Thursday 5 April 2012

Dissent and way forward

"If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.  If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.  And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell.  And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.  "For everyone will be salted with fire.  Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." (Mark 9:42-50)

Many of us do not know the above Jesus; the man; the God, who exhorts his followers to cut their hand off, or their leg, or to tear out the eye which causes them to stumble. Gruesome !!! Jesus should be all about hope and love, the good things of life.... Well, in fact he is, but in order to achieve some, you lose some. And the whole drama of life is figuring out what is really important to us; what sustains us and what is dispensable. And what sustains us is not bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God. Getting the right perspective, that is what counts then...



This applies to the Catholicism of our country, England as well. We pride ourselves on our freedom of speech within the Church, and in many places, faith within the Church and in our families is pushed to the limits, in the name of freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom of the diversity of human person. But as the Holy Father says, at times, we need to be very careful about when freedom turns into anarchy and if we don't have our eyes fixed on him in whom is the fullness of freedom, we may never realise when we go wrong.

In our zeal for change and progressiveness, are we shelving the "what-we-think-is-not-so-good" parts of the 'good news', and preaching a gospel according to me, Mr. Progressive ?

Sunday 1 April 2012

Pray With me...

"I am drunk..... But can you please help me pray?..... You know, I was baptised in this church, I had my fist holy communion and confirmation here; yet now..... Do you think God would listen? Would he understand?" 

There are times in our lives, when knowledge doesn't come to our aid, nor does the theology or the wisdom of the volumes of books read through the many years. Here I was, in the midst of one such situation. Standing alone in St Edmund's Church, before that young man at about half past 3 in the morning, when most of the world was sound asleep, all I could say with tears welling up in my eyes was, "Sure, let's pray then." We knelt before the blessed Sacrament, took the 'Praying the rosary with ikons' CTS booklet and started praying the glorious mysteries. The meditations of the mysteries took on a new meaning that morning; we prayed, we meditated, we stayed silent, he wept, and I, I could see oceans of love, grace and mercy welling up within and around us. The God of surprises once more caught me unawares. 



It was probably at around quarter to 3 in the morning, that there was a loud bang on the door and I saw this young man of about 26 or 28, with a bag in his hand, trying to get into the church. I opened the door and he asked, "can I pray?". It was early Sunday morning, and the 48 hour adoration at St Edmund's Church that started on Friday morning was drawing to a close. After two nights of sleeplessness, I was, quite shamelessly, looking forward to a refreshing nap in the morning. There were not many people on Saturday evening, but as the night wore on, there was a regular but small stream of people coming in and going out. Though I was tired, I was quite happy to unlock the doors for all who wanted to come in or go out. If not anything, vindication, I thought of my ministry and its relevance. But after this young man came in, a few minutes later, the last person who was keeping watch also left the church. Now it was just me and him and the God my Lord in the monstrance. It was then that he came to me and told about his need to pray. We prayed the rosary, the litany and the memorare, and after that I stepped back a little, leaving my new friend and the Lord to talk it out. 



During the 2002 World Youth Day in Toronto, Blessed Pope John Paul II said to the young people,
"No fear is so great that it can completely suffocate the hope that springs eternal in the hearts of the young. Do not let that hope die. We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures,; we are the sum of the Fathers love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son"
 As I sat there that morning, I thought about that Father's love in my life, which has sustained me in my every struggle and weakness. The love that has searched me when I have wandered off; the love that has reignited me when I have become lukewarm, and the love that has held me precious even during those hours when like Job in the Old Testament, I cried out that I do not desire to go on with these failings and misery. Life is not about what I do, rather its about what I become, its about how much I allow myself to be transformed in the image of Christ. As Blessed John Paul II says again, "Its the struggle to surrender the person that-I-am for the person I-ought-to-become..". And I understood that this Awakening adoration happening in St Edmund's was not about the number of people who have not come or who have came for the adoration, its about me and my capacity to accept this love, which has come to its fullness on that cross on Calvary..

Yes, this is what I am called to do, to be the love of the Father in my life situations; to be Jesus to my brothers and sisters. 'To be in his image', is to allow 'Gods love' to radiate through me, even in my weaknesses and failures. This is my calling, this is what 'New Evangelization' is, to be transformed in Christ, in Love and to live that love as a witness and a pauper in a world where love is all about taking in and consuming, and not giving up. What I do can never be a vindication of my calling, because as Blessed John Henry Newman says, "Somehow I am necessary for His purposes, as necessary in my place as an Archangel in his--if indeed, I fail, He can raise another, as He could make the stones children of Abraham". Today, if I don't do this, then tomorrow God will raise a hundred others in my place to do the work he asked me to do, and they will do it in a much better way.

After a while, my new friend came to me and said its time for him to go. Has he found joy? Has he found his God? I don't know...  But I could for sure see the peace on his face. We hugged and said goodbye and I promised to keep him in my prayers everyday and asked him to keep me in his as well. He collected his bag, and started his walk back home and as he walked out, I thought, "He is still drunk, drunk with God.."

Thursday 22 March 2012

A response to "Gay marriage: a war of words that obscures the Church's message"

"If you abide in the love of Christ, rooted in the faith, you will encounter, even amid setbacks and suffering, the source of true happiness and joy. Faith does not run counter to your highest ideals; on the contrary, it elevates and perfects those ideals. Dear young people, do not be satisfied with anything less than Truth and Love, do not be content with anything less than Christ."
(Pope Benedict XVI during the prayer vigil at Cuatro Vientos, WYD 2011).

Fr Ceirion Gilbert, the director of youth services in the diocese of Menevia in south Wales, in a blog post in 'The Tablet', spoke about the recent remarks made by Cardinal Keith O'Brian and the pastoral letter by Archbishop Vincent Nichols and Archbishop Peter Smith (on the legalisation of same sex marriage) and said how "the Catholic Church is aligning herself with the wrong side, portraying herself as the "defender" of a position and an interpretation of society and humanity at odds with that of younger generations and almost incomprehensible to them in its rigidity and - to use an admittedly "loaded" term, bigotry."

I have read and re-read the above blog post by Fr Ceirion and feels that I, as a person who is relatively young and who works with young people on a regular basis and more importantly, has dreams for a vibrant youth ministry in this country, needs to put down few words about what Father Ceirion has said about the youth of today. This in no way is intended to criticise Fr Ceirion in any way whatsoever, but its just an effort to share my views on the youth of today and the whole question of 'values' of young people. I have utmost respect for Fr Ceirion and his work and hopes and prays that if there is any hurt anywhere, then the God of mercy would pour out his healing for us all.

The above article seems to speak for the entire youth of the day and suggests that the youth of today are men and woman who do not follow nor understand, the teachings of the Church relating to sexuality and marriage. As Dan Brown's vicious occult group Opus Dei in The Da Vinci Code, the Church is defending a falling fort, fighting a losing battle, because we have a "church hierarchy that all too willingly goes into convulsions when moral issues are called into question but remains silent when faced with the real social scandals of our time."

I do not think we are doing justice to the millions of young people in this country by saying that all of them are copycats who just follow the majority. In fact, just last week a young man who got on the train from Winchester with his friends after college, was explaining to his friends about the new legislation and how its an intrinsically wrong law, which we all should oppose. I listened to the arguments and counter arguments for some time until I got down couple of stations later. From my experience growing up as a young person in a world where freedom has lost its true meaning, and from my experience of walking with a few of today's youth, I am totally convinced of one fact. As has always been through out the generations, the young people of today are also men and woman who seek truth; truth in its fullness, who would not be satisfied with any thing less than truth in its wholeness. Yes, as Fr Ceirion says, its a fact that many of them do not think that the Church is dealing aptly with the many social issues (read child abuse scandals) within it, but that does not mean that they are not searching for truth. It just means that they are searching for truth somewhere other than in the Church. And if the millions of young people search for truth elsewhere, either in relationships, alcohol, drugs, or whatever it may be, then its not their mistake, its our mistake. We, the chosen people, the specially called who have seen the truth, known the truth, experienced the truth, have not had the generosity to share this truth of Jesus Christ with others.

