John Paul the Great!

Today, the 30^th day of April the Catholic world, nay, the whole world have gathered in Rome in anticipation of the great event that will unfold tomorrow May 1, 2011 - the beatification of Pope John Paul ll. Since the election of Karol Wojtyla to the See of Peter in 1978 the Catholic world has never been the same. He reigned as pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City for almost 27 years, the third longest in the history of the Papacy. Here was a man who was born to be saint. From his upbringing and all that he went through no one was in doubt that a saint was in the making. John Paul showed the world how to serve the Lord both in sickness and in health. He said ‘yes’ to God with every aspect of his life. He taught us how sickness could be an occasion for greatness, a great moment of grace and a transition to eternal life. The beatification of John Paul is an invitation to all that we are born to be saints. In Mt. 5:48 Christ exhorts us “Be holy for your heavenly Father is holy.”

It is fitting that his beatification should take place on the second Sunday of Easter – the Divine Mercy Sunday. John Paul was a strong believer in the mercy of God and maintained that of all that we need, it is the Divine Mercy of God that we need the most. He was convinced that God’s mercy comes to us most powerfully through the sacrament of reconciliation and he received this sacrament once a week. According to Joaquin Navarro-Valls, who was the Holy Father’s press secretary, John Paul ll was in touch with all through prayer and prayed personally for all the intentions that he received.

John Paul’s love for young people could better be experienced than imagined. He inaugurated world youth day, an occasion to bring young people together all over the world. He enjoined them to live a radical life of Christian discipleship. He made sure that world youth day was held in different parts of the world. This afforded young people the opportunity of traveling and getting to know the different countries in which the event was held. I was blessed to have traveled to Canada, Germany and Australia for these youth events, thanks to Pope John Paul ll. The love that the Holy Father had for young people and vice versa was made evident during these events.

One of those who testified before the beatification was Sr. Marie Simon-Pierre who was cured miraculously of Parkinson disease, the same sickness that the Holy Father suffered from. Her miraculous recovery opened the way for the beatification process. She was diagnosed in 2001. She saw in John Paul ll a pastor after God’s own heart; he was a defender of the poor and those who had no one to defend them. Sr. Marie felt an emptiness, a big void in her life, as we all felt, when the Holy Father passed. In June 2005 she prayed asking John Paul ll to intercede for her. She was healed of her sickness and today she is ever so grateful to God and to the late pontiff for granting her good health.

The personal secretary to John Paul ll, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, in his testimony said that John Paul used “praise be Jesus Christ” to greet those he was to meet, he used the same phrase himself on this occasion to greet the world because he said he felt the presence of John Paul in the gathering. He recounted that he first met the pope as a young professor and recalled that the pope lived a simple life in communion with God. He noted that John Paul ll was upset on two occasions; his first anger was directed towards the Italian Mafia because of organized crimes in Italy. The second time was during the Angelus before Iraq war. He pleaded in tears that America should not invade Iraq. He noted that war was not good, that he had lived through war and saw the futility of it. Therefore everything should be done to seek for peace rather than war. How right was this man of God for the war is still ragging on and many lives are lost on daily basis due to it. He concluded that when the Holy Father passed, instead of saying the prayer for the death, they prayed ‘Te Deum’, in praise of God for a happy death.

As we celebrate this great event in the life of the Church, let us thank God that we have lived to see this day. Let us fall back on the Divine Mercy of God by making use of the sacrament of reconciliation whenever we fall short of God’s mercy and love. God cannot deny us the one thing He knows we are most in need of – His Divine Mercy. May Blessed John Paul ll intercede for us all! Amen.

It is the Lord!

The story of the resurrection was not a common event in history. It was never heard that a man who died and was buried came back to life on his own accord. The raising of Lazarus was by no means the same in magnitude with the resurrection of Christ. Theologically speaking, the resurrection, the ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles took place in one and the same day. But since this concept would be too heavy for our material minds to conceive, the Church saw the need to spread this event over a period of 50 days; 40 days before the ascension and 10 days before the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. During this period, we witness Jesus appearing on different occasions to his apostles. But can we prove that Christ truly rose from the dead?

The first prove of the resurrection is the empty tomb. The women saw the tomb, they saw when Christ was buried and they saw the soldiers who guarded the tomb. They went back to the tomb three days later and saw it was empty. The body of Christ was not in it. They “saw the wrappings lying on the ground. Presently, Simon Peter came along behind him and entered the tomb. He observed the wrappings on the ground and saw the piece of cloth which had covered the head not lying with the wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself” John 20:5-8. We are told that they saw and they believed - believed what? Could it be that they remembered what he had told them? “As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day” Mt. 20:17-19.

The second prove is the fact that Christ ate with his apostles. “While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them” Luke 24:36-43.If one eats fish some bones will certainly remain and these bones can be seen, touch and felt. After the resurrection Christ was constantly reminding his apostles of what Scriptures said about himself.   

