Archive for March, 2008

BEING EASTER PEOPLE (2)

March 29th, 2008 by frgus

BEING EASTER PEOPLE (2)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD!

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well………Take a moment. Bless your day. Let your day Bless you……

Take another moment. Bless your world. Let your world bless you…..Prayerfully, reflectively, read the following……Dwell on the thoughts that speak to you in this moment……

This meditation invites you to reflect on what it means for you to race to the tomb of Jesus with the women and the disciples.

Last week, we reflected on the different stories of the resurrection of Jesus and the responses of the many who heard the story. One thing in particular stood out for us in our reflection was the way the women and later the disciples raised to the tomb of Jesus.

Racing to the Tomb:

Easter comes after the race to the tomb. Imagine if you can, visualize compassionate women racing to the tomb, early in the morning, wondering what they will do when they get to the tomb, how they will roll the stone away from the tomb, how they will get around the guards……

Let us join Mary of Magdala and the other women of compassion and start racing to the tomb!

Racing to the tomb is a way of moving through doubts and fears and uncertainties and embracing the emptiness of the tomb……this must happen if we are ever to understand life.
Racing to the tomb is a way of moving into the unknown….not knowing what awaits you on arriving at the tomb…..compassionate women found that death and the emptiness of the tomb have been changed into life.
Racing to the tomb means losing life…it also means finding life! It means wheat falling into the ground and dying only to rise again.
Racing to the tomb means life dug out of death, joy born out of sorrow, light breaking out of darkness.
Racing to the tomb means taking a risk of looking into the tomb to see if Jesus is really there!
Racing to the tomb means being alert, awake and sensitive even in our moments of confusion and like Mary, remember to check with the gardener…mystery of life and death would get unraveled.
Racing to the tomb means being blessed, like Mary, to run into the gardener….in the gardener she found the one she was looking for! God does have ways of surprising us!
Racing to the tomb means being ready and willing to remove all the stones from the doorways of the tomb, however huge the stones may be, if we wish to find the hidden life in us.
Racing to the tomb means moving with confidence…..The women moved to the tomb wondering who will roll the stone away from the tomb…they moved with uncertainty….but they moved all the same!

Having arrived at the tomb, let us look into it to see if Jesus is really there. The mystery of hope unfolds before the tomb – only an eye of faith can see it as it unfolds. The Cross and the tomb call us to wait in Hope for victory/glory beyond understanding.

We can withdraw from the tomb……… OR look deep inside and find it empty…… OR look around and find HIM alive and moving and calling us.

Remember…Jesus stepped on death, stepped into the tomb, leaped out of it, moved out into the world….life to its fullness is his gift to us! Embrace it!

We will be racing to the tomb as long as we live. We will be looking into the tomb to see if Jesus is really there!

We now take a moment to contemplate on racing from the tomb…ON BEING and becoming Easter People……

We become Easter people as we continue to race from the tomb. Imagine if you can, visualize Mary of Magdala racing from the tomb, early in the morning, wondering how she would break the news to her friends……Let us join Mary of Magdala and the other women of compassion and start racing from the tomb!

Racing from the tomb is a way of moving into the unknown trusting in the promise: “I will go ahead of you into Galilee”
Racing from the tomb is a way of announcing the good news of God’s love even when you know you have not fully matured in faith!
Racing from the tomb is a way of reaching out and forming community with others.
Racing from the tomb is reaching across boundaries, breaking down barriers and entering into fellowship with all people.
Racing from the tomb is reaching out, with hope, to those who are afraid, lonely, skeptical, or disappointed.
Racing from the tomb means I have a reason for striving to be good, remaining faithful and being hopeful.
Racing from the tomb is a reminder that Christ gives new power and strength to be His witness to the world.
Racing from the tomb is taking time to discern a situation before acting on impulse.
Racing from the tomb is seeing the power of God’s Kingdom in seemingly simple acts.
Racing from the tomb means being positive.

Add your own:

Fr. Gus Tharappel, msfs

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Posted in Weekend Reflections

PROMISE TO FULFILLMENT (6)

March 21st, 2008 by frgus

PROMISE TO FULFILLMENT (6)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD!

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Settle into silence, into peacefulness, into profound silence, into pure joy. Keep listening in such quietness and serenity. Come to that place, that space within, that place of deep silence, Solitude, to just being here and now without having to accomplish something.

