Catholicism and the Lord of the Rings

Reading "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R Tolkien was such an overwhelming experience that had me glued for so many days. I borrowed a single volume edition of the trilogy and could hardly wait for the reading time before bed each day, journeying with the author into the lands of middle earth.

I'm not surprised therefore, to know of its overwhelming popularity - a survey by online bookstore Amazon gave LOTR the numero uno status, adjudging it the favorite book across countries and continents.

Fr Barron is the man behind http://www.wordonfire.org/, he's the exciting sensation on Catholic blogosphere, leveraging the power of the Internet to reach hungry online audiences through videos, talks, articles and other media. Catch him speaking on how Tolkien, a practicing Catholic, wove the story of the Lord of the Rings around his Catholic faith:

Part 1


Part 2

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

This past Monday brought to a close the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity", which started the previous Monday (January 18th). Each year at this time, Christians pray the prayer that the Lord Jesus Christ prayed and that the Apostle John recorded in his Gospel [John 17:11].

I recently finished reading the book "Rome Sweet Home" by Scott and Kimberly Hahn, on their journey to the Catholic Church. Scott and Kimberly were Prebyterian Christians steeped in the Scriptures and faith and practices of their Church. Scott describes their journey to Rome as follows:

"In truth, the journey began as a detective story, but soon it became more like a horror story, until it finally ended up as a great romance story - when Christ unveiled His Bride, the Church."

Peter Kreeft, author of "Handbook of Christian Apologetics" says in the foreword:

"Because of the intrinsic drama of its subject - man's quest for his Creator and his for him - all conversion stories are worth listening to. But not all arrest you and sweep you along like a powerful river as this one does."

Scott writes that as he grew deeper in faith along his journey, he began to realize the great desire of God for unity in the Church - that all believers join together so that they share the communion with one another and with Christ and so that the world sees a visibly united Body of Christ. This, unfortunately is not so today.

It is for this reason, that every year from January 18th to 25th, we observe the "Week of prayer for Christian Unity". This observance began in 1908 with the "Church Unity Octave", an experiment started by Lewis Thomas Wattson (1863-1940), an Episcopalian, at Graymoor, New York, to encourage Anglicans and Catholics to pray together for unity in response to Jesus plea to the Father: "I pray that they may all be one" [Jn 17:21a]. Almost as tangible proof of the efficacy of this prayerful exercise, Wattson, together with the Society of the Atonement founded by him on 7th October 1898 entered the Catholic Church on 30th October 1909.

Does the claim that the Catholic Church is the one true Church sound egotistic and self-righteous? It is not so, because it is Jesus who established the Church. We cannot not follow Him. To deny that the Church that Jesus founded is the true Church would be egotistical. We have a duty to the seek the Truth and once we find it, hold fast to it and defend it. It is honest for people to argue for their faith, even if they think we are wrong. But it should be done with charity and respect for the other person.

Indeed we can learn a lot from someone who has come to the Church from without. Scott Hahn was so overcome by the richness of Catholicism, especially the Eucharist that he feels they (Protestants, though we should rather call them separated brothers and sisters) have the menu while we Catholics have the meal. As cradle Catholics, we have in the Church and the Eucharist, great riches, but how much do we really appreciate it. In fact, if we really did, we would prepare for it sufficiently - the lines for the Confession would be full. Why is it that so few come for confession on Saturdays not only at our parish, but everywhere?

It is upto us to work on our relationship with God daily. We need to pray regularly and read the Bible and go for Mass often, because without this, we cannot face the enemy on our own. Only with God's help and with Jesus by our side can we courageously face up to the challenges of living out our Christian vocation. How can we share something we don't have? We need to know Jesus more and more - through prayer, the reading of the Scripture, listening attentively to homilies and teachings, reading books about the faith and about the Catholic Church. We should know Jesus to the point of overflowing with the desire to share Him. Jesus is not happy to see so many of our separated brothers and sisters not part of His one Body.

Therefore I urge you, dear brothers and sisters to pray to God our Father for the unity of all Christians. We need to join forces because our enemies are not our Christian brothers and sisters nor any other people, but Satan and all his wicked plans. He comes only to steal, kill and destroy. We fight against our own selves to master the desires that take us away from God. This is our greatest need - to be made more like God. But we should be faithful and help each other by our prayers, life and witness. For Bangaloreans, the book "Rome Sweet Home" is available at Pauline Publications, temporarily shifted to Albert Street.

