Let us repent and return to Jesus.

Let us repent and return to Jesus.
********************************

The religious leaders of Jerusalem questioned  Jesus' authority to enter the Temple to teach. (Mt 21:23). 

He answered their question with a question :  “The baptism of John, whence was it?” 

They refused to answer.

If they said, “From God,”  Jesus would embarrass them by asking why they didn’t believe him.  If they said, “From men,” the people would be up in arms.

  They pleaded ignorance, thus forfeiting any explanation of Jesus’ authority.

Now, Jesus asks them another question. 

He  tells them about two sons. One son refuses to obey his father in words but obeys in action and the other  accepts to obey but disobeys.
(Matthew.21:28-32)

Jesus asks, “Which of these two did his father’s will?” 

The religious leaders can recognize true obedience in this story. 

They know that words alone don’t count.

Surely they are not expecting what comes next: 

“Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of heaven before you.” 

These words of Jesus may  have been an insult to the men who prided themselves on being the spiritual leaders of God’s people!

  Tax collectors and prostitutes were sinners on the lowest rung of Jewish society. 

So, how on earth would they be ahead of those in positions of religious authority?

Ironically, it was out of their own mouths that the chief priests and elders had condemned themselves. 

They knew that action speaks louder than words. 

Lot of sinners  flocked to the Jordan River to hear John the Baptist preach. 

The sinners had asked him, “What should we do?” in their sincere desire to repent and start fresh with God (Luke.3:10-14). 

They repented for their sins and were  baptized by St. John.

By doing this, they did the will of their Father. 

But the religious elites, who rejected John, did not. 

In their very public offices, they said “yes” to God, but in their actions, they said “no.”

Jesus says that the sinners who changed their ways would enter the kingdom of Heaven “before” the religious leaders who were questioning Him.

Why did He say ' before you'?

A religious leader should not think that he alone will go to Heaven; when he goes there he will see  whom he thought sinners also there.

'Before' does not refer to time; it is used to stress the point that repenting sinners are  more pleasing to God than the just.

In the parable of the Shepherd and the lost sheep Jesus says that the Shepherd leaves the 99 sheep where they are and goes in search of the lost sheep.

"in heaven; there will be 'more rejoicing' over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine souls that are justified, and have no need of repentance." (Luke.15:7)

Jesus came to the world in search of sinners.

"I have come to call sinners to repentance."(Luke.5:32)

There is good news here, even in His stinging rebuke. 

Those who stray far from the Father’s will can always return. 

It is never too late to repent.

Let us not lose heart if we are sinners.

Let us repent and return to Jesus.

Lourdu Selvam

Dependency is a blessing.

Dependency is a blessing.
********************************

"Independence' is a word which is usually used in political histories.

When a country becomes free from foreign rule, we say that it has become independent.

People like to be politically independent.

But in spirituality Independence is an imposibility.

From the moment we were created from nothing we were dependent on our Creator.

We should be happy over this dependency because we are dependent on Almighty God, who loves us unlimitedly.

He has provided us with all our needs, both Spiritual and temporal.

He takes care of us all our life.

Whether we like it or not we are dependent on God; to make our dependency more fruitful we must voluntarily surrender ourselves before God, whole heartedly accepting our dependency on Him.

If we desire to be independent of God, it only means we reject Him, which will result in everlasting loss of Him.

We are dependent on God, but God does not depend on anyone, He is self-existent.

We need Him for our existence,  but God does not need anyone.

We, human beings, are dependent not only on God but also on our neighbours.

We depend on God for our existence and for our attainment of the purpose for which we have been created.

We, human beings, depend on one another ( that is, we are interdependent)  in order to be of help to one another in our journey to Heaven with the grace of our Almighty Creator.

We depend on our spiritual Fathers for our spiritual nourishment.

They nourish us with the Seven Sacraments and their Spiritual Direction. They are our Spiritual parents and we are their Spiritual children.  We must approach them only for our spiritual needs, not material needs.

As children we are bound to take care of their temporal welfare.

"You shall provide for the material needs of the Church."- is the sixth precept of our Church.

We are interdependent as the children of the same God.

No one can lead a spiritual or temporal life alone without the help of others.

Children depend on their parents for being brought up and parents on their children in their old age.

Jesus commanded us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.

Real love cannot remain dormant.

It will be active and express itself in acts of kindness and love, which will increase our treasurer in Heaven.

Mutual love, mutual understanding and mutual help will build up a healthy Spiritual family, which is united not merely by blood relationship but by love, which makes us Christ like.

Christ sacrificed Himself for us out of pure love and this love which we inherit from Him enables us to sacrifice ourselves for our neighbours.

We depend on our neighbours  to serve as people for whom we can make some sacrifice.

Sacrifice need not necessarily mean sacrificing our life, which is the greatest of all sacrifices.

In our daily life we can sacrifice our time, comfort, food, money and such other small things for others. What makes the sacrifice great is not the thing sacrificed, but the love with which it is done.

One boy had the habit of noting down whatever he did during the day on his diary.

From one of the diary pages:

1. I got up at 5 in the morning instead of 6 to help my brother to do his homework. I am happy to have sacrificed one hour for him.

2. My brother wanted one more coffee in the morning. I sacrificed my cup for him.

3. I sacrificed 10 minutes for my mother by helping her in the kitchen in washing the plates.

4. When I was going to school by bus I gave my seat to one old thaaththaa, sacrificing my comfort.

After noting down such other small small sacrifices, he has ended the page with the words:"Dear Jesus, I offer you my small sacrifices as amendment for my sins and the sins of the whole world."

My point here is that we depend on our neighbours to do acts of love and sacrifice.

Thus all the children of God are interdependent to be of help to one another in our heavenward journey.

God is self-existent.

We are all dependent on Him for our existence and salvation.

All the human beings are interdependent in their heavenward journey.

Dependency is a blessing.

Lourdu Selvam.

The purpose of our life and the means to attain it.

The purpose of our life and the means to attain it.
*******************************************

God created us with a purpose.

We were nothing before we were created.

When God created us He provided us with everything that is needed for us to attain the purpose for which He has created us.

As the purpose was fixed by Him, He only knows what is needed for the attainment of the purpose.

But we often misuse what has been given to us for the attainment of the purpose which puts us in the danger of losing it.

What we misuse is our freedom of choice.

When we fall misusing the freedom gifted by Him, God gives us His grace to rise again.

We cannot rise again without God's grace which is also freely given whenever we are in need of it.

We can sin by ourselves, but to feel sorry for our sins we need God's grace.

Without God's grace we cannot do anything good.

We cannot seek God or turn to Him without God first calling us to Himself.

God takes the initiative, but we should respond to God's call.

God wills that we be free to choose His grace or reject it.

It is left to us to use our freedom to accept or reject God's grace, freely given.

If we accept the grace we will be saved.

God intends that each and every human being should be saved, not a selected few.

Grace is given to all human beings.

One who is touched by grace must persevere in charity that he may enjoy the free gift of salvation

The most Holy Trinity is a communion love.

God created us in His image, that is, with the attribute of love, so that He may share with us His communion of love.

Yes, God created us to share in His blessed life of communion of love.

It is the purpose of our creation.

It is to enable us to attain this purpose that God has gifted us with freedom of choice.

This communion of love demands freedom of will.

Love is not  thrust upon a person, it is gifted.

We are free to accept or reject the gift.

If we accept the gift we can attain the purpose for which we have been created.

If we reject the gift we reject God, the giver of the gift.

Love is the very essence of the relationship between God and man.

God has created us with the purpose of our communion  with Him.

God is love.

So, love is essential for our   redemption and our ultimate destiny.

God wants the human race to live in a communion of love in this world and have a foretaste of the eternal communion with Him.

That is why He asks us to love one another as we love ourselves.

Love should be our life.

We must love God and our neighbours and this love is the means to attain our ultimate purpose, sharing with the Most Holy Trinity's eternal communion of love.

Lourdu Selvam.

