Faithfulness to God’s Covenantal Love

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time C. Readings:  Habakuk 1:2-3;2:2-4, 2 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14 and Luke 17:5-10

(Parable of the Mustard Seed, Jan Luyken)

Listen to my Audio Homily

I

The Word of God of today calls us for self-critique and self-examination.  We can see holy outrage, holy anger in the words of prophet Habakukuk. The prophet seeing what is happening around him, asks, why is there so much injustice and tyranny and oppression everywhere? Why so much outrage and violence? The world seems to be full of malice and hatred.  There is evil everywhere. Why people are fighting among themselves? There seems to be no peace, justice and truth, instead there is only anger, jealousy and violence. In this context, prophet Habakukuk expresses his groanings to God. Why is that when we live in a world which can appreciate art, music, intelligence and wisdom keeps quiet when we see violence, hatred, oppression, lynching and so on? Prophet sees a vision in which God asks him to write down and gives him the assurance that the upright man will live by his faithfulness. God does not let us down. In times of frustrations, God gives us consolations. Psalm 113 verse 7 says “ God raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap.” Psalm 146, verse 2 asks “not to put our trust in princes, in mortals,” but “in the Lord”, the God of Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Because, God made a covenant of love through them with the humanity. Therefore faithfulness to the covenant is essential and expected of us. 

II

In our second reading today, St Paul writing to Timothy whom he has consecrated as Bishop by laying his hands on him says that “you have the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They have come upon when I laid my hands upon you.” Paul writes “God’s gift is not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control.” By our baptism we are called to priest, prophet and king. We are people of joy, enthusiasm and vibrancy. Thus we are asked to be faithful to him who has called us out of darkness. Moreover, Lord gives us the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be courageous. So we can transmit through our words and actions His power, love and self-control to be the worthy servants of the covenant of the Word.

III

In the Gospel reading of today, Jesus calls us to be servants who are always ready. In fact, Jesus has called us as his friends, but today he demands of us servant like attitude in our faithfulness to our God.  The catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that we are created to praise, reverence and serve God and thus finally to be with him forever. In other words, ultimately, we have to be faithful to the call that God has given to us, which we made through our baptism.  We are faithful servants of the word of God.

IV

We are in the month of October, the month of the Rosary. This is a special month for us, in addition to celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Rosary, Pope Francis has declared this month as the Extraordinary Missionary Month.  The reason is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Apostolic Exhortation “Maximum Illud” means “That Momentous” of Pope Benedict XV written in 1919. This Exhortation is very important in the event of the rising missionary zeal since the end of the First World War in 1918. Then Pope Benedict XV called the Church to be a local church, an indigenous church, where the local clergy, local people take up the leadership role in their communities. Pope called to be missionaries in their own churches in building up and strengthening the Church of God. Thus Pope Francis wishes to celebrate this very important mile stone of history of our Church and has asked to devote this whole month of October with special celebrations.   

Pope Francis has also given us the theme, “Baptised and Sent”. It calls us to reflect on 4 following points. 

1. A personal Encounter with Jesus Christ living in His Church: In the Eucharist, In the Word of God, and in personal and communal prayer

2. Testimony: Missionary Saints, Martyrs and Confessors of the Faith

3. Missionary Formation: Biblical, Catechetical, Spiritual and Theological Formation

4. Missionary Charity

This October month is very unusual to the Universal Church to which we belong. Today, the “Synod on Amazon” begins in the Vatican. Just yesterday, 13 new Cardinals were created in a special consistory. Three of them happened to be Jesuits. One of them is Fr Michael Czerny, who during my illness in Rome took care of me and helped me to keep the hope of life and faith in everyway. He is a man prayer. 

But I would like to mention the 80-year-old Lithuanian Jesuit Archbishop Sigitas Tamkevicius, who became a Cardinal yesterday. Tamkevicius, who’s over 80 and therefore among the “honorary” cardinals who can’t vote in the next conclave. It’s his personal story that’s most inspiring. He spent almost a decade in Soviet forced labour camps, not only because he was a Catholic priest but because of his unyielding defense of human rights. 

The archbishop had been imprisoned from 1983 to 1988 for “anti-Soviet propaganda.” As a Jesuit priest, in 1972 he began publishing the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, an underground newsletter documenting communist repression of the Church. Despite repeated questioning by the KGB, he managed to publish and distribute the chronicle for more than 10 years and, once he was arrested, others continued his work. He was exiled to Siberia where he had to dig and had various jobs at one time or another - cook, iron worker, dishwasher, and several others.  I can say with my own little experience in Siberia as a missionary, life is tough there when temperature goes down to minus 40 degree celsius and when winter prolongs to more than 6 months. 

Tamkevicius said Friday that what sustained him during those years in prison was prayer, especially saying Mass, which he had to do in secret because religious expressions were officially prohibited. He told a reporter as to how Tamkevicius managed to find wine for the liturgy. He explained that in the camps they would give prisoners a meal ticket, and generally in their food he’d find both bread and dried grapes. He’d pocket some of both, using the grapes to make a crude wine.  According to him “If a believer isn’t ready to suffer for his faith,” he said simply, “then he’s not much of a believer.” 

