MISERICORDIA ET MISERA: Some Key extracts

MISERICORDIA ET MISERA: Some Key extracts

MISERICORDIA ET MISERA: Some Key extracts

 Introduction

An apostolic letter is a document of papal magisterium less solemn than an encyclical but of great importance. With an elegance of spiritually pregnant language elevating God’s Mercy to its rightful place Misericordia et Misera, a document under study is an apostolic letter which is given by Pope Francis in Rome, at Saint Peter’s Basilica, on 20 November 2016, the solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the universe, to mark the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.

1. The name of the apostolic letter

MISERICORDIA ET MISERA is St. Augustine’s expression used while unfolding the loveliest and the most touching story of Jesus’ encounter with the woman caught in the very act of adultery (Jn 8:1-11)–“the two of them alone remained: mercy with misery.”

2. The nature of God’s mercy

The bottomless ocean of God’s Mercy is like the leaven that makes the dough rise (cf. Mt 13:33), or like the mustard seed that grows into a tree (cf. Lk 13:19) (19). Sinful human beings are renewed and redeemed by God’s Mercy. God’s nature seen at its best, in every merciful encounter we find a hope-filled engagement between two hearts: the heart of God and the human heart. In this encounter human heart is warmed and healed by God’s heart, hearts of stone become hearts of flesh (cf. Ezek 36:26) and the human person becomes a “new creation” (Gal 6:15) just as iron placed in the fire is changed into fire (16). Unlike lightning that never strikes in the same place twice, in the sacramental life, God’s mercy is granted us in abundance which is very visible especially in the formulae of the two “sacraments of healing”, namely, the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation and the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick (5).

The woman caught in the very act of adultery [Jn 8:1-11] (1) and the woman at the home of a Pharisee (cf. Lk 7:36-50) who poured perfume over Jesus’ feet, bathed them with her tears and dried them with her hair (cf. vv. 37-38) experienced the forgiving love of Jesus and our heavenly Father who always forgive without any condition (Ps 136; Ex 34:6). Jesus even extended his forgiveness from the Cross [Lk 23:34] (2).

3. Mercy gives rise to an inexpressible joy

In an ambience of truest and sincerity, both the women mentioned in this document came to Jesus and drunk deep of his mercy and felt free and happy as never before. Mercy gives rise to inexpressible joy that helps us to do what is good, think what is good and despise sadness and live in God (3). As we scale the mount of holiness, may this joy be rooted in our hearts, help us to “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4; cf. 1 Thess 5:16) and may we never allow it to be robbed from us by our troubles and concerns especially in a technological civilization where emptiness, sadness, loneliness, boredom, despair and depression appear to be on the rise, particularly among young people who eventually become victims of interior conflict about the basics of Christian life (3).

Through his total self-gift–his death and resurrection, Jesus ‘returned the Mosaic Law to its true and original intent–the love of God–that reads our desire to be understood, forgiven and set free. It is striking and makes one wonder that Jesus clothed the misery of sin with the mercy of love. To those who wanted to judge and condemn the woman, Jesus replied with a lengthy and deafening silence so much so that they were seized by a sudden pang of their own conscience and left the scene one by one (1).

4. The contribution of the ‘Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy’

Let it be said at once that in this Jubilee year of mercy, each of us has experienced the mercy; favour, forgiveness (Ps 85:1-2) and loving gaze of God casting all our sins into the depths of the sea and behind his back thus, removing all our transgressions (cf. Mic7:19; Is 38:17; Ps 103:12) because of which we cannot remain unaffected, for it changes our lives (4).

With the help of the Spirit the Church attentively listened to the Father’s voice, intensely experienced his presence and closeness, was able to see with greater clarity Jesus’ gift of and mandated regarding forgiveness, felt his life-giving breath poured out upon the Church and was reminded of her mission: “Receive the Holy Spirit: if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:22-23) (4).

In the light of our common creatureliness, we have learned that God bends down to us (cf. Hos 11:4) so that in imitation of him we too may bend down to our brothers and sisters. The Holy Year of Mercy has set us on the path of charity, and calls us to travel daily with fidelity and joy. It is required of us that we draw near to our brothers and sisters if we want to be close to Christ (16).

The year was loaded with solidarity with the poor and the unhappy; many acts of kindness by many volunteers towards the weak and the vulnerable, towards those most lonely and abandoned but often a number of  such charitable acts remained hidden since they were daily expressed in discreet and quiet gestures. Sparing a thought for those who suffered pain, these were efforts made to show God’s presence and closeness that  in turn also helped many people draw closer to the Church (17).

