~ BiBLe ~

[MysteRy]

Peter’s Declaration About Jesus




Peter’s Declaration About Jesus (Matthew 16:13-23)
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”


Reflection:-
Jesus proclaims Peter very fortunate for his rightful faith declaration: Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God’. Jesus replied ‘It is well for you, Simon Barjona, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you but my Father in heaven’ (Mt 16:16-17).

By this congratulation Jesus promises Peter the primacy of his Church;but, shortly after, He scolds Peter for having a very human and wrong idea of what the Messiah would do: Then Peter took him aside and began to reproach him, ‘Never, Lord! No, this must never happen to you’. But Jesus turned to him and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Mt 16:22-23).

We have to be grateful to the evangelists for presenting us the first disciples of Jesus as they actually were: no idealized characters, but people of flesh and blood as ourselves, with their defects and virtues; which gets them closer to us and helps us to see that perfecting ourselves in Christian life is a certain path we all have to follow, for nobody is born knowing all the answers.

As we already know how history goes, let us accept Jesus Christ was the suffering Messiah prophet Isaiah announced who offered his life in the Cross.What is more difficult to accept is that we must keep on presenting his work by following the same path of surrendering, renunciation and sacrifice.

Imbued, as we appear to be, with a society that encourages quick success, learning without any effort and in a funny way, and achieving the maximum profit with the least possible strain, it should not surprise us we end up by seeing things more as people do than as God does. Once he received the Holy Spirit, Peter learned where the path he had to follow went through and he lived by this expectation.

“World tribulations are full of sadness and empty of any prizes; but those we suffer for God are softened by the hope of an eternal prize” – St. Ephraem.

[MysteRy]

Jesus And The Canaanite Woman




Jesus And The Canaanite Woman (Matthew 15:21-28)
Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. Now a Canaanite woman came from those borders and began to cry out, “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is tormented by a demon”. But Jesus did not answer her, not even a word. So his disciples approached him and said, “Send her away: see how she is shouting after us”. Then Jesus said to her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel”.

But the woman was already kneeling before Jesus and said, “Sir, help me!”. Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to the little dogs”. The woman replied, “It is true, sir, but even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master’s table”. Then Jesus said, “Woman, how great is your faith! Let it be as you wish”. And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Reflection:-
Today, we often hear the expression “faith has been lost”, and the same people who ask our communities the baptism of their children or the catechesis for their infants or the sacrament of marriage, say it. These words depict the world in a negative way while trying to convince us bygone times were better and that we are now at the end of a stage where there is nothing left for us to say or to do.

Evidently, these are basically young people who, in its majority, watch rather sadly how the world has changed from their parents’ times, who used to live perhaps a more popular faith, which they have not known how to adapt to. This experience leaves them unsatisfied and without any capacity of reaction when, in fact, they might find themselves at the gates of a new stage they could very well take advantage of.

This passage of the Gospel draws the attention to that Canaanite mother that demands grace for her daughter by recognizing in Jesus the Son of David: “Lord, Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is tormented by a demon” (Mt 15:22). The Master is surprised: ”Woman, how great is your faith!” and He can do nothing but to act in favour of those persons: “Let it be as you wish” (Mt 15:28), although this does not seem to fall within his schedule. However, God’s grace is manifested in human realities.

Faith is not a privilege of a few, nor is it the property of those who think they are so good or of those who have ever been good, and have this social or ecclesial label.God’s action precedes any Church’s action and the Holy Spirit is already acting upon persons we would have never suspected could bring us a message from God, a request in favour of the needy.

St. Leo says:“My beloved, the virtue and wisdom of Christian faith are our love of God and of our neighbour: it does not miss any obligation to any pious works procuring to render God worship due to him and to help our brethren”.

[MysteRy]

Jesus Walking On Water




Jesus Walking On Water (Matthew 14:22-36)
After the crowds have eaten their fill, Jesus obliged his disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while He sent the crowd away. And having sent the people away, He went up the mountain by himself to pray. At nightfall, He was there alone.