Three types of prayer.

Three types of prayer.
********************************

Prayer is an act of our union with God.

God is everywhere.

He is within us and we are in God.

But we may not be conscious of His being within us and our being in His hands. We are always in the hands of God.

When we are conscious  of God's being within us, we are spiritually united with Him and this union is called 'prayer'.

When a child is at home it may not keep looking at its mother, but as long as it is conscious of its her presence in the house it will keep playing anywhere in the house.

But the moment it begins to think that its mother is not at home, it will begin to weep.

Unlike our human mother who may or may not be with us, God is always with us and we are always in His Providence.

We must always be conscious of God's being within us, which means we must always be in a mood of prayer.

There are three types of prayer:

Vocal.

Meditative.

Contemplative.

Vocal prayer:

Vocal prayers include prayers such as Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be to and our own worded prayers.

They may be said either audibly or silently; what is important is that we should be conscious of what we are praying and to whom we are praying.

Simply said, we should be in the presence of God.

If we are conscious of what we do, there won't be distractions.

When we say 'Our Father' we must be conscious of God
being in and around us.

When we pray to Our Lady and other Saints we must think ourselves to be in their presence.

Their images can be used to help us to concentrate on them.

The quality of a vocal prayer is decided not by the number of words used but by the piety with which we say them.

Sometimes length may be an enemy to our concentration.

A short prayer with concentration and piety is better than long prayer full of distractions.

We use vocal prayer for:

Praising God.

Thanking Him for His kind Providence.

Begging for forgiveness.

and

Making petitions.

Meditation:

Reflecting or thinking about God is  meditation.

When we think about a person whom we love, our mind is full of the person, our love for each other, his nature, the actions with which we exchanged our love, our desire to love him more and so on.

When we meditate on God we simply think about God and about His love for us.

We think how God shows His love for us and how we should love Him in return.

Real love does not need words to show itself.

Just a look and smile is enough.

During meditation we talk with God not with words, but with our heart.

We make no petitions during meditation, but we offer our whole hearted thanks for whatever God has done for us.

When we meditate on the passion of Christ we follow Him on His way of the Cross weeping for our sins which caused His sufferings and begging for forgiveness. We don't make any petition for our welfare when we are with our suffering Lord.

Contemplation:

Contemplation is the highest form of prayer.

We rest quietly in the presence of God,  spending our time with Him in speechless silence.

We are alone with him who we know loves us.

We surrender ourselves to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with his beloved Son.

Contemplative prayer is a communion in which the Holy Trinity conforms man, the image of God, "to his likeness."

Our gaze of faith is fixed on Jesus.

We look at Him and He looks at us.

When we are in contemplation before our Lord in the Tabernacle our focus is on Jesus.

His gaze purifies our heart.

The light of the countenance of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in the light of His truth and His compassion for all men.

Contemplative prayer is the simple expression of the mystery of prayer.

We are silent with nothing in our heart but our Love, Jesus.

We are united with Him in deep contemplation.

We see Jesus and Jesus alone, nothing around us, not even our self.

Let us remember one thing:

Prayer is union of our heart with God.

Only vocal prayer requires words, coming from our heart.

Meditation and contemplation require only our heart to be united with God.

Lourdu Selvam.

Just think for a moment.

Just think for a moment.
********************************

We are calling ourselves followers of Jesus.

Are we really following Him or only in words?

The Creator of the universe chose a poor stable to be born in and only a manger to sleep on.

Though the king of the universe, He chose to lead an obedient life for thirty years out of His 33 years of life in this world.

During His public life for three years, He chose to be homeless.

"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” (Luke 9:58)

He is constantly on the move with His disciples, counting on the hospitality of their families or others.

Throughout His life He taught His word both by preaching and exemplary life.

He accepts His Father's will (of course it is His will too as He is in His Father, one with Him) that He should suffer.

He washed the feet of His disciples.

He  called Judas, who betrayed Him, "My friend."   (Matthew.26:50)

He prayed His Father to forgive those who crucified Him.

Let us think for a moment to see if we are really following Jesus.

Lourdu Selvam.

Faith and trust in God.

Faith and trust in God.
********************************
It happened in the life of St. Louis IX, king of France.

Mass was being said in the palace chapel.

A miracle occured during consecration.

Jesus appeared visibly at the altar, in the form of a beautiful child.

Everyone in the chapel gazed on Him in wonder.

The miracle was a proof to Our Lord's real presence in the Holy Eucharist.

The king was not in the chapel at that time.

One man hurried to the king to inform him about the miracle.

"My Lord, one miracle is going on in the chapel.

Child Jesus is visible in the consecrated Host.

It is a proof to Our Lord's real presence in the Holy Eucharist."

The king smiled.

The man who brought the news thought that the king would hurry to to the chapel.

But he calmly said, "I firmly believe that Jesus is really present in the consecrated Host.Every day I see Him on the Altar.I don't need a miracle to strengthen my Faith. "

Our Faith is a God-given gift to us.

It must be strong as the king's was.

Faith is the base of our spiritual life.

The stronger it is, the better will be our spiritual life.

Our whole self is the gift of God.

So we are completely dependent on God’s mercy and grace for the fulfillment of all our needs, both Spiritual and temporal.

We must have full trust in God.

One who really believes in God will have full trust in Him.

We must trust  that He will give us the resources we need to cope with life’s challenges and to achieve our eternal destiny.

We must have profound awareness of the Lord’s presence in our lives.

To be in the presence of God is to be always under the protection and providence of God.

We will always feel safe as we are in the loving care of God.

By trusting in God

we rest entirely in His hands.

We understand

that His eyes are always upon us,

that He will see to it that we lack nothing.

and grant us anything that we need,

if it is for our own good.

Before boarding a bus we must have trust in the driver.

When we begin our spiritual life based on Faith we must have trust in God.

Lourdu Selvam.

Last come first served.

Last come, first served.
********************************

The justice of God is different from ours.

According to our notion justice means giving one his due.

In our court of justice we expect a judge to give a criminal punishment, which is his due.

Even if the criminal feels sorry for his crime and craves for forgiveness the judge would say, "My only duty is to punish the criminal and leave the innocent. I have no power to forgive."

But with God it is different.

If He should give us only our due, He can give us nothing but punishment for our sins.

The talents we have are free gifts of God, not earned by us.

Our life itself is a free gift of God.

God created us from nothing.

By 'us' I refer to all the human beings.

God has gifted every human being with talents and abilities.

But they vary a lot from person to person.

We have unequal physical talents, features, and abilities, plus diverse spiritual and intellectual gifts as well. 

What they all have in common is that they come as free gifts from God who didn’t have to create any of us.

In the parable of  vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) the employer hires people to work in his vineyard at various times of the day.

At the end of the day, some have only worked a few hours while others have worked all day long. 

At the time of paying wages the employer pays
everyone  the same standard day’s wage, regardless of how long they have worked.

He pays 'them their wages, beginning with the last comers and going back to the first.'

The workers who worked from the start  'were indignant with the rich man over their pay.'

Human justice may say, 'First come first served'.

But in Jesus' parable 'last come is first served'.

Just as the owner of the vineyard invited different people at different times making their working times vary, God has gifted different people with different talents, differing in number and degree.

What they have to do is to use the talents properly.

All the users  will get, irrespective of the quantity of their talents, the same reward, God.

Yes, God is the reward for our obedience to His will.

God's generosity is so great, that  He will give us what we don't deserve, His friendship and eternal life.

The only thing we have to do is to accept His beloved Son as our Saviour and walk in His path.

Further Jesus says, 'So it is that they shall be first who were last, and they shall be last who were first.' 

"And Jesus said to him, I promise thee, this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise."(Luke.23:43)

The above promise was given by Jesus to the good thief just before His death.

In His three years of public life the thief was the last person Jesus talked to, but the first person to whom He said, "this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise."

The last person to approach Jesus was the first person to be saved, that too just before His death!

Some would jokingly say," The good thief has thieved Heaven from Jesus!"

