The Five Days of Retreat

THE FIVE DAYS OF RETREAT

INTRODUCTION

FIRST DAY

1^st Talk: Abba My Father

2^nd Talk: God has Bestowed on us a Very Great Dignity and destiny

Homily: The Holy Eucharist is the Source and Summit of Life

Adoration: Love for life and life for love

SECOND DAY

1^st Talk: Sins of Humanity

2^nd Talk: Forgiveness

Homily: Our Participation in the Paschal Mysteries of Lord Jesus Christ

Adoration: Prayer for the Departed Souls

THIRD DAY

1^st Talk: Jesus Christ our Good Shepherd

2^nd Talk: Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life

Homily: Jesus Christ the Lord and Saviour

Adoration: Jesus Christ be the Core of our life

FOURTH DAY

1^st Talk: The love of the Spouses

2^nd Talk: Love your neighbour as yourself

Homily: Blessed Virgin Mary in our life

Adoration: Prayer for the Good of the Society

FIFTH DAY

1^st Talk: The Resurrection of Jesus

2^nd Talk: Life in the Holy Spirit

Homily: Travel with Jesus Christ

Adoration: Called to Holiness

INTRODUCTION

Prayer: Oh’ my God, you are present in your creation in so many wonderful different ways. You are present in every person, I every thing, in every event in our life. At the out set of this retreat I implore a special blessing upon eachone and me present here. Help eachone of us to experience your mighty presence deep within us; let us live in you and you in us always especially during there five days. Keep us always before your eyes of love and in your hands and heart of love. Father I thank you for each one of us present here. Help and inspire us to journey into self.  We make this prayer through your son Jesus Christ our Lord who live and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit one God forever and ever. Amen

The story of the Ocean: the large beautiful ocean once called out for a seminar in which she will train how to sing. Three persons attained the seminar crow, wind and the sea cell. Among them, crow attained only one session, wind two sessions and the sea cell full sessions of the seminar of the song of the sea. The sea cell attained and listened carefully and learned all that the sea wanted to teach. At the end the sea is happy with the cell and blessed her and her all generation to sing the song of the sea. Today it continues to sing the song of sea.

The ocean represents God and Jesus Christ is the love song of God and is going to be taught made realized in these five days of retreat. And it is to those who carefully attain and hearken the song of God will be blessed to sing the song of God in his/her entire life and attain God’s abundant grace

My dear sisters and brothers, the retreat always produces effect of God’s merciful love and grace when we silently listen to God in a preacher. A careful listening is the major character of the retreat. The love song of God is unique in today’s materialistic world. This song of God steers up our inner self to know our very self that stands closer to God or restless in the busy schedule of insecurity in the world. Hence, to know it we must be silence and meditative. In the deep silence of our heart we will be able to listen to the voice of God speaking to us in each moments of our living. It needs self-discipline of silence. This is the time to shut out the noise of world. Of course it is not so easy thing to do we live in an age of noise and full of activity. It is not easy to find times and places of quiet and silence. Everybody seems so busy running about from here to there.

Most of this busyness is empty noise and useless movement the Book of Ecclesiastes calls it: a chasing of the wind (Eccl. 1: 14; 2: 11). It is very difficult to be still; deep down in our hearts we cry/ long for silence and recollection. We all need some time to be alone and salient and present to God alone. Today, people have forgotten the peace of solitude and the joy of silence. All of us need enough silence and solitude in our lives to hear the deep inner voice of our own true self and to stand alone in God’s presence, to away of him and response to what he has to say to us in the depths of our soul.

Spirituality is a movement of spirit in one’s life. Spirit is a person, which is a matter of life, not a vague idea. Let us prepare our heart for Jesus to dwell in us. We must have a deep longing /thirst for God like that of Philip, who says, “Lord show us the Father we will be satisfied”(Jn. 14: 7) and that’s all we need. Every thirst in us is a sign of our inner thirst, and every restlessness is a sign of our inner restlessness. So we need spirit, we need God experience. God experience is the result of the process of one’s purification (e.g. the Samaritan woman Jn. 4:1-18 and like the blind man…eyes restored … can you see? He says, I can see but people are like trees walking). And this self-purification, one need to be silent, it needs our inner silence, the desert experience. Today many people are afraid to slow down and be quiet. They are afraid to hear the voice of their own conscience. They are afraid to hearken what God may say to them. Deep down they know that God waits for them in the solitude of their hearts, they are afraid that he will ask them some big sacrifice. They are afraid of the cross, they are afraid of pain and they are afraid to die to their self-love. Hence, they are afraid of solitude and silence and so they keep themselves very busy. My dear people, God speaks all the time in silence. So in the silence of our heart we will be able to listen to God speaking. Mk. 6:31 Jesus invites his disciple s to a lonely place to rest a while Ex.33: 6-7 in silence desert Moses find God’s dazzling presence.

v  A retreat is a time to withdraw one self into the wilderness

v  Lk. 3:3 the word of God came to John the Baptist in the wilderness

v  Lk. 4:2 Jesus himself was led by the spirit for forty days in the wilderness

v  Gal. 1:17 St. Paul soon after the conversion went into Arabia, perhaps into the desert

v  Mk. 6:31 Invitation to wilderness

v  Retreat is a rest, stay, experience peace from all our activities

v  Retreat is to be free from physical, psychological, spiritual and tensions

v  1Kig.19: 4-8, In the wilderness Elijah is provided cake and a jar of water by the angel

v  Deut.8: 2-3. Lord God led the people in the wilderness for long forty years.

v  The wilderness supplies silence and peace and it is precisely peace that is needed to hearken God. To silent is not only to lend your ears but also open your heart. To listen to the voice of God is to accept it with docile and a receptive hearts to approach to God with hearts that have been rendered sort and pliable, flexible and accommodating hearts where the seed of God’s word will eventually sprout and fructify (Is. 50:3)

v  Ez. 36:36 stubborn to give an obedient heart

v  It is two-way traffic for it is true that ideally a person listens to God. It even more certain that God listens to the person.

Meditation points for the night: - Mt. 10: 46-52 (after reading)

My dear people remember during these five days of retreat Jesus will be passing by if you want to regain your spiritual sight watch out and call out like that the blind beggar.

Good Night

Have a Good Sleep!

FIRST DAY

First Talk: Abba my Father

There was a boy called Raju who seems to be brave; once there was challenge made among the students of the peer groups. One of the students said, “who can be alone in the forest at night?” Raju burst out saying “I”, “I can spend the whole night alone in the forest.” They bet challenge, and then Raju came home and revealed his desire to his papa. Papa agrees with him takes him to the forest that night along with a mat and a piece of bed sheet to spread on the ground for his son to spend a night in the Jangle. Raju struggles, all through the night out of fear. His Papa kept vigil at night by staying behind the tree, and sees all drama of his son. Early in the morning his dear papa appears to him- but the son knows nothing of his papa’s presence. With a brave voice says to his pap that nothing happened to him at night. But Papa knows what actually happened and reveals to his son that he saw him all that he was under the tree by being behind the tree. There was a little silence, with tear-filled eyes the son says, “Papa if I were to know that you are there I would not have been afraid.”

My dear brothers and sisters our God is the lord of living. It is he who sees all our secrets and cares for each one as a father. He protects us from all dangers that sometimes we are not aware of it like Raju. The father does not and cannot desert us of any cost. His love as father is revealed in the life of our ancestors Abraham, Adam, Isaac, Jacob and David. Now let us look at him as father to each one of us.

In Ex. 34: 6-7: - (we read). Here God reveals as father to Israel in Moses the personal qualities and the recipient of this wondrous self-revelation of the father is of course. Moses himself. “The father passed in front of Moses and called out I, the Lord, am a god who is full of compassion and pity, who is not easily angered and who shows a great love and faithfulness; I keep my promises… and forgive evil and sin… Moses quickly bowed down to the ground and worshipped… it is a naked description ” of the father’s character.

Wis.7: 22-29: - divine wisdom is a poetic personification of God as if she is pure, emanation of the splendour of the Father, because wisdom is the reflection of the eternal logos, the image of his goodness.

Light means simply the protective and joyful presence of the father. We know in OT God’s mighty presence is seen in the pillar of light and clouds. It is from the time of Moses to the book of wisdom, the father is consistently presented as leaning outwardly, towards the human race, in the form of light and clouds. In NT time the birth of messiah communicated to the shepherds at Bethlehem (Lk. 2: 9) says, “The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the effulgence of the Father shown over them.” Obviously this “Lord” is not Jesus, but rather the Father of Jesus who once again makes his joyful appearance in an atmosphere of light (Lk. 2: 10, 14) says, the message, “Good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people… peace to all those the Father loves.” This joy is the effect of the Father’s gift of love to mankind. 

We all usually quote John’s statement that, “God is love” (1Jn. 4: 16) but this expression though undoubtedly valid correct, is far too concise and brief. The best expressions of the father’s love are found in the OT especially in the prophets. (Hos11: 1-8) which is the masterpiece in its anthropomorphic character. The father says, “when Israel was a child I loved him and called him out of Egypt as my son …it was I who taught Israel to walk, k took my people in my arms, but they did not acknowledge that I took care of them. I drew them with affection and love …(read). The entire passage is soaked in paternal affection and touching tenderness. The majestic Yahweh who appeared to Moses in the midst of a luminous cloud, has now become a loving Father, almost caring his child and seeing with solicitude to all his needs. The entire life and history of Israel was summarized by the prophet Malachi in the single sentence with which he opens his prophecy, “ This is the message that the Lord gave to Malachi to tell the people of Israel. The Father says to his people, I have always loved you. (Mal. 1: 1-2)

Paul says God chose him before he was born for (Gal 1: 15) and this conviction went deep into Paul everything he had everything he was, was due to the father’s benevolent love. In one of the beautiful passages in the NT, he bursts into a hymn of praise to the father who has chosen, not only him, but all Christians as well (Eph1: 1-15), which is a truly marvelous section, tasty and profound. In one unbroken sentence (which in the original GK runs into 14 verse) Paul casts a bird’s-eye view over the whole of salvation history, centering his attention on the Father and throwing on more than passing glances at Jesus and at the Holy Spirit.

The Father chose us and destined us in love before the foundation of the world; this is the center of the passage. It is plainly a mind-boggling thought that the Father out of sheer love should have chosen us freely and generously much before we were born. Therefore our existence as Christian is as old as God himself, for it sinks its deepest root in an act of eternal predilection on the part of the Father. Because election implies necessarily selection, and selection bespeaks predilection. The deepest foundation of our election lies hidden in the father’s mind and heart. And the Father in this act of eternal election is not interested in faceless crowds, but he rather singles out concrete individuals, with name and surname. Paul speaks of Jesus who loved me and gave himself up for me (Gal 2: 20). It is an act of the father’s eternal predilection regarding single individuals.

Was this love of the father rooted in Jesus’ paschal mystery? It should be stressed that this love of the father is not due to the activity and passion of Jesus, for such love antedates the incarnation for many centuries. It is not the incarnation and paschal mystery that explain the Father’s love. It is exactly the opposite. It is father’s unmerited love that explains the incarnation.  Therefore, nothing in the whole world, “neither death nor live, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future will be able to separate us from the love of the father, which is manifested in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8: 39) now we feel secure, for nothing can rupture the strong bond of love that links the father and the Christian; neither death and its anguish nor life and its dangers. John says, the Father is love which is the incarnation and death of Christ and this is the revelation of the Father’s love for us, that the father sent his only Son into the world… it is not that we loved the father, it is he who loved us and sent his son as an expiation for our sins (1Jn.4: 9-10).

