Pentecost

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One Sunday morning, during the Eucharist, just before the people could recite the Creed, the parish priest stopped them and said: “Most of the time we rattle off the I Believe, but we forget  to say it meaningfully. So let’s recite it slowly and clearly this time.” As I recited the Creed, my mind went back to a Christian Doctrine class I had attended. Our teacher told us that the Creed has three main sections, focused on (a) the Father who is the Creator, (b) the Son who is the Redeemer, and (c) the Holy Spirit who is the Sanctifier.

The Holy Spirit reminds me of the day of Pentecost. It was on this day that the Church was born. For the past two thousand years the Holy Spirit has been at work in the Church. My memory takes me back to the scene of the descent of the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles. The disciples were waiting for the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that He would not leave them alone but would send His Spirit on them. And so it happened that when the apostles were together in the upper room, there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind which filled the entire house in which they were sitting and there appeared tongues as of fire which came and rested on the head of each of them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak different languages as the Holy Spirit gave them power to express themselves. (Acts. 2:1-4).  With the descent of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were no more frightened but turned into courageous preachers. As people heard what the apostles preached, they were cut to the heart and on that day three thousand people were baptized. From that day till today, the Church still stands strong.

After mentioning the Holy Spirit, the Creed immediately takes us to the reality of the Spirit’s work of sanctification by mentioning the Church. The Church has 4 qualities: It is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.  These 4 qualities are inseparable.

One:  Just as there is only One Christ, there can be only one body of Christ, only one bride of Christ, and therefore only one Church of Jesus Christ. He is the head and the Church is His body.

Holy: The Church is holy, not because all her members are supposedly holy, but rather because God is holy and is at work in her. All the members of the Church are sanctified by baptism. She is consecrated and dedicated to God.

Catholic: The word ‘catholic’ means universal. Thus, the Church embraces people of all ethnic backgrounds. The Church is catholic in a double sense: (a) The Church is Catholic because the risen Christ is present in her, and the risen Christ is universal. (b) The Church is Catholic because she has been sent out by Christ on a mission to the whole human race, so that all may be gathered together as one family under Christ the head, in the unity of His Spirit.

Apostolic:  The Church is called apostolic because she was founded by the apostles, holds fast to their teachings and is governed by their successors who continue the mission entrusted to them.

These 4 qualities are very much the fruits of the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of human beings to create unity, holiness and a sense of universality.

We are in the New Era which is marked by the Holy Spirit. In the Church, Christ manifests and communicates His work of salvation through the liturgy until the parousia. In this age of the Church, Christ now lives and acts with His Church in a new way that is appropriate to the times. The communion of the Holy Spirit in the Church restores to the baptized the divine likeness lost through sin. The great St. Basil says:  “Through the Holy Spirit we are restored to paradise, led back to the kingdom of heaven and adopted as children, given confidence to call God “Father” and to share Christ’s grace, called children of light and given a share in eternal glory.”

All these qualities are present since the day of Pentecost. The vast diversity of languages reveals the Catholicity of the Church; the fact that all hear the Gospel reveals its unity; the life of grace is the outcome of the Church’s holiness. And the apostles clearly stand out as the foundation of the Church which continues to flourish till today.

 The solemnity of Pentecost highlights the important role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and in the life of each individual. Pentecost can be called as the birthday of the Church. The diverse gifts and talents in the individual members of the Church are all given by the Holy Spirit for the good of the entire Church. Through the Holy Spirit, we are not to judge the right and wrong actions of humanity, but by our just and loving actions in the Year of Mercy, we are called to communicate the unconditional love of the Father to all 

Ask and Receive.

In our day to day life we are faced by many problems where some problems seem too difficult to be tackled and solution seems impossible. At that point of time do we seek Gods help or do we with our human power try to overcome the problem? At times we do so and when the problem goes out of hand we blame God and say hes the cause of it.

Today's scripture(16 march 2016) tells us of Gods promise to save us from all our tribulations when we call out to Him in faith. In the first reading Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego are saved from the furnace of fire as they asked Gods help and God did protect them. In the Gospel Jesus tells that He is the one who will free them from sin. From this we see we have a loving God who is every ready to help and save us from all harm and evil.

