Sunday Reflections

Reflections on Sunday Readings by Satish, Kattakada, Trivandrum, Kerala, India (now in Dubai), will be available on this blog. Advent onwards.

Gratitude

Gratitude does not come naturally to many of us.

Before the favour can be done for us, we are willing to do anything for the person who can do us that favour. However, often once the favour has been done, we forget to thank.

While the person concerned might not expect any thanks from us, it is our responsibility to acknowledge our gratitude by our thanks.

Success

The responses to what the Lord has entrusted to the care of each one of us has a decisive role in the future of each of us.

All that we have is given to us in trust including the gift of life itself and we will be called to account for what has been given. There is thus no “safe” position.

The only road to success is to take risks.

Exploitation

Traditionally we have read the Widow's Mite story as a story about boundless generosity and self-sacrifice. But we should first read it in the context in which Mark (12:38-44) wrote it, as a tragic evidence of the religious exploitation for which Jesus condemned the Temple religious establishment.

Before reading the story as a model to encourage generosity to organized religion we need to read it first as a condemnation of the use of religion to exploit simple, suffering and powerless humanity.

Jesus is teaching in the Temple. He has just condemned the unscrupulous scribes who devour widows' property under the pretext of religious fervour. Then he looks up and sees this widow putting "everything she had, her whole living" into the treasury and he points to her and says, "See what I mean?"

The scribes never literally robbed widows' houses. But by their teaching they exploited widows by persuading them in their privation to give up even the very little they had.

The Steward (Luke 16:1-13)

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This parable (vv.1-8) is fraught with difficulties, for any read it as if Jesus is extolling dishonesty. But Jesus, in fact, does brand the steward as dishonest, which the aster had discovered even before the man had begun his re-adjustment campaign (vv 1-2). Hence, it is not

Prayer

When God is about to reposition your life
know that the devil will begin to attack!


The Poem
I knelt to pray but not for long,
I had too much to do.
I had to hurry and get to work
For bills would soon be due.
So I knelt and said a hurried prayer,
And jumped up off my knees.
My Christian duty was now done
My soul could rest at ease.....
All day long I had no time
To spread a word of cheer
No time to speak of Christ to friends,
They'd laugh a at me I'd fear.
No time, no time, too much to do,
That was my constant cry,
No time to give to souls in need
But at last the time, the time to die
I went before the Lord,
I came, I stood with downcast eyes.
For in his hands God! Held a book;
It was the book of life.
God looked into his book and said
"Your name I cannot find
I once was going to write it down...
But never found the time"

Mission Sunday

All of us are called to be messengers of God’s love, peace, kindness and forgiveness. Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in his Mission Sunday message says, “The goal of the Church’s mission is to illumine all peoples with the light of the Gospel as they journey through history towards God, so that in Him they may reach their full potential and fulfillment.

We should have a longing and a passion to illumine all peoples with the light of Christ that shines on the face of the Church, so that all may be gathered into the one human family, under God’s loving fatherhood.” It is an invitation for each of us to lead others to the right path by our enlightened lives. Today, let us pray that God may inspire all Christians everywhere to become aware of this pressing obligation to proclaim Christ’s message of love through word and deed.

I want to beat Jesus

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“I want to beat Jesus” said Cedrick a three year old boy

Rajesh and Monica are young couple married in 2005. They have a boy child of three years named Cedrick. The child was happy to hear that he was going to get a brother. He used to be around the pregnant mother to feel the brother inside her.

Monica was hospitalized on 26^th September 2009 morning. But she gave birth to a still born child. The burial was on 27^th Sunday.

On the following day all were sitting at the house very sad. Cedrick, their child asked the mother, “Where is my brother?” They replied, “Jesus carried him.” Immediately he responded, “Give me a stick I want to beat Jesus.” All burst into tears.