V

Another person who was faithful servant of the Lord and is recently declared the Servant of God, Pujya Rajendra Swamy. An Italian born this Jesuit priest worked not far away from this place, Kalena Agrahara. His grave has turned into a pilgrimage center in Maddur, just two hours ride from here. Born in 1672, Antonio Maria Plattei in Venice, was ordained in 1700 and immediately came to India. He spent his next 19 years serving in the then Kingdom of Mysore establishing parishes and missions taking the name Rajendra, dressing and eating like that of an Indian Sanyasi. He worked around Srirangapattana and later exiled. He did everything to keep the faith of the people alive. It is said that there were 30,000 Catholics under his care. Even though he lived only for 47 years, he achieved much for the Lord. This year, the Church is commemorating his 300th death anniversary and a shrine has been erected on his tomb with his name.  People have been witnessing a number of miracles happening by praying at his tomb. God’s faithful servant is still calling to be faithful to His covenant even today through various signs. 

I believe that the testimonies of these people are a sure sign that God never let’s us down. He is always faithful to us and gives His Spirit’s gifts to be faithful always and all ways.

Olvin Veigas, SJ

06.10.2019

Holy Dishonesty: A Kingdom for the Shrewd

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Readings: Amos 8:4-7; 1Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13

(Parable of the Unjust Steward, Jan Luyken)

Listen to my Audio Homily

Perhaps, you are puzzled, confused, disturbed, or shocked after listening to this Gospel reading; and especially the praise of this bad steward.  How can an employee cheat his employer, manager cheat his master and still get appreciation for his cunning dealings. 

Luke 16:10 “Whoever is faithful in very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.”

Jesus is speaking about practical things, things that happen in our everyday life.  Each one of us deal with money, make financial transactions, either big or small.  We own things of others and make our life.

What is the mind of Jesus while he gives us this parable: The parable of the dishonest manager?

Amendments and corrections in one’s life are very important.  Even if they come towards the end of one’s life still they are very significant. 

Just like that thief who at the last minutes of his life on the cross realised his mistake and asks Jesus in saving his life (Luke 23:43).

The master praises not the way his steward managed his things, not his earlier dealings but in order to save himself at the last moment at his job, he makes amendments, becomes gentler to his debtors. Begins to build relationships.   That is what catches the eye of the master. 

What must have felt early Christians reading this parable?

Dismay!  The path early Christians have chosen is important, now is the time to be part of the new Creation.

What is the meaning for us today the Christians of 21st Century?

We are not masters of ourselves, interdependency is the hall mark of our Christian life.  Relationships matter in our everyday life.  We make best use of the things for the greater good.  We should ensure our future, our future in God

Jesus also tells us how to utilize of our material goods for the greater glory of God.

Christ talks of two realms in the Gospel: the realm of the “children of this world” and that of the “children of light”.  The parable, while using what is an extraordinary image in the setting of the realm of the children of this world, is really about how God acts for his purposes in us, who are “children of light” and how we should act for his purposes in that realm.  If the wicked of the children of this world can use the resources at their disposal for their selfish ends, how much more should the children of light should be able to use the resources at their disposal for the purposes of the God whose resources they are.

Children of light are those who are spiritually enlightened contrasted with children of darkness. 

The New Testament speaks of light and darkness. 

Jesus says in Matthew’s gospel (5:14) “You are the light of the world.”  Again, Matthew 8:12 “but the children of the kingdom will be thrown out into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” 

In John 12:36, Jesus says “while you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”

These week days we have been reading Epistle to the Ephesians.  St Paul writes to Ephesians 5:8 “You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; behave as children of light,”

In 1 Thessalonians 5:4–5, St Pauls says, “but you, brothers, do not live in the dark, that the Day should take you unawares like a thief.  No, you are all children of light and children of the day: we do not belong to the night or to darkness,

There is so much criminality in business and corruption is rampant.  In spite of social welfare, the poor and the needy continue to be exploited and trampled on. It’s reminder that there is a judgment. The very existence of social welfare is the result of social imbalances in the distribution of a community’s wealth.

Prophet Amos who lived in the 8th Century BC speaks about justice and justice of God in the first reading that we heard.

And yet some are even critical of the existence of social welfare.  “Let them work hard like the rest of us!”  One is reminded of the late Bishop Helder Camara of Recife in Brazil.  He was an outspoken critic of injustice in his society.  He used to say: “When I give money to the poor, they call me a saint; when I ask why they are poor, they call me a Communist.”

Any diminution of human dignity (which demands a certain minimum material standard of living) cannot be tolerated by the conscientious and loving Christian.  Some have been given more talents than others (and the Gospel clearly recognises this) but these gifts are to be used not to get more for oneself but to offer more for the building up of the Kingdom community.  The greater our gifts, the greater our responsibility to share them with those who have less.

We need to be constantly reminded that we are the stewards and never the owners of what we possess.  We have no absolute right to anything we have.  “I can do what I like with my money and property because it’s mine” is not a statement any committed Christian can make.

