In search of the right church, faith

Sheena George

  The spiritual journeys of Protestant-turned-Catholics always make fascinating reading. The story of Scott Hahn and wife Kimberly, evangelical Protestants who converted to the Catholic Church and chronicled their journey to Catholicism in the famous book ‘Rome Sweet Home’, is one of the most gracious, moving and convincing spiritual expeditions of recent times. Scott's talks and books have been effective in helping thousands of Protestants and fallen away Catholics to come back to the Catholic faith.
  A similar inspiring story emerged in Sweden last year when Ulf Ekman announced he and his wife, Birgitta, are converting to Roman Catholicism. Ekman was the founder of Word of Life, a megachurch in Uppsala, Sweden. “A process of many years of prayer and reflection led to this decision,” Word of Life Ministry said in a report on its website. Ekman has an India connection. He met and married Birgitta, daughter of a Methodist pastor and his wife and raised in India where her parents were missionaries.
  Recently, I came across the writings of Paul Whitcomb, a Protestant for the first 32 years of his life who later became a diehard Roman Catholic. Confession of a Roman Catholic by Whitcomb is simply a graphic recounting of a rather extraordinary spiritual odyssey, a journey which had its finale in the Catholic Church. What was the driving force behind this odyssey? It's nothing else but faith.
  For Whitcomb, the transformation is much more than an intimate glimpse of one man's soul. It's the testimonial of one man's faith.
Whitcomb was a through and through Protestant. He was born of Protestant parents -- an Episcopalian father and a Methodist mother. He was baptized a Protestant-Episcopal because his brother before him was baptized a Methodist. He was reared a Protestant and sent regularly to Episcopal, Methodist, Congregational, and Baptist Sunday schools, and enlisted in various Protestant youth movements. His parents were staunch "liberal" Protestants: they believed that one church is as good as another -- so long as it is Christian and Protestant.
 He was an avid student of the Bible as he believed that the Bible is the sole Christian rule of faith. “But, as Divine Providence would have it, the more I studied the Bible, and the more I made it my rule of faith, the more I realized that my faith was not wholly what God had ordered. I discovered voids in my religious fabric, voids which had to be filled if I were to know real peace of soul,” he writes.
According to Whitcomb, this feeling of spiritual insecurity led him inexorably to a study of comparative religion; and, again, as Divine Providence would have it, the more he studied comparative religion the more he came to realise that the Catholic faith was the one faith that could fill the voids in his religious life, the one faith that could give him the real peace of soul he longed for.
  What was his first discovery? The church – Roman Catholic Church – he had been most opposed to was the church most united in Christ. The spectacle of 825 million Catholics, three-fifths of all professed Christians, perfectly, indomitably united in belief, in organization, and in worship – the historical fact that Catholics, consistently the largest body of Christians in the world, have always been thus perfectly united – was evidence he could not ignore, he says.
  Whitcomb says in his booklet, “it was quite obvious that Christ did not give this teaching authority to all and sundry, that is, to the whole Church, but only to His duly appointed Apostles, those who were to be the administrative body of the Church.” Had He meant that this teaching authority was to be exercised by all of the faithful He would have addressed His words to all of the faithful, or he would have instructed the Apostles to so advise all of the faithful - neither of which He did.

  Searching the Scriptures further, he learnt exactly how Christ intended to give His Flesh and Blood for the faithful to eat and drink.. “I found the full explanation contained in the account of the Last Supper,” he says. And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. And taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this." (cf. Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20).

  The bread and wine of Holy Communion, that was it. “The bread and wine of Holy Communion were not mere symbols, or representations, of Christ's Body, as I had been led to believe, but were in very truth bread and wine miraculously transformed by the power of God into Christ's true and living Flesh and Blood, only the appearance of bread and wine remaining,” he says.
  Once Whitcomb made up his mind, it did not take him long to make the transition from Protestantism to Catholicism. “And what a glorious adventure it was, too, to become a Catholic, to receive those several weeks of instruction in true Apostolic theology, to make that solemn profession of faith, to receive a Catholic Baptism, to cleanse my soul in the Sacrament of Penance, and then, finally, to receive the living and true Christ in Holy Communion,” he says.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen of the US, whose cause for canonization as a saint officially opened in 2002, once said that there are not 100 people in the US who hate the Catholic Church, although there might be millions of people who hate what they mistakenly believe the Catholic Church to be and to teach. “Thankfully I discovered I fell into the second category. Because for years I opposed the Catholic Church, and I worked hard to get Catholics to leave the Church. But I came to see through a lot of study and considerable prayer that the Roman Catholic Church is based in Scripture,” Scott Hahn wrote after becoming a Catholic.

  Whitcomb's study of the doctrines and practices of the various Christian churches revealed most clearly that only one, the Catholic Church, exercises the same kind of teaching authority that was exercised by the church of the Apostles and primitive Church Fathers. “Only the Catholic Church functions for her members as an unerring interpreter of God's revealed truth. Only the Catholic Church dares proclaim to the world that when she teaches the truths of Christian doctrine, it is Jesus Christ, who can neither deceive or be deceived, teaching through her,” he says.

 “I had to make a change. In conscience I had to become a Catholic,” Whitcomb writes.

  Ulf Ekman wrote in a blog, “the Charismatic life, with its emphasis of the power and the leading of the Holy Spirit is necessary, and it is an amazing gift. But it cannot be lived out in its fullness in a schismatic and overly individualistic environment.” Understanding this opened Ekman and others to the realisation of the necessity of the Church in its fullness, with its rich sacramental life.

