law demands of the Jew, now defiled by one who who is herself contaminated, to be set apart as unclean, until purified by the rituals of the Law. But is it so in the case of our Lord? No. Christ, shows that He has truly come to set us free from the bondage of sin and death. He publicly choses to justify the action of the unclean woman of approaching God in her ‘defiled state’, which is ‘truly right and just, our duty and our salvation’ (Roman Missal – Eucharistic Prayer for Masses for Various Needs and Occasions – English translation formally approved in 1995) to believe in Jesus as our Lord and saviour, and that He alone can gives us salvation and freedom from every sickness, disease, infirmity and death. And that no Law on earth or in heaven can bind a believer from coming forward to receive his bounty from Jesus the Divine Healer. The Lord completely overturns a possible scandalous situation into a mighty manifestation of faith and salvation. 

The woman who lived more than a decade in a state of defilement, showed immense faith and confession of that faith, for scripture says she kept on repeating, “For if I touch his garments, I will be healed” Mark 5:28. It was not mere determination to approach Jesus to touch at-least his garment, but it was more of her faith that she will surely be healed if she touched the hem of the Lord’s garment. That is precisely what she was constantly assuring her mind. Sickness, disease or near death situations can numb our faith by letting our mind over power us. It happens to the best of us. But a faithful and repeated confession of  God’s word will act as a weapon against the blows of doubt and anxiety. The question which the Lord asked His disciples; when He knew someone touched Him, was not simply a logical one, as the disciples had thought, because the Lamb of God was surrounded by a large crowd of people, pushing and brushing each other’s way to follow him on his way. The question which was a result of Him perceiving that power had gone forth from Him – Mark 5:30, was infinitely more significant than just ‘who touched me’. It meant, who manifested this mountainous faith in Me, this impenetrable belief in Me. Who defied society, risking excommunication and a possible life of solitude for the sake of salvation? But of-course, as the disciples were themselves caught in the rush of the crowd around our Lord, they could not instantly fathom what their Master was inquiring? The Lord, instead, was as though, eager and excited to see the child who came believing in the Son of the Father.

Fear of the world will always suppress faith. Fear of God will always destroy fear  contracted from the world. The enemy – the devil; uses fears, sicknesses, diseases, infirmities, anxieties, doubts, guilt, low self-esteem, and so on as heavy blows upon the faith of the believer. The Son of man has “overcome the world” – John 16:33, and therefore has brought salvation into this world. In other words, true and real freedom from the most radical and ultimate evil – death, as John Paul II reminded us. The unclean woman was healed because of her faith, as the Lord affirmed it to her Himself, by saying, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” Mark 5:34. The world today is repeatedly attacked by evil in various forms. The most current being the coronavirus pandemic. All of humanity has to avoid social contact, stay sanitised, take necessary precautions of personal hygiene, in order to stop the chain of infection. The faithful face a catastrophic – temporary unavailability of the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist. Nonetheless, the Lord, reminds us, as well as, assures us gently, as He did the woman in this passage of scripture, of the gift of salvation which He has given us freely. Though the woman approached Jesus with trembling and fear of being reprimanded, was surprisingly received with compassion by the Saviour in whom she so firmly believed, with acceptance of not only her faith but also her public act of faith. In the same manner, may all who suffer, irrespective of its tenure, may we never shy to touch Jesus in His flesh, through worthy reception of the holy communion and in spirit through the other sacraments. And when in a time of social lock-down, may we do so worthily, faithfully, fearlessly, through spiritual communion and prayer. The Lord is with us, until the end of time – Matthew 28:20. Believe and work out your salvation.

John Roger Anthony – Catholic Lay Missionary
He’s been actively involved in building parish communities, children, youth and adults since 20 years. As a retreat preacher, motivational speaker and moral counsellor, Roger has made a tremendous and positive impact in the lives of thousands in India and abroad.
Many of the recipients of Roger’s charisms of Preaching, Teaching, Spiritual Counselling and Personality building have come out of the darkness of depression, relationship bondages, suicidal tendencies, emotional trauma due to sexual and emotional abuse. These also include consecrated men and women.
If you are inspired to support Roger’s ministry then please email to wordignite@gmail.com

Calvary of those who fear

28 Friday Oct 2016

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

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+JMJ+

A child has a tremendous sense of emptiness at the loss of a prized or dear possession. The sense of loss is so profound in a child because at that tender age where a human slowly but inquisitively discovers the art of expressing his/herself through the mesh of emotions, adapt to reactions, connect to possibilities both significant and insignificant, it is this important phase of life where the child; through these events, also encounters and adapts to fear due to something being lost. This is fear of loss affects and plays a very pivotal role in the spiritual realm.

boy-leave-girl-moves-away-from-her-sad-love-image

Whether we are fortunate or less fortunate, blessed or deprived, able or enabled, many of us receive something or the other from those who care about us or are obligated to us; not necessary that they be those who love us truthfully. It could be presents or generous donations or in the case of those who are among the poorest of the poor; anything given to them becomes possession of great value and they try to protect it with their life. Our possessions are no only a collection of gifts but also of our own hard earned money. By our labor, sacrifices and perseverance we accumulate belongings and treasures. At the loss of such things, the sense of being deprived of them and the fear of having lost it can at times also lead to a rolling some effect in life. If we especially loose something that we were meant to protect or manage then the fear of loosing that item or person is tremendous.