God loved us as mother, Is. 42: 13-14 reads, “ From long ago I have been silent, I have kept quiet, held myself in check groaning life a woman in labour”. Again in Is. 49: 15-16 says, “can a woman forget her baby at the breast, feel no pity for the child she has borne? Even if these were to forget, I shall not forget you. Look, I have engraved you on the palms of my hand.” Read Is. 66:10-13 speaks the mother’s lap and as a mother comforts her child, so I shall comfort you. My dear people we should also keep in mind that one of the most typical features of the Father’s character, repeatedly emphasized in the Bible, is that of being compassionate and merciful. Possibly the best description of the Father is that revealed to Moses: “Yahweh, Yahweh, God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in faithful love and constancy, maintaining faithful love to thousands, for giving fault, crime and sin” (Ex 34: 6-7)

 2^nd Talk: God has bestowed on us a Very Great Dignity and Destiny

There are two sets of value system. “Worldly”, a person is equated with what he or she possesses, does, appears, to be etc, leading to hatred, fear, insecurity and pride. “Jesus” looks as the person as equals, accepting them as they truly are. Creation implies that we are all brothers and sisters who are equals. Creation is revelation, which is creative of responsibility. It is an ongoing relationship based on total dependence with a presupposed total responsibility. There is an inherent inter-relatedness, i.e. beauty and goodness in creation because of one source and goal.

The human person being a crown of creation receives his/her dignity, equality, freedom and a heavenly destiny from God: Crown of creation: because only humanity is created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26, 5:3,Col 1:15).

God has bestowed on us a very great dignity and destiny, a woman or a man especially the variety, physical, cultural characteristics, distributions, customs, social relationships of mankind. It is the relationship of God, man and the world. The Christian understanding of human existence is grounded on Jesus Christ as the revelation of the meaning of the humanity in relation to God, who communicated himself to us through the Son Jesus Christ. Christ is portrayed as the paradigm of the human intended by the creator.

God has created humanity in his own image and likeness. (Gen.1: 26-27) In the New Testament Jesus Christ is presented especially by John and Paul as definitive fulfilment of the divine creative intentionality (Promise of God). According to Paul Jesus Christ is the symbol of New Adam the wisdom of God, indeed the image of God.

Image: Human beings are God’s representatives on Earth. His /Her dominion over the Earth, Human beings are close to God. They are similar to him (God). They are capable of loving and knowing him (God). They are capable of protecting the creation. (G.S 12)

Likeness: They are capable of personal relationship with God (Gen.5: 3). Uniquely and immediately related to God. Human beings are able to communicate because of his /her will and intellect, receives his /her human dignity. From the beginning God created them male and female (Gen.1: 27). God created them with dignity. Equal in degree, both are created in God’s image and likeness. He made no distinctions among them.

Equality: Both male and female are created in God’s image and likeness shares the equality (Gen.1: 26-27). Male and female has equal responsibility in promoting the Earth. “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it (Gen.1: 18). This is not in negative sense but in positive sense.

Freedom: It is in freedom of man/woman can turn himself/herself towards what is good and to God, that which is true, freedom is an exceptional sign of the image of God in us. For God willed, man should be left in the hand of his own counsel (Eccl.15: 14), so that he might of his own accord seek his creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection (G.S.17). Mature humanity means full use of freedom received from the creator when he called to existence. God blessed them, God said to them be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over it (Gen.1: 28). Human beings have been given total freedom to make use or abuse of freedom. “For you are called to freedom, brothers and sisters only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self indulgence (Gal.5: 3, 5:1). Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom (2 Cor.3: 17). Freedom is from and for God. Jesus proclaimed release the captives; restore liberty to the oppressed (Lk 4:18, Jn. 8:33, 1Cor.7: 22, 2Cor.3: 17). If so then what is the heavenly destiny? Man has a higher destiny that is to be with God forever, to be in the presence of the Lord, Endlessness of the existence (Ps.49: 15, 73:23-26). God wants you and me to be saved, which I call a universal salvific will of God (Lk.8: 12). I have come to the earth to save the world and not to condemn it (Jn. 3:16-17, Jn.12: 47, 10:9). God desires salvation of all mankind (1Tim.2: 4, 4:10). This is what all of us are striving for in one or the other way. If this is what we all are looking for then what is our responsibility and duty? Humanity as an image of God has a unique capacity and the responsibility for the well-being and the future of the world. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to Till it and Keep it (Gen.2: 15). God so loved the world that he gave his only son (Jn.3: 16), the human embodiment of God to redeem the whole creation and nurture it (Col.1: 1-20). God gave the earth to our first parents, saying man and woman “Subdue it and have dominion over it.”(Gen 1:28) God would have loved the human beings more than any of his creation that he sent his only son. “When the appointed time had come God sent forth his only son” (Gal.4: 4). Christ is not simply the visible image of invisible God but he is the son united to the Father. As said of himself the son cannot do anything of his own accord but only what he sees the father doing (Jn.5: 19, 30; 4:34). He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of the creation, for in him all things have been created in the heavens and on the earth; all has been created through him…(Col.1: 1-18) before the foundation of the world. Human being is endowed with freedom, which does not empty it without their responsibility.

“Stay awake, be ready.” (Mt. 25, 1 –13)

“It is not easy to be a Christian, but it is easy to make a start,” observes a spiritual writer. The originality of Jesus is once again revealed in the ease with which he takes ordinary customs around him and weaves them into his parables. A wedding in Palestine was a marvelous excuse for a super-party. The people deserved it. Their lives were ones of backbreaking toil, as the wonderful musical “Fiddler on the Roof” put it, from sunrise to sunset. There was no honeymoon for bride and groom in a posh resort. Rather, they stayed home and threw a party for seven days. It would the most joy filled interlude of their lives. And the overworked townspeople never complained that there were too many weddings. All even workaholics love a good party and a few laughs.

Now you can gauge better the bitter disappointment of the five careless bridesmaids. It’s easy to make a start but hard to persevere. The prized privilege of Jewish bridesmaids was to escort the bride and bridegroom into the wedding hall and to take part in the wedding feast. When the foolish bridesmaids heard that the wedding party was on its way they went off to buy oil. They were not present when the bridegroom arrived and so he was unable to get to know them. That is why when the bridesmaids finally showed up, he tells them, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.” (Vs. 12) and does not allow them to take part in the wedding celebrations. The bridesmaids lost the chance to know the bridegroom and to be known by him. Despite all their new finery, they were shut out of the wedding ceremony and they would not be able to party hearty for a week. Seems like harsh treatment for those maidens. Yes, maidens they were, but they were not children. They knew the rules and should have played the game accordingly.  They didn’t reflect on the how, what and the when of the facts they were going to face. They were called to something superb, but failed to prepare themselves thoughtfully, wisely, to meet the needs of the situation. When the Word of God has shown us the way to achieve something, there are no two ways about it.

Flasks of oil are what distinguished the wise and circumspect bridesmaids. In other words, resourcefulness is the mark of wisdom.  There is something wonderfully hard-nosed about the Jewish concept of wisdom. It is supremely practical. Like the scales of the moneychanger, it enables you to weigh up whether you are dealing with the real thing or with counterfeits.  Wisdom helps you to make up your mind. It enables you to see things as God sees them. There are no two ways to achieve something when God has shown us the way for it. No finer prayer for wisdom than the prayer of Saint Therese of Child Jesus prays, “Make me see things as they really are.” 

To be wise and responsible we must be willing to suspend our own beliefs about something, to set aside our prejudices, and to think with an open mind. We must be eager to branch out and learn in many different areas, even at the risk of being embarrassed or looking foolish. We must be willing to admit we don’t know everything and are willing to learn. We must see learning as a desirable process that may include making mistakes along the road to knowledge. The more you learn about a subject the more interesting it becomes and the more there is to learn.

In this parable the five enterprising bridesmaids represent the Gentiles. They have embraced the Messiah. The foolish ones, the Jews, look wistfully at their dead lamps. They have come up empty.  How long can you keep running on empty? There is never a time when it is safe to take a vacation from the Christian life. That microsecond could be our last.  We cannot get character or virtue on a Credit Card; we must develop our own. We must be ready for Christ when he comes knocking at the door for our already scheduled deaths. So, even while we wait, we must make sure that what we are living for is truly worth dying for.

So, how shall we want wisdom? To answer that let me end with the story of the young Greek and the philosopher Socrates. A young man went to the philosopher Socrates and said, “I want wisdom.” Socrates asked him, “How do you want it?” the young Greek answered, “How do I want it? I don’t know; you show me.”  Socrates advised him, “Come here tomorrow morning and I’ll show you how to want wisdom.” The next morning the young man reported for his lesson, and Socrates led him walking to the seaside. They both walked into the sea until they were waist deep in the water. Suddenly Socrates caught the man’s head and dunked it into the water, keeping it there for a long time. Then he pulled it up, the young man gasping and coughing. Socrates dunked his head again and once more, keeping it under the sea for a longer period. When finally he released the man’s head, he asked him, “When your head was under the water, what were you wanting most?”  The young man, with desperate gasps and coughs, answered,  “I...I...I...was wanting air, to breath for dear life.” And the philosopher Socrates said, “That’s how you must want wisdom.”

PRAYER (St. Thomas Aquinas 1225 - 1274): O Creator past all telling, you have so beautifully set out all parts of the universe; you are the true fount of wisdom and the noble origin of all things.  Be pleased to shed on the darkness of my mind the beam and warmth of your light to dispel my ignorance and sin.  Instruct my speech and touch my lips with graciousness; make me keen to understand, quick to learn, and able to remember; and keep me finely tuned to interpret your word, for you are God for ever and ever.    Amen.

Homily: The Holy Eucharist is the Source and Summit of Life

The rich meaning and profound significance of the sublime Eucharistic celebration lies in our loving relationship with one another and our communion with all Christian community. The Second Vatican Council frequently repeats that the Eucharistic sacrifice is the source and summit of all Christian life and mission. It supposes an essential orientation to the Eucharist, the mystery of union with Christ and His Mystical Body. It is our duty to make Jesus Christ known, lived and imitated, so that all may share in the life of the Trinity so as to be a communion and fellowship of the pilgrim church. The focus of one’s life and mission is to be seen in relation to the Eucharist and the very nature of it, i.e. to see the Eucharist as a sacrament of communion in the Church. Therefore, “It strengthened anew at the Holy Table by the Body of Christ, Christians manifest in a practical way that unity of God’s people, which suitably, signifies and brings about by the most awesome sacrament.”(Cf. LG.11) The Council of Vat-II invites you and me to learn to offer ourselves as the immaculate victim…Through Christ, the mediator, we should be draw day by day into ever closer union with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in all in our life.

The Eucharist and the Church govern the whole areas of Christian life. Visibly, the communal celebration of Eucharist binds us up as the Body of Christ in love and fellowship. Hence, the most important thing to notice today is this, without the Eucharist there can be no Church. But the Eucharist makes the Church by the mystery of its nature spreads the divine life to the whole ecclesial Body who is incorporated into the Body of Christ in baptism to share and celebrate the life, mission, passion, death and resurrection of Christ and of eternal life. In the Eucharist, we are in communion with one another. We are in communion with the whole Church and with the whole cosmos. We come together for Eucharist in view of community building. Every action in Eucharist is done on behalf of the Christian community. Thus the earthly communion shows the signs of our heavenly communion with all the dead or alive, with the angels and saints to give thanks and glory to God. Our communion totally depends upon the Eucharist. Thus there will be no Church and communion without the Eucharist. It is the Eucharist that makes us communion with God and one another. If we fail to communicate with the same love of Christ then we must think and rethink our call to Christian vocation. If we love the Eucharist and hate our brother or sister then it is equal to hate Christ.

SECOND DAY

1^st Talk: Sins of Humanity

This teaching is based on St. Paul’s letter to the Christians of Rome. It is through one man that sin came into this world and through sin, death; so death was handed on to all mankind, because all have sinned. And if death began its reign through one man, much more surely will they who receive an abundance of grace, the gift of justification enjoy a reign of life through one man Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:12,17).

“If then, what if do is something I have no wish to do, my action does not come from me, but from the sinful principle that dwells in one. Pitiable creature that I am, who is to set me free from nature thus, downed to death. Nothing else but it is the grace of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. (Rom. 7:16,24,25) When Jesus, the true light, came into this would, they “preferred the darkness to the light, because their deeds were evil” (Jn.3: 19). First, they refused even to listen to him; next they proclaimed that his miracles proved he was in league with Belzeeble, the prince of he devils; finally, they put him to death. Therefore, I tell you people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy but blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven (Mt. 12; 31).