5. Mercy must last a lifetime, not just a year

Attention to our cultural currents, the same meeting between Jesus and the two women must be continually celebrated and lived out in our communities and local churches (1). Without putting in the cold storage the blessings and insight received in this grace-filled year, we need to unleash the creativity of mercy, to bring about new undertakings and produce the fruit of grace. Being aware that lost opportunity never returns, the Church today needs to tell of those “many other signs” that Jesus worked, which “are not written” (Jn 20:30). Having own personal works to tend to, we are strongly exhorted to do something in the area of hunger and thirst, migration, diseases, prisoners, Illiteracy, culture of extreme individualism, and the experience of God. Putting our trust in the granaries and treasures of divine providence, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy should continue in our own day to be proof of mercy’s immense positive influence as a social value. Before time slips through our fingers like tiny grains of sand, mercy impels us to do all we can to restore dignity to millions of people who, with us, are called to build a “city which is reliable” (18).

 6. How to give birth to ‘a culture of mercy’

In tune with the time, culture of mercy is shaped in assiduous and spirit-filled prayer, inspired by the lives of saints and being close to the poor (Gal 2:10) in which no one looks at another with indifference or turns away from the suffering of our brothers and sisters. Inspired by the same one God and none of them being alike, the works of mercy are “handcrafted”, crafted in a thousand different ways but fashioned from the same “material”, mercy itself.

We may be nobody in the eyes of the world yet every little work of mercy affects a person’s entire life. Leaving behind the temptation to hide behind indifference, non-involvement and individualism in order to lead a comfortable life free of problems, Christian community, should take up the works of mercy specially for the cause of the poor as Jesus identified himself with the poor people (Jn12:8) (20).

7. Priests’ permission to absolve the ‘grave sin’ of abortion has been extended

Exceedingly important to realize the fact that one of the most important lines in this document could be this: “I henceforth grant to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion”. Fully guided by the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis emphasizes the fact that abortion is a grave sin that puts an end to an innocent life but he also says that there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father. To the last atom of their strength, on this journey of special reconciliation, may every priest be a guide, support and comfort to penitents who sometimes even experience a total spiritual collapse (12).

8. SSPX priests can continue hearing confessions

For the pastoral benefit of those faithful who for various reasons, attend churches officiated by the priests of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, genuinely willing to deal with the depth of their unworthiness, can validly and licitly receive the sacramental absolution of their sins as it was for the Holy Year of Mercy until further provisions are made (12).

9. Missionaries of mercy continue their ministry until further notice

A work of great and everlasting beauty, this extraordinary ministry of the missionaries of mercy does not end with the closing of the Holy Door. With the thought of a spiritual wellbeing of every faithful, Pope Francis has allowed it to continue until further notice so that the grace of the Jubilee remains alive and effective all over the world. It will be supervised by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization to make use of this extraordinary ministry to the maximum (9).

10. The Sacrament of Reconciliation must regain its central place in the Christian life.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation must regain its central place in the Christian life so that our friendship with the Lord remains in constant repair and progress towards a perfect human-divine relationship (11). In the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation God’s  ocean of limitless mercy and his embrace is directly experienced by us sinners who carry the burden of the contradiction between our desire to do something and what we do in reality (Rom 7:14-21). Grace always precedes us. Grace is stronger than sin. This grace is more powerfully experienced when we live a life of charity for “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8) and forgive others as we expect to be forgiven (Mt 6:12) by others. Resentment, anger and revenge should not overtake us, making our lives unhappy and become an impediment to a joyful commitment to mercy as well as full range and depth of God-experience in our life (8).

The Missionaries of Mercy while rendering effective pastoral service emphasized that God places no roadblocks in the way of those who look for him with a repentant heart. Many have encountered the Lord once more in the sacrament of Confession and found joy in their life. The opportunity to live our faith also as an experience of reconciliation should not be missed. St. Paul urges us: “Be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20), and be “a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17) (9).

11. The priests are to carefully prepare for the ministry of confession

While thanking them all, Pope Francis urges all priests to prepare carefully for the truly priestly mission, the ministry of confession–an antidote to sin, to be welcoming, witnesses of fatherly love and mercy whatever the gravity of the sin involved, attentive in helping penitents to reflect on their mistakes, clear in presenting moral principles, willing to walk patiently beside the penitents, far-sighted in discerning individual cases, generous in dispensing God’s forgiveness and to be open-hearted with them since every penitent is a reminder that he himself is a sinner as well as a minister of mercy (10).

The priests are invited to reflect on the confession of Paul to Timothy that he was the greatest of sinners, “but for this reason I received mercy” (1 Tim 1:16; 1 Tim 1:12-13; 2 Cor 5:18). Cultivating in themselves the capacity to sense the fading spiritual health of every soul and without acting in a way that can contradict the experience of mercy that the penitent seeks, even in the most complex cases where there is a temptation to apply a Justice derived from rules alone, the confessors–the coaches of human hearts must believe in the power flowing from divine grace and help light up the space of personal conscience with God’s infinite love (cf. 1 Jn 3:20).