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well…

Take a moment. Bless your day. Let your day Bless you……Take another moment. Bless your world. Let your world bless you……

We made a journey with Jesus through Lent and have come to experience Easter. It was a great journey. The mystery of following Jesus cannot be put into simple words. The mystery of dying and rising with Christ is an experience at the depth of our hearts which no word can describe. We will continue to meet testing times – may even fight a few demons. We will have our periods of fatigue and despair, fear and anxiety, doubts and frustrations. We may make wrong turns and “U” turns……But we will journey, we will move on, we will stay focused and we will rely on his presence with us on the journey…

We made a journey with Jesus from Ashes to fire and have come to experience Easter. We may not look different – we may not even feel different. Yet deep inside of us, we are different because we met him in life and in death – we have risen with him – we are new persons and a new people because the one who died and was laid in the tomb is alive. He now lives and holds out to us the hope of a new life.





 

  

We must move on and meet Jesus, alive, where we are, now, at this point in our history………


We read the moving story of Mary of Magdala (John 20:1-9) going to the tomb of Jesus early in the morning and running to Peter and John to tell them that the tomb was empty.


Peter and John went to the tomb and found everything as Mary had described. This excerpt concludes by saying that they believed without understanding the scripture "that he had to rise from the dead".
 
Real faith is born of relationship. It is not an affirmation or acceptance of doctrines or acceptance of details of an event that can be verified scientifically or otherwise. To believe is to relate…to believe is to trust…to believe is to be intimate…to believe is to be in communion. Our belief in the resurrection and our commitment to live a resurrected life is the result of our communion with the risen Christ.
 
The early Christians had new insights into all the things Jesus said and did while he was among them when they recognized that Jesus had risen from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus was an act of love by which God had transformed everyone and everything. This enabled them to understand the meaning of the cross and why Jesus had to die.…


The resurrection of Jesus offered new possibilities of forgiveness, peace, faith, hope, love……. Even the reality of doubt has gained a new meaning and value. The reality of doubt began to be seen as an integral part of our journey of faith. Thomas stands out as a source of encouragement for all believers. As a questioning person, Thomas moved from skepticism and disbelief to a firm and committed faith (John 20:19-31)……
 
 

 
 
 

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life… 
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Posted in Weekend Reflections

PROMISE TO FULFILLMENT (5)

March 17th, 2008 by frgus

PROMISE TO FULFILLMENT (5)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD!

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well……….

We have been meditating on cultivating a Lenten Spirituality – a spirituality of hope that finds its fulfillment in the risen Christ. In this meditation, we continue to meditate on nurturing this hope that finds fulfillment in Christ.

Take a moment. Bless your day. Let your day Bless you……Take another moment. Bless your world. Let your world bless you……

We continue our journey with Jesus through Lent. The fifth Sunday of Lent calls us to reflect on the mystery of the resurrection. Ezekiel, the Prophet reminds us that it is by the Spirit of God that we will be called forth to rise from the dead and live. St. Paul assures us that the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead is alive in us, transforming us to live the new life in Christ. Jesus tells us that whoever believes in Him will live because He is the “resurrection and the life”.

The Prophet Ezekiel lived in politically turbulent times. He wanted his contemporaries to be filled with the hope that they would emerge from Babylonian oppression as from a tomb. He gave them his vision of “dry bones”. This vision gave a vivid expression of the hopelessness and desperation of those exiled in a foreign, unfriendly Babylon. Without a land to call their own, they were like dry bones strewn on a desert plain, scorched by an unrelenting sun.

Ezekiel calls them to hear God’s word and promises that the dry bones will be covered with sinews, flesh and skin and come to new life (Ezekiel 37:12-14). The desperate will be filled with a new life and a new spirit. What a promise! The prophet shifts metaphors and begins to speak of the exiles returning to their homeland as rising from the grave and the restoration of life. He sees this national restoration as a new creation by God’s own spirit.

St. Paul was deeply conscious of the struggle of Christian living, choosing to live “life in the spirit” as opposed to “life in the flesh” (Romans 8:8-11). For Paul, “life in the flesh” characterized the person who chose to live a “self-sufficient” life and not turn toward the help of the spirit. He says that those who are “in the flesh”, that is “self-sufficient”, cannot please God because they have preferred that “self-sufficiency” which caused the down fall of humankind in the first place.

Living “in the Spirit” means accepting the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It means openness to communion with God. The Spirit of God is alive in believers and believers must live in that Spirit.

