kaitha first week,Jn.11:17-26,St.Martha

Today we celebrate the feast of St.Martha. In the Gospel that we read today, we are given the moving encounter of Jesus with Martha and Mary who were grieving over her brother's death.Their grief over the death of Lazarus has brought the greatest proclamation from Jesus about the Resurrection of the dead: "I am the resurrection and the life:whoever believes in me , though he die,shall live.Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die."
The moment of the meeting of Jesus with Martha and Mary is one of the great moving scenes in the Gospel.The intense grief of Mary and Martha, Jesus' love for Lazarus and finally the resurrection of Lazarus are breath-taking events. Here , we also see the faith of Martha and Mary.They had absolute trust in the power of Jesus.Their sorrow and faith brought the greatest miracle of life: the dead being raised to life.
Martha is a model and example for those who believe in Jesus.She finds joy in serving Jesus. Her only concern is to make Jesus happy and comfortable and to do all kinds of service in order that she could make her home comfortable for the stay of Jesus.She is not intellectually sharp as Mary who would like to listen to Jesus and absorb every word that comes form him.
Lord, I ask you to give me the same sense of total dedication and service that Martha exhibited in her life to me so that I could also be dedicated to you totally.Let me find joy in ministering to you, in spreading your message and make you known to and loved by people.

Kaitha First week,Jn.12:20-26,Feast of St.Alphonsa

Today, being the feast of St.Alphonsa, most of the churches in the Syro-Malabar community have commemorated her life with great enthusiasm and love.St.Alphonsa draws the minds and hearts of Kerala Catholics  with  same  kind of love that the little Flower has  over the minds of Catholics all over the world. Even before  she was canonized as a saint, people would gather in thousands at her grave on her day of her commemoration, asking for her intercession.She who has accepted suffering without any kind of resentment offers everyone an example to accept the troubles and hardships of life.Her simplicity, lack of affectation, her love for people , her sense of humility and her ardent prayer life have endeared her to ordinary people. She is the ordinary people's saint as they can identify themselves with her life.
Today's Gospel very well summarizes the the life of Alphonsa where Jesus speaks about the new life that will sprout from the decay of the old : "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies , it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit."
Our hardships and death do not have the final say on our lives. If we trust in God, and believe in him, we will never undergo eternal destruction.Our sufferings will be the cause for our victory and joy.
Lord , help me to to put my trust in you and attain joy and peace under your loving protection.

Kaitha1,Jn.8:48-59.

Jesus asserts himself to be Divine in his confrontation with the Jews who maligned him as one who was obsessed by an evil spirit.Jesus spoke of himself as existing before Abraham and was one with God. It was more than they could tolerate and they immediatlety took stones to kill him.
What we find here  is his fearless assertion of his Divinity and his request to them to change their attitudes and accept him as the Son of God.They refused the chance of salvation and were stuck in their determination to exterminate him.What about our attitudes? Will we stand with Jesus and are willing to follow his teachings?
Lord, be with me and give me your grace to be strong in my faith.I am a weakling, afraid and diffident. Strengthen me.make me strong and confident. Let me find my strength in you.

Jn.10:22-28,Feast of Joachim and Anna

In today's Gospel, Jesus is confronted by a hostile audience in the Temple who is asking for evidence to prove that he is the Messiah. They had seen the miracles he performed and  they were witnesses to his teaching and his prayer life.Still, they were not convinced.They wanted more proofs.Jesus uses this occasion to tell them that all those who have believed in him would be protected and that the Father would never allow them to be lost.Then, He told them directly and plainly that he and the Father one one. What a solemn proclamation.A Jew who had no faith in Jesus would definitely be scandalized.Those words of Jesus were enough to offer them convincing proof of his Divinity.
As we reflect on these words of Jesus, we become comforted by the fact that we who have put our faith in Him would not be abandoned. Our way is the way shown by the Lord. We shall remain in constant contact with him.He is our anchor and rock in life and nothing can take away the  joy of life from us.

Mt.20:20-28

In today's Gospel, we find the mother of James and John asking Jesus to give her sons the best positions in his kingdom. Jesus uses the occasion to explain to them that  in the heavