MEDITATION ON THE EUCHARIST

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……

Every day that we wake up is a good day. Every breath that we take is filled with hope for a better day. Every word that we speak is a chance to change what is bad into something good…….Now from the depth of heart, wish your mind well……  

Now I invite you to consecrate this day and all that come with this day….in your own way, in humble, simple, may be even inadequate words……… 

I pray for you and I pray for all, who, at this moment, are receiving the gift of this new day! May God bless you and keep you safe in the center of His Love! 

I invite you to pray for each other and for all, who, at this moment, are receiving the gift of this new day! 

This Sunday, we celebrate feasts of the Eucharist: The Body and Blood of Christ, the bread of Life and the wine of compassion. The bread with which we are fed does not merely satisfy our physical hungers. The bread God gives also takes the form of the living Word that nourishes the spirit and strengthens our will. It was not on bread alone that man lives but “by every word that came from the mouth of God”.  

To live by the Word of God means to be still, to listen, to change, to grow and to be transformed by the Word. This means that we must be open to God’s Word and let the Word become flesh in our life, let it transform our attitudes, our disposition, our values and shape and transform our lives – let the word continue to become incarnate in our lives.  

To eat the flesh and to drink the blood of Jesus is to take in the whole person of Jesus….To take Jesus in and let him transform us. In this eating and drinking, we are brought into communion with Christ and with the whole body of Christ.

The gift of Jesus as bread was and continues to be a challenge to all followers of Jesus. Eucharist is a sacred meal of communion, of togetherness, of thanksgiving, of sacrifice, of total giving. Eucharist is a life-altering, life-transforming gift. The Eucharist is a redeeming, transforming, life-giving, fulfilling, joy filled celebration.

The Eucharist is, therefore, the completion, the crowning, and the fulfillment of Christ’s love. Let Jesus in and let him transform you! 

Anyone who is familiar with wheat and grapes knows that the story of bread and wine is indeed a story of life and death………. how wonderful it is that Jesus chose this sign as the symbol that will make real his continued presence among us.  

Our lives are a little like the wheat that becomes bread. We have similar experiences of dying and rising, being broken, shared together…… 

Bread is born in the death of grains….the seed that falls into the ground dies and the wheat is born and new grains of wheat are born….they die again being ground into flour….the flour is sifted and changed into loaves for rising….Oh, what an awesome process of transformation!!!  

And it didn’t happen without pain or sacrifice…..if the grains could cry or shout or scream, they would…may be, they do cry and shout and scream and we are unable to hear it….may be, we are too hungry and we don’t listen…or may be, we just don’t care!  

Grain becomes bread in dying and in rising…. only to die and rise again in being eaten and transformed into flesh and blood……unless the grain of wheat dies it just remains a grain, said the Master!!!  

We bake bread, break bread and share it…next time share it with reverence……deep, intense, personal reverence remembering the awesome process through which the bread came to us… 

Jesus broke bread with us and asked us not to forget…we haven’t! He asked us to remember and we did and we continue to remember…… If there is any command we have not forgotten, if there is any command that have religiously observed, it is this command to “remember” and do it again and again! 

We have broken bread again and again…..we have done it with faith…we have done it with tears….we have done it even when our hearts felt nothing…we have done it without understanding….we have done it with profound sense of being fed by God….we are still trying to understand what it all means. But we haven’t forgotten….we have remembered!  

In Basilicas, in Cathedrals, in big Churches, in small chapels, in small groups, with family, with friends, with strangers…we meet, we break bread…and something happens to the bread and much more, something happens to us! We remember and we remind each other that we meet again and again to celebrate the life that comes out of so much death….bread born out of brokenness………… 

The wine? It too is born out of pain, of death experience! After days of ripening, the grapes are crushed and squeezed into unfamiliar form…waiting in barrels and vats….finally to be tasted, filled into bottles, loves, accepted…… 

Next time you pick up a glass of wine…look at it, smell it, sip it, taste it relish it with reverence…… deep, intense, personal reverence remembering the awesome process through which the wine came to us… 

Jesus took a cup, blessed, shared it and asked us not to forget…we haven’t! He asked to remember and we did and we continue to do. If there is any command we have not forgotten, if there is any command that have religiously observed, it is this command to “remember” and do it again and again!