Surely every youth ministry and youth program should have this as their focus, leading the young people from the darkness all around to the light of Jesus Christ; never to compromise by conforming to the ways of the world, but being in the fullness of truth, seek out the more excellent way, the way about which St Paul spoke about in 1 Corinthians 12:31. "But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. "



In this day and age, no one needs God or religion to be a 'good person'. Charity and 'goodness' comes naturally and a disaster relief appeal any day raises millions. We are more tolerant, more 'inclusive' and we pride ourselves on our humanity. Once, the society looked to God and religion to provide the moral framework to be better human beings. Today, we brand morality old-fashioned and while men and women have moved on from the once 'constraining' bondage of religion, Christianity and more specifically Catholicism, seems to still hold on to the values of truth it has held universal for the last 2000 years. But even in this pinnacle of our humanness, we realise sadly that though we eat more, yet we are not full, though we earn more and buy houses and cars, yet we are not content, and though we have 'liberated' sex from the clutches of marriage and relationship, yet we are not fully happy. Luke O'Sullivan has written about how even during Jesus' day, many of his disciples had a problem accepting his 'difficult' message. Many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. (John 6: 58-69)

Fr Ceirion's article goes on to say, "Surely if there is one constant and common theme throughout the scriptures it is in the gradual discovery and recognition of the reality of God as a God of an inclusive and all-embracing Love whose ultimate expression is found in the Paschal Mystery of Death and Resurrection of his "Word" incarnate, Jesus of Nazareth." 
St John goes to lengths to tell us that God is love. Jesus himself says that "by your love, the world will know that you are my disciples" (John 13:35). Yes, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that all who believe in him might have eternal life"(John 3:16). And yes, as the author above says, this love of God found its ultimate expression in the passion and death of our Lord and it is precisely because of this that the Church teaches that Love is much more than the gratification of our desires. In fact, Love is the very image and likeness of God, in which he created human beings and every love in this world demands sacrifice and pain. Freedom and free love are not free by any means. One of the tragedies of today is that words have lost their true meaning, since 'Language, we know, is far from objective', Church at all times has had the calling and responsibility to rise above the constraints of language and culture and stand firm for fundamental human truths.

One may or may not accept what the Church teaches, but one should never try to justify his/her decision based on on one's generalisation of the value system of the young or the old. For every generation from times immemorial, has considered the previous generation to be too traditional, at times even orthodox, and considers its next generation to be completely without morals or values. If today Cardinal Keith O'Brian or Archbishop Vincent Nichols would not proclaim the truth, then tomorrow, the rocks and the stones of this land will shout out the truth of his Love. Those rocks may very well be the young people of this generation.

The stone that the builders rejected has become the corner stone..

Monday 19 March 2012

St Joseph, Pray for us.

On this feast day of St Joseph, found the below beautiful song with the Divine Office morning prayer.

If 'Jesus grew up in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men' (Luke 2:52), then St Joseph must have been a wonderful, loving Father. If the grown up Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well; told the Scribes and the Pharisees, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her"; cried with Martha and Mary, then, he would have first seen how Joseph respected Mary in the Holy Family.

In my constant failings as a dad and husband, praying today the intercession of him, who was always faithful to his calling as a father, as a protector, as a husband and above all, faithful to God.


Did you wonder where he’d lead you?
Were you afraid of what the world might say?
I feel you understand my fears today
I feel you standing by my side.
You taught the child to be a man
A man whose life my freedom won,
Yours was the shoulder that he rested on
You have the Saviour in your arms.
St Joseph pray for me that I may live my life with Jesus as you did
St Joseph pray for me that at the hour of my death He may hold me
St Joseph pray for me,
That I may follow where the Spirit leads me
Chaste husband of the Virgin wife
Wise guardian of the Bread of Life,
The One beheld the Son of God
St Joseph pray for me!
The little hands that played with wood
The little boy who you called “son”,
You always knew he was the chosen one
Who’d one day hang upon a cross.
Yet you lived to do the Father’s will
Fearlessly followed His commands,
You were the loving and gentle man
He chose to guide his precious One.
St Joseph pray for me that I may live my life with Jesus as you did
St Joseph pray for me that at the hour of my death He may hold me
St Joseph pray for me,
That I may follow where the Spirit leads me
Chaste husband of the Virgin wife
Wise guardian of the Bread of Life,
The One beheld the Son of God
St Joseph pray for me!
Chaste husband of the Virgin wife
Wise guardian of the Bread of Life,
The One beheld the Son of God
St Joseph pray for me!
“Prayer to St. Joseph (Husband of Mary)” Sung by Angelina is available from Amazon.com

Wednesday 1 February 2012

The God of Silence...