Predicament of a Christian judge in India

 For a Christian, Good Friday, Easter and Christmas are three important days in a year. Please read the following front page report carried by The Indian Express on Saturday's edition.
 The story is self-explanatory. There's no need to interpret it further. After Ghar Wapasi (reconversion), attacks on churches and bid to saffronise education and culture, this is the latest in the series in India. Justice Kurian, a member of Roman Catholic Church, is in the forefront of church-related activities.
LINK:  http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/two-supreme-court-judges-told-chief-dont-call-conference-on-good-friday/

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Two Supreme Court judges told CJI: Don’t call conference on Good Friday

Written by Utkarsh Anand , Shaju Philip | New Delhi/thiruvananthapuram | Updated: April 4, 2015
Two judges of the Supreme Court opposed the decision of Chief Justice of India H L Dattu to call a conference of judges on Good Friday and one of them, Justice Kurian Joseph, said “I am deeply hurt… shocked by the tenor” of the response from the CJI rejecting his suggestion while raising questions of “individual interest”.
Justice Joseph was not the only judge opposed to holding such a conference on a public holiday, including Holi, Diwali and Eid. His colleague Justice Vikramjit Sen also raised the matter with the CJI who did not yield — the meeting began Friday.
Sources said the CJI told Justice Sen that the conference was being organised in the first week of April because the CJI and his two most senior colleagues and chief justices of high courts would be free from regular court work and be able to contribute to the cause of judiciary.
Justice Joseph wrote to the CJI on March 18 and questioned the timing of the conference and subsequent functions, saying he would be away in Kerala “committed on account of the holy days when we have religious ceremonies and family get together as well”. Such events, he wrote, were not held during Diwali, Dussehra, Holi or Eid.
The CJI, according to a report in The Times of India, wrote back saying “institutional interest should be given preference to individual interest” and highlighted the need to strike a balance between needs of the institution and family commitments.
Speaking to The Indian Express over phone from Kochi, Justice Joseph said: “I am deeply hurt. It is not about, and should never be about, individuals, judges or otherwise. It was not about me or the other judges. When I wrote that letter to the CJI, I raised concerns only in the interest of the secular nature of this country and its social fabric, which we all are obligated to maintain as our constitutional duties.”
Justice Joseph said nobody could doubt his institutional interest and it was exclusively in the interest of the judiciary that the conference should have been held with a different itinerary.
“When the world is looking at India and its judiciary, it is the duty of this institution to send the right signal. We have taken the oath to uphold the majesty of this institution and to protect the interest of the citizens.I shall do it as a judge. I feel duty-bound to raise concerns when the institution seems to be acting in manner that could raise questions over its integrity and secular nature. I still maintain such conferences should not be held on any public holiday,” he said.
He said he was invited by the Prime Minister’s Office to the joint conference of judges and chief ministers to be held Sunday but he had expressed his inability to attend. He also brought it to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that such events should be avoided on a day of religious observance. These events, he said, are of immense significance for people of the country in terms of belief, faith and propagation of religion which is recognised under the Constitution.
A member of the Kerala-based Syro-Malabar Roman Catholic Church, Justice Joseph is a regular at church functions, mainly as a representative of the Catholic laity. In 2012, he was one of the resource persons for an annual conference of the Canon Law Society of India. Its office-bears and members are generally bishops and priests —canon law is the system of laws legal principles enforced by the Pope.
Last year, when the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India held a conference on church and media, Justice Joseph was one of the speakers.
On May 27, 2012, when the Faridabad archbishop was consecrated, Justice Joseph, then Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh, did the first reading during mass.
While serving as a high court judge, Justice Joseph preached Bible on Christian TV channel Shalom TV. Then, he would religiously read a passage from the Bible and interpret the verses. This weekly programme was held every Saturday evening.

Interment service – the defining moment for a Christian

 What's in your mind when you conduct a funeral service? I asked a priest once. Pat came the reply from the priest, a veteran in theology, “it's worth attending a funeral service. It brings you down to the earth... to the reality of what's awaiting each person.”
  The occasion was the funeral service of a senior member of a Catholic parish in Mumbai. The 64-year old man suffered a massive heart attack while travelling and died before reaching the hospital.
 “It's like attending a Charismatic prayer service. The funeral prayers, hymns and the procedure... It makes your more humble and brings closer to God. For any person, there's no escape from the physical death of the body,” he says. In the Syro-Malabar rite of the Roman Catholic Church, the funeral songs can hit you hard, prick your conscience, the lyrics are punchy and strong quotations from the Bible will force people to rethink and revisit their spiritual journey.
  What makes one more humble in life is the Rite of Committal, or the Catholic interment service – the time when the body is finally buried or interred. You might have made a pile of cash or huge real estate or plantations or you might be an influential person in the world, but it all ends in the graveyard with the Rite of Committal. It's a powerful moment when family and friends gather together with a priest to pray over the body one last time.
 For me personally, it's a defining moment each time I attend a funeral service. The time when the priest blesses the place before the body is to be placed and the body is committed to the earth. The question I always ask myself is: Are you prepared for any eventuality? Nobody wants to end up in the hell, keeping company to devil, the master manipulator and liar.
  Protestant-turned-Catholic theologian Paul Whitcomb says, “psychologists have long known that every human being, the atheist included-intuitively seeks God's help in times of great calamity, and instinctively pleads for God's mercy when death is imminent.” The renowned Voltaire, who was so eloquent in his denial of God while he enjoyed health and fortune, repudiated all of his atheistic writings on his deathbed and frantically sought the ministrations of a Catholic priest.
  Russian Communist leader Vladimir Lenin, as he lay on his deathbed, looked around him and frantically asked pardon of the tables and chairs in the room. “For as hunger for food proclaims the existence of food, man's intuitive hunger for God proclaims the reality, the omnipotence and the justice of God. Catholic belief in God, therefore, is purely and simply an expression of intellectual sanity,” Whitcomb says.
  Mathew 7:21 says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” What's the will of Father? That's for us to find out and follow word by word. Our deeds and our relationship with Jesus will decide whether we will be on the right hand of God on the judgment day. Is He our Saviour and Redeemer?

Fr Cantalamessa gives his fourth Lenten sermon in Vatican

On Friday morning, the preacher of the Pontifical Household, Franciscan Father Raniero Cantalamessa gave his fourth Lenten sermon in the Mater Redemptoris chapel in the Vatican. Pope Francis (in white dress in the front) and others in the Roman curia were present to hear  Cantalamessa.

Indian church leaders join hands against attacks on Christianity

  After a spate of attacks on the Christian community, church leaders in India have come together to take on the perpetrators of the crime through peaceful and legal measures.
  The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) took the initiative in evolving a common action plan and arranged a series of consultations, involving other Churches, Members of Parliament, legal and media fraternity, to tackle the parlous situation in New Delhi. “Let these thoughts be a clarion call for the Catholic Church to join hands with other Churches in India, and in a wider perspective, with other like-minded people of good will, to claim our legitimate rights and to demand for a peaceful life for all the citizens of India,” CBCI President Cardinal Baselios Cleemis said on Tuesday.