But what is that message here?  We are stewards of God’s creation. Everything we have, be it material wealth, or the gifts and talents that God has given us, or even our life itself, everything belongs ultimately to God.  Just as we count money, God too counts, but he counts us how much good we do, how sincere, honest we are.  He will, one day, call each of us to himself and require from us an account of our stewardship, and so we must be astute stewards.

God wants everyone to be saved and at the judgment what counts is our sincerity, honesty and goodness (see Luke 16:14).  We have to count on our Lord, be the imitators of Him.  Only then God will also count us and allow us to be part of His life, part of eternity (see John 14:2).

- Olvin Veigas, SJ

22-09-2019

Keeping Face with Life

(Photo courtesy: Jean-Mark Arkalian)

We would like to keep face with life.  Hurdles and difficulties are part and parcel of this destiny of keeping face with life.  We would like to move things the way we would like to, but rarely it happens the way we think.  There are short moments in our life which come as a calm breeze.  They are very essential because they give new impetus to our life in moments of darkness.   

In the last week, I spent quite a good number of hours and days in a hospital.  Having myself made part of hospital life during my illness, interestingly, I feel at home being in the hospital.  I have been given the charge of looking after the old and infirm of our community.  This has made me to make my way to the hospital as often as possible. 

One thought that struck me very strong when I was in the ICU recently is this: People who serve in this precious and sacred place should have incredible generosity.  You need to have a lot patience and resilience to be part of the ICU staff.  With noise of machines tottering every moment without a stop, groaning of those undergoing treatment - a good number of them make their way  UP - the mood in the ICU is not very encouraging.  Since the ICU's are specially arranged, organized and constructed, spending 8-12 hours a day is certainly a tough job.  Moreover, the nursing staff has to be ready to accompany the last moments of those ill and those painful moments, who are lying in a state of "let me go" or let me at least get back to the Ward.

This week, I have to be in the hospital in one way or the other accompanying three of my brother Jesuits, who have to go though the loneliness of hospital life; if one had to go through an operation, other had his kidneys failing and the third found hospital is a better place than a home as old age creeping very powerfully on him.  Being in the hospital, I did a number of things, including encouraging the lay attenders that I have to make adjustments in seeing two patients at once, meeting the doctors who make to the hospital in their own particular time allotted to them, meeting the staff nurses who take care of our patients, who, in fact, give a bitter picture of the person who is under their care than the doctors, consulting the hospital administrative staff to see that insurance and other financial details are settled in good time.

  

One thing has become clearer to me.  Once you go to the hospital, you are not sure when you will return home.  But there is always joy in being with one's patients.  There is ample time and opportunity to instil hope and positivity in them.  Say a word of appreciation to those nurses, security guards and supporting staff for their incredible and life saving work.  As well as instilling some faith and patience with those other patients, who some times feel left out from this healing grace.  

- Olvin Veigas, SJ

15 September 2019

Fr Pedro Arrupe, SJ: Life and Legacy

As part of the Diamond Jubilee of Mount St Joseph, 22 August 2019, an exhibition on the life and legacy of Fr Pedro Arrupe, SJ was held in the house Aula.  In the following short video we have tried to communicate on this great man of the Church and the Society of Jesus, Fr Pedro Arrupe, whose cause for sainthood is opened recently by declaring him the Servant of God. 

Personally, I am very much inspired by Fr Arrupe a Basque Jesuit.  I came to know him through his writings during my Novitiate training between 1993-95 in Bangalore.  I read a number of articles, talks etc, which were published in book forms.   His life fascinated me passionately because of his experiences in Japan as a missionary and his incredible passion for Christ and the Eucharist.  

During my Roman studies at the Gregorian University between 2003-06, I was living at Collegio Internazionle del Gesù, adjacent to Gesù Church. His remains are buried in this Gesù Church, Rome.  Often, I used to spend a few moments, where a small red electric bulb would ignite a devotion to him.

Interestingly, many Jesuits prayed for my speedy recovering through the intercession of Fr Pedro Arrupe, while I was recovering from severe ulcerative colitis at the Canisio Jesuit Infirmary, Rome in 2015.  I felt that because I was working in Russia, probably Arrupe would be kind enough to intercede for me since I too in some way followed in his footsteps, leaving my home country.

I tried to put together this following video.

Have a nice viewing!

- Olvin Veigas, SJ

10 September 2019

Let God’s Standard be the Measuring Rod

22nd Sunday in ordinary time. Readings:  Sirach 3:17–18, 20, 28–29; Psalm 68:4–7,10–11; Hebrews 12:18–19, 22–24; Luke 14:1, 7–14

Christ in the House of Simon the Pharisee, Philippe de Champaigne, 1656

Listen to my audio homily

The Word of God of today’s liturgy is really enriching and challenging.  Enriching because it gives us new insights and directions for life, challenging because it is quite difficult to practice in our daily life.  In other words, God should be the measuring rod of our life.