Do not worry about tomorrow

Ash Wednesday began the season of Lent, when the Church observes a 40 day period before Easter. Lent was earlier called the Quadragesima, which comes from the Latin word for forty. Lent means springtime. It is a time to renew our relationship with God - just like in spring everything blossoms with new life, so in our spiritual lives, we should blossom like new flowers.

Jesus said:

Ask and you will receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives and everyone who seeks finds, and the door is open to anyone who knocks.

Which one of you hands his son a stone when he asks for bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you, then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will give good things to those who ask Him

Matthew 11:7-11

and:

Do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow nor reap. They gather nothing into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more important than they? Can any of you by worrying, add a single moment to your life span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say "What are we to eat?" or "What are we to drink?" or "What are we to wear?"

Matthew 6:25-32

The common thread in both sayings of Jesus is faith. If one has faith, one would not worry about tomorrow, trusting that God will provide. The sisters of Missionaries of Charity, to name a good example, do not have any income other than donations from people. They live out this trust in Providence, and their needs are actually provided for. How difficult it is to actually trust everything to Providence.

Fasting is a way to leave aside the worry about food, and remember God. It helps to foster solidarity with those who have little to eat. By fasting or abstaining from things that we like, we live out the message of Jesus, that "life is more important than food and the body more important than clothing". We come to terms with what we really are - creatures of God, who enjoy all good things because of His Providence and Mercy, not because of our merit.

Avoiding things of this life that give us joy is one way of living our the sentiment to God that our real treasure is not the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the things we enjoy, but God Himself. God is far greater than any of these. We have the gift of faith, through which we know, more surely than anything else, that God will keep His promise to grant us eternal beatitude if we are faithful. We hope that we will see God face to face and spend eternity with Him, and we live with that hope always.

Prayer in preparation for Holy Communion

Dear Eternal Father, I thank You for sending Your Son Jesus into this world. Lord Jesus, if an earthly bride can prepare herself so much on her wedding day, how much more should I prepare myself to receive You, who are most generous and loving. You, Lord are more perfect than any husband, giving Yourself to die on the cross for my sins. Help me to observe faithfully the fast before receiving You in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. Help me, Holy Spirit to prepare myself by remembering my sins, and help me to worship and adore the Lord with all my heart, all my mind, all my soul and all my strength. Help me, since only with Your help I can be faithful. I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer before listening to God's Word

"All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness."

Eternal and ever living God and Father, thank you for giving me the opportunity to listen to Your word. Send Your Spirit on me, so that I may know my faults and weaknesses through listening to this passage. Your Son, Jesus said:

"If you love God, you will obey His command."

Give me faith and love to carry out the lesson this scripture may demand of me, so that while I still have time, I may train and correct myself. May my sins be washed away through listening to these verses. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with the You and the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.

The dignity and respect due to every person

Recently, the news channels brought to light, a violent attack by the Sri Rama Sene activists on women in a pub. Videos of them beating up the women, pulling their shirts were flashed. The women themselves reported being called by abusive names.

It is said that a society is judged by the way it treats its women. Mutalik, the head of the activist group, made a public statement saying that what was happening the pubs was not correct, saying that the attacks on the women was a good thing. I do not argue about the right or wrong of women drinking alcohol in pubs now. What I'd like to speak about is the dignity of every person.

In biblical history, events are recorded about the good and evil of many people. Adam and Eve, and Cain were given the freedom to choose good over evil. Adam and Eve were free to choose to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. Cain was free to choose what he wanted to sacrifice to God.

God respected the freedom of these Biblical personalities. The people of Israel sinned many times. They broke the sacred covenant many times. God had a plan for them, that they would be redeemed if they turned back from their sins of their own accord. So God sent many prophets to warn them and ask them to repent. Finally God sent His Son Jesus, to save them from their sins.

Jesus loved the downtrodden in his time. He said his mission was to

bring good news to the poor,
proclaim liberty to the captives,
and recovery of sight to the blind,
let the oppressed go free

- Luke 4:18

Surely, it is much harder to stand up for the weak, but that's what Jesus did.