Cardinal Cleemis

  The Christian community has been at the receiving end for the last nine months -- after the BJP-led alliance came to power in New Delhi. A bevy of crimes of hatred and desecration of holy places of worship have angered and hurt the Christian community across the country. ‘Ghar wapasi’ programmes (reconversion), saffronisation of education and culture, the demands for a Hindu Rashtra from the sister organisations of the ruling party and desecration of holy places are again posing big challenges to the secular ethos of the nation in general and causing fear and consternation in the Christian community in particular. The rape of a nun in W Bengal exacerbated the situation.
  Cardinal Cleemis said after a series of meetings involving Members of Parliament, other Christian communities, legal and media personalities, several suggestions came up for a common course of action. “The present political change has come about due to peoples’ frustration and desire for development. In this context there is a need of focusing on the long term issues and action plans which should be communicated to the common people by engaging them to understand the current socio-political scenario and the need for a unified stand,” Cardinal Cleemis said in a statement.
  Another suggestion was that the Church’s preferential option for the poor has to be rediscovered and translated into action at all levels and our efforts to get the SC status for the Christian and Muslim Dalits should continue till the people get results.
  According to Cardinal Cleemis, social research and an effective resource centre is the need of the time in order to present documented data that would evoke convincing response to what is happening today. “Such a centre would also be a nerve centre that will process information and interact with the Government, political leaders and media,” he said.
  He said there were suggestions for more frequent interaction with the elected representatives, IAS officers and local leaders, who are favourably disposed towards the Christian community, which will strengthen relationships, create friendships and remove prejudices. “This should take place all levels – national, regional, local and institutional,” he said.
“When needed we should not shy away from taking legal steps for redressing our concerns and issues,” Cardinal Cleemis said.
“We should also workout our strategy for representation in the National Commission for Minorities, use scholarships and facilities available for Minorities and interact proactively with the Minority Commission,” he said.
  Cardinal Cleemis said, “to connect our mind and heart with all other minorities we need to create a forum at the National, Regional and Local levels to meet and discuss common concerns periodically and not only after experiencing violence or atrocities, and expose the fallacy of the conversion myth. Christians are still only 2.3 per cent of the population even after so many decades.
Cardinal Cleemis on Tuesday said he took part, along with Archbishop Albert D’Souza, Secretary General of CBCI, in four consultations in New Delhi.
According to him, on March 17, a full day national consultation with the theme “Upholding Constitutional Rights of Minorities, with Special Reference to Christians” was organized by the National United Christian Forum (NUCF) which includes Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) Council for Churches at Bible Bhawan.
This was attended by almost 150 delegates from all the three churches. Justice Cyriac Joseph and Prof. Dr. T. K. Oommen were the resource persons. “The meeting surveyed the global crisis in which people of faith are facing mass violence, even extermination in the Middle-East at the hands of religious fanatics and offered our prayers for and stand in solidarity with the Christian communities in Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and neighbouring countries,” he said.
It also expressed deep concern about the physical violence – arson, murder and rape of our religious personnel both men and women – as with the structural violence which is manifest in urban and rural India, in social and administrative excesses, and aberrant judicial pronouncements. As the President of NUCF, Cardinal Cleemis moderated the sessions. The President of NCCI, Bishop Tharanath Sagar, (Residential and Presiding Bishop, Bangalore Episcopal Area Methodist Church in India) and Bishop C V Mathew, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, Council of Churches, the Co-Presidents of NUCF were also present in the meetings.
  Cardinal Cleemis said three consultations were organised by the CBCI Office of PRO/ spokesperson. The first one was the meeting of the Regional PROs and spokespersons where 13 Regional Bishops’ Councils (out of 14) were represented. Justice Cyriac Joseph, Advocate Romy Chacko and Fr. Dominic Emmanuel were the resource persons for this one-day Consultation. It was unanimously agreed to strengthen the CBCI through networking of the Regional PRO set-up for timely and effective response to the happenings that affect the minorities and the Church in particular.
  Following the PROs’ meeting, a consultation with selected legal experts, senior journalists and social activists was held on the same day evening. The CBCI Office Secretaries, core team members also participated in this meeting.
  The finale of the series of consultations was the meeting with the Christian Members of Parliament at the CBCI Centre on March 17. “17 Christian Members of Parliament, belonging to different political parties took part in a very fruitful informal discussion. Cardinal Oswald Gracias was also present for this informal meeting. The MPs were very enthusiastic and appreciative of our efforts to defend Christian presence in India. They wholeheartedly extended their support irrespective of the party and State,” Cardinal Cleemis said.
  The two action plans approved by the General Assembly of the NUCF are: Convening a gathering of the representatives of minority communities and the Hindu leaders of good will and promoting the cause of Dalit Christians and backward communities with adequate support from NUCF as a common policy.

Watch out, if the advice is not right, it can destroy you

 There was a parish which was a model for prayer life, communion and co-operation for others. Reason: the parish priest was a pious man who took all right advices and implemented them. Years later, when Rev Fr Xavier Khan Vattayil who narrated this incident recently, went to the same parish, it was a different scene. It turned into something which an ideal parish should not become – parishioners were divided on various issues, prayer life took a turn for the worse and there was infighting and quarrel all over the place.

 He enquired about this transformation. How did this happen? The reason shocked Rev Fr Vattayil. When a new parish priest came to that parish, he turned to some wrong people for advices and he followed those wrong advices. Devil acted through these wrong advices.        

 “You must be careful about your friendship with others. You must not seek the advice from impious and wicked people. This will put you in trouble.”

This advice is from Rev Fr Vattayil, a man of God who has saved thousands of people for Jesus Christ. He’s a great preacher of God and a guiding force for the Catholic Church.

  “Many families, convents, prayer groups and even parishes are divided because of the wrong advices. Satan will divide and destroy good families, prayer groups and religious institutions through wrong advices from wrong friendships,” Rev Fr Vattayil says. I never miss a chance to hear him. He narrates stories and passages from the Bible and relates them to the current situations in a lucid and powerful style.

  On Sunday (March 22), I heard him talk about the impact and influence of friendship and advisors on people. There’re good and bad friends/ advisors. The catch lies there. “If we follow the wrong advice of a friend, it can destroy us. It’s very important to follow the good advice,” Rev Fr Vattayil says.