Meanwhile, the boat was very far from land, dangerously rocked by the waves for the wind was against it. At daybreak, Jesus came to them walking on the lake. When they saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, thinking that it was a ghost. And they cried out in fear. But at once Jesus said to them, “Courage! Don’t be afraid. It’s me!”.

Peter answered, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you walking on the water”. Jesus said to him, “Come”. And Peter got out of the boat, walking on the water to go to Jesus. But, in face of the strong wind, he was afraid and began to sink. So he cried out, “Lord, save me!”. Jesus immediately stretched out his hand and took hold of him, saying, “Man of little faith, why did you doubt?”. As they got into the boat, the wind dropped. Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God!”.

They came ashore at Gennesareth. The local people recognized Jesus and spread the news throughout the region. So they brought all the sick to him, begging him to let them touch just the fringe of his cloak. All who touched it became perfectly well.

Reflection:-
Now we shall not look at Jesus sleeping on the boat while it sinks, nor rebuking the winds and the waves with a single word, so his disciples may be amazed (Mt 8:23-27). But, today’s action is no less disconcerting, whether for his first disciples or for us.

Jesus had obliged his disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side; and after the crowds have eaten their fill, He had sent the crowd away. And, then, He went up the mountain by himself to pray. And He remained there alone. (Mt 14:22-23). Without his Master, the disciples were having troubles to face the wind. It was then when Jesus came to them walking on the water.

As plain and simple people would, the disciples were terrified to see him: men do not usually walk over water, so they thought they were seeing a ghost. But they were wrong: it was not an illusion what they were looking at, but the very Lord, who was inviting them – as He did quite often – not to be afraid and trust him to awake their faith in them.

This faith was first demanded to Peter, who said: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you walking on the water” (Mt 14:28).With these words, Peter showed that faith consists of abiding by the word of Christ: he did not say “let me walk on the water” but he just wanted to follow what the very and only Lord could command him to do, to believe the truthfulness of the Master’s words.

His doubts, however, made him reel, but they led the other disciples to bow down and confess before their Master: “Truly, you are the Son of God!” (Mt 14:33).

The group of those that already were apostles, but did not yet fully believe, when they saw the waters waving below the Lord’s feet and appreciated his steps were firm through the stormy waves (…) they believed Jesus was the true Son of God, and accepted him as such.

[MysteRy]

Jesus Feeds 5000 With Fish And Bread




Jesus Feeds 5000 With Fish And Bread (Matthew 14:13-21)
On hearing about the death of John the Baptist, Jesus set out secretly by boat for a secluded place. But the people heard of it, and they followed him on foot from their towns. When Jesus went ashore, He saw the crowd gathered there and He had compassion on them. And He healed their sick.

Late in the afternoon, his disciples came to him and said, “We are in a lonely place and it is now late. You should send these people away, so they can go to the villages and buy something for themselves to eat”. But Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat”. They answered, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fishes”. Jesus said to them, “Bring them here to me”.

Then He made everyone sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fishes, raised his eyes to heaven, pronounced the blessing, broke the loaves and handed them to the disciples to distribute to the people. And they all ate, and everyone had enough; then the disciples gathered up the leftovers, filling twelve baskets. About five thousand men had eaten there besides women and children.

Reflection:-
Jesus shows us just how much He wants to involve us in his saving work. He who had created the heavens and the earth out of nothing, could have easily created a rich banquet from nothing to satiate the multitudes. But He preferred to work the miracle starting with the best his disciples could give him.

“We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish” (Mt 14:17), they said. “Bring them here to me” (Mt 14:18), Jesus replied. The Lord was able to multiply that meager donation — not enough even to feed a typical family — to nourish about 5000 families.

The Lord showed the same protocol at the wedding feast of Cana. He who created all the seas could easily have filled the six 30-gallon containers with choice wine from scratch. But He again wanted to involve his creatures in the miracle, by having them fill the containers with water first.