What is the highest form of social justice? Is it to treat people as a crowd, as numbers that make votes in an electorate? Jesus spoke of people as sheep. Does it mean that they were like a crowd to him, since they are a flock? Nowadays, the word flock is used as a collective, without specifying or stressing on the individuality of the members. However, in Jesus time, a shepherd knew his sheep individually. What this means is that each persons individual personality, uniqueness is treated as such.

Jesus words about his people are:

Whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice as he calls
his own sheep by name and leads them out.
- John 10:3,4

It is a very high form of respect to call a person by name, because a name is some thing that is very personal and individual to each person. It is something dear to a person.

My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
- John 10:27

Knowing in the Bible is to have intimate knowledge, a deepest bond. It implies great concern and care of a person.

I consider it a great honour to know Jesus and be called His own. And a great joy to follow him. To follow him is a challenge, constantly requiring expansion of oneself. He demands showing respect and treating people with dignity and honour. A true follower of Jesus will treat others like Jesus treated them, with utmost respect. If God treats us with so much respect, regardless of our actions, loving and forgiving us unconditionally, can we be intolerant to others?

Thanksgiving after Vailankanni trip

I've just returned, with my father from a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Health, Vailankanni, Tamil Nadu. With deep gratitude, I thank Mary, Blessed Mother from my heart, for Her intercession for me, for my safety during the trip; and for living a holy life. The past couple of days have been a blessing, and I'm deeply grateful that I could spend them with a prayerful and penitential heart. Despite all the noise and bustle, these were excellent days for reflection due to the long hours away from the daily grind. I thank my Guardian Angel for his protection, and the Holy Spirit for His inspiration and courage, and the gifts He bestowed on me to make this trip spiritually enriching. I am awestruck to know how our Blessed Lord allows himself to be a little infant. He is present as an infant in the apparitions at Vailankanni, drinking milk offered by the poor boy. I thank Him for His great Sacrifice for the expiation of my sins. I thank the Eternal Father for His great love in sending us His Son to die for us. Glory be His name. I thank our Blessed Mother for her fiat, her "Yes" to God's will in Her life.

Hail King of Glory

Here's a poem of thanksgiving to Jesus I wrote during the Christmas of 2008:

The Holy King of all creation,
Leaving the halls of unspeakable glory,
With a heart of unspeakable goodness,
Comes to be born among us.

The High King, great and glorious,
What shall I play for Him?
The angels sing and glorify Him,
They blow trumpets in His royal courts.

He comes bringing great treasure.
A treasure that is not diminished by sharing.
The treasure of His golden heart.
The Master, humble and meek.

What sweetness awaits those who buy
From Him the unspeakable treasures,
The riches He has to offer,
Worth exchanging everything I possess.

Jesus is the King of Love,
For He sacrificed all for me.
How great my joy to sing,
To thank and praise Him unceasingly.

You, Lord are my greatest encourager.
Your words gladden my heart.
With pure unbounded joy,
A blessing in time of drought.

You that bled and died for me,
Who shed Your last drop of blood,
A most pure and holy blood
A price like no other.

For me, a sinner with bleak future,
Crushed by the sorrow I deserve for my sin.
You paid my price in full, my Saviour!
And rescued me from the jaws of death.

For the wages of sin is death,
But You, Innocent, suffered for me.
Can I not bear Your standard, my King!
Can I not fight the good fight today!

Hail King of glory exalted above,
Praised and blessed who gave me Your Mother,
To be Mother for me and for all,
Hail King of immeasurable greatness!

Christ my Light

Living in this world is a constant journey.
There are problems you thought were not there.
There is a place you do not know has thorns too.
Even after prayer and faith, the works of God,

There are burnt down embers of a beautiful forest.
That forest is our lives, sweet and true,
But the burning embers is the reality of life,
And the offering of our hands before our Lord.

But will we offer it to our precious Savior,
Who can change it and make it good?
Who can cleanse it for the better?
Who can take all the darkness away?

How long can a man bear a cross, I ask.
But how foolish am I when in false expectation,
I expect roses coming now, when my Lord is there,
Walking every step with me.

He it is who bears my cross each day,
To carry pain and remorse and huge burdens,
To have gone into the depths of sin and shame,
By coming here to us and conquering all.