The first reading from the Book of Sirach, Ch. 3 and the Gospel reading from Luke ,Ch. 14  point to us three things:

1. What kind of person you are and this will determine your life, your relationships with others.

2. Your life with others will determine the way you share your meals with others.

3. The above two will determine your life in God

1. The first one is your relationships will determine what kind of person you are.

The book of Sirach is full of human experiences and wisdom.  It speaks about your life and my life. The book says be a gentleman and a humble man.  Sirach 3:17–18 (Mt 20:26–28; Phil 2:3–8) “My child, perform your tasks with humility; then you will be loved by those whom God accepts. The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favor in the sight of the Lord.” 

God measures us by our gentleness and meekness. A person with humility will find God’s blessings and God will be with him/her. 

We also see in the book of Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

We see a number of references in the New Testament where Jesus emphasises the importance of being humble and kind. 

Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

Matthew 10:16  “See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent/humble as doves.”

Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Jesus makes a special reference to children as the ones who are more humble than anyone else in the world. Matthew 18:4 “Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Mary in her magnificat speaks about God’s providential care for those who are lowly and meek.  Luke 1:48 “for he [God] has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.” Again in Luke 1:52 “He [God] has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.”

Even St James speaks about God’s blessing upon those who are humble; 4:5–6 But he [God] gives all the more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

2. The second aspect is your life with others, which has to do with sharing your meals or food with others. “Hungry stomach does not listen” people say.  The very first book of the Bible, Genesis 2:15–16 speaks “and the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden.” In fact, God gave the freedom to eat whatever the human person wanted.  Further we see how Abraham was blessed by God for showing his incredible hospitality and sharing a meal with the unknown three strangers who visited him on a very tiring day. 

Genesis 18:2 “He [Abraham] looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground.” Sharing a meal with others who are strangers would make God to duly reward them by satisfying their hearts desires. 

In the New Testament, it is Jesus who is the centre of hospitality and kindness.  Jesus often appears to be as a party man.  He enjoyed eating with his people, with his disciples, and with his friends.  He took that opportunity to teach them something very significant.  He taught them important lessons and lessons of life at the table.  This determined his relationship with them. 

Often the opposition front of Jesus, which included Pharisees, saw in him something basically wrong with the way he is going about in his work.  Matthew 9:11  speaks “When the Pharisees saw this [eating], they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus knew the significance of eating a meal with the strangers. When the disciples were sent on a missionary work he tells them, “Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you” [Luke 10:8].

Jesus also gives the futurity of the Kingdom of God and what it would be like.  He says “Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God” [Luke 13:29].

Jesus also dined often in the house of Martha and Mary.  He was like their close family friend. When Lazarus died Jesus felt for these two of his sisters.  He raises their brother from death.  Jesus always had a kind heart for those who shared meals with him. 

Finally Jesus completed his preaching ministry very beautifully by sharing of the Passover Meal with his close-knit disciples. “So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal” [Matthew 26:18–19].  Thus through this establishment of Eucharist he gave himself, his Body as our food and his Blood as our drink.  Hence, he could continue to sustain us throughout our earthly life.  This is how Jesus continues to show his unity among us.  

3. Thirdly, our life in God

Therefore to live in a community we too need to have good relationships and meals.  We also need to be humble and meek, kind and generous in our dealings.  We shouldn’t put our standards, standards of this world in the forefront. This will deny the place not only for others but also for us. St. Augustine put it so beautifully how we should deal among ourselves even when the issues of confrontation and arguments come up.  He said, "In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis (or, dubiis) libertas, in utrisque (omnibus) caritas," which means “in essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity."

There is a saying in Russian, “Ребёнок родится голодный и головы.”  It means “a child is born hungry and naked.” Very often we eat the stuff that we don’t need. We put on ourselves things that we don’t need to breath God.  They are seldom either defile us or malnourish us.  

We pray that in everyway let us put God’s standard as the measuring rod. Thus we will be able to see every person and every action that we do through the eyes of God. 

- Olvin Veigas, SJ

01.09.2019

Not in vain: God is My Treasure and My Salvation

18th Sunday of the Year: Readings - Ecclesiastes 1:2,2:21-23; Colossians 3:1-5.9-11; Luke 12:13-21

(Photo - OV)

  Listen to my audio homily

The readings of today are really challenging. They raise unusual questions; questions about God, about our life, and what we make out of our lives. They also suggest that what we ARE is of far greater importance than what we HAVE. In other words, the message of today is to “being more and not have more”. Our attitude to material things is the subject of today’s readings. It is about the things that we really regard important in our lives. 

Human experience raises deep questions. Of course God exists, and we must serve him – but it is hard to see his justice at work in all that happens. Wicked people sometimes do well; good people can be oppressed, wise people are often unrecognised. Therefore our first reading declares: ‘All is vanity!’ Not ‘vanity’ in the sense of pride in one’s appearance

Jesus calls the rich man a “fool”—a word used in the Old Testament for someone who rebels against God or has forgotten Him. 

Psalm 14:1 speaks, 

'The fool[a] says in his heart,

    “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;

    there is no one who does good.'

We should treasure most the new life we have been given in Christ and seek what is above, the promised inheritance of heaven.  We have no control on our lives. What matters most is not what we possess or achieve but what we do with our life. We have to see all things in the light of eternity, mindful that He who gives us the breath of life could at any moment—this night even—demand it back from us as the parable tells us in the Gospel reading. 

