2017 March

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These reflections are brought to you by the seminarians at

Holy Cross Seminary, Pune, India.

Please send your comments and suggestions to:

cscseminary@gmail.com
2017 March 1
Readings: Joel 2:12-18: 2Cor 5:20-6:2; Mt: 6:1-6, 16-18

Most of us like to pose for photos and today selfie has become very
common. Many of us upload photos in Facebook, Twitter and other
social networking sites for others to see and appreciate what we are
doing. When we go for an outreach program or any kind of social work
we pose for photos. We will be the first ones to upload our photos with
the members and the institute name.

As we are beginning the Lenten season, Jesus is reminding us of the act

of popularizing ourselves through the works we do. In the gospel
reading, Jesus tells us that whatever we do should only be known to us.
We are not to proclaim about our good deeds from the rooftop. When
Jesus healed the people he asked them to not say to anyone. In spite of
this, his good deeds spread far and wide. We have the example of
Mother Teresa who never posed for the photos when she helped the
sick or the poor. Even then she is famous. St. Andre csc himself is an
example who lived a simple and happy life by helping the poor and
sending to St. Joseph all those who came to thank him.

Today is the time to think and reflect on the actions we do in our every
day of life. Prophet Joel calls each one of us to change our hearts and
repent for the things we have done without our knowledge. So today
let our song be:

Change my heart O Lord

Make it ever new
May I be like You
Joel Glan Mendonca

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2017 March 2
Readings: Deut 30: 15-20; Lk 9: 22- 25

Life or death: the choice is ours but the price is very demanding. A seed
without losing its seed-ness cant become a plant. Likewise if we dont
lose our petty likes we cant reach the highest goal of our life. In both
the readings Jesus asks his people to lose their self-interest to be with
him. The Lord is not forcing anyone; he just gives an invitation to all his
beloved ones. Eventually the Lord waits for our answers. Through
Moses the Lord gives commandments to his people not to prevent them
from doing what they were doing but to make them to do things with
full trust, reverence and responsibility towards His unconditional love.
In order to conquer his love we have to be the people who carry his or
her own cross with a smiling face. The readings give us the
characteristics for true discipleship. Losing life to save life, and carrying
cross to be free may be contrast statements but this gives us invitation
towards dependency on God. The same Lord who said come to me all
those who are carrying heavy burden tells us to carry our own crosses.
But nothing is forced upon anyone. Our freewill is the cost to keep the
commandment by loving him. We may think that we are taking an
effort to reach the Lord but it is the Lord who comes down to us. After
all what are we going to lose by directing our love towards him?

Santhiya Philoson csc

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2017 March 3
Readings: Is 58:1-9a Mt 9:14-15

What is fasting for me? Is it that of avoiding my daily meals or

observing the ritual that I have learned from my elders? Most of
the religions have the ritual of fasting. I remember, last year in
the month of October a 13-year-old girl Aradhana died in
Hyderabad after fasting for 68 days as part of a Jain ritual
Chaturmas.

I was born and brought up in a devout Catholic family. From my

early age, I have been practicing my fasting on various occasions.
I believe fasting has tremendous power, provided we observe it
with good intensions. However, if we perform our fasting just for
ritual sake our main intention fails.

In the first reading prophet Isaiah gives us some practical aspects

of fasting. If we fast with a pure heart, we may come across with
many temptations. We must keep in mind that Jesus himself was
tempted by the tempter. The gospel passage depicts that fasting
is not merely a ritual rather it is for a purpose. I humbly invite you
all to fast for good intentions and purpose which helps to
manifest Christ in our life.

Prasanta Basumatary csc

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2017 March 4
Readings: Is 58: 9-14; Lk 5:27-32

The readings of today invite us to mark this season of Lent with the true
repentance and law of love towards God and to our fellow beings in an
exceptional way. Through the first reading, Yahweh instructs us to be
with him by keeping away all our sinful activities and asking us to love
our neighbors (especially those who are afflicted) and to satisfy their
needs in doing so. He promises us that he will give us eternal happiness.

I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance -

Todays Gospel reading narrates the call of Levi. The love of Jesus
transformed Levi completely and for this Love, Levi prepared a great
feast in his house. However, the truth is, when God is with us - in our
life, in our hearts, then the great feast begins. Jesus invites us to come
and dine with him; leaving our old selves and share in his banquet. This
is not surprising since Gods presence is always a celebration, a feast. In
this season of Lent, we are invited to follow him more closely, dearly,
lovingly and forgetting our own selves. Following Jesus means leaving
behind everything and placing our steps towards God. However, this
can be made real only when we first accept who we truly are our
unworthiness, selfishness, sinfulness the sick who need Gods love
and compassion.