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ we have seen God’s beautiful plan for his human creatures, for us, that after a few years of spiritual growth and self development in this world, we should consciously and eternally share in his infinite bliss and divine life. Was this loving plan fulfilled? No. A mysterious thing happened: humanity refused the plan of God. This shattering of God’s plan is SIN. In his letter to Romans, chapter 5 and 6, St. Paul almost personifies sin as a terrible power that has enslaved human beings and from whose domination; only the death and resurrection of Jesus have liberated us. The sinner is a creature that refuses to give the creation, on which he totally depends, the obedience and service that is his due. Consider how angry we become when a servant to whom we pay salary refuses to do what he is told to. Our anger would only increase, if the servant disobeys because he thinks he knows more than we do. In the old days of slavery, such a slave would be tortured and even killed. Yet, we think nothing of going against God’s will for the sake of some pleasure, or other passing satisfaction which, we think, is more important to us than God is… sin is no less an object of faith than the divine law it violates and the love it spurns. This is why the modern world, a largely faithless world, has no sense of sin. At most, sin is considered to be something improper, ungentlemanly, not a down right offence against God.

In fact, sin is the only unmitigated evil that can befall us; it corrupts and disintegrates human personality and reduces us from a little less than angel to the level of and animal and finally leads to self-destruction in eternity. In ongoing over the sins of our whole life, we could think of the different places of my life: childhood, youth, mature age, the beginning of old age etc. in each of these different situations, we should recall our principal faults and fallings.

Pride: pride is the desire to be independent of God, to be self-sufficient to escape from our essential condition of creature. This is evidently the most fundamental and serous of all sins, because it seeks to destroy God’s supremacy. These are also other offspring of pride such as disobedience, refusal to accept a subordinate role, careerism, and worldly ambition to succeed in our work.

Envy: envy is unhappiness at the talents, abilities, success of others and a desire to reduce them. Thus, the Gospel tells us that the Jewish leaders gave Jesus up to death out of envy, but does not include a desire to reduce the success of others.

Hatred: hatred is violence pressed into the service of self-love. A person is said to hate another when his dislike is so strong that it goes to the extent of positively wishing to harm the others.

Lust: Lust is the taking of sexual pleasures for its own sake. There is only one state of life in which sexual pleasure is justified and is, in fact a good thing and that is married life. This emphasis goes against Jesus teaching and example. Thus, in the gospel’s we find no special condemnation of such sins by the Lord. On the contrary, at least, on two celebrated occasions Mary Magdalene (Lk.7: 37-50) and the women found committing adultery (Jn.8: 3-11), the master came to the defence of women guilty of these sins. What Jesus condemned more than anything else was Pharisees hypocrisy, self- righteousness, and pride?  

However, sin is a mystery. As the psalmist says: who can understand. Sins? (Ps. 18:13). Yet, sin is so real that it required the blood of Christ, the incarnate Son of God, offered in obedient sacrifice, to alone for the insult to the majesty of God and to heal the damage do to humanity by sin.   

Lord Jesus Christ, have Mercy on me, a Sinner

For the all reason of sin, we need God’s special grace, which we should earnestly pray for, before meditating on sin. The grace we should ask for is, to begin with a sinner sense of shame and confusion at the many sins we have committed in the past, in spite of so many retreats, confessions, masses and other special graces form God. Next, should be an earnest prayer that God will give me the gift of great and genuine contrition for all the sins of my past life and the determination to avoid in future the smallest deliberate sin like a plague.

At the end of the first week of the spiritual exercises, it is good to make a general confession of sins committed since the last retreat. After this confession, we would naturally like to meditate on the boundless mercy of God. Perhaps the best way to do this is by making a loving contemplation of the Lord’s great parable, the prodigal son, found in chapter 15 of St. Luke’s gospel. Here we find the young man taking the step to repentance, he comes back, with the repented heart, to his father and says, “father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, I’m not worthy to be called your son, take me back, at least, as one of your hired servant.” (Lk.15: 18-19). Here the father is moved with pity for him and runs out to welcome his son back home.

Here we must take Jesus at this word, he must have been overcome with emotion and spoken these words with a sober and a catch in his vice, he who had come to save the lost sheep. Finally, in parable we find, they meet and the father throws his arms around the boy and kisses him. The father allows his son to make his prepared confession and immediately gives orders that the boy should be fully, with all the marks of honor due to a son, the finest robes sanctifying grace, a ring on his finger (son ship of God), a great banquet the Holy Eucharist. The same reintegration into the church takes place every time when we return to God through contrition and confession. When a person closes himself to love, he becomes, in turn, Satan, Adam, and Eve, member of the family of sinners. When he recognizes what he is, he opens himself to love and becomes, in turn, Christ, the virgin, a member of the family of Saints. 

Everyone knows the prayer from the Eastern Tradition, Jesus, Son of God, savior, have pity on me a sinner. It contains everything and can be repeated indefinitely throughout one’s whole life, without his ever being able to exhaust its truth. The act that condemns me is nailed to the Cross. (Col. 2: 14-15) There is no longer any condemnation, except for him who, placed in the presence of this mercy, refuses to recognize it. The feelings that have the divine trademark are strength, gentleness, and the certitude of being loved by God, the desire to open myself to greater love. Likewise, the knowledge that generates and accompanies this sense is not the result of an analysis of self or of others. It avoids all companions and makes us reach the depths, where we simultaneously recognize that we are incapable of good and those we are called to complete perfection. “From the depths I cry to you”(Ps. 130). “I cried the Lord saved me because he loves me (PS.18: 20).” thus, love is not just one of God’s attributes, God is love and from this fact, everything else about God, we should live for him alone. The final purpose of our life is to bring ourselves and the whole human community to live the life divine, for which God has created us, that is, to insert the church and, indeed, the whole human community, more and more into the divine community. Thus this corresponds to Jesus’ often-repeated words, “k have come so that my sheep may have life and have it in ever greater abundance (Jn. 10:10)”. In this and numberless other statements like, “I am the way, truth, and the life,” “I am the bread of life”, “I am the resurrection,” Jesus affirms that he has come to bring us life.

Hence God has made us free, and in accord with the free nature that he has given us he moves us infallibly to accomplish what he has willed from all eternity. “It is God, for his own loving purpose, who puts both the will and action into you” (Phil.2: 13). Because we are free, he moves us gently but relentlessly to our appointed ends freely but inevitably. For St. Paul says, “and for anyone who is in Christ there is a new creation… Be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God.”

According to Paul: (2Cor 5:19 ) Jesus' suffering & death is an atonement for our sin. (1Cor 15:21, Rom 5:12) Adam caused sin & death, Christ by his resurrection brought life. (Heb 9:11-14) Expiation for our sins once and for all. (Heb 2:9, 7:27, 9:26-28) Jesus, the high priest offered a sacrifice of expiation for our sin once and for all. (Heb 2:17-18) Jesus learned to be obedient by his suffering. (1Cor 1:23) Suffering is a stumbling block to the Jews, a folly to the gentiles. (1Cor 15: 3ff) But through which Jesus enters into glory. (1Cor 1:9, 12: 7) The human suffering is a call to rely on the strength of God than one's own strength. (Phil 1:20) suffering is grace. (Col 1:24) and Paul rejoices in his suffering for our sake. Christ's self-offering on the Cross-is the supreme love of the Father.

Sin is missing the mark, goal, and deviation from the goal, alienation from God, human, cosmos, law, covenant, and relationship

Personal sin: negating one's personal relationship with God, human and universe, going against the human who is the image of God, in the stature of Christ. Sin is going against will of God and going against the human persons and self, ruining, hurting, offending others contemplated with sufficient knowledge & freedom. Person who is committing a particular act with a view to sin and whose very objective is to cause damage to others that may be theft, robbery, mutilation, sexual violence, murder, etc inflicting material, physical, psychological injury on others offending and wounding them.

We have seen into the merciful love of the Father, how the love of the father is overflowing in our life. The father’s fidelity and mercy persist even in the New Testament. Luke certainly is not so obsessed with the infant Jesus as to push the Father out of the picture. There is place for both. Let’s look into the parable of the merciful Father. Here Luke insists on the Father’s mercy right at the beginning of his gospel, in the first chapter; but it is later in the narrative that this divine mercy is forcefully underscored. If there is a gospel parable that has become exceedingly popular nowadays it is that of the prodigal son. Only that this is a deplorable misnomer. For the title of a parable should give us the gist of its contents, its heart and central teaching. And the central figure in this popular parable is certainly not the younger son who broke away from his father and dissipated his substance living riotously; still less the elder brother, undoubtedly an unpleasant character. The central figure is the father of both. Hence the parable, which has been misnamed for centuries, should be

Prayer (Cecil Kerr):  Lord Jesus Christ, you are the way of peace. Come into the brokenness of our lives and our land with your healing love.  Help us to be willing to bow before you in true repentance, and to bow to one another in real forgiveness.  By the fire of your Holy Spirit, melt our hard hearts and consume the pride and prejudice, which separate us.  Fill us, O Lord, with your perfect love, which casts out fear and bind us together in that unity which you share with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

2^nd Talk: Forgiveness (“If your brother does something wrong” (Mt. 18,15)

Please note the word used is “brother” and not “fellow-Christian”. The word “brother” occurs more than 150 times in the New Testament. The word “Christian” is used only three times; twice by non-Christians and once by Peter in connection with persecution. The designation “Christian” was a nickname given by pagans with overtones of contempt. So the oft-repeated name “brother” points to a fundamental relationship in the Church.  All other relationships such as those to priest, bishop, pope or superior are subordinate to and a service to this fundamental relationship of brotherhood.

“If your brother sins against you.” Correcting a fellow-Christian is quite a delicate matter. Jesus expects us to take the initiative to win back an erring brother. If we ourselves have been offended, we are expected not to put and sulk or wait for an apology or for the offender to prove that he/she is worthy of our love. Rather, we are expected to take the first step in the work of reconciliation. After all, relationships are not only about the past but also about the future. Who among us has not been badly bruised by authority figures?   And, if the truth is to be told, each of us has caused more than a few cuts and wounds in other people.  Some of them were more lasting than we would like to think.  There are some people who have the knack of surrounding their reprimand with such good humour that the guilty party can hardly take exception to it.  Bishop Fulton Sheen once said, “While it is very possible to win the argument, you may by your angry style lose the war.”  We would do well to bring others up short with the same gentleness that we would hope that they and God himself would use on our sometimes dishonourable selves. Putting others on the carpet then should be but a portion of the punishment. The dressing down should be equal shares of forgiveness and the offer to help the other to start afresh.

Jesus advises that correction should follow a graded pattern. The first act should take place alone with the erring brother, then in the presence of a few chosen witnesses, and only after that before the whole community.  But alas, how often do we not invert the process. We begin by complaining to the whole neighbourhood and the last to hear of our complaint is precisely the erring one.  This step by step mode of correction, suggested by Jesus, diverts the process of any suggestion of passion, anger or vindictiveness.

Now listen again to vs. 15 of Matthew’s gospel: “If the erring brother will not listen to the whole community, then treat him like a gentile or a tax-collector.”  Sounds like Jesus was dealing a nasty backhander to pagans and taxmen.  (If he were in Calcutta, he would have included taxi men!)  Sounds like he was putting them down and stamping on them once and for all. Was that it?  You’re in for a surprise.  May I remind you that the writer of this gospel was Matthew, himself a tax collector, and as such was called by Jesus to sign on with him. If the Christ was meant to turn thumbs down on tax people, he would hardly have invited Matthew to join his company.   In addition, be it noted, the Teacher spent much time in gentile country  - Tyre and Sidon, Caesarea Philipi, the Decapolis, etc. He treated these non-Jews with an abundance of tender, loving care.  The Nazarene looked upon people and saw not hopeless cases but cases called to salvation. William Barclay sums up the case nicely: “He never set limits to human forgiveness.”