It involves being ever more “renewed in the image of the creator”, of whom Jesus is the perfect model. To grow more and more like Jesus is to grow more and more into the image of God, by whom and for whom we were created.

Even though, the conversation between Jesus and the young man took place 2000 years ago, but it speaks to today’s consumerist culture. The more we have, the more we need the next best thing. Like the rich man in Jesus’ story, it’s easy to get caught up in this cycle looking for best things and next things! 

Actually, Jesus does not condemn the rich man and his possessions. But the way, the young man looks at his wealth as if it is his own making. He believes that he has all the right over it. He does not understand that all the treasure that he has, has been given from above. His egoistic tendency and avarice closes his eyes to see the reality outside. He does not see others in this whole picture. He is drowned in the wealth and in himself. Enjoyment and merrymaking become central factors of his life. He becomes the centre and the rich harvest becomes his “lord of lords”.

It is worth observing, however, that no other people are mentioned in the story. He himself was the absolute centre of everything – nothing else mattered, no one else mattered. The world and all its goods were there purely and simply for him to take hold of and keep for himself. Wealth brings loneliness and away from good and holy people around. 

Possessions can give us the illusion of security, control and self-reliance. This leads to isolation. There is no other person in the rich man’s story; he looks only to himself. He has lost sight of the needs of those around him and his own dependence on God.  

Wealth, it is believed, is a sign of “success” though it is not quite clear where the “success” really lies. It also brings “respect” and “status”. 

St. Basil of Caesarea, a fourth-century doctor of the Church, as well as his namesake St. Francis of Assisi have said, “Money is the devil’s dung!”

Quite honestly, for many of us Christians these priorities often take precedence over our following of Christ. 

Today’s readings ask us to consider another approach altogether. It is important to emphasise that Jesus is not saying, “You must give up all these things and lead a life of bleak misery for my sake.” On the contrary, Jesus is offering a much more secure way to happiness and a life of real enjoyment. Against the greed that obsesses many people Jesus offers an opposite alternative to security and happiness – sharing.

How many can identify with the rich man in the parable that Jesus tells today? 

Our security comes from being part of a loving and caring community taking care of each member’s needs. 

Here is where that security that people long for lies. Real security is not in the future. Genuine security is in the here and now. And it is this security that is the real wealth we dream of. Material plenty by itself does not guarantee it.

Mainly three things we could draw as lessons for our life from today's readings.

1. It is better to be being more than having more

2. Let our focus be God our creator. He has created us in his own image and likeness

3. Our salvation begins here and now. So let’s start this journey with right earnest, thus focussing our energies and capacities in building up our treasures in heaven.

What endures and ensures is His divine love and all the affairs of this life may pass away. So beautifully Psalm 146:3–4 cautions us: 

“Do not put your trust in princes,

in mortals, in whom there is no help.

When their breath departs, they return to the earth;

on that very day their plans perish.”

Questions for reflections

1. In what ways do my possessions cut me off from God and neighbour?  
2. Have I lost perspective of what truly matters?  
3. How can I share my abundance with others?  
4. The love of God guarantees life. Might it be that I am greedy because deep down I am not yet ready to rely upon the love of God? 
5. Do I really believe that this world is the whole story?

Prayer: 

Lord Jesus,  

Open our eyes to what really matters.

Open our lives so that we can share our treasure with those in need.  

Open our hearts so that we can know the true riches of your love and mercy.  

Amen.

- Olvin Veigas, SJ

04.08.2019

St. Ignatius of Loyola: With a Heart Larger than the World

St Ignatius as a pilgrim

Today, we celebrate the feast day of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus/the Jesuits.  

Born in 1491, Ignatius was a different kind of saint.  Noted Jesuit historian Fr. John O’Malley, SJ, observed, “Ignatius redefined the traditional basis of saintliness,” which usually involved a degree of unworldliness.  In contrast, Fr. O'Malley refers to Ignatius as a “worldly saint.”

Ignatius was a restless soul for Christ.  Winning souls for Christ was his endeavour and indomitable spirit.  Once Ignatius comes to know Christ in his life nothing can stop him venturing into any challenges that could bring people to Christ.  As a result he could send his friends to missions to far away including St Francis Xavier to India in 1541.  With his limited resources and personnel, Ignatius started schools and colleges, centers of catechism, a house for those who were involved in prostitution and their children in the city of Rome called Martha’s home, colleges in Rome to prepare men for the missionary work around the world especially in order to contain the damage being done to the church due to reformation in Europe.

Ignatius was a man of laymen and women of the church.  His spiritual exercises were given to lay people in order to bring them closer to Christ and his teachings.  Because, for him God can be found in this world.  Ignatius lived in a time when people thought that reaching God was possible only through intermediaries like priests, bishops and cardinals.  Therefore, he devised a spirituality that advised people that God is attainable even for simple folks and even without agents.  God is accessible directly, promptly and simply provided we have a singular devotion.  God blesses those who worship with a sincere heart.  God is experienced in everyday things and life. We find God in messiness and miseries of our life.