We have taken the cup and shared it again and again…..we have done it with faith…we have done it with tears….we have done it even when our hearts felt nothing…we have done it without understanding….we have done it with profound sense of being fed God….we are still trying to understand what it all means. But we haven’t forgotten….we have remembered!  

In Basilicas, in Cathedrals, in big Churches, in small chapels, in small groups, with family, with friends, with strangers…we meet, we share the cup…and something happens to the wine and much more, something happens to us! We remember and we remind each other that we meet again and again to celebrate the life that comes out of so much death….wine born out of being crushed…… 

Almost anything can happen at a table! Anything can happen when you share a meal! How can we hand bread and the cup to one another and remain the same? 

We gather as strangers……we sit hungry and thirsty…we share a common hunger and thirst…..we eat together. And when we eat together, the possibility remains that someday we will leave as friends…..we will recognize each other as brothers and sisters…some day when our hands reach for the bread our hands will touch and we will recognize each other and we will recognize the Master!  

Someone sits beside us, in front of us, behind us breaking bread with us and sharing the cup with us…we are slow to recognize what’s happening in the breaking of the bread and that’s because we are slow to trust…it takes so long to be Church!  

We long to recognize Christ….We struggle to trust the stranger that he sends down the road and into our gatherings…..we fail to recognize the gift in the struggle and often we miss the blessing, the gift that the stranger brings……  

This remembrance of Jesus in breaking the bread and sharing the cup continues to create a sacred “connection”, a “communion”, a “fellowship”, an eternal bond with the Lord and with one another. The Eucharist creates and sustains the Christian community. We remember, we celebrate and we become one in Christ.

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs

CELEBRATE GOD

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……

All our meditations began and still begins with “Be still and know that I am God”. Our meditation today is on “know that I am God”. To “know” God does not mean that we gather knowledge about God, read, study, research, inquire, philosophize or theologize about God. It does mean an intimate encounter, a meeting of hearts and minds and wills, a growing personal relationship, a life-transforming relationship, making space for God, an openness to let God in and to enter the very life of God. It is about relationship, about communion, about intimacy.

This Sunday, we celebrate one of the most important feasts of the Church: Most Holy Trinity – God as Father, Son and Spirit in one single, indivisible communion of persons. Many have attempted to explain this dogma in a variety of ways. None of them can adequately explain the meaning and the power this doctrine has over our lives. We need to understand and accept this as “The Mystery” which we can only contemplate, before which we stand in awe and wonder and amazement and adoration and admiration.

God is Mystery and the Mystery of God is known only through God’s self-revelation. Mystery does not mean “mysterious”, something that is abstract, out there somewhere or something that can not be known or understood. Mystery is profound truth – Reality, not facts, not verifiable information but profound truth, eternal truth. The more we come to know truth, the more there is to know. The more we know mystery, the more there is to know. Mystery is revealed and hidden at the same time.

Mystery has to be experienced – we must plunge into mystery. We must experience the mystery of God, be baptized into the mystery of God, be immersed into the mystery of God’s life and love. To know is to become one with that which is known. The more you know, the more there is to know. God is Mystery – known and hidden……. the more you know God, the more there is to know. To know God is to “abide”, “dwell” in God – to be in communion with God.

No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God dwells in us and His love is brought to perfection in us. The way we know, that we remain in him and he in us, is that he has given us of his spirit. We have seen for ourselves and can testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. When anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him and he in God. (I John 4:12-15)

Moses wanted to see God, know his name, see his face – he could only walk on Holy ground.