 Quoting from Psalms (1:1), he says, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers.” He says some of these so-called friends are tools in the hands of devil to deny us the blessing and grace from God.

  Rev Fr Vattayil explains the impact of wrong advice through a passage in 1Kings 12. It’s story of King Rehoboam, son of King Soloman. He rejected the advice given by elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

  The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’” He implemented the wrong advice given by the young men and later paid a heavy price. His kingdom was divided. “The wrong advice given to him led to this division,” he said.

  You may have friends who give all types of advices, but ignore such friends as devil can act through them. 

Clericalism, boring homilies… and flight of Catholics

 Why are people scooting from the Roman Catholic Church in some of the countries?
  The flight of Catholics is a major concern for the Church. Pope Francis recently said the “flight of Catholics is caused by distance, clericalism and boring homilies as opposed to closeness, work, integration and the burning word of God.”

 He says it’s a phenomenon that affects not only the Church but also the evangelical communities.

  In a recent interview to Valentina Alazraki from the Mexican broadcaster Televisa, Pope said that in Latin America, a “strong clericalism creates a certain distance from people”. Clericalism in Latin America has been one of the biggest obstacles to the growth of the laity. The laity in Latin America grew only thanks to popular piety, which the Pope said, has given the opportunity to lay people to be creative and free, through worship and processions.

 But organizationally, the laity has not grown enough. They have  not grown because of the clericalism that creates distance, he told Televisa. 
 Pope Francis has been broaching the subject of clericalism in the church, much to the discomfort of many in the church. Clericalism is defined as a state of affairs in which there is an unnecessary or overly exaggerated importance attributed to clergy, in such a way that the laity relate to them as subjects to be ruled rather than a people to be lovingly pastored.

Boring homilies

 The Pope also spoke of “disastrous” homilies as another reason for the flight of Catholics. "I do not know if they are the majority - but they do not reach the heart. They are lessons in theology and are abstract or long and this is why I devoted so much space to them in Evangeli Gaudium,” he said.

 Typically evangelicals are close to the people, they aim for the heart and prepare their homilies really well. “I think we have to have a conversion in this. The Protestant concept of the homily is much stronger than the Catholic. It’s almost a sacrament,” he said.

 Pope Francis made these observations when the Televisa journalist asked Pope for a reflection on the proliferation of sects in Mexico and more generally in Latin America and the Churches’ responsibility in the loss of faithful.

 On evangelical movements, he said, “what they typically offer is personal contact, the ability to be close to the people, to greet and meet people in person.” Pope also made a distinction between honest and good evangelical movements and those that are considered sects. For example, there are proposals that are not religious and Christian evangelicals also reject them. There are sects -- some originate from the theology of prosperity -- that promise a better life and, although they appear animated by great religious spirit, eventually they ask for money, he said.

The continuing saga of vineyard parable

 When Rev Fr Biju Kollamkunnel explained the significance and connotation of ‘The Parable of the Vineyard’, it was a new revelation and strong reminder to many of the listeners, including this writer. We often glance through this parable, stoically, without understanding or trying to understand the essence of it and practicing in our lives. We need to take a serious view of the message it conveys, he says.
 Mathew 21:33-46 (read below) vividly describes how the landowner entrusted the vineyard to some farmers who, instead of giving the former’s share, treated his servants badly – they beat many, stoned others and also killed some of them. The landowner sent more servants and all of them met with the same fate. And finally, he sent his son. He was killed by the farmers who thought they would inherit the property in the absence of a heir.
 Rev Fr Biju, a pious priest from a Mumbai Catholic parish, says the imagery from the parable is very striking: the servants are prophets sent by God on various occasions, farmers are the people of Israel (religious people, Pharisees and Scribes etc), landowner is God the Father and his son is Jesus Christ. Various prophets who preached the Word of God were rejected and killed by the same people who were supposed to be God’s chosen people. Then, when God the Father sent His only Son Jesus Christ, He was also rejected and killed.
 The saga of ‘The Parable of the Vineyard’ continues even today. “Many of us behave like the farmers in the parable. In the parable, the story was not over with the killing of the son. The landowner appears and threw out the farmers from the vineyard and punished them. Our fate will be like this farmers if we don’t realize our mistakes and come back to God,” he says.
  According to him, we should not treat Jesus like the way farmers treated the son of the landowner. This raises several questions: Have we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour? Or have we rejected Him? It’s very easy to find out whether we have accepted or rejected Him. If we are following the Word of God, we’re on track. If we’re doing what Jesus told us to do, then there’s nothing to worry.
  Rev Fr Biju says it’s significant to note that the landowner then brought new farmers who were ready to give him his share of the crop without creating any hassles.  Jesus didn’t stop with the parable. “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed,” Jesus said.
 This is a warning to us. What’s Jesus indicating here? He says the so-called religious people in Israel let their opportunity go in waste in favour of Gentiles. Jesus indicated that there will be a new people of God made up of all people who will temporarily replace the Jews so that Jesus can establish His church. This is relevant even today. We get many opportunities to work in the vineyard for Jesus, but we either ignore them or go after worldly things.
 Dr D John, one of my favourite Catholic charismatic preachers, narrated a story in a television programme recently. A poor family used to live in a slum in a North Indian town. The parents and four daughters used to live in a one-room shanty. “It was poor family… many days they went to sleep hungry. However, one great thing the parents told their daughters was to attend the Holy Mass daily. With the help of nuns and priests, they passed the 10th grade and then attended a nursing course. They got jobs in a Delhi hospital. Later they got jobs in the US,” Dr John said.
 “Now they own a 6-bedroom mansion in the US with swimming pool in the backyard. God lifted them from a slum to a good position in the US. Their faith has only increased over the years,” he said. The message: if we persist with our faith and seek His Kingdom, God will shower His blessings on us.     
 Rev Fr Biju says, ‘we can’t afford to be people who attend the Holy Mass on Sundays just to show that we’re Christians… and not bothered about other things that Jesus had told us.” Let’s listen to Jesus. We should not end up like the cruel farmers who turned against the servants and son of the landowner.        