St Ignatius of Loyola was a self made man and a saint. Christian perfection is possible here and now. He learnt from his experiences and helped others too though various techniques and ideas like prayers of contemplation and imagination.  He says in his spiritual autobiography, that God led him like a school teacher (Auto. n. 27).   What we pray should not remain just at the theoretical level but one’s prayer should get involved in daily actions and intentions.  They should help in making this world beautiful and reachable to God. Therefore Jesuits are called today “Contemplatives in Action”.

We pray that we may truly become contemplatives in action making this world a much safer, friendlier, just and beautiful world like St Ignatius of Loyola who wished, prayed and acted.

- Olvin Veigas, SJ

31st July 2019

Loveable and Communicable Trinitarian God

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Homily 16.06.2019: Pro 8:22-31; Rom 5:1-5; Jn 16:12-15

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Dear Friends in the Blessed Trinity,

I would like to begin my reflections on the Holy Trinity as we celebrate its feast today with the picture of the Blessed Trinity, "Svyataya Troitsa" (Свята́я Тро́ица) as it is called in Russian. This icon was painted by Andrei Rublev, which is known as “Troitsa” – Trinity.

I

My friends, the Trinity tells us something remarkable about who we are and what we ought to be. Church’s dogma tells us simply and profoundly. There is but one God. In this One God there are three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three Persons are really distinct: The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son. Each of these Persons is really and truly God. And still there is but one God. In other words, there is uniqueness, there is fullness and there is completeness in the trinity

St John’s definition of God: “God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8). In the Trinity we find the perfect realisation of perfect love.

What makes God God – we call it the divine nature – the Father has it completely, the Son has it completely, the Spirit has completely. No one has anything the other does not have. The Father gives to the Son literally all that He Himself has, all that makes Him God, all that makes Him Love. And the Son is a perfect Son, because He is the perfect image of his Father.

The incredible thing is that the love with which the Son loves the Father is the selfsame infinite love with which the Father loves the Son. And this love of Father and Son, this love is the Holy Spirit. God is an eternal exchange of love.

Just as the Trinity keeps the distinction among themselves without being separated so too we have to be utterly and splendidly ourselves, develop ourselves with all the wealth of our talents and personality God has given us.

It is the only way we have of being useful to others, by bringing to them, in a gift of ourselves, what we alone can give them. Just as musical note helps the harmony only by being itself.

II

When the things are difficult to our minds to understand then the best way is to enter the world of an artist and his /her imagination. Sometimes abstract theological constructs constrain us to understand the rudiments of our faith. 

The well-known icon of the Trinity was painted by a Russian Monk Andrei Rublev in the 15th century. He lived between 1360-1430’s in the Monasteries of Moscow. This icon of the Holy Trinity depicts an embodiment of spiritual unity, peace, harmony, mutual love and humility.

Our life experience is as such that we do not understand often our own near ones. You might have heard from your friends saying, “I do not understand my mom or dad”, and the parents saying, “I do not understand my son or daughter”. Often we are mystery to our own people. This is the similar case with regard to the Holy Trinity. As a whole it’s very easy to understand what this Holy Trinity is all about, but when get down in describing it or explaining to others we find it extremely difficult.

We are baptised by invoking the names of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus commanded his disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Mt 28:19).

Jesus himself invoked the names of the Holy Trinity, which would give a person a new life in the Lord. All our liturgies, be it Holy Eucharist, Sacrament of reconciliation or our personal or family prayers begin with invoking the blessings of the Trinity and so too we end them with names of the Trinity.

Now we come to the icon of the Trinity, which you see in the slide. This icon is still preserved and allowed for public viewing in the Tretekov gallery of Moscow city. This icon of Monk Andrei Rublev speaks a lot of about the Trinity. This famous icon poignantly symbolises the relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

It is based on the story from the book of Genesis 18:1-15 called “Abraham and Sara’s hospitality”. The biblical Patriarch Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of the day by Oak of Mamre and saw three men standing in front of him, who in the next chapter were revealed as angels.

The fruit of Abraham’s hospitality to these three people is a promised son to Abraham.

Three characters are sitting around three sides of a table, leaving open the symbolic possibility of the viewer joining them.

They have the same thick wavy hair, the same face. If their lips are closed, it is probably because they prefer silence to chatting and, as they know each other intimately, a glance or a gesture is enough for them to understand each other.

Each of the faces stand out as their wings.

From the point of view of composition, the three halos are inscribed in a large circle centered on the hand of the central character.

Each of the angelic figures holds a stick and the direction is right to left so too their eyes but the glow of the eyes not static but dynamic and focused.

The religious work encapsulates the mysterious relationship between the Father, the Son and the Spirit.

Even though the Christian tradition quickly saw in these three visitors of Abraham an evocation of the mystery of the Trinity: the only God is at the same time Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This hypostases or persona is revealed through their symbolic attributes, i.e. the house, the tree, and the mountain.

The starting point of the divine rule is the creative Will of God. Abraham’s house is placed above the left angel’s head. The tree can be interpreted as the tree of life, a reminder of Jesus’ death on the Cross and subsequent resurrection which opens up to eternal life.

