THE CHALLENGE OF THIS SEASON IS TO COMMIT

The crowd was overwhelming for the observation of Ash Wednesday, despite being a work day and the weather being unpleasant, especially during the 8pm Mass. So why not make the same commitment to participate in daily Mass (in addition to Sunday Mass) to receive the Holy Eucharist during the season of Lent? It is good to long, yearn, hunger and thirst for Jesus, our Bread of Life.

Lent is a very important season, and as St Paul says “Now, is the favourable time” and “a time of grace”, (2 Cor 5:20-6:2)a time of preparation for the greatest feast - Easter. Take the initiative to re-evaluate our lives over the course of the next 40 days. We have received ashes on our foreheads, not just to look Catholic, but to remind us that we are sinful and that we need Jesus to save us from sin. It is a sign acknowledging that we need a change. The ashes are an external sign but we must have the willingness to confess our sins, amend our lives and commit ourselves to not sin again. This moment is a moment of decision not to harden our hearts but listen the voice of the Lord.

When I woke up for morning Mass on Ash Wednesday, I was wondering what the one thing I could share with my congregation during the homily. I know all of us (if not most of us) are doing well in our spiritual lives. We do most of the devotional prayers and participate in the weekday and weekend Masses. However, is there any other opportunity to bring our spirituality to greater heights over the next few weeks? We should find a way to exhibit our faith and our discipleship by using these Lenten Observances – almsgiving, prayer and fasting(during his homily, Msgr James recommended the three pillars of Lenten observance should be in this order - almsgiving, prayer and fasting).

By using this walking staff on our Lenten journey, we will arrive at Easter with renewed holiness. Almsgiving converts our mind and heart by sacrificing our selfish attachments for the sake of our fellow brothers and sisters, which is utmost important. Doing good to others is a spiritual discipline that purifies us, increases our love and overcomes our selfishness without anyone getting hurt.Praying converts our hearts by sacrificing our selfish use of time for the love of Christ. Fasting converts our mind and heart, body and spirit by sacrificing our selfish pleasures and enjoyments for the strengthening of our spiritual maturity. So the challenge of this season is to commit ourselves to grow in knowledge of God, in serving, in giving hope to others and disciplining ourselves in words and deeds.

When we travel on the road, we may encounter a few humps and bumps along the way. It is same with our life journey – we will face rough and tough times ahead. This reminds me of these songs lyrics, “It is a long road to freedom, a winding steep and high, but when you walk in love with the wind on your wings and cover the earth with the songs you sing, the miles fly by.” So no matter how winding the roads are, no matter the distractions, mistakes and sins we encounter in this journey, firmly gaze at Jesus and be determined in all things that we do. 

Let us have the spirit and courage to live this season of Lent faithfully and willingly, to enhance our spiritual life and build an intimate relationship with Jesus and with one another. Be glad in this season of Lent, which is a blessing for us, as we pursue the greater good. We shall die to sin and rise to new life!

TEMPTATION MAKES US STRONGER

On thisfirst Sunday of Lent, we find ourselves in the desert with Jesus and the devil (LK 4: 1-13). St. Luke tells us that after Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, He “was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.” 

The word temptation means to test or to prove our faith and to make us stronger. Jesus was led into the wilderness to be “tested” by the devil as a means of proving Himself to God.Temptation is the process of testing us and they are necessary in our lives.

We face all kind of temptations and trials in our lives. The devil always wants to turn our lives upside down. In all our temptations, we should take every effort to remain united in Christ, we reject Satan and choose the life of holiness. Lent now gives us an opportunity to check ourselvesand to improve our self-discipline. Therefore, we need to place our trust in God. Our faith in God gives us the courage to endure and persevere in our journey in this season of Lent.

“Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble,” (Ps 91).

BRINGING THE HOPE OF CHRIST TO CREATION

We begin our journey through the season of Lent on 6 March 2019 with Ash Wednesday, and it will conclude on Holy Saturday, 20 April 2019 - a day before Easter. It is going to be an uphill climb for six and a half weeks. It is a preparation for Easter, inviting us to engage the three pillars of Lent – Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. Each year the season of Lent gives us an opportunity to prepare ourselves to celebrate the Paschal Mystery – Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ with renewed mind, body, soul and spirit.

My love for the season of Lent started 35 years ago. Since then, I have made it a point to make this season a time for soul-searching, prayer, reflection and penance. Every Lent helps me to have a better understanding of my faith, to persevere in self-discipline and self-improvement and procure a deeper appreciation for the season. Today, as a priest, I try my best to assist my parishioners to better observe Lent and make the journey towards Easter a reverent and meaningful one. During this time of preparation, I hope that they may able to focus on their faith life, their shortcomings and sinfulness, which will ultimately lead them to a new beginning of life in Christ at Easter.

However, Lent can sometimes become a routine over the years. We may go through the motions of Lent doing the same old things and living in our former way of life, causing us to neglect the essential aspects of the Lenten season. It is important then to remember that while we undertake a journey of preparation, our Lenten practice should work on a personal as well as communal conversion. When we fail to live as children of God and when we behave in a hurtful way towards others, then we may not be able to celebrate Easter meaningfully.