Mathew 21:33-46
The Parable of the Vineyard

 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.  When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.  Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.  Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
“But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Why God is not listening to your prayer? You aren’t living as per the Word of God

 One day when Rev Fr Sharlo Ezhanikattu CST came out of the church after the morning services, he met with a middle-aged woman. She was crying. When asked, she said, "my son is the member of a rowdy gang who does anything -- even kill others -- for money. I prayed intensely, attended retreats and adoration services for his retrieval and redemption, but to no avail.”

  “Now I have decided to stop praying. I have decided not to go to church now. If God is not listening to my prayers, why should I pray?" the woman said.

  Rev Fr Sharlo was upset and a storm brewed in his mind. He prayed and prayed about this woman's problem. He thought over it again and again -- why God didn't listen to her prayer? One day he went to the chapel and prayed intensely for nearly 45 minutes. Then he got this message. "Listen! The Lord's arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call," Isaiah 59:1.

 Looking at the Holy Eucharist, he continued his prayer. "Then why you didn't you listen to that mother's prayer?" Rev Fr Sharlo asked. He narrated this incident in his talk on “Shalom”, a Christian charismatic television channel from Kerala, India.

 He got another message. Isaiah 59:2: "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."

 It's very simple. God says our sins have kept Him away from us. Because of our iniquities and sinful life, I'm not listening to your prayer. This is what God says.

  “For many years, we Christians attend Holy Masses, adoration services and pray rosary every day. You probably started your family life 15 or 20 or 25 years ago, but still you were unable to save your family,” Rev Fr Sharlo said. What does it mean? You were unable to get the blessings from God. “There's only one reason. It's very important. You are not living as per the Word of God. You are not leading a life as desired by God. That's why blessings, grace and holiness are missing in your family life,” Rev Fr Sharlo said.

  Do you know the basic problem with Christians these days? “They lead a life as they like or prefer it. They do whatever they like in life, and are least bothered whether God likes it or not. After leading such a life, they pray religiously -- day in and out. Daily. But they don't get the blessings and grace from the Lord as they don’t live according to the Word of God,” he said.

  Most of us start praying intensely only when we face a crisis in our life. But there’s no solution and God is not listening to the prayer. Why?

  Many people are now rushing to charismatic retreat centres for healing and blessings. They ask – ‘I attended several prayer meetings, adoration services, rosaries and Holy Mass, but why I'm not getting any blessing or healing in my life? Why is God not giving any grace in our life?’ 

  “Please understand, it's not because of lack of prayers that Christians are not being saved. Christians are not saved because they are not leading a life as per the Word of God. They are not coming out of their sinful life and praying to God,” Rev Fr Sharlo said..
 "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil," says I Peter 3:12.

 Psalms 91:14 says, ""Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name."

 Look at Saul in the Old Testament. He didn't have anything. He knew only to pray. When he started living as per God's wishes, he got blessings from the Lord.

 How can you love Lord? How can you come closer to Him. The only way is to come out of the sinful life and break all the friendship with Satan. "For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?" says Luke 9:25.

 It's very clear. Only people who forsake the "pleasures" offered by the world and reject the machinations of Satan can enjoy the grace, blessings and happiness offered by God. We need to change the practice of leading our own worldly life and then go and pray incessantly. “If you lead a life as per the Word of God and then make an offering to the Lord, then He will listen to you. Who will enter the Kingdom of God? Please read Psalms 15,” he said.
Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
   Who may live on your holy mountain?

 The one whose walk is blameless,
    who does what is righteous,
    who speaks the truth from their heart;
 whose tongue utters no slander,
    who does no wrong to a neighbor,
    and casts no slur on others;
 who despises a vile person
    but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
    and does not change their mind;
 who lends money to the poor without interest;
    who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
    will never be shaken.

 For, every Christian should understand one thing. We should not be just leading a prayer life. “We should bring our life also into it. If you lead a life of your own without bothering to follow God's ways, they there won’t be any grace or blessing in your life,” Rev Fr Sharlo said.

 What we need is both prayer and a life as per the Word of God.

Modern-day Pharisees and Scribes

  Christians are not behind anyone in fasting and praying. They make it a point to observe 40 days of fasting and attend Holy Mass daily during Lent. Not only this, Christians also do lot of tithing. Very good. Is that enough?
 No. Some of us are modern-day Pharisees and Scribes.
  Some of us forget many other things. Do you pay bribe? Yes, some of us Christians do that. They also give bribe to get things done. Though I’m not sure about European and American Christians, in India, it’s common. Yes, Christians who pay bribe to get contract jobs. Christians in official positions who take bribe for clearing a contract or issuing a certificate to a citizen which should have come to him gratis.  
 What I was trying to say is it’s meaningless to observe Lent, go to Holy Mass daily and at the same time, maintain all kinds of outward appearances that impress others and follow corrupt ways. There’s a lack of sense of sin among people: what’s a sin and what’s not. We care two hoots about it. For many, taking and giving bribe is still not sin.      
Yes, it’s a grave sin to use God as a cover for injustice. It’s more important to get rid of such sinful activities than fasting for 40 days. If you avoid non-vegetarian food and alcohol but indulge in bribery, corruption and other inducements, there’s no meaning in observing Lent.  
 According to a report by Susy Hodges, Pope Francis highlighted the example of somebody who goes to Mass every Sunday and receives communion but then asked: does that person pay his or her employees in cash under the table, maybe a salary below the going rate and without making the necessary social security contributions? 
Our corrupt ways keep us away from God. If we call out 1000 times “Ohh Lord, my God” but continue with our evil practices, Lord is not going to listen to our prayer.  
 Pope said during his homily at morning Mass celebrated in the Santa Marta residence: “So many men and women of faith, have faith but then divide the tablets of the law. ‘Yes, I do this’ – ‘But do you practice charity?’ – Yes of course, I always send a cheque to the Church’ – ‘Ok, that’s good. But at your home, within your own Church, are you generous and are you fair with those  who are your dependents  - be they your children, your grandparents, your employees?’  You cannot make offerings to the Church on the shoulders of the injustice that you practice towards your dependents.  This is a very serious sin: using God as a cover for injustice.”  
 The pontiff went on to explain how during Lent Christians should be reaching out to those who are less fortunate, be they children, old people without private health insurance who may have to wait eight hours to be seen by a doctor  and those who have erred and who are now in prison.
Christians, especially during Lent, should not confine themselves to outside signs of piety like fasting and charity and instead must reach out to those in need. More than that, Christians should look within themselves and see whether they need to extend the fasting to other spheres of life. It can be anything, not necessarily bribe or corruption. It can be excessive anger, jealousy, lust, slander, deceit and unforgiveness. Or anything that keeps us away from God. Otherwise, we will end up like Pharisees and Scribes during the time of Jesus.