Equality may be human justice, but generosity is Divine justice.

"Must thou give me sour looks, because I am generous? " Jesus gives expression to His quality of generosity through the words of the employer in the parable of the vineyard.

God is generous towards us.

Are we generous to our neighbours?

Lourdu Selvam.

Crucified Lord gives us success.

Crucified Lord gives us success.
********************************

Until Jesus was crucified
cross was a sign of shame
and dishonour.

Criminals were crucified as a punishment for their crimes.

Jesus, who became man in order to redeem us from our sins, took upon Himself all our sins and allowed Himself to be crucified and accepted the punishment that is due to us.

From the time Jesus was crucified Cross became a sign of our redemption.

Through Jesus, the sign of the cross became honourable. 

As it is the sign of our redemption, we must take up our cross and follow Jesus in order to be redeemed.

No Cross, no redemption.

If we refuse to take up our cross it only means that we refuse to follow Christ.

We are always under the Providence of God and hence whatever happens to us, including our sufferings, happens according to the will of God.

We are here on earth to carry out the will of God.

To keep us in remembrance of God's will we make sign of the Cross for a number of times during the day.

Making sign of the Cross is a short, but very powerful prayer.

We get up from bed in the morning with a sign of the Cross.

By beginning our day with the sign of the Cross we are getting ready to accept all the crosses that come in our way as blessings from our crucified Jesus.

We must begin  every work with the sign of the Cross.

We must make the sign of the Cross before and after meals.

After living the day taking up our crosses for the love of Jesus, we must go to bed with the sign of the Cross.

When we make the sign of the cross we touch our forehead to remember our Heavenly Father.

Then we touch our chest to remember Jesus who came down from His Father to redeem us from our sins, out of pure love for us.

Then we touch our shoulders to remember the Holy Spirit who gives us the  strength necessary for our spiritual life.

As we begin whatever we do 'In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit' we can be sure of success in whatever we do.

God is the only source of our success.

Lourdu Selvam.

Holy water font.

Holy water font.
*******************************"

It really happened in a boarding.

The boarders were High School students.

One day the students were exiting from the Church after morning Mass.

Each student dipped his fingers into the holy water in the font at the entrance, made sign of the Cross, exited from the Church and walked towards the boarding house.

As per boarding rules they were supposed to be silent till breakfast.

But their eyes could not be silent.

They were looking at their own shirts and others' with unrest.

Why?

The front of the shirts of all the boys had been irregularly showered with ink.

How did it happen?

They entered the Church with clean shirts, but exited with spoiled-with-ink ones.

To their shock, their fingers too were soaked in ink.

When they entered the study hall, their prefect too entered with them.

"Hi boys, please sit down."

The boys sat down.

"One from among you have done some mischief in the Church. He has emptied one bottle full of ink into the holy water font..."

Before he finished the sentence one boy stood up and came to the front.

Before being asked a question he began to speak.

"It is I who poured ink into the holy water font.

But it was not intended to be a mischief.

I wanted to teach my friends a lesson.

Lesson learned through experience is more effective than that learned through words.

The holy water in the font is meant for us to make sign of the cross with it.

Just look at my friends'  shirts.

If they had made Sign of the Cross properly the ink spots would be only on their
forehead​, centre of the chest and shoulders.

But they are scattered irregularly here and there.

They have not made  Sign of the Cross.

They have merely sprinkled the holy water over their shirts.

Excuse me, Father. I just wanted to teach them a lesson. The sign of the Cross is to be made properly and piously"

The prefect did not know what to say.

He just smiled.

"Alright. You just go and clean up the font and fill it with holy water, holy water alone. Your friends would have learned a lesson."

We too should learn a lesson.

Making sign of the Cross is an effective prayer.

Let us make it piously and properly.

Lourdu Selvam.

Why should we be afraid when we are in the hands of God?

Why  should we be afraid   when we are in the hands of God?
********************************

To be honest, the daily news that arrive at our ears and eyes through social media are not fit to be welcomed, they are so frightening and threatening.

They take us into a world full of
terrorism, natural disasters, war and many other threats.

Our advanced technology in   weather forecasting frighten us with  tornadoes and hurricanes weeks in advance.

The moment we wake up in the morning, we are deluged with troublesome political and social news, which affect us negatively throughout the day.

Even in this troublesome world
we can enjoy a very peaceful life if only we keep our Lord's words in our mind throughout our life.

Jesus has said,

“I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Jesus never said that we wouldn’t have problems,

But He has assured us that we can experience peace if we stay close to Him amidst the problems.

If we remain close to Him we will be convinced that the sufferings in this world are nothing when compared with the sufferings He underwent for us.

He suffered as amendment for our sins. If we too do the same we cooperate with Him for our. benefit, amendment for our sins. The more we suffer, the more our sins are amended.

If our mind rests in Him, we will enjoy a peace which cannot be disturbed by this world.

*****

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though it’s waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult." (Psalm 46:1-3)

What we call natural calamities are only events of nature which happen according to the laws of nature, made by God.

Why  should we be afraid of such events when we are in the hands of God, who is our strength?

If we see them through the eyes of our Faith in God we can understand that they can do us no harm.

An operation is done to a patient by the doctor who treats him.

It may be painful, but it is intended for his cure.

So he accepts it whole heartedly.

If we really believe that God is our loving Father who cannot intend any harm to us, we will accept whatever He gives us.

As per our Faith we have been created, not for permanent life in this world, but for eternal life in the next world with God.

So whatever happens to us happens according to the will of God.

Even if meet with death in an earthquake we need not fear as it will unite us with God for eternal bliss.

*****

"Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” (Matthew 8:25)

Jesus was in the boat with the disciples during a storm at sea.

As He was asleep during the storm, the disciples panicked and woke Him up with the words, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing."

Jesus calmed the sea.

Here we have two considerations.

If the Faith of the Apostles had been strong they would not have panicked, because they were with Almighty God.

Though their Faith was weak, at least they had enough of Faith to approach God in times of need.

When we are in trouble, we need not worry about it because God is with us.

If our Faith is strong we won't worry even if the whole world is against us.

Let us remember the Apostles of Jesus if our Faith is weak.

All of us have come from families.

We know that parents give more care to weak children than to strong ones.

Weak children seek their parents' help  more than strong ones, just because they are weak.

Surely parents give more attention to their weak children.

If our faith is weak we need not lose heart on that account.

With the Apostles let us raise our hearts to our Saviour and say, "Save us, Lord".

Our repeated prayer will have it's effect.

Jesus will see that our Faith grows stronger.

*****

"I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

Jesus says, "I am with you."

'I am' reminds me the words God said to Moses, "I am who I am". 

Jesus is God.

God is always with us.

When our Creator is always with us we can be sure that we are always safe.

When a mechanic makes a car and gives it to another person for use the car may meet with irreparable damages as the user does not know car mechanism.

But if the maker is the user the car will be safe as he knows every detail about the car and he knows how to use it safely.

When our Creator ,who knows us through and through, is with us we need not fear of any harm.

We are quite safe in the hands of God who is always with us.

Why should we fear anything when we are in the hands of our loving and Almighty  Father?

Lourdu Selvam.

The Catholic Church created The New Testament, not the reverse.

The Catholic Church created
The New Testament, not the reverse.
********************************
Jesus entrusted His Apostles with the deposit of Faith to be handed down to the posterity intact.

'Deposit of Faith' means 'The body of saving truth' given us by Jesus through His Apostles.

Jesus ordered them to teach the nations "everything I have commanded you" and assured them "know that I am with you always, until the end of the world." (Mt 28:18-20). 

The articles of Faith are contained in 'everything I have commanded you'.

The Apostles gave the posterity everything that Jesus commanded them to give, first by word of mouth and then in writing

What they gave in writing is called 'The New Testament'.

What Jesus gave us to believe cannot be augmented in substance when they are explained to us.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes: 

"The apostles entrusted the sacred deposit of the faith
contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to the whole of the Church."