We see the same principle in the celebration of the Eucharist. Jesus begins not from nothing, nor from grain and grapes, but from bread and wine, which already contain within the work of human hands.

The late Cardinal François Xavier Nguyen van Thuan, imprisoned from 1975-1988 by the Vietnamese communists, wondered how he could further Christ’s kingdom and care for his flock while undergoing the brutal suffering of solitary confinement. He realized he might not be able to do much from a prison cell, but at least each day he could offer to the Lord his “five loaves and two fish,” and let God do the rest. The Lord multiplied those little efforts into a witness that has inspired not only the Vietnamese but the whole Church.

Today the Lord is asking us, his modern disciples, to give the crowds something to eat (Mt 14:16). No matter how much or how little we have, let us give it to the Lord and let him take it from there.

[MysteRy]

Beheading of St. John The Baptist




Beheading of St. John the Baptist (Matthew 14:1-12)
On one occasion the news about Jesus reached King Herod. And he said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. John has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him”.

Herod had, in fact, ordered that John be arrested, bound in chains and put in prison be-cause of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had said to him, “It is not right for you to have her as wife”. Herod wanted to kill him but he did not dare, because he feared the people who regarded John as a prophet.

On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst of the guests; she so delighted Herod that he promised under oath to give her anything she asked. The girl, following the advice of her mother, said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a dish”. The king was very displeased, but because he had made this promise under oath in the presence of the guests, he ordered it to be given her. So he had John beheaded in prison and his head brought on a dish and given to the girl. The girl then took it to her mother. Then John’s disciples came to take his body and bury it. And they went to bring the news to Jesus.

Reflection:-
Today, our liturgy proposes us to contemplate an injustice: the beheading of St. John the Baptist; and, at the same time, to discover in God’s Word the need of a clear and concrete testimony of our faith to fill out the world with hope.

I invite you to center our consideration in the person of Herod, the tetrarch. In fact, it is a counter-testimony for us, but it will help us to emphasize some interesting aspects, important enough for our testimony of faith amid the world. “The news about Jesus reached King Herod” (Mt 14:1). This assertion underlines an apparently correct, but not too sincere, attitude. It is the same kind of reality we can today find in many persons and, perhaps, even in ourselves. There are many who have heard of Jesus, but, who is He actually?, what kind of personal implication can we find in him?

First of all, we must give the correct answer; Herod’s reply is but vague information: “This man is John the Baptist. John has risen from the dead” (Mt 14:2). Most probably you will be missing here Peter’s reply to Jesus’ question: He said to them, ‘but who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (Mt 16:15-16). And this assertion does not leave any room for fear or indifference but it rather gives way to a testimony based in the Gospel of hope.

This is how His Holiness John Paul II defined it in his apostolic Exhortation The Church in Europe: “Therefore, in union with the whole Church, I invite my brothers and my sisters in faith constantly to be open in trust to Christ and to allow themselves to be renewed by him, proclaiming to all people of good will in the power of peace and love that whoever encounters the Lord comes to know the Truth, discovers the Life, and finds the Way leading to it”.

Today, let the Mother of God, the Mother of hope, help us to really discover Jesus and to bear witness of him to our brethren.

[MysteRy]

Martha And Mary With Jesus




Martha And Mary With Jesus (Luke 10:38-42)
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, He entered a village and a woman called Martha welcomed him to her house. She had a sister named Mary who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to his words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving and finally she said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the serving?”. But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her”.

Reflection:-
We, no matter how busy we may be, must also listen to our Lord reminding us that “only one thing is needed” (Luke 10:42):esteem and saintliness.They should be our aim, the horizon we must never lose sight of amidst our daily chores.

Because we shall be “busy” if we follow our Creator’s plan: “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen 1:28). The earth! the world!: this is our meeting point with the Lord. “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (Jn 17:15). Yes, the world is an “altar” for us and for our donation to God and to the others.

We belong in this world, but that does not mean we have to be worldly. On the contrary, we are called to become – in a beautiful expression of His Holiness John Paul II – “Priests of Creation!” Priests of our world, of a world we passionately love.