Manu Praveen csc

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2017 March 5
Readings: Gen 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Rom 5:12-19; Mt 4: 1-11

The readings of today invite us to reflect about the choices we make in

our lives. Our lives are full of choices. Todays world provides us with
plenty of options and alternatives to achieve our goals. But what is most
important here is, to reflect whether the choices we are making are
righteous or not. The choices that we make today will have
consequences in our life.
The readings of today mainly speak about temptations: temptations of
Adam and Eve in the first reading, and the temptations of Jesus in the
Gospel. The word tempt means to entice someone to do wrong, to
seduce one into sin or try to persuade someone to take the wrong way.
In religious context, it means inducement to sin.
In the first reading, we see that our first parents Adam and Eve fell prey
to the temptations of the devil to go against the plan of God. By giving
in to the devil, they made a wrong choice bringing sin and death into
this world. In the Gospel we have Jesus, the new Adam bringing life and
righteousness into the world and to the humanity through his
obedience to God. By saying YES to the will of God he made the right
choice. And therefore by being obedient to Gods plan, which in a way
led him to his death, he brought salvation to humanity and glory to God.
Today, as followers of Jesus Christ, we need to ask ourselves if we are
living a life according to Gods plan. Or are we giving in to our
temptations, to fulfill our desires and needs? Today we ask the Lord to
strengthen us to be firm and constant when we face temptations and
difficulties.
Rajashekhar Gundiga csc

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2017 March 6
Readings: Lev 19:1-2, 11-18; Mt 25:31-46

Jesus parable about the sheep and the goats is quite interesting.
The sheep and the goats graze together during the day but have
to be separated during the night because goats are quite restless.
Moreover, the expression of scapegoat is quite common and is
associated with sin and evil (Leviticus 26:20-22). Separation is an
inevitable consequence of sin and judgment.

Gods standard of judgment is based on our response to human

need. His judgment does not depend on how successful we are,
how much wealth we have amassed, how frequent we have been
to church or how famous we have become, but on how
compassionate and merciful we have been to our fellow beings
who are in need. The criteria for judgment that Jesus sets forth
are simple which everyone can do: to give a meal to the hungry,
a drink to the thirsty, shelter a stranger, clothe the naked and
visit the sick/prisoners. This parable finds expression in the
persons like St. Francis of Assisi, St. Martin of Tours and St. Teresa
of Kolkata. It is an invitation for us to emulate the examples of
these great simple saints, for whatsoever we do to the least of
our brothers we do it unto him.

Bilingshar Syiemlieh csc

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2017 March 7
Readings: Is 55: 10-11; Mt 6: 7-15

We use words in languages to communicate to others or to

express our feelings to somebody. In todays first reading Isaiah
says Gods words are action oriented and it will never fail to fulfill
the purpose for which its been sent and thus expresses and
communicate the message of God to humankind. Word of God
often gives life to all those who believe and follow it in their life.
Perhaps fewer the words, clearer the message. Therefore,
through the gospel reading Jesus is teaching us, how to pray with
limited words yet meaningfully. Even those words can be used
only if it is necessary. Ultimately what is more important in our
prayer is our dependence on God. Because our God is someone
who can understand the needs of a person who cannot
communicate or a person who cannot even realize what his
needs are. On the other hand, the prayer taught by Jesus also has
got multidimensional meaning which includes our faithfulness
towards God and to our neighbors. The words of Jesus simply
mean our total dependence on God, therefore we pray for
humility of heart to accept God as the source of everything that
we have and that we receive.

John Kennedy A csc

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2017 March 8
Readings: Jon 3:1-10, Lk 11:29-32
God is in the hearts of all and those who seek Him shall find Him when
they need Him. The liturgy of the word presents the theme: Turning
towards God. To turn towards God denotes the acceptance of His
outpouring of love and grace.

Throughout the Old Testament, the prophets produced signs, and the
surest sign that they came from God was that their prophecies came
true. The sign of a false prophet was that his sayings were false. In the
first reading, we hear how Jonah was an icon and agent of conversion
for the people of Nineveh. The Ninevites recognized Gods warning
when Jonah preached to them and they repented. Thus, Jonah became
Gods true sign and his message was the message of a merciful and
compassionate God.