The story of the raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45), challenges us to reflect on those forces in our life from which we need to be freed. We are called to reflect on the kind of death that we need to experience in order to come to the newness of life. As Paul reminded us in his letter to the Romans (8:8-1, referenced above) that “life in the flesh” must die so that we may choose to “live in the spirit”. We are challenged to trust in the Lord and let the Lord do the best for us in His own time and His own place.

Lazarus is “the one Jesus loved”. He was mourned and missed by his sisters and by Jesus himself, “Jesus wept”. Lazarus is a paradigm for every believer, loved by Jesus. Jesus called out loudly to Lazarus: “Come Out”. This call should resound in our years today. We are today’s “loved ones”, beloved believers. We need to come out and be “untied” and freed by His loving embrace, His Grace.

So Come Out……..from the tomb of………..

self-sufficiency to need for God and one another……………..
preoccupation with yourself to the needs and concerns of others………….
busy, busy times to quiet moments of listening and praying………..
unimportant and insignificant matters to important, lasting, eternal values……
apathy and ignorance to being awakened and enlightened………
uninvolvement to dynamic caring for the problems and issues of the world………
melancholy and despair to blessings and grace that are yours…….
hopelessness and skepticism to dynamic hope for the world………….
fears, worry and anxiety to confidence and trust in the Lord………………
sin and guilt to forgiveness, grace and freedom……….
hostility to hospitality………………………
loneliness to solitude…………………..
scandal to surprise……………………

Jesus has the power to untie the binding forces in our life and let us go free. Leave it to the Lord and the Lord will do the best for us when it is best for us. Jesus brings new life, new power, new presence.

Now we begin the Sixth week of Lent…………

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday…… we remember Jesus entering Jerusalem to face rejection and eventual death. He moved, with courage, into hostile territory. He entered a city which killed its prophets and did not know how to receive the things that are for its own good, a city that did not know how to receive blessings and gifts and grace…………..

They greeted him as they would greet a pilgrim: “Blessed is he who enters in the name of the Lord” (Ps. 118:26). And they shouted “Hosanna!” “Hosanna” means “Save now”. It was a cry for help, which a people in distress addressed to their king or their god. “Save us, we beseech thee, O Lord” (Ps.118:25). Hosanna in the highest means, let even the angels in the highest of heavens cry unto God, “save now”. It is essentially an oppressed people’s cry to their savior and king for deliverance. These hosannas of Palm Sunday will become the cries of “crucify him, crucify him!”

Pray for courage and wisdom to face difficult situations. Pray for those who have to live in hostile situation.

They greeted him, “Behold your King comes”, “Hosanna” to the “Son of David” – a King like David, King of “Truth, Justice, Integrity and Peace”.

We remember Jesus being betrayed, tried, judged, condemned and crucified. We remember him dying on a cross (Mathew 26:14 to 27:66). We remember Jesus giving himself totally in life and in death. We remember the cross, sign of shame and punishment, becoming the symbol of sacrifice, healing, unconditional love, total giving, redemption and salvation. We remember and relive the passion, the cross and the death of Jesus.

What does the “passion” of Jesus mean to you? Reflect on how you share in the passion and cross of Jesus. Remember those who have heavy burden to carry.

Remember the innocent, especially children and the helpless who have to suffer without support.

My Prayer for you:

May your last week of Lent be a time of intense prayer, reflection, meditation and contemplation on the mystery of the life, the passion, the death and resurrection of Jesus. And may these days bless you and bring you the joy of Easter. May God bless you, your family and all you love and keep you safe in His Love.

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs

Posted in Weekend Reflections

PROMISE TO FULFILLMENT (4)

March 3rd, 2008 by frgus

PROMISE TO FULFILLMENT (4)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD!

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well……….

Take a moment. Bless your day. Let your day Bless you……Take another moment. Bless your world. Let your world bless you……

We continue our journey with Jesus through Lent. The fourth week of Lent calls us to journey to cleansing water, to new vision, to new challenges, to new risks, to new opportunities and possibilities and to new and demanding relationships. We were once again reminded that Knowing Jesus means life-changing conversion. We were called to be alert, to be awake, to be ready.

We read about Samuel (1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13) going through a very difficult process of choosing someone to succeed Saul as king. He went through a series of prayerful discernment with great fear and doubt. Finally, in Bethlehem, he found David as the man whom God had chosen to be king over his people and anointed him. Both David and his birthplace Bethlehem occupy a special place in the history of salvation.

God chose Bethlehem, a place of no significance and David, a man of no significance to fulfill his purpose. Man judges by appearance, but God sees the heart. Be open and surrender to God’s choice. Prayerfully discern God’s plan for you.

