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Yoked to Jesus

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“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” †  Mathew 11: 28-30  What is the labour and burden that Jesus is asking me to deal with? Perhaps I have to let go of the compulsive burden (or is it a sort of entitlement?) that my spouse and children should choose a spiritual path that I know to be right. Jesus accompanied Judas Iscariot to the very end but never deprived him of his freedom to choose his own destiny. Jesus on the other hand, uninterrupted by Judas's choice to reject him, continues to accomplish his mission. He does become a victim of Judas's betrayal but he seldom takes on the victim's identity. In divine wisdom, Jesus chooses to die in our place (and that of Judas) in a redeeming act of love. Rather than being compelled to fix those whom God has entrusted to my headship by m

To be Christ like

Sin is the result of not giving God his due, Man his and Myself mine. Sin is the lack of Love. Sin is the reason we will be cast into hell fire. Sin is the root-cause all miseries of mankind. If sin is such dreadful thing, why do we desire it deep within? As St. Paul says why do end up doing what we do not want to do. Blame it on the law of sin at work in our bodies. The world we live-in too is hostile to holy living. WeLooks like sin always has the last laugh! What are we to do? How is holiness possible? How long does it take? Is it worth? On our own, we are incapable of uprooting and avoiding sin. But in Jesus we are more than conquers. Jesus by his perfect obedience, self sacrifice and resurrection destroyed the claw of sin forever. He founded the church upon himself and apostles. He instituted sacraments as a means to give himself to us. Beginning with Baptism, through all the sacraments, Jesus washes us clean by the merit of his perfect sacrifice, gives us his Holy Spirit, hi

Mary, the mother of God

Mary became the mother of Jesus the incarnate son of God, not on her own accord but because of the work of God. But the work of God alone would not have made her the Mother of Jesus, expect for her own personal excellence in being lowly and totally obedient to the will of God. The motherhood of Mary is a harmonious blend of Gods work and Mans co-operation. Jesus, at few specific occasions calls Mary "Woman" and we tend to wrongly understand it as being suggestive of her irrelevance in the salvific mission of Jesus. On the contrary those are the high-points where the second Adam and the second Eve reverse the ill brought into humanity by the disobedience of the first parents by their perfect obedience. Old testament promises and prophesies dutifully come to be fulfilled at these moments. The wedding of Cana, where Jesus performs his first sign is a pre-cursor to the work he will accomplish on the cross. He refers to the "hour" as he does in few other occasions t

Jesus!

Jesus is the expression of God the father. He is also the thought and word of the Father. When the Father wishes, son is at his disposal saying here I’m.  John, in the first paragraph of his gospel describes Jesus as Word, God, Creator, Light and Life. Also as the one who comes to restore our lost identity being the children of God. He emphasizes Jesus being the one who restores life. The word being spirit takes on flesh, a mortal body -in order to live as man ought to live and becomes a the sacrificial lamb of God in order for all human beings to walk the path He walked. In the book of revelations Johns sees Him being the lamb that is standing even after it is slaughtered.  St.Paul says offer yourselves as the living sacrifice holy and acceptable before God. We receive life by offering our mortal bodies with its carnal nature to God the father through Jesus on a daily basis. As St. Paul says we take on the nature of Jesus little by little through this constant and progressive submi

Obedience to the Truth

Replying to the Pharisees who asked his disciples: why is your master eating and drinking with the sinners and tax collectors, Jesus said: " Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice .' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners " [Mathew 9:13] paraphrasing the text from prophet Hosea " For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings " [6:6] Mathew was a literate, dutiful employee of Herod Antipas who collected tax from the Jews on behalf of the Romans. Jews considered such men an outcast because they extorted their own people. Jesus invites him to be his disciple and he obeys. This obedience involves a great sacrifice especially considering the riches and the lucrative profession Mathew is leaving behind to follow the son of man who has no place to lay his head. Jesus in saying that he has come seeking not the righteous, but sinners reiterates that he searches out for hearts that

The winter is past, the rains are gone

Do I have love enough within to love You to my hearts fill? Like a well with water almost dried up, I feel so barren. How will I give to those who come to draw from me water for a drink? My kneeling and praying does not fill me much. The words I speak to you has no resonance. My sins weigh me down. Handles and hooks that lead me to wretchedness surface everywhere I lay down to rest. I feel them to be more real than you Lord, though I know they are like mirage that actually not there. Help my week vigour and zeal. My bones so frail they cant help me stand and hope, I stumble and sway off to fall. I need a helping hand, would you reach out my lovely one? I know you are near. Your hands surround me, holding me tight, wiping my tears dry, helping my bones to walk again. Inside of me a voice rise, I love you, I really love you. Restore me beloved, my soul forlorn. I hear my love, see how he comes leaping on the mountains, bounding over the hills, My love is like a gazelle, like a you

The invisible rope of faith

I often prayed, Lord please let me experience pleasure that is greater than the pleasure of sin that I might not succumb to what is temporary and detrimental, but seek to satisfy me with what is supremely pleasurable and eternal. I now understand the folly and the impudence of that statement (prayer) which denied my own strength in Christ and challenged the nature of God itself. Imagine ourselves to be in a deep pit filled with dung and we are wading in it; some deep inside,  some neck deep , some barely avoiding the top layer holding on to some twig by the wall, others attempting climb up in vain, yet few others strenuously yet joyfully climbing up, holding on to an invisible rope (of faith) as though with some special power (grace). This invisible rope, yet visible though the eye of faith, is the path of salvation Christ lowered for us into the pit after breaking open the door which sealed the pit and separated us from what was Divine. The light has come into the pit and we can se

To sin no more!

While we are in sin, we pray to God, "please do not let me sin again" as if God himself is the reason we sin against Him. By the merit of Christ's redemptive act, Grace is available freely to everyone but that does not exempt us from acting on the grace, believing in the power of grace and taking the first crucial step to refuse sin and its pleasures. Jesus said to the man who was completely paralyzed "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk" [John 5:8]. While you and I are in Sin, Jesus tells us "Get up and walk in holiness". We ought to "believe", get up and begin to walk in holiness by the merit of Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection. God's grace readily becomes a transforming force within us when we believe and act accordingly. When I pray, Lord, please don’t let me sin again, I'm actually saying I'm not responsible for my sin,I’m beyond redemption and I do not believe in your forgiveness. I expect some magical powers to