                                                            

The Holy Father has chosen the theme “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God” (Rom 8:19)for Lent this year.“All creation is called, with us, to go forth from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God,”Pope Francis said.He said that this year “Lent is a sacramental sign of this conversion.”The Pope wants us not to water down this season of grace, but to live faithfully as children of God.

The Pope highlights that the season of Lent should be a time to “welcome Christ’s victory over sin and death into our lives”, and attract “its transforming power to all of creation.”The division between God, man and creation caused by sinis to berepairedthrough our traditional Lenten practices – fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. Holy Father says that in fasting we learn “to change our attitude towards others and all of creation, turning away from the temptation to ‘devour’ everything to satisfy our voracity and being ready to suffer for love, which can fill the emptiness of our hearts.”Our prayers lead us to“abandon idolatry and self-sufficiency of our ego.”Through almsgiving, “we escape from the insanity of hoarding everything for ourselves in the illusory belief that we can secure a future that does not belong to us.”

“May our Lent this year be a journey along that same path, bringing the hope of Christ also to creation,”the Holy Father said. In this path to Easter, he demands that “we renew our faces and hearts as Christians through repentance, conversion and forgiveness”. We take every effort for personal and communal conversion by leaving behind all our selfishness and self-absorption and turn to Jesus’ Paschal Mystery. Let us stand firmly beside our neighbours who are in need and share our spiritual and material goods with them. May the season of Lent renew, refresh and empower us to go about the work of Christ. 

                                                       HAVE A BLESSED LENT! 

WHAT FRUIT DO YOU PRODUCE?

“A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit,” (Luke 6:43).The Church liturgy gives us today’s Gospel on the last Sunday to examine our heartjust before Lent begins.

The Lord Jesus says “good things” will come out of the “good stored up in our heart” and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.

What we really need to focus on, is not to do many good deeds, but to cultivate a good heart. How we talk and how we walk are reflections of what we have stored in our hearts.Our words and actions reveal what is in our hearts.We need to focus on being good. God is looking for good heart. This is what we need to pay attention to, and cultivate.

How many times in a day we criticise our fellow men and women without knowing all or of the true facts?Often, we feel guilty of rash judgement, criticism, cynicism, fault-finding constantly flow from us.

Let us stop all these negative elements and with God’s grace we shall find ourselves becoming more Christian and more charitable towards our neighbor and less critical of the faults of others.

“It is good to give thanks to You, O Lord.” (Ps 91).

TO LOVE AND TO HONOUR

Last weekend (17 February 2019) we celebrated World Marriage Day in our parish, during both the Tamil (7am) and English (9am) Masses, respectively. We gathered married couples at the parish courtyard, and made a procession to the entrance of the Church for the Eucharistic celebration. Towards the end of the Mass and just before the final blessing and dismissal, we invited all married couples to come forward and renew their marriage promises. The couples stood up and held their spouses’ hands and declared their consent as below: 

“I (name) take you (name) to be my wife/husband. I promise to be faithful to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honour you all the days of my life.”

After blessing the couples with Holy Water as a sign of renewed commitment, there was a slideshow presentation of their wedding photographs. Once the Mass was over, some of the couples gathered at the Church Hall for fellowship and entertainment till noon. A big thank youto the Family Life Ministry for organising the event.

What do young adults think about marriage today?It is sad to see many of our young couples end their marriage at a very early stage. Today, the divorce rates are doubled, almost reaching 40 - 50 percent. Young married couples promise to stay together for the rest of their lives, yet many end up going their separate ways after a short time. They discard their dreams, plans and promises made before God, and declare their marriage over!

Why do they find marriage life so exhausting? Very often they say that the marriage is over, even after much discussion, debate and counselling. They still find no hope in repairing their marriage. The feelings of hurt, betrayal and fear made spouses reluctant to move forward in life. Family life becomes stagnant and couples find it hard to start all over again, or to continue where they left off.

Many priests have interviewed couples who are preparing for marriage - when they intend to build a future together. These couples seem to be full of hope and dreams for their life together. However, for many of them, their journey towards a happy marriage falls short. They go through hard times and sometimes forget that marriage is a decision that they made together. Regardless of the situation, it is important to remember not to use these troubled times as an opportunity to shame or be unkind to our spouse. Instead, even in moments of conflict and tension, turn towards each other lovingly.

Couples tend to celebrate their wedding anniversaries after ten, fifteen years etc. but all married couples should make it a point to renew their promises and commitment, annually. By renewing your vows, you take a moment to pause and reflect on your partnership and companionship. As you recommit and renew your promises, remember also to look at the positive experiences that grant affirmation and strength to continue on in your marriage life.

Having said that, every couple needs a little build-up in their marriage once in a while. One of the easiest and sweetest ways to be reminded of your love and commitment to each other is by looking at your wedding album. Most couples, if not all, spend a lot of money on photography and videography on their wedding day. However, many of these albums are just kept away, out of sight. It makes more sense to put the albums on display, and glance at them once in a while as a family to bring back sweet memories. As you turn each page, experience every emotion and memory of that day, when both you and your spouse made a decision and a promise to each other, before God. Happy marriages make happy families!