Yes, my all-­conquering Savior is the light now,
My solace and peace and comfort and faith,
Each day he looks at me like he did the Cyrenian,
He's the one who bears the weight of my heart.

Transformed

What happens when we meet someone special? What if that person can enter into our hearts and minds? What if that special one was God? The following poem is a dialogue with Christ, in gratitude for His gift of His Body and Blood:

My tears fill the vale below,
Tears, not of grief, but of joy!
Like water that flowed from You,
From your side, from your heart.

You have spoken to your servant, Lord,
My soul rejoiced in thanks and praise!
For that great sacrifice you made,
On your amazing cross!

I feel your blood and water flow, sweet Jesus,
I see your peaceful face that radiates!
A heart forgiven, bathed in love,
O it flows like a waterfall, a torrent.

O Lord, I was born of my mother here,
Her flesh and blood in me,
But when you enter in, dear Lord,
I am transformed, yes transformed!

My flesh cleansed by you perfect body,
My blood sanctified by yours, precious,
My hands, feet, face, eyes, organs,
My heart, soul, mind and spirit.

What more can I ask, Lord?
You have filled me up!!

Inexpressible gratitude

Holy Lord, You created me in love.
Purest God, You gave me my life.
Perfect Father, You let me live,
Despite knowing all my waywardness.

The years behind are not perfect,
The murky colours of unfaithfulness,
So all mankind is lost unless,
We throw away scales and measures.

Christ, You came to live with me,
Listen and bear all my guilt,
Through perfect love offer Divine grace,
Merited by Your perfect sacrifice.

Should I try to show my thanks?
Should I sing and lift my voice?
Rather, I will surrender to You,
And make my life a song of praise.

In the name of the Father

When a child is born, parents want to name the baby. The little one bears that name for the rest of his or her life. When I was baptized in our Church, I was given the name Terence. I have always preferred to be called Terence, though I have a second name and a family name or surname.

We all have names. Even though we know the names of people, we can forget people's names. For Catholics, the Mass or Eucharist is the highest act of worship. At the beginning of the Mass, the priest says:

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

The name of the Son

In Jewish tradition, the father had the duty and privilege to name the child. Saint Joseph was asked by the angel of God, to name the child born from the womb of his Mary. He was told "Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what is in her womb has been conceived through the Holy Spirit. It was due to this reason that St Joseph went ahead and supported Mary, found a place for her to give birth to Jesus, and named Him exactly as the angel had told him. The New Testament speaks of the significance of the name Jesus when it says:

"He will be called Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins"

Jesus speaks of the "Father"

In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus speaks about prayer in chapter 6. He says in the following part:

5

"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

6

But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

7

^{3 4} In praying, do not babble ...

8

... Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9

^{5 6} "This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

10

your kingdom come, ⁷ your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

11

⁸ Give us today our daily bread;

12

and forgive us our debts, ⁹ as we forgive our debtors;

13

and do not subject us to the final test, ¹⁰ but deliver us from the evil one.

14

¹¹ If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.

15

But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.

To me, it is very clear from this and the further words in the Scripture, that Jesus teaches me that Father is the word by which I should call Him who created me and gave me life. He is the one who listens to me when I need help. He is the one with whom I can speak through prayer.

We have to understand that of the twelve, John is known to have reclined next to Jesus at the last supper. Jesus replied to the question of His disciples
He was close to Jesus and the Gospel which (I firmly believe) he wrote speaks more in the language of Jesus.

Who calls me dearly? Who pronounces my name dearly? Is it not the parents who gave me that name? And if I was baptized in a Church, will not my Father in Heaven (Heavenly Father) pronounce my name with the greatest unction? Jesus had greatest unction for our Heavenly Father. The words He spoke to His apostles is recorded in the Gospel according to John, chapters 14 to 17. In chapter 15, Jesus says:

30

I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world ¹⁴ is coming. He has no power over me,

31

but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go.

Clearly, Scripture affirms and confirms Catholic teaching. It clearly tells me that I should say Father, and call Jesus Christ the Son.

Life of strife and after

Man, on his own, is a hopeless slave.
That man, who did not know,
That there was an answer to his life,
His empty aimless, destructive life.

That man who thought
That there was gain in entertainment
Seeking to fill a wounded spirit
With pleasures that pass and kill

But the truth always dawned
And how painful that dawn,
When all ended in darkness,
In a hollow emptiness.