In spite of all these it was still not easy for the apostles to understand it easily. Little wonder then why they were bent on returning to their trade - fishing. This was the situation in John 21:1-14. Here we read the following: “Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.” We can understand the statement of Peter in two ways. I am going fishing could mean that he was returning to the trade that he knew so much about before his call, or it could mean that he was bored and wanted to do something to distract himself. For the purpose of this post, I want to take the first option. That is Peter was returning to his trade. Unfortunately for him, the trade he thought he knew so much about failed him, for we are told that they caught nothing the whole night. Here again Christ made his appearance to prove to Peter that apart from him he could do nothing. He demonstrated to Peter that he Christ was better in Peter’s trade than Peter himself. He now took it upon himself to teach Peter how to fish. “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something. So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”

Many times we seem to think that we know it all. We often attempt to put God out of our existence and feel we can do it all by ourselves alone. We often celebrate our scanty triumphs and strike our breast that we have achieved what no other person has ever achieved in life. But truth be told; we can do nothing if God the father did not provide the strength, the energy and the wisdom needed to do it. We have to see the Lord standing by the shore of our lake as we struggle on our own for a catch of fish. Yes, where can we run from him? The Psalmist asks us a simple question: “Where can I hide from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee? If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol, you are there too. If I fly with the wings of dawn and alight beyond the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand holds me fast. If I say, “Surely darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light” – Darkness and light are but one.” Psalm 139:7-12. Peter and his friends may have thought that they had run away from Christ, but he found them once again and taught them a lesson in humility, love, patience and providence. If God does not provide for us all our labor is in vain. God’s providence is beyond our expectation, beyond our dreams. For what I am sure about tomorrow is that providence will rise before the dawn. Why? It is the Lord and he will provide for my needs.

Appreciation

Appreciation simply put means acknowledging the good in others. It can mean showing some love and concern to others either because of their good looks, or their contribution to make life better for others. Life’s lessons abound that teaches us that if we appreciate people for what they have done, they tend to do more. Unfortunately ours is the world where we think of ourselves more than others and the contributions of others do not seem to mean much to us.

Who we are today is only possible because of the contributions of others; therefore we should be appreciative of others. Our parents have done much for our existence. Our forebears made a lot of contributions that have shaped the world for us to excel and achieve our dreams. Do we always show them appreciation and love? Not all the time. We often hear parents complain over the bad treatments they received from their children. William Shakespeare, in King Lear captured the truth of the ingratitude of this magnitude when he noted, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.” He noted in another place, “Blow, blow, thou winter wind, thou art not so unkind as man’s ingratitude.”

Many people tend to accumulate things without taking the time to enjoy what they have. They forget the wise saying of life that “We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have but rather in recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” How true! How can we not take the time to appreciate nature, to smell beautiful flowers given us in abundance by God; to take a walk along the bushes and admire the tress and hear the melodious songs of the birds! This saying rings true that “Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumblebee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” The world would be such a wonderful place if we could but appreciate what we have instead of complaining and whining over what we don’t have. “We have no right to ask when sorrow comes, “Why did this happen to me? Unless we asked the same question for every joy that comes our way.”

I often ask people if they love what they do. The answer surprises me all the time. Many people do not like or enjoy their jobs. They see their job as one of those chores that they must do in order to pay their bills. This is a wrong attitude towards one’s job. We should be excited to go to work every day. “The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one”. Great! Just look around you and see how happy they are who have no job. Would you really want to be one in that number?  We should be loyal and devoted to our jobs and appreciate those who made it possible for us to have it. If you are so bitter about you job, why not quit?

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” When we appreciate others, we are indirectly appreciating our creator. When we appreciate others, we appreciate ourselves in the process. Please learn to see something good in everybody and in very situation. Kindly be slow in speaking ill of anyone until you are able to say something good about everyone. Appreciate first before finding fault. “So learn everything you can, anything you can, from anyone you can – there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.” 

How foolish you are...?

How would you like Jesus to say to you, “How foolish you are? Jesus asked the two men on the road to Emmaus this simple but interesting question. But why? The men were obviously frustrated, flabbergasted and despondent. From their discussion we can deduce easily their state of mind. They were upset with Jesus for acting as a stranger in Jerusalem. To the question, “What are you talking about to each other, as you walk along?” amidst emotion laden with surprise we are told, “They stood still, with sad faces”, then one of them mustered up courage to ask him, “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have been happening there these last few days.” Again, Christ acting as if had no idea what they were referring to asked, “What things?” they had this answer for him: “The things that happened to Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “This man was a prophet and was considered by God and by all the people to be powerful in everything he said and did. Our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and he was crucified. And we had hoped that he would be the one who was going to set Israel free! Besides all that, this is now the third day since it happened. Some of the women of our group surprised us; they went at dawn to the tomb, but could not find his body. They came back saying they had seen a vision of angels who told them that he is alive. Some of our group went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, but they did not see him,” Lk. 24:19-24.

From the above answer I have no doubts that these men were disappointed with the Jesus project. They had closed their minds to the Scriptures. They were obviously very negative and one could feel their incredulity, doubts, cynicism and apathy as they recounted their litany of woes to this stranger. Were they trying to educate the stranger about the failure of Christ or what really was the point they were making? With the type of picture painted above one could hardly see these men as missionaries. There was no conviction in their narrative except their disappointments. There was a total lack of trust in the person of Christ and these men had lost hope completely. Little wonder then why Christ took the time to speak sense into their heads. Jesus did not waste time in pointing their mistakes to them, but not before calling them fools. “How foolish you are, how slow you are to believe everything the prophets said! Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter his glory?” Now the lectures! The bible stated that, “Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the Scriptures, beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of all the prophets.”

