Mourn and Weep

Today’s Gospel Text: Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name. John 16:20-23

Reflection: There are many reasons to weep and be sorrowful in life:

We could be weeping and sorrowful because we have lost a loved one or because we have failed in an exam or lost a precious article or on account of hurt, rejection, pain or on receiving a beating from someone or a break in relationship, etc., etc.

There are sacred reasons too why people mourn and weep and are sorrowful; when people see the desecration of sacred things, whether material or spiritual deposits; be it the dogma of the church or the sacred artifacts that belong to the patrimony of the church.

The saints weep for the church even in heaven when it faces persecution whether of internal origin or external. The saints weep also when the doctrine of Christ is watered down or when the members of the body face persecution; for this is their suffering.

They weep and are sorrowful when sinful men continue in their stubborn ways and those in authority practice a tolerance of evil and crush righteousness for the sake of momentary peace or for pseudo-values, which are sometimes falsely termed as gospel values.   

Sorrowfulness and weeping is a fruit of great pain, which need not always be physical but most often is on account of a deep emotional hurt due to a feeling of rejection, public shame, insults, etc.

In the scripture we have a situation of sorrowfulness and weeping for a particular reason; Jesus is clearly the reason for this weeping.

When it comes to Jesus there is no neutral ground either you are weeping and sorrowing for him and his cause or you are rejoicing over your triumph over the God of all creation.

But God’s silence, his patience, his endurance of our wicked ways,  his tolerance of our attacks on him or by way of corruption of his teachings are but momentary  instances of victory for the evil human mind who allow themselves to be deceived while interpreting God’s action with blind selfish gratification.

May we who follow the path of Jesus learn from this patience of God and not take advantage of it and seek to change ourselves with his grace. 

Prayer:  You O lord, who sets on high the lowly and lift up those who mourn console us in our day of perversion against your holy one. (cfr. Job 5:11)       

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Limitation of Mind

Today’s Gospel Text:  "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. John 16:12-15

Reflection: Some people have a tremendous capacity for gathering information and there are some who can make their brains overwork too.

But there always remains the human limitation when the brain can no longer take more than what it normally does.  It reaches a stage of fatigue.

Many of us tend to be selective and would rather work our memories in areas where we get a positive stroke or acceptance or in areas of deep interest to us.

But just as food is to the body, whose lack of knowledge could lead us to hunger situations similarly there is the spiritual food whose route to our system is through the mind, if we are ignorant of what is spiritual then our Spiritual stomachs will remain starved.  

The spiritual food is best assimilated when ruminated or pondered upon,even if it is not an area of interest to us.  Such knowledge is essential for survival even unto eternity.

Our capacity for knowledge and information is ultimately limited by the forces that work against us through the medium of our mind and body such as fatigue, lethargy , anxiety, pain or other forms of mental or physical sickness, many a times brought about due to our sinfulness.

Such sickness coupled with the poor state of our mind could lead us to state of spiritual vacuum.

Jesus knowing the human frailty and the necessity of the divine knowledge, gives us the Spirit of truth; the Holy Spirit as our counselor.

One of the biggest roles the counselor plays is to take us close to Jesus; the source of all knowledge and the one who can transform us.

The Holy Spirit even brings to mind that knowledge about our Savior; the knowledge that comes through infusion into the soul:  “changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Cor 3:18               

Prayer:  Lord, infuse your wisdom and grace into my soul as I with unveiled face behold your glory each day at your feet. (Cfr. 2 Cor. 3:18)

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

Waiting

Today’s Gospel Text: "Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will gird himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants! Luke 12:35-38

Reflection: Life is a constant waiting

We have to constantly wait in life, either for our turn to come or for our turn to finish.

We could wait for someone or we could wait for none.

Some waiting is worth the wait and even the process is joyful and the long wait is made easy because of the goodness and beauty of the end goal.

Even those who wish to die have to wait for their turn.

But there are some types of waiting which are crucial to life, sustenance and survival. Among these some are not easy to practice if not made a habit and discipline of daily life. 

It is this difficulty that Jesus is communicating to the general public and the prerequisite for us to have this discipline for our life, sustenance and survival.

The most beautiful part of this waiting is that it is not a mere drudgery or a painful grind, even though it may seem to be. It is a marriage feast in which the master is coming home to and the occasion is abundantly joyful and worth all the trouble.

The wait too is rewarding assures the master, he will spontaneously and humbly serve the ones waiting for him with faithfulness, diligence and perseverance.

Since the relevance of this waiting is very significant, one would only be a fool to procrastinate ones decision making in this waiting.

Get down right now on your knees and implore to him for all the help that you may require to wait. Do not fail to take complete advantage of the help that comes your way  in order to wait on him who is an unavoidable necessity for us; Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord as I take my vow to wait on you daily help me by your grace never to backslide in my commitment to you.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us