From confusion to boldness

The death of Jesus came as a blow hard on the faces of His disciples. They did not know what to do. They were like sheep without a shepherd. With such an event they thought that death was final. It hadn’t dawned in their minds that He had once told them, that He would rise again. The disciples going to Emmaus didn’t recognize Jesus but at the breaking of the bread opened their eyes and minds and everything that He had told them earlier made sense to them and they returned back to the other disciples.

 Then finally it dawned on them that He had truly risen as in fulfillment of His words that He had told them. And from then on they could boldly witness to Jesus’ resurrection and could proclaim to all that, He had “RISEN”

Presentation of the Lord

Today the church celebrates the presentation of Jesus in the temple. Its been 40 days now from the birth of Jesus. This day should also remind us of our baptism, where on that day we became Christians and were welcomed into the Catholic faith. It was also the day where all your family members, relatives and neighbors came to celebrate the joy of your birth.

Simeon the priest waited for a long time to see the Messiah, and when he did see Him, he thanked God for fulfilling his promise. “A sword will pierce your soul”, these words said by Simeon to Mary were pondered by her. She didn’t know what it meant, but moved on in faith.

Today is also the Day of Consecrated life, let’s pray for all consecrated, that they may be committed to the Lord and grow in holiness.

LENT

            The Holy Mother Church believes that she should celebrate the saving work of Her divine spouse in a sacred commemoration for a period in the course of the year. One such sacred commemoration is lent which is fast approaching. Lent reaches its climax after forty days on Easter Sunday which is Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. The Holy Mother Church gifts us forty days of lent where one is called to practice fasting, penance and almsgiving in preparation for the feast of Easter.

            Today the average life span is 60 – 80 years. It would be a wise thing to set aside forty days of a year and figure out God’s merciful love towards us that He chooses to die for us just to open the gates of heaven for us. In the Bible it’s quite clear that God considered forty days as spiritually significant time for transformation in ones life.

v  Noah in the ark during the  forty days of rain

v  Moses on Mount Sinai for forty days.

v  The city of Nineveh gave up its evil ways after forty days were given to them to repent.

v  Jesus was strengthened for forty days in the desert before He began his ministry.

v  The disciples were transformed after spending forty days with Jesus after His resurrection.

            These forty days of lent are days of grace and if one takes it seriously there will surely be change and one will surely be transformed into a new person.

            Most of the cars have a GPS app. What is its purpose? It’s to guide when one has lost the way and it helps to bring the person on the right track. This special season of lent is just like this GPS. We are people who have lost our path and this season of lent helps us to come back on the right path. Lent helps us to realize our wrong doings and to reconcile and return to the lord who is waiting with His arms wide open to receive us back into His embrace. Lent is the best time to introspect, reflect and contemplate.

             Pope Francis has declared this year as the jubilee year of mercy which is quite apt. The season of lent calls us to be merciful towards others and to receive mercy from others; it’s all about forgiving, loving, caring, helping, etc of what value is it if a person does things for the sake without putting himself/herself into the particular work? I can assume being merciful, forgiving, loving, caring will not be easy and simple; it will surely be tough. But we can follow the footsteps of Jesus and imitate His example like Him.

            How am I going to spend my lent this time? Will it just be another lent like the previous year, or will there be a change?

            We always feel that lent is a time of being sad, gloomy, doing a lot of penance, etc. but it’s not so. It’s a time to move out of the muck, have a wash and wear new clothes. It’s a season to change and move on and start again on a new leaf. God is waiting with arms wide open. It’s just our effort with a clear heart and true repentance which will give us the happiness of lent.

ST. JOSEPH

           

            Today is the feast of St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus and the husband of Blessed Virgin Mary. In St. Joseph we see obedience in faith. He takes the leap of faith not knowing what is next on the other side but he is sure that the one who has asked him will surely be his guide and protector. In him we see the whole hearted yes that he said to the will of God.

            In our lives too God asks of us something we find it difficult to completely believe in God, we want things to be comfortable while dong God’s will.

            By the example of St. Joseph we can trust God even though when the path is rough and uncomfortable and also be sure of providence when we are truly in need of it. And for such a step God will surely honour and bless us.