When you are in doubts and confused, where do you turn to for comfort? When you are disappointed who do you turn to for consolation? We are prone to complaining and whining when things do not go our way. We close our minds to options and at times, we even turn against God and the Church. It seems to me that the bible has most of the answers to our problems if we but take the time to read and pray it, we will get the sense of direction that we so desperately need. We often blame our problems on everybody except ourselves. Truth be told, we have what it takes to pull ourselves up from whatever situation we find ourselves in. We have all the means needed to assist us do just that. We have our God who loves and cares for us and only wants us to go to him and ask for what we need, but often times we do not take these approaches; instead we behave like these men on the way to Emmaus. Remember this, no matter where we run to, Christ will always meet us on the road, and if care is not taken, he will call us foolish men and women. Foolish; because we doubt his love. Foolish; because we do not trust him enough. Foolish; because we do not read the Scriptures. No wonder St. Jerome cautions us that ignorant of the Scriptures means ignorant of Christ. May Christ not call us foolish. Amen

The Woman of great Love - 2

Still in John’s Gospel we meet this woman again at her house mourning the loss of her brother. She is partly upset here because the one she loves was not there when her brother died. On seeing Jesus she confronted him right a way, “If you were here my brother would not have died.” Her trust in him is unflinching; her love unlimited, her hope is untarnished and her faith is undoubted. In spite of this tragedy, frustration, sadness and loss, she had the courage and strength to dare to believe. John captured the emotions of Mary when she came to meet Jesus. We are told, “Mary arrived where Jesus was, and as soon as she saw him, she fell a his feet. Jesus saw her weeping and he saw how the people with her were weeping also; his heart was touched, and he was deeply moved. Where have you buried him?” He asked them. “Come and see, Lord,” they answered. Jesus wept.” John 11:32-35. How would he not weep for the ones he loved! Because of her faith, Lazarus was restored to life. This is the power of love in action.

Wherever this woman appears she does something good and demonstrates her love for Christ. During the passion and the crucifixion of Jesus, she was there. She never moved far away from her love. With the mother of Jesus, she stayed. The Bible talks about Mary the mother of Jesus and the other Mary. It seems the name Mary is synonymous with good deeds. When Christ was brought down from the cross, she was there; and she was there when he was buried. She saw it all, she experienced it all, and she loved him through it all. She marked the tomb well hence Luke’s Gospel tells us, “Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, carrying the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the entrance to the tomb.” 24:1-3. But Matthew tells us this: “After the Sabbath, as Sunday morning was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” (28:1). Here she witnessed something extraordinary. She did not find the body. Mary is distressed, she is sad; she cannot believe what she had seen. Mary started crying. “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!” was the answer she gave to Jesus who appeared to her and asked why she was crying. Mistaking him to be a gardener, she told him, “If you took him away, sir, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him”, John 20:13-15. How can one describe this love! She loved him in life and loved him even more in death. Imagine this woman going to remove the dead body of her loved one, carrying him all by herself alone, afraid of nothing and no one.

Does it surprise you then that Mary Magdalene was the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection? It should not. Love, we are told conquers all things, and endures all things. Mary persevered, Mary persisted, Mary never gave up; Mary never stopped loving. Mary’s love was rewarded. Though Mary’s love seemed to have died for a brief moment, her love was given back to her. She became the first witness of the resurrection and she became the first missionary, commissioned to go and preach the resurrection. “Go and tell my brothers that I go before them to Galilee.” Mary was forgiven because she loved much; she loved much because she was given a second chance by the one who loved her first. When every other person had given up on her, her love did not give up on her. Let the story of this woman of great love be our own story. No matter what the situation may be do not give up on yourself. Remember that there is no one on earth who has not committed any sin. There are people who have committed worse sins than yours. The fact that they have not been found out does not mean that they are saints. And who is a saint by the way if not the sinner who fell down many times and got up again because of Jesus. Jesus is always there to assure us of his love, his mercy and his forgiveness. He is always prepared to give you a second chance. It all depends on what you do with that chance. Yes, Mary truly chose a better part and it should not be taken away from her. She chose to love Christ with her second chance. She chose to serve her Lord with all that she had. She demonstrated the summary of the commandment as given by Christ, you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind, and you must love your neighbor as you love yourself. This is all we are commanded to do. By this shall all know that you are my disciples if you love one another!     

The Woman of great Love - 1

A woman’s heart is a big reservoir of love. This love springs forth naturally and enables her to nurture the child in her womb and bring that child forth into the world. She does not stop there; she keeps on providing nourishment to the child of her womb from her very blood – the mother’s milk. Should the child fall sick, the woman goes at any length to make sure that the child is treated back to good health. The joy of a mother is in seeing her child grow up and be successful. This is the story of a woman.

But this post is about a different kind of woman. You know her as Mary Magdalene, but I call her a woman of great love. Mary Magdalene appears in the bible under different kinds of circumstances. In some of the circumstances she has no name, in others she is just a woman who came in and did something around the person of Jesus. In John’s Gospel we see her as the woman caught in the act of committing adultery. Are really sure that this is the same woman? Not sure, but bible scholars seem to think that she is one and same person. Here we see her encounter with Jesus as a sinner, nay a criminal. Her accusers demanded for her execution and wanted Christ to sanction their plan. But were they disappointed? To them Jesus said, “Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her. Then he bent over again and wrote on the ground. When they heard this, they all left, one by one, the older ones first. Jesus was left alone with the woman still standing there. When he straightened up and said to her, “Where are they? Is there no one left to condemn you? “No one, sir,” she answered. “Well, then” Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again” Jn. 8:8-11. To this woman Jesus had given a second chance. It is easy to see how she would devote her whole life to serve Jesus.

In Mark 14:3-9 we read the story of the anointing at Bethany. Here Jesus was in the house of Simon and while eating, a woman came in with an alabaster jar full of a very expensive perfume made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus’s head. Some of the people there became angry and said to one another, “What was the use of wasting the perfume? It could have been sold for more than three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor!” She anointed the head of Jesus out of love. You see, for this woman, nothing was ever too expensive for the one she loves, no distance was too long and no labor too great for her to perform for her master. Hers was the labor of love.