Here is the question: world and saintliness; our daily chores and the one and only thing we truly need. They are not two opposed realities: and we have to try to make both coincide. And this coincidence must be carried out – in the first place and basically – in our own heart, where heaven and earth can be reunited. Because in the human heart is where the dialogue between Creator and creature takes place.

Therefore, prayer is necessary. Ours is a time of continual movement which often leads to restlessness, with the risk of “doing for the sake of doing”.We must resist this temptation by trying “to be” before trying “to do”.In this regard we should recall how Jesus reproved Martha: ‘You are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful’ (Luke 10:41-42) — (John Paul II).

There is no opposition between “to be” and “to do”, but there is indeed a priority order of precedence. ”Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42).

[MysteRy]

Parables About The Kingdom of Heaven




Parables About The Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13:44-53)
Jesus said to the crowds, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. The one who finds it buries it again; and so happy is he, that he goes and sells everything he has, in order to buy that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a trader who is looking for fine pearls. Once he has found a pearl of exceptional quality, he goes away, sells everything he has and buys it”

Jesus said to his disciples, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a big fishing net let down into the sea, in which every kind of fish has been caught. When the net is full, it is dragged ashore. Then they sit down and gather the good fish in buckets, but throw the worthless ones away. That is how it will be at the end of time; the angels will go out to separate the wicked from the just and throw them into the blazing furnace, where they will weep and gnash their teeth”.

Jesus asked, “Have you understood all these things?”. “Yes”, they answered. So He said to them, “You will see that every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple of the Kingdom is like a householder who can produce from his store things both new and old”. When Jesus had finished these parables, He left the place.

Reflection:-
Today, Matthew places three parables about the Kingdom of Heaven for us to ponder over. The announcement of the Kingdom is of essence in Jesus’ preaching and in the hopes of the chosen people. But it is evident the nature of this Kingdom is not understood by the majority. The Sanhedrin who condemned him to death did not understand it, nor did Pontius Pilate or Herod, and initially, not even his disciples understood it.

We can find only in the good thief, hung in a cross along with him, the comprehension Jesus requests when he says: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Both had been accused as criminals and were about to die; but, because of an unknown reason, the good thief recognizes Jesus as the King of a Kingdom that will come after that terrible death. It could only be a spiritual Kingdom.

In his first preaching, Jesus speaks of the Kingdom as of a hidden treasure, the finding of which causes the finder a great joy and impels him to buy the field to be able to enjoy it forever: “and so happy is he, that he goes and sells everything he has, in order to buy that field” (Matthew 13:44). But, at the same time, to reach the Kingdom it is necessary to look for it with yearning and effort, to the point of selling all one may have: “Once he has found one of exceptional quality, he goes away, sells everything he has and buys it” (Matthew 13:46). “What is He referring to when He says seek and he who seeks, finds? I daresay He is referring to the pearls and to the pearl, pearl that acquires he who has given up everything and has accepted to lose everything”.

The Kingdom is peace, justice and liberty. To reach it is, at the same time, a gift from God and a human responsibility.In front of the greatness of this divine gift we realize the imperfection and instability of our own efforts, quite often destroyed by our sins, our wars and our malice that looks insurmountable. Nevertheless, we must have confidence, because what looks impossible for man is more than possible for God.

This Gospel is a vital call to conversion.Jesus does not spare us the hard reality: “The angels will go out to separate the wicked from the just and throw them into the blazing furnace” (Matthew 13:49-50). The warning is quite clear. We just cannot take it easy and go to asleep!

Now, it is our turn to freely choose: we either seek God and make goodness a part of our life, or we prefer to stand on the precipice of death. Or with Christ or against him. To convert ourselves means, in this case, to freely opt to become one of the upright ones and live a life worthy of his sons. However, within us we have the experience of sin: we realize the good we should do but we do the evil, instead; what do we do to provide our lives with a sense of true unity?We, alone, cannot do much. Only if we place ourselves in God’s hands shall we be able to attain the goodness and be counted amongst the upright ones.

