Gospel Reflections

Good Shepherd Sunday 

24th & 26th April 2015

John 10: 11-18

Yesterday, we celebrated Good Shepherd Sunday also known as Vocation Sunday. Besides praying for more vocations to the Priesthood and Religious life, his Grace, Archbishop Emeritus Murphy Pakiam, in his homily shared that Jesus, being the Good Shepherd, takes responsibility for all his sheep.We should imitate our Good Shepherd by caring for other people in our family and society.In another passage, Jesus said,
 "I have other sheep from other folds..." All peoples, whether Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs or Muslims belong to God. To be a true disciple of Jesus, demands that we try to bring them to God in our hearts for His blessings; even those who run away from God.. They need us to point them to God and true happiness. "They are God's creation as God created human beings in His image". 

Friday 24th and Sunday 26th January 2014

THIRD ORDINARY SUNDAY 

          The inaugural speech of Jesus with the cry, "Repent (change) for (because) the Kingdom of Heaven has drawn near." The word "Repent" or "Change" could mean "paradigm shift", "change of mindset", "change our ways", "Aha... a realisation which makes us rethink the way we have been thinking" and a whole lot of other meanings. Basically, it is an invitation to open our eyes literally to see thing anew and this is not possible if we continue to see thing the way we use to do. I am sure that Jesus must be thinking that there is something wrong somewhere. How come many "self proclaimed messiahs" of the First Century Jews have failed?  There is something wrong and this cannot happen the way it is happening. We cannot take the world (Israel) the way the zealots and others did. We must change our ways of dealing with Foreign Power, namely Rome.

          Change is hardest thing that can happen to us. Change becomes even more difficult when we are old for we become too comfortable the  way we have become. It is easy to learn new skills on top of old skills but it is difficult to let go of old knowledge or old skills to learn anew altogether. This experience of learning things anew can be painful,  for it tears us off our our self-secure state and comfort zone.  However, if we want to see the world in a whole new way, we cannot but change our perceptions and perspectives. We cannot use an old mould to create a new shape. We cannot use old spectacles to see things clearly.

Fr. Robert Daniel

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Holy Week Reflection

During this Holy Week, let us set our eyes on this person Jesus. look at him intently, his work and all that which he is about to accomplish in Jerusalem. If we follow him to the Cross then, we will see Him rising from the tomb.

Fourth Lent with St Luke

In this popular parable of Luke 15, we have focused over the on the return of the lost son or even on the dismay of the elder son upon the return his younger brother. But, the real focus of the story is the Father, who wished to embrace both the sons unconditionally. A son is always a son to the Father so are we before God. We will never lose our identity as a son or daughter of God. The more we cherish this, the more we realize God's love and mercy. 

 

Third Lent with St Luke

We are all grown up with certain patterns of thinking about ourselves, the people and the world around us. Some psychologists say that the development of the human mind with its patterns completes where we were at 6-7 years of old. All other human experience after the age 7 is feeding into or slotting into the already established pattern or mindset. That is the reason, it is so difficult to undo something that is deeply embedded and interwoven into our system of thinking but on the other hand it is easy to feed the mind with all sorts of new information. This is not only happens with the world in which we live but with the way which we have grown up in understanding our religion, faith and God. We are fed with all sorts of information when we were very young and as we grow up we just cling on to them and on top of that we keep feed our minds with more information to the point that we become argumentative, we use cold logic to sustain our thinking pattern and we refuse to allow new perspectives to light our life.

The same is true with culture, tradition and certain grounded philosophical thoughts. The preoccupation of the Jews in the time of Jesus was the coming of the Messiah as a liberator, a political leader but when Messiah came a meek servant of God, they refused to accept him. In the Gospel, when people saw how the Galileans blood was mixed with sacrifices of the pagans by Pilate, some people was preoccupied whether such act could be result of sin. On the contrary, Jesus challenged them to rethink the way they look at the incident. It is not so much about the question of who “were greater sinners than any other Galileans” but it is about the way we think and that very thinking needs changes, that is repentance! The word “Repent” should be more accurately understood as that of the Greek word “Metanoia,” a change of mindset. This is what Jews should have otherwise they would not understand what God was doing in their life.

