Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Mother (15th August, 2023)

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For the times we had not been humble just as our blessed mother was humble, Lord, have mercy...

For the times we have regarded the humility of others as a sign of weakness, Christ, have mercy...

For the times we have failed to realize that humility is the face of God on earth, Lord, have mercy...

Reading 1, Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 45:10, 11, 12, 16

Gospel, Luke 1:39-56 

Reading 2, First Corinthians 15:20-26

My dear sisters and brothers,

On the 1st of November, 1950, the Catholic Church, together with then pope Venerable Pius XII, took a significant leap in its catholic doctrines, and with that, the entire humanity was elevated or raised to a level that no created being had ever achieved before.

And that is what we celebrate today.

Today, we celebrate the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the feast of Mary taken into heaven with her entire body and soul following the end of her life on earth. 

This is our feast. This is the pride of humanity. It is because, this human woman, who lived a flesh and blood life like any one of us on earth, was given that highest honor which is second to nobody but Christ, the son of God, the new Adam, who was taken up to heaven with his entire body and soul after his death and resurrection. 

We go to celebrate with Mary because, humanity, which has been created after the image and likeness of God, yet fallen due to its own pride, was forgiven and restored back to its original state through this human woman, this new Eve, whose name was Mary, a Canaanite woman, who was raised up like any other girl-child in Judea, who went about attending to the daily chores perhaps with her bear feet, who fetched water like any other woman at a common well, who was faithful to her promise or ‘yes’ to the Lord come what may, and as a result who was so chosen by God to mother and nurture his own son, the savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

On this feast day, as we hail Mama Mary for living a life so dignified, so exemplary, so chosen, so wanted, and so honored as a creature by the creator, we got to as a few questions: 

What is it that God saw in her so much that he was so bent on choosing her in his economy or plan of salvation?

Despite all the qualities and attributes, names, praises, and honor that we could ever give to Mary our Mother, if we fail to realize that one thing that God was so attracted in her, I think we are going to miss the point here. 

It is nothing but her lowliness. And she sings it well in the Magnificat as follows: 

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant….

He has mercy for those who fear him in every generation…

He has scattered the proud in their conceit, he has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly….

When it comes to Mary, while she gives all glory, pride, honor, and greatness to God, her greatness was found in her humility…her humble faithfulness to the Lord…

You see my dear sisters and brothers, while it is pride that was the reason for the fall of, not only humanity but also the angels as it is believed in the tradition of Christianity, it is lowliness/humility which is the point of salvation…

This applies to us today as well…In my personal life, in my life with the family, in my marital vows, how humble and how faithful I am to God, to myself, to one another…Or has my pride taken over that I am given in to conceit, lies, deceit, false image and likeness, and putting up an altered self or ego before me and before others, finally leading into sin, pain, disharmony, and destruction with myself, with one another, and with the entire creation?

If God is to choose one of us today, how humble and how lowly would he find me today that he would not be able to pass me by without choosing me just as he chose Mama Mary?

Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul (29th June 2023)

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For the times we have failed to know you intimately, Lord, have mercy...

Having failed to know you intimately, for the times we have failed to love you ardently, Christ, have mercy...

Having failed to love you ardently, for the times we have failed to follow you very closely, Lord, have mercy...

Reading 1, Acts 12:1-11

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Gospel, Matthew 16:13-19

Reading 2, Second Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18

My dear sisters and brothers,

In his spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits makes it clear the aim of the Spiritual Exercises.

In the Sp. Ex. #104 he writes: Grace to be obtained is to know Christ intimately, so that I may love him ardently, and follow him very closely.

So my actual response (bodily/physical) response to Christ is preceded by my emotional (heart) response which is originated by my personal knowledge (head) of the person of Christ… 

Today, as we celebrate the feast of the Saints Peter and Paul, we have two stalwarts before us who have had a very personal knowledge of the person of Christ and as a result, had loved him so ardently and followed him very closely all throughout their lives in all they were and did……

Speaking of Peter, he knew the person of Christ all throughout his life as a disciple…. It is right enough, in the Gospel text of today, Jesus inquires his disciples about their knowledge of him by asking the question, “But, you, who do you say that I am?” In answering Jesus’ question, it was Peter who, in his great proclamation, reveals the identity of Christ, of course through the power of the Holy Spirit, as the Messiah…

It is this knowledge of Christ that made Peter love Jesus fanatically, almost forgetting himself and forgetting what he says and does. We see Peter making a statement not to leave Jesus at his trials, but ends up running away and denying him three times after his arrestation….We see Peter jumping out of the boat upon seeing the risen Lord walking on the water toward him, and then starts doubting and consequently starts drowning in the water… We see Peter fearless to enter the tomb of the risen Christ but was fearfully inside the Upper Room with other disciples until he sees the risen Christ…

It is this Peter that Jesus called, the rock, to whom he gave the keys of the Church, to whom he said, "Take care of my sheep…."

After the resurrection of Christ, we see Peter fearless, proclaiming Christ to the Jews...As a consequence, he receives a death more or less similar to that of Jesus…It is he who is known as the Apostle of the Jews….

Then we have Paul…. When he was still known as Soul, he encountered Christ after his resurrection…He was persecuting and killing those who were known as the People of the Way, the followers of Christ… 

It is said that Paul persecuted and Killed Christians not because he didn’t believe in Christ… Rather, it was because he didn’t believe in the historical Christ who was born in a stable of a human woman, lived among us, and was crucified… In his understanding of Christ, he expected a Christ who would come in glory, in clouds, and in honor, and save mankind without being touched by any human limitation, pain, struggle, trial, and death, almost as a magical Messiah… That’s why he could not accept those who believed in the Christ crucified. So he was persecuting those whom he thought were false followers… 

It is this Soul, upon knowing the person of Christ, the love and the light of the risen Lord, and after his conversion, started proclaiming the very historical Christ to the far ends of the world…And Consequently, received a death not less painful than that of Peter's... And it is he who is known as the Apostle of the Gentles…

You, see…when we look at these two characters and God’s plan or the economy of salvation in the history of mankind, one thing becomes very clear…. God chose, as St. Paul himself says, what the world considers foolish to shame the wise... God chose what the world considers weak to shame the strong...And it is on them God founded the edifice of the church...

A church made up of weak human beings yet trying to be perfect; A church trying to be more inclusive of those who believe as well as those who do not by accepting the unity even in diversity and diversity in unity; A church challenged by the age and time, yet trying to be faithful to the person of Christ who not only lived and died with us, but also who was the first to be resurrected from the dead.  

As we celebrate the feast of these great saints, let’s ask ourselves, how much do we know Christ? 

After the examples of these two great stalwarts, St. Peter and Paul, who is Christ to me today, so that I may love him ardently and follow him very closely?

If St. Peter, as weak and faulty as he was, could have done so much, how much more should I be doing for Christ today?

If St. Paul, as irrational and cruel as he was, could have done so much, how much more should I be doing for Christ today?