Cost what it may, with a high degree of preciseness, the priests must be prepared and be capable for the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18) so that everyone is afforded the opportunity of experiencing the liberating power of forgiveness. A favorable occasion to stimulate the goodness lying dormant in each of us could be the 24 Hours for the Lord, a celebration held in proximity to the Fourth Sunday of Lent which has a great pastoral value in encouraging a more fervent experience of the sacrament of Confession–a truly divine-human dialogue (11).

12. Great care is to be taken in preparing, preaching and listening to the homily

In the liturgical setting, hearing the word of God takes on particular significance. In the biblical readings, we retrace the history of our salvation through the proclamation of God’s tireless work of mercy. The Lord continues to speak to us today so that we can concretely experience his closeness to us. Himself a spiritual man and his own example the best commentary and instruction on homiletics, Pope Francis strongly reminds priests and deacons that great care be given to preparing the homily and to preaching in general. He says that both homiletics and catechesis need to be sustained by this pulsing heart of the Christian life (6).

13. Engage actively in the ministry of New the Evangelization

It is time off we should go with burning urgency to look to the future and to understand how best to continue, with liveliness, joy, fidelity and enthusiasm, in the work of the new evangelization experiencing and celebrating the richness of God’s mercy specially in each moments of the Eucharistic celebration (Collect, Preface, more specially of the season of Lent) without any limit and without making the Holy Spirit sad who constantly inspires us to take new paths in bringing salvation to everyone (5).

 14. The Bible should be studied, celebrated, better understood, disseminated and widely diffused

The hub of God’s very life and love, the Bible is the great story of the marvels of God’s mercy. Every one of its pages is steeped in the love of the Father for his creation despite the people’s infidelity. In human concepts and terms, Jesus’ life and preaching called everyone to be a permanent instrument of his mercy and forgiveness (cf. Jn 20:23). Like lectio divina, every other efforts must be made so that God’s word is increasingly studied, celebrated, better known, better understood, disseminated and widely diffused (7).

15. Words of consolation are acts of mercy

All of us need consolation because no one is spared suffering, pain and misunderstanding  that comes from a spiteful remark born of envy, jealousy or anger, betrayal, violence, abandonment and death–the ultimate act of love towards those we leave behind and towards God whom we go forth to meet. Consolation is another face of mercy–“Comfort, comfort my people” (Is 40:1). God’s mercy finds expression also in the closeness, affection and support of our brothers and sisters at times of sadness and affliction through a reassuring word, an embrace, a caress, a prayer and even through silence which belongs very much to our language of consolation. (15).

16. Pastors must be close to the people in good times and in bad times

Though nothing and no one can ever separate us from the love of God (cf. Rom 8:35) yet the priest’s sharing in moment of death in a family is an important form of pastoral care, for it symbolizes the closeness of the Christian community at a moment of weakness, solitude, uncertainty and grief of a family (15). One cannot help wondering that Family life and love is often interrupted by suffering, betrayal and loneliness. Even joy at the gift of children is accompanied by concern about their growth and education, and their prospects for happiness and fulfillment in life. As the apple never falls far from the tree, each of us carries the richness and the burdens of our personal history which makes us different from everyone else. So it is demanded, especially of priests, a careful, profound and far-sighted spiritual discernment, so that everyone can feel accepted by God, participate actively in the life of the community and be part of that People of God which journeys tirelessly towards the fullness of his kingdom of justice, love, forgiveness and mercy (14).

17. Identify new works of mercy

 Out of deep and genuine conviction, concrete signs of mercy have been performed during this Holy Year by Communities, families and individuals and relived the joy of sharing and the beauty of solidarity. But this is not good enough. Profound and detailed analysis will betray the fact that there are new forms of spiritual and material poverty that assault human dignity. Punctuated with genuine prayers, we need to be always vigilant and ready to identify new works of mercy, to give new expression to the traditional works of mercy and to practise them with generosity and enthusiasm (19).

18. Be active in implementing social justice

Qualitatively different from all sorts of charitable work, we need but think of one corporal work of mercy–“to cloth the naked” (cf. Mt 25:36, 38, 43, 44; Gen 3:7-8; Gen 3:21; Jn 19:23-24). Rather than loading the responsibility over to secular NGOs and charitable institutions, the Church is called to be the “tunic of Christ” and to clothe her Lord once more and be committed to solidarity with the naked of the world for Jesus says: “I was naked and you clothed me” (Mt 25:36). Almost always unseen by the public light, the enemies that attack the dignity of a person are unemployment, lack of sufficient salary; lack of home, land, various forms of discrimination specially children who are the young adults tomorrow, who suffer violence that rob them of the joy of life. The social character of mercy demands that we cannot simply stand by and do nothing but to banish indifference and hypocrisy, to contribute actively and selflessly to making justice and a dignified life (19).

