Lord teach 'us' to pray....(Luke 11:1). A sentence cut/copied/pasted from the Bible, the only 'community' prayer being recited/offered, by Christ, to his disillusioned disciples, who were following him, by their human instincts / personal reasons. Thus the followers have a prayer from their spiritual guide built around 'Our/Us/We'. Otherwise he made his point very clear....the best personal prayer is to lock up privately, behind closed doors and reflect 'within' (Matthew 6:6). People who gather/organize for x, y, z reasons are/have already been rewarded, while on/seeking space within several platforms for fame/recognization....given out/taken in as honor/position/perks(Matthew 6:2-4).
Exemplified by his life himself. How many today, who are spiritual leaders/branded followers, apart from been busy materialistically/practically to sustain/maintain the concrete structures/ generously gifted grandiose properties...choose to live within the spirit?(Matthew 4:2). What is then the definition of temptation/being tempted? (Matthew 7:15 / Matthew 7:22). Who personally are against the majestic structures/real estate holdings, being designed/built by the common lay man, and being sustained by themselves. I guess very few, from my perspective today, apart from many misguided/misinformed.
The quality of the spirit, is being reflected/debated upon today, from the past, into the present, guiding into the future. So what could be to tempt-'Testing emotionally mentally per theory'. Reminded....'It's easy to built, but challenging/difficult to sustain'...be inter personal relationships/institutions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XXQTvboOUk
Pasting within a message shared on a social media platform....
Two men, who had been business partners for over twenty years, met one Sunday morning as they were leaving a restaurant. One of them asked, "Where are you going this morning"? "I'm going to play golf. What about you"? The first man responded rather apologetically, "I'm going to Church". The other man said, "Why don't you give up that Church stuff"? The first man asked, "What do you mean"? His partner said: "Well, we have been partners for twenty years. We have worked together, attended board meetings together, and had lunch together, and all of these twenty years you have never asked me about going to Church. You have never invited me to go with you. Obviously, it doesn't mean that much to you does it"?
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus,
In today’s gospel we learn how John the Baptist introduced his disciples to Jesus by saying: "Behold, the Lamb of God". The two disciples heard what John said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned around, saw them following and asked, “What are you looking for”? Jesus is asking the same question today to you and I, what are you looking for? What do you want in your life? What are you doing here in this church? Looking back, many of us might be able to identify ourselves with Samuel in today’s first reading and the two disciples in the gospel. We have had someone in our lives who introduced us to Jesus, in most cases our own parents but in some other cases, by the testimony of others or because our significant other is a Christian. However, it is still relevant for us today to ask ourselves the question, “What are you looking for”?
The disciples answered Jesus with another question: “Rabbi, where do you stay”? When the two disciples asked Jesus where he was staying, the question was not simply about a street address. They were expressing their desire to know him better, as if to say, “It is youthat we seek”. In the same manner the answer of Jesus too was not a set of information like, “I stay in a house around the corner, two blocks away from the synagogue in Nazareth, not very far from the baker’s house”. His answer was an invitation. “Come and see”. It was an invitation to live with Him and to experience Him.
Dear friends, what are you looking for? Why are you here in this church today? If we are honest, we are most likely to hear things like: Because this church is the closest to home, because we like the priest, because we like this church building, because we like the music ministry in this church and so on. How many of us truly can say like the disciples that we are here for Jesus? Today, many of us like to brag about our knowledge of Jesus. Most of our Christian faith from childhood through youth and adulthood is largely based on knowing – intellectually – about the Christian faith. A lot of information; thanks to CCD classes, hundreds of homilies we have heard in the churches, books we have read, spiritual conferences or retreats we have attended and so on. Today many take pride in calling themselves Christians, based on the amount of information or knowledge they have about Christ. However, my dear brothers and sisters, Christian life is not about memorizing a certain set of information but it is about an experience, our personal experience with Jesus must be the foundation of our Christian faith.