In Luke’s Gospel we see Mary as she sits at the feet of Jesus listening to him to the point that Martha was upset and cried out to Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!” The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You are worried and troubled over so many things, but just one is needed. Mary has chosen the right thing and it will not be taken away from her”, Lk. 10:38-42. Just imagine sitting at the feet of the one you love and watching his every move and taking in his every word. What a feeling to have! To be continued… 

Christ is the reason for the season

Today we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. This is our resurrection too. In Christ’s rising from the dead we have hope that we will one day rise with him in glory. Lent prepared us for this glorious day. We were urged to pray, fast and give alms during Lent. This was to initiate us into the glorious life of Easter. Because Christ has risen we have the reason to celebrate.

In Matthew 28:3-10 we read the resurrection account. The first thing the angel said to the women was “do not be afraid”. Jesus also told the women in the same reference “Do not be afraid”. Jesus has used this phrase so many times in the bible. Why are we still afraid? We are afraid of almost everything: our health, our security, our mortgage, our job, and you name it. Ever imagine how your life would be without living in fear? That would have been a great life. If we are not to be afraid, then we have to trust more. Yes we may be sick, but our trust in God will see us through it. We may have a lot of worries but if we give it up to God, our worries will become God’s worries. We are to begin to live as men and women who are strong in God because God conquers it all. Let us therefore see Christ’s resurrection as our resurrection. Since Christ is the reason for the season there is no reason why we should live in fear.

Book Review: ‘The Way To Love’ by Anthony De Mello, S.J. - 2

In the book ‘The Way to Love’, Anthony De Mello makes some very uncompromising statements about our state of being. He said for instance, “Has it ever struck you that you have been programmed to be unhappy and so no matter what you do to become happy you are bound to fail?” A difficult assumption, you will say, and I agree with you totally. For sure we have experienced happiness in many lasting ways in the past. We should not in any way feel that we are doomed to fail in our pursuit of happiness. After all, happiness is a gift from God.  Our idea of God is not just given to us by our culture, our society or religion as Anthony maintains. Our idea of God is written in our hearts, it is in nature and everywhere. The Book of Wisdom eloquently attests to this fact. “For all men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is and from studying the works did not discern the artisan” (Wisdom13:1). I wonder why De Mello would include the search for God as the source for our happiness or as programming. According to St. Augustine God has created us for himself and our hearts are restless until they rest in God.

De Mello’s reflection on inviting the poor, lame, and cripple to our homes as a gift to ourselves rather than we giving them something, is the one I will not forget in a hurry. Who do we really consider as poor, by the way? Anthony warns that the poor and the beggar “is going to reveal yourself to you and reveal human nature to you – a revelation as precious as any found in Scripture, for what will it profit you to know all the Scripture if you do not know yourself and so live the life of a robot?” He himself related an experience that he said revolutionized his life. He talked about meeting a rickshaw driver name Rinsai in Calcutta, “who, although he was dying of a painful disease and was so poor that he had to sell his skeleton before he died, still was a man filled with faith and interior joy”. He said that while in the presence of this man, he suddenly realized that he was meeting face to face with a mystic who had rediscovered life; he was alive, while Anthony was dead. “He was a man who had reincarnated himself during this life.”  

This book has so much to teach us about life, attachment, happiness, love, joy and relationship. If you read it reflectively it will help you to do some checks on yourself whenever things do not work out as you planned them. You may be tempted to ask yourself some few questions about your attachments and programming, as Anthony put it. His discussion on why people mourn for a long time after the loss of their loved one will have a rewarding effect on how you view life. You will discover the secret of a happy life which is to let go of things and people and just enjoy the presence of people while at the same time learning to set them free. Anthony’s analogy about the flower which gives it fragrance to all and not to anyone in particular, is the one that will linger on in your mind for a long time. You will be tempted to defend your actions and give reasons why you hold on to things and people. Has it occurred to you why you are so sad and unhappy? Check your attachments! We should love to the point of letting the one we love free to live his or her life. How many people will believe this? 

Book Review: ‘The Way To Love’ by Anthony De Mello, S.J.

Of the many books I have read, a few of them have had the kind of impact that ‘The Way To Love’ by Anthony De Mello have had on me. Anthony De Mello was a Jesuit priest who was a great preacher and a great retreat master. The Way to Love is a compilation of his last meditations. It is a series of thirty-one meditations that could be read, one each day for the whole month. De Mello takes themes or quotations from the saying of Jesus in the Gospels and weaves his meditation and reflection around them, adapting them to life. In these meditations De Mello urges his readers to break through their illusions, irrational thoughts and beliefs, their human manipulations and abuses and experience the power of love. He notes that manipulations, prejudices and illusions are obstacles to love. He insisted that love springs from our awareness and our willingness to see others as they are devoid of biases, prejudices and irrational judgments. He sees the process of self-awareness as a very difficult one indeed. According to him, “the most painful act is the act of seeing. But it is in that act of seeing that love is born”.

One of the most important points that Anthony De Mello makes in this book is that we should not be blind to our environment. In the first meditation under the title “Profit and Loss’, he takes his reflective theme from Matthew 16:26, ‘For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life.’ De Mello contradicts the worldly feeling with a soul feeling. He pointed out that the worldly feeling comes from self-glorification, the type that we get when we are praised, approved, accepted and applauded; while the second feeling comes from looking at the sunset, or sunrise or observing nature in general or from reading a book or watching a movie, or just doing something that we love to do for the sheer joy of doing it, without any ulterior motive. He went on to say that people do things or engage in activities that will produce emptiness, in their desires for approval, fame, popularity, success or power. “These feelings do not produce the nourishment and happiness that is produced when one contemplates nature or enjoys the company of one’s friends or one’s work. They were meant to produce thrills, excitement – and emptiness.” Anthony contends that people with worldly feelings are like a group of tourists who sits in the bus with the shade pulled down while driving pass a “gorgeously beautiful country, lakes and mountains and green fields and rivers…They do not have the slightest idea of what lies beyond the windows of the bus, and all the time of the journey is spent in squabbling over who will have the seat of honor in the bus, who will be applauded, who will be considered. And so they remain till the journey’s end. This reminds me of reading one of Martin Luther King’s sermons, “Remaining awake through a great Revolution.’ In this sermon, Dr. King talked about a man by the name of Rip Van Winkle who slept for twenty years while a great revolution was taking place. According to Dr. King, “…one of the greatest liabilities of life is that all too many people find themselves living amidst a great period of social change, and yet they fail to develop the new attitudes, the new mental responses, that the new situation demands. They end up sleeping through a revolution.”

