Will I love God when all is gone!!!

Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Friends, Toys, Clothes, Shoes, Colour pencils. All these were mine before I was introduced to God. God to me was a force that protected me and my belongings from any visible and invisible harm. Also the one who gave me more. A generous source that supplied my need and greed.

Today as a grown up man, God looks after all my material possessions, my bike, my car, my house, office, wife, children and their toys and off course my well -being and self-esteem. When any of these things are shaky and are at risk or I need more, I would want to renew and refresh my relationship with this God, may be attend a retreat, go for a counseling or say extra prayers so that I continue enjoy this security and be given more!

Will I love God when all is gone!!!

I have tried to imagine me without my wife, children, parents, processions not even a place to lay my head for a night. Totally stripped off everything that gave me an identity here.

Now-God remains only as “knowledge”. I’m aware that there is God but that’s it, nothing more!

The man who found something precious buried in a land, sells literally everything he had and buys that small piece of land. He is willing and daring to lose everything to posses Jesus.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. (A heart that has all the room for Jesus and which is not preoccupied by things of the world)

For where your wealth is, there your heart will be also

I think I should have earned it in the reverse order starting with an inerasable realization that I’m a child of God the father who is madly in love with me. and a completely contented life with my heavenly father as my only procession. Later on receive everything from God to be a temporary manager, always conscious that all of it belongs to HIM.

Look at the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, they do not toil or till yet the heavenly father feeds them. How much more would He be not concerned about me.

Lord I need you and you alone! In you have my being, my identity, my purpose and a life eternal…

Tough like a Tractor

This reflection comes from an incident which happened sometime back when it was raining heavily. That nice evening while it was pouring we made a visit to a JY family and just near their house the road was being repaired, layered with mud. I soon discovered that the car was just sliding through the mud and by God's grace managed to just stop in front of their house. It wouldn't move an inch, the tires half sunk in mud. We went to visit  them but ended up staying there overnight!

I was quite taken aback by something I saw while struggling with my car. One man was driving a tractor through the knee deep mud like a hero. It was just a cakewalk for the tractor while the car  was stuck in the mud. I wished I had  a tractor! 

This taught me about the Gift of Fortitude - the need to be Tough like a Tractor in the muddy situations of life. As the saying goes 'when the going gets tough the tough gets going' and we know it is a Gift of the Holy spirit. This imagery has reminded me many times I need to be tough like a tractor.

Lets pray with St. Thomas Aquinas "Grant me the gift of fortitude so that I may overcome courageously all the assaults of the devil, and all the dangers of this world which threaten the salvation of my soul".

"Let not your heart be disturbed, Do not fear that sickness,nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is my Mother?Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything." (Words of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego).Happy New Year!

Christmas - i dont need anymore gifts, i got one!

From the blog www.togglefree.blogspot.com --
Well i am glad that i am blogging after a long time.The last time i wrote , well i clearly remember was on my birthday.This time i am writing also on a birthday , a belated b'day of soughts a globally celebrated b'day called Christmas.Many kids may assume that Christmas is the B'day of one mister Santa Claus who loves giving gifts than taking , what a noble fellow;How rare to find people who like to give than take on such wonderful occasions. The world today is one which prefers the equation (amount received > amount paid).I clearly remember parties(bday,marriage..etc) where the host are busy looking at the gifts we bring and inwardly calculating the profit they acquired by inviting us to the party ,not a noble thought i must say.Well coming back to Santa - this question arised in my mind, who is He? .In my search for the truth I went through few books and the santa story was quite simple.'Myra' christians hid gifts under the pillows of their kids on the night before the feast of one holy person called St.Nicholas and this person through centuries became the saw called 'Santa Claus'.Look how time has changed our perception, now we know who Santa Claus is but not the real person behind him thats Bishop St.Nicholas .Whats up with few saints they are always given different shades , do u remember one mister St.Valentine, poor chap who is a victim of Hallmark & Archies marketing.The bottom line is this , u may believe Santa exists(like millions of children around the world) or you may not (few like me) but the hope he brings is amazing.Hope of giving to the needy,hope of feeding the hungry,hope of clothing the naked - very much what Christ Jesus himself proclamied during his walk on earth(Jesus Said : "The least you do to a brother of yours ,you do it to me").Every one receives during Christmas, even if Mr.Santa has not given you anything in person you have received so much during this Christmas, remember the song we sang "Joy to the world the Lord has born let earth recieve thy King" .We have recieved the king of peace during this Christmas and having received the greatest gift called Peace from God we must be more than ever willing to share this across with the needy, i mean people who need peace.Next question -who are the needy ? well almost everyone, the muslim brothers on the street who wish each other peace (asallam vallikum....vallikum asallam) , the hindu brother who prays 'asathoma sadh gamaya tamasoma jyothir gamaya ...om shanthi shanthi..shanthi...., the christian brethren who wish the peace of christ with each other, or the rest in the world who unfortunately spell peace wrongly and call it world 'Piece' .Look everyone needs it some spell it correctly others dont.
Christmas is more about giving than receiving.
Christmas is more about peace than piece.
Christmas is more about Christ than Santa.
Christmas is more about YOU than me.

