CHOICE TO CHANGE...

Change is inevitable...whether you like or not it is bound to happen. 

The world offers umpteen choices in life. It is up to individual to decide and choose; and thus one is destined to change either to good or bad. But the truth is that we change. Whether we like or not, we are bound to change. This is the fact of life. Now the question is who does not like to change to good, better and the best. A poor man hopes to become rich; a student works hard for good results; a farmer works day in and out for a good crop and a society moves towards progress and thus a civilization is born with progress, power and prosperity. This is true with every human civilization. Today humanity has reached such heights in science, industry, technology and communication is all because it is in the nature of humanity to leap into the next stage of life. It is so true that even the nature around us and the animals domestic and non-domestic possess this instinct to grow and to multiply. If it is with nature and the animals How much more human persons have it?

It is true in life that “no one is born with a silver spoon in mouth.” There are no short cuts for success. For, God bestowed upon us intelligence and opportunities that we go, grow and glow in life, no matter in which social, cultural and ethnic situations we are born or bound by. But we have the intelligence and opportunities to go above these realities and transcend the social status quo provided, Hard Work, Discipline, Planning and Prayer are your driving forces of one’s daily life. If these virtues are in built in your daily life system, sky is your limit.

 Here are few personalities who made their lives as icons of change and transformation of social status quo are St John Bosco, St Mother Teresa of Kolkatta, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln and A.P.J Abdul Kalam, the list goes endless.

St John Bosco: He was born in a poor family and lost his father at the age of two and was opposed to study by his step brother. Therefore he had to work tirelessly in a neighboring village to support his studies. Thus he turned every obstacle into a channel of opportunity with determination, hard work and prayer. Today he is a saint of the young established the second biggest men congregation in the church.

St Mother Teresa of Kolkatta: She was a foreigner when came to India as a missionary sister. She was left with five rupees in hand before leaving her comfort zones of sophisticated school. Despite problems, poverty and opposition she won the heart of the world today. Nothing could curtail her thirst for Christ and love for the poor in streets of Kolkatta. She is the saint of the poor, working almost in every nation in the world.

Mahatma Gandhi: He was inspired by the teachings (beatitudes) of Christ. He is the one of the main pioneers of Indian Freedom Struggle. He shoulders freedom fight with a peaceful movement (Satyagraha and non-violence). Thus he transformed India from slavery to Independence. Today he is called as the father of the nation.

Abraham Lincoln: He was a lawyer turned into a politician and became a president of America after many defeats. He marked his legacy with spectacular governance during his presidency particularly by abolishing slavery and strengthening the union of the nation despite crisis of civil war.

 

A.P.J Abdul Kalam: He is great India who stands tall in his character and personality. Born poor but could reach to the heights of president of India the most noble state of the nation. Poverty and problems could not stand before his commitment and determination to become a scientist. He had a great vision of India (Vision 2020) and for the Youth of India. There are many awards and books to his credit.  

These great men and women of the world had many choices in life. But what made them to reach to such heights. The secret of their success is the same for all that they were committed to the task, they were hard working and they believed in the power of prayer; with all these forces they achieved what we too can achieve provided we are committed to the task like them. It is said that the level of success is limited only by our imagination. Therefore we need to think big within our means. Possibilities at our reach are galore but we need to discern and decide for the task. Thus we become the agents of innovation beyond our imagination by creation impossibilities into possibilities and unexpected into expected and above all choices into sources of success. Thus ideas and imagination matter since they are translated into unbelievable realities. All is said and done when everything looks beautiful and meaningful thus your name also stands tall among those great men and women of the time...Mr................ or Mrs..........................

Thus choices are discerned with discretion and translated into unbelievable realities. By this we will not grow in age rather grow in grace and success like St John Bosco, St Mother Teresa and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Why not you are one among them?  

Picnic to Mawling Bnga...

Neither Sun nor rain can stop us...
neither Thunder nor Lightening can scare us...
neither Hot nor cold can block us...
Neither Wind nor Breeze can slow our speed...
for; We are on a move to Bawling Bnga and Marcedez is our PICNIC Gaadi (Bus).

Sky is the Limit for our Joy...

Yes it is our pleasure beyond measure to set out for course picnic. We are thirteen in number and our bus has thirty seats; two seats per head. One seat was old the other is torn however both were dark...(perhaps not washed since it was bought). All the same nothing could measure our joy of being together and journeying together.
The journey was like the spider making it's web not knowing when to complete the task; we enjoyed the journey despite the narrow road.