Modi summons Delhi police chief Bassi after Christian school attack

By Andrew MacAskill

Reuters

NEW DELHI, February 13,


 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday summoned Delhi's police commissioner after a sixth attack on a Christian building in the capital in the last two months, fuelling concerns that religious minorities are being targeted.
Suspects broke into a Christian school in south Delhi on Friday, stole some money, damaged closed-circuit television cameras and ransacked parts of the building. Police say they suspect the case is one of burglary rather than intimidation.
"The prime minister expressed his concern and said this case must be solved immediately," said Delhi’s police commissioner, B. S. Bassi. "He said that security must be foolproof so that attacks don’t re-occur."
Political rivals have accused the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party of exploiting religious divisions since taking power last May. Hundreds of Christians clashed with police last week, demanding better government protection.
Religious intolerance in India would have shocked freedom fighter icon Mahatma Gandhi, U.S. President Barack Obama said last week. India's success depended on its not splintering along religious lines, Obama said on a visit last month.
Even after a spate of attacks, Modi, a self-proclaimed Hindu nationalist, has yet to publicly comment on the violence.
In a statement on Friday, Modi said he summoned the Delhi police commissioner to express concerns over the "rising crime rate in the capital." There was mention of attacks on churches.
Incidents of arson, vandalism and burglary have been reported from at least six Christian buildings since December.
The most serious incident was a fire that gutted a church in north Delhi, which church leaders said had been set deliberately, because of a strong smell of kerosene.
Credit: Reuters

The intolerance of tolerance

Christianity under attack
 When US President Barack Obama, who made a high-profile visit to India recently, described the country as an "incredible and beautiful" place, "full of magnificent diversity", not many were surprised. But his next observation on India -- the land of multitudinous cultural, religious and social medleys -- had top government leaders in Delhi squirming in their chairs. "It's a place where, in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted by other peoples of faith, simply due to their heritage and their beliefs -- acts of intolerance that would have shocked Gandhiji, the person who helped to liberate that nation," Obama said.
 The India government has not officially reacted to Obama's observations. Narendra Modi might have least expected this from Obama after walking shoulder to shoulder at Raj Path, the ceremonial boulevard in New Delhi. For many in Delhi's corridors of power, it's like alluding India is also a land of religious bigots.
 Gandhiji might be turning in his grave, seeing the way the country's secular fabric is being smashed to smithereens. The Christian community has been at the receiving end for the last nine months. A bevy of crimes of hatred and desecration of holy places of worship have angered and hurt the Christian community across the country. 'Ghar wapasi' programmes (reconversion),  saffronisation of education and culture, the demands for a Hindu Rashtra and desecration of holy places are again posing big challenges to the secular ethos of the nation in general and causing fear and consternation in the Christian community in particular.
 Church leaders have not taken things lying down.
 On February 6, 140 Latin-rite bishop who came to attend the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) in Bangalore led a candle-light rally of hundreds of priests, nuns and faithful.  Fr Stephen Alathara, CCBI deputy secretary general and Fr Laurence Culas, CCBI Convener, PR Committee, said in a statement that the Church leaders decided to hold the procession to express "their anguish and concern over the threats to peace and communal harmony in the wake of "the various untoward incidents in different parts of the country." Hardly a day has passed off in recent months without reports of attacks on Christians, churches and Christian institutions from across the nation. "Churches have been torched even in the national capital while reports of ‘ghar waspsi' and blatant threats to hold mass reconversions are causing anxiety to the Christians scattered in the far corners of the nation," the CCBI statement said.
 Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), the body representing bishops from all the three rites, has strongly come out against the prejudice and bigotry towards Christians. "The unfortunate incidents that happened in the past few months in various parts of our country have hurt the sentiments of the Christian community and has shaken the faith in the secular fabric of our nation. The shocking incidents that have taken place against churches, clergy and laity in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have caused great concern for the Christian community," CBCI said after a special consultation.
 The CBCI special consultation was presided over by the CBCI President Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholicos and attended by Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, Cardinal George Alencherry and other religious leaders. The church leaders are a worried lot. They are concerned about the vitiated atmosphere that prevents people from practicing their religion without fear and coercion.
 CBCI's view is that "the recent controversies in the name of religious reconversions portray a negative image about India. Communal polarization and the bid to homogenize India are posing threat to all minorities - women, dalits, and all linguistic, cultural and religious minorities". When we remain mute spectators to the acts of persecutors, we are standing in the way of the people to express their freedom of religion. In India, the Christian community, which has a history of 2000 years, has been in the forefront of caring for the poor through education, healthcare and better living conditions. They spread the message of love and comfort the afflicted. They never entertained intolerance or hate crimes.
 On February 5, a delegation of Indian Christian leaders gave a memorandum to the Prime Minister demanding security for Christians, their places of worship and details of a wave of violence against Christians in the last one year. However, the situation has not improved at the ground level. Another attack on a Christian institution in Delhi after the election results shows that the powers-that-be haven’t learnt their lessons.
 "The recurring assaults and vandalism against Christian targets in different parts of country and failure of the guardians of law to bring the culprits to book have only worsened the air of impunity. The silence of those responsible for upholding our Constitutional Rights and their failure to protect the community are indeed baffling," said the statement signed by CCBI President Oswald Cardinal Gracias and others. The new-found bravado of the perpetrators of crimes against Christians appeared more than a bluster. "Much of the violence took place after the new government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, came to power in May 2014. Violence reached its highest level between August and October, with 56 cases, and has continued in 2015," the memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister says.
 Two Vatican bishops were denied visa by the Indian government recently. Archbishop Arthur Roche, secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, and Archbishop Protase Rugambwa, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and president of the Pontifical Missionary Societies had to drop their plan to participate in the CCBI meeting in Bangalore.
Constitution of India guarantees freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion. "Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion," says India's Constitution.
 This guarantee seems to have been thrown to the wind if the incidents of atrocities towards Christians are any indication. The ghar wapasi programme was squarely denounced by the CBCI leaders as "a political process, carried out by the powerful exponents of religious nationalism - much against the principle of Secularism". It does not even have the legitimacy of freedom of political expression, they said.
 The acts of intolerance in India are not very different from the sectarian war in Syria or the murder of Muslims and Christians in Nigeria, religious war in the Central African Republic, a rising tide of anti-Semitism and hate crimes in Europe. In short, to be a Christian is becoming a big challenge as faith is being perverted and twisted by bigots. The intolerance of tolerance is breaching all limits.
 Why do these things happen? Whither the love, compassion, empathy and concern among people. Why are hate groups gaining strength? The intolerance towards other religious minorities in a modern world with all the advancements in technology and outlook leaves much to be desired. These hate groups use social media tools like Facebook and Twitter accounts to further their interests and keep their flame of intolerance raging. Their reach is enormous.
 There's no doubt that people should speak up against religious oppression and bigotry. Nobody, not even religions, can say that God will forgive and condone religious oppression. All of us desire a peaceful nation with the religious majority and minorities leading a life of mutual respect and support. The nation will develop only in such an atmosphere. When viewed in a spiritual context, it may be time to sharpen our faith and fan it across the world. Yes, the same flame of faith which was ignited by none other than Jesus Christ 2000 years ago