What he lacked, he knew not,
In his life, to see soul soup,
True strong manna to revive
A flagging and aching spirit.

Some men there are who knew
That they lacked, yes lacked.
In all the wealth and distractions,
They yet knew they needed it.

But what they needed how were they to know?
Go to a lonely place and meditate?
Or pray together in unison?
Follow leaders who say the truth about sin.

And knowing their frailty, they moan,
Knowing this burden, they strive,
To live to do all they can,
Releasing their pangs and chains.

For man is bound until he meets,
The grace that is most perfect.
So lost and forlorn is he until,
He finds that for which he was created.

That is why we preach the Gospel,
Men over the centuries with all passion
Overcoming tempest, storm and wind,
Snake poison, burning oil, the noose of condemnation.

All while having received,
Grace upon grace, blessing upon blessing,
The thing that was most precious,
The living God who redeems us.

Said the Christ, the light of life,
That he who has ears will hear,
He who listens will understand,
Throw the grain to all people.

So that before all shall perish,
Before the fading of our poor lives,
We may find the reason to live,
And find our being and purpose.

Man with Christ, is victorious,
Having the armor of God for ever,
To shield him and help him bear,
The little trouble till his death,

So that one day the moment will come,
Of fulfillment of all life's struggles,
To complete and bring to fruition,
Our blessed lives on earth.

When Earth's Beauty's bounds pass into dissatisfaction

Once a child lived in a great beautiful garden. That child saw all around great splendor and beauty. Above was the clear blue sky and around were beautiful flowers and fragrant smells. The sights and sounds of this garden were immensely lovely.

Then, disaster struck that little one. Well, she had to leave that beautiful garden and live on a big world, with its own sights and sounds. So cut off was she from that beautiful garden that she had no clue where she belonged. She found the new place with its own beauty, yet her life was incomplete - the only sign that something was amiss.

(to be continued)

All Creation Searches for God

Listen to your heart, says Bryan Adams, picturing the love story of Robin Hood and his love. The song tries to capture to love between the friend of the poor and his beloved. The Peace Pilgrim said I searched for God in churches and everywhere, finally I found him in all things that is beyond us, the creative force behind all things. In Paulo Coelho's beautiful book, "The Alchemist", a shepherd finds the soul of the Universe and the soul of man being united. Hinduism talks of the atma(soul), encouraging the search for freedom from attachment and journey to bliss.

Sometimes one may wonder. If I have been blessed with being born to Catholic parents and been given the gift of faith in Jesus Christ, how could God not have given the same gift to all? How would that equate to the great good? Well, since God is just, He does provide the necessary gifts to all in His own manner. You can be born in an island and find no church, no temple, no synagogue, no mosque, no stupa, no whatever. Yet, we are created by our Divine master, the master of all things. This is a great creator who has placed in each of our souls, the desire to know and love God.

It is this desire of us people that causes great wise men to leave the pleasures of money or material wealth and seek God far away. It is this desire that causes great conquerors like Alexander the Great to say to his friend - I have conquered so many lands and so many men are in my command. Yet, deep inside, I have an incompleteness and feel no satisfaction. Our human person is not just a machine. Even if it were a machine, the human body is amazing when you consider how it grows from an embryo and how the heart beats - nothing like a human heart has been created. How the mind works - so amazing with so much imagination.

Yet, the human person is more than a body. More than a body and mind. A complete human person is a body, mind, soul and spirit. Yet, this soul is not isolated from other things. Rather, it is the soul that seeks the perfection. One who listens to his soul sees far beyond reason or logic. The eyes of the soul seek the perfect, the greatly good, the most beautiful and lovely, the powerful and yet humble truth. This is the search of truth.

Like Pilate in the movie "The Passion of the Christ" says "quid est veritas" - or what is truth? We all say inside? What is truth? What is the purpose of living? Jesus Christ taught many people - among them were sinners and prostitutes too. Of special note is the fact that there were these groups of people publicly known as sinful, who were touched my the teaching of Christ and followed this teaching, even though their past was colored by frantic search for temporary pleasure and things that pass.