Singing and dancing, shouting and screaming, laughing and looking and at times sleeping. Yes a couples of us were the center of the show acting, enacting and imitation our professors and cracking jokes about their manarisms while teaching and then how some of us walk, play and laugh. These moments were wonderful where everyone laughed and laughed until our ribs pained.

Three Hungry People....

We had an halt at one of our friends house; they were so delighted to have us that at 10:00 am they served us a sumptuous meal. With heavy stomachs we began our journey with loads of laughter...poor thing bus was old like the aged donkey carrying call stuff of it's owner. A couple of us were as if they were continuing morning meditation even in the bus...(Thank God we do not know what is in their mind)

@ Br Richard's House... 

Finally we reached the destination point where we were like the children embraced by the mother's large arms; For mother nature was so motherly and tenderly that we felt like listening to those lovely lullabies of our childhood. Our inner child was one's again active as we were at the lap of our mother nature....Surrounded by lovely lakes, mountains and those pine trees like heavenly angels radiating God's magnificent love...There were water streams everywhere and a large water fall that sang welcome songs unending...


We shared our lunch that one's again reminded us of God's love and goodness. Praise God at all times...for you are the master of creation, the flora and the fauna.
Mawling Bna is a place (picnic spot) 80 km away from Shillong; four hours drive.

This is our Marcedez Benz Bus...Speed 25 km per H..... 

Community Month - "Radiate God's Love..."

It is the joy of second year students of theology at SHTC to organize community month. And so it is on 20th of April, 2017 that we inaugurated the month with a list of important activities. The entire community (staff and students) is divided into six groups.

On the inaugural day the major activities were hoisting the flag and unveiling the community notice board and of course the Olympic torch the added more colour to the show.  
Each group came out creative and innovative march past, the yell and the group presentation. It was simply wonderful to see how the were active and interested.

Pillow fight and tug of war drew everyone's ribs to laugh and enjoy.
Thus the month was inaugurated with full gusto and justo...

The theme of the month is "RADIATE GOD'S LOVE" and there was a wonderful anthem composed and tuned based on this theme.

What is your forbidden Fruit?

Bible begins with the work of God where He invested six days to create the universe from nothing. And on the sixth day he created Adam and Eve in his own image and likeness and he breathed His spirit into them. Thus he created them and entrusted the nature to their care, making them as the crown of creation. God gave them everything that they needed including the gift of freedom; but, on a condition that not to eat that particular fruit. And we know what happened to Adam the archetype of humanity.

Believe it or not since then till today that particular apple is haunting our conscience of freedom and decision. Perhaps that is why...

Adam and Eve had to flee from God due to their disobedience.

Cain had to kill his brother due to Jealousy.  

Moses, who had seen the face of God yet, was not allowed to enter the Promised Land due to his Lack of Faith.

Saul the first King of Israel, but forgot to rely on God and he had to die to his own sword; due to Idolatry. 

David the chosen King had to repent and fast due to his sin of Adultery and Murder.

Judas who lived with his Master yet betrayed Jesus due to his love for Money.

Peter the head of Apostles yet denied Jesus for three times due to his cowardice. 

Paul the great Missionary of God’s word among gentiles yet spoke of his thorn in the flesh.

Despite making confessions for a number of times and consulting the spiritual directors and seeking counseling and guidance from the experts yet, the weakness remains as it was.

Today we, the loving children of God have got to think seriously about our weakness and introspect and see, what is my forbidden fruit? What is my thorn in the flesh?

Therefore, it is fitting for us to remember the biblical figures like...

Abraham who had faith in God..........Trust Him at all times.

Mary .................................Said Yes to Him despite knowing the consequences of that Yes. 

Peter..................................Repented and renewed in love for his Master.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta...................Saw Christ in every patient and had Thirst for Christ.

Dear young people it is true that there are umpteen numbers of forbidden fruits right under our nose. Today this is a common phenomenon of our life. Here lies your exercise of Freedom, Choice and Responsibility and above all your prudence and discretion in living life meaningfully. For nothing happens by chance, by incident, nor by co-incident but purely by your deliberate choice.

Scriptures remind us that God put both life and death and it is our choice to choose either of them. Hence, as a responsible child it is right to set our hearts and minds and ask what is that particular one? What is that forbidden fruit? What is my thorn in the flesh? What is my Achilles heel? By asking questions we come to awareness of the self and begin to draw ourselves close to God. Unlike Saul who forgot to rely on God on the contrary we get close to him as we rely on him alone.