I am who am – the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob – this is my name forever, this is my title for all generations. (Ex.3:14-15)

My face you cannot see, for no man sees me and still lives. (Ex. 33:20)

One day, Moses went up the mountain and was in deep conversation with God on Mount Sinai. His people became impatient and made a golden calf and began to worship the image. Moses came down the mountain with God’s directives written on two tablets and found his people impatient and unfaithful. In anger, Moses broke the tablets of the law and destroyed the golden calf. (Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9)

Moses pleaded with God to come down and be with his people and the Lord came down again in a cloud. The Lord asked Moses to cut two stone tablets and go up Mount Sinai alone and Moses followed God’s directive early next morning.

In this excerpt, we have the intimate conversation between God and Moses. God declared himself to be “merciful, gracious, slow to anger, rich in kindness and fidelity and so on. Moses bowed down to the ground and worship the Lord, his God and asked the Lord to be with his people in spite of their wickedness.

Moses and his people had life-transforming experience because they had a very personal encounter with God. In this encounter they knew God as merciful, gracious, just, rich in kindness and faithfulness.

John 3:16 is one of the most frequently quoted scripture verses, displayed on banners, signs and bumper stickers……”God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life”. This verse is worth memorizing, remembering and contemplating. This is the central message of the Gospel. This is the good news. It tells us that God loved first and salvation comes from him as his gift. It tells us that God loved the world – not a few favorite people or nation, not even a few good people – but the world. God’s love is an all-embracing love.

We are invited to ponder this all-embracing love of God for the world! As Saint Augustine says, “God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love.”

God’s love, his abiding presence, his intimacy has the power to change people and things and the universe. It is this intimacy that brings peace, God’s gift of peace.

We long for a sense of oneness, a union and communion with others like us and communion with God. We long for the liberation which Jesus proclaimed, which only he can offer. It is this communion that brings peace.

We are called to become witnesses of the mystery of God’s presence: God’s Light, Truth, Life, Love…in the world – in us the world must see the “sign” of the “presence” of the very “heart” of God – mercy, peace, joy, justice, compassion, love.

Baptized in the name of the Triune God, we are called to be models, witnesses, living examples of intimacy with God, Father, Son and Spirit.

Jesus is our door to intimacy with God, others, the universe and self. In Jesus, we discover three simple and profound avenues to intimacy: Simplicity, Fidelity, Purity. In him, we also discover three outstanding virtues which underlie all other virtues: Humility, Unconditional love, Surrender.

Jesus was God’s “Epiphany”. So intense was his intimacy with the father, He was “illuminated”, transfigured – his face like the sun and his garments became pure white on the mountain.

I am in the Father and the Father is in me. (John 14:8-11)

I will ask the father and he will give you another paraclete, to be with you always. (John. 14:16)

We will come to him and make our dwelling place with him. (John 14:23)

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; Abide in my love.          (Jn. 15:9)

The secret of the life of Jesus was his contact with the Father. Again and again, he withdrew to quiet places to be alone with the father. He knew what it meant to “abide” in the Father’s Love. His disciples must do the same. To “abide” is to be in close contact; to be in touch; to be intimate; to live an intense, personal relationship.

The secret of the unity in the Trinity is the “sacredness’ of relationship, the “unconditional” presence; the “abiding”, the “intimacy” that Jesus speaks of.

We are to be models of Trinitarian “faith, hope, love” – living examples of intimacy with God, Father, Son, Spirit which lasts a lifetime, eternity.

My Prayer for you:

• that you may grow in the knowledge and experience of God
• that you may dwell in the mystery of God – in the very heart of God’s being
• that you may experience the presence of God in all things and people you encounter
• that you may become a witness to the mystery of God’s loving presence
• that you may walk with God, joyfully and faithfully

Your Prayer:

Fr. Gus Tharappel,msfs

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BEING EASTER PEOPLE (7)

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 meditation on being Easter People. Our last meditation was on the promise of Jesus to send us His Holy Spirit to enable and empower us to carry on His mission to its fulfillment. This week, we meditate on being on fire with the love of God poured into the heart by the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit of Love,

Come, kindle in us the fire of your love.