This Oak tree is at the centre, above the angel who symbolizes Jesus. Finally, the mountain is a symbol of spiritual ascent, which humanity accomplishes with the help of the Holy Spirit.

But the God who reveals himself remains 'Unrecognizable' and, on the spiritual path, the one who claims to "know" is on the wrong path. As St. Thomas Aquinas himself says God often appears to us as “Deus Absconditus” as hidden God, concealed, unknown God, unknowability on the essence of God.

Therefore, the icon does not therefore directly represent the three divine persons (unrepresentable in Eastern spirituality), but it passes through the mediation of these three archangels, images of their Creator, to introduce us to the mysterious relationships of the Trinity.

The most widespread interpretation is that the angel on the left evokes the Father, the angel in the centre the Son and the angel on the right the Spirit.

In the Byzantine iconography Christ is depicted as Basileous, king in majesty, Pantocrator etc. Therefore it has come to suggest Christ as a mild but stern, all-powerful judge of humanity.

The Son wears the brown tunic that symbolises earth, his humanity and his given life and the blue mantle that evokes his divinity and the gold speaks of kingship of God. Placed above it, the tree that refers to the Mamre oak is an allusion to the cross, the tree of life.

Coming back to the book of Genesis 1:1-2 writes, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters...”. So too the book of Proverbs evokes similar understanding in today’s reading.

In other words, Spirit of the Lord was always at work in the works of the Father and of the Son. It is the spirit of the Lord that lead Jesus into his public ministry and the incident happens at the river Jordan when Jesus received the Baptism from St John (Mt 3:13-17).

The Son naturally turns to the Father: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was turned to God" (Jn 1:1). Above it, the architecture depicted undoubtedly evokes the "house of the Father" to the "many dwellings" of which Jesus speaks in the Gospel (cf. Jn 14:2). The angel on the right, whose coat has green reflections, evokes the Spirit who enlivens.

Their relationship is not closed; it is open to men. The cup, a reminder of the Eucharist around which they are gathered, symbolises God's great love for men, which will be fully expressed in the gift that the Son will give of himself.

III

The Russian émigré theologian Vladimir Lossky famously said “Between the Trinity and hell there lies no other choice”. He writes in his famous work “Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church", “If we reject the Trinity as the sole ground of all reality and of all thought, we are committed to a road that leads nowhere; we end in an aporia, in folly, in the disintegration of our being, in spiritual death. Between the Trinity and hell there lies no other choice. This question is, indeed, crucial— in the literal sense of that word. The dogma of the Trinity is a cross for human ways of thought” (p.66). Yes, it’s difficult but essential. Incarnation and resurrection is not possible without the work of the Trinity.

What scripture tells us, in story form is that the mystery of the Trinity is our own history: We exist because we are loved- loved by the Father through the Son in the Spirit. To grasp this you need only open yourself in faith to God’s word. Read Scripture with eyes of faith and the Trinity will no longer be difficult subject to grasp but a joy for believers.

Today we share in the rhythm of God’s own life. Christian holiness is essentially Trinitarian. We are all sons and daughters of the Father, precisely because the very Spirit that is Christ’s own is now given to us. And so today we celebrate the Eucharist with singular understanding: Inspired by the Spirit, we offer Christ and ourselves to the Father in sacrifice, cry aloud in thanksgiving: “Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is yours, almighty Father, forever and ever!” Amen.

Questions for Reflections:
1. What role does the Holy Trinity play in my life?
2. Does my uniqueness contribute in anyway for the welfare of others?

- Olvin Veigas, SJ

Trinity Sunday, 2019

Power of the Spirit of the Lord and Its Profound Impact on Our Lady

Pentecost Sunday homily 09-06-2019: Readings: 1st Reading: Acts:2-1-11; 2ndReading: 1Cor.12:3-7,12-13; Gospel: Lk: 1:26-37

An alterpiece at Siena (1308-1311) by Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1319)

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Today our Kalena Agrahara Church celebrates with great solemnity two feasts: One is universal feast and the other local feast.  First one is Pentecost, the coming down of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the second one is the feast of our parish, the parish, which is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Both feasts help us to manifest our faith and it's practice. Thanks to the Spirit of the Lord, who strengthens our faith and gets actualized concretely in our parish when participate in the liturgies of the universal Church.  But, first I would like to share a few reflections on the significance of the feast that the universal church celebrates today, i.e., the Pentecost.

I

The name “Pentecost” comes from the Greek word meaning “fiftieth”. It is the fiftieth since the day of Easter, the Resurrection of the Lord. The very first reading that we have from the Acts of Apostles gives a vivid picture of how the forlorn, fearful disciples who were holed up in a room for safety felt strengthened, energised, empowered, when the Holy Spirit came down upon them as tongues of fire. The Spirit of the Lord makes them to bust out of their caged room and are out among the people preaching what they have seen, heard, and touched (Acts 4:13). Instead of fear, anxiety, depression, the disciples of Jesus in his absence feel a great power entering into their bodies, minds and spirits.