19. Celebration of the World Day of the Poor

With utmost seriousness, the entire Church is asked to celebrate, on the Thirty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, the World Day of the Poor which could be the worthiest way to prepare for the celebration of the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, who identified  himself with the little ones and the poor and who will judge us on our works of mercy (cf. Mt 25:31-46) to reflect on how poverty is at the very heart of the Gospel and that, as long as Lazarus lies at the door of our homes (cf. Lk 16:19-21), there can be no justice or social peace, no genuine form of new evangelization (cf. Mt 11:5) to renew the face of the Church (21).

20. The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Practice of Mercy

With the gift and help of the Holy Spirit the Church is able to see with incisive clarity the gift and mandate of Jesus Christ regarding forgiveness (Jn 20:22-23) (4).  In the formula of absolution and anointing given by a catholic priest the role of the Holy Spirit is very much visible in reconciling us and the world to God (5). Even in the past despite the people’s infidelity, the Holy Spirit made use of the prophets and the wisdom writings to shape the history of Israel as a nation that was close to God and loved by him (7.3). Without the help of the Holy Spirit it is impossible to contribute actively and selflessly to promote justice and a dignified life in order to give an expression of the presence of God’s kingdom among us (19) because the culture of mercy is shaped in assiduous prayer and being docile to the working of the Holy Spirit (20).

21. Blessed Virgin Mary as model and guide in the practice of mercy

The Holy Mother of God always looks upon us with her eyes of mercy the first to show us the way and to accompany us in our witness of love. The Mother of Mercy gathers us all under the protection of her mantle. Let us trust in her maternal assistance and follow her perennial counsel to look to Jesus, the radiant face of God’s mercy (22).

Conclusion

All told and done, may the Holy Trinity–Father, Son and the Holy Spirit; Blessed Virgin Mary–the mother of Mercy and all the saints and angels help us–poor, banished children of Eve to continually experience God’s mercy in our lives and in turn be passionate, committed and fervent in showing mercy to others especially when life throws one of its little curves at any one of us so that the rays of God’s mercy may perpetually peep into the living rooms of our hearts pushing away the darkness of sin forever.

Fr. Blasius Tete

Shillong

Prayer: 29 Sunday – Year C

Prayer

Israelites were on a journey from Egypt to the Promised Land that is breaking away from their slavery in Egypt. We are journey from this earth to heaven. Ours is breaking away from the slavery of sin to live a life of eternal bliss. The goal of Israelite was the Promised Land; our goal is in heaven.

Vatican Council II Light of all nations Chapter VII says that ours is “a pilgrim Church.” We are on a pilgrim to a heaven.

Many and powerful enemies are trying to prevent the Christian community from reaching its destination: we need a powerful weapon to overcome those enemies: the weapon of prayer.

This prayer must last as long as the battle of life last, until the sunset of our life, the end of our life.

Victory is the combination of action and prayer, of our own effort and of God’s help.

In this pilgrimage Moses was their leader. In our case Jesus is our leader.

On the way to the Promised Land there were powerful enemies who were blocking them on their journey. In our case the greatest enemy is our pride. In their pride the Israelite refused to obey Moses. In our pride we refuse to obey Jesus.

How do we pray? Do we pray at all? Is our prayer too little or prayed very badly limited to formulas.

Since our enemies never relent, neither should our prayer. Our personal and family prayer follow the pattern of our community prayer on Sunday: it should be based on the scripture.

Today’s readings teach us to be persistent in our prayer and persevere in our faith. Moses persevered in lifting the staff and there was victory. The widow in the gospel used the weapon of perseverance.

We live in an age of instant coffee, fast food, 4G speeds. We are losing the virtue of patience. We also want instant result for our prayers.

We should not expect to get whatever we pray for.

Faith is not a private possession. It is to be at the service of the community as Moses faith in God was at the service of his people during the battle.

GRATITUDE: WHERE ARE THE OTHER NINE?

Gratitude: Where are the other nine? 

**********Introduction:

= We live in  a mobile age: “stay connected” जुड़े रहें

= Lepers: not connected from the world

= How connected are we to the Lord?

= Eucharist means “thanksgiving.”

= When was the last time we thank God for something ?

= Our ingratitude can be the worst leprosy. कुष्ठ बीमारी

= The ten lepers represent the whole of humanity, poisoned by sin

= Whole week the Lord has blessed us/cured us let us give thanks to him

= Examine: are we grateful to God/ Parents/ neighbours

**********First Reading

=Naman Thanks Yahweh and received greater blessing than his physical healing that is the gift of faith in Yahweh.

= Naman dipped seven times, how often do we go for confession to dip ourselves in the ocean of mercy to make ourselves clean? How often do we go for Eucharist to take a dip in the ocean of love to heal ourselves and restore ourselves as a child of God.

= In the confession, we became a new person altogether just as the skin of naman became like the skin of a little child.

= Have we recognized Jesus as our true God just as Naman recognized Yahweh as the true God of Israel?

= What are we giving in return to God like Naman who was ready to present gifts to Eliza? Are we people who only receive and do not give?