“Because we know not when our Judge shall appear, so we should live every day as if it were our last” (St. Jerome). These words are a call to live with intensity and responsibility our Christianity. It is not a matter of being afraid, but of living in the hope this is a time of grace, praise and glory.

Christ shows us the only way to our own glorification. Christ is the only way to heaven; therefore, our salvation, our happiness and whatever we can imagine happens through Him. And if we have everything in Christ, we can hardly refrain from loving the Church, that shows him to us and is its mystic body. Against purely human visions of this reality we have to recuperate the divine-spiritual vision:nothing bigger than Christ and the fulfillment of his will!

[MysteRy]

You Do Not Know What You Are Asking




You Do Not Know What You Are Asking (Matthew 20:20-28)
The mother of James and John came to Jesus with her sons, and she knelt down to ask a favor. Jesus said to her, “What do you want?”. And she answered, “Here you have my two sons. Grant that they may sit, one at your right and one at your left, when you are in your kingdom”. Jesus said to the brothers, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?”. They answered, “We can”. Jesus replied, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right or at my left is not for me to grant. That will be for those for whom the Father has prepared it”.

The other ten heard all this and were angry with the two brothers. Then Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations act as tyrants, and the powerful oppress them. It shall not be so among you; whoever wants to be more important in your group shall make himself your servant. And if you want to be first, make yourself the servant of all. Be like the Son of Man who has come, not to be served but to serve and to give his life to redeem many”.

Reflection:-
Today, in the fragment of St. Matthew’s Gospel we can find many teachings. I will however limit myself to underline just one, which refers to God’s total control of events throughout time: whether of all men together (mankind), or of each and every human group (in our case, for instance, the family group of the Zebedees), or of any individual person. This is why Jesus clearly tells them: “You do not know what you are asking” (Mt 20:22).

To sit at Jesus Christ’s right is for those his Father has prepared it: “To sit at my right or at my left is not for me to grant. That will be for those for whom the Father has prepared it” (Mt 20:23). Just like that, in a clear-cut way. There is an English saying that goes “Man proposes and God disposes”. And it is so, precisely because God is God. Or we could also say it the other way round: if it was not so, God would not be God.

Before this fact, unquestionably overpowering any human determining factor, at the beginning, men are left with nothing else but acceptance and worship (because God has revealed himself to us as the Absolute); while marching on, with confidence and love (because God has revealed himself to us as a Father, too); and at the end…, that grand and definite end: to sit at Jesus’ side (whether at his right or at his left, it does not matter at all).

On our side, the enigma of divine election and predestination can only be solved with confidence. A milligram of confidence placed in God’s heart is worth more than all the weight of the world put on our poor little scale pan.

In fact, “St. James did not live long: this is because from the very beginning he was already burning with a great vehemence: he scorned all human things and climbed to such ineffable ceilings that he died immediately” (St. John Chrysostom).

[MysteRy]

Wheat and Weeds – Let Them Just Grow Together




Wheat and weeds parable (Matthew 13:24-30)
Jesus told his disciples another parable, “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and left. When the plants sprouted and produced grain, the weeds also appeared. Then the servants of the owner came to him and said: ‘Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?’. He answered them: ‘This is the work of an enemy’. They asked him: ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’. He told them: ‘No, when you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat with them. Let them just grow together until harvest; and at harvest time I will say to the workers: Pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them; then gather the wheat into my barn’”.

Reflection:-
“Let them just grow together”

Today, we shall ponder over a parable referring to community living, where good and evil, Gospel and sin, constantly get mixed up. Settling this situation as the servant suggests would seem the logical approach: “Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?” (Mt 13:28).But God’s patience is infinite, and He waits until the very last moment —as a good father would— for the possibility of a change:“Let them just grow together until harvest” (Mt 13:30).