Read:

"It is for thee, Timothy, to keep safe what has been entrusted to thee, avoiding these new, intruding forms of speech, this quibbling knowledge that is knowledge only in name;",(1 Tim 6:20;)

The people to whom the Apostles transmitted the message remained always faithful to the teaching of the apostles.

The faithful were united within themselves and with the Pastors who were leading them.

They participated in the Eucharist and prayers.

In maintaining, practicing and professing the faith that had been handed down, there was   remarkable harmony between the bishops and the faithful.

Oral Tradition and Scripture came from the same Person, Jesus.

Deposit of Faith = Apostolic Tradition (or Sacred Oral Tradition) + Sacred Scriptures.

Apostolic Tradition began from Jesus commissioning the Apostles to "go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you" (Mt.28: 19-20).

It was by this oral Apostolic Tradition that the Church discerned which books should be included in the New Testament. 

The books of the New Testament were written between about 45 A.D. and as late as 100 A.D.

But they were not put into a defined canon or single collection until the end of the fourth century. 

The 27 books that would go into the New Testament, the canon, were decided upon at the Council of Rome in 382 A.D., which met under the authority of Pope Damasus I.

This was reaffirmed at subsequent Councils at Hippo in 393 and Carthage in 397 A.D.

But even before that period
thousands of people had been converted into Christianity  and were living according to the articles of Faith received through oral Apostolic Tradition.

The Holy Spirit protected the oral Tradition or Apostolic Tradition taught by the true Church, which by 100 A.D. was already known as the "Catholic Church."

'Sola Scriptura' people must understand that   'Apostolic Tradition + Scripture' contain  our Deposit of Faith.

Lourdu Selvam.

Sola Scriptura.(2)

Sola Scriptura (2)
'The teacher and his notes.'
********************************

One teacher gave his students some notes to be taken down to be of help for preparing for the public exam.

Now one question.

Who is of help to the students for preparing for the exam, the teacher or the notes?

Surely you know the answer.

It is the teacher who gave the notes.

If the student wants some clarification for any point in the notes he must approach the
teacher who gave it, not anybody he sees on the roadside.

If he cannot rely on the teacher, how can he rely the notes he has given?

The Old Testament was inspired by the same God who inspired the New Testament.

The New Testament was written by the Catholic Church, instituted by the same God who authored the Old Testament.

The successors of the Apostles of Jesus, the bishops of the Church, decided on the canon, the list of books to be declared scriptural and infallible.

If Scripture is infallible, then its cause, the Catholic Church, also must  be infallible.

Jesus instituted only one Church, which is 'Apostolic and Catholic'.

Just see how many Churches have the 'sola Scriptura' people generated!

Each one interprets the Bible in his own way and each interpretation gives birth to one 
denomination.

As many interpretations so many denominations!

Jesus said,
"It is not only for them that I pray; I pray for those who are to find faith in me through their word;

 21 that they may all be one; that they too may be one in us, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee; so that the world may come to believe that it is thou who hast sent me. 

22 And I have given them the privilege which thou gavest to me, that they should all be one, as we are one; 

23 that while thou art in me, I may be in them, and so they may be perfectly made one. So let the world know that it is thou who hast sent me, and that thou hast bestowed thy love upon them, as thou hast bestowed it upon me. 

24 This, Father, is my desire, that all those whom thou hast entrusted to me may be with me where I am, so as to see my glory, thy gift made to me, in that love which thou didst bestow upon me before the foundation of the world. 

25 Father, thou art just; the world has never acknowledged thee, but I have acknowledged thee, and these men have acknowledged that thou didst send me. 

26 I have revealed, and will reveal, thy name to them; so that the love thou hast bestowed upon me may dwell in them, and I, too, may dwell in them."

From the words of Jesus we know that Jesus instituted one Church and wants it to be one.

If the 'sola Scriptura' people believe in the Bible why in the world did they go away from the Christ-instituted Church to generate their own churches?

Should they have not remained united with the Catholic Church which alone was instituted by Jesus?

If the 'sola scriptura,' policy  were true   the first generation of Christians could not have been saved, because the New Testament did not exist then.

They depended only on the Apostles and other disciples of Jesus to know  Him and His teachings.

Before the Gospels were written the Apostles transmitted the message they received from Jesus to the people who didn't know Him.

This alone is enough to prove that 'sola Scriptura' policy is wrong.

Lourdu Selvam.

Sola Scriptura (1)

Sola Scriptura. (1)
***"****************************

Our dear brothers, who have separated themselves from Catholic Church, are of view that Bible alone is enough for Salvation.

It is like a son saying to his father, "Hello Dad, the money you have given me is enough for my life. I need you no more."

It was the Catholic Church that gave us the Bible.

'Sola Scriptura' doctrine separates the Church and the Scripture.

In fact they are one.

Church was instituted by God; Bible is the word of God.

If one takes the Bible and leaves the Church, it only means that he has left God.

It is like saying to Jesus, "Jesus, I have left Your Church, but I have your Bible.It is enough for me to come to you."

But for us Catholics Church and Bible are one.

The Church is the writer, and interpreter of the Scripture.

Church is not another source of revelation,

but the author and guardian and teacher of the one source, Scripture.

The Gospels give us the teachings of Jesus; they were written by the disciples of Jesus and became Gospels only after being accepted as such by the Catholic Church, which alone has the right to interpret them.

'Sola Scriptura' is self contradictory, because nowhere in the Bible is said that that Scripture alone is enough.

So 'Scripture alone'  people  hold on to something which is not in the Bible

They are contradicting themselves by clinging to what is not in the Bible.

They may ask if there is anything  in favour of Tradition.

If they read the Bible they would know the answer themselves.

"Thou hast learned, from many who can witness to it, the doctrine which I hand down; give it into the keeping of men thou canst trust, men who will know how to teach it to others besides themselves." (2 Tim. 2:2).

Paul says that much Christian teaching is to be found in the tradition which is handed down by word of mouth.

He instructs us to "stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter" (2 Thess. 2:15). 

Jesus told his disciples: "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me" (Luke 10:16).

Christ gave the authority to the Church to teach.

The Church is His representative.

He commissioned His disciples, saying, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19). 

So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard by the preaching of Christ.(Rom. 10:17)

So Bible stands by tradition.

Let us pray for our separated brethren to stand by truth.

Lourdu Selvam.

Our belief comes from the Bible.

Our belief comes from the Bible.
********************************

What we know  about God comes from the Holy Bible.

As God is infinite, we, with limited intellect, cannot have a complete knowledge of God.

The difference between us and God is infinite.

God cannot be measured.

The language we use is meant for describing limited worldly things.

We cannot describe God with this language as each and every word is related to things worldly, not Divine.

But we have no other go but to use it as we can understand only this language.

So we use it poetically and symbolically when we speak about God.

God is everywhere, but not physically; being a spirit He cannot occupy space; He is everywhere by His knowledge and power.

God really  rules the universe, but  not from a physical golden throne. 

God cannot be described literally because human language literally describes only human things.

We don't know  Divine language.

God doesn't have a physical body. 

The things of the world that we can see are described literally.

Some parts of the Bible must be interpreted symbolically and some literally.

But it is not to be done by personal preference.

There is an objective standard to do it.

Language about visible things is interpreted literally, language about invisible God is interpreted symbolically.

The story of creation is true, but it is not literal, it is symbolic.

It tells about invisible God creating the visible world.

It is true that God created the world.

The words about the universe with its heavenly bodies, the ocean, the land, the birds, the animals and the human beings are literal.

The words that refer to God and the way how He created the universe are poetic and symbolic.

All the persons whom the Bible deal with are historical persons and  God reveals Himself by His Providence through their history.

God becoming Man is a historical event.

By incarnation invisible God becomes a visible man, keeping at the same time His invisibility.

Jesus is a Divine Person with two natures, Divine and human.

Jesus is fully God and fully Man.

His Divinity is invisible and Human nature visible.