I think it wouldn’t be so wrong to say that majority of Christians in today’s world, including you and I are just namesake Christians; people who have heard about Jesus, people who have some knowledge or information about Jesus, people who dress like and act like the followers of Jesus but are not disciples of Jesus in the true sense, because most of us have not experienced Jesus or have not truly encountered Jesus like the disciples in today’s gospel.
Why do I say that? Think about the transformation taken place in our lives since we have become Christians. If we are so confident of our identity as Christians, if we are so sure about having encountered or experienced Christ in our lives, then the next question would be: How many people became Christians because of you and I? Remember, the first thing Andrew did after his experience with Jesus was to find his brother and say to him, “We have found the Messiah”. In the Bible there are many instances when Good news becomes positively contagious. Mary goes in a hurry to share the Good News with Elizabeth (Lk 1:41). The two disciples on the road to Emmaus who were running away from Jerusalem on the day of the resurrection recognized the Lord at the breaking of the bread. “They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem” and told the rest, “We have seen the Lord” (Lk 24:13-35). In the story of the Samaritan Woman at the well, her encounter with Jesus heals her of her sins, her inner thirst is fulfilled and “the woman put down her water jar and hurried back to the town to tell the people, come and see a man who has told me everything I have done”.
Unfortunately, that is not the case with us. We rarely talk about our faith with others. Like my story at the beginning, we do not think that it is important enough to invite my friends to come to church with me. I would do it if it was about a golf course I like, I would do it if it was about a restaurant I love, I would do it if it was a store where I usually shop for clothes but never to my church. Imagine if the early Christians acted like you and I today? Jesus and Christianity would be just a history.
The missionary impulse, the desire to proclaim Christ with burning charity for the salvation of others, which we see in the two disciples of today’s gospel, is at the core of what it means to be a Christian. For us Christians, to proclaim Christ as the Messiah, is not an option but rather an obligation. The hosts of saints and martyrs who have illuminated the way for the Church for more than two thousand years bear witness to this reality. You and I cannot be Christians in the authentic and wholehearted sense unless there is a visible conversion/transformation in our lifestyles that bear witness to Jesus and attract others to Jesus. So today, if the number of Christians in the world is dropping, if the pews in our churches are not full, it is not only because of the lack of relevance for the church as an organization or institution in today’s modern society, but it is basically because you and I lack the true experience and encounter with Jesus.
Therefore let us pray to have that inner thirst and profound desire to discover Jesus, to experience him in our lives and to announce him to the world around us by our true Christian living. Amen!
Typed few words under the message being shared. When/where it's becoming difficult to sustain/add meaning to the piled up glory/might...when reminded, to peruses/establish the higher virtues/values 'as it is in heaven'....where there is justice/peace/joy built around an eco-chamber of caring/sharing for eachother within its 'presumed' established dimension/ecosystem.
Sad but true, to see the decline of the 'reinforcing/reminder' of the rituals/traditions. Some bitter truth....Christ was born in a manger and died on the cross in an open field....where should we take our colleagues/friends....to another organized, practically accounted, prudently run institutions....who ironically pray 'give us "today our" daily bread". Why bother to show off our treasures-wealth/intelligence-shrewdness? Is health care /schools/colleges anything being offered by us, without a 'premium' price to pay in the name of God? So people within, keep silent and say...it's individual choice to seek divinity. The saints we highlight are all people who were practically thinking /practicing out of the box. Never the less ,may the virtues of our spiritual leader live for ever.... amen! (Acts 2:45 - Will be branded as a socialist, in many nation today, by its officially anointed brand ambassadors. Ironically, where the top ten nations to live in happily/sanely are all unfortunately/fortunately socialist nations. What dimension should spirituality take here to being tempted/lured otherwise?).