We read about Paul (Ephesians: 5:8-14) challenging the Ephesians to live as children of light because they are light in the Lord. Those who were in darkness once have come into the light of Christ. Paul says, light produces benevolence, righteousness and truth. Children of light must cultivate generosity of spirit, work for justice for all and live in peace and harmony.

Just as Jesus was a light to other nations, the light that revealed justice and peace through Israel, today the world must experience justice and peace of God through us and our church and our church institutions.

You are the light of the world….. your light must shine before men so that they may see goodness in your acts and give praise to your heavenly Father (Mathew 5:14-16).

Light makes things visible……

Light gives us warmth……

Light has the power to heal.……

Light brings us comfort……

Light makes us feel safe…

Reflect on what it means for you to be children of light, to be light for others…….Each of us must become a witness to the mystery of God’s presence in the world: God’s Light, Justice, Truth, Life, Love…..

We also read the story of the blind beggar, who went, washed as Jesus told him to and was able to see (John 9:1-41). Jesus spat on the ground, made mud with his saliva and smeared the man’s eyes with the mud and asked him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. Something of Jesus and something of the earth made all the difference. He came to believe in Jesus. Belief in Jesus made the difference and his life was never the same.

The San Francisco Examiner once reported that a blind man, who had been hired to work in a bank under a special government-funded jobs program, was leaving the bank one day when he tripped over his seeing-eye dog and fell down the steps. Miraculously, the fall and a sharp blow to the man’s head restored his sight. His joy was short-lived. Because he could now see, he no longer qualified for the jobs program and was fired from his position at the bank.

The man born blind enters the paradox of meeting Jesus, receiving his sight, then being expelled from the Synagogue. He was once a skillful beggar, self-sufficient, well positioned at a prime spot right next to the pool of Siloam. Now he could see and therefore he is faced with finding a job for the first time in his life…….and out of the Synagogue!

What a journey! A nameless blind man moves from blindness through mud paste, through the cleansing pool to a new vision of himself and out the Synagogue to new life, to new risks, to new challenges! Knowing Jesus meant salvation for the blind beggar, but at great cost to himself.

Knowing Jesus means life-changing conversion for all of us. Be alert! Be awake! Be ready!

Reflect over the new vision you have in Jesus and the change that comes with this new vision. Your vision of yourself, of the world, of the Church and of God has changed.

You begin to see yourself and all around and beyond with new glasses, begin to see with the eyes of Christ. Reflect on what this means for you, personally.

Jesus challenged his listeners to change “glasses”, wear a new set of glasses. Those who believed that only Jews were God special people were challenged to welcome the strangers and invited to see them as neighbors. Those who saw the poor as being punished were challenged to see blessings in poverty, in hunger and thirst. The followers of Jesus are challenged to see everything the “kingdom’s way”, “Christ’s way”.

Take a moment and pray..

Loving God,

Give us,

A Pure Heart, that we may see You,

A Humble Heart, that we may hear You,

A Heart of Love, that we may serve You,

A Heart of Faith, that we may abide in You.

(Dag Hammarskjold)

Pray that you will see and hear and serve and abide in him in new ways that you hadn’t thought of…

Take a moment and reflect on the following and see how the Lord invites you today to see yourself and all around you in new ways….

Peace I leave with you, My Peace I give unto you..not as the world gives…… Jn. 14:27

Blessed are the peacemakers. They will become sons of God. Mt. 5:9

Be compassionate as our Father is compassionate. (Lk.6:36)

Share with all of God’s holy people who are in need; look for opportunities to be hospitable. (Rom.12:13)

Love must transcend competition and control.

Love must reach out in selfless and generous service.

Love must transcend ill feelings, jealousies, hatred, etc.

Dear God, Thank You for this day, its beauty and its light. Free me from my limitations, disappointments and failures. Give me strength and compassion and courage and wisdom. Show me the light in myself and others. May I recognize the good that is available everywhere. May I be an instrument of love and healing. Lead me into gentle pastures. Give me deep peace that, I might serve You generously, unselfishly and well.

Fr. Gus Tharappel, msfs

Posted in Weekend Reflections

PROMISE TO FULFILLMENT (3)

March 3rd, 2008 by frgus

PROMISE TO FULFILLMENT (3)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD!

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well……….