= Elisha did not take anything from Naman. Do we take bribe in our office or something extra from some people in our profession?

= Money got from questionable sources, from politician to build our building, for ordination, jubilee. We have no right to ask as to where did they get from. But if we come to know that it is from the corruption, we need to return back. We need to trust in the providence.

= A common misfortune had broken down the racial and national barriers. In the common tragedy of their leprosy they had forgotten they were Jews and Samaritans and remembered only they were men in need.

*****************Gospel:

= They missed loving encounter with the Lord, their healing remained at the physical level alone.

= There are various kinds of prayers: petition, adoration, contrition and thanksgiving. All the nine lepers made the prayers of petition, contrition and adoration but after healing they forgot to make the prayer of thanksgiving.

= Samaritan was healed body and soul for all eternity

They got certificate of cure from the priest but they missed the greater blessing by their ingratitude.

= Does our invocation “Lord, have pity on me”, turns into “Thank you Lord.”

= All 10 men obeyed Jesus to go to the priest and show themselves to him. So they showed that they had faith.

= How can we forget that, just the day he decided to embrace a leper, Francis of Assisi understood the whole of Christianity and began his journey to become “very similar to Jesus” to the point of being like him “physically” receiving the stigmata? “ HE SAID: We lepers”

= Jesus became a leper for us: He can no longer go openly into the villages but is forced to stay in desert places and to live the situation that was before of the leper. The Latin text of Isaiah’s prophecy about the Servant of the Lord says among other things: “We considered him like a leper” (Is 53,4b). Jesus, the Servant, the Messiah, the Savior, has become for us as a leper to heal our leprosy in the body and in the spirit!

= On the cross he will have wounds like a leper, but we can fix our gaze on him in the sure hope of being healed and with the certitude of the compassion of the one who “took upon himself our sufferings and our evils” (Is 53,4a)

**************Lessons

= Every time we commit a sin we render the skin of our soul dirty and we need the pool of the confessional/confession/priests/Eucharist/sacraments/sacrametals to deep ourselves in them and make it clean like Naman.

= We all need healing from one thing or the other and our healing both physical and spiritual should bring us closer to God like that Samaritan.

= Pope Francis: “Our relationship with God should not be limited to only asking favours from him or praying only in times of happiness.

= We need to thank God even in pain (2Tim 2:10) Job: God gave and God has taken away; praise be the name of the Lord

= Pope Francis: Go to the periphery, In fact, who was more peripheral of the lepers who are the living dead, especially at that time when they had to stay far away from contact with other people? 

= We need healing at two levels: one, more superficial, concerns the body, the other and deeper touches the inside of each person, what the Bible calls “heart”, and from there spreads to the whole of existence.

= It was after burning numerous victims during those times of war, famine and pestilence that the Minister Martin Rinkart composed the great song of praise: “Now thank we all our God”

= They say God has two dwellings: one in heaven and one in a grateful heart.

= Helen Keller: “So much has been given to me that I have no time to brood over that which has been denied.

= Being grateful for the things received is the best means of receiving the new ones.

= Are our children grateful, if not that means that they were never taught to be grateful by the parents friend, a teacher, a doctor, a surgeon

= As King Lear said in the day of his own tragedy.“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is, To Have a thankless child!”

= George Herbert a poet: “O God you have given us so much, Give us one thing more: ‘a grateful heart’

= Blow, blow, thou winter wind,

Thou art not so unkind

As man’s ingratitude

= Don Bosco: “A grateful boy is a Holy boy

= We need to pray for our benefactors

= Mary was a grateful mother: “My soul glorifies the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my saviour.”

Lord Increase our Faith: 27th Sunday (C)

• We live by faith every moment of our life, when we go for meals we have faith that the food is not poisoned, when we travel we have faith in the driver......
• The 2 Gifts/treasures:    
• Gift of faith and life in the spirit?   

  

  Lord increase our faith

• Gift of priesthood and gift of being a bishop and the task of preaching the Gospel
• Roman Law: When a man is on a journey to a faraway place he entrusts his money and property to a friend on the condition that he would return or in case of death he passes it on to his children. God has given us faith as a gift.  We need to pass it on to others better than what we found.
• Flame into a flame the gift of faith God has given us or else it will go off.
• Holy Spirit is the agent of faith formation in our lives. Be open to his promptings every moment of our life and you will grow in your faith.
• Jesus said to his disciples: wait until the Holy Spirit comes … spirit of power, love and self control.
• Do we have power to say no to evil habits… if not we are weak in our faith.
• Do we have love in our hearts to love those who hate us… if not we are weak in our faith.
• Do we have self control/patience when things go wrong; when people do us wrong… if not we are weak in our faith.