It is this search in every man, in every generation, in every human person. The human soul is restless until finally at the end of time, it rests forever in its creator, God himself!! For me, everything around is a testimony of this search. Science is the search of truth, yet following experimentation as proof of any fact. This is science. For example, Stephen Hawking, considered a great teacher and authority in Relativity, says in the first chapter of "A Brief History of Time" -

"We shall never be satisfied until we find finally, an answer to all the mysteries of the universe".

This is the search of science - a complete explanation of every thing that is beyond our world, that we strive endlessly to. I do love these words of Hawking because the soul in every person can be seen in writings by people from fields so different from one another. This search can be seen in people in lands far away, who met different people and knew different systems of thought.

Each man or woman seeks love. Why? Life feels changed completely when one finds true love. Yet, love is not imperfect, but simply beyond human logic and reason. No person can master love and tell it what to do. It defies logic because it can do things that no logic can do. What is perfect love? An important distinguishing attribute of perfect love is sacrifice and unselfishness. Love is truly tested when it is difficult to love. When it hurts to give, if one can love, then that love is a reflection of the Divine love. The soul of man can find true love in surrender to the Spirit of truth, the Divine master, the Creator and all-powerful. The perfection of all things comes to the great altar in love.

As Catholics, we have the teachings of Jesus Christ - the Gospels, the Sacraments, the Eucharist, the Divine presence in the body of Christ, or Corpus Christi, the actual complete transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. This is a miracle greater than imagination because no other miracle in history can unite time from so many centuries ago in such a poignant manner as the Consecration does. Being pilgrims in the search for truth, and being Catholics at the same time means that we continue in the light of the Church to make our lives fuller and meaningful knowing that there is hope of heaven.

This search in all of us is not to be for a lifetime and to end with our graves. Rather, it is a search that thirsts for the God that last for all eternity. This is why Saint Paul says that if you do not believe in the resurrection, your lives are hopeless. The joy of finding God is such as the world has never seen, it is far beyond expectation. It is this great mystery that we say in the Apostles Creed, I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Defending the Church today

The Church, an age-old institution, has believers around the globe. A big tree cannot sustain unless it has great strong roots. God himself has planted the seed of the Catholic Church. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God's promise of reconciliation between Him and us. Through Christ life and death, we can come back to God, cleansed by Divine Mercy and perfect love.

What times do you and I live in? Is it a time of world peace, a distance from war-time, decades after the World wars? Centuries after Christian martyrs and saints death? Our search for an answer takes us to the feet of Christ, listening to his words on peace and strife. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Jesus speaks of inner peace, one that gives deep assurance.

Outside, Jesus warned of division, challenge, opposition, suffering and persecution. If one wonders why he said so, the pilgrim of truth finds meaning only deeper. This is challenge to us to a path that needs constant prayer. We are up in arms not against men, but against the treachery of the devil - forces inside of us and speaking to us in different ways. As Saint Paul wrote to early Christians in Ephesus, Greece, we fight not against flesh and blood, but the powers of darkness (Eph 6:12). How do we stand up to this challenge? What do we need?

This is a battle unlike any other. One that we can fight only because Jesus Christ is on our side. A battle against sin and death, forces of abortion, violence, sensuality and selfishness, imperfect and pleasure seeking love. Yet, God loves us and knows each hair on my head and yours. He only wants to give freely, the gift of love, truth and grace, the gift of life itself. If God is so good and has created us himself with love in our hearts, it is no wonder then, that we thirst for God deep inside. This holy thirst is good and has as its purpose, our complete peace and joy.

For any battle, we need to leave behind all hindering thoughts, take up armor and fight with faith. In the same way, we need to lay aside our fears, ask our Lord to cleanse our past, seek to be in communion with him each day, defend as one us, the Church, united in the Eucharist, in the presence of Christ, the light of the world, the Prince of everlasting peace, the greatest lover and shepherd, who alone can lead us against all arrows and swords. The greatest battle of all time is on, but we can only have the great King on our side if we pray, ask forgiveness and accept His gift of his presence. Let us all pray together.

Come, Emmanuel.

He who stands firm till the end will be saved.

Searching the depths for truth

Hi,
Let me now lead you in prayer, praying to the God of all things, our creator, the master craftsman, the genius of truth, yet so loving and good that his grace has filled my life. So much grace that I feel it is unfair that I receive so much grace. Why me? Why does God choose me to simply shower his blessings in great measure? Someday, when both of us are together, he will tell me more. Why?