Do you remember that story?  You see, the Second coming of Christ had taken place, and the world was history. The people who were saved were having the mother of all parties in heaven. As Peter was waltzing with Mary Magdalene he noticed something amiss.  The only one missing was Jesus.  Peter went looking for him at the entrance of the Pearly Gates.  “Master, what are you doing here? Won’t you come in and join the party? The guys and gals are waiting for you.” And Jesus tersely replied:  “And I am waiting for Judas.”

“Jesus said to him not seven times but I tell you, seventy seven times” (Mt. 18:22). This passage brings us face to face with the most uphill of all Christian obligations to forgive offences received. Before going back to the father, Jesus gave to the apostles a task to fulfill; to announce the good news to everyone; thus what does this good news consist of? It consists of twofold message, such as; firstly, God longs to forgive man’s sins, to turn men form enemies into his friends. Secondly, he wants all men and women to become his children and to share with them his own happiness forever.

In the book of Eccl. 28:2, we find altogether similar to the passage in the gospel of John 18:22, recommending forgiveness, in fact Jesus prayer only echoes Sirrach words in 28:2, that is, “forgive your neighbor that hurt he does you and when you pray, your sins will be forgiven". The whole of Old Testament is a long story of unfaithfulness on the part of man and forgiveness on the part of God. God’s mercy is made manifest throughout the Holy Scripture. In the gospel passage we find the question by Peter and the reply of Jesus. Peter must have found somewhat exaggerated the insistence of Jesus on mutual forgiveness. Hence, he asks the question to Jesus that how many times he would forgive his offending brother, whether seven times? By asking this Peter must have expected to be replied by Jesus that he was not bound to go so far. The reply of Jesus not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times, must have surprised everyone including this expression is we must forgive as many times as our brother or sister asks pardon. We must always forgive.

There was a clear intention in the mind of Jesus when making use of the words “seventy-times seven.” he made use of this in order to stress that no limit should be put in forgiving offences received. As we know that Jesus himself prayed on the cross for all those who persecuted, killed, even hanged himself on the Cross, saying “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”(Lk.23: 34). Jesus saw his executioners in a much different light than we see them. He saw them, as they really were children of his Father who had lost their way.

If we are to be able to forgive our enemies, we must begin to see them in a new light. We must begin to see as Jesus sees them. Sometimes we find difficult to forgive others, because we find hard to forgive ourselves. To be able to love our neighbor, we must learn to love ourselves first. So also to forgive others, we must learn to forgive ourselves first. How can we learn to forgive whole-heartedly, as Jesus did? First of all we must ask ourselves every night, before going to bed, that, is there anyone who has hurt us today whom we should forgive? If we do so, even if we die during the night, our God will forgive we.

The English mystic, Juliana of Norwich tell us “God courteously forgives our sins when we repent, even so he wills that we should forgive our sin and so give up our senseless worry and fear.” God forgives – he forgives without day, the moment we repent, he forgives generously, completely and is ready to forgive any number of times, when forgiving God imposes no fine, inflicts no punishment and buts in exchange for his forgiveness he demands that we, in turn, forgive offences received, and in this god is un compromising. Because Jesus in the God of love incarnate, he insisted so inner both in his words and his example, on forgiveness of others. Naturally so, for if God is love and love is self giving, than the perfection of love must be forgiving, that is, continuing to give, even to one who dose not deserve it. The Lord’s parables like the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son, all of which end with the reassuring words; “I assure you there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety nine just people who do not need to repent (LK.15). Jesus says again “so shall my heavenly father deal with you, unless you forgive, each one, his brother from your heart” (mt.18: 21-35). The purpose of Jesus parables concerning forgiveness was to insist that it is God’s very nature to forgive. For the same reason also, the Lord told peter that he should forgive his brother, not seven times but seventy times seven times.

Thus to reinforce this teaching is that there should be no limit to one’s willingness to forgive. Let us pray for this grace that we will be strengthened by God’s mercy to forgive others, during this retreat.

Prayer (Miss Nicola Slee):  Lord God, I meet you in the mystery of life, in the sudden silences, intensity of presence that makes me stop, catch my breath, lift up head high to catch the glory of your moment, and them bow low, lost in the misery of my meager self, so small, so weak, so far from you. God, you are of a grandeur and glory I long after and shrink from. Have mercy!  In your glory let your pity touch me.

Homily: Our Participation in the Paschal Mysteries of Lord Jesus Christ

My dear people, in what way we can participate in the Paschal mysteries of our Lord Jesus Christ? Jesus says, “Those who want to follow me let him/her take up his/her daily cross and follow me.” What does it mean for us today? Is it our daily suffering we under go? Is it the spiritual sacrifice we make everyday in our life? Yes this is what it means for us. We must feel happy for all our sufferings because of Jesus who once suffered for our sins. This is known as the Paschal mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ and this we celebrate in the Eucharist in a very sublime manner. It reminds us our Lord and the true meaning of Christian sacrifice and suffering. Our suffering has a beautiful cause and destiny in Jesus Christ. If there is suffering then there is possibility of redemption or salvation.

The Eucharist is understood as the most profound mystery of Christian faith and central sacrament of the Church; it is the very heart beat of the Church, sacrament of sacraments, (CCC.1169) and source and summit of Christian life and mission. (LG.11) In the words of Pope John Paul II, “Eucharistic worship is center and goal of all sacramental life”(John, Paul II, Dominicae Cenae,) In every Eucharistic celebration the Lord’s Death and Resurrection is proclaimed (1Cor. 11: 26). So the Eucharist is the memorial of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. (Ecclesia De Eucharistia) We commemorate His self-immolation as victim for our sins. The Church offers the Eucharist as sacrificial memorial. When the Church celebrates the Eucharist the memorial of her Lord’s Death and Resurrection, this central event of salvation, becomes really present and the work of our redemption is carried out. (LG.3) Thus Jesus’ sacrifice is definitively decisive for the salvation of the human race. “Christ’s sacrifice was a sacrifice of obedience, the voluntary and glad surrender of His own life to God in perfect communion with God’s will.”(Ernest Lussier. The Eucharist: the Bread of Life)

The Eucharistic sacrifice has its based on the words of the Saviour Himself. “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” and “this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Lk. 22: 19-20). Jesus did not simply state that what He was giving us to eat and drink is His Body and His Blood. He also expresses its sacrificial meaning and made sacramentally present His sacrifice, which would soon be offered on the Cross for the salvation of all. This Eucharist is at the same time inseparable from the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the Cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord’s body and blood (CCC. 1382). The sacrifice on the Cross is not merely His self-gift to us but His self-gift to the Father (Rom. 8: 32). God reconciled us in Christ to himself… Christ had no sin, but God made Him bear our sin so that in Him we might share the holiness of God (2Cor. 5: 18-20). Thus it is God’s total and definitive self-gift to humankind.

The Church constantly draws her life from the redeeming sacrifice. Thus the Eucharist applies to men and women of today the reconciliation won once for all by Christ for humankind in every age. “The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice.”(CCC.1367). Saint John Chrysostom says, “we always offer the same Lamb, but not one today and another tomorrow, but always the same one for this reason the sacrifice is always only one…even now we offer that victim who once offered and who will never be consumed.”(Ecclesia De Eucharistia)

In every Eucharistic celebration the Lord’s Death and Resurrection is proclaimed (1Cor. 11: 26). So the Eucharist is the memorial of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. (Ecclesia De Eucharistia) We commemorate His self-immolation as victim for our sins. When the Church celebrates the Eucharist the memorial of her Lord’s Death and Resurrection, this central event of salvation, becomes really present and the work of our redemption is carried out. (LG.3) Thus Jesus’ sacrifice is definitively decisive for the salvation of the human race. “Christ’s sacrifice was a sacrifice of obedience, the voluntary and glad surrender of His own life to God in perfect communion with God’s will.”(Ernest Lussier. The Eucharist: the Bread of Life)

THIRD DAY

1^st talk: Jesus Christ our Good Shepherd ( I am the good shepherd Jn. 10:1-18, I Pet. 2:21-25 )

O Jesus, shepherd and guardian of our soul, grant that I may be able to follow in your footsteps. My dear person Vat-II repeatedly presents the charity of the good shepherd as the form and del of apostolic love (LG-41 PO. 13). For love to be Christian, and still more apostolic it is not enough for to be based on human affection; there must be theological clarity, which receives its impetus from God; this charity must not be theoretical, but something concrete, something lived and founded upon the experience of God’s love for us to love as Christ did.

Christ’s love for us is completely centered in his Father and proceeds from the Father’s charity, which no one knows and passes better than he did and does today. At the same time it’s perfectly human love, he loves with divine love but also with a true “human heart” (G.S. 22) and in order to be understood by his creatures, he takes upon himself all the forms and refinements of human love. Christian adopts himself to everyone and belongs to everyone; the poor, the sick, the sinners, doctors to the low, children, and ordinary people can approach him, and lay claim to his time and care. He gives unstintingly of himself; when he sits down, tried by a well, there is the Samaritan woman to convert; when his disciples bring him food, he declares that his food is the will of his Father (Jn. 4:) when he compares with the good shepherd he says,“ lay down my life for the sheep.”(Jn.10: 15)

When takes leave of his disciples he is not content to comfort them with words, but gives himself to them as food. Christian belongs totally to his Father, and at the same time gives himself be literally “eaten” by them. Before leaving his apostles he had said; love one another as I have loved you (Jn. 15:12) and the apostles understood, John writes; he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren (I Jn.3: 16). Peter exhorts; tend the flock of God that is your charge, not by constraint but willingly (I Pt.5: 2).

St. Paul writes to the Eph. 3:18-19, “what is the breath and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge” this made him capable of devoting himself to the salvation of his brothers with a love like that of he savior. Paul’s heart is Christ’s hearty said St John Chrysostom (Jn. Eph ad Rom 32) but we were gentle among you, like a nurse taking care of her children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were really to share with you not only God’s gospel, but also our own selves, because you had became very dear to us (I Thes 2:7-8). This is the manner in which St. Paul appears and conducts himself among the faithful; he makes not show of his authority as an apostle rather of his love.

I invite you all become the disciple of Jesus. In fact every Christians is a follower of Jesus. An apostle spends himself for his spiritual children with the tenderness and solitude of a mother; he begets them to Christ through suffering and apostolic fatigue, and never ceases helping them with all earnestness.

He does all this willingly, even joyfully, because he knows that what is sacrifice for him is life for them. This kind of behaviours assures the success of an apostolate. The methods and discoveries of human knowledge all fail unless they are accompanied by that generous charity that makes an apostle not only prodigal of his help and his work, but prodigal also of himself with a love that has become a living reflection of Christ’s love. It is truly the love of the Good shepherd that spurs on apostles; your priests are for you like Jesus, giving their life for their sheep. It is only by deep faith in Jesus one understand the great worth of Jesus and a good shepherd his/ her souls i.e. purified by the blood of Christ can appreciate this immense richness of it and whole heartily sing (Ps. 22:1-2,5 lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. he leads me beside still water, he restores my soul. He prepares a table before me. For this we need god’s mercy and grace. Let us ask god to give us grace to experience your loving care like the good shepherd for his last sheep. St. Teresa of child Jesus says, “be brave in begging the lord to give us the grace that nothing will be lacking through our own fault”

God’s Generosity (Mt. 20, 1-18) God has no time to waste with those of us who are stingy with smiles or money or compliments or gentle words or time. Today’s parable is one of the most puzzling of the 40 parables Jesus has shared with us. And yet it has much to teach us about God and ourselves. The hired labourers of the parable were the lowest class of Jewish workingmen. They and their families lived on or below the poverty line. When they were hired for a day’s work, Old Testament law required that they be given their pay packets before sundown, so they hurry to the shops and put some bread and milk on the family table that night.