In a world of powers of politics, economics, computers, man made inventions, artificial intelligence, the power of the Holy Spirit is incomparable. The damning energy of the Lord shattered Apostles history of ignorance and fear and the scripture tells us so beautifully “devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5) heard a loud noise and were able to understand what these illiterate fishermen of Galilee were speaking.

The power of the Spirit is very active and alive. How could a teen-age Jewish virgin clothe God’s Son in her flesh?  Listen to an angel: “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk 1:35).

What did the Risen Jesus promise his apostles just prior to his ascension, to make their preaching effective? “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

St Paul would preach to the Gentiles “by the power of the Spirit” (Rom 15:19). What was Paul’s prayer fro the Christians of Rome? “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Rome 15:13).

The Byzantine theology speaks about God in his essence and energy.  We as His created beings only able to participate in God’s energies.  The Greek word for power and energy is “dunamies”,  English equivalent is “dynamite.”  Holy Spirit is dynamite.  It is the dynamo that led Jesus from the River Jordon to the dust and din of the Holy Land.

As Jesus himself describes in Luke 4: 18

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because He has anointed me

to preach the good news to the poor.

He has sent me

To proclaim release to the captives

And recovering of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

This is the dynamo Jesus promised the apostles the night before he died: “another Counselor, to be with you for ever, the Spirit of truth… He will teach you all things, bring to your remembrance all I have said to you… guide you into all the truth” (Jn 14: 16-17; 16:13).   This is the same Spirit that Jesus breathed onto his disciples.

In fact, the Acts of the Apostles is from beginning to end a story of the Spirit: the irresistible, irrepressible power of God’s presence in the apostles and their disciples, in converts Jewish and pagan, in martyrs like Stephen and persecutors like Paul.

Holy Spirit continues to act in you and in me.  The power of the Lord is upon us. Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, frees us from sin and death, makes us sons and daughters of God, helps us in our weakness, intercedes for us with the Father.  It gives peace and joy that the world cannot give.

It is the Spirit of the Lord inspires to do good, make this world beautiful place for us and future generations to live.  This is the spirit that inspires so many young men and women to work for justice and peace, in his evangelizing mission, sending his sons and daughters to distant and unknown missions as missionaries to preach his word of God.

This is the spirit of the Lord makes these missionaries to live their lives learning unknown languages and communicate that message that makes them to give their life to God as martyrs. 

II

The second feast that we celebrate today is the feast of our dear parish, where every Sunday we attend the Lord’s Supper and get energised, Feast of Our Lady of Immaculate Heart of Conception.

The Gospel reading that we have is of the birth of Jesus and how Our Lady said “yes” to the Lord’s Spirit. Because she said yes, to the Lord, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word”, because of her complete yes, she has become the Mother of us, mother of the Church.

To understand better the Motherhood of Mary we should go back to the Old Testament. It is through typology we can understand and grasp Mary as Our Mother.

What is this typology? It is the way of understanding Mary from the Old Testament. How Mary of the New Testament is prefigured in the Old Testament.  This is how Early Fathers of the Church taught people the essentials of faith – St. Cyril of Alexandria, St John Chrysostom, St Augustine, St Gregory of Nyssa, etc.

In Genesis 3:15 -  God tells the Serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

It is the woman and seed will crush the head of the serpent, the evil.

It is the Our Lady of the New Testament who is a queen mother prototype of Eve.

Gen 17:16 - God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.  I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

Isaiah 7:14: Prophet gives the king Ahaz a sign of Immanuel when he asked for it.  “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel”.  This is accomplished in Mary.  Let’s see the text again.   Matthew 1:22–23 “All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel”.

Prophet Micha in Chapter 5 speaks of Jesus’ birth in the house of David.   Jesus will be born in the house of David.  Joseph came from the Davidic ancestry. Therefore Jesus was born in Bethlehem, where David the great king of Israel was born. 

In Mary, Isaianic oracle is fulfilled.  Queen mother was more than a protocol. In Jewish kingdoms it is not the wife of a king who took the place of honour. But the Queen Mother!  Role and office of queen mother was much more honourable then anyone in the kingdom.

Revelation 11:15 - Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices crying out in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.”  Revelation 12:1 says,  “A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”

Who is this woman with clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, head with a crown of twelve stars?

She is the queen of the earth, she is the queen of heaven. She is the queen mother of all.  Her royal authority is of  cosmic queenship.  It is none other than the Mother of Our Lord, Our Lady, and our mother.

Revelation 12:2 writes, “She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth”.  She continues in birthing us, labouring for us so that we may attain eternal happiness that is deigned for us.

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel”.  Early church recognized Our Lady as “queen mother”

Therefore, my dear friends, this is our legacy, this is our faith, this is our lady,  this is our mother, this is our queen, this is our integral, indispensable part of the kingdom of Jesus. It's the Gospel of the covenant.

Therefore you cannot have Jesus as king if you do not have Mary as queen mother.

Questions for reflections:

1. Where do I demonstrate my Spirit-filled actions?

2. Where do I give witness to Jesus Christ in my life?

3. How has been my relationship with the Mother of the Lord?

- Olvin Veigas, SJ

Pentecost Sunday 2019