In the second meditation, “Discipleship”, Anthony examines one other barrier to love and happiness. He stresses that the cause of unhappiness in the world is our false beliefs and our distorted worldview that we find difficult to question. According to him, “your programming is so strong and the pressure of society so intense that you are literally trapped into perceiving the world in this distorted kind of way.’ He contends that this programming was put into us by our tradition, our culture, our society, our religion. He noted that happiness cannot be defined or described. No one can give us happiness, it is either we have it or we do not. He confronts our assumptions and false beliefs that things, people or place can make us happy. In order to understand happiness, we must understand our false beliefs and let go of our attachments. He calls on us to see things or people that we are attached to as nightmares and let go of them. Once we let go of them, they will no longer have any power over us, then, we will understand what happiness is.

I find this meditation very fascinating indeed. I know that I am happy to the extent that things or people do not control me. If we can have the attitude of a plant in the forest that produces its flowers and fragrance to be enjoyed by all and not to be possessed by any one individual then will we understand true freedom and happiness. But don’t we, most of the time, manipulate people and control them so that we may feel loved and appreciated? This Anthony De Mello sees as an obstacle to love and happiness. And he is absolutely correct.

I must confess that it was not easy to say that my parents are nightmare, that I do not need them. But that is the truth, isn’t it? I know, of course, that my parents are very important to me. But I do not need them to make me happy. Neither people, nor money can guarantee my happiness. Christ puts it well when he says, “Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more that he needs.” Lk. 12:15.

In the next post, I will continue with the remaining part of this review. But in the main time, if you come across the book, ‘The Way To Love’, it is sold for $7:00 in Amazon.com, please buy and read it. You will thank me for introducing you to it. Happy Good Friday to you!

Anger

It is common to hear people say you have annoyed me or you are the cause of my anger. The truth of the matter is that no one can make you angry. Anger is not caused by anyone. If you say that someone is the cause of your anger, how come that two people can say the same thing to you at different times, to the first person you may just laugh but the second person may rouse so much hurtful feelings in you that can make you want to kill the person. Aristotle said it well thus, “Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way, that is not easy.” Why do we react the way we do to certain situations and not to others?

Thomas Pazhayampallil, the Moral Theologian, maintains that anger is a capital sin and defines it as an inordinate inclination to take revenge. He goes on to say that anger may consist in a mere impulse of impatience. The least annoyance or the least failure may arouse our temper. He further stressed that “anger may consist in uncontrolled gestures and words. At times it reaches the point of violence and furry, causing damage to others. Anger can degenerate into hatred, vengeance, going so far as to desire the death of the adversary. In anger we must however distinguish between emotional agitation stirring within us naturally, no matter how violent it may be, and the conscious consent to it. The former is not a sin; the latter is a sin. When anger simply consists in a passing unchecked impulse of passion it is of itself a venial sin. However, when self-control is lost and grave insult is offered to the neighbor, it can be a grave sin.” A wise saying has it that “For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.” How true! I cannot agree more with the man who said that, “anger always comes from frustrated expectations.” Of course it is also true that “anger is one letter short of danger” and “Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.” Whoa! When you expect people to act in a certain way towards you and if that person does not satisfy your expectation, your feelings are hurt and you become angry.

Anger is only a natural reaction; one of the mind’s ways of reacting to things that it perceives to be wrong. While anger can sometime lead people to do shocking things it can also be an instinct to show people that something isn’t right. The teaching of Christ on anger is apt at this point. He admonishes, “You have heard that it was said to your ancestor, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.” (Mt. 5:21-23). Christ goes on to teach us to forgive and eradicate the root cause of anger from within so as not to give in to the impulse of anger and the resultant sin that follows it. When we give in to anger, we give power over to some other person to control us. Listen to this, “anyone who angers you conquers you”. Correct! Let us therefore listen to the teachings of the wise and avoid occasions of anger, hatred and violence. When hateful feelings come up let us rather do some reflection on self and ask yourself why you feel the way do. Instead of finding fault with others, try to look inwards. Remember, “It is wise to direct your anger towards problems—not people, focus your energies on answers not excuses.” 

Oh this changing world!

Life has taught us that if there is one constant thing in the universe, that thing is called change. To live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often. And so it is with life. Everything in it speaks of change. Day breaks, afternoon comes and it is closely followed by evening and then night. And so the circle is repeated. A child is born, the child grows up and becomes adult, and gradually to be a man, and before you know it he is dead and so the circle continues. One then wonders why people resist change.

Sometimes we live in our little comfortable world with our tiny comfortable ideas and often think it is the best world there is and the greatest idea ever conceived. Dare anyone express a new idea or a new way of doing things and that person is dealt with mercilessly. That was the problem with Christ. He came to bring about a change in the world, a revolution of a monumental proportion. Since Christ came into the world, the world has not known peace. Christ himself said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man “against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and one’s enemies will be those of his household’”, Mt. 10:34-36. It is this same change that the Scribes and Pharisee resisted to the point of putting Christ to death. Even John the Baptist did not understand Christ much. He had to send his disciples to go and ask, “are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” Lk. 7:19. John’s perception of Jesus was different from the reports that he heard about him. How do we receive changes initiated by Christ our Lord? The death of Christ on Good Friday should help us change our way of life and embrace His way. Think back on those Lenten resolutions that you made and see how you have lived up to them now that Lent is over. How has the practice of Lent helped you to change for the better? If you truly observed the 40 days of Lent then you will be able to celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. May the changes of these seasons remain with you so that you may truly be a child of God!  