The gospel is Lukes version of the sign of Jonah. Pharisees at the time
of Jesus had a catalogue of signs which they expected to be fulfilled
when the Messiah came. Even though Jesus performed many miracles,
the Pharisees still wanted him to fulfil their signs. They rejected the
message of Jesus and failed to heed his message. Drawn by the
temptations and attractions of the world, we too fail to recognize Jesus
as the redeemer of our lives. We tend to seek material benefits contrary
to spiritual benefits. Joel 2:13 reads Rend your hearts and not your
clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and relents from
punishing. God seeks our hearts, not to condemn us, but to show us
where we need His saving grace and help. He calls us to seek Him with
true repentance and humility. The question for us is: Can we repent and
return to the Lord?

Saripudi Chinnaiah csc

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2017 March 9
Readings: Est (Vulgate) 14:1, 3-5,12-14; Mt 7:7-12

Prayer is central to the Christian life. When Jesus taught us the Lords
Prayer, he told us that the Father knows what we need before we ask.
But today he teaches us that he wants us to ask and it shall be given
unto us, to search and we shall find, to knock and the door shall be
opened unto us. The assurance Jesus gives is that the prayers of the
faithful are always answered. Esthers prayer on behalf of her people is
a model for us. She prayed for help according to Gods promise to be
faithful to this people. Jesus wants us to remember his promises and to
count on his help when we pray. There are times that we say our
prayers are not heard nor answered. Perhaps it is we who need to re-
examine our dispositions and our expectations because Gods answers
are not limited to our questions or Gods responses to our prayers are
not limited to our short sighted concepts. For Isaiah reminded us Gods
ways are not our ways, and his thoughts are not our thoughts (Is
55:8-9) we need to check our own weakness when we pray, like Esther.
She acknowledges her own weakness before God and her prayer is
pure. She did not threaten or try to manipulate God or bargain with God
but her dependence on God makes her to leave the outcome entirely
to Him. Therefore, whenever we ask in prayer we need to leave the
outcome totally in Gods hands. As Jesus prayed in the garden Father,
not my will but yours be done Our Christian faith also can be seen in
our prayer in humble acceptance.

Marbilus Kharakor csc

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2017 March 10
Readings: Ez 18:21-28; Mt 5:20-26

We human beings live our life according to our own free choice.
But at the same time we are bound to embrace only one choice
either good or bad. We are fully aware that in what stage we live
our life, yet the scripture reading reminds us that if we embrace
integrity and avoid sin we will not die and if we renounce integrity
and commit sin we shall die. The second part of the scripture
reading invites us to see how much we can deepen our
relationship with our own brothers and sisters. This is a personal
question how much do I value my relationship with others?
What God wants from me is a just life and true relationship with
others. My deeper relationship with my brothers and sisters is
when I am able to feel their needs and show my little acts of
kindness in their need. Respect the persons, be with them in
times of sorrows and difficulties and reconcile when we are in
conflicts. If I am able to integrate myself in this way of life
definitely I will be acceptable when I offer a sacrifice before the
Lord. What God wants from all of us is an integrated person and
a desire to make a good choice - a choice from death to eternal
life. We are invited to deepen our relationship with one another
and embrace Gods will in our life.

Lawrence Wanniang csc

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2017 March 11
Readings: Deut 26: 16 19; Mt 5: 4 48
Through the gospel passage of todays liturgy, Christ calls his followers
to have a change in understanding Love. Love your enemies and pray
for those who persecute you. Act of love was not a new thing for Jesus,
because Jewish law teaches them to love their neighbor, who is another
Israelite. In reality Jesus was teaching them who their real neighbor is.
Jesus extended their neighborhood even up to their enemies. Jesus
demanded a perfect or different Love because He lived it in His daily
life.

Jesus says love your enemies. Jesus reminds us that we do not have
any choice of retaliating against anyone, nor we do not have any choice
to exclude a single person from our circle of love, no matter who they
are or what they may have done. Jesus remains a real hero even in
todays scenario, where nations rise against nation, states against
states, caste against caste, religions against religions, because, Jesus
lived what he preached unlike many false teachers of today.

Even when Jesus had a public execution on the cross he prayed, Father
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. The very first
step to love our enemy is to forgive them. Then love comes
automatically. Forgiveness brings real healing to our heart and soul. And
forgiveness is possible only if we remain always under the cross of Jesus.