“Metanoia” was most appropriate word used by Jesus and befitted the situation in which he was proclaiming of the coming of the Kingdom of God. It was one of the most popular words within Greek culture as it was adapted into Gospel writing. Perhaps, living in this modern world with new modern and techno vocabulary, I suppose to better understand the concept of “metanoia” or repentance, i would like look at it from the point of “re-invention.” The very fact that our life and mind already made up of patterns of thinking deeply embedded with logic and experience which sometimes or if not most of times becomes hindrances to see newness of life. Then, we need to reinvent ourselves in the light of Christ. We need to get our mind align with that of God in order to see as He would want us to see and we cannot see the way we were taught to see. As adult, we take responsibility of our personal life, our personal development be it secular or spiritual, we embark on the journey of “metanoia”, repentance and reinvention. Thomas Merton at the height of his powers and has as its theme the question of spiritual identity in his book “the New Man”. Thomas Merton speaks of the “New Man.” This New Man and Woman can only emerge from our experience of God and not from our inbuilt paradigms, perceptions and patterns of thinking which we have created for ourselves.         

Second Lent with St Luke

Within the framework of Lenten Season, we move from the episode of the temptation of Jesus to his transfiguration. Baptism, Temptation and Transfiguration seem to have some common elements. All these events are centered on the very core identity of Jesus. In the early Christian Communities’, where it was a period ranging from the death of Jesus to the period before the gospels came to be written, (around 33-65 AD) was a very crucial period in the development and understanding of who the person of Jesus is. This study of the development of the identity of Jesus was understood by the early disciples as Christology (early or later depending on the period of studies). This early Christological understanding – as to who Jesus was – was very vital in unfolding the kind of person Jesus would emerge to us in the later years. The Gospel writers tried to capture this Jesus from the testimonies and the experiences of the early disciples as it came to be written like what we have now. Due to this, the written Gospels that we hold today have interwoven the revelation of Jesus for its believers. As the believers read the Gospels, they grow gradually in the light of faith and come to a proper understanding of Jesus.

As we saw in the Temptation, Jesus as the Son of God must not be understood in the way the devil (the slanderer) has understood. Jesus would emerge as a unique kind of Son of God. In the gospels, there are some instances where Jesus was misunderstood by his disciples or by the crowds who followed him. Jesus received his first revelation at baptism, and a voice came from heavens saying: “You are my son, the beloved; with you I am pleased.” This is an initial and correct Christology. Throughout the Gospel we are going to know this Beloved, this Son.In the temptation according to Luke, the Beloved, the Son is more qualified by the devil as “Son of God.” Though Jesus is correctly understood as the Son of God but actually this term ‘the Son of God’ is rather misunderstood. Then again, this word -Son of God appears at the episode of the Transfiguration in a more definitive statement: “This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.”

One of the most important aspects of spiritual journey, prayer life and processing of becoming a disciple of Christ depends or hinges strongly on the ability to listen to God, to listen to Christ and to listen to the Spirit. In fact, listening is an art of relationship. Relationship fails when no one listens. It is not easy to listen when we always want ourselves to be heard. Everyone wants to pour out and no one wants to contain. This is our society, a boisterous and noise-making culture. The louder you are, the stronger you are perceived to be. It is an ego-driven culture where everybody wants to be heard. However, we cannot carry this into prayer and spiritual life. In contrast, it works different. With God it is about listening to Him. The more attune we are, the less we speak and listen more, the more we allow God to shape us. There is no need to be “loud with God.” God knows everything. When we listen to God (Jesus), we know who God is. Among all the disciples who followed Jesus, it was only the disciples whom Jesus loved who stood by the cross with Him. Among all the women who stood by Jesus at the cross – it was Mary, the mother of Jesus. All these people who stood by Him understood who Jesus really is. Therefore, the more one listens to God (Jesus), the stronger, more courageous and more ardent in faith one will be as he/she stands before God in the midst of crosses. If we want to follow Jesus to Calvary (Cross), if we claim we can stand with Jesus at the foot of Cross, we should first listen as listening makes us a true follower and disciple of Christ.