The Judas Controversy

Judas is portrayed in the Bible as the apostle who betrayed his master the Christ and sold him for thirty pieces of silver. Yet Matthew’s Gospel sees the death of Christ as fulfilling the prophets. I have some bones to pick with the Judas story. As popular as Jesus Christ was in his time, was it possible that there were people who did not know Him? Could it be that the Scribes and Pharisees who were so bent on killing Christ did not know the one they wanted to kill? Was there any real need to betray Christ? Could the betrayal have arisen from the point of view that not everyone knew where Christ was at all times, and since Judas knew, he then directed the soldiers to his hide out? In John’s Gospel we read that after Jesus had deep the morsel in a dish and gave it to Judas, Satan entered into him and it was night. Then Christ said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly”. It seems as Christ was encouraging Judas to betray him. What reasons could Judas have had in betraying his master?

According to Wikipedia, “there are several explanations as to why Judas betrayed Jesus. A prevalent explanation is that Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16). One of Judas's main weaknesses seemed to be money (John 12:4-6). A possibility is that Judas expected Jesus to overthrow Roman rule of Israel. In this view, Judas is a disillusioned disciple betraying Jesus not so much because he loved money, but because he loved his country and thought Jesus had failed it. According to Luke 22:3-6 and John 13:27, Satan entered into him and called him to do it. The Gospels suggest that Jesus foresaw (John 6:64, Matthew 26:25) and allowed Judas's betrayal (John 13:27-28). An explanation is that Jesus allowed the betrayal because it would allow God's plan to be fulfilled.”

Was there any historical figure named Judas or is Judas a symbol of our collective will prone to evil? Could Judas speak to us about our relationship with our friends and our God? There is a Judas in all of us, for sure. We are not always faithful to our friends. We often engage in acts that betray our God. When this happens we must remember our patron saint of betrayal, Judas. But then we should not despair as Judas did. I think the greatest sin of Judas was not that he betrayed his master. It was because he despaired of his master’s love. We are told that when Judas realized his sin, he went back and returned the 30 pieces of silver (he paid back and made restitution) that he confessed that he had sinned by betraying an innocent blood (confession and feeling remorse for his sins). What could Judas have done differently after this confession? He should not have given up and given in to his sin; he should have trusted in the love of God and the mercy of Christ to redeem him. Instead, Judas, according to the bible, went and killed himself. God is love, God is merciful, God is waiting anxiously for us to return to him like the prodigal son and He will wash us clean and restore his grace back in us. So do not despair, but trust in God’s love for you even after you have sinned and fallen from his love. Be courageous and approach his throne of grace and ask for his mercy for He will always give it to you. 

On the Humanity of Christ

Holy week brings us face to face with the humanity of Christ. It encourages us and gives us hope. I wonder what is going on in the mind of Jesus during these last days of his life on earth. As a divine person I am sure Christ knew among his friends the one who would betray him and the one who will deny him. He knew the apostles who will run away from him and those who will stand by him if any would. He also knew that the source of his strength came from his Father in Heaven. But as human person, I am sure, the experience was different for the son of David as it would be for any human being. It is in the humanity of Christ that he felt what we human beings feel. You can say that Christ was most vulnerable in his humanity.

As human being, Christ was hungry, he got tired, he was weak, and he needed love, companionship, affection and compassion. He wept at the grave of Lazarus, his friend. He appealed to his friends, Peter, James and John to keep watch with him for at least an hour. This was his need for companionship. He prayed to his Father to take the cup away from him. He did not however, pray for his will but His father’s will to be done. This is the unwillingness in the part of us human beings to accept to suffer. We shy and run away from suffering. When Mary brought costly aromatic nard and anointed his feet and wiped them with her hair, Judas protested. “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?’ (John 12:5). Christ did not stop Mary; he said instead, “leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me”, John 12:7. This was Christ need for care, for love, for consolation and for solace. To know that Christ felt what I feel, my need for love, care and companionship is a huge consolation for me. This is the source of my hope. If Christ understands how I feel then He will readily extend a helping hand to me when I call on him for help. This then makes this period the best period in the Church and in my life too. Christ’s resurrection is a source of great hope for me. His resurrection is truly my salvation. Yes, by Christ’s resurrection is our hope, may the divinity of Christ redeem my humanity and raise it up to salvation.   

Lesson from Palm Sunday

It seems that this year has been moving so fast from the first day of the month of January till now. Palm Sunday is here again and before you know it this year would have rolled to a close. So what is Palm Sunday? Palm Sunday begins the Holy Week. On Palm Sunday we commemorate the triumphant entrance of Jesus to Jerusalem when people cut palm branches and threw them on the road acclaiming Jesus as the son of David. On this day, we read the long passion narrative of Jesus with so many characters playing themselves out in the life of Christ. His friends betray him, others denied him, and all ran away from him. What a life? There were so many discordant voices trailing Jesus even as he carried his cross. False witnesses arose against him and the powers that be called for his head. Pilate condemned him even when he knew that Christ was innocent. He not only condemned him to a painful torture and death on the cross, he humiliated him first by having him flogged. Women cried for him but men despised him. On Palm Sunday we cry out Hosanna to the Son of David but then very soon on Good Friday we will shout crucify him. That is what life is all about, isn’t it? When the world seems to be singing our praises we should be aware that very soon they might be calling for our heads. Christ was not fooled by those cries of hosanna; he knew what was awaiting him. So what does Palm Sunday teach us?