Gospel: Lk 17:5-10

“… Lord, Increase our faith”

Message for our Life

• The faith of Habakkuk, Timoty, and Disciples were put to the test. Often our Christian faith is put to the test
• Gospel of Luke is a Gospel that emphasizes on the central role of the Holy Spirit who is so vital in our faith formation.
• Gospel of Luke is also a Gospel of Prayer. Unless we have faith we cannot pray.
• A disciple should be a person of faith.
• A Disciple of Christ should pray for his faith and also for other’s faith to increase.
• He/she should help people to grow in faith through words and action.
• By seeing a disciple’s life other people should be strengthened in their faith.
• A plant without roots does not grow. A faith without the roots of our parents and grandparents will not grow.
• Genuine humility (unworthy servants) leads a person to faith.
• In spite of our unworthiness Jesus urges us to be faithful, entrusts us to preach the Gospel
• Faith in Christ is our greatest treasure; if we lose it we have nothing worthwhile left with us.
• Faith in Christ is a lamp that lights our way in the darkness. We must keep it burning brightly.
• Faith in Christ is a source of strength.
• Faith in Christ thrives in a humble heart. Prides destroys faith
• Our model of faith is Mary. She was humble and was guided by the Holy Spirit, she served with total faithfulness.
• Seed of faith is sown in our hearts at our baptism which is given in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy spirit.
• We are the unworthy servants of the deposit of faith and not masters of it. We need to live our faith seriously and help others to grow in their faith.
• There is no place for spiritual pride. A disciple cannot expect God to be grateful to him. A disciple may give his best service to God. However, that is no more than his duty.
• Our strong faith in Christ will accompany signs and wonders and miracles, “be uprooted and they will be uprooted.”
• Disciples should not lead other people away from God. So, they asked God to help them. They needed stronger faith in God’s power. And so they said: “Lord increase our Faith”

Lazarus and the Rich Man

Lazarus and the Rich Man

26th  Sunday in the Ordinary Time

Lazarus and the Rich Man

• Lazarus Means: "God is my help"
• Dives= Latin= Rich
• In the passage Lazarus’ name is mentioned and it will last for all eternity but the name of the rich man is not mentioned. He is known only as the rich man (dives). 
• Lazarus had a lot of friends in heaven (God, Saints, Mary, Abraham, Angels) but the rich man had no one to help him in Hades. 
• The Jewish people  were considering riches/wealth as blessings from God and poverty as His punishment. And so they were not helping the poor people, thinking that they might have had done something wrong in their previous life that is why they were living a life of poverty which was nothing but God's punishment. It is not true.
• We need to share our food, drink, home, mercy, compassion, time, talents, and resources with others specially the poor and the needy.
• Jesus shared his Eucharist/his own body and blood with us. There can be no greater sharing than this. Priestley and religious and even christian life without sharing will be meaningless and incomplete.
• We should avoid the sin of culpable omission and also the sin of commission. In “I confess” we pray ".....what I have done and what I have failed to do...."
• He feasted every day. In so doing he definitely and positively broke the fourth commandment. That commandment not only forbids work on the Sabbath; it also says six days you shall labour (Exodus 20:9).
• Jesus stresses on the dignity and value of each person (Lazarus the poor man is as precious as the rich man in terms of human dignity).
• God has preferrential option for the poor people.
• Jesus himself was born poor, died as a poor man on the cross. May we always have a place for the poor in our heart.
• God rewards in heaven those who are deprived of many things in this life.
• Sharing our resources with others specially with the poor and the needy will be the criterion of the last judgment.
• Our choice here on earth will determine the kind of eternity we will have in the future.
• Nobody needs to come from heaven to tell us. Prophets are always there to tell/warn/remind us here on earth but we do not listen to them. We go for selective listening. Before listening to him we try to find out about the background of the person and then we decide whether to listen to him or not to listen to him.
• Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary had died and was brought to life by Jesus and yet people did not believe in Jesus. So do you think that the brothers of the rich man could have got converted if Lazarus had gone to them from heaven?
• Jesus himself rose from the dead and yet many people did not believe in him.
• It was a very good reminder to the Sadducees who did not believe in life-after death that there is life after death.
• The rich man had the same attitude of Cain “Am I my brother’s keeper.?
• The life of luxury and of self indulgence will take us nowhere/ do us no good.
• Even in Hades the rich man is trying to make Lazarus his servant which he was used to doing on earth with his servants by expecting Lazarus to go and tell his brothers to live a good life. Once a bad habit is formed, it takes lot of time, effort and energy to break it and replace it with a good habit.
• The rich man is not so much guilty of his riches but guilty of something else because Abraham also was a rich man and he is in heaven. Basically the problem with the rich man was that he was a selfish man.
• We can ask ourselves today as to what is the thing/weakness/ inclination/sin that creates chasm between us and God, that keeps us away from the friendship of God and his saints and angels.
• The Risen Christ  can become for us the bridge (at the confessional, at the Holy Mass celebrated devoutly and with proper disposition  and in other sacraments) to cross from this part of Hades to our original abode in heaven.
  