We are in September, and in Palestine it would be just the time for the grape harvest. By mid-September came also the torrential rains, which explains the frantic efforts to save the grapes, and every available pair of hands would be drafted. The Jewish farmer worked from sunrise to sunset, a long twelve-hour day. The times when the migrant workers would be hired were 6.00 am, 12 noon, 3.00 pm, and 5.00 pm. With heavy storm clouds hovering over him, the vineyard owner would naturally panic and race out to find workers as late as 5.00 pm – one hour before closing time.

You can quite rightly visualize Jesus himself coming around that time after a day of teaching and healing, standing with the others and waiting to be called  - waiting with their fingers crossed and praying for rain. Waiting till 5.00 pm shows you how badly those labourers wanted employment; and pretty humiliating, too.

However, the hero of the parable is not the labourers but the vineyard owner. He is, of course, a stand-in for God. And the point of the parable is the equal treatment meted out to those hired out at the first and also the 11^th hour. The intervening three groups are ignored, serving only as padding to fill out the story. The vineyard owner, out of pity and generosity, gives the almost useless 11^th hour workers the same wage as was given to those hired first thing in the morning. A denarius was a full day’s wage, just enough to keep a family fed at the end of the day. Giving anything less would spell starvation. The denarius was one whole day’s wage for a worker. Had the vineyard owner in the parable rewarded the workers exactly according to the hours they worked, most of them would have received much less than a denarius. He was therefore concerned about the fate of each one and paid them accordingly.

This parable rudely upsets our picture of God. It tells us that our human standards are useless in measuring God or trying to understand him. So this parable presents a particularly sharp challenge to contemporary society. We are being taken over increasingly by the rhetoric of competition and of the measurement of rewards. Schools and universities, hospitals and social services alike are rated in league tables and given financial prizes for ‘excellence’. It seems to be obvious that ‘rewarding excellence’ is the only fair strategy. Salaries and bonuses are ‘performance-related’, and the performance involves keen competition. The economics of today’s parable is quite different: the purpose of salary is to sustain the worker, and what is just is to give to those who need it.

God is telling us through this strange parable, “Don’t cut me down to your size. I simply will not squeeze into your stereotypes.”

One of the very few people who really understood God was a peasant woman named Mary. She is on record as saying of God: “He has filled the hungry with good things, but the rich he has sent empty away.” In the time of Jesus, the Jews considered themselves a privileged group and looked down upon the Gentiles as “late-comers.” But God assures us that all men and women, no matter when they come are equally precious to him. In truth, salvation is entirely a gift, a grace  - not a reward  - and God’s pure initiative.

God must get great pleasure when he notices our generosity. Remember how lavishly Jesus applauded the widow who dropped her last coin in the Temple moneybox. If it were left to us, we would perhaps have told the widow to go home with her coin and let the Temple look after itself, but not so the Nazarene. Why? Because he proposed to take care of her wants by his own methods. Remember how St. Luke’s Gospel has him saying, “Give, and it shall be given to you, pressed down in measure and flowing over. So let us be generous and sit back. God wills more than match our generosity every time out.

2^nd Talk: Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life

Introduction: “Eucharist” itself means Thanksgiving. There couldn’t be a better way of thanking God than by celebrating the Eucharist. Every Mass is a Thanksgiving Mass. No sacrament contributes more to our salvation than this, for it purges away our sins, increases our virtues, and is the pledge of eternal life. The most Holy Eucharist is the Real, Substantial and Personal presence of Jesus Christ under the symbol of food and as Head of the community.

Let us begin the Eucharistic Lord’s celebration with profound sorrow for our sins and failures. Let me relate an incident in the life of Mother Teresa. On one occasion she was visiting in South America and was walking towards a poverty stricken village, accompanied by a few of her sisters and some press photographers - since by then she was quite famous. As Mother approached the edge of the village, the children out to meet her, screaming with delight, holding and kissing her hands, dancing round her as she walked on. The poor village elders waited to greet her. The press reporters exchanged glances and speculated what these people would ask of her:  some tins sheets for their shanty houses, bags of broken wheat and milk powder, used and oversized clothes from Germany? So they were flabbergast when Mother reached the group and they extended their hands and said:  “Mother, give us God. Mother, give us God!”

Some years ago, I spent a month in Nainital, staying in St. Francis’ Church, overlooking the lake. One morning, after Mass I stood outside the church by the railing of the church property. Two senior school girls, apparently Punjabi Hindus, walked right up tome and said, “Father, please open the church; we want to see God.”  Their request sounded very sincere, and the point is that it seemed to echo the request the poor of that South American village made to Mother Teresa: “Mother, give us God.” Let’s admit it: under the refinery of riches and the rags of poverty there is a hunger for God, of which the hunger for material bread is but a pale reflection.  God knows about this hunger; he placed it there deep in the pit of our beings. The hunger for divine reality is somewhat continuous with but of a much higher nature than our hunger for food and drink, our craving for appreciation and affection, our desire for immortality. The Holy Eucharist reminds us of that mystery within us that we must always keep open and alive and not smother by gluttony for material food, drink and worldly pleasure.

Some of you must know this beautiful little verse addressed to the Holy Eucharist:

“Heavenly sweetness unalloyed who eat thee hunger still; who drink of thee still feels a void which only thou canst fill.”

We have all, I’m sure, savoured that sweetness when we received our dear Lord in Holy Communion, and shall continue to do so. Which reminds me of a story in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. One day at the height of his power as Emperor of France he was at table with his generals. One of them asked him, “My Emperor, what was the happiest day of your life.” Napoleon raised his head and began to think. His generals were hazarding their own guesses: could it be the great victory of the battle of Austerlitz; could it be the day he took France by the force of his personality after his escape from the island of Elba; or was it the royal day of his coronation when he grabbed the crown from the hands of the archbishop and place it on his head? “H’ m” mused Napoleon, “the happiest day of my life?” “Yes, I remember. It was the day of my First Holy Communion.”  My dear friends, I sincerely feel, that with all his pride and arrogance, that beautiful answer was his entry ticket to heaven when he died on St. Helena.

Let us now focus a little on our dear Lord Jesus himself. When cruel men were weaving the darkest plots against him, he was busy giving them the most precious gift he has. When they were only thinking of setting up an infamous cross to kill him, he was only thinking of setting up an altar to sacrifice himself daily for us. When they were preparing to shed his blood, the same Jesus Christ offered us his precious Blood as the drink of immortality, consolation and happiness. My dear friends, if you are in difficulties and sorrow, Jesus will comfort and lighten to your heart. If you are ill, he will heal you or strengthen you. If the devil, the world and the flesh are battling against you, he will give you the weapons for resisting and winning. If you are poor, he will share his wealth with you for time and eternity. Allow yourself to be wrapped around by his love, and you will see what a loving God can do.

 And I get my cue from St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor of theology, who stated that a clear sign of one’s predestination was a special love of the Holy Eucharist. In other words, if over the years you have developed a loving habit of spending some time every day praying before the Blessed Sacrament, let me assure you that you are marked out for heaven; you’re probably there already; your life on earth is only a shadow, and death makes no difference.

To the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, Jesus said, “I have water you know not of, springing up unto everlasting life.” And the woman said, “Sir, give me this water.” To the people on the hillside he declared, “I am the Bread of life.” And they said, “Sir, give us this bread.” On the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus stood up in the Temple and cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” And to him we reply, “Lord, our thirst as only you can.”

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote a good amount of Latin poetry extolling the Holy Eucharist, which is still sung in the original. One such is the “Adoro te devote,” the final verse of which goes like this:

And that could be our prayer, if you don’t mind my translation:

“Jesus, whom now veiled I see, I pray that what I so thirst so will be That I may look upon your face unveiled at length and be blest forever by the sight of your glorious strength.”

Homily: Jesus Christ the Lord and Saviour (“Who do you say I am” (Mt. 16, 13-20)

It sometimes happens that when I make a phone call, someone else picks up the phone and has the cheek to ask, “Who’s this speaking?” I usually answer, “This is William Shakespeare!” You all know the original William Shakespeare. But may I remind you of Mr. Charles Lamb, last century’s British essayist. It if were not for Charles Lamb, William Shakespeare would be an unknown. It was Mr. Lamb who snatched the playwright from obscurity because he came to be looked upon as ancient and eminently forgettable. One night Charles Lamb and his cronies were chatting about Shakespeare over good port and Havana. One of his friends asked Lamb, “Supposing Shakespeare were to stroll into our dining room at this moment?” Charles Lamb replied, “We would raise a toast to the great man.”  Another friend asked, “Supposing Jesus Christ were to come into our company.” Lamb replied, “Ah, we would all get down on our knees instantly.” Our great and beloved Hindu Bengali philosopher Vivekananda once said, “If I see Jesus Christ standing before me, I will put my hand into my heart, extract the blood and spread it on his feet.” {How did the fellow think of saying that before I did?}.  But there, ladies and gentlemen, is the $64 difference between the Man from Nazareth and all other people you can think of. Jesus Christ is God; and all others, no matter what their gifts, are but clowns strutting on the stage for a brief time.

When today’s Gospel opens, Jesus was in Caesurae Philipi in the northeastern corner of Palestine. There groupies and paparazzi would not think of looking for him. This was not his usual turf. The sand in his clock was running out. Yet, he had much to teach the Twelve before he could give them their diplomas and doctorates. This was quality classroom time. This, too, is one of the most decisive periods in the life of Christ. Though he was aware of his divinity, were his own people equally sharp? He was fully aware he had a rendezvous to keep with his executioners. Thus, he had to know whether the twelve apostles had any inkling whom they were traveling with. The right answers to his probing would make his day. If one the other hand he came up empty, the score would be Satan 3 and Christ zero!  All his labours would have been wasted.

“Who do you say I am?”  Imagine then his elation and pleasure when Peter, acting as spokesman for the others (and us), told him he was “the Son of the living God.” Peter’s confession was a moment of genuine revelation that can have come only from God. We are not dealing simply with friendship or of admiration for a good and holy person, but here is transcendent divinity. Every disciple knew in his bones that the highest human terms were totally inadequate to categorize their Leader. We can write books, give long talks till we drop dead, we can spend hours in prayer and study of God’s word till our brains dissolve, but it is only through God’s gracious revelation that we can truly know him.

To each of us Jesus the Christ leans over and whispers, “But you, who you do say I am?”  What does He mean to you?  Is Jesus the sum and substance of your life and mine, the significance of your being and the end of your existence? Jesus must forever be your own discovery. Our knowledge of him can never be something that stays locked in a closet.  It must be up front. Christianity does not mean memorizing the Apostles’ Creed. Rather, it means knowing a PERSON as well as you knows yourself. Governor Pontius Pilate asked Our Lord if He was in fact the King of the Jews. Jesus, though exhausted and barely able to stand, shot back a question: “Does this question come from you or have others told you about me?” (John 18,34).

When St. Paul was drafting his letter to Timothy, he did not write: “I know what I have trusted”; but rather, in his best handwriting he wrote that great line, “I know whom I have trusted” (2 Tim. 1,12). We must join to our belief the statement of Christ who says, “...whoever believes in me will do the works that I do.... yes, he will do even greater ones” (John 14,12). This is a line that most of us would want to disregard, because we want Jesus to carry the can and we ourselves will simply run alongside for the ride.  We want to play the spectator role; but that becomes none of us. Like Christ, we must move and shake the world in our time.

Prayer  (Kay Bullock): You are you, Jesus, that you speak with such authority?  Not like scholars and teachers, simply repeating each other.  You speak the Word of God to us and all who will listen.  The Power of God living within you shines through everything you say. Lord Jesus, help us to hear what you are saying, to understand what you are teaching, to know God’s power in our lives and in the words we speak of you.

FOURTH DAY

1^st Talk: The Love of the Spouses (Mt. 22, 1 - 14: The Marriage Feast of the Son)

Who can resist a dinner party especially a party, which offers rich food, fine wine and good company? The great English Catholic writer, Hillaire Belloc, penned the line: “Wherever the Catholic sun does shine, there is always laughter and good red wine.”  As you know, it takes eleven face muscles to smile but all of forty-three muscles to frown. We would do well to recall that laughter is the only tranquillizer yet developed that has no side effects. Yet, how many of us know fellow-Christians, some of them priests and nuns, who never smile.  They may be mad or sad, and it’s very bad.