First Lent with St Luke

The season of Lent always begins with the text of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. This year we have the text taken from the Gospel of Luke for our insight and reflection. St Mark writes briefly on the temptation of Jesus unlike St Matthew and St. Luke who had it written in a most elaborative and vivid description of the temptation of Jesus. There are some differences among the 3 Gospels on the presentation of the temptation of Jesus. I will just draw out some important facts for our reflection during the season of Lent.

Luke, not only gives us a long description of the temptation of Jesus, but gives it in a form of intense dialogue between Jesus and the devil. It can be alluded to a “court room scene” where the devil plays the role of a slander. Unlike Matthew who uses the word “tempter”, and Mark who prefers the Hebrew word, “Satan” which means “adversary”, Luke uses the word “devil” and it is better translated as “slander.”As I was going through the meaning of the word “slander,” I came across one striking insight. The word “slander” is often used in the context of legal suit and it is defamation of the character of the person with no permanent record. Most importantly, it is a falsehood defamation of the character of the person presented in a truest form, that others who listen to it can be dragged into believing it. Now, that is the role of the devil, as a slander in the Gospel of Luke. The devil is there to present “falsehood character” of the Son of Man in the most convincing and truest sense that anyone who hears it can be dragged into accepting the argument. Look! How subtle and cunning the devil can be!

As we look carefully among the three temptations, 2 temptations of Jesus are centred on the character of who he is. “If you are the Son of God....If you are the Son of God....” It is a crafty and shrewd challenge to succumb to false presentation of the Son of God. For the devil is the Son of God who is capable of demonstrating his power outwardly, and that alone becomes the proof of the character of Jesus, as the Son of God. For Jesus, there is no need to do so. There is no need to use his state as the Son of God to perform miraculous power to overcome his hunger or to test God. Jesus is contented in the manner in which he was born into the world. Though he is capable of miraculous power as we found in the scriptures, he did not use it to attain his status as the Son of God. In Jesus’ life, all miraculous healings and events must point to God and the coming of the Kingdom of God. They are never used for his own achievement and success or for him to claim his right as the Son of God.

Look at our life! We know when the temptations come. When they are clear, we know how to overcome them or at least we brace ourselves with God’s strength in facing them. There are temptations which come in very subtle and cunning manner that we are almost or completely drawn into it without realizing it. It comes in a slanderous way – presenting the falsehood in a truest sense, presenting manipulated characters of the children of God, challenging us to proof what we are capable of (“If you are children of God...”), creating doubts which tarnishes or taints our true nature as children of God and makes us think that we are not worthy of God’s grace. We should not allow any forms of falsehood to tarnish our identity, image and character as children of God. On the other hand, let us scrutinize our life! What are the slanderous ways in which we engage ourselves? Gossip - non documented defamation of a person, fanning rumours to the point of tarnishing a person’s image and character, use falsehood and making accusations in bringing down another person, character assassinations, making unpleasant remarks and judging another person and many more. Put a STOP to all THESE! STOP slandering!

Beginning of Season of Lent

There are two major preparations which take place for all Catholics throughout the year – Lent and Advent. Both are moments of Grace – Grace of the Incarnation and Grace of the Resurrection. As Catholics, we are called to embrace, intensify, radicalize and deepen our experience through our encounter with Jesus via the scriptures.

Fifth Sunday – Put out into the deep waters

We live in a comfort zone. We do not want to rock the boat when everything is smooth. We think: “Why should I rock the boat? Is it necessary? Let it be! I have everything I need. I am self-sufficient. Nothing more that I want or I could do. I am OK.” As we continue to think and feel “self-sufficient,” we allow our roots to grow deeper and stronger into our comfort ground. There is nothing wrong in stabilizing ourselves, getting our lives grounded and enjoying moments of gladness and comfort within our known spheres of life. However, too much of the above factors often sent people into complacency, spiritual sluggishness, narrow perceptions of life and the refusal to expand our minds, not willing to tread into new areas of life. When crises hit us, we would be left in dismay and with no new sense of direction and perspective of life. Though wisdom comes from renewed old experience, new insights spring from new experience.