May this season of lent help us to spend more time under the cross with
the Lord, and thus receive the grace to forgive and love everyone.
Siju Pappachan csc

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2017 March 12
Readings: Gen 12:1-4a; 2 Tim 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9

In the first reading, we see that God calls Abraham to the land of Canaan
and he accepts the call in complete trust and obedience. God chose
Abraham and his family not to isolate other people and the nations
rather to become a blessing to all the nations. Gods election of
Abraham is a new strategy to address the evil and violence of all
humanity. Gods chosen people have a special responsibility of drawing
people closer to God. God remains faithful to all creation and all
humanity. Thus, as chosen people we need to respond to Gods call and
become instruments of Gods grace to all.

In the gospel reading, we see Jesus going up to a high mountain along

with his three beloved disciples. There he reveals his glory amidst them.
The transfiguration marks the midpoint in a series of scenes that define
who Jesus is. Both baptism and transfiguration are divine signs from
heaven disclosing that Jesus is the son of God. The three disciples
experienced the divinity of Jesus and believed in him.

Therefore, the readings of the day invite each one of us to respond to

Gods call and place our trust in Him.

Santhosh Fernandes csc

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2017 March 13
Readings: Dan 9: 4-10; Lk 6: 36 38

In todays gospel Jesus asks each one of us to be merciful as your

heavenly father is merciful. From the beginning of our human history
we see that Gods mercy is a response to our misery or suffering. This
mercy is not merely feeling sorry for others. Mercy is engaging with and
entering into the turmoils of the others life. Mercy demands that we
reach out lovingly to someone in need. This gift of mercy of God cannot
be earned, merited or deserved. It can only be received. Jesus is the face
of Gods mercy. We are called to be a reflection of the face of Jesus. In
other words, Jesus is asking us to love your enemy. This is the change
that Jesus wants to bring in us and set himself as an example for this
when he, on the cross, prayed for the people who persecuted him and
said Father forgive them they know not what they are doing. Jesus life
manifested Gods love for us. God is merciful not only towards those
who are good, but towards all, even with the ungrateful and the wicked
(Lk 6: 35). True love does not depend on what we receive from others
but what we give. We need to grow and radiate in this merciful love of
the Father.

Bharath Babu Putti csc

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2017 March 14
Readings: Is 1: 10, 16-20; Mt 23:1-12

Todays two readings invite each Christian to walk the talk or practice
what we preach by giving a good example in our day-to-day life. Walk
the talk is a language of the secular world. It simply means: do what you
say and lead by the example of one own life.

St. Francis of Assisi reminds us, Preach the Gospel at all times. If
necessary, use words. This is a challenge for us in todays world where
we look for power, position, and status, which today are considered as
the hallmark of our life in the society. If we cannot love others, or live
the truth, we better not preach by mere words, which demonstrates
our hypocrisy. Not practicing what we preach is unfair.

The season of Lent is a grace-filled time. We are invited to introspect

our day-to-day life and we are called to make necessary changes to be
a radical follower of Christ. This conversion must be as radical as
crimson red becoming white as wool. The call to conversion is for all
Gods people. It calls us to make a journey from self-centeredness and
self-love towards self-giving or selfless love. True and selfless love is
always expressed and shown in service. Jesus exalts those who are
humble in serving in His name and not for their own fame.

Joyson John Barboza csc

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2017 March 15
Readings: Jer 18:18-20; Mt 20:17-28

Todays gospel reading proclaims: we all are called to serve but not to
be served. When we look at todays context most often we see serving
as business, because most of us do service for money. Look at our
political system or religious life. We all have different talents and gifts
which God has provided freely to each one of us. But do we use our
talents for the betterment of our society or community?

As I was reflecting a question arise within me: If Jesus was asking us

not to strive to be great and not to be ambitious why would he gift us
all with so many great talents and not want us to use them to their full
potential? But the last line holds the key. Jesus wants us to use our
talents to serve others. Jesus shows himself as a the greatest servant of
all, helping people in the most humble way possible by giving up his life
for the salvation of all. But today we need to ask ourselves if we do
really follow the calling to serve others like we are supposed to. Today
Jesus is inviting each one of us to always remember to serve others no
matter what ministry we do.

Jesus is not prohibiting us from achieving success and accomplishing

our goals, but he wants us to remember that we are here to serve
others not to bask in wealth and power. The more we gain in life, the
less we should be working for ourselves and the more we should focus
on the needs of others.