To be happy you don’t have to be erotic, erratic, exotic or ecstatic. You can get out of bed ready to make the day an adventure. Or you can drag yourself out of bed dreading the hours ahead. Your attitudes help create your circumstances, and not the other way about.

In today’s parable, Jesus is reminding his Jewish audience that when the Messiah comes, one perk will be a first class sit down dinner with Dresden China and Baccarat crystal. The menu is alluded to in Isaiah, chapter 25: “juicy red food and pure choice wines.”  Clearly it will be the mother and father of all parties.  This is what God has to offer.  But we are so absorbed in the demands and dull routines of life that we do not even hear the invitation.  And perhaps we have turned religion itself into another dull routine, another tiresome demand and constraint.

Well, yes, indeed, life is not all happy-clappy.  Religion is not an escape route from the pressures of life. The apostle Paul knew this well. His little letter to the Philippians is quite special. Not only does Paul have to cope with the wearisome rivalries and personal vanities of the Christian community, but is also himself stuck there in prison, within the narrow confines of a filthy malodorous cell.  And yet his letter is full of joy  -  “I say to you, rejoice” (Phil 4,4) is its constant theme.

Now let’s talk about Jesus. It is good to note that Jesus compares running around with him to enjoying a sumptuous banquet.  Clearly he feels the Church should be a happy place.  If Jesus was not a happy attractive person, how was it the children came around almost pestering him, literally sprawling all over him?  Kids avoid sad Sacks.  Why would he change water into so much wine if he didn’t believe in a good time?  His enemies called him a “glutton and a wine drinker.”  Again, had he been a spoilsport, why would he have hosted a sit-down supper party the very night before he died?  Would you and I have the guts and heart for that?

Jesus used amusing illustrations for his talks, and must have raised chuckles and giggles when expressing his opinion about certain people like Herod. Calling him a “fox”.  I’d raise chuckles and giggles here if I explained what that meant, but it’s too embarrassing!   The Gospel tells us that Jesus often went to the mountains alone.  Why?  G. K. Chesterton speculates that the apostles often made funny, even ridiculous remarks.  Jesus did not want to offend them by laughing in their faces. So he ran into the mountains holding his sides till be could burst out laughing, and tell his Dad, “These kids say the darndest things.”  If ever the Teacher had given us the 8th. Sacrament, it might have been the sacrament of laughter.

The early Christians got the point. The biblical scholar, William Barclay, notes that the early Christians were called “Hilares” - the Latin adjective from which the word “hilarious” comes. They possessed what one author has called “a certain holy hilarity.”   They went about their lives with a bounce in their steps and a smile on their faces. They behaved as though they were forever at a party.  As a result they attracted millions and millions of converts.  When Beethoven composed his Ode to Joy in the 9th. Symphony he might well have been thinking of the good news of Jesus. May your joy help people to sense that Jesus does make a great difference in your life.

Marriage is the basic paradigm of authentic human love and relationship, which grows in partnership, co-humanity in mutual respect.  It highlights social and personal dimension of marriage.  Therefore any view of human person, human community of man and woman and of marriage, sexuality, family that ignores these values of equality, mutuality, complementarity, dignity and sharing, then it will not only be false but historically they will become sinful, slavery, oppression and exploitation.  Therefore the word of God on complete humanity and their vocation unto community, the co-humanity of man and woman and partnership in love, will judge every negation of these values in society and culture.  It becomes prophetic judgment and liberating word.

Theology of Marriage: The prophets were not primarily concerned or do not speak directly about marriage.  They used it as an example or a symbol to explain the covenant relationship of Yahweh with Israel.  Yahweh's faithful love for Israel, in human terms; the prophets take the ordinary image of conjugal love as the relationship of God with people.  Married life with all its ups and downs becomes the prism of symbol for the people to view the covenant relationship of God with his people.  So marriage is the sacramental reality, participation in the Yahweh's love for Israel. Hosea uses his own marriage with Gomer, his unfaithful wife, as a symbol of God's love for the unfaithful Israel.  This refers to the time when Israel turned to fertility cults of Canaan, religious prostitution, etc.  In this context Hosea's marriage with Gomer a prostitute, becomes a prophetic action a symbolic action of Yahweh taking Israel for his people.

This prophetic action has 2 principal elements: 1.Yahweh told Hosea to marry Gomer his unfaithful wife, a harlot, who had ran away to other man, (who had been initiated to fertility rites of Ball).  By this Yahweh wanted to show that he still loved Israel despite her unfaithfulness. 2.This prophetic action was a violation of the commandment of Dt.24- if a woman was legally divorced and married to another man, was not permitted to return to her first husband nevertheless at Yahweh's command, Hosea took back Gomer after she had left him.

The first three chapters of Hosea deal with the marriage relationship between Yahweh and Israel his faithless people.  This relationship of Yahweh and Israel is expressed in and by biographical and symbolical action,, the life of the prophet himself.  The secular reality of marriage here becomes the image of God's saving action of his people, God's relation with his people. Hosea was faithful to he end.  This for the pious Israelites must have been an unprecedented and therefore very striking action.  It must have been a challenge to a nation, which had made permanent separation on account of adultery, almost a legal obligation.  The prophetic character of Hosea's conduct could not have been expressed more clearly - the message for the people contained in it comes through crystal clarity.  The acquisition of this prophetic message by human marriage, at least by the actual marriage of this one man, and seen from the standpoint of this existential religious experience of what Yahweh signified for Israel - may well be called a veiled break through of the NT idea of marriage.

Jeremiah constantly refers back to the image of marriage as used by Hosea, to explain Yahweh's love for Israel.  Chapters 2-3 contain conjugal images, in which we find infidelity, adultery, prostitution of Israel and God calling her to fidelity.  The infidelity of the people - as faithless wife leaves her husband, so have you been faithless to me, O house of Israel, says the Lord (3:20) - was ultimately to change into lasting fidelity because of his powerful mercy. If Israel acknowledges her sin and returns, Yahweh will not be angry forever, for he is merciful (3:12). Influenced by Hosia, Jeremiah took the image of conjugal love directly from man's existential experience of marriage, the reality, which was symbolically, portrayed in marriage transcended Israel's experience of the secular reality.

Isaiah speaks of two dimension of marriage: 1. Marriage - fallen stage (historical marriage) brokenness. Ch. 1-39. 2. Marriage - eschatological state 56-66 - New Jerusalem - spouse of Yahweh - pure virgin. Ezekiel: Ch. 16 has a particular allegorical approach that depicts material fidelity as corresponding to Yahweh's fidelity. It deals with Jerusalem's marriage with Yahweh and her adultery. The image of harlot and adulteress is once again prominent. Aiming publicly to expose Jerusalem's historical unfaithfulness, Ezek. uses the device of matrimonial lawsuit and sets the scene at the gate of the city. He too like Jer. is reminded of the time in the desert when Yahweh and Israel first loved each other and wedding was celebrated and Israel was not unfaithful until they entered the Promised Land.

The two culminating points in Ezekiel’s account occur when Yahweh passes by Jerusalem. On the first encounter (i) he finds her, an abandoned infant on whom he takes pity (16:4-5). (ii) The second time he meets her, he marries her making marriage covenant (16:7-8), (iii) He bestows marriage gifts on her (16:9-14). (iv) The birth of sons and daughters shows that marriage was fully consummated. (v) Thus Ezek. too emphasises that there was a perfect marriage, legally contracted and made in love between Yahweh and Israel, a covenant relationship which would permit not infidelity and which is indissoluble. Divorce was in this case an outrage against the covenant of God yet Israel was guilty of it. It was a normal practice for the prostitutes to take money from their lovers but Israel in her adultery gave Yahweh's gift and ornaments to those who sinned with her.

Yahweh however, remained faithful. To bring her to repentance from idolatry he punished her and put her to the test; but he did not forget his covenant with her in the days of her youth and so promised that he would establish with her an everlasting covenant (16:60). This lasting marriage alliance made in mutual trust constitutes an eschatological perspective of the covenant of grace (love).

Ch. 23 deals with Yahweh's marriage with two sisters Ohola and Oholiabah, that is with the northern kingdom, which had its own form of worship (Samaria) and with Judah, the southern kingdom with its legitimate temple of Yahweh (Jerusalem). Yahweh's marriage with two wives caused no surprise here, since Israel and Judah form the single, though disunited people of God. Moreover, a marriage with one wife and a concubine was accepted as normal and good inn the society of that time; and this also indicated the marriage, as revelation of the divine covenant, was fully in accordance with marriage as evidence in everyday experience. Ezek. emphasises this idea that Yahweh's fidelity to Israel was his gratuitous gift and not self-assurance of Israel.

Marriage shares in the sacramental Slavonic plan of God who intends to reconcile the world unto himself through the Christ’s mission in the world. It is Covenantal basis; the relation between Christ and the Church is not a contract but a covenant. 3 reasons (a) marriage is a God given vocation has an essential content and substantial good which connote be changed by two people who enter into it, (b) It is a covenant wherein there is the mutual self giving of two persons with a view to an exclusive community of life and love, inseparable from the person, (c) divinity or God wills stability and irrevocability of the covenant. O.T. patriarch followed polygamy, which was found in the ancient east. Time of kings and judges- possession of many wives was a sign of wealth and power. People needed the right of revelation to graduation realized that polygamy was opposed to natural Law, in the meantime God gave Juridical toleration and not positive approval.

Church has an absolute stand on indissolubility. O.T. > divorce not only was allowed but it was mandatory (Dt. 24:1). Shamai i.e. adultery by the wife was the only ground for divorce. Hillel i.e. any reason was good enough for divorce (e.g. the wife burning the food, finding someone better looking

They consider the covenant between Yahweh and Israel in terms of exclusive conjugal relationship (Is 54:5-10). N.T. no problem in synoptic with regard to unity of marriage, they took it for granted (Mk 10: 6-8) “for this reason a man shall leave his Father and mother, and the two shall become one” monogamy seems to be presumed rather than stated. Paul looked upon it as so self evident that he did not have to prescribe O.T. “Let each man have his wife and each women her own husband.” (1Cor 7: 2) Background - of Greco Roman world where marriage was monogamous legally. Prophets Had high regard for permanence of marriage. Hos.  2:19-20, Ezek. 16: 8ff; Jer. 2&3; Mal. 2:14-16 prophets explain the covenantal relationship of Yahweh with Israel in terms of conjugal union. They would not have used this metaphor to explain God’s permanent relationship with Israel if they would not presuppose that marriage was a permanent relationship. N.T. Jesus says that he himself a spouse Mt 5:31 fl. It is a sacred sign. Jesus had great love for his Church The symbol of giving each other’s body. It is a powerful sign that is why we call symbol. Lk. 16:18- sermon on the mountain/ plan Mk 10:2-12; Mt 19: 3-9.Polemic Jesus opposes the laxity of the Pharisees – Jesus declared that originally marriage was indissoluble and was from now on obligatory so the sermon of the mountain transcends the Law which calls for a new heart of reconcilement and union which excludes divorce. Marriage, as sacrament, will re-establish this unity, because mission of marriage is to bring about harmony in the world.

Exclusive Clause in Mt 5:32, 19:9-you can divorce except on the ground of unchastely, but Mt. And Lk. Know nothing of this aspect. 1Cor 7:10 gives witness to the absolute prohibition of divorce although v. 11 acknowledge the possibility of separation without divorce. Prohibition of divorce seems absolute and unequivocal. Jesus brings two other SS passages against divorce – Gen 1: 27; 2: 24. “ Male and female he created them”, and they shall become one flesh. The husband forms with the wide a new community and becomes so completely one with her that they can never again be separated.

Vat- II says total fidelity and equal dignity to wife and husband demand unity. Reason> nature of sexual love is exclusive and irrevocable. Polygamy treats all women as the same but unequal to the husband. Equality respects uniqueness. Marriage is the recognition of one’s dignity- it does not confer it.