Like Simon Peter in the Gospel of Luke, we tend to fish in places known to us, places which we are familiar with and sometimes to the point not knowing that we could have exhausted the fish within the familiar territory. When we do not get want we need, we are exhausted and disappointed. Then, a strange person comes along. Ironically, in the Gospel, it is Jesus, the carpenter who leads the fishermen into a great catch of fish. Perhaps, some strange person who we are not familiar with or someone who is of no social standing at all or who is not an expert in any professional field might present a new insight which sparks a new beginning in our life. He or she will lead us into deeper waters and a great catch of fish. Treading into deeper waters itself will be a new experience, an opening to God and eventually, will lead us to be a new creation of God.

Fourth Sunday of the Ordinary Time

When I read the Gospel, I asked myself this question: “What made the people so angry at Jesus that they wanted to throw Him down the cliff?” As I continue to reflect, I began to realize that it could be the two examples that he narrated which set them off. The two incidents which Jesus quoted were: the widow at Zarephath and the leper, Naaman, the Syrian – whereby both of them have benefited something from the prophets Elijah and Elisha respectively. In fact, the widow at Zarephath and the leper Naaman, the Syrian were not  Israelites, they were pagans. As Jesus began to speak, the audience could have expected some form of consolation and reward. And also that the enemies of Israel would be destroyed and get nothing as God of Israel is always on the side of the chosen people and will vindicate whoever threatens them. This was the belief of the people of Israel, even at the time of Jesus.

As Jesus speaks of the above two examples, his preaching did not match with the thoughts and aspiration of the people of his time. Why was He speaking of the pagans receiving help from prophets of Israel? How could Jesus bring out such an example at this time when our nation was under the rule of the pagans, the Romans and God should vindicate all enemies of Israel? This was totally unacceptable and an insult to our faith! However, they failed to realize the magnanimity of God's plan which includes everyone. What they didn't realize was that these two examples which Jesus narrated is a typical invitation for the people to realize and come to their senses of the magnanimity of the plan of God. God includes all and excludes none!

Third Sunday of the Ordinary Time

We either live our life thinking of the past or thinking of the future and seldom do we live our lives in the present moment. For some people, the events which took place in the past are so vivid in their memory that everything they do is determined by these past experiences. Thus, there is no newness of experience and there is no opportunity to learn new things. Living while thinking of the future sometimes makes us too preoccupied as to what to do that we get into manipulation, planning and plotting, hence often embarking into a sort of day dream or mere wishful thinking. In short, living in the present is what we must do. Though things of the past keep emerging in our lives, and thoughts of the future preoccupy our mind, the present moment should harness both of the past and present, and effectively display them at this very moment of our lives. So, how do we do that?

According to the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 4, Jesus opened the scripture and read a text taken from Isaiah. After having read it, he rolled up the scroll and gave it to the assistant and sat down. He began to speak: “This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.” What a powerful expression of the past being effectively fulfilled in the very present moment. Today, as you listen, the text is being fulfilled. Words of Isaiah are not of the past but now effectively happening in the present. Jesus has assumed and absorbed that which everything Isaiah spoke as something happening in the very present.

Therefore, by assuming into our very self what that had happened and everything that will happen, we harness the power within to live in the present. The present moment is always the converging point of the past and future. As the memories of the past come into our minds, look at the wisdom of the experiences and let it influence our present state. When the things of the future emerge, look and feel the enthusiasm, hope and faith and let these feelings and emotions influence our present moment. When we do this exercise regularly, we make the present moment expanded, and the future and the past embraced into the here and now experience. Jesus brings the Kingdom of God and the experience of the presence of God real and present in this very moment (“today”). For him, it was not the things of the past, neither was it the thing of the distant future. It is alive here, now and in front of you as you listen and see. Thus, you are challenged live concretely and evidently.