Palm Sunday teaches us to be grateful to Christ for loving us. It calls on us to seek to love God in return. Palm Sunday teaches us also that the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ is a story of love. This day teaches us that we should be careful of our friendships. When faced with difficulties, we may not have any of our friends out there to defend us. We should not expect too much from our friends. If the stand by us, then good luck to us. If not then we should be prepared to travel our lonely path alone. If we succeed in any of the projects we undertake in life we should thank God and be grateful to those who have assisted us. But at the same time we should know that our Good Friday might not be too far away. The same people, who praise us today, may be the same people who seek for our heads tomorrow. Even as it happened to Christ, why should we presume that it might not happen to us? Christ puts it this way, “Remember the word I spoke to you. ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours’, John 15:20. Good luck to you as you celebrate your Palm Sunday while you look forward to your Good Friday.

Are You an answer to Someone's prayer?

There is a story told about two men who went to Church to pray. One was a poor man and the other rich. The poor man went in first and prayed that God should give him $500.00 to be able to feed for that day. As he was praying, the rich man walked in and wanted the church for himself alone for his need was a great one indeed. He was praying for the long awaited contract of $5000,000.00 that was about to be confirmed for him. Not wanting to take chances, he took it to the Lord in prayer. As he waited for the poor man who was praying aloud, he could not help but hear the poor man’s prayer. In his anger, he went to the poor man and asked what his problem was. The poor man told him that he wanted God to give him just $500.00 so that he could feed himself and his family. The rich man then wasted no time, he took out $500.00 from his pocket and gave it to the poor man and asked him to leave the Church that he had a more important issue to discuss with God. The poor man took the money and went away praising God for hearing his prayers.

This story demonstrates one simple point about life: God uses us to do his work on earth. When we see someone in need and render help to such a person, we are indirectly helping God. God uses his people to help his people. He tells us in Matthew 25: 34-40, “Then the king will say to those on his right ‘come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

St Teresa of Avila, the fourteenth Century nun reminds us that we are God’s hands. “God has no hands but our hands to do his work today; God has no feet but our feet to lead others in his way; God has no voice but our voice to tell others how he died; and, God has no help but our help to lead them to his side.” God cannot do it all alone without us. He needs us to bring what we have to him so that he can use it to help his children. Remember that what goes around comes around. As God is using you to help others, so does he use others to help you and yours. Be available to God and allow him to use you to answer the many prayers that go up to him everyday. Be blessed!

Too hard on Yourself?

It is easy to observe from life that most often people are too hard on themselves. People beat down on themselves and treat themselves mercilessly and with contempt. Parents often take blames for the life style of their children, especially when they do not turn out as expected. It is also a common experience that most people are ridden with quilt when their parents pass on. This quilt is often as a result of the fact that may be the children did not do enough for their parents when they were alive. But then it is not uncommon to note that often times these children have done just about all they could have done except for playing God and preventing their parents from dying. This type of quilt nurtures grief and prolongs the cause of depression. It encourages ‘could haves’ and ‘should haves’, which is not healthy and will certainly not bring the departed ones back to life.

Even in Church most parishioners will often blame themselves for not being able to do this or that task for God. Yet it is a common knowledge that there is so much one can possibly do based on ones ability and capability. It is good for people like this to know that God only wants us to be faithful and committed to his love. God does not expect us to do extraordinary things but to do the ordinary things in life extraordinarily well. The hymn written in 1868 by Daniel March, who was pastor in Philadelphia titled “Hark the Voice of Jesus”, says it all. “If you cannot speak like angels, if you cannot preach like Paul, you can tell the love of Jesus, you can say He died for all. If you cannot rouse the wicked, with the judgment’s dread alarms, You can lead the little children to the Savior’s waiting arms…Let none hear you idly saying, “There is nothing I can do.” While the lost of earth are dying, and the Master calls for you; take the task He gives you gladly; Let His work your pleasure be; Answer quickly when He calls you, “Here am I, send me, send me.”

Yes, instead of being too hard on yourself, learn to give yourself a little pat on the back and say to yourself, at least I am trying my best. Remember, he also serves, who stands and waits. There is so much you can do, instead of crying over what you cannot do, think of what you can do and do just that. Be patient with yourself, God is not through with you yet. Be kind and merciful to yourself, learn to forgive yourself and then it will be easy to forgive others. Be charitable to yourself if you want to be charitable to others. Treat yourself with care, and, for heaven sake, show some love to yourself. Do not be too hard on yourself remember there is only one you in the whole universe. You will only be able to truly take care of others if you are good at taking care of yourself.    

And Jesus Wept

Life is dynamic and constant in her various lessons. It shows that certain things and emotions that we share bring us closer to one another than others. For instance when we see some human emotions being expressed especially by adult we are made to feel humble and sober. These emotions, most often than not, bring us closer to our own humanity. I remember the first time I saw my father cry. That was many years ago when I was seven years old in 1968, when my baby sister died at the tender age of four. I cannot begin to describe the pain and emotion that the tears of my dad evoked in all of us. That was the last time I saw my father cry, at least in public. I am pretty sure that there were other occasions that the old man would have demonstrated his humanity. He doesn’t have to express that to me in public.

The truth of the matter is that there is no time that we see someone shedding tears without being touched personally by it. No wonder Publius Terentius, the Latin comedy writer who lived from 190 to about 160 B.C., once observed “homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto” I am a human being, so nothing human is strange to me. Tears shed for the passing of our loved ones or tears shed amidst tragedy can be said to be tears shed for humanity and human beings cannot but be touched by it.

