Lenten reflections from Mumbai

 For Christians, Lent is a period of profound grace through reflection, repentance and reconciliation. This year also our parish in Navi Mumbai arranged a very special opportunity – a three-day retreat -- to help us grow in our relationship with God and deepen our commitment to a way of life, rooted in our baptism. However, only around 500 people, out of nearly 2,000 parish members, turned up. Their (1,500 people) loss is our (500) gain.

  Rev Fr Shibu Pulickal who led the faithful through the three-day reflection, is a veteran of many such events with a unique style of sermon delivery through anecdotes and narratives to drive home the message. Here are some of the gems from his spiritual exercise.

Don’t sleep on cash pile... you won’t be able to take it when you die

   There was a rich businessman in a town. He amassed huge wealth from his business – maybe enough to support several generations. One day, he asked a favour from God. He wanted to see the newspaper of April 6, 2015 – one year before the actual publication  to see the value of his share portfolio after a year. God granted the favour and the businessman got the newspaper. He opened the paper and directly went to the share quotation page. He jumped with joy. Reason: the shares of XYZ companies he was holding had shot up by ten times. He was very happy.      

   But the shocker came later. He glanced through the pages and was surprised to see his own picture in the paper.  He looked at the column closely and got the shock of his life. It was an advertisement for his 41st day of remembrance after death. He collapsed into the chair.

  The bottom line: man, don’t amass too much wealth for yourself. Don’t live only for money. You may die tonight or tomorrow. You’re not going to carry your wealth with you after your death.

Be a praying family… God should be the centre of your life

   A priest visited a family in his parish many years ago – maybe five or six years ago. It was a wealthy family consisting of husband, wife, son and daughter. They lived in a beautiful house, with opulence showing up in all possible ways. The priest sat down on the sofa and glanced around the room. He saw the picture Sacred Heart of Jesus inside the showcase. This picture was surrounded by toys of cat, dog, deer, elephant and even lion with its mouth open menacingly. Liquor bottles of Johnny Walker, Bacardi, Remy Martin and Honey Bee were kept neatly in the showcase above the picture. 

  The wife said, “see father, we don’t get time to pray like you priests.”

 “There’s no harm in drinking liquor once in a while,” the husband said.

The priest understood the family’s attitude and approach towards God. Their son and daughter didn’t come out of their rooms. After much cajoling, they came out for a fleeting second.

  Several years later, the priest got a call from the husband. “We want to meet you,” he said. The priest thought they were coming to invite him for their daughter’s marriage. But it was not for that. They had a tragic story to tell. “Our daughter ran away from home and married somebody,” they said. What happened to the son? “He has become an alcoholic… and goes around fighting with people,” they said.

  They had come to the priest for prayers and divine intervention. Years ago, they said they didn’t have time for prayer. Now they are going around attending all the Christian charismatic retreats.

  The message is loud and clear. Jesus didn’t have a place in that family earlier. It was not a praying family. The parents were not role models for their kids who went eventually  astray. When they realized they fell into a trap, it was too late.  

Go to Him for directions

   Once a parish priest went for a picnic with the youth members of the parish. Their destination was a remote area near a jungle. “Do you know the way?” the priest asked when they started the journey. “Yes, don’t worry father. We have this,” they replied showing off their latest high-end smart phones. “We have Google maps which will show us the way,” they convinced the priest.

 They followed the directions given by the Google maps and the tired priest dozed off for some time.

  When the priest woke up after some time, he was surprised to know that the bus has stopped. He saw the youngsters in the bus asking for directions. The bus had to stop several times to ask for directions from local people. The priest was surprised to see them asking even tribal women for directions.  “What happened to your Google maps and smartphones?” the priest asked. “There’s no range (mobile signal) here father,” they said.

  The moral of the story: even when you are well off and comfortably placed in life, you should be well connected with God in all aspects. Otherwise, we won’t be prepared when we encounter any mishaps or adversities in life. Those youngsters were very sure about their Google maps and mobile ‘apps’. If you’re not in the “range” of God, your calculations and plans will go into a tailspin. Jesus should be your permanent guide and friend. You must have a permanent connection with Jesus.

Open your window for God to act

  Do you remember the Old Testament story of Elijah who was forced to go into hiding after rebuking King Ahab. Elijah told the King that there will no rain for a few years. God told Elijah to escape to a jungle in order to avoid the King’s wrath. Crows bought bread and meat to him every morning and every evening, and he drank water from the brook. He survived because the crows brought him food. It was God’s way of feeding Elijah.

 A poor family lived in a desolate place. It was winter at its peak and snowing heavily. They had nowhere to go in the inclement weather. As they didn’t have anything left to eat, they started praying. “Of God, you sent food to Elijah through crows. Give us something to eat,” they prayed.

 Even as the prayer continued, the small boy of the poor parents got up and opened the window. “Why are you opening the window?  It’s very cold and snowing outside,” his father said.

 “If you keep the windows shut, how will the crow come inside?’ the boy said innocently. He had taken the Elijah incident literally.

  Lo and behold, seeing the open window, a traveler who was passing by with food packets came to their house. “Please keep these food packets. You can eat this if you want. If I take it along with me, it may get spoiled in the bad weather,” the traveler said and left the packets there. The surprised family had several hearty meals, not one.

  You should keep your window open all the time for God to act. Your window is your heart, intelligence, wisdom etc. You may get blessings abundantly if you open up to God. Please allow God to act for you.   

 What is your great grandfather’s name?

 “What is your father’s name?” the priest asked. The entire church answered. “What is your grandfather’s name?” he asked again. They all answered. “What’s your great grandfather’s name?” This time only some people could answer.

 “What’s your great, great grandfather’s name?” he asked further. Nobody was able to answer.

  “Even your great grandchildren won’t be able to remember your name. Think about this. Only two generations will remember you .Who are you to show pomposity and arrogance,” he said. Why are you showing so much arrogance and superciliousness in life? Do you believe you are a big personality and the world revolves around you? No.  

You’ll look up only when you get hit

  

  A supervisor was standing on the terrace of an under-construction building. From the top of 6-storied building, he wanted to give some instructions to the worker on the ground. He yelled out several times, but the worker didn’t hear it.

  The supervisor got an idea. He dropped a one rupee coin in front of the worker thinking that the worker will look upwards. But the surprised worker just picked up the coin and put it in the pocket. The supervisor got angry and dropped a five rupee coin thinking he will look upwards now. No way. He pocketed the coin again.  

  An exasperated supervisor then threw a stone right at the head of the worker. This time he looked upwards with a barrage of expletives.

“Usually we look at God when we encounter major problems in life. It can be a financial problem or sickness. When you get wealth, job, comfortable life, we tend to ignore God,” the priest explained.

  This should not be the case.