Second Sunday of the Ordinary Time

We are always challenged to explore our human potentialities. For those who thirst to fully grasp life itself, it is not only about living fully or living every inch and moment and savouring the benefits of life. Instead, it is about what I could have done for my community, society and global humanity. Life for those who wish to explore its fullness, it is not an internal movement about savouring it to the core of it but expanding it to others. It is about passing on the spark! The ministry of Jesus in Cana is the first moment where Jesus begins to set the spark of the glory of God. With this spark that began to radiate from Galilee, it would later move to Jerusalem, and thereafter would radiate the whole of nation. Mary was indeed instrumental in beginning this spark. In our lives too, there will be someone, they may or may not be special but instrumental in initiating the work of God within us.

Baptism of Jesus

According to many leading psychologists, positive self esteem is vital in the development of a healthy personality. Nathaniel Branden calls self esteem: The immune system of consciousness. Self esteem is about how we feel about ourselves. It is our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, for example: I am good looking. I feel good about myself. I am kind. I am competent and so on. The level of our self esteem determines how we operate our life, the way we view our life, the manner we interact with others, with our spouses, children, friends, and strangers. It also determines our goals and what we strive for. It is proven that people with high self esteem tend to be more ambitious in what they want to experience in life. They have a drive to express themselves and to communicate openly and honestly about their needs and desires. On the other hand, people with low-self esteem tend to withdraw from people, less motivated, less focused and confident about themselves. Some of us have grown up with high self-esteem and others with low self-esteem. We get them from our parents and sometimes, they fail to give it us not because they are deliberately withdrawing it from us, but more so because they themselves are suffering from low self-esteem and do not know how to impart it. Instead of looking everywhere for a boost of self-esteem and ending in frustration for not having found it, we should always turn to God who can restore and gives the true expression to our identity. I believe He is the one who can give it us.

The baptism of Jesus is the most expressive moment in the life of Jesus of who he is in the sight of God. There are no other moments in the time of Jesus, where Jesus has received this explicit confirmation from his Father, of who he is, namely “the son of God.” Another moment of this voice of confirmation would only appear at the moment of transfiguration of Jesus. This moment of anointing Jesus with his identity as the Son of God has opened up a whole new world to Jesus, a whole new ministry. His ministry was in fact restoring that very identity of the people and giving them a true sense of belonging to God, namely being children of God. Never once did Jesus falter in not believing in His sonship even in the midst of temptation, persecution or even crucifixion. In fact, the last words of the centurion seeing Jesus dead on the cross were: “Truly, this was the son of God” (Mark 15:9). I believe it is in this utter conviction and belief in the identity of being the Son of God,that Jesus, having a proper and high self-esteem about him (and other as well) was able to proclaim God to people effectively and unwaveringly.

Feast of Epiphany

The word Epiphany (Greek) means “shinning forth”. This word is attached to the visit of the three kings from the East (The Magi) who arrived at Bethlehem to look for the new born King, Jesus. Today in Eastern Orthodox churches, the feast of Epiphany includes the baptism of the Lord, the revelation of the son of God, Jesus Christ as the Messiah. However, within our context of the visit of the Magi, the word “Epiphany” is significantly used to depict or to express the manifestation or the revelation of Jesus for the first time to those who are outside of Israel.

During the Christmas celebration, we heard the message of the birth of Christ announced to the shepherds, the ordinary people. They came and saw exactly what the angel told them. And then, they went back praising and glorifying the Lord. In addition, we have another extraordinary story of the announcement of the birth of Christ. We have the wise men came from the East led by the star to pay Jesus homage. In their midst, one group was led by the angel and the other was led by the star. And both came to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born. Regardless of who we are, if we carefully see the signs of the times, read them carefully, decipher them correctly, if not, follow them; we will arrive at our destination. We will arrive at the place where we should be or are destined to be.