What would be some of those forbidden fruits of today? Without being biased and knowing that the virtue stand at the center we need to be moderate in our expression and consumption of anything of our choice. For, over consumption of anything material leads to deterioration. At this point, perhaps we need to ask ourselves, like the prodigal son who was led by trends and fancies that attracted and allured him to get away from his father; for, he was not in his senses. May be today’s digital world, alcoholism, fake-friendships could become unsafe realities for some if we are not in our senses. And as a consequence of these realities one may develop negative attitudes and become victim to depression, insomnia, isolation, indifference and gradually life begins to cease. Almost a soul is lost.

At this crisis of crossroads, hope is the last thing to die within human beings. Therefore, t is said that once hope is gone, everything is gone. Perhaps this is why Judas the hopeless, committed suicide. On the contrary Peter despite of his cowardice, soars up in hope for life and renewal; thus Peter got up and walked in faith as he extended his hand to the Lord to save him from drowning. We need to remember that the Lord never fails us. It is God’s goodness and Mercy that keeps the world afloat. St Iranians says “Man who is fully alive is the glory of God.” Therefore, let us not forget the providential love of the father in the Gospel where he ran to embrace the lost son when he returned in shame and sin. Yet the love of the father transcends all earthly judgments, conditions and reason. For the nature of God is to Love, love and love.

What is commanded of us is our will power to say Yes to God like Mother Mary, Extended our hand to Jesus to save from drawing in the world like Peter, to say Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel like Paul and to see Christ in everyone who comes into our life like Mother Teresa of Calcutta who had thirst for Christ. It is our choice to change. We need will power to change and to say no to that alluring apple and rise to life and obtain Deliverance from human frailty i.e. physical deliverance, spiritual deliverance and moral deliverance and thus stand with God in our deliberate choice and intention.

Likewise, we become the bearers of God’s light and channels of His grace as we, having been strengthened in Christ, we strengthen our brothers and sisters by saying No to our forbidden fruits.

COME TO THE LIGHT, TO BE THE LIGHT...

“...in your light we see light.” Ps. 36:9          

 

            We are reminded in the scriptures that God created human beings to choose life. And Jesus says that, I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full. Jn.10:10. But we humans at times because of sin, our hearts are shadowed by darkness and we prefer darkness to the light because our deeds are evil. And indeed, everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it, Jn. 3:19 -20. Thus we become objects to the evil forces of the world i.e., fashion, luxury, pleasures, knowledge, power and individualism. Unfortunately we are after all these things of the world and search relentlessly in life. 

 

Human beings are ever in search of something in life. That is why in Genesis we see our first parents wandering around and searching. Likewise, our heart is ever in search of something; perhaps this search begins for the basic needs and wishes. But then the heart is never satisfied with the material things and so it longs for peace, joy, love and status in the society just like our unquenched first parents who were led for the Apple in the Eden Garden. This search is a common phenomenon particularly in today’s buzz world where everything is available at an instant speed, at every click and swipe. But then, if we are satisfied with the material things available at an instant speed, why then we do search them time and again?

 

At this material level life becomes insipid and so “vanity of vanities, all is vanity” Ecclesiastes12:8-14. Thus life becomes a miserable search like that of the prodigal son. As a consequence of this unsatisfied search we lose our senses and become wanderers in life like Cain who was punished by God for his sin of murder. Therefore, if we are not guided by the true Light in the world all vanities of life will be like chasing the wind; and we find it very hard to achieve anything valid in life and will not reach the destiny of our existence. Therefore, the answer to the above question is that they do not really satisfy human search for, they do not have the treasures of human heart!

 

On the contrary here we have a God who invites each one of us to make our joy in Him and achieve our aim through him. Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jn. 8:12. Therefore, all those who follow and live in Jesus will see the light of love, the light of forgiveness, the light of service and the light of seeing the other as your beloved. As a result of this light, you begin to witness many people coming to you, who consider you as a blessing for them. But you need to remember that they are all sent by God who loves and guides and protects as the apple of His eye. Thus the words of the Psalmist “...in your light we see light” become true in our life as well. Psalm 36:9. That light brightens everything around you and life becomes beautiful and meaningful to you. For, this light helps you to choose the right and avoid the evil; for, “God Himself made human beings in the beginning and then left them free to make their own decisions. And again the word of God reminds us, “He is a GOD who loves and gives you all that you need” Sir.15:14-17. Hence, how blessed are we to have such a GOD who gives and LOVES us unconditionally?     