"He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." (Isaiah 53:7)


Life has taught me umpteen number of lessons, or rather, God, through the very many struggles, failures, trials, sufferings and joys of life, has tried to lead me, slowly and patiently, into the reality of Him; but my problem has always been that, I have neither been good nor mature enough to learn from those lessons which life, so benevolently tried teaching me at various points of the journey.

Often times, the reality of "what could have been" dawns on me quite late, well past that window of grace, where God is waiting patiently for me; waiting for my yielding and surrendering to him, albeit with a reluctant, unwilling 'Yes'. Yes to those impossible life situations that I find myself in; Yes to the job that I do not like; Yes to the slight discomfort of missing the train; Yes to extending my arms to help a brother or sister in need; and Yes, to the failures of others which sometimes hurt big time. But hold on, hold on. Dear God, with all love and respect, I genuinely think you are being very unreasonable here. How can I say Yes to any of the above? Don't you realise that I get Hurt in those situations? Can you not see my pain, my situation?  
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven" (Matt 5:3)


Often, in my daily struggles, the focus is upon me and me alone. My family, my problems, my career, my struggles, my gains and finally my ministry. Sadly even in my mission and ministry life, I bring in my own shortcomings and narrow mindedness to such an extend that, in reality I am not doing Gods work anymore, but I am doing what I perceive to be Gods work, in a way I dictate, and if at all God wants to have a say in it, then please wait outside until I finish Gods work. And the fact is that, He waits outside, until I am done with all of His work.

Its easy to get lost in doing Gods work. As Blessed JP2 once said to some seminarians, "Don't get too involved doing the work of the Lord, that you forget the Lord of the works". Its easy to forget why we are doing what we are doing. If only I would pause for a moment and think; if only I would be in front of the blessed Sacrament and ask the Lord for the reasons and hear Him speak..
"For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hos 6:6)

Why do I write all these now? Over the last few weeks and months, I have seen the catholic blogosphere of UK attacking one another with such ferocity and spite, that at times I wondered, are we really followers of Christ. But, the very next moment, I am fully aware of my own weakness and my own tendency to get carried away and if at all that happens, dear Lord, I pray that you may make me read this, so that I may fix my focus back on you and not on my feelings of hurt and resentment.

So help me God..

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Why I love Jesus and His Church..

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:18-19)
Jefferson Bethke's video, "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus", with 1.4 million hits, is going 'viral'. 



Today there was this response from Fr Robert Barron. Not that every sort of allegation against the Church needs to have a response, but what Fr Barron says here makes lots of sense.




Another video has also been published as a catholic response.




For some people, they search for truth and eventually find it; whereas for some others, truth searches them out; but there are still others like Pontius Pilate, who, when they come face to face with truth, can only ask "what is truth?" and sadly, walk back, for they have too much to lose..

Tuesday 17 January 2012

For you my child...

Dear Lord,

This is my prayer for her.

That she may know you, not because you are my God, but because she would realise that you alone are her Father, who knew her before you knit her in her mothers womb.

That she may love you, not because of fear or obligation, but because you would give her the gift of faith; the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen.

And that she may dedicate her life to you, not out of compulsion, but because of the knowledge that you are her God, who waits for her with love undefiled in the tabernacle, a love that is patient and kind..


This prayer, O Lord, I make my own today.

(Quoted from Khalil Gibran's The Prophet - On Children)
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
 

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
So Help me God...

Saturday 7 January 2012

Feed my lamb..

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” 
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
On the shores of Tiberius, early on a morning, when there was little hope, nor faith nor joy, a man commanded Simon Peter, "Feed my lambs"...


Wishes and prayers for all the 22 new cardinal designates, named by Pope Benedict the 16th during today's angelus. As a member of the Syro Malabar Church, I am especially happy to see the name of Archbishop Mar George Alencherry, also among the twenty two new cardinal designates. Congratulations to all and especially to Mar George.

