Audio Reflections of Wednesday, September 14, 2016, The Exaltation of the Cross

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Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - The Exaltation of the Cross - The Cross is scandal to some and folly to others but for us it is Salvation

To read the texts click on the texts: Num 21:4-9;Phil 2:6-11; Jn 3:13-17

The Exaltation of the Cross is one of the twelve great feasts in the yearly Church cycle. Because the cross is at the heart and center of all that we as Christians believe, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the triumph of the cross of Christ over the power of sin and death. The feast usually occurs on a week day. But when it falls on a Sunday as it does this year, it takes precedence over the ordinary Sunday liturgy. And so this feast provides us with another opportunity to reflect on the central mystery of our faith: that the one who was lifted up on the cross in crucifixion has triumphed over the power of sin and death because God highly exalted him.

This feast commemorates two historical events: first, the finding of what was considered the Cross of Christ in the year 326 by the mother of Constantine the Great, St Helen, and second its recovery from Persia in 628.

A story is told of Emperor Heraclius who in the year 628 after making peace with the Persians carried what was considered the Cross on which Jesus hung back to Jerusalem on his shoulders. He was clothed with costly garments and with ornaments of precious stones. But at the entrance to Mt. Calvary a strange incident occurred. Try as hard as he would, he could not go forward. Zacharias, the Bishop of Jerusalem, then said to the astonished monarch: "Consider, O Emperor, that with these triumphal ornaments you are far from resembling Jesus carrying His Cross." The Emperor then put on a penitential garb and continued the journey and carried the Cross into the Church of Holy Wisdom where it was triumphantly exalted. It was then resolved that the Fest of the Triumph or Exaltation of the Cross be celebrated by the Church in all parts of the world.

The Cross -- because of what it represents -- is the most potent and universal symbol of the Christian faith. It is a constant reminder -- and witness -- of Christ's ultimate triumph, His victory over sin and death through His suffering and dying on the Cross. The cross, once a tool of death, has become a means to life, an instrument of our salvation; it gives strength to resist temptation, it gives hope to seek new life and it dispels fear and darkness.

As Christians, we exalt the Cross of Christ as the instrument of our salvation. Adoration of the Cross is, thus, adoration of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became Man, who suffered and died on the Cross for our redemption from sin and death. The cross represents the One Sacrifice by which Jesus, obedient even unto death, accomplished our salvation. The cross is a symbolic summary of the Passion, Crucifixion, Death and Resurrection of Christ.

In the first reading of today we read of how Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in order to heal and bring wholeness to a broken people. This was God’s way of showing the people that He was primarily a God who wanted to save and redeem and not condemn and destroy. The Church and especially the evangelist John interpreted this lifting of the bronze serpent by Moses as a foreshadowing of the salvation through Jesus when He was lifted up on the Cross. The Triumph of the Cross is the Triumph of Jesus Christ whose love for us and obedience to his Father climaxed with his death on the cross. The deeper meaning of the Cross is presented in The Christological hymn in today's second reading from the Letter of Paul to the Philippians. Jesus emptied himself completely, not just becoming a human being but accepting the worst public death of the society he lived in to demonstrate the extent of the love of God for us. He died making a willing statement of love, filling the world with the love he had for his Father and his Father had for him. We are saved from the horrors of evil, from meaningless lives due to the love of the Lord. Because Jesus died on a cross for us we are able to proclaim to the world: Jesus is Lord. His love made this possible. When we venerate and adore the cross we are saying: Jesus is Lord of our lives.

To the world this act of surrender on the cross was an act of utter humiliation and subjugation and the height of folly. To the world this death on the cross was a wasted life. To the world this death on the cross was a sign of utter defeat. But what the world calls wisdom, God calls foolishness, and what the world calls strength God call weakness. Therefore God highly exalted the crucified one by raising him from the dead. God gave Jesus his own name so that every creature on earth must now call Jesus “Lord.” What human beings did, God contradicted. And so in the weakness and foolishness of the cross we see the wisdom and power of God: Christ crucified. In him and his cross, surrender becomes power, waste becomes gain and death and defeat become victory and new life.

The cross is at the center of our lives every time we face sickness and death. The cross is at the center of our lives in frailty and old age. The cross is at the center of our lives every time we feel utterly alone and abandoned. The Cross is at the centre of our lives every time we are tempted to give in and give up. It is at the centre of our lives every time we are tempted to throw our hands up in despair. It keeps reminding us that only when we embrace the cross in the midst of suffering and abandonment can we understand the power of the resurrection. Only when we have the courage to keep on keeping on can we like Christ become victorious and conquer. Only when we embrace the cross is it possible for God to raise us up and give us new life. 

Audio reflections of Tuesday, September 13, 2016

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Tuesday, September 13, 2016 - If God were to call you to himself now, what are the three things you would regret not having done? Will you do them today?