An ambiguous and mediocre reality, perhaps, but that is where God’s Kingdom grows. It has to do with the feeling of being called to discover the signals of the Kingdom of God so we can boost it, while we are trying to avoid whatever conforms us into mediocrity. However, living in that mixture of good and evil should not hinder nor hamper the advance of our spiritual life; for, otherwise, we should be transforming our wheat into weeds. “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?” (Mt 13:27). It is not possible to grow in any other way, nor can we look for the Kingdom anywhere else than simply in this society we are given to live in. Our task will be to make the Kingdom of God grow in it.

The Gospel invites us not to grant any credit to the “pure”, to overcome the existing aspects of puritanism and bigotry of the Christian community. In all collectivities, no matter how healthy they are meant to be, it is easy to find this kind of attitude. Leaning on ideals, we all feel tempted to think we are the lucky ones that have already achieved perfection, while the rest is still far from it. Yet, Jesus proves that all of us, without exception, are still on our way.

Let us, therefore, be on the alert to prevent the devil to sneak up on us , which is what normally happens when we conform ourselves too much to this world. St. Angela of the Cross said, “we are not to listen to the voices of the world saying there are who do this or that; we stick to our own way, without inventing any variations, and always following our way of doing those things, which are like hidden treasures; for they will open the gates of Heaven for us”. Let the Mother of God help us conforming only to love.

[MysteRy]

Charity




Charity -  The charity of Christ – Luke 10:25-37
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”  But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Reflection:-
The charity of Christ is the source in us of all our merits before God. Grace, by uniting us to Christ in active love, ensures the supernatural quality of our acts and consequently their merit before God and before men. The saints have always had a lively awareness that their merits were pure grace.

“After earth’s exile, I hope to go and enjoy you in the fatherland, but I do not want to lay up merits for heaven. I want to work for your love alone. In the evening of this life, I shall appear before you with empty hands, for I do not ask you, Lord, to count my works. All our justice is blemished in your eyes. I wish, then, to be clothed in your own justice and to receive from your love the eternal possession of yourself.” -  (St. Therese, Story of a Soul) “

Christ has given us a share in his own life through death on the cross and Resurrection, and so we must be as Christs for one another and give in the same way. “To whom much is given, much is expected.” To those who call themselves Christian has been given more than to anyone else in the world.

“By charity, we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for love of God. Charity, the form of all the virtues, binds everything together in perfect harmony (Col 3:14).” The charity of the Samaritan made him pleasing in God’s eyes, though to Jews he was a heretic and an outcast, judged condemned. The priest, a leader and holy man among the Jewish people fell short in God’s eyes, for he was without charity.

“Christ died out of love for us, while we were still enemies. (Romans 5:10) The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself. Why charity? To share in Gods life and love and thus be happy. Living the virtue of charity bears the fruit of divine love and a foretaste of heaven which is the state of perfect fulfillment and eternal happiness in the presence of the living God.

“The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy;charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested and generous; it is friendship and communion: Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works. There is the goal; that is why we run: we run toward it, and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest.” (CCC 1829)

How is charity lost?God has given us free will, and therefore we must cooperate with his grace and freely choose to do His will. If we choose to break his law with sufficient reflection and full consent of the will, we loose the virtue of charity having sinned mortally. Venial sins weaken charity and can lead to mortal sin. Charity is our greatest gift and our greatest call. St. Pauls hymn on charity mught be the most beautiful in all of Scripture.

“If I . . . have not charity,” says the Apostle, “I am nothing.” Whatever my privilege, service, or even virtue, “if I . . . have not charity, I gain nothing.” Charity is superior to all the virtues. It is the first of the theological virtues: “So faith, hope, charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity.” We must love all, including our enemies, and must pray for them or we are without charity and therefore without God’s love. Let us begin now the regular practice of prayer for our enemies as well as for those who love us that the doors of heaven may not be shut against us.

Our burden and privilege as Christians is to be held to the very highest standards of conduct in thought, word and deed: Christ Jesus Himself. We desire to live abundantly, that is forever, and only in Christ is found such abundant life. If we would live forever we must begin now to live in Christ and persist in this life until the end.