How Lord frees us from stress, tension, worries, concerns

By Simmy Joshy

 When we read Psalm 105, we come to know how King David was totally dependent upon the Lord.

 “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always,” says Psalm 105:4. Again in Psalm 119, David’s total dependence on the Lord is conveyed very clearly. In Old Testament, we see how Jeremiah and Isaiah experienced special blessings as they lived their lives in total dependence on the Lord. 

 Yes, our Lord expects us to depend on him completely and unconditionally at all times. That is, we need to trust him in all our life situations. Then Lord’s grace needed for successfully dealing with any circumstances would definitely flow through and strengthen us. Instead, if we depend on our own strength, money, health, speech, knowledge, skill or any of our or earthly resources, then we would most probably be struggling to accomplish the end, in the most appropriate way.

 Complete dependence on the Lord invariably frees us from any form of stress or strain or tensions or worries or concerns, etc that we might encounter in different life situations. “If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4: 11 NIV).

 We need to trust him for simple to complex things in life. Trusting in the almighty has to become a habit for the believers. He expects such kind of relationship from his chosen people. Are we growing in that direction?

  I think, one would most probably rely on the Lord only when all other options seem impossible or beyond the reach. Perhaps one such impossible situation would have made us realise the freedom and joy we experience through trusting completely in the lord. For example, everyone will rely on the Lord when one is terminally ill and have not enough medication or access to a medical practitioner. Such experience with the Lord should not remain as a mere standalone one but make it regular and experience the power and grace of the living god in our day to day lives.

  “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm” (Psalm 20: 7-8 NIV). Life becomes much more peaceful, wonderful and enjoyable if we depend on the Lord for everything, despite having all the resources for conducting the task. “But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah, 40: 31 NIV). That is, those who rely on the Lord would remain powerful to the end even under extreme circumstances as they have the Lord with them.

  In today’s world, people of different ages complaint of having stressed out or feel that they have reached a stage where everything appears bleak. In order to avoid such horrific experiences in life we need to depend on the Lord for everything. God has promised wonderful gifts for those who depend on him. To all who are willing to trust in the Lord, Lord offers everlasting peace and capability to remain fruitful even in the midst of adversities.

  “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jeremiah, 17: 7 – 9 NIV). Through trusting God we are completely freed from all the worries, issues and problems in life and we could approach life as it comes in a very peaceful and joyful manner. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NIV).

  Just like a little baby depends and trusts his or her parents for getting his or her things done, Christians or believers need to look to the Lord at all times, no matter how resourceful we are. Of course everyone would be experiencing Christ and his power, especially during the most difficult life situations, but we need to understand the need and worth of depending on the Lord for everything. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25 NIV).

 This clearly shows the need for depending on God and not one’s own capabilities, knowledge or strength. Our lives are designed by God to rely on him and so we can be perfect only if we trust the creator in its entirety. So why wait for any longer?

(The writer is a marine biologist based in Cochin)

Globalisation of indifference

 Has a selfish attitude of indifference taken global proportions? Yes, it's a reality. We are unconcerned about a lot of things. We are unconcerned about others. When lent season is on the way, this globalization of indifference is a verity that should be causing distress among many of us.
 * When people are being persecuted in the name of religion in countries like Syria, Iraq and many African nations, we are mute spectators.
* When people die of poverty in many third world countries, we are unconcerned and live in luxury.
* There’s a lot of injustice and inequality around us but we are not bothered.
* Rich-poor gap is widening in many countries. While rich is getting richer and richer, poor remains poor.
* We're unmoved when churches in Europe and other regions remain empty and people turn away from God.
* People are increasingly losing the sense of sin and the Kingdom of God.
  This selfish attitude of indifference is the theme of Pope Francis’ Lenten message this year. This attitude is self-serving and inward-looking. “Usually, when we are healthy and comfortable, we forget about others (something God the Father never does): we are unconcerned with their problems, their sufferings and the injustices they endure… Our heart grows cold. As long as I am relatively healthy and comfortable, I don’t think about those less well off. Today, this selfish attitude of indifference has taken on global proportions, to the extent that we can speak of a globalization of indifference,” he says.
 A report by charity group Oxfam recently said the richest one per cent of the world’s population will have more wealth than the remaining 99 per cent by next year. Oh my God, can you imagine the plight of a lion’s share of this “99 per cent” category?
 According to the Oxfam report titled “Wealth: Having It All and Wanting More,” the share of global wealth owned by the richest one per cent has increased from 44 per cent in 2009 to 48 per cent in 2014 -- a trend that will eventually lead to the richest owning over 50 per cent of wealth by 2016. Moreover, the study found that the richest 80 people in the world now own the same amount of wealth as bottom 50 per cent of the population. This clearly is a case of inequality and points to the alarming widening of rich-poor gap.
 On the other hand, internal strife, communal wars and religious intolerance are rising across the world. Many nations in the Middle East and Africa are facing major internal issues. 
  Pope’s advice: it is a problem which we, as Christians, need to confront. “One of the most urgent challenges is precisely the globalization of indifference. Indifference to our neighbour and to God also represents a real temptation for us Christians,” Pope says.
 This is inimical to our spiritual health. It leads to a throw-away culture and an economy of exclusion.