Take a moment. Bless your day. Let your day Bless you……Take another moment. Bless your world. Let your world bless you……

We continue our journey with Jesus through Lent. The mystery of following Jesus cannot be put into simple words. Since we began our Lenten journey, we met him living through trying, testing times and in moments of great glory. We will continue to meet him in our own personal struggles, in testing, trying times – may even fight a few demons. We will have our periods of fatigue and despair, fear and anxiety, doubts and frustrations. We may make wrong turns and “U” turns……But we will journey, we will move on, we will stay focused and we will rely on his presence with us on the journey…

The third week of Lent invites us to meet Moses and his people on their journey into freedom (Exodus 17:3-7). They cried out for food and drink. The Lord said to Moses, “Strike the rock and the water will flow from it for the people to drink”. Moses struck the rock and water flowed for the Israelites to drink. Israel’s relationship with God required a faith-filled and absolute reliance, a deep abiding trust in God and God’s providence. Israel had to learn this trust as they journeyed through the wilderness.

We are now challenged to learn to live faith-filled lives, to learn to develop deep, abiding trust in God and God’s ways, learn to trust in Divine Providence.

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “Whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:5-42).

Physical needs brought the woman to Jacob’s well. She went home from that water source with more than a bucket of water for drinking, cooking and washing. She went on her way spiritually nourished, purified and renewed by her encounter with Jesus.

Jesus said, “if you only knew who it is that is speaking to you…………..” If you only knew! How could she?! A Jewish Rabbi asking a Samaritan woman for a drink! She had known only years of hostility between Jews and Samaritans. It was unheard of for a Rabbi to speak to a woman in public; it was unheard of that any Jew would drink from Samaritan utensils. The woman’s late visit to the well (water was usually drawn early in the morning) may suggest that she was an outcast in the village because of her questionable life style with a man who was not her husband.

The grace of the presence of Jesus and his offer of living water broke down the barriers that ordinarily separated her from her community. That is the nature of “gracefulness”. Gracefulness breaks down barriers that ordinarily separate Jews from Gentiles, men from women and saints from sinners.

GRACEFULNESS IS A HOLY STATE OF BEING. All such barriers were broken down by the person and the mission of Jesus who came to Shechem, to Jacob’s well and offered living water to a woman who would drink deeply that water which Jesus offered. That same water washes each of us at Baptism, cleansing us, freeing and forgiving us and incorporating us into the mystery of the Body of Christ.

Like the woman who was seen by Jesus for who she was and yet was invited to Grace and Salvation, the Lord sees each of us for who are, loves us, even in our sinfulness and in our weakness and welcomes us to be cleansed and nourished by his living water.

GRACEFULNESS IS A HOLY STATE OF BEING. How blessed and graced we are!

The Lord goes where we wouldn’t be caught dead! Lingering, waiting, in the most unexpected places, in the simple, in the ordinary, even in the seemingly insignificant things, places and people – Ashes, dust, clay, water, salt, a sinful Samaritan woman!

How blessed! we don’t necessarily have to be in the right places and doing the right thing or even be the right people, as we see it!

The Samaritan woman met Jesus at the well. She abandoned her water jug, that is, her former life, for him and became a witness to the Good News of Jesus (John 4:5-42). One day a Samaritan man met another human being, half dead, a victim of robbery and violence on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. He felt his heart moved to compassion. So, he changed his journey because of this person; he became his “neighbor” and took care of him with great generosity (Luke 10: 29-37).

The Samaritan Woman and the Samaritan Man are symbols of the pathway along which the Spirit is leading each of us today and symbols of the love and compassion that the Spirit is arousing in our hearts. They are sinners, yet grace and openness to goodness are present in them and moving them to conversion and transformation of their life. We are like them and we must feel challenged by her thirst and desire for living water and his compassion for the wounded on the journey of life.

The Samaritan woman entered the scene as “a woman from Samaria” and left as someone very knowledgeable about the spring of “living water,” aware that the Father is looking for her to worship Him. Her transformed identity turned her into a disciple who, by means of her testimony, persuaded many people to approach Jesus and believe in Him. She who was talking about “drawing water” as a task costing great effort now abandoned her jug.

The Samaritan man, who also entered the scene anonymously, identified only by his ethnic background, revealed his true identity at the end. The mercy dwelling in his heart lead him to act as a neighbor for the one depending on him for survival. Jesus gave him a new name: “the one who had compassion”.

Jesus breaks down barriers between people, culture, religion, race, etc. What are those barriers that need to be broken in your own personal life?

That’s what the Lenten season is all about! This is the season of dismantling, breaking down those barriers to God’s loving, compassionate, graceful, peaceful presence in the surprising, even unimaginable corners of our life. This is the season of also re-examining our assumptions about who is worthy or unworthy of God’s gracious presence and our gracious living.