Fear…according to the dictionary is an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm. The connotation of fear is quite negative. According to its meaning, it is unpleasant. It is not something that one would desire or yearn for. The fear of underperformance, unpreparedness, loss of a beloved or a valuable and also the unique fear of the possibility of loosing something and not being able to replace or restore.

God on the other hand reveals a very unique and endearing aspect of fear which is contradictory to the worldly consensus about this human emotion. There are several instances in scripture where the first and instant reaction toward God or His heavenly messengers have been ‘fear’. In Revelations 21:8 tells us the “cowardly” or “fearful” (King James Version) will not be in God’s Kingdom. However, there is a particular reverential attribute given to fear in Holy Scriptures. In the beginning there was ‘fear of The Lord‘, now ‘fear of God‘ is most prevalent.  Take the example of all heavenly beings who surround God and His most high and holy throne above the heavens. All these innumerable ‘creatures of light’ – seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels and angels (according to St. Thomas Aquinas’ ‘Summa theologiae’) present their beings before The Lord of Hosts with a mysteriously profound sense of awe, submission and holy fear. This ‘fear of The Lord’, in Hebrew ‘yirah’, or the Greek noun ‘phobos’ makes a person receptive to knowledge and wisdom. The priests, prophets, kings and patriarchs submerged themselves in this fear in all their thoughts as well as encounters with God. Even the peasants and the lowly such as the shepherds who received a thunderous annunciation of the savior while they were tending their flock  by night, were filled with this fear. The Holy Virgin Mary – Mother of God, submitted herself with to her creator’s most holy will, with holy fear in her being for Him.

zurburan_francis1

Going back to loss of something precious, let us remember that faith in the One True God – the Most Holy Trinity is the most precious of gifts that we receive from The Trinity Themselves. St. Paul in Ephesians 2:8 says, presses the truth saying, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…”. God is our creator, this is our belief and He who is love has given us an immeasurable and unfathomable measure of love by the sacrifice of His only begotten Son Jesus. Therefore we are bound by love to protect, safeguard, nurture, feed, share and build this invaluable gift of faith. However, the earth and life on it is constantly batter with sin and corruption. With the loss of the appetite for the holy and obsessed with the abnormal hunger for that which is unrighteous and evil, our being which was created holy and powerful has become vulnerable and at times mortally victim to sin. Constant susceptibility to concupiscence and the loss of self-control drives us to the loss of what could be the loss of God Himself.

The loss of God is indescribable and unmatched. Man can profit the whole world but with the loss of God, he looses his very soul. This is irreparable loss. The corrupt and evil will never have or seek remorse for having offended God and His people. The sinner who repents truthfully will however be lifted up out of sinful bondage, cleansed and purified by Divine Mercy and exalted by agape. Against the gigantic tides of the culture of death, perversion, sin, sacrilege and corruption in the world, we our summoned to be holy warriors of The Kingdom of God. The one who rejects His Creator and God will curse The glory of The Cross, but a sinner who humbles himself and delights in the shame of having to even crawl towards God’s forgiveness, will glorify The Cross and exalt the ‘Son of Man’ nailed upon it, wounded for the sinner’s transgressions (Isiah 53:5). Satan may claim that he can steal, kill or destroy the human soul. But faith and fear of The Lord negates every attack of ‘the enemy’. The one who has been beaten by ‘the enemy’ yet seeks The Lord, will embrace his/her cross and complete the journey of reconciliation and faithfulness. The world may see it as a walk of shame, but the repentant child of God will embrace and glorify it with humility and love for God.

Therefore, God, through His word, Church and working in individual as well as community lives, is constantly reminding us of the magnanimity of pain and suffering our soul would bear if we do not keep in safe possession the faith He bestows upon us. He is constantly reminding us the we need not be scared of Him or be afraid of Him as we are at the threat of danger or terror, rather he gently caresses us towards cultivating reverence, worship and holy trembling/fear for Him. This holy fear does not add anything to the eternal and incorruptible glory of God, but rather adds immeasurably and unequivocally to our redemption and pilgrimage to our Father’s home.

A repentant sinner bears humiliation, mockery, pain, sorrow, abandonment, with the hope that his ‘fear of The Lord’ grants him a sense of holy shame, leading him to conversion with a contrite heart and in the end await the crown of righteousness.

+JMJ+

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