Lord,

Nothing, not the music, not the pictures, not the faces, not the empty promises of this world can every satisfy my soul. Precious Lord, if you have created my soul to burn without you, you have known every aspect of it and every dimension of it. Its sense, its eyes, how it sees, its ears, how it hears, its mind, what it conceives.

Lord, I thank you for my soul. For when all books are away, all meaning is clouded, all water is gone, my soul cries within me. When I fall and am entrapped in sin, my soul cries out and I can hear it within me. Precious Lord, let me burn, burn, burn with the flame of pure fire, inflamed by the love you place in me.

I will love each moment I am with you and not seek any thing but the grace you place in my soul. The gloss of existence that disappears with the rain of Christ's light. The light that makes everything seen as what it really is. The light that makes things visible for the pure beauty of their existence.

Living a life of Grace

Every human person has available grace. This, we learn from Jesus Christ, to bear stripping, blood, vinegar, crucifixion and extreme pain and suffering, while still remaining perfectly holy, faithful and loving.


The "human nature" as we heard it said time and time again can be overcome. This Christ came to prove. Grace to not sin at all!! A very strong and true answer to the question is Jesus Christ himself.

The mystery of the Incarnation is about Christ taking human form. Human form is complete human form with all its aspects. Christ took the mind of a man, the heart of a man, the soul of a man and the spirit of a man.

The truth about Christ's teaching is "How much more will God give the Holy Spirit to those who ask of him". It is indeed true that the same grace that Jesus Christ had to overcome is available to us. If one is a Christian, and believes in Jesus Christ and the Gospels, this is the truth.

Let us strive to be Christ-like in all things. Being such is not a celestial goal, beyond reach. If it were true, Jesus time here on earth is useless. But, rather, He came that we may receive the fruits of eternal life. This is life in Christ. Remember that the young man asked Jesus - "how can I be perfect". This is what we seek. We do not seek mediocrity in ethics and morals. We seek, rather a higher truth and goodness beyond that which the world accepts.

Who will take this challenge? Take up your cross and follow me? Many may turn this was or that or the other. What about you? What is your answer? Sharp words chase you away? Wake up calls can come in many ways. Few may realize this in a lifetime. Yet, there is a perfection possible with grace. Perfection through Jesus Christ.

Joshua said "As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord". Personally, I too choose this.

Transformed

What happens when we meet someone special? What if that person can enter into our hearts and minds? What if that special one was God? A poem about the joy of receiving God:

My tears fill the vale below,
Tears, not of grief, but of joy!
Like water that flowed from You,
From your side, from your heart.

You have spoken to your servant, Lord,
My soul rejoiced in thanks and praise!
For that great sacrifice you made,
On your amazing cross!

I feel your blood and water flow, sweet Jesus,
I see your peaceful face that radiates!
A heart forgiven, bathed in love,
O it flows like a waterfall, a torrent.

O Lord, I was born of my mother here,
Her flesh and blood in me,
But when you enter in, dear Lord,
I am transformed, yes transformed!

My flesh cleansed by you perfect body,
My blood sanctified by yours, precious,
My hands, feet, face, eyes, organs,
My heart, soul, mind and spirit.

What more can I ask, Lord?
You have filled me up!!

Blood on the wayside

Hi,
Today, poem that cries from the depths of the purest heart of Jesus. It calls to us who stray. Let us all surrender our lives to him.

I look out the window,
There's blood on the wayside.
I look out and see,
Blood flows in the drain.

This is not a war city,
But deep inside of you.
I committed to you,
But blood flowed on the wayside.

I trusted in you,
Gave my heart to you,
My fountain of blood to you,
But you spilled it on the wayside.

You lost yourself in selfishness,
You became blind in self pity,
You were weak, but did not pray,
Did not ask for ever-ready help.

The blood that pours is a pure blood,
A blood that's filled with the pain of love.
But every hurting word and act,
Turned into a torrent of pain.

Come back dear one, come back,
Back to the arms of the dear Lord.
Come to the place of rest, dear,
Do not bite the bait of the devil.

For the one above hurts when you hurt,
He weeps when you feel pain inside,
He loves eternally and bears you yet,
Never mind what you have been.