The Acts of the Apostles tells us that the disciples experienced a harmony, a unity, a fellowship that they never dreamed of! Acts 2:1-11 tells us that “a noise like a strong driving wind filled the entire house and tongues as of fire rested on each of the them”. They were from different territories, they were of different background, they spoke different languages….but they understood each other! The disharmony, the disunity and the brokenness and confusion that people experienced at Babel was reversed…at Babel they began to speak many languages and they could not understand each other anymore…at Pentecost, they spoke different languages and they understood each other…the Holy Spirit made it happen.

The Holy Spirit filled the disciples with a new power….they were no more afraid…they spoke boldly…they moved with courage and compassion to bring the good news of Jesus to the world.

Throughout the Scriptures fire was used to symbolize the divine presence. Moses approaches the burning bush and hears a call to lead his people out of slavery in to freedom (Ex. 3:2). Isaiah’s lips are purified by red hot coals (burning torches) that are carried by the seraphs (Is.6:1-3). Slaves, running from Egypt into the freedom of the promised land, saw the pillar of fire at night as a sign of the protecting, freeing, guiding and saving presence of God (Ex. 13:21-22).

Tongues of fire rested on the frightened Apostles and rekindled their courage and conviction (Act 2:1-13). Peter speaks of the fire of God ad a source of purification, something that refines our faith (1 Peter 1:6-9). The Prophet Malachi says, “He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” (Malachi 3:3). The Author of the letter to the Hebrews refers to God as a “consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29).There is more….and more…..about the fire and the flame and the light……the gentle light, the quiet fire, the glowing flame, the consuming fire, the purifying fire………

How does this inspire you….move you……..inflame you……..awaken you….enlighten you……….set you on fire as you prepare to celebrate the feast of Pentecost?

Take a moment now…..Get in touch with the fire burning in your heart………….

If you don’t feel the fire within, take a moment now, pray for an awakening to that fire. Pray for a deeper desire, a longing, a hunger, a thirst, “yearning” for that fire of God.

Be Still – Reflect

Holy Spirit of Love,

Come, kindle in us the fire of your love.

Remember people whose hearts are on fire with God. As you remember them, you may feel that your own heart is far from being alive with this profound love.

Be watchful. There is danger in comparisons. The danger of comparing ourselves with others is that often we feel tension between being inspired by someone on fire with God and trying to make ourselves like them. We just don’t have to be like them. No two hearts are on fire with God exactly the same way.

We are called to live this dynamic, profound, vibrant love in our own unique way, according to our own personality, our own temperament, our own goodness, our own inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies.

Sometimes, we may even wonder if any spark of fire remains in us. Sometimes, we will resist the fire, other times, we may be afraid of its power.

Yet, within all of us, the fire of God continues to flicker, even when we do not see it glow. You don’t have to be a Jeremiah! or a John the Baptist! or a Mother Teresa! or a John Paul II! You just have to be yourself!

“There seemed to be a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones…..” Jeremiah 20:9

Get in touch with the fire burning in your heart……If you don’t feel the fire within, pray for an awakening to that fire. Pray for a “yearning” for that fire of God.

Holy Spirit of Love,

Come, kindle in us the fire of your love.

Take a few moments…Get in touch with the fire burning in your heart………….

Fan into flame the spark that is within………….

During this coming week, as we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, light a candle each morning as you begin your day. Hold the candle in your hands as you pray for a rekindling of the fire of God in you or for fanning into flame the spark you found within or express gratitude for the spark you found within……….

Remember people you have known or heard about whose hearts are on fire with God. Reflect on how the fire is reflected in their life. Reflect on how you may have caught a spark from them.

Remember Jeremiah or Moses or John the Baptist or the two disciples on the road to Emmaus or Peter or Paul…..or anyone else that you know in history. Read their stories…listen to them. Reflect on how the fire of God was a transforming power in their life……dialogue with them.

If you don’t feel the fire within, pray for an awakening to that fire. Pray for a “yearning” for that fire of God.

Pray for…..