No sin is an embarrassment to Jesus. Bring all your embarrassing moments, actions, events and situations in your life to Jesus. He will transform them into Grace-filled moments and opportunities for transformation of your life.

Jesus gives us cleansing, life-giving water. What are those areas of life that need to be cleansed? Reflect on the life-giving water that you need to drink and the source of that life-giving water in the spring within you, in prayer, in the sacraments, in the scriptures, in the church……………

Jesus empowers us to face the truth. What is the truth in your self or about your self that you need to face? Come to the Lord Jesus, He will empower you to face the truth. Being empowered, we must share His truth with others.

May your Lenten spirituality be creative, constructive, optimistic, positive – hope-filled and may all your hopes find fulfillment in the risen Christ. May God bless you and your family and keep you safe in His Love.

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs

Posted in Weekend Reflections

PROMISE TO FULFILLMENT (2)

March 3rd, 2008 by frgus

PROMISE TO FULFILLMENT (2)

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD!

Be in your prayer space, follow the usual steps and settle into silence.

Sit still…..Relax…….Do not rush………

Take a couple of gentle, slow and deep breaths…becoming aware of your breath going in and out… stay focused on this breath of life……

Now from the depth of your heart begin to wish your mind well……….

The opening message of Jesus was: “Reform your lives! The reign of God is at hand!” This is the good news…this is the Gospel….the presence of the reign of God, the ‘already’ and ‘not yet’ of Christian life. We do not know how or when all things will be transformed.

On our earth the Kingdom of God is already present in mystery: it is and it is not yet. It is the beyond that is within! One who is transformed by the Gospel values will come to know the “beyond that is within”. This is our hope.

As deformed by sin, violence and war, the shape of this world will pass away. We are offered the hope that God is preparing a new dwelling place and a new earth where justice and peace meet, embrace and abide……… and the blessedness that comes from this transformed world will surpass all the longings for peace which spring up in the human heart.

Our hope is not a passive waiting for things to happen. It calls forth continual conversion if we are to hasten our journey into the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace. The ‘kingdom of heaven’ and ‘God’s reign’ reveal the dynamic relationship we have with God, which enables us to accomplish what God wills.

To be part of that reign means to enter into a process of continually experiencing conversion. John the Baptist and Jesus called for “repentance” and that is what conversion is…an ongoing, life-long conversion!

Abide in these thoughts for some time

A necessary and integral part of this continual conversion for the disciple of Jesus, in search of a more just and non-violent world, is the conversion from discouragement and the temptation to escape the suffering of the world to an enduring commitment based on hope. The temptation we often face is to give up the struggle totally, to stop reading the newspaper, to withdraw into a privatized spirituality.

This is not the spirituality of the Gospel of Jesus. The Beatitudes, which flow from the heart of the Gospel of Jesus, lead us to ‘creative insecurity’ or ‘dynamic insecurity’. If you are secure, you don’t need grace….you don’t need prayer…. you don’t need brothers and sisters… you don’t need the power of God. If the reign of God is to be ours, we must have hope.

Our hope is rooted in the unconditional love of God for each human being. God never gives up on anyone. God’s love is everlasting…..steadfast…..unconditional. Hope in the Old Testament is centered on people like Abraham and Sarah. The Old Testament breathes an atmosphere of hope throughout — dynamic expectation, not a passive desire or wish. Even Israel’s unfaithfulness did not hinder hope. The motive of hope is the past deeds of Yahweh, which gives confidence in God’s power to fulfill his promises.

In the New Testament, Jesus announces the arrival of the Kingdom, the reign of God, in the world. It is a future near at hand…..a future present in the present!!! The believer lives in hope. The concept of hope is most fully developed by St Paul, especially in his letter to the Romans. We boast of our hope for the glory of God. (See chapter 5) In hope we were saved. But hope is not hope if its object is seen; how is it possible for one to hope for what he sees? Hoping for what we cannot see means awaiting it with patient endurance. Rejoice in hope, be patient under trial, persevere in prayer. (See Ch. 8 & 12)

Jesus’ resurrection is our most radical sign of hope. It means that the power of sin and death has been overcome (1Corinthians15) and that we share in the freedom of the resurrection. We share in it as individuals and as a people.

Believing in the resurrection means making a commitment to live in hope despite the injustices that we are aware of, despite the acts of violence that we read about or, perhaps, have experienced.