The 'Word'/Divinity-Avatar, became flesh and lived amongst the creations/commoner to lead/guide. When reflecting on the prophets/messengers of the old testament days, well into the very recent millennia of the new testament, they were observed to be Gypsies. Staying/blessed every homes/locations where they were welcomed. What is the status of our evolved/organized clubs today? Does the authorized messengers come/call to check.. at least during the time of pandemics or expect people to go/come to them for blessings/graceful prayers....having given reasonable accommodations/safety net structure to sustain/survive decently. Who is cultivating/promoting so called ego/pride, while reciting/praying the 'holy rosary' for inculcating within, the virtue of humility/perseverance.. commemorating a pious women, who walked miles to visit her cousin, with a burden being carried by herself. Who is being lead by whom and for what today? Which promoter today, has a degree less than Doctoral/Masters to lead their sheep? So understandably, any individual given that environment/opportunity is expected to give a decent homely, which many do not disappoint. Cos! one has to be practical not theoretical, to understand and undertake spirituality/divinity.... I guess in this era of milk/honey. Learn to differentiate between quality-seeds/quantity-weeds.
When all religious institutions, get tax breaks/free perks nationally/globally in general. When it comes to 'Pro live activism' the catholics are in the front line. Why don't the Catholic institutions in any/all states of USA/Globe in general, sponsor the full healthcare/education / modest support system, needed towards a basic decent lifestyle, for an unborn/forsaken child ....and set an example, before giving out sermons/directives, to some one, who do feel/care, where their tax money is worth spending towards. Am sure as a global organisation they can do it, if there is a collective will/vision from their side. Or do they think, prayer alone is not practical enough, when it comes to business at large(Mat 17:12/Luke 12:26).Oh! sure..... "give us 'today' our daily bread'....is what we teach in our schools/colleges to survive/sustain for today, into tomorrow, to practically live.(Mat 23:1-8)
When people fight/debate over symbols/idols makes me think! Its very relevant for a person who has not eaten/seen an apple....to introduce it by drawing/sketching out what it looks like and colour it if possible, so when they see/get one later knows, it's an apple and create an analytical judgement/impression, within, that it is edible/safe to consume. The problem comes, if the person who gives an apple to the first time consumer, saying it's not 'an' apple but 'an' elppa. The majority ignorance/argument/mathematical game, within religious institutions is based on this basic interpretation/hunger game being played/digested, very often superficially. After all, if one plus one is two.... logically/mathematically to be derived/concluded in many ways. The current challenge within established religious institutions is not to expand its membership drive, but to sustain its gathered folks. Does it live/lead by its kindled spirit?
Homely from a priest, who shared his organ, nonjudgmentally/unconditionally. He challenges himself to walk his talk. Says work/service is worship....and dedicated his body to medical colleges after his time on earth when alive. Learn to differentiate between seeds/weeds.(Matthew 13:24-43)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad85CHa0h-0 (In Malayalam)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lipfSrF3hc4 (In Malayalam)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnMrRTZlcHs (In Malayalam)
The reason why spirituality/religious traditions are declining in Europe/Developed nations is because of the 'fundamental ' interpretation of the word GOD- To me its 'Giver of divinity '. SIN-'Sinking in negativity'....reflect/bring together these emotions together....it needs understanding/effort to collect the negative emotions and make it into a +/positive emotion. Learning to simplify complex words into simple words is the beginning of the quest into divinity/godliness. Learn to give everything a KISS- Keep it short and simple. The key, into the quest towards divinity is to learn/lead by these 'two' benchmarks namely to be UNCONDITIONAL/NONJUDGEMENTAL the two 'challenging' sides within a trinity/balancing scale. People who understood/undertook this, attained salvation, being exemplified within the liberation theory of the spiritual context. A/Our 'spiritual ' leader, Christ-God in flesh for many, exemplified what I suggested above....by compressing the established ten Commandments of that/their time into two, being built around the key word, very relevant for today, called LOVE-'living on virtuous endeavors'. An opportunity/challenge for the seekers/learners the wise learn/unlearn/relearn with the evolutionary constant called timE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-msmuDZfRs