[MysteRy]

Jesus The Teacher




Jesus The Teacher — John 7:14-24
Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?” Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?” “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?” Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”

Reflection:-
Jews were astonished at the knowledge and teaching of Jesus, the eternal teacher and they wondered about its origin as He was never been taught. Jesus explains to them the secret of His knowledge.Jesus shows himself as a medium through whom the wisdom of the Father is flowing.Jesus stands for the Father by doing His will and seeking His glory. So Jesus’ teaching becomes the self revelation of the Father.

Jesus finds himself to be in total dependence to the Father, His sender. In other words here Jesus is telling that the source of his knowledge is the Father.Since Jesus is seeking His Father’s glory and doing His will, Father’s wisdom passes clearly through him without any hindrance.Those who do the will of the Father can identify His teaching as coming from the Father because Father’s will is the same. Those who seek their own glory can’t be true always as their selfishness blocks the Father’s wisdom from passing clearly through them.

Jesus, the teacher, shows Jews their problem, i.e they seek their own glory and don’t do the will of the Father. So they can’t understand the source and real meaning of Jesus’ teaching.Every teaching is to be in conformity with the will of the Father and it should give glory to Him.If any teaching is aimed at selfishness and one’s own glory it fails. Jesus tells them that they are trying to kill him as they deny the heavenly source of his teaching and also don’t look into their real message but only in their outward appearance.

Jesus shows this through his act of healing which is in real conformity with the laws of Moses who ordered to circumcise on Sabbath. The will of the Father is obeyed in and through Jesus’s deeds and words, they glorify Him. Jews say that Jesus has a demon. But Jesus shows them that their judgement is wrong. They judge by appearances and so they fail to do the will of the Father because they seek their own glory.

Here Jesus, the teacher, welcomes us to the source of our authenticity.Only in relation to the Father by doing His will and seeking His glory that we can be men of God.Otherwise we may miss the real by incorrect judgement based on appearances. And instead of doing God’s will, we will be blocking His glory by seeking our glory. Jesus the eternal teacher shows us how to be wise by doing God’s will and seeking His glory.

[MysteRy]

Blood of Jesus Christ




Blood of Jesus Christ — John 6:48-59
I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, How can this man give us his flesh to eat Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live for ever. He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Reflection:-
Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land met with death due to starvation. God gave them manna in the wilderness with which their temporal life was sustained. Likewise we are on a journey to the Promised Land and we find ourselves to be starving without the bread that ensures us life in its fullness.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life” (Jn. 3: 16). God being the sole source and principle of life is pleased to give himself to his people in his Son. So Jesus tells here that without eating His flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus we can’t share in His eternal life. As manna gave temporal life in the wilderness, the new bread of life that is the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ gives eternal life.

Manna was given from above but it was not the bread of life, so those who ate of it died. But Jesus is the only true bread of life that comes from heaven. Eating this bread is eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood. Here we can understand that Jesus is telling us about the Holy Eucharist.

God loves us and wants us to have a share of His life and it is to be actualized in and through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus came down to us and gives Himself allowing us to partake in His flesh and blood, i.e. in His life itself. Those who eat and drink blood of Jesus Christ are in Him and He is in them.

Thus a person attains the character of God i.e. eternal life, by sharing in His flesh and blood. Mutual indwelling is the result of the reception of this bread. Manna in the wilderness gave them temporal life but did not form a part of them; here the new manna of life gives them eternal life. Through His body and blood, Jesus’ indwelling in a believer is made possible and it results in our eternal life. This is guaranteed as the life-sharing relation of the Son with the Father.

Thus the reception of the Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is inevitable for eternal life as manna is for earthly life. So let us be the sharers of divine life by partaking in the body and blood of Jesus. Let us approach the Holy Eucharist with love and experience the abiding love of God in Jesus Christ, through His body and blood.