Abide in these thoughts for some time

Hope calls us to nurture a “resurrection” attitude. To maintain a resurrection-outlook, we need to be attentive to the ’signs of hope’ in and around us………

There are many signs of hope in myself: the good that I am already doing, moments of integrity and self-sacrifice; conversion experiences I have been open to and undergone; the past deeds of God in my own life that have enabled me to do more than I ever imagined possible; memories of God lighting my way with periodic glimpses of his presence even in the desert times of my life…

There are many signs of hope in those around me, my family, Church community members, friends, colleagues: their faith and their persevering commitment to justice and peace despite the obstacles they encounter……….

There are many signs of hope in the world: stories of heroic men and women in one’s own country and elsewhere, people who embody the Beatitudes; the great outpouring of concern for the starving people all over the world……… people, trucks, planes and helicopters from various countries work together to organize food drops to isolated villages; liberation movements of oppressed peoples; the compassionate reaction of college students and many others to the plight of African peoples in South Africa to end apartheid. There are many stories of hope…… we need to look for them and be encouraged by them, in newspapers, magazines and on television…

So, look within and around….see signs of hope, capture images of hope….keep them in your heart….cherish them…let them bless you and challenge you to be men and women of hope…

There are many signs of hope in the Church: the extraordinary growth in the number of resource organizations for justice and peace; justice and peace commissions, centers and institutes, study programs and volunteer groups that have been developed in many Churches; the growing number of people who are dedicating some of their time to work among those who are materially poor; the number of religious orders that are taking seriously a preferential option for the poor……..

Rejoice in small victories and concentrate on the good already being done rather than continually lament the absences. This disposition leads us to hope and enables us to work for further change with perseverance.

It is important to realize how you are a sign of hope for others: by your faith-filled life, by your commitment to compassion and peace, by your joyful love and by your persevering dedication, to be a person of the Beatitudes in an ongoing, continual process of conversion, transformation.

In the biblical world one hopes for the future because one has already seen the creative event taking place in the past. We are empowered to hope for our personal future and for the future of our world because we have seen and are seeing creative events stimulated by the Spirit and carried out by our brothers and sisters, carried out by us and many others around us.

Hope is hearing the melody of the future. Living the Beatitudes in a spirit of hope is to sing and dance the song of the resurrection………to be people of the resurrection……to develop a “resurrection attitude”. It is to live in the reign of God.

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs

Posted in Weekend Reflections

PROMISE TO FULFILLMENT (1)

March 3rd, 2008 by frgus

PROMISE TO FULFILLMENT (1)

Be men and women of Hope
Be optimistic
Be creative, constructive, open and positive

The Rainbow-our symbol for Lent 2008

In Greek mythology, the rainbow is considered to be a path made by a messenger (Iris) between Earth and Heaven. In Chinese mythology, the rainbow was a slit in the sky sealed by Goddess Nüwa using stones of five different colours. In Hindu mythology, the rainbow is called Indradhanush, meaning the bow of Indra, the God of lightning and thunder. In Norse Mythology, a rainbow called the Bifröst Bridge connects the realms of Ásgard and Midgard, homes of the gods and humans, respectively. The Irish leprechaun’s secret hiding place for his crock of gold is usually said to be at the end of the rainbow. The Japanese saw the rainbow as the “road of the gods and the bridge between sky and earth. Rainbow has been associated with the “Golden Age” when heaven and earth were in easy communication with one another. Gods, angels and mortals will pass back and forth on the rainbow bridge, which was the ladder of heaven. There is much more about the rainbow and its symbolism in the history of world religions.

In the Hebrew Bible, the rainbow is a symbol of the covenant between God and man, a covenant that will never be broken. The book of Genesis (9:8-15) tells us the story of the great flood and the appearance of the rainbow, hung colorfully across the sky as a sign of the covenant that God made and the promise of new beginnings.

Let the rainbow be, for this year, the sign and the symbol of the promise of God’s unconditional, invincible, unconquerable, enduring, everlasting Love. Stay focused on the promise and let it challenge you to repentance, conversion, change, growth and personal transformation.

Your Journal: I suggest that you keep a journal on what the rainbow has been saying to you and doing for you during these days of Lent.

We began our Lenten Journey with a cross traced in ashes on the foreheads of all who came to Church on Ash Wednesday as declaration of the necessity of repentance, of change of heart and of faithfulness to the Gospel values. Ashes direct our attention to the transitory character of created realities – that nothing in this world is permanent, nothing in the world of matter is forever.