Commitment of freedom to a particular life stand by one’s commitment growth presupposes permanence and permanence assures substance, security, and predictability. Therefore permanence demands truthfulness to God. Marriage is a specific menu of the reconciling ministry of Christ. Fruitful unity of Christ and the church is realized anew in every Christian marriage. Christ is waiting for the Christian spouses to love one another in order that through them he could express his love the church. Partner places the sign and God acts on them. Human love is the extension of the divine love and permanence is the original order of creation, good of spouses, children and society demands permanence.

2^nd Talk: Love your Neighbour as Yourself  (Ex 22, 20-26; Mathew 22, 34-40)

God spells out the love of neighbour in stark detail: avoid molestation, harshness and being exploitive. This sort of considerateness doesn’t sound like the Old Testament, something like today, relevant, and contemporary. That’s a fact. God speaks to us today in great detail. Our smallest concerns are his concerns. Are you being treated badly, ignored, hurt, and exploited? Then know that God is concerned about you. He is listening to every hard word that hurts you; he feels every violent action that injures you. He says, “I am with you. When you are hurting, I am hurting.” In times of pain and sadness, remember and say to yourself, “Jesus is within me, this body of mine is his body, these emotions of mine are his emotions, my pains are his; he takes all the knocks for me.”

Now let’s go back to the idea of considerateness for our neighbour. God has made it so that we cannot love and serve him unless at once we love and serve our neighbour. One love conditions the other. That is Christian charity. We cannot see God, so we love our neighbour.

“Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?” The question may appear harmless to us, but it was a verbal hand grenade with the pin pulled out and ticking. For centuries the Jews had been arguing about that question. If it was their lucky day, the Christ would give an unpopular answer, and the crowd would turn against him; which is what the Pharisees wanted.   I guess you know that laws were aplenty for the Jews. According to Rabbi Simlai, the collection of laws in the Torah reached up to the total of 613, of which 365 were prohibitions (one for each day), and 248 were positive ones. So 248 “do’s”, and 365 “don’ts”. Here was a test case for Jesus. Were all the laws equally binding? Was there not one that could sum up all of them and call it the greatest commandment?  The answer of Jesus rings out loud and clears even today. You must love both God and the people next to you. Neither of these concepts was fresh to the Pharisees. Both were lifted by the Master out of the Books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus. But he put a peculiar spin on his response: he took the separate concepts of God and neighbour and made them one; besides, he made it clear that Jews must also love Gentiles. The Pharisees only loved to hate the Gentiles.

Loving God is no hassle: we express our love by our prayer of praise, by keeping his commandments, and losing ourselves in him.  Loving neighbour is a little more complicated. Here Jesus gives us a good indicator or yardstick: love your neighbour as you love yourself. As you love yourself: that’s the yardstick.  It’s a very good and practical starting point.  For instance, don’t we have a habitual tendency to watch out for our own interests, seeking out whatever seems to be good for us and avoiding whatever threatens us?  We go on loving ourselves in this pragmatic fashion whether we are exhilarated or despondent, whether we are pleased with ourselves or disgusted. In this sense, self-love is remarkably tolerant, maintaining its devotedness to the welfare of the self, no matter how boring or bad we manage to become.  And this is precisely what we ought to do to our neighbour:  watch out for his/her interests with unrelenting practicality, whoever he or she may be, regardless how much or how little our neighbour pleases us. The Parable of the Good Samaritan forcefully reminds us how indifferent to personal likes and dislikes this love is required to be. The parable shows that love is undiscriminatory, i.e. it is sensitively alert to the needs of others and to how those needs can be provided for.

The learned people tell us that as human beings we are free. We value our freedom very much. Some people value it so much they think they can do what they like. Freedom was not created for its own sake, but for doing good, for building the community and the world. And that’s love. Do you know what the true test of your freedom is? How do you know you’re really free? It’s when you’re able to forgive, when you’re free of hatred and prejudice i.e. freedom to forgive. Here is where the Gospel message becomes unmistakably precise; where Christian love becomes definite. Forgiveness means loving somebody who has failed to love. Forgiveness is love at the height of its freedom and fullness of power. Forgiveness is the surest sign of divine love in us. Yes, sometimes it’s hard to forgive. But then freedom is no joke.

So, dear friends, give of your time. Give a friend flowers or share a plate of steaming rice with someone.  Or how about a phone call or cheering note?  Give hope to a sick person. Hug a child needing affection.   Speak praise to a teenager. Give peace. Forgive an enemy. Set differences aside. Use humour to defuse an argument.  Smile. Say ‘thank you’ and mean it.  This Gospel speaks to each one of us.

Once upon a time, a little boy lived with his parents, poor peasants, in a simple hut in the woods. The parents loved their child, and he returned their love and was a good son to them, young as he was. Also living with the family was the grandfather of the little boy. He was old and frail and no longer able to work. He sat all day in his chair, and when he came to table he was so shaky that he could hardly eat, and made a mess around his place. One day his trembling hand caused him to drop and break his platter and spill all the food on the ground. The boy’s mother was furious; she shouted at the poor old man, shook him and said that henceforth he would eat all his meals from a wooden bowl as he was not fit to eat from a plate like normal people. Ashamed and humiliated, the old man withdrew from the table to a corner, where, isolated and lonely, he ate only from a wooden bowl like a baby.

Now one day the parents noticed their little boy busy with a knife and a block of wood. “What are you doing?   What are you making?” they asked. The little boy answered, “I’m making bowls for you both to eat out of when you are old. Then nobody will shout on you.” At this the parents were shocked into realizing what they had done. They burst into tears, embraced the old man and drew him back into the family circle, where he lived out his days, cherished and honoured.

Children can also teach us patient tolerance. And it was St. Teresa of Avila who said, “Patient endurance and many other things.” Patient endurance calls for much spiritual strength. There were people who accomplished great things with some genius and exceptional perseverance.

Prayer (John Calvin): O Lord, save us from self-centredness in our prayers, and help us to remember to pray for others. May we be so lovingly absorbed with those for whom we pray that we may feel their needs as keenly as our own, and intercede for them sensitively, with understanding and imagination. We ask this in Christ’s name.    Amen.

Homily: Blessed Virgin Mary in our life

God communication with the human beings has a profound meaning. His mediation is mainly for saving the humanity and creation. Therefore He communicates us through historical events, persons, individuals or collective. The climax of his communication is in the mystery of Christ event, Incarnation, passion, death and resurrection. Mother Mary as mother of Christ  (Jn2: 1-3) plays an important role in the economy of our salvation. Her role is seen in the context of church, in relation to Christ. We may ask the question that what if the role of Mary in the Mystery of Salvation? One thing is clear that the salvation is always the work of God, through Jesus Christ, the only mediator for all races. (1Tim.2: 5-6) And the salvation has to be realized through human co-operation, freedom and personal commitment. Hence, our divine mother is placed in the context of her cooperation with God and ultimately salvation is through Christ.

Mary’s role under the cross from her integral relationship to her son, which begins with the incarnation, including his entire life and work and is crowned in the resurrection. In her fiat she has accepted the total person and work of her son, cross and resurrection are the stages in which this mystery unfolds. Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister Mary, …and from that moment the disciple took her to his won House. (Jn 19: 25-27)

There are only two episodes in John’s gospel where Mary is mentioned: at the wedding in Cana and the Cross on Calvary. Cana and Calvary are connected in the way that in both places Jesus addressed his mother as “woman”. To us it sounds cold and impersonal, but in the Aramic dialect, which Jesus spoke, the word for woman sounded very like the name Eve, the first mother. Had Jesus addressed her as “mother” he would have been talking to her as his own mother only? But in addressing her as ‘woman’ he is referring to her wider mother of all true believers. The one disciple on Calvary represents all the family of the believing church.

It is very sad that some people disregard the wisdom of the church’s reflection on the place on Mary in the gospel. They say that nowhere in the Bible we are told to pray to Mary. In fact not every thing is contained in the actual words of the Bible. Even a little reflection on the word ‘mother’ would reveal her role in helping us from heaven. Hopefully, those who are excited about being “born again” will progress from infancy into a mature, reflective faith.

According to the Bible Mary played a significant role at all the vital moments of Christ’s mission at his birth, his first miracle and his death. And she was actively present at Mary of the great moment of the Holy Spirit coming. Mary in no way threatens the unique position of Jesus as the source of all saving graces. St Paul wrote to Timothy that there is only one mediator between God and man, himself a man, Jesus Christ (1tim 2:5)

However, it was that same mediator, Jesus Christ who said to the disciple ‘there is your mother’, what does a mother mean to her children except the person they go to in their needs, for she watched over them in a very special way? Not only is Mary the mother who helps us but also she is our greatest model in responding to the grace of god. John says that she stood at the foot of the cross.

We also find in the gospel that our Lady goes from Nazareth to Hebrew on a visit of charity to her cousin Elizabeth. Upon her arrival the child whom Elizabeth was hearing leaped for joy, and his mother was filled with the Holy Spirit. So we also must be. Always our Blessed Lady visits us every moment. When she does so, we must also leap for joy, because she is the mother of God and of us all too. She does the greatest work in our lives.

 Jn.2: 1-3, Acts1: 14, Mt.1: 18 all these references speak that Mary’s relationship with Jesus is as mother of God. Biographically one can say, Mary as one character in the life of Jesus and Theologically I would say that she fulfils what the Lord had spoken through the prophets (Lk1: 11-20, 26-38). She is presented as model of faith by her response to divine revelation typical example for “God human dialogue. Mary’s motherhood gets significance in the context of incarnation. Through Mary’s co-operation God’s plan of salvation became historical. Mary is not merely the mother of the man Jesus but the mother of God Himself. God truly became man through her. She is mother of God she was conceived not by human seed but by the power of the Holy Spirit, God the Word Himself, (Jn 1:1ff, Lk. 1: 35). All generations will call me blessed (Lk.1: 48). My dear people, today she stands before us as the model, icon of our faith in God for our salvation. As the mother of the church Mary stands firmly on our side as a member of the redeemed community .In her, church claims to have seen what divine grace can achieve in a human life that has been surrendered to God. The girl in Nazareth who is faced with a unique invitation and in silent faith she grows into the joys and sorrows of motherhood devoted to her child, so that her entire life is absorbed and fulfilled in the mystery of her own son, in his childhood in his earthly life, in his glory. The greatness of her grace was greater than that of any other man, according to St. Thomas.

By reason of gift and role of her divine motherhood she is united with her son, the redeemer. Through her unique graces and functions the blessed virgin is also intimately united to the church. Through her faith, obedience and charity she gave birth to the very Son of the Father by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. She placed her faith in God’s messenger without any doubt. The Son whom she brought forth is He whom God placed as the first born among many brethren (Rom.8: 29). She received the word of God in faith became herself mother. She faithfully cooperates with a mother’s love imitating the mother of the Lord church and by the power of the Holy Spirit she keeps intact her faith, firm hope and sincere charity. Having entered deeply into the history of salvation, Mary unites in her person the central truths of faith and she inspires us to come to her son to his sacrifice and to the love of the Father. Seeking after the glory of Christ, we are called to become more like her type and continually grow in faith, hope and charity, seeking and doing the will of God in all things. The assumption of Mary is the hope for us who too is God’s shrine on earth and therefore destined to share in his triumph. Hence, let us ask God’s special grace through the intercession of our Lady in the Eucharist so that we may follow Christ with deep faith in him Mother’s faith in God.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, we thank you for your parting gift of Mary to us to be our mother we praise for her greatness in grace. May the loving obedience of Mary to the Father’s will be and inspiration to us to do likewise. Amen.

FIFTH DAY

1^st Talk: The Resurrection of Jesus

The historical evidence of resurrection is the empty tomb.  The resurrection is historical in the sense that it took place at a certain point in history. But the resurrection in itself is trans-historical; it transcends time and space. It is trans-historical in the sense that it took place on the other side of death which lies outside the conditions of space and time. (It is basically a faith affirmation. The fact of empty tomb can help to strengthen our belief in the resurrection of Jesus). Similarly the resurrected Jesus is trans-historical in that it belongs to the end of history existing within the new era. This does not invalidate the reality of appearance but only safeguards the otherworldly new reality of the risen Jesus.