[MysteRy]

What is Faith




What is Faith — John 6:41-47
The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

Reflection:-
When Jesus said that He is the bread of life that came from heaven, people began to speak against Him. They knew the human parents and relatives of Jesus. On the basis of that knowledge, it was difficult for them to believe what Jesus said. To them Jesus tells that no one can come to him unless one is attracted by the Father. As fulfilment of the prophesies, only those who are taught by the Father and heard from Him come to Jesus. Those who come will have the faith and they shall inherit resurrection and eternal life.

Here we see the given nature or infused aspect of faith. As we know faith is one of the theological virtues. It means that it is not just of human origin. Faith has a given aspect. God gives or arouses it in us and our response to it realizes in the proper faith. If there is only a human basis, we will be like the Jews who spoke against Jesus as it was difficult for them to believe what Jesus said. From a human point of view what Jesus is and what He tells are confusing. It does not satisfy our mere intellect.

Jesus prays, “I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed to the infants” (Luke. 10:21). In relation to faith it is not intelligence or intellect that matters. We need them to have a real understanding of faith. But faith is not purely intellectual knowledge where everything is based on reason or proof.

Faith is supernatural where everything is based on revelation. Faith is the obedient response to the revealing God.St. Paul says, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise” (1 Cor. 1:27)

This is faith. So in order to have eternal life, we have to give ourselves to the revealing God in total submission. God the Father teaches us and draws us to the Son who gives us eternal life. Unconditional assent and firm response is demanded from our part. So let us give ourselves to be taught and drawn by the Father who will give us eternal life in His son, Jesus Christ.

[MysteRy]

Bread of Life




Bread of Life — John 6:34-40
Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” And Jesus said to them,
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Reflection:-
After feeding the five thousand, people followed Jesus for earthly bread (6:26). Jesus tells them that I am the bread of life.Then people ask Jesus for it without knowing its real meaning. Jesus teaches them. The term ‘bread’ points to the desires and longings of a person, i.e. his personal needs and aspirations.

As we reflect on our own life we are guided by various desires and aspirations each and every moment. Human life can be considered as a running after of various needs which may be of different levels, spiritual or material. We see people taking different ways to satisfy their desires. There are people and movements, may it be religious or secular, who attract people promising the fulfilment of their life. They offer gratification for the desires by various means. Here lies the place of the ‘Bread of life’.

Only heaven can satisfy man because he is spiritual. i.e, the reason for his existence is the spirit in him which God has created for Himself.As St Augustine says ‘Lord, You have created me for You alone, until I reach you my soul is restless’. Earthly bread supports earthly life for a little span of time – whatever may it be. The heavenly Bread – Jesus – only can give the eternal life where we will be no more hungry of thirsty. There all other desires find fulfilment.

How to achieve this real Bread? Go to Him who is the real Bread of life who will not abandon any one of us. As Jesus is fulfilling the will of the Father, seeking His will is the way for us for approaching Him and believing Him. Then we are assured of the will of the Father, i.e. resurrection and eternal life. Let us dignify our inclinations to the desires of senses and earth by realizing the real longing in us for the real Bread of Life.

[MysteRy]

You Are Accepted By God




There are many who long to be accepted. “I am accepted!” is a highly comforting thought.

And that is exactly what Jesus promises in John 6:37 (AMP): “…the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out [I will never, no never, reject one of them who comes to Me]”.

The one condition that Christ requires is that you should go to Him.It is like a new neighborhood restaurant offering a delicious item for free on their launch date. All that you got to do is to go there and grab it.

What Jesus offers is free. Nevertheless you got to pay a price! What?Yes, the price is your willingness.Your willingness to believe Him. Your willingness to spend time for Him. Your willingness to receive from Him. Your willingness to follow His bidding. Your willingness to remain in Him.

To the one who pays this price, Jesus gives an astounding promise – “I will never, no never, reject you!” That’s super-comforting! Think about you being eternally protected. That’s ‘insurance unlimited’!

In a world of constant changes and broken promises, Christ’s offer provides stability and hope. As Romans 8:31 proclaims, if God is for us, who can be against us?

Question: How did you respond when you came to know that you are accepted by God?