This, then, puts today’s posting in perspective. In the Gospel of John we are presented with the shortest verse in the bible. This verse has only three words, and these three words, though seemingly harmless, but nevertheless are words that are loaded with meaning, words laden with emotions and feelings, words that bring the person of Jesus closer to us more powerfully than other words. These three words express the humanity of Jesus and identify him with our human weakness more so than other words in the bible. This three-word-verse is found in John 11:35, “And Jesus wept”.  Jesus wept because Lazarus his friend was dead. His tears provoked comments, reactions and criticisms among those who saw him. “So the Jews said, “See how he loved him”. But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died”, John 11:36-37. So what is the meaning of the tears of Christ? It is not as if Christ did not know what he was about to do to restore Lazarus to life, in fact that was exactly what did. If Christ knew what he would do, why the tears?

Fr. Edward F. Steiner, in his homily background published in the Priest magazine, described the tears of Christ thus, “The people were wailing, a type of ritual mourning thought to be cathartic. Professional mourners were hired to bring the crying and wailing to a fever pitch. When Jesus wept the crowd assumed that He was simply participating in this ritualistic grief. But He was not! In John, one word was used to describe the tears of the crowd; another word was used to describe the tears of Jesus. Jesus’ tears had nothing to do with the emotions of sadness or sympathy. Jesus’s tears were tears of frustration. Jesus was troubled – perturbed – that, after everything He had said and after all the miracles He had performed, hardly anyone “got it.”” Fr. Steiner has made a good point above in his description of Jesus’s tears, but suffice it to say that the tears of Jesus were not just tears of frustration that no one got it, I think it was more or less tears of identification. The feeling of sadness and the pain that death had brought to those he loved. It demonstrated the fact that Christ is not a stranger to our pains, loss, deprivation and our need for comfort, companionship and love. I believe Christ is reminding us that to shed tears is a very human expression, but that we should remember that God is vey much concerned and interested in our situation in life. He will always reach out and touch us and bring solace to our pains. Hence He restored Lazarus to life even after shedding tears for him. When we are faced with sad situations in life, let us see Jesus weeping with us and yet let us be consoled that the Christ who weeps for us knows exactly what to do to draw us out of darkness to the light of his love and life.   

Matters of the Heart

Life has enough lesson regarding matters of the heart. What really is it? Is this what people call love? What musicians sing about? What poets have written pages upon pages on? Love? What does it mean? Is this what people call emotion, feeling, lust, infatuation, flirtation, agape, eros, pain or I have no idea what else to call it. This four letters word has brought kings, queens, men and women of faith, presidents and leaders of nations and nobles down to the ground. It has caused people to be booed out of office, caused priests and men of the cloth to be defrocked and sent others to prison.  It has caused many to lose their heads or their lives. When one is hit by love, it can make one lose appetite, sleep or to simply be miserable when the object of love is absent. Yet we are told that it is better to have loved and lost than not loved at all. Do I really believe that? Who likes to miss people; or who prefers to be miserable because of love.

Yet what is life without love? Love is the only thing that makes the world go round. Jesus tells us that he who abides in God abides in love. But this is divine love. How can we transform our earthly love into divine love? How can we stop committing sins in the name of love? How can we love without hurting those we love? The answer is found once again in the words of Jesus: Greater love than this no man has than to lay down ones life for ones friends. Does this mean those I love are my friends? Not always. Christ says once again that we are to love our enemies are pray for those who persecute us. So I am to love those who persecute me? Then I am to love ‘Love’ because love persecutes me. What a contradiction! I guess we will never be able to understand the question of love in this world. If so, then, God has a lot to answer on love. Have you ever loved and felt the pain of being in love? If yes, then you are truly human, for to love is to be human. But can I be spared the pain of love? I hope so, one day. Or dose it mean that I am not to love again! By no means!

On the journey of life!

Life shows us something very basic about itself: we are always on a journey. The journey begins at birth and continues till death. Some of the journeys may be smooth, others tumultuous. Some people begin and end their journey on the same day; that is death at birth, others live long so their journey gets longer as they get to travel to different places. Man therefore is a being towards death. We come to life so that we may die. What a journey!

I have reflected and pondered on life especially as it culminates in death so much so that I often wonder why we were born in the first place. If I am born to die what then is the purpose of life. A tough question to answer you would say. And you are right. Job in the bible reflected at length on this issue when he was faced with tribulation, deprivation and loss. He questioned everything and everybody. He challenged God to a debate. According to Job “Man born of woman is short-lived and full of trouble, like a flower that springs up and fades, swift as a shadow that does not abide. Upon such a one will you cast your eyes as to bring him into judgment before you, though he wears out like a leather bottle, like a garment that the moth has consumed? (Job 14:1-4). Unfortunately the reflection is always when we are faced with our mortality or when someone close to us passes on.

I have not posted anything on this blog since March 13. That was the day I traveled to Nigeria to be with my family and to plan for my mother’s funeral. I got home on March 15 and three days after my mother was laid to rest. My mother was given a wonderful burial. After the funeral came a big emptiness in our hearts and in our home. I will miss my mother; I will miss having her at home. But then her journey on earth has ended and we must continue on. I think the important thing is not that the journey will end one day, I dare say that the question will always be how well I was able to travel. Who were those accompanying me in the journey and how did I treat them. The truth about life is that we need people on this journey. So as you move on please check out those who are on the journey with you and treat them well. Be kind and gentle, be loving and forgiving, be compassionate and merciful, be gracious and supportive; be accommodating and sincere. We need all these virtues and more if our journey is to be meaningful and smooth. May God be with you as you travel long and may you reach your destination safe and sound!