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)       

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Expose to the Light

Today’s Gospel Text: And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. 23 If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." 24 And he said to them, "Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. 25 For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Mark 4:21-25

Reflection: One of the freedoms we demand is the freedom of privacy and as per the laws of human right it is guaranteed in the constitutions of many nations, who have signed the United Nations charter on human rights.

The right to privacy usually guarantees to a certain defined extent when, where and how much of personal information could be disclosed by an individual.

It is a happy law for the many of us in the world who could go through a nightmare if the hidden things of our lives were to be made public.

Embarrassment, hurt, pain, betrayal, distress are some of the deepest feeling that we struggle with when exposed either rightly or wrongly, by the cautious or the overcautious.   

Despite all these freedoms of privacy laws, the Lord is cautioning us about the ultimate day, if not now when we will have to face the exposure of disclosure before the king and judge and then it will be public knowledge, whether we like it or not.

The exposure is sure and is inevitable; everything hidden in darkness has to be manifest by the light of Christ and what is secret will be manifest. (vs.22) 

But for us Christian we could avoid the great embarrassment by bringing things to the light of Christ through the Sacrament of reconciliation, which makes things practical and easy.

The light of Christ thus shining on the darkened area dispels everything that is not of his kingdom and clears our consciences to face him on that day without fear or anxiety.

Believe in what Christ claims about himself; as the light of the world, a light that dispels all darkness. Turn to his merciful love and forgiveness offered to us once and for all on the Cross.

Prayer: Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting! Ps 139:23-24

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