To read the texts click on the texts:1 Cor 12:12-14,27-31; Lk 7:11-17

The miracle of the raising the widow’s son at Nain is a miracle that is found only in the Gospel of Luke. If the centurion’s servant healed in 7:1-10 was ill and at the point of death, the son of the widow in this story is already dead. There are many similarities between this story and that of Elijah’s raising the widow’s son in 1 Kings 17:10,17-24. Luke emphasises that the son was the widow’s “only son” (7:12). Luke also states that when Jesus saw the widow, he had compassion for her.. Jesus raises the boy quite simply with an authoritative command. The crowd responds by regarding Jesus as a prophet and by affirming that God has been favourable to his people through the deed that Jesus had just done.

The scripture offers many instances where men and women of faith ask for help, and are granted it, even though under normal experiences they might have gone on for the rest of their lives with sin or weakness or sickness or oppression. Does prayer change anything? Again and again the scripture teaches that it does indeed. God can and does intervene in the normal running of his universe. We see just such an instance in this passage. The young man is dead -- his life cut short by sickness perhaps, but death is a "normal" experience in our fallen world. Then Jesus sees a mother's tears, realizes that this widow -- there is no husband and other children mourning beside her -- has lost her only son, and Jesus moved with compassion, and intervenes. 

God doesn't intervene every time we are hurting or have problems, just as loving parents do not or cannot intervene to soften everything for their children. Sometimes we are angry with God for not giving us the answer to prayer that we desire. Sometimes we blame him for not intervening when our loved ones are sick or die. But it is not because God lacks compassion, for Jesus shows us the Father, and Jesus is full of compassion. We are left with the fact that Jesus indicates that the Father will do things as a result of our prayers, because of his compassion, that he will not otherwise do. Prayer can appeal to the heart of God to bring about change.

Audio Reflections of Monday, September 12, 2016

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Monday, September 12, 2016 - Will you keep on keeping on today; even when things might not go the way you plan?

To read the texts click on the texts: 1 Cor 11:17-26,33; Lk 7:1-10

In the story of today’s Gospel, we will read of a centurion’s response of faith in Jesus. The emphasis in the miracle is given to the power of Jesus’ word. 

There is a close parallel to this story in Matthew and a more distant parallel in John. In Matthew, the servant is “lying paralysed at home”, whereas in Luke, the “slave is at the point of death”. While in Matthew, it is the centurion himself who comes to make the request of Jesus, in Luke; he sends first a delegation of elders who would have been leaders of the synagogue. They vouch for the merit of his request. As Jesus starts for the centurion’s house, a second delegation is sent. This time it is the friends of the centurion. The centurion’s words, “I am not worthy” contrast sharply with the tribute paid to him by the Jewish elders, who testified, “He is worthy”. The effect is to place the centurion in an even better light. The centurion’s words may also convey that he was aware that the Pharisees’ regarded a Gentile’s house as unclean and that a Jew would be defiled by entering his home. He is also confident that Jesus could heal at a distance. Just as he acts by commanding his subordinates, he expects no more than that Jesus would do the same. The point of the story is Jesus’ affirmation of the centurion’s faith and not the report of the healing that concludes the story. Luke’s description communicates Jesus’ surprise at the Gentile’s faith, and his approval as well. Where Jesus would have expected to find faith in an Israelite, here he finds it in a Gentile.

There are times when after having tried all available means to solve a problem that we might be facing, we might be tempted to throw up our hands in despair and simply give up. The centurion’s faith is an inspiration to everyone of us that we need to keep on keeping on despite all evidence to the contrary.

Monday, September 12, 2016 - The Most Holy Name of Mary - Joy and Happiness are to be shared if they are real

To read the texts click on the texts: Eph 1:3-6,11-12; Lk 1:39-47

The feast of the Holy Name of Mary is a counterpart to the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (3rd January). Its object is the Blessed Virgin Mary; the feast commemorates all the privileges given to Mary by God and all the graces received through her intercession and mediation.

In the reform of Pope Pius X, the liturgy of the Sundays, which previously had been generally replaced by celebrations of saints, was restored to prominence. The celebration of the Holy Name of Mary was therefore moved to 12th September though initially it was celebrated on 15th September to coincide with the eighth day of Mary’s birth.

The Hebrew name Maryãm may be translated "Bitter Sea," "Myrrh of the Sea," "The Light Giver," "The Enlightened One," "The Light Giver," and especially "Star of the Sea."  Miryãm on the other hand means Lady or Sovereign. The name of a person signifies the function and just as the name Jesus means “God saves from sin (Mt 1:21) so the name Mary means that our Lady is indeed our Lady and so our intercessor, inspiration and guide.

The text chosen for the feast of today concerns Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and is also the scriptural basis for the second Joyful mystery of the Rosary.