            Jesus the true Light teaches us how to choose life. But then till today the devil is active tempting the children of God to worship him by offering the world and its pleasures as he tempted Jesus in the desert. And it is the lie he whispers in their ears in different ways in their journey of life. But the real blessings are with God and everything belongs to God alone. And as we are the children of God have the right and share in our Father’s house and blessings. Jesus gave the assurance that, “Your Heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on God’s saving justice and all these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Mt. 6:33-34. 

  

            Let us therefore, believe in His promises, for, there are many examples before us who found true joy in God. Because light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun. For, if the light were taken away the world would be unadorned and life would be lifeless. Here it is fitting for us to remember Moses who light of God and said that God saw everything good. God is such that he is eternal, true and great light that enlightens every human heart no matter what is the condition of the soul provided we approach him with an attitude of love and forgiveness. We know of God David says that ‘Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds; his name is the Lord, exult before him. He, too called the light sweet and foretold that it would be good to see with the eyes the sun of glory, he who in the time of his divine incarnation said, ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Therefore, we are fortunate to know that Jesus is our light who illumines our life with his light that we become light of his love and goodness for many people of God.  Hence, we are as believers obliged to fly to Him like the little fly that longs for the candle light and gets consumed in that light. 

  

             

Holding on to Thee...

Life is a wonderful gift of God to all of us. In fact, we all share life as a common gift of God to each one of us. As we grow in the course of life, many of us think how well we can live in the future; and so we begin to think, plan and work to live a good life. No doubt this is a common phenomenon that all of face in life. One day i met a youngster who was 25 years young, a software engineer who came to visit Shillong from South India. While sharing a cup of tea at top of the Don Bosco Museum in Shillong, he told me that ‘he lost 8 lakhs business in his early days and then he was in depression for a long time.’ By God’s grace, hard work and commitment he was out of that night mare and then settled well in life with a job that fetched him a handsome salary. He was happy with good salary, lifestyle and had everything that he wanted and wished. At this time he felt discomfort and unhappy...

He realized that his job could make his soul happy, neither the family nor the friends. There was a strong a feeling of some kind of discomfort in him which he found difficult to figure it out. And so began to tour over the world, America, Australia and North East India. He told me that even in abroad the situation is the same that his Soul was never at peace. He found no joy, no meaning and no purpose of life in money, friends and fun. There was a space that he found needs to be filled with God and prayer. Since then, he began to admire the beauty of creation and the goodness of the simple people. It was surprising to listen to him because at one point of time he said that how nice if he were to be a religious person to enjoy and feel the presence of God in life. Yes, it was an inspiring moment for me to realize that I am extremely fortunate to be a religious enjoying the bounty and goodness of God beyond measure.

He began to make a point to think in life on a positive note. It is a new phase in life to view everything from a new perspective not losing the focus that we are united in and with God. This is exactly what Abraham Lincoln said that ‘God is always with but the question is whether we are with God or not is the point of concern.’ It is therefore, awareness that sets us to be with God mentally and physically. Awareness is a mental notion that ancient religions, Hinduism and Buddhism were concerned about...self-awareness is the goal of these religions. But here we are not concerned about self awareness rather something more profound and something more beautiful like that kite in the hands of it’s owner being united with the Father our creator enjoying the sky, breeze and creativity of the trinity.

To put everything in brief life is good and so let us not lose the purpose of life in this world of rat race where money, name and fame that make young people go crazy and drowsy and end up miserably in life losing everything in life. Instead, we gain the joy and the beauty of life when we are aware of the presence of God in our life because it is God’s grace that helps us to sail the sea of life and reach the destination of meaning, purpose and fulfillment. Thus we all hold on to him like Abraham Lincoln who was ever aware of God, St Mother Teresa who ever thirst for Christ and St John Paul II who ever witnessed to the Love of Jesus.   

Let us hold on to God... 

Change to Change

15/01/2017
This morning in Ongole DB Fr Thomas Santiago (Rector) gave a beautiful reflection during the homily. Here is the summary of that homily. He said "there are three categories of change/conversion. 

First Category: Those who convert themselves because of others. Which means there are people who alter their deeds not because they are sinners, not because they committed mistakes but because of the public opinion, fearing what would the others think.

Second Category: Those who change because of the fear of God or fear of punishment. This category is good but not complete.

Third Category: Those who change themselves because of the love of God. Such people come to realization of the immense love of God for them. God's love is so great that we are enveloped in his love not because of what or what we are not. Despite and in spite of all that we are His love remains the same ever...

Here is the lamb of God who came to take our sins away.....