Whatever is said about Jesus in the Gospels is to be interpreted literally.

The  Annunciation of Angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary,

Jesus' conception in virgin
Mary's womb,

His birth,

His life on earth,

His miracles,

His sufferings,

His death on the Cross,

His Resurrection

and His Ascension

are historical events and are to be interpreted literally through the lens of God's love for us.

When Jesus said, , "Believe me when I tell you this; you can have no life in yourselves, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood", He meant it literally.

When we receive Holy Communion we eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus in reality. Jesus is really present in Holy Communion.

Some people have some preconceived ideas and beliefs of their own and  interpret the Biblical passages to suit their beliefs.

When we read a biblical passage we must interpret it correctly and then believe it.

We should believe what the Bible says, not expect the Bible to say what we believe.

Let us

read,

believe,

and

live.

Lourdu Selvam

 

Faith without Love is dead Faith.

Faith without love is dead Faith.
*******************************
A two wheeler cannot run by one wheel.

We being two legged cannot run with one leg.

All the three Theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity are essential for our salvation.

By Faith we believe in God.

By Hope we firmly believe that God will surely grant us salvation that we desire for  if we cooperate with Him.

By Charity we love God and our neighbours.

St. Paul says in his Epistle to Galatians, ”For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

We cannot attain salvation by Faith alone.

To attain salvation our Faith must express itself in Charity.

Faith without Charity is 'dead Faith'.

One who says, "I believe in God, but I don't love my neighbours” is a liar.

Faith becomes effective only through love.

"Thus faith, if it has no deeds to shew for itself, has lost its own principle of life." (James
2:17) 

Faith is making itself operative or effective through love.

Without love Faith is ineffective.

Love includes love for God, love for our neighbours and acts of kindness and love for our neighbours.

We call these acts 'good works.'

What do we mean by good works?

Any work done for the love of God is a good work.

We cannot do any work to help God, because God is never in need of any help.

It is God's will that we should help our neighbours who are in need.

Whatever we do for the good of our neighbors for the love of God is a good work.

So a good work must be helpful to our neighbours and it must be done for the love of God.

Any work done to help our neighbours without love for God in it is not meritorious before God.

Our first duty is to love God, it is because we came into existence as God created us.

Then we must love  our neighbours as they are our brothers and sisters in God.

If we sincerely love God we will love our neighbours too even without being asked to love.

If we have faith in God we will love Him and His created children sincerely.

So Faith is conjoined with Love and they are essential to life in Christ.

Lourdu Selvam.

When are we akin to Jesus?

When are we akin to Jesus?
*****************************
We suffer when we are physically or mentally pained.

No pain, no suffering.

We think​ that pain is synonymous with suffering.

Pain and suffering are  related, but they   are actually two separate problems.

Pain is what we experience.

Suffering is our response to pain.

We can react to pain by our 

Thought,

Feeling,

and

behaviour.

What do I think about my pain?

How do I feel when I am pained?

How do I behave during my pain?

Answers to the above questions will reveal what kind of man I am spiritually.

Pain is not under our control. We will have to experience pain whether we like it or not.

But reaction to our pain is under our control.

Our thinking, our feelings, our behaviour are under our control.

Suppose my boss yelled at me for no mistake on my part with harsh and wounding  words that pain my heart.

I have no control over my  boss and so over his words.

But  I can react to them as I like.

I can ignore them giving no thought to them.

When I ignore them my feelings will be indifferent to his words and unaffected by them. I will be as happy as ever as though  no yelling has happened.

My behaviour too will unaffected. I will speak  even with him  normally as though his words have no effect on me. I can even smile at him.

Or,

I may react quite differently.

My thoughts  may be full of his wounding words,  so full that I am unable to think about anything else, including my duty.

My feelings depend on my thoughts and so I will be unhappy and will not be able  to smile even at my friends. I cannot even enjoy a joke. My sense of humour would be off waving a 'bye bye' to me.

My behaviour will depend on my thoughts and feelings. My words also will become wounding. I will return  my
master the haughty words received from him,  with interest. Our relationship will be broken.

Our reaction will reveal our real character.

During Our Lord's passions He had to bear unbearable pain.

How did our Lord react to His pain by thought, feelings and behaviour?

By thought He accepted the pain as the will of His Father.

He became man to fulfill His Fathers' will,  which was that  He should  sacrifice Himself on the Cross as amendment for our sins and redeem us.

So He accepted the pain wholeheartedly.

His feelings during the passions were feelings of love for us 

As His mind was full of His Father's will,  His heart was full of love for us.

He felt that  He was fulfilling His Father's will  out of love for His Father and His children.

He  behaved  like a meek lamb led to the  altar to be sacrificed.

Though innocent,  He did not resist when He was arrested,  rather, He offered Himself to be arrested.

"Jesus asked them, Who is it you are looking for? and when they said, Jesus of Nazareth, he answered, I have told you already that I am Jesus. If I am the man you are looking for, let these others go free."(John. 18:8)

He offered Himself to be arrested, but asked the  Jews who were arresting Him to leave His Apostles to go free . How kind of Him!

While He was hanging on the Cross  He asked His Father to forgive all those who were responsible for His crucifixion. (We too were responsible by our sins. )

As human beings we cannot escape from pain.

By the manner we respond to it we remain ordinary people or become saints.

Saints accept pain as a blessing from God.

When we accept pain as a means of amending for our sins, we are akin to  Jesus, because He too accepted pain as amendment for our sins.

Let us consider pain as a blessing to be akin to Jesus.

Lourdu Selvam

Let us prove ourselves followers of Jesus.

Let us prove ourselves followers of Jesus.
********************************

To say,  "Jesus is my Saviour, I believe in Him," without living according to His words is to mock at Him.

He instituted the seven sacraments as food to our spiritual life.

To live without food is not possible.

To live our spiritual life without the sacraments instituted by Jesus is not possible.

Just as Baptism frees us from our original sin, confession frees us from the  mortal and venial sins, committed by us after Baptism.

Some so called Christians don't care for confession mainly because they have lost their sense of sin.

Confession is essential for our salvation as it was instituted by Jesus,  whom we accept as our Saviour.

Jesus gave His Apostles the power of forgiving our sins when He said to them, "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (John 20:23)

To partake in the sacrament of Eucharist our souls must be free from mortal Sins.

If we receive Holy Communion
in the state of mortal sin,  we will be committing another mortal sin.

It is like muddying ourselves while taking bath.

Some people open the Bible to search for the verses in support of their beliefs.

They think that the importance and truthfulness of something depends upon number of verses supporting it!

  Sheer number of verses doesn’t correlate with the  importance of  anything.

Trinity is the bedrock of our Faith. 

The three persons of the Trinity are mentioned together just 20 times in the New Testament.

Quality of  evidence is more important than quantity.

The foundation for the Catholic view is the example of Christ Himself.

When He cured the paralytic,  He said to the people around him, "But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”

—he then said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

Why did He say, 'Son of man'? 

It is to show that  the Incarnation extended outwards in space and time—through Mary, the sacraments, the formal priesthood, and the very existence of the visible Church itself.

The power to forgive sins is extended to the Apostles

The Apostles who were given power to forgive sins, 
exercised this special authority to forgive the sins of those confessed them.

In 2 Corinthians 2:10 St. Paul states, “For indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for you in the presence of Christ.”

So Paul is really saying that he is acting in the person of Jesus Christ  in forgiving sins.

This is the biblical affirmation of the terminology that the Catholic Church continues to use today to describe the role of priests in the sacraments of confession and the Eucharist.

In 2 Corinthians, 5:18-19, he has said,   "This, as always, is God’s doing; it is he who, through Christ, has reconciled us to himself, and allowed us to minister this reconciliation of his to others. 

Yes, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, establishing in our hearts his message of reconciliation, instead of holding men to account for their sins.

 We are Christ’s ambassadors, then, and God appeals to you through us; we entreat you in Christ’s name, make your peace with God."