Bonaventure Lobo csc

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2017 March 16
Readings: Jer 17:5-10; Lk 16:19-31
We are in the season of lent. Lent is the season of renewing our
encounter with God, and with our neighbours. The gospel
reading of the day speaks about this relationship. Whatever we
do on earth has its fruits in heaven. If we help the other, we will
be helped, if we serve the other we will be served in heaven, but
if we neglect to do these, we will also be neglected by God in
heaven. This very fact is expressed in the gospel in the story of
rich man and the Lazarus. The name Lazarus means Gods gift
and mentioning of name shows the importance of the person
that God loves, whereas the rich mans name is not mentioned.
We must realize that we cant serve both God and wealth at the
same time. After the death of both, we see Lazarus enjoying in
heaven but the rich man suffers in hell. He failed to listen to the
Gods word in the poor man Lazarus.

The root of all evil is the failure to heed Gods word. As a result,
the rich man no longer loved God and grew to despise his
neighbor. The word of God is alive and powerful, capable of
converting hearts and leading them back to God. When we close
our heart to the gift of Gods word, we end up closing our heart
to our brothers and sisters. So let us pray that our hearts be open
to the needy and poor and thus we may also enjoy the eternal
life in the Easter.

S. Lawrence csc

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2017 March 17
Readings: Gen 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-18; Mt 21:33-43, 45-46
One of the questions that haunts the entire humanity is who are we?
But often we Christians are not haunted by this age-old question. It is
because we all have a spontaneous and readymade answer we are
the Disciples of Christ. However, are we who we claim to be? Through
todays Gospel, Jesus reminds us of one of our ethical duties of being
His disciple. That is to take care of the Vineyard.

The entire earth is Gods vineyard. Thus, we are not masters but merely
the care takers of this vineyard which is also called as our common
home - Earth. So, we have a moral responsibility to take care of the
earth in every little way possible until the Master of the cosmos comes.
Therefore, not just the one who dumps enormous e-waste but
everyone who litters a plastic too is answerable to God. Yes, not just
industrialists who never think about sustainable development but every
individual who is responsible for emission of unnecessary greenhouse
gases too is an abuser of the earth and thus answerable to God. So, we
who claim to be His disciples should take care of the vineyard and honor
God. We also need to joyfully share the fruits of the vineyard with
everyone than to be self-proclaimed masters who crush, kill and abuse
others and vineyard. If we continue to abuse the earth Gods vineyard
and everyone around us, it is only plausible that we all should perish
and earth be offered to another responsible species by God, the Master
of cosmos.

Richard Arun Roy csc

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2017 March 18
Readings: Mic 7:14-15, 18-20; Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
Love of God is manifested in the love our parents. Whole world might
hate us but our parents would never leave us no matter how bad is our
behaviour. I personally have experienced this love and forgiveness of
God through my father. At times my behaviour did not please him but
in spite of all that he loved me more and this helped me to grow as
matured person. We can see in gospel passage that even though
prodigal son went away taking his entire share, his father never left him
and he waited for his return. That was why he could rejoice with
everyone in the family at his son returning home. Seeking pleasure in
the earthly things was the main reason why the prodigal son had gone
astray from his home but this pleasure did not last for long. When he
was in pain and suffering he realised the love of his father whom he had
betrayed and returned to him in faith that he would accept him at least
as his paid servant.

In this modern world we can see children demanding many things from
their parents and if the parents are unable to give them the things they
wanted, children react in an unhealthy way. It brings brokenness within
the family. Love and forgiveness disappear from the family. We can see
many prodigal sons and daughters in and around our society today. We
could just imagine the pain of their parents. Therefore, today the
reading is inviting us to help those who have gone astray from the love
of God and the love of parents like the prodigal son, so that we may
create a better world today.

Raphael Hasdak csc

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2017 March 19
Readings: Ex 17:3-; Rom 5:1-2, 5-8; Jn 4:5-42
The liturgy of the day invites us to live righteously. What does it mean
to be righteous? We read in Rom 1: 17b: The one who is righteous will
live by faith. In the first reading, we hear the people of Israel
complaining to Moses not because of the lack of water in the desert but
because they doubted the presence of God amidst that difficult
situation. It just explains the unfaithful nature of the people of Israel. In
the second reading St. Paul talks about the presence of God in our lives
in the form of Holy Spirit and it was manifested by the love of Jesus who
died for us when we were still sinners and helpless. St. Paul reassures
that faithful living or righteous living is possible when we begin to put
trust in the Lord.

The Gospel passage is a narrative which explains the significance of

righteous living. It portrays the righteousness of Jesus. Jesus extends
the opportunity to the Samaritan woman to become righteous. He
disclosed his righteousness through his words, thoughts and actions of
his life. Certainly the womans faith was strengthened. She realized the
importance of righteousness in the presence of Jesus. Obviously, her
life had changed and the people, who followed her, changed their
perceptions as well as life. Are we ready for this change of life? St.
Joseph had a great faith in God throughout his life. Faith in the words
of God and acting according to what he believed made him a righteous
person. Can I become a righteous person? Do I desire to live by faith in
Jesus?