In the above scenarios, the birth of Christ opens the door to all people regardless of who they are. God chooses to reach out to embrace all, from West to East, and North to South. Everyone is included in the Epiphany of the Lord. This open ended radical grace of embracing all is something that can be seen as threatening those who are living in the stereotype world, and who prefer rather an exclusive God. People living in the stereotype world, reading the signs of times and expressing themselves within the limited context of life and grasping the meaning of God within the given situation without exploring further can feel threatened in the manner in which God is reaching out to people like the Magi, who of the presumably other origins or even religions. Such story can make us realize that God’s ways are always bigger than our understanding, and that God can reach out to anyone in the ways He wishes. Who are we to stop Him or to stop those people chosen by Him to come to Him?

NEW YEAR THOUGHTS

We make resolutions after resolution every year but we seldom keep them. Sometimes, we get upset and frustrated with ourselves for failing to keep our promises. We are very eager to change and amend our ways or do something different but still we find it difficult to do so. I have done the same with my life and many a times, have failed like you. However, for the past several years I have stopped making resolutions. Instead of making these resolutions, which are often meant in trying to make changes in my life, my attitudes and my ways based on my past track record, I have decided to focus on shaping my future to create new attitudes and new lifestyle by which I desire to live by. I cannot change the past but I can shape the future. The future is within my time frame and I wish to mould my life towards this future. By focusing on my future, I need to visualize it and create a clear vision by which my life will be shaped. The clearer the vision of my life, my paradigm, the easier and stronger shape it will be formed. I am challenged to gear my whole energy to align my whole self, my strength, my thoughts and my feelings in unison with my whole person, becoming and taking shape as it should be in the future. Realizing this, I have decided not to make plans of what to do, but what I wish and desire to become. Here, I wish to share with you all some ways, which you and I can shape our lives.

1. Power of Blessing

Every year, we have the reading taken from the book of Numbers, of which speaks of the blessings from God. It is a blessing which comes from God and should be passed on from generation to generation. It should be transmitted down to our children and from them to their children and so forth. It is indeed an appropriate reading for all Christians as we head towards a new year, a new beginning. To bless and to be blessed is a right starting point as we step into the New Year. To feel the blessings of God and to impart the blessings to others is the hallmark of Christian community. To begin with, we should feel we are indeed blessed. Our whole life is blessed by God. We not only know this in mind, but we should feel from deep within and grow in deeper conviction of this feeling to the point that it should be oozing out literally. When we get out from our bed, the first thought that should emerge is the thought of blessing and the feeling of blessed. I feel I am blessed not because of my virtues but because God has made us as blessed. This is what it means by ‘having been created in God’s image and likeness’. In fact throughout our life, we should allow this thought and feeling of blessed to surface as frequent as possible so that the whole fragrance of blessedness will radiate. Naturally, this will lead us to share this power of blessing with others. We have received, lived and now we give to others.

2. Grace of Gratitude

Stop wallowing in self-pity! There is no end to this and we are wasting too much of our time on it. We do not know how fortunate we are until we see someone else’s misery. I am sure we have heard this quote, “I used to complain I had no shoes until I met a man with no feet.” I love that quote! It’s such a great reminder to re-focus our minds from complaining about what we don’t have to focusing on what we do have. Many people choose to focus on what they do not have, rather than focus on what they have and what they are capable of. Being grateful is a little thing we can do to drastically improve our moods, and our whole days. In fact, grace of gratitude is the ability to recognize and acknowledge in ourselves what was initially intended by God, that God in the very beginning created the whole creation and exclaimed as “Good” (Gen 1). As we express and live in the grace of gratitude, we align ourselves with the original initial intention of God. Grace of gratitude should not be mere words. In fact, it should is an attitude that we have about ourselves, others and about creation. It is an act of withholding with sanctity the works of God. Wallowing in self-pity or self-condemnation is a denial of the very creation of God. Attitude of appreciation and love of oneself and others as God intended is a way to live the potential goodness within us.