 St. Paul presents his role as more of a hierarchical one.

God the Father acted through His Son Christ.

Now Christ is acting through the apostles.

In Acts. 19:18 we read, "Many believers came forward, confessing their evil practices and giving a full account of them."

This is a  biblical proof to making confession to be forgiven.

Jesus has power to forgive sins.

Jesus is fully God and fully man.

He referred to Himself as 'Son of man' when He forgave the sins of  the paralytic​.

He exercised His power of forgiveness in His humanity and he even extended it to His Apostles and their successors.  

The Apostles  to whom this privilege was delegated, in turn, passed it down to others - our Bishops and  Priests.

Our Bishops are in the place of the  Apostles and our priests are their representatives.

Confession has a deep rooted biblical foundation.

Bible is the word of God and confession is founded it.

God became man, underwent unbearable sufferings and sacrificed Himself on the  Cross in order to give  us freedom from sin

The only  cooperation He expects from us is to feel sorry for our sins and confess them to His representative, Catholic Priest.

Let us cooperate with Him and prove ourselves His followers.

Lourdu Selvam.

Thank you, Ammaa!

Thank you,  Ammaa!
*******************************

It happened in November, 23rd,  1956.

The Express Train from Chennai,  bound for  Thoothukudi,  stopped at Arialur Railway station at about 5 o' clock in the  morning.

Mr.  Maria Soosai, about 21years old, had boarded the  train at Chennai, to go to Thoothukudi.

He was a  pious Catholic,  very devoted to our Mother Mary and very fond of  praying to her with Rosary in hand.

He never went anywhere without his Rosary.

When the  train was at Arialur Station he was praying Rosary,  with his hand stretched out through the  window.

When he was busy reciting the prayer unexpectedly his Rosary fell down from his hand.

Shocked at the fall,  he got down from the train to take the Rosary.

But it was not  on the  platform.

It had fallen down on ground near the rail.

To take it he must get down from the platform, which was risky.

He was ready take the  risk as he  loved the Rosary above all things , but when  he was just  about to jump down,  the train whistled to move.

So he had no other go but to remain on the platform.

The train began to move, but  he did not want to board the  train without the  Rosary.

The train was leaving with his luggage, but his Rosary was more important than the luggage.

Even going home did not seem important.

He was thinking only of his Rosary.

When the platform was free he got down from the platform, took the Rosary and gave it  a loving kiss.

Then he got upon the platform and began  reciting Rosary.

He decided to board the morning train to Thoothukudi and sat on a cement bench.

Only thirty  minutes had passed   when an unexpectedly shocking news came. 

The train which had left the station leaving him back  met with an an accident two miles off the station at river Maruthaiyar,  slipping off the rails into the  flooded river causing death to most of the travelers.

The bridge had been damaged by the floods, caused by heavy rain.

The steam engine plunged into the river together with seven compartments, with the passengers in them.

Maria Soosai's mind was  full of thoughts :

"If  I had not been praying Rosary!

If  I had not stretched my hand out with the  Rosary!

If the Rosary had not fallen down!

If  I had not left  the train to take  the Rosary!

I would now be buried in the river under the weight of the compartments!

Ammaa, you protected me with your Rosary!

Thank you, Ammaa! "

Lourdu Selvam.

Is Bible a book?

Is Bible a book?
*******************************

I had a  teaser friend some years ago.

I think that the only duty he had been born for  in this world was teasing me.

But I was always  careful never to get provoked.

I would always react to his words with a smile.

To his part he would react with a teasing smile.

One Sunday  morning when I was returning from the Church after Mass, he stopped me with a 'Hi'.

I returned the same with a smile and asked,  "Any question? "

"No.  enquiry. Where is your  Bible?"

"Why?  You don't use our Bible.''

"I don't want yours. But why did you go to Church  without your Bible? "

"Have you ever attended a marriage function? "

"Why?  Yes."

"Have you ever taken lunch with you when you went to the function? "

"Are you a mental? Have you done that? "

"Answer my question first. "

"We are served lunch in the  function itself. "

"So you don't take your lunch to a place where you will be served it."

"Why are you beating about the bush?  Answer me directly. "

"During Mass our Priest gives us the  word of God  and explains it. Now the Word is within me."

"Alright. Accepted.  But why don't you take the Book with you? "

"Now answer my question. What 'Book' do you mean? "

"The Book  that contains the word of God."

"So word is not the book."

''What do you mean? "

"See.  The bucket contains water. Is the  bucket water? "

"You are confusing me. Water is not bucket. So what? "

"The book may contain the word. But the word is not the book."

"Do you mean to say say that Bible is not the word of God? "

"When did I say so?  Bible is the  word of God."

"Now  I ask you one question.  Does Bible contain the word of God or not? "

"What is your name? "

"Why?  Don't you know it? "

"But tell me. What is your name? "

"Selvaraj."

"Now answer me. Does Selvaraj  contain Selvaraj? "

"I think you are mad.  Selvaraj is Selvaraj. Why do you say,  'contain? "

"Bible is the word of God. Why do you ask,  'contain?"

"I asked about the book, Bible."

"So words are your trouble. Now come to my  house. We shall continue our conversation after a cup of coffee."

At home.

"I just wanted to tease you as usual. But you have drawn into your house. Now tell me  what you want to tell."

"You too are a teacher like me. You can understand.

Book  is a common noun.

It can refer to  any book:  science book, Tamil book
history   book, story book etc.

But  Bible is  a proper noun, Bible is Bible just as Jesus is Jesus.

Bible is the  word of God.

The word of God refers to  God's message,  which is abstract, which can be conveyed and cannot be seen.

In the Old Testament God delivered His message to His people through His prophets 
who put  it  down in writing.

In the New Testament Jesus delivered His message directly and His disciples put it down in writing.

What was written is the concrete form of the abstract message.

Abstract message cannot be heard or seen by human beings. 

So the prophets put it down in in writing using linguistic signs.

What was in the book was only a sign referring to an abstract message.

Suppose A wants to convey his love to B,  he would send her a letter with the words 'I love you'.  LOVE is a  word.  It  is the written sign of  abstract love. Suppose B does not know English, that word cannot convey her his message.

So the words in the book are  only signs, not message.

One who  knows the language can read the message. For one who does not know the language it is  not at all a message.

Jesus spoke to the people using human language. So people could hear the  message with their ears.

His disciples put down His message in writing.

We  call the book that contains the written message of God Bible.

But in fact the message of God is the Bible. The book contains only  the linguistic signs of God's message.

The book in itself is not the Bible. The signs in it refer to the Bible.

Your grandfather's photo is not your grandfather.

We must imbibe the  word of God and make it our life by living according to the word." 

"So long a lecture for my small  question, 'Where is your  Bible'?
Anyhow,  thank you. I take leave... ''

"Take leave?  We have reached only the gate. Take leave without entering the house?"

"Hello! We are in the house."

"Now one question. Do you respect the Bible in the form of the book, which also we call Bible? ''

"Certainly. We never go to  Church without Bible."

"So you give respect to a sign that is due to the word."

"Yes,  as it is the sign of the real word. "

"But why do you find fault with us when we give respect to a sign? "

"Now  I understand. I will not find fault with  your veneration of saints and keeping their  statues in your Churches.''

"Thanks be to God. "

Lourdu  Selvam.

When will we be worthy of our name, Christians?

When will we be worthy of our name, Christians?
******************************
We are all social beings.

Our family is a miniature society.

Family members are related with one another.

We know that our love with one another is the life giving force of our relationship.

We know it,  but have we ever thought of it?

What is the difference between knowing and thinking?

Suppose we go to a restaurant to take our evening tiffin.

The snacks placed before us by the waiter are unusually tasty.

We take the snacks with unusual gusto.

At the end  the waiter asks, "Want anything more?"

At that time we think of our dear ones at home.

They also should taste what we have tasted.

We order for a parcel to be taken home.

We know that we have wife and children at home.

But we think of them at that time and buy snacks for them too.