It was also hugely uplifting to read the response of one of the cardinal designates, the Archbishop of New York, Timothy M Dolan to this news. As the New-york times rightly puts it, Archbishop Dolan is one of the rising stars of the Catholic Church in America. In his response, he says,
"let’s be frank: this is not about Timothy Dolan; this is an honor from the Holy Father to the Archdiocese of New York, and to all our cherished friends and neighbors who call this great community home."
It is precisely this no nonsense approach that makes Archbishop Dolan so endearing to most Catholics, especially the young of the Church. He is precise in saying that the office of the Cardinal is more about the Archdiocese of New York than about the person of Timothy Dolan and the same is the case with Mar George Alencherry as well. As the head of the Syro Malabar Church, this is a gift from the Holy Father and the global Catholic Church for the small church in Kerala, acknowledging and recognising us, even though we are, but a tiny drop in the ocean of the Holy Mother Church.

Although on the one hand,  this is not about the person of Timothy Dolan, or of George Alencherry, or of any one of the other 22, on the other hand, in a different dimension, ultimately, this is entirely only about the person who is being made the Cardinal. Well, this is a paradox, but this paradox is what Christianity is all about. Today's feast of Epiphany is about the coming of the three wise men, to pay homage to the "King of the Jews", the saviour of the world. Yet, every Christian who has experienced the love of God at one point in his or her life, 'knows' deep down, that Christ would have come down from Heaven and would have definitely died on the cross, even if it were to save me alone. The gospel is all about breaking the barriers of one's self in search of God, and when eventually I see Him in the face of my neighbour, I move closer to finding the God in me. The grain of wheat that falls down into the ground and dies, only to bear much fruit..

As Pope Benedict says, Christianity is all about a God who comes in search of man, a God whose heart is restless for man, and a Christian is one who realises that the man whom God is searching for, is me indeed. When God calls a person to a higher office, yes, the office takes precedence, and yes, there is grace given from above for the fulfilment of the responsibilities associated with the office, but most importantly, God is more concerned about the person and much lesser about the office. The love of God is searching out new ways to bring me closer to Him; to His Son, through His Spirit. The call of the above twenty two to this higher office is in one sense God's infinite love leading his children into the fullness of His knowledge. When I realise this, all I can do is stand in wonder and awe, and proclaim, "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!"

O God, give your wisdom and power to your chosen ones that we may be your witnesses, where you have called us to be... 

Sunday 1 January 2012

A Christmas Gift

As my wife and me stepped into The Royal Hampshire County hospital in Winchester in the morning of 23rd December 2011, little did we realise that this would be the day when we would see our sweet precious little (custom-made, of course) gift from heaven. We had waited for more than nine months, played with her, told her umpteen number of stories, sang her all the songs we knew, prepared our home and our hearts for her, and finally, after 40 weeks, were told that the baby was in a breech position. For the medical staff, a detail which was missed; for us a huge shock :), just because we literally ate TENS machines, gas & air and epidurals for breakfast, lunch and supper.

On 23rd morning, the doctor tried to turn the baby around with the ECV procedure, but our child wont budge (so much like her father, "Any less than 4 horns for the rabbit, sorry not listening.."). Baby Anna Claire was born at 14:27 via C-section that afternoon.


As I took her in my arms that day, and every single time I have looked at her after that, I can not but marvel at this wonder of Gods love. God does indeed love the world passionately.



Every single day since, I have asked myself and my God this question, "Lord, what did you see in us to entrust us with this precious child of yours. What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? (Ps 8:4)". And little by little, in my learning's as a father, I have understood more and more the unconditional love of the Father in Heaven. In the book of Job, the Lord asks Job, "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?... Who marked off its dimensions?... who laid its cornerstone?" (Job 38). In the same way, my child, I do not know the moment you were conceived in your mothers womb, nor how you grew in there. My hands did not shape you, nor did I breathe life into you. I was not there to take care of your little fingers and toes, nor to cuddle you to sleep. But I do know the one whose hands did shape you and who did breathe his spirit of life into you, and its my life's purpose now to lead you to the knowledge of Him, who knew you before I even dreamt of you.

O Lord, your gift is perfect beyond all measure and comparison. When she smiles, my heart glows up. And when she cries, it is my heart that bleeds. Little by little, I am beginning to know the love of a father, and getting a glimpse of the love that let his son die for me and for you. A love that is difficult to comprehend, a love that is irrational, illogical, yet a love which sustains us.

From the moment daddy heard that you have started growing in mummy's tummy, daddy wanted to dedicate this song to you. To you, little angel from Heaven, with lots of love...