'The Middle C'

As my daughter has started learning her Piano lessons I too am getting interested (though my past history in music lessons has been disastrous).

I just noticed that they call the middle key of the keyboard as the Middle C (the musical note C) and the Holy spirit tells me it must be right. The 'C' appears to me as  Christ, the Christ who is the Centre of the Universe. No wonder He is at the Centre of the Musical notes too. Isn't it beautiful that the same C stands among the centuries dividing them into AD and BC? St Paul asks us vehemently to keep Christ at the Centre of our lives throughout the epistles.

That makes me think what is at the Centre of the keyboard of my life. Is it the Middle C ? (or is it a 'D' ? D has always warned  me of the Dangerous Distractions the Devil can bring us into our lives Deviating us gradually into Death.) Its not enough for  the Middle C to be anywhere in the Keyboard; it has to be in the Middle. From the centre the C would make melodies( if not tragedies?) for sure.

Phil 1:21 For to me  life means Christ!

The Wind and the Heat Package Part 3

Let me first of all apologize for repeating the some themes but this time let me put the blame on Fr Raniero Cantalamessa's first advent sermon  for provoking this post. http://www.zenit.org/article-24473?l=english

Fr Cantalamessa, the papal preacher in his sermon to the Pope and the Ruman curia makes a passing reference : "St.Paul does not want to be for us only a winter sun that illuminates but does not warm. The obvious intention of his letters is to lead readers not only to the knowledge of but also to love and passion for Christ." 

Isn't it  true? As we grow in the knowledge of Christ, the Church and  become experts in our common spiritual language do we tend to miss this love and passion?  Like the winter sun who fools us by the bright light( but as you step outside you would be freezing) we too are at risk of being fooled by our knowledge of Christ.

This Advent lets welcome Christ with the warmth, the love and passion from our hearts and not just with the light of our intellects.

Mother Theresa Quotes

The Wind and the Heat Package Part 2

Sometime back I had posted an analogy of heat and wind representing  the troubles  and the consolation of the holy spirit in our lives. http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2008/09/wind-heat-package.html .But that was summer then and now winter adds some more thoughts to it.

I have been thinking(&experiencing) after the post: Isn't it possible that I may not always receive the cooling and comforting wind in my heated situations of life? If so Why? I have felt many times its not in my hands to open the windows to let the spirit in eventhough i would like to.

As the winter is getting tough now I find that its not possible to open the windows because of the freezing cold wind .Infact the closed windows with the sunlight shining inside and the cool breeze staying outside helps the indoors to be warmer.

Isn't it the reason why many times God withholds the consolation of the Holy spirit from us temporarily? To warm up our indoors? -the indoors of our hearts which have become cold and tepid with the comforts of the world.

So in moments where it seems that the master of the house has closed the windows of the cool breeze  isn't it possible that He has closed it with a purpose? - a reminder for me to warm up -warm up  to my first love. (Rev Ch 1)