What makes us think of them?

Love. Our love for our family members.

People with no love for others will think of nobody except themselves.

Why so long an introduction for a small article?

The theme of the article is so important.

We talk to God daily by way of prayer.

We make Him petitions requesting Him for  some favours.

We request Him to forgive our sins.

Have we ever thought of others during our prayers or are we thinking of ourselves only?

When our Lord taught us to pray, He asked us to say:

Give 'us' our daily bread.

Forgive 'us' our sins.

Lead 'us' not not into temptation.

Deliver 'us' from evil.

When  I pray I am not expected to pray for 'me' alone.

We say many 'our Fathers' daily.

Have we ever thought of the people referred to by 'us' during our prayer?

Do we think of our family members, our Parish Priest, our parishioners,  our countrymen or none but  ourselves?

They too need daily bread.

They too need forgiveness.

They too are to be free from temptations and evil.

Have we ever thought of it and prayed for them?

Jesus instructed us to love our neighbours.

If we really love our neighbors we will surely remember them in our prayers.

Our Holy  Mother the  Church is taking care of us, her children,  in our way  to  our eternal home.

All the Christians, right from the Pope down to  the  newly conceived baby,  are her children.

We are all one family.

So we should remember all the family members, that is, the whole Church in our  prayer to Our Father.

How can we remember millions of people at the same time?

By our intention to pray for all.

First we  must  intend to pray for the whole church.

Besides verbal prayers there are action prayers.

Any action offered to God with a good intention becomes a prayer.

If we take our breakfast just for satisfying our hunger it it is merely an action.

But  if we offer it to God for the health of our neighbour it becomes a prayer.

"Jesus, I am offering you my home work for  my friend to write his exam well. "- This offering makes my home work a prayer.

Even our sleep can become a prayer if I offer it God with an intention.

Even sleepless nights can become prayers -we have only to offer them to God.

Each and every moment of our life can be turned into prayer if we offer it to God.

We will be worth the name 'Christians' if offer our prayer more for our neighbours than for ourselves, because Christ lived and died for others, not for Himself.

We must pray especially for our enemies, whom we must love though they hate us.

Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of the people who crucified Him at the time of His death.

We can call ourselves Christians only if  we pray for those who don't like us.

In short we must think of the welfare of our neighbours, both who love us and those who hate us, during our prayer.

Lourdu Selvam.

Testaments and God's word.

Testaments and God's word.
*******************************

Some people think that it is enough to read the New Testament  to know God fully. 

They forget that at time of Jesus,  Scripture referred only to the  Old Testament.

Jesus is the Hero of the Bible,  which includes both the Testaments.

At the time of Jesus the New Testament was yet to be written, to be written after His ascension into Heaven.

As it deals with the life and teachings of Jesus it had to be written after His death. 

As Jesus is our Saviour and as we have to live by His teaching we read the New Testament, leaving the Old to Bible scholars.

But we should not forget that Old Testament also is  the word of God as is the  New.

When Jesus said, "The words of scripture have binding force." (John. 10:35),  He referred to the  Old Testament.

He insisted that the Scripture, by which He meant Old Testament, spoke about Himself.

  “You search the Scriptures,” He told the Pharisees, “because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me”(John. 5:39).

The importance He gave to Old Testament can be inferred from His conversation  with His disciples who were going to 'Emmaus' after His death, without knowing that He had risen to life.

He began “with Moses and all the prophets” and “interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Lk. 24:27).

Old Testament was a preparation for the New Testament.

It  testified  to Jesus.

So, faith in the Old Testament goes hand-in-hand with faith in Jesus.

The New and the  Old are so interrelated that one explains the other.

Jesus is the God of both the New and Old Testaments.

At one time Jesus said to the  Jews, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am!”

Here  Abraham is Old Testament person.

'I am' refers God.

Here Jesus indicates that He is the God of both the Testaments.

Jesus Himself  is  the God who revealed Himself to Moses, to be “YHWH,” the God of the Old Testament.

In the New Testament,  God became man and speaks to us directly.

Jesus' disciples carried His word throughout the world.

In the Old Testament God speaks to us through His prophets.

Whether spoken directly or through His prophets, what is spoken is the word of God.

So let us read both the Testaments to know God fully.

Lourdu Selvam.

Happy birthday, dear Mother.

Happy birthday, dear Mother!
***************************

Some people read for time pass.

Some people read to gain knowledge.

Some people read for enjoyment.

Some people read to prepare themselves for some exam.

Some people read because they are free with no other work to do.

When we read a novel or a story book it can be due to  any of the above mentioned reasons.

But none of the above reasons must be behind reading Bible.

As Bible is the word of God,  we must read it  to live by it , for no other reason.

We go to Courtalam to take bath in the  falls.

We don't go there to see monkeys or take our lunch in a restaurant.

We attend a marriage function to bless the  married couple, not to take part in the feast.

Why did Jesus become man?

Only for one reason -to sacrifice Himself on the  Cross for our salvation.

He did not come to tell us parables, to do  miracles or to cure the sick.

He did these things,  but  His aim was our salvation, nothing else.

He did miracles and cured the sick to prove to the people that  He is the Son of  God.

 "The Son of Man has come to save that which was lost." (Matthew. 18:11)

Now coming to the point,  many people read the  Bible regularly just like some people take their lunch regularly.

Just like some people take their  lunch just for taste, not for body health, many people read the Bible just as a pious habit not as a rule of life to live by .

For them reading the Bible is a  pious habit just as greeting a friend with a 'good morning' is good habit - underline 'habit'.

What we read daily must be our  'daily bread', which is food for our spiritual life.

We must read the word, meditate on it and put it into practice in our life,  making it our life.

Suppose we read "But I tell you, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute and insult you,'' (Matthew. 5:44), 

we must think over our relationship with our enemies.

We must examine our conscience to see how we have treated those who  don't love us.

If we have loved them let us thank God.

If we have treated them just as they treated us

let us  feel sorry for it,

pray  God to help us to love them,

pray for their welfare

and decide to love them

and express our love by acts of love hereafter.

Our prayer and decision must be translated into practice all our life.

Thus the biblical message must become our life.

If we do this everyday after reading that day's Bible verse, our whole life will become a Bible in  action.

If we don't understand a particular passage we must approach our spiritual Father for getting due  explanation.

Many of  us view  our Parish Priest only as an administrator, not as our spiritual guide.

Just as Jesus came to us to  save us, God has given us a Parish Priest as our spiritual guide.

We must make  full use of him for our spiritual guidance.

We use him only for administrative purpose.

We use him

to build churches for us (where we rarely go),

to collect donations (which we rarely give),

to plan our festival celebrations,

to attend our domestic functions,

to make recommendations when we  apply for higher studies

and such other  works.

These are all good things, but without his spiritual guidance they are  like a electric bulb without electricity. 

We must see Jesus in our  Parish Priest.

Then we  will approach him for confession,  i.e, forgiveness for  our sins.

We must learn to use things and persons for the purpose they are meant for.

Any other purpose they are used for should not interfere into the main purpose negatively.

What is the use of  reading the Bible  if we do it to  gain a Master's degree in it,   if our life is  unrelated with the word of God?

Today  is  our Mother's birthday.

Let us greet her with our promise to  make her Son's words our life,  just as she did .

Happy birthday, dear Mother. Please help us to be like your Son by making His word our life just like you. Amen

Lourdu Selvam.

God and me.

God and me.
********************************
The Title applies to all the readers.
*******************************

Suppose I receive Rs. 10,000 from a friend of mine for my domestic expenses, how much do I owe him?

Taking into consideration my financial situation  he may have given the  amount freely.

Even then I owe him amount he has given and I have to be thankful to him for it.

Though he may not demand the money back the fact remains that I owe him the amount received from him.

I was nothing before I was created.

When God created me I came into existence,  but I  had nothing as my own, including me.

I myself was not mine.

Cent per cent I  was God's property.

In other words I owe myself to God,  which means I am not mine.