• The Holy Father Pope Francis divided his message into three section in his message on Lent 2017 based on the passage of Lazarus and the rich man. 

1. The other person is a gift
2. Sin blinds us 
3. The world is a gift            (https://zenit.org/articles/popes-message-for-lent-2017/ ) on 9/2/2017

GENEALOGY of Jesus Christ

GENEALOGY of Jesus Christ

Mathew and Luke   

Among the four, two gospels (Mt and Lk) speaks about the genealogy of Jesus Christ. When one goes deep in the passages, one discovers that there are interesting similarities and dissimilarities in their presentation.

By a gifted author: Mathew 

If it was in the hand of a less gifted writer, the passage could have been as dry as sahara desert. But in the hand of Mathew, it turned into a collection of rich theology. Mathew seems to be preaching the Gospel even in the genealogy with the 42 names.

People of Assam will be able to understand better today’s Gospel in the contest to recent NRC issue. Jews kept extensive genealogies to establish a person’s heritage, inheritance, legitimacy and rights. This also speaks about the culture of a particular group of people. Mathew provides a record of Jesus’ origin to show that he is qualified to be messiah by his descend from Abraham and David.

The line from which Jesus came was not totally Jewish. There are 42 names, arranged in 3 series of 14 names each. Number 14 is the numerical value of the Hebrew letter forming the Name David D=4 V=6 D=4.=14

First series of 14 names speaks or teaches divine mercy (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba). Second series of 14 names teaches us about the judgment of God (Amos: the prophet of social justice and others.) Third series of 14 names teaches us about the faithfulness of God. (Jesus was a promised one of God. So God is faithful)

As far as the list is concerned it is not a complete list. It comprises of men, women, adulterous, prostitutes, heroes, gentiles and Jesus will be savior of them all.

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”.

In the novel THE ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell the animals revolt and drive the drunken and irresponsible farmer Mr. Jones from the farm, renaming it “Animal Farm”. They adopt Seven Commandments of Animalism, the most important of which is, “All animals are equal.” But when the pigs start to resemble humans, as they walk upright, carry whips, and wear clothes, the Seven Commandments are abridged to a single phrase: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”. In the genealogy list of Christ too all people are important but some are more important in establishing who Jesus is. Some of them are Abraham, David and Mary as far as the prophecy of the Old Testament is concerned. In our life too we have significant people in our spiritual upbringing.  Some are important some are more important.

Both Abraham and David are key Jewish patriarch. Abraham reminds us of the promise of a seed who would be a blessing for everyone and David reminds us of the promise of a son who would be a king forever. And the ‘Seed of Abraham’ and the ‘Son of David’ was in the womb of Mary.

David, Christ and Messiah came to summarize several strands of the OT expectations specially the person of an anointed one, the king who would rule God’s people. Son of David evokes images of a messiah, Son of Abraham covenant with Abraham and people of Israel. David is the person who had raised the state of Israel to peaceful state, raised it at the height of prosperity. Jerusalem the state capital of Israel was the kingdom of David where Messiah was born. Israel was a theocratic nation where God was the real ruler. The king was only a puppet

Women in the Genealogy of Jesus

It was not the custom of the Jewish to include names of women in Genealogy. Jews were a macho society where woman necessary belonged to a man–husband, father or the son. The son of David before Jesus was born was Solomon and the Evangelist will draw comparison with Solomon and his wisdom throughout  the text by presenting Jesus as both a sage and the wisdom of  God come in the flesh. If at all the women were to be included they had to fulfill two conditions

1. They should ensure the purity of the line
2. They should enhance the dignity of the race

Three of the women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus do not serve the purpose. But I believe each of the women is a lesson on the working of divine grace in our salvation history.

TAMAR: The name of three women in the Old Testament. The Canaanite wife of Er, Judah’s first son (Gen 38:6); after Er was slain by God for his wickedness; she was married to Judah’s second son, Onan, in keeping with the custom of the levirate marriage (cf. Deut 25:5–6). Onan, however, refused to father children by her and so he died (Gen 38:7–10). When Judah delayed marrying his last son to her, Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and had relations with Judah (Gen 38:12–19). By this union she bore twin sons, Perez and Zerah (Gen 38:27–30); through Perez she was an ancestress of David (Ruth 4:12, 18–22) and ultimately of Jesus Christ (Matt 1:3). 

RAHAB: A Canaanite woman and harlot from the city of Jericho who hid two of Joshua’s spies at the time of the conquest of Canaan (Josh 2:1–7; 6:17, 23–25). Rahab recognized the Lord’s power and demanded from the spies the promise that she and her family would be spared when the Israelites conquered Jericho (Josh 2:18–14). Joshua was faithful to the pledge, and only Rahab and her family were spared after the city’s capture (Josh 6:22–23). According to Josh 6:25, Rahab “dwelt in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.” She is remembered as a heroine of faith (Heb 11:31) and was justified by her works (Jas 2:25). She is listed in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus as the wife of Salmon and the mother of Boaz, ancestor of David (Matt1:5).