 According to apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, just as the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say “thou shalt not” to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills. How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? “This is a case of exclusion. Can we continue to stand by when food is thrown away while people are starving? This is a case of inequality. Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape,” it says.

 While globalising trade, markets and economies, we also globalised the selfish attitude of indifference.  

 Flooded with news reports and troubling images of human suffering, we often feel our complete inability to help. What can we do to avoid being caught up in this spiral of distress and powerlessness? “First, we can pray in communion with the Church on earth and in heaven. Let us not underestimate the power of so many voices united in prayer! Second, we can help by acts of charity, reaching out to both those near and far through the Church’s many charitable organizations,” he says.
  Lent is a favourable time for showing this concern for others by small yet concrete signs of our belonging to the one human family. He says the “suffering of others is a call to conversion, since their need reminds me of the uncertainty of my own life and my dependence on God and my brothers and sisters”. If we humbly implore God’s grace and accept our own limitations, we will trust in the infinite possibilities which God’s love holds out to us. We will also be able to resist the diabolical temptation of thinking that by our own efforts we can save the world and ourselves, he says.
 Yes, lent is a time of renewal for the whole Church, for each communities and every believer. Above all it is a “time of grace” (2 Cor6:2). God does not ask of us anything that he himself has not first given us. “We love because he first has loved us” (1 Jn4:19). He is not aloof from us. Each one of us has a place in his heart. He knows us by name, he cares for us and he seeks us out whenever we turn away from him. He is interested in each of us; his love does not allow him to be indifferent to what happens to us, Pope summed up his Lenten message.

In the name of a saint...

 As the vehicle decorated with a brilliant display of electric illumination and the procession of hundreds of faithfuls wound their way up the hill, it was a sight to be seen. Many of the faithfuls were reciting the rosary. While many others just walked sombrely, some  youngsters were chatting away to glory on their mobile phones, most likely WhatsApp. When the procession, concomitant with a band set, was about to enter the church, a brilliant display of fireworks started and the sky was lit up with a multitude of colours. The church and the shamiana were embellished with colourful flowers and fancy clothes. After the church services, there was dinner for everyone.
 They were celebrating the feast of St Sebastian, who was martyred during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians around 288 AD.
 "Your celebration should not be restricted to grand display of procession, band set and fireworks. Celebration of feasts should be an occasion for our sanctification. They gave up their lives to proclaim their total faith in Jesus Christ," the priest reminded the believers.  In short, he was referring to the outward show of splendour and opulence, and the ignorance of what saints like St Sebastian stood for and why they died for Jesus. Celebration of feasts has become a superficial spiritual trapping. 

  Hey, what’s going on? People in Syria and Iraq are being persecuted and killed for proclaiming their faith in Jesus Christ. When terrorists come with guns and bombs, do we have the courage and conviction to say, “I’m a Christian, I will die for Him.”
 Celebration of the feasts of saints is very common in Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in India, one of the Eastern churches under Vatican. Feasts of St Sebastian and St George are celebrated with much fanfare and cacophony. In many places, priests and even bishops tried to make such occasions a solemn and sombre affair and bring down the superficial grandeur. They tried to add more spiritual dimension, but the faithful didn't budge. St Mary's Church, Nakapuzha, which is under the Kothamangalam diocese of Syro Malabar Church in Kerala, India, celebrated the feast of St Mary four months ago. While the five-day charismatic renewal service by reputed preachers drew only less than 300-400 people daily, the grand procession on the penultimate day of the feast was attended by 15,000 people. 
 In many places, celebration of feasts has become an occasion for the public display of wealth and influence. It's a field day for those seeking to be seen as successfully organising and managing affairs. Many of the faithful even forget the fact that they are supposed to ask the saints for mediation but they pray directly to these saints for favours and blessings. They forget the universal and fundamental fact that all blessings and grace come from God. Saints can only intercede for us before God.
 There's also a delusion among some people that if you don't please the saints with gifts or offerings some mishap will occur. "Some people present fowls to church during the feast of St Antony out of fear that the saint will send a snake to bite them otherwise," said a priest.
 Why do we celebrate the feasts of saints? Should we celebrate the feasts of saints? Yes, celebration of a saint's feast is perfectly fine. Vatican's official book Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) says, "by keeping the memorials of the saints -- first of all the holy Mother of God, then the apostles, the martyrs, and other saints -- on fixed days of the liturgical year, the Church on earth shows that she is united with the liturgy of heaven. She gives glory to Christ for having accomplished his salvation in his glorified members; their example encourages her on her way to the Father."
 According to CCC, when the Church keeps the memorials of martyrs and other saints during the annual cycle, she proclaims the Paschal mystery in those "who have suffered and have been glorified with Christ. "She proposes them to the faithful as examples who draw all men to the Father through Christ, and through their merits she begs for God's favours," CCC says.
 That said, we prove again and again that we're not behind anyone in diluting the faith a la the firends of Eleazor in Maccabees. The story of Eleazor in 2 Maccabees 6:18-31 should be an eye-opener to all those who are wavering in their faith. There was an elderly and highly respected teacher of the Law by the name of Eleazar, whose mouth was being forced open to make him eat pork. But he preferred an honorable death rather than a life of disgrace. So he spit out the meat and went willingly to the place of torture, showing how people should have courage to refuse unclean food, even if it costs them their lives. Those in charge of the sacrifice had been friends of Eleazar for a long time, and because of this friendship they told him privately to bring meat that was lawful for him to eat. He need only pretend to eat the pork, they said, and in this way he would not be put to death. But he refused any deception and was killed. Will we stand firm like Eleazor?
 “Let us assimilate the intense faith that saints proclaimed. Even if we have to become martyrs like many saints, we must have a firm conviction that we won’t lose our uncompromising faith,” said Rev Fr Shibu Pulickal in his message at a feast celebration in a Mumbai church.

 We must venerate saints, but don't worship them. When we venerate saints, we can't go overboard. Let it be a proclamation of the Paschal mystery.