But God does not treat me as His slave.

He  has accepted me as His child.

He created me out of pure love for me.

He has given me  full freedom without my asking for it.

He  has shared with me His attributes such as love, wisdom, freedom, justice and power. 

His attributes are unlimited and mine limited.

He has created me in His image.

He  has given me intellect to know Him,  mind to remember Him and above all a heart to love Him.

Being His creation I am bound to be  at His service.

By  my service to Him, He is not benefitted in any way because He is not need of anybody's help.

As God is  perfect I cannot add anything to His perfection.

In fact when I serve Him I am benefitted,  not He.

Serving Him means serving His  other children, who are my neighbours.

So  by my service my  neighbours and I are benefitted,  not He.

By benefit I refer to my spiritual growth.

Besides giving me  the full benefit of my service, God has promised eternal reward for it.

I myself am a gift of  God to myself.

My life too is His gift to me.

He has promised an eternal life as a gift to me.

What shall I give Him in return?

I have nothing of my own to give Him.

So I shall return myself to Him to be His slave to serve Him with love.

Lourdu Selvam.

Satan in our midst.

Satan in our midst.
******************************

Satan, who lost Heaven due to his sin of pride, is roaming about the world in search of souls to seduce them from God to his fold.

His first victims were our first  parents.

He tempted Eve with the desire of becoming like God and made her eat the forbidden fruit.

He continues his tempting business even today.

He did not leave  even our Lord, whom he tempted with quotations  from the  Bible!

He  and his demons are very subtle. 

He does not come to us as he truly is, but in a very appealing disguise. 

Satan approaches us  in the guise of an angel.

He will give us poison mixed with  honey.

"God is everywhere. Adore Him at home. No need of going to Church."

"Serving your neighbour  is serving God. Social service is enough. Why Church service."

"Everything belongs to God.  Everyone belongs to God. So taking anything from anybody. and giving it to anybody is service done to  God. "

Cited above are few samples for such mixture.

He will be by our side when we read the Bible,  but to give us wrong interpretation to what we read.

He will  will mix lies with the truth to confuse us  and to lead us away from the Church and the Eucharist. 

What he presents us will  seem so right and pleasant to the earthly side of us that we will accept them as though they are given to us for our salvation.

He is behind the disputes and divisions among the  people who are believed  to be the followers of Christ.

"Peace be to men  of good will." was Jesus' birthday  message delivered to the world from above .

Jesus was born to give  peace to the world.

Satan is roaming about to destroy the peace given by  Jesus.

Christians are supposed to be good willed and  peaceful.

But does the peace willed by Jesus  reign in our Christian families and communities?

Who is behind the disputes and quarrels that destroy our peace  in our families?

Who else - but Satan.

Satan cannot enter an area which is  under the reign of love.

If we quarrel with one another it only means we have no love.

Love forgives.

Where there is love and forgiveness there will be peace.

Acting against love is sin.

Satan's  aim is to lead us into
Into sin, by  removing our sense of sin from us.

The absence of sense of sin in us has resulted in decreasing confessions​ among the  faithful.

Many people don't think of making confession themselves.

No  sinful act seems to be a sin  to  some people.

Even those who don't worry about attending Sunday Mass throughout the year attend Christmas Mass and stretch out  their palms to receive our Lord  without any preparation to receive Holy Communion and get out of the Church immediately to  chat with their friends.

It is due to  Satan's work that our sense of sin is vanishing from us.

We are made up of body and soul. 

Satan's target is our soul.

He makes use of our body to spoil our soul.

Our body and soul are so inter-related that one cannot function as it should without the cooperation of the other.

The soul can love, but to do the acts of love the body must cooperate​ with the soul.

Without the soul the body will be a corpse.

Satan makes use of  the passions of the body to tempt the soul into sin.

The soul must be alert and say 'no' to the devil.

When we happen to fall, to prove ourselves to be the children of Eve, who put the blame on the  serpent, we put the blame on our fallen nature.

We forget that God became man and sacrificed Himself on the Cross to raise us from our fallen nature.

With the grace of God we should stand up against the devil.

"Ask,  it shall be given, " said Jesus.

We make use of Jesus' words only to ask for worldly things.

What is more important is to ask for the grace of God to stand against the devil at the time of  its temptation.

With God's grace as our shield and weapon  we can easily defeat Satan.

Lourdu Selvam.
  

Concentration and distractions.

Concentration and distractions. ********************************
Participation in the Holy Mass requires concentration.

The celebrant offers our Lord as sacrifice during Mass not only for us but also with us. So we too offer the Mass in union with the celebrant.

Without concentration union with the celebrant is not possible.

During Mass our whole being must be at the altar together with the priest and our Lord.

It is possible only with concentration.

Distractions spoil our concentration.

Causes behind distractions during Mass are  many.

Let us see a few of them.

1.We ourselves carry our distracting agent will us   when we go to Church for Mass.

We are carrying our cellphones with us.

Though we may refrain from making any call ourselves, we cannot prevent others from calling us.

Any call from others distracts not only the  phone owners but also those who are around them.

The phone tune attracts and disturbs not only the participants but also the celebrant.

Sometimes parents give the phones to their children to keep themselves undisturbed by them.  

The children waste their time playing games, which will  distract  the people near them.

In course of time the children will begin to think that Church is meant for playing games.

*
"Mummy, when are we going to Church? "

"Coming Sunday.  Are you so eager to  go for Mass? "

"Very eager.  I can play games."
*

To prevent these evils phones must be left at home while going to Church for Mass or must be switched off during Mass hours.

2. Late comers for Mass too cause distraction.

We must attend full Mass on Sundays.

Those who come in between the Mass not only  fail in their obligation to attend full Mass but also  distract the attention of the people who participate in the Mass with  concentration.

We must be in the Church before the Mass starts.

3.Another distracting agent is indecent dress.

Some may argue that dress is a personal affair and no one has  any right to interfere into others' personal affairs.

But  as long as one's activity does not affect others, it is one's personal affair.

But the moment it affects others either for the better or worse it begins to be a social affair.

We must always dress decently,  especially  when we come to Church.

Let us participate in the Mass with concentration.

Let us not distract others' concentration.

Lourdu Selvam.

On taking Bible to the Church.

On taking Bible to the Church.
*******************************
It is a very good practice to take the Bible with us when we go for  Holy Mass.

But we must remember one thing : participating in the Mass  must be our primary duty, all the  other things,  including keeping the Bible open and reading it, are secondary in importance.

By participation I mean offering  Mass together with the Celebrant.

We are not spectators, but participants; as such our eyes and hearts must be on the  altar together with the priest.

We must listen to the words that come from the altar, with our eyes on it,  not look  at the  Bible in our hands.

You may ask 'what is wrong with our reading the Bible together with the priest'.

Nothing wrong.

But while listening our whole  concentration is on what we hear, but while reading it is divided between our  eyes and ears.

Some people spend more time for searching for the page to be read than to reading itself.

During Mass our eyes must be  on the altar, the celebrant and on  what he is doing.

Our main concern must be offering our Lord to  our Heavenly Father as a sacrifice as amendment for our sins.

Our attention must not be diverted by any other thing even though it may be good in itself.

We must attentively listen to the words of the celebrant that come in the form of  Mass readings,  sermon,  offering prayers  and instructions to the faithful.

My experience as a social science teacher has taught me this lesson: My words won't enter the ears of the students when their eyes are on their  books.

So before beginning my  lesson I would say,  "Keep your books closed.  Look at  me. Both your eyes and ears must be on me, nowhere else."

I used to keep watching their eyes while teaching to see if they keep my words.

If I allow  them to keep their books open they would leave their ears disconnected from my spoken  words.

Bible reading and meditating on what is read is a very good and pious thing.

During Mass we must listen to what is read in a meditative mood.

We have plenty of time  outside Mass to  read it ourselves opening the book.

During Mass our only duty is offering the sacrifice united with the celebrant.

Lourdu Selvam.