The journey that we began in ashes will take us to the cross.
The cross tells us that in the love of God nothing is lost.

From the ashes of destruction, we make our way to the cross of Christ and beyond it to the fire. Unlike the fire of terror, we encounter a purifying, life-creating fire that gives light to a dark and despairing world. It is the fire that light the Paschal candle which proclaims: “the light of Christ”. It is the fire that brings us into the light of Christ and lights up our own path…..Our Lenten journey will end in Baptism and the renunciation of the forces of evil.

Traditionally, Christians all over the world have used the disciplines of Prayer, Penance and Almsgiving as pathways of Lenten Spirituality. They still are wonderful and life-giving disciplines. They bring us closer to God and to God’s people. Prayer strengthens our connection to God. Penance builds our character and helps us get rid of unhealthy habits which weaken our ability to love God, others and ourselves. Almsgiving helps to care for others – to reach out to the less fortunate, the unfortunate, the disadvantaged, the poor, the marginalized and suffering people in our community.

Choose your spiritual discipline

1. Being more Attentive and reflective:

Choose to be more attentive and reflective during Lent. Pay attention to your desires. We have all kinds of desires. During Lent, reflect on the desires that need to be purified or abandoned. Reflect also on those wonderful desires that are there but have not been acted upon and see what you would like to do to respond to those desires. Nurture desires that are positive and optimistic.

2. Praying more attentively, devoutly and faithfully:

Choose to be more attentive, devout and faithful in prayer during Lent. If you have already a habit of praying, let it become more reflective. If you have not been praying, it is a good time to begin.

When you first awaken or before drifting off to sleep, quiet your mind, lift up your heart in prayer, and listen to the voice of the Lord.

Begin the day by simply pausing when you get up and taking a slow, deep breath, and recalling what you have to do this day, and asking for grace to do it faithfully and well.

3. Denying yourself more meaningfully and joyfully:

Lent is a great time for denying ourselves some of the comforts and pleasures of life. The purpose of denials is to become more alert, more conscious, more attentive. Fasting and abstinence are two of the most common ways of denials. The purpose of fasting and abstinence is to aid prayer – to make it easier to listen to God more openly, especially in times of need. This experience can also be a very simple gesture that places us in greater solidarity with the poor, who often have to be content with a little rice and beans each day. Powerful things happen in us, when we think about those people in the world who have so much less than we do.

4. Being and becoming more generous:

Almsgiving has been one of the traditional practices of Lent. Generosity is not simply giving our excess clothes to a place where poor people might purchase them. It is not even writing a “generous” check at the time a collection is taken up for a cause that benefits the poor. These are wonderful practices. Generosity is an attitude. It is a sense that all that we have is God’s gift to us and given to us to be shared. It means that sharing with others in need is one of our priorities. That is quite different from assessing all of our needs first and then giving away what is left over. A spirit of self-less giving means that one of our needs is to share what we have with others. Lent is a wonderful time to practice self-less giving. It places us in solidarity with the poor who share with each other, without having any excess. It also joins us with Jesus, who gave himself completely for us.

5. Naming the sinful and the unhealthy:

With a little bit of reflection, most of us can name things that make up our ordinary habits and ways of being who we are, that we aren’t very proud of. Things we do and things we never get around to doing. The season of Lent calls us to change our attitudes, our self-absorption, or our way of interacting with others.

Lent is a wonderful time to name the sinful, the unhealthy and the self-centered patterns of living. We could do a good soul searching, a good examination of conscience, a personal scrutiny of life, a process of discerning what needs change, conversion or transformation in our life. Look at the possibility of a change of heart…change of our attitudes, our dispositions, our values, our priorities…

Having searched through your life, identify and make a list of those attitudes, those patterns of life that need change:

Identify and make list of those things in your life that could be made better:

Identify and make a list of those things that are healthy and wholesome and bless them with gratitude:

My Prayer for you:

May the rainbow, hung colorfully across the sky, as a sign of the Covenant that God made and the promise of new beginnings, continue to inspire you during this season of Lent.

May your Lenten days of prayer, penance and almsgiving help you to be reborn in spirit, empower you to love without limits, teach you to pray constantly, help you seek the wisdom of God, enable you to live in compassion and help you celebrate the joy of Easter. May your Lenten spirituality be creative, constructive, optimistic, positive – hope-filled and may all your hopes find fulfillment in the risen Christ. May God bless you and your family and keep you safe in His Love.

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs

Posted in Weekend Reflections