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...

So it is very heartening to see Pope Benedict speaking straight from his heart at the homily during today's Chrism mass. 

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 ?

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... 

Firmes en la Fe

"I ask you, dear friends, to love the Church which brought you to birth in the faith, which helped you to grow in the knowledge of Christ and which led you to discover the beauty of his love." (Pope Benedict 16 during the homily on Sunday)

Some events and experiences in life are bigger than life itself. They neither begin nor end, but comes as a gentle breeze, lifting us up into an ecstasy that mind can neither comprehend nor understand, but ever continues the process of self realization that manifests in its various expressions of love, joy and pure bliss.

It is this love and peace that I was honoured and privileged to experience during the last six odd days. With more than a million of my brothers and sisters from all across the world, we celebrated the gift of love, the gift of faith and above all, the gift of God himself. We sang our songs at noon when the sun was burning down at 40 degrees, we danced at midnight in jam packed metro stations, we raised our hearts and minds higher than the flags in our hands and when the rains came down, tears of joy flowed out of our eyes for we knew, that grace in its abundance was being bestowed upon us. How blessed O Lord, to see with awe and wonder the beauty and majesty of Your holy and ever Catholic Church. For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. (Ps 84:10)

Love and faithfulness will meet; Justice and peace shall embrace (Ps 85:10). Indeed the supreme love of the holy Mother Church met with more than a million young hearts, united in their yearning to follow Christ, to serve Him, to be faithful to Him and trying to be firm in our faith. The chants of "Esta Es La Juventud Papa", came from deep within our hearts. The heart of the Church speaking to those hearts, that would one day shape and lead the same Church. There was no young and old there, for we were all young; we had the same dreams, the same visions, the same trials, the same sufferings and ever more, the same destiny. Yes, in our laughter, our songs and our dancing, making a joyful noise to the Lord we prayed ever more sincerely, so much so, that when the blessed Sacrament was exposed, even the raging winds calmed down as if not to disturb the union of God with us, Emmanuel.

The image of young men and women standing in the middle of the crowded airport runway of Cuatro Vientos at 2am in the morning and confessing their lives to priests who had no sleep, would always be in my heart. In my moments of struggle from now on, it would be you my friends, and what you said, holy father that would sustain me with hope and love. "Yes, dear friends, God loves us.  This is the great truth of our life; it is what makes everything else meaningful.  We are not the product of blind chance or absurdity; instead our life originates as part of a loving plan of God.  To abide in his love, then, means living a life rooted in faith, since faith is more than the mere acceptance of certain abstract truths: it is an intimate relationship with Christ, who enables us to open our hearts to this mystery of love and to live as men and women conscious of being loved by God."