• a deeper hunger for God
• a longing for the fire of God’s love a deeper appreciation of life  
• an enthusiasm for life
• a deeper appreciation of the world as God’s gift
• a positive, optimistic attitude toward all that is
• an openness to truth, goodness, justice, peace, shalom
• a longing for change, growth, transformation
• a love for contemplation
• a passion for service

Abide in this prayer for some time

Fr. Gus Tharappel, msfs

BEING EASTER PEOPLE (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………

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 meditation on being Easter People. Our last meditation was on some of the most important words and deeds of our master, Jesus, before his death. Today we dwell on the promise of Jesus to send us His Holy Spirit to enable and empower us to carry on His mission to its fulfillment.

Luke tells us one of the most amazing stories (Luke 24:46-53)….the story of Jesus calling and trusting his men to be witnesses of his suffering, death and resurrection and sending them with his mission of bringing good news to the world. These were the men who failed to stand by him when he was being tried and condemned to death. These were the men who remained behind closed doors for fear of the Jews, after the death of their master. These were the men who hesitated to believe in his resurrection. But, Jesus trusted them with his mission.

Today, we, with all our limitations and inconsistencies, are trusted with this good news and are called to bring this good news of Jesus to the world. Reflected on being trusted with the mission of Jesus.

With great wisdom, knowing the limitations of his men, Jesus asked them to wait “until you are clothed with power from on high”……. to wait for the Holy Spirit to empower them.

Learn to wait patiently with arms and hearts and minds that are open to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!

Luke tells us that after he had instructed his disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit, Jesus blessed them and then was taken up into heaven (Luke 24:46-53). They returned to Jerusalem and were found praising God in the temple. They waited as their master had instructed them.

This is the amazing story….this is the story of an end and a beginning that was continuous, that merged…an end that ran into a beginning and a beginning that grew out of an end. This is the story of the ascension of the Lord, which is the story of “continuity” and not a break from what they had come to know and experience. This is the story of the Church being called, sent and empowered to continue what Jesus began. It is the story of Jesus asking the disciples to wait to be filled so that they become more fully involved. It is the story of the disciples being enabled and empowered to live and share the good news of Jesus. This story invites us to wait and remain open to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and be empowered to fulfill the mission of Jesus.

Be still! Wait patiently! Wait with open arms, minds and hearts! May the Holy Spirit fill you with all the gifts you need to fulfill your mission in life!

Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit empowered the Church to continue where Jesus had left off at his death (Acts 1:1-11). Jesus had asked the apostles to wait on the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit filled them with courage and strength to proclaim the risen Lord and to live the life which Jesus called them to live.

Today, it is up to us to continue the mission of Jesus.
Rejoice in being trusted with the mission of Jesus and be faithful.

You are sent as Christ to the world not to change water into wine or to multiply bread and feed five thousand or to raise the dead or to walk on the water or to save the world.

Your Call is to stand your ground… to be grounded, rooted in Him and growing in him.

Your call is to be counted among thousands who send their roots deep into the very person of Jesus – into his life, death and resurrection.

The call is to be transformed by his love. The call is to let that love be visible, be present, be the ground of all that you are.

The Jesus who will be recognized in you is not the all powerful, all loving, all good, all compassionate – perfect Jesus – you could never be that. It is Jesus who consoles you, comforts you, encourages you, supports you in your weakness, loves you, forgives you, calls you, challenges you, heals you – it this Jesus who shines through you – not in all perfection, but in an ever transforming experience of Grace. It is Jesus, who said to St. Paul “My grace is enough…” It is His Grace working through your weakness….you are being carried in Grace with all your limitations, weaknesses as well as goodness and strength.

All of us carry the treasure of this loving Jesus, dwelling within us and working through us, fragile human beings – earthen vessels. We cannot expect to witness perfection. But, we must be willing to stand up and be counted among the saints who struggled, suffered, sacrificed, prayed, served, loved….

“Go courageously to do whatever you are called to do.” (St. Francis de Sales)

Fr. Gus Tharappel, msfs