RUTH: Ruth, a Moabitess who embraced the faith of Israel. She married Mahlon, son of Elimelech and Naomi. After the death of Naomi’s husband and sons, she decided to return to the land of Israel, and Ruth chose to remain at her side. They settled in Bethlehem, and one day, as the women gleaned the fields of Boaz, a kinsman of Naomi’s dead husband, Ruth encountered Boaz himself, who treated her with great kindness. His demeanor prompted Naomi to devise a plan to secure the marriage of her daughter-in-law. She urged Ruth to go to the threshing floor and ask Boaz to marry her by the law of affinity. Though willing, he first informed the nearest relative of the situation. When that relative declined the right of redemption, Boaz married Ruth. By her marriage, Ruth became an ancestor of David.

BATHSHEBA: (Hebrew, “daughter of seven” or “daughter of an oath”) The daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite (2 Sam 11:3); one of David’s wives (2 Sam 11:27); and the mother of Solomon (2 Sam 12:24). (The name appears as “Bathshua” in 1 Chr 3:5.) David fell in love with Bathsheba when he saw her taking a bath on a rooftop; he then seduced her and fathered a child by her in adultery. After he tried and failed to have the paternity attributed to Uriah (2 Sam 11:6–13), David ordered Joab to place Uriah in the front line of battle and so ensure his death. When Uriah fell as planned, David wed Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:14–27). As Nathan predicted, the child born of the adultery died, but Bathsheba later bore a second son, Solomon, who became David’s successor, as well as three other sons (1 Chr 3:5). The intervention of Bathsheba and Nathan was crucial to Solomon’s victory in the struggle with Adonijah (1 Kgs 1:11–21). Bathsheba later requested that Solomon secure the marriage of Adonijah with Abishag, but her mediation did not succeed, and Solomon had Adonijah killed (1 Kgs 2:13–25). In the New Testament, Bathsheba is one of four women mentioned (though not by name) in Matthew’s genealogy of Christ (Matt 1:6). Bathsheba is the first queen mother of the Davidic kingdom, and her prominent role in history sets the pattern for the other women who held that powerful position. She is also a type of Mary, the Queen Mother in the Kingdom of Christ.

Virginal conception

Virginity was not esteemed for its own sake in Old Testament times: it suddenly burst on the scene as a desired state in life and a path to spiritual fulfillment with the coming of the New Covenant. Virginity was not in keeping with the Jewish mentality which face first place to fecundity. Isaiah calls Mary virgin and not girl or woman – “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Is 7:14) 
Messages of the Genealogy of Jesus Christ

 Genealogy of Christ gives the following messages:

1. It affirms the Holiness of the child: because it is done through the Holy Spirit.
2. It brings to our notice the Creative way in which God shaped history for the coming of his son.
3. It tells about the uniqueness of the child for such a means of conception was unprecedented.
4. It emphasizes the divinity of the child:  because by the means it was made clear that he was also son of God.
5. It proves that God can use even gentiles and sinners for his great purpose in history.
6. It says that Jesus is born from the power of God’s promise and not from human possibilities.
7. It underlines God’s intention that the messiah extended the blessing of salvation forgiveness and grace to all people not just to the Jews.
8. It proves the fact that God is always keeping his promise and his word.
9. It reveals sinfulness and corruption of human nature
10. It shows how great the mercy and compassion of God is. Our nature is defiled and unclean.
11. It shows that Jesus is not ashamed to be born of a woman whose ancestry contained sinners and gentiles and adulterous and how will he be ashamed to call us brothers.
12. The type of people mentioned in this genealogy reveals the broad scope of those who make up the people of God.
13. In it we see Continuity of God’s providential plan from Abraham on
14. It tells that nothing is useless in creation. Every human life counts. Every life has a purpose;
15. How you came into the world is not important how you go out of the world is more important

Joseph, Mary and Spiritual direction

As far as Joseph and Mary are concerned, they are persons open to spiritual direction even when it comes in the form of dreams. They were willing to go with the will and plan of God than to save their own reputation.

Value of Life

Matthews’s introduction echoes the language of Genesis where we see God as the creator, giver of life. Today when we celebrate the birthday of our Blessed mother we need to accept the fact that today some people don’t seem to respect life. They abort their girl child. Bible never promotes abortion. In the special year of mercy Pope Francis gives a special privilege to all the priests to absolve the sin of abortion. Some may ask: Is he going too much? Will this declaration encourage others to take more life? This is the task of the theologians to discern and respond. But our duty would be to pray for our Holy Father Pope Francis because whatever decision he makes affect our life. 

Conclusion

As we celebrate the nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary, let us ask her assistance that we may respect life specially the life of a girl child.