Antony Jayaraj csc

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2017 March 20
Readings: Rom 4: 13-22; Mt 1: 16-21

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Joseph. Todays Gospel

reading depicts Joseph as righteous and just. Besides, in modern
times we can call Joseph as a feminist who was concerned about
the name of Mary in the society. In the Old Testament, one is
called righteous when one obeys Gods command. Father
Abraham was called righteous when he obeyed Gods command.
In the Jewish society of Jesus, Pharisees claimed themselves to
be righteous by faithfully following the commands inscribed in
Torah. Joseph, having realized that his wife Mary was pregnant,
was in a dilemma. Its a dilemma, whether to follow the law, i.e.
to stone Mary or decide to go against the law. Joseph being
concerned about the image of Mary in the society, decides to
disobey the law. He is righteous because he upholds the
importance of human being above the social norms and rules. He
is righteous because the dignity of human being, that too a
woman, takes precedence over the law and social norms. Thus
we are invited to be righteous by respecting the dignity of the
person.

Roshan Minin DSouza csc

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2017 March 21
Readings: Dan 3: 25, 34-43; Mt 18: 21-35

Todays Gospel reading places emphasis on forgiveness. We are

aware that the offenses we suffer from our companions are
nothing compared with our offenses against God. While God
forgives all, we do not even give others enough breathing space.
God does not demand his rights, but we demand them and we
behave like the wicked servant we see in todays gospel.
Obviously, this parable goes beyond personal problems.
Revenge is mine, says the Lord, I will pay each one according to
his own conduct. God will not demand an account regarding his
own rights, but regarding the rights of the poor or unprivileged
who unable to pay and were deprived of their due. God is
merciful because He loves us and moreover He set an exemple to
all of us regarding forgiveness. God understands our vulnerability
and still He shows His mercy and love to all of us. God always
demonstrates that He cares for His children every second of their
life. Today Jesus asks each one of us to love our enemies as we
love ourselves because we are all his children and we are called
follow his footprints.

Jesu Manickam csc

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2017 March 22
Readings: - Deut 4:1-9; Mt 5:17-19

Whoever keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in

the kingdom of heaven

Todays readings give us the message of Keeping the Word of God.

Moses exhorted the people of Israel to remember Gods
commandments and to teach them to their children and childrens
children. He insists that people of Israel should observe them so that
other people will admire their faithfulness and commitment.

We always welcome the new and forget the old. We always think when
something new appears old has to go away or disappear. But it is not
so, this is clearly seen in the teachings of Jesus. Even though Jesus
teaching is new, he assures the fulfillment of the law and prophets. He
says, I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Jesus new
teaching is to strengthen the old teachings of the law and the prophets.
Jesus renewal in teaching is a movement from the importance of law
to the importance of love. Jesus wants us to follow the
commandments of God. It is not enough that we keep the
commandments of God alone, or teach them, but both teaching and
keeping them is what leads us to eternal life. Jesus goes to the peak
point of solemn declaration, For truly I tell you, even heaven and earth
pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the
law until all is accomplished.

Anthoni Reddy csc

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2017 March 23
Readings: Jer 7:23-28; Lk 11: 14-23
Today, in the proclamation of the Word of God, the figure of the devil appears
once more. Jesus drives out a dumb demon (Lk 11:14). When we read the text
which speaks of the devil, we may feel slightly uncomfortable. However, it is
true that evil exists. It is so deeply rooted which we cannot fully remove. It is
also true that evil has a very broad scope: it keeps on digging and we simply
cannot stop it. Yet, Jesus has come to fight these evil forces. He is the only one
who can drive them out.

Jesus has been slandered and accused, the devil is able to achieve everything.
While the people were amazed at what Jesus Christ had done yet, some of them
said, He drives out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the chief of the
demons (Lk 11:15). Jesus response shows the absurdity of the argument of
those who contradicted him. It is for us a call to unity which is our strength.
Disunity, instead, is an evil and destructive ferment. One of the evil signs is,
precisely, division and makes us unable to understand each other.

Lets ask ourselves, do I contribute with what is needed so that our Lord expels
evil from me? For out of the heart comes evil thoughts (Mt 15:19). It is very
important that the response we can all give is our necessary cooperation at a
personal level. Lets hope that the Virgin Mary intercedes before Jesus, her
beloved Son, so that He expels every type of evil from the world (wars,
terrorism, mistreatment, violence) and from our heart, too. Virgin Mary,
Mother of the Church and Queen of Peace, pray for us!