Resurrection is a total, exhaustive realization of human reality in its relationship with God, others and the cosmos. It is the eschatological aspect of human being who has strived at the end of the evolutionary process and been inserted into the divine reality. The new future creation is already initiated in him (2Cor 4:6). He is the new humanity (Rom 5:14). In Christ we have become new people (2Cor 2:10-15). Those who accept Christ are the new creation in Christ. He is a new being (2Cor5: 17). It does not matter whether one is circumcised, what matters is a new creature (Gal6: 15).

The new humanity is the product of our newness in Christ who is the new man. He entered the human history to give life, give it abundantly. `He is God with us'; brother of all people; he is the kingdom of God at hand, the kingdom that is ‘already and not yet'. The new humanity already begun here in history merges into new heaven and new earth (Rev.21), which is the blessedness, which surpasses all human longings. Death will be overcome; corruption and weakness will be replaced with incorruptibility (Gs.39).

Jesus' passion and death show his supreme act of love and commitment - obedience to the will of his Father. The resurrection is God's affirmation of his mission and providing the life-giving power. The ascension is his enthronement as the Lord. Pentecost inaugurates his sanctifying action through the Holy Spirit. All these are intimately connected, although distinguishable moments of the mystery of Christ. There are two distinct traditions (Lukan and the Johannine) regarding ascension and Pentecost in the NT. In John both are taking place on Easter Sunday. Jesus ascends to the Father on day of his resurrection (Jn 20:17). Later he will appear to the apostles as coming from the Father's glory. Johannine Pentecostal motif is located on Easter Sunday (Jn 20:21-22). The ascension was necessary condition for the sending of the Spirit. In his first appearance after the Eater-ascension, Christ communicates the spirit to his church.

Lucan ascension theme is found in Lk 24:51 and Act 1:3-12 and the Pentecostal theme in Act 2:1-14. The Gospel ends with the ascension narrative that opens the Acts. Here the ascension and Pentecost are separated from Easter by a lapse of time of 40 and 50 days respectively. The ascension manifestation is the last apparition of the glorified Christ. It is a farewell, destined to signify the end of the Christ-event. Henceforth Christ will not be present to the world through his visible humanity. The Pentecost motif in Luke is symbolic as it is a visible sign of the effusion of the Spirit, which inaugurates the church-era. There are no contradictions between the two traditions. In reality Jesus' passion, death, resurrection, ascension, Pentecost coincides. Having passed over to the Father through his resurrection, Christ is in his heavenly glory; he exercises power by sending the Spirit. While the Johannine tradition unites the various aspects of the invisible mystery and shows their coincidence, the Lucan tradition spreads them out for the understanding and recalls the visible symbols of the invisible mystery. The paschal mysteries climax the Christ-event is essentially one? Christ's passion, death, resurrection, ascension and Pentecost make up together the Lord's Passover, which is the reality of salvation.

2^nd Talk: Life in the Holy Spirit

It is said that a certain guide lived in the desert of Arabia who never lost his way. He carried with him a homing pigeon with a very fine cord attached to one of its legs. When in doubt as to which path to take, he flushed the bird into the air. The pigeon quickly strained at the cord to fly in the direction of home and thus led the guide accurately to his destination. Because of this unique practice, he was known as the “dove man.” So, too, the Holy Spirit, the heavenly dove, is willing and able to direct us in the strait and narrow way that leads us to the more abundant life, if in humble self-denial we submit to his unerring supervision. Then we shall be men and women of the Pentecost. The famous Protestant charismatic preacher, Rev. Moody, once said, “You might as well try to hear without ears or breathe without lungs, as try to live a Christian life without the Spirit of God.”

A little girl was visiting her grandmother her in a small country two in Southern United States.  The grandmother took the girl to a highly charged Pentecostal function. The people got all worked up and expressed their feelings by jumping about and shouting. It was another one of those “Holy Roller” services. The little girl asked her grandmother if all the jumping meant the Holy Spirit was really present. Her grandmother said, “Honey, it doesn’t matter how high they jump; it’s what they do when they come down that will tell you if it is the real thing.”  My comment is that it would be good if we were a little more enthusiastic about our faith, but what matters is what we do in everyday life. Does the Holy Spirit have a practical effect on our daily life, and in what way?  As someone put it, “We do not need more of the Spirit. Rather, the Spirit needs more of us.”

Let us focus on our Lord Jesus. When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan and the Spirit descended on him in the visible form a dove, it wasn’t a piece of advertisement or comic routine; but serious business. Because immediately after the baptism, Jesus submitted to the Spirit who drove him into the desert as a prelude to his mission. The body of Jesus was instinct with the Spirit, such that whenever he exhaled he breathed out the Spirit. You will recall how after his Resurrection he breathed on his disciples, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit; those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven.” That was the Spirit of pardon and reconcilement.  Jesus clearly told his disciples, “The Spirit blows where he wills. There’s no telling where he will blow you.”  After Pentecost day the Apostles were dispersed on the wings of the Spirit to the fours corners of the earth on the mission evangelization.

You might also remember that decisive incident in the life of St. Peter. He was in Rome, but the anti-Christian persecution was getting too hot for him there. So he struck out for home and country back in Palestine, accompanied by a little servant boy. But on the way, on the Appian Way, to be exact, he was intercepted by Jesus who appeared to him. Peter was shocked to see the Lord and asked him that famous question: “Quo vadis, Domine?” “Where are you headed, Lord?” And suddenly the little boy began speaking, “My brethren in Rome need me.”  The vision was over, the Spirit had spoken; and Peter made an about turn, double-timing it back to Rome where he was crucified upside-down.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, who animates the Holy Catholic Church and Communion of Saints. We believe in the Holy Spirit who brings about the forgiveness of sins, and accomplishes the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

Let me tell you the story of that beautiful French singer, Edith Piaf.  Piaf was not her real name, but given to her by a cabaret owner who employed her. It is a French slang for “sparrow” because she looked like one, small and a mere 90 pounds. Her first name was Edith, after the courageous British nurse who had been killed by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers to escape. Edith Piaf’s mother, a prostitute, abandoned her in infancy; so she was brought up by her grandmother who worked as a cook in a house of disrepute. At the age of three she became blind but was healed by the intercession of St. Therese of Lisieux. From that day, she always carried the image of St. Therese.

Though small of stature, she was able to bear tremendous burdens. The man who launched her singing career was brutally murdered, and Edith was arrested and charged as the prime suspect in the case. She was acquitted. At the age of 19, the only child she would ever have died of meningitis. One of her many lovers died in an air crash. She suffered through three car accidents, several operations, and various illnesses. Though her life was one of almost unremitting suffering and disappointment, she could think of others. She sang for French prisoners of war during World War II, and like the British nurse for whom she was named, she aided several prisoners to escape.

She had the extraordinary ability to transmute her pain through her music, bringing help and inspiration to her millions of listeners. She put her entire being into her singing. The celebrated poet Jean Cocteau said, “Every time she sings you have the feeling she’s wrenching her soul from her body for the last time.” Just a year before her death in 1963, Edith Piaf sang from the top of the Eiffel Tower, on an enormous platform that overlooked the entire city of Paris. In the final months, she dictated her memoirs from her hospital bed. Looking back on her life, she singled out the important role that courage, which is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, played in her life. She says, “It’s true that I’ve always wanted to have courage. They say that it’s a masculine quality. But I believe that it’s women who cope best when things are going badly. It’s a question of habit, especially for me. My apprenticeship in life was not particularly rosy.”  Conscious of her sins, she wanted to be like Mary Magdalene “whose many sins were forgiven because she loved much.”

Edith Piaf’s life demonstrates once more that the human spirit can flower in the most unpromising places. As G. K. Chesterton once remarked, “If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses, what might not the heart of man become in its long journey towards the stars?”

Courage is not the same as fearlessness. It is not the absence of fear, but the control of it. “Grace under pressure,” as Earnest Hemingway said. Courage gets above fear; it is, so to say, fear that has said its prayers.  The great storyteller, Robert Louis Stevenson, was always plagued by ill health, and though he filled his novels with exciting characters and exotic places, he was more interested in man’s inner spirit. He said that everyone needed to possess courage, even those who outwardly lived less adventurous lives. According to him, the ordinary person is no less noble because no drum beats before him when he goes out to his daily battlefields and no crowds shout his arrival when he returns from victory or defeat.

Courage is not something we need rarely, but what we need on a daily basis: to live, to suffer, to struggle and die. Winston Churchill ranked courage as “the first of the human qualities, because it is the quality that guarantees all the others.”

We too will encounter and recognize the Lord even in the most trying and distressing situations when we cannot cope, despite our best human resources. God may speak loud and clear in power, but more often than not in the still small voice of an intimate personal experience. Like Peter, we waver and hesitate when we look at the threatening waves of difficulties, failure or opposition. It is only when we keep our gaze steadily on Jesus, the “Unsinkable One”, in persevering prayer, that we find new strength and an unexpected power, which can keep us in peace even in the midst of the greatest storms and stresses of life. The message of the famed aviatrix, Amelia Earhart, who understood that without courage, personal contentment is not possible: “courage is the price that life extracts for granting peace. The soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things.” In time of fear, trouble and problem it is the Spirit helps us to right path to live a righteous life.

The following prayer that I’d like to share with you is one of the songs composed by the German mystic, Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179) (+ 81 years):

Holy Spirit, the life that gives life, You are the cause of all movement, You are the breath of all creatures, You are the salve that purifies all souls, You are the ointment that heals our wounds You are the fire that warms our hearts You are the light that guides our feet.

Let the world praise you.

Homily: Travel with Jesus Christ

Jesus not only teaches the truth, he is the truth and the light of the world and the only way leading to the Father. Think now of Peter’s wonderful words when Jesus asked the apostles, “are you also going to leave me now?” Lord whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life”. (Jn.6: 67-68). In the place called Gethsemane, Jesus prayed and when he came to his disciples he found them sleeping, he said to them, “stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”(Mt. 26:41). Here the Lord wants the disciple to walk with him. Let us reflect, on the peace of mind, inner sense of security and sheer, overwhelming g joy that, in all ages and times, have been experienced by those who walk or travel with Christ and finally found in Christ the answer to all their anxious queries. It is clear enough what it means to speak of union of mind and will with Jesus Christ. When we see and understand things the way he does, and desire what he does, embracing all of his ideals, values, and goals s our own, then we are one with him in mind and will. But “union of least  ” is a metaphor. Let us ask ourselves; when is the last time we cried in the presence of God? When is the last time we really laughed with him? How spontaneously physical are we in our self-expression to him? Do we ever pray alone in our rooms with our arms outstretched in the form of a Cross? Do we ever dance for him or with him? Do we ever do crazy little things to show our love for him?

Thus it is hard to provide adequate examples here, because by definition when we are being spontaneous and passionate with Christ in private, our self-expression is private. Now, how shall we forget the Lord’s leadership; his absolute self-assurance when he told his apostles “in the world, you will have troubles, but have courage. The victory is mine; I have conquered the ”(Jn.16: 33). Thus, if we travel with the Lord, we will not have any troubles in the world.

Let me end with the story of John Harvard. In 1640, he sailed to the American colonies from England. He was a most promising scholar.  But the poor fellow died after but one year. In his will he gave $ 3,500/- and 200 books to a fledgling university. As you have guessed, the school became Harvard University. Today this University has 1,000 staff members and a student enrolment of 12,000. Harvard has international reputation. John Harvard’s untimely death may have seemed an abomination, but it produced riches beyond anybody’s imaginings. So today’s parable from Jesus teaches that even if much of your sweat goes for nothing, do not let your spirit go down with your sweat. The ballgame may go into extra innings. And your honourable self may prove to be as much a winner as was Jesus Christ.

Prayer  (Jim Cotter)

In the depths of my being I become quiet and still, I wait for you, my God, Source of my salvation.