3. Power of Positive thinking

Rain falls on a good person and bad person alike. Good fortune and misfortune happen to all persons. As it happens and as it comes, we have the power to confront the misfortune with our positive perception. There is a short story of two men in prison looking through the window. One prisoner looks at the sky full of stars and the moon radiating brilliantly. The other prisoner’s eyes fall on the ground full of mud. What you see or perceive generates what you feel. We can look at a half glass of wine and say, “Wow, I have half a glass of wine. I am going to enjoy it” or I can say, “Gosh, I have only half a glass of wine. What to do, hay..ya....” It all depends on us. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. It is that which is in you that you see. Events present as they are and it is we who interpret them as they befit us. The impacts they create are measured by how we perceive it. Enthusiasm and inspiration spring from positive living life and seeing the goodness in every single event should drive and energize us to live even more passionately in the world.

4. Capacity to Transform

Touch the face of God! There is no need to be like King Midas who wished that everything he touched would turn into gold literally. It is a myth about the tragedy of avarice and narrates what happens when true happiness is not recognized. Our Golden touch is not like King Midas’ touch. It does not spring from our ego or self-centred needs. It is a power which comes from God himself. When we align ourselves with the power of God, we become His co-creators. It is not so much of doing something, but it is about allowing the will of God to be accomplished in us. When I align myself with God, everything will be transformed through us. When we touch God, we become His children. As the Gospel of John would put it plainly, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name....” (NAB Jn 1:12). It is not believing in the mere words but believing the very truth to the point of becoming the transforming agent. It is the power of God which we have harness to change and transform every opportunity into golden opportunity. Set your mind as you open yourself to the forthcoming or unfolding opportunities in life, whether it is education, business or life changing experience. As they unfold, pray and meditate to connect with God so that we will be able to harvest the power to transform our lives.

5. Power of Intention

I came across this caption said by the famous martial art expert, Bruce Lee, “As you think so shall you become.” Think about what you are thinking today. What do those thoughts say about you? About your life? Creating a life that we want to live requires us to put some focus in creating it. When we meditate and enter fully into spiritual depth of inner human life within us and align ourselves with the will of God, we eventually would be able to create the life we wish to have. However, this is not an easy process. Basically, there are 2 ways of getting there. First, it is a process of purification or cleansing. It is a process of purifying the mind of all negativities and then, putting on the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:13-16). It is a process of dying and rising to new life in Christ. Getting rid of negativity is getting rid of all our negative understanding and negative concepts and paradigms which we have imprinted in our minds. On the other hand, we need to capture the right understanding of God, of ourselves and others. The longer we dwell within ourselves in our right understanding, right intention and keep meditating, and the more they seep deeply into our consciousness, the more fortified our intentions will be. Constantly connect with God as you become His image.

CHRISTMAS: THE GREAT OF GOD

During this season of Christmas, we often share gifts with one another. This spirit of “I buy for you and you buy for me,” overpowers the real and true Christmas season. Of course, we are indeed happy, joyful, and delighted when we give and receive gifts during this season of Christmas. And for some, the joy to give is more than the joy to receive as to give is an opportunity to show kindness and generosity. On the other hand, others would prefer to receive, and they would call it as an act of humility to receive graciously.

However, in all these acts or actions of giving and receiving, there is one particular gift at Christmas, which we can only receive, and can never be able to return. No matter what, we cannot return it, nor should we try to return it as it is impossible to do so. And that gift is this baby, lying in the manger – a gift from God, a gift of God himself to us. You can only open your arms to receive graciously. You can only feel thankful and grateful in receiving him. You can do nothing else, but to only receive him. Thus, this makes us vulnerable. We become even more vulnerable when we know that God does not demand any form of compensation for what he has given. God just wants to make your life full with this Gift. When we are full and overflowing with gratitude and thankfulness, instead of turning to God, we should turn to one another and share this very blessing with one another. In sharing, we should be like lights, which can never be contained but always shinning ever brightly. It is when we receive God as our gift, and then only can we share him to others. In this way, we ourselves become gifts to one another and thus, treating each other with reverence, sacredness, with much appreciation, kindness and love.