Selvam Lourdhu csc

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2017 March 24
Readings: Hos 14: 2-10; Mk 12: 28-34

The days readings tell of the new covenant with God who has
mercy and compassion on His people and who is constant in
renewing the relationship. In the first reading, prophet Hosea
calls the people of Israel to turn away from their sin and wrong
doings to taste the mercy and forgiveness of Yahweh in order to
be reunited with Him. God the Father was compassionate
towards the Israel from the beginning. Though they went astray,
He never abandoned them, rather was constant in reuniting the
covenant that once He made with them and brings them to His
loving protection (14:7). In the gospel passage, Jesus rewords the
same union as prophesied by the Prophet Hosea; when the scribe
asks for a greatest commandment. Jesus calls us to love God with
whole self above everything. And, He asks to love the neighbor
as ourselves. Its to realize the presence of God in each one and
share the love as we do with God.

We are called to direct our whole lives to God; its only possible
when we love God and share the same with our neighbors. As we
are in the Lenten season, let us look back at the occasions where
we failed to follow these teachings of Jesus. Amidst the three
pillars of the Lent (prayer, fasting & almsgiving) let us also try to
follow these teachings to prepare worthily to reserve a berth in
the Kingdom of God.

Vimal Wilbert csc

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2017 March 25
Readings: Is 7:10-14; 8:10; Heb 10:4-10; Lk 1:26-38

My vocation promoter when he visited my parish gave me a form

to fill, and in that form the last question was, would you like to
be part of Holy Cross? and I needed to answer it with YES or No.
And that YES is not a simple YES but my whole life depended on
that. And today I am here writing this reflection enjoying my 11
years in Holy Cross because of my YES.

Today as the Church celebrates the solemnity of the

Annunciation, Church reminds us the promises that God made to
the people of Israel and which he fulfilled in Marys YES.

In the Gospel we see how Mary received and welcomed Gods

word in the fullest sense becoming part of it and bearing it to the
world. She said yes not just to give birth to Jesus, rather she said
yes to save humanity, she said yes to be new Eve, she said yes to
be the mother of the world, she said yes to bring people to God,
she said yes to protect humanity from the sin, and her yes saved
humanity.

As the children of the same Father we too are invited to submit

our lives to Gods will and say yes to him, a yes like that of Bl. Fr.
Moreau the founder of the congregation of Holy Cross, who said
yes to Gods will and had complete trust in his Divine Providence.

Pretham Joy Menezes csc

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2017 March 26
Readings: 1Saml 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Eph 5:8-14; Jn 9:1-41
Whether he is a sinner I dont know; all I know is that I was blind
and now I can see, words used by the differently abled person in
the gospel to tell the Pharisees that Jesus healed him. The worse
thing in our life could be moral or spiritual blindness compared
to the physical blindness. Sin clouds the mind in darkness and
closes the heart to Gods love and truth. Jesus deconstructed the
world views of the Pharisees regarding sin and their
understanding of human person. Pharisees saw anybody born
differently abled from the perspective of sin which blinded them
more than the actual differently abled person. Jesus paved the
way for this deconstruction of the worldviews of all of us by
healing the blind, lame, sitting with the tax collectors for a meal,
understanding the circumstances of a woman caught up in
adultery that no one is inferior or superior. The whole Bible
speaks about Jesuss life style from different perspective as a man
for all ages. Its up to us to break our personal worldviews and
enter into the worldview of Jesus; it will help us to give better
perspective of life to the people whom we meet with all kinds of
problems and bring meaning to our life with a sense of love in our
heart for the other.

Wilfred Dais csc

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2017 March 27
Readings: Is 65:17-21; Jn 4:43-54

In the first reading we see Isaiah speaks about new heaven where there
is no weeping. In order to have new heavens we need to change
ourselves because this world is the best place to live in. So once we
change and things will fall in place where everybody gets their rights
equally and there would not be any suffering. In the gospel reading we
see the miracle of Jesus and the faith of the official. Most often miracles
take place because of faith. As human beings we have two kinds of eyes,
eye of faith and eye of reason. When we go through eye of reason we
cannot experience the miracles because reason tries to find out how it
happened but eye of faith just believes and it happens. We can see the
life of St. Andre that he was a successful Brother because of the faith he
had. The official gets the good news about his daughters good health
because of faith.