Since the angel does not ask Mary to visit Elizabeth, or even suggest it, the alacrity with which Mary goes to visit Elizabeth expresses clearly that Mary trusted the angel’s word. Mary’s greeting of Elizabeth results in a sign which is that the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. This could also indicate that the announcement of the angel to Zechariah that their child would be filled with the Holy Spirit is being fulfilled. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth is also able to utter an oracle which seems to have as its source, the Spirit of God. She recognizes Mary and the child in her womb as blessed. Not only has Elizabeth been blessed, because God answered her prayer for the gift of a child, she has also been blessed by a visit from the one who is called to be the mother of her Lord. The leap of the babe in Elizabeth’s womb was a leap of joy. John has already begun to fulfill his calling as one who would declare the Lord’s coming and prepare the way for him. Mary is blessed because she dared to believe in God’s word.

When joy or happiness is shared it is doubled; when sorrow or sadness is shared it is halved. The joy of Elizabeth and Mary on their respective vocations is shared by the other and hence, both experience a doubling of their joy. This joy is experienced by even the child in Elizabeth’s womb, because it is a genuine joy felt by its mother.

Life is too short to cry or be sad. Life is too short not to be happy or not to share in the joy of others.

Audio reflections of Sunday, September 11, 2016

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Sunday, September 11, 2016 - Forgiveness is love

To read the texts click on the texts: Ex 32:7-11, 13-14; 1 Tim 1:12-17; Lk 15:1-32 

The Parable in the Gospel text of today is popularly known as “The Prodigal Son.” However, a more apt title is “The Prodigal Father.” This is because the son is prodigal only with material things. It is the father who is the real prodigal in the story. It is the father who is lavish. It is the father who is wasteful. It is the father who is a spendthrift, but with his love. The prodigality of the father’s love shines through the whole story.

Demanding his share of the property while his father was still alive would mean that the younger son regarded his father as dead. The younger son’s selfishness and self-centeredness led him to concentrate only on his own wants. The needs of the other did not matter. Despite this offensive and rude demand, the father gives the younger son what he demands. The father will be selfless. He will hold nothing back. For the father, the son’s wants are greater than his own needs. The selfishness of the son reaches its depths when he spends all that he receives from his father for his own pleasure and enjoyment.

This is the selfishness shown by the people in the first reading of today when they make “gods” of things. They are so caught up in their own desire for pleasure and gratification that they will stoop down to making things ends in themselves. They forget that the one end is God. However, like the father in the Gospel text, God shows that, despite the people’s selfishness, God will be selfless. Despite their abandoning God, God will not abandon them. Though by right, and in justice, God ought to have let God’s wrath burn against the people, God relented and, after listening to Moses, did not bring on them the destruction that was intended. God’s love exceeds mercy and this love is shown in giving people a chance to change, a chance to repent. The repentance that the people are called to is shown by the younger son in action. When he is in dire straits and at the lowest depth of his life, he comes to his senses. He realizes that he can go back. He realizes that there is mercy. He realizes that his father’s love will take him back. However, the reality of the father’s welcome goes beyond the younger son’s expectations. He is not even allowed to finish the act of contrition that he had prepared. He is not allowed to finish speaking his words of remorse and regret. His father does not need words. His father does not need to know how many sins his son has committed. His father does not ask for an account of the money that he squandered, nor does he impute guilt to his son. It is enough for the father that his son has come home. It is enough that his son who had gone away has returned. It is enough that the son, who was lost and dead, is now found and alive.

The Apostle Paul experienced this mercy and love and he speaks about this in the second reading of today. God did not count his sins against him. God did not hold his wrong doings in front of his face. God forgave his blasphemy. God showed him mercy. This mercy is intrinsic to God and is borne out by the name that the Son of God bears: Jesus. It is the name which means God saves from sin. It is a name which means that, no matter how far away we might go, no matter how many graces we squander, no matter how many sins we commit, God, in Jesus, will ever love and forgive.

If this is so evident why do so many people find it difficult to believe that God is good and loving, that God is forgiving and merciful, and that God’s mercy always outweighs human sinfulness? The answer to this is found in the second part of the Parable of the Gospel text and in the attitude of the elder son. For him, like for many of us, the relationship with his father is one of quid pro quo or barter exchange, rather than love. He is good only because he hopes to receive reward. He does not address his father as “Father”, nor does he refer to his brother as “brother”. He distances himself from both his father and his brother and attaches himself to his own merit and fidelity. He argues his case on the grounds of what he thinks he rightfully deserves. Even as he does this, he points to the failings of the younger son.

The elder son represents all of us who think we can make it on our own, all of us who might be proud of the kind of lives we live. He represents all of us who have an image of God as one who must reward us for the good that we do and a God whom we dare not displease because we might be punished. However, even to persons such as these, God continues to reach out in love. God continues to plead with such persons to realize that their good actions must not stem from a desire for reward or from a fear of punishment. Good actions must be the consequence of having received God’s unconditional mercy and love. They must be the result of having been loved. All persons must love and forgive unconditionally because that is the way God loves and forgives them. 

Audio Reflections of Saturday, September 10, 2016

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