Vijith Joncy Mathias csc

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2017 March 28
Readings: Ezek 47: 1-9, 12; Jn 5:1-3, 5-16

Todays gospel reading caused me to think over this question

which Jesus asked the paralyzed person Do you want to be made
well? Healing in the Gospels is not just about getting up and
walking. Jesuss healing comprises everything from bringing
change in oneself, forgiving oneself and others. Here is the
paralyzed man suffering for the past thirty-eight years with no
one attend to his needs. He watched others with dejection while
they were being healed. Not only was he filled with dejection but
anger and frustration. Jesus comes to his rescue to take away his
dejection. He commands him to not get stuck to the mat rather
rise and take up his mat, to hold it firm with conviction, to take
control of it and walk ahead. His response to Jesuss command
was rather inspiring. He responds with deep faith and conviction
in his heart. Many times we fail to listen to others due to our ego.
This reading invites us to see where we are and calls us to change
by listening to the will of God.

Arone Frederick Vas csc

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2017 March 29
Readings: Is 49: 8-15; Jn 5:17-30

The readings of today invite us to accept and be united with the

Son of God. We see in the gospel that Jesus was doing his Fathers
will like healing and preaching even on Sabbath day. Our God is
the God who gives life to the dead; therefore, Son too gives life
to lifeless. That shows the unconditional love of God towards
humanity at all times and at all events. But the Jews were trying
to accuse Jesus as a law-breaker and regarding his claims to be
equal with God. But the Jews failed to recognise Jesus as a Son
of God, who was sent by his Father and who is a visible image of
the invisible God. As Christians, we are invited to believe Jesus
and his work and be united with him, who is the giver of life. So
we must accept the way of Christ and believe that Jesus is our
visible Father through whom we need to inherit the eternal life.

James Peter csc

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2017 March 30
Readings: Exodus 32: 7-14, John: 31-47
I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts (Jn 5: 42).
This word of God struck me when I read this gospel passage, so I
base my reflection on this. We are living in the era of peak
evangelization by various religions around us. The Christians set the
foundation and pattern for evangelization, now the pattern is
followed by the Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists. Buddhism and Islam
are growing in Europe and Hinduism spreading its roots in the USA.
Every religion and its staunch followers evangelize for their love for
God. However the initial love and enthusiasm fade away very soon
in order to keep their religion in competition with the other. The
order and structure of the religions mix with power and politics. New
formulation of theories, dogmas and semi-god worships are
formulated to keep the devotees in the hunt. The love for god
vanishes away from their devotion. The religion begins to exist
without god. In the first reading, when Moses left the Israelites to
be with God, their hearts and mind went astray. They forgot all that
Yahweh had done to them and demanded Aaron to make a God for
them. The love for Yahweh vanished from their hearts and their
attitude pained Yahweh so he called them stiff-necked people. In
the gospel, Jesus invites the people to bear witness to him. People
give more importance to Sabbath than the son of God. Once again
the love of God is diluted with the structure or norms of the religion.
So today Jesus invites us to love him more than anything else and
bear witness to him through our simple faith.

Robinson csc

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2017 March 31
Readings: Wis 2:1a, 12-22; Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
The greatest mystery in relationship is that it has got the power to lift
ones life higher and higher, if it is handled with analysis and proper
understanding. Once I read a book namely The Mystery of Human
Relationship by Nathan Schwartz-Salant. I learned from this book that
transformation or success within a relationship can only begin with an
acknowledgment that we are unconsciously projecting on to the other
person, thereby distorting the other's reality and our own. In other
words, through projections, we know only fragments of truth about the
other and consequently deny the essence of the other as a spiritual
being. Human relationship requires genuine understanding of person
and its success relies purely upon it. No relationship begins with the act
of love rather begins with the act of understanding. No proper
understanding leads a person for projection, as a result sinks in the
ocean of failure. In todays Gospel Jesus the good Shepherd feels the
burden and pain of not being understood by His sheep. Pope Francis
says The Shepherd should know the smell of the sheep. However, we
must understand that even the sheep should know the smell of the
Shepherd too. The success of Jesus mission is the strong outcome of
his relationship with his Father which the theologians call The Abba
Consciousness. He knew very well who his Father was. (Just as the
Father knows me and I know the Father- John 10-15.) As followers of
Christ we need to ask far how have we achieved in knowing and
understanding Jesus as savior and redeemer. We never grow a close
relationship with Jesus by just fulfilling the liturgical services. May the
genuine search for greater understanding of Christ lead us to have
greater love for Him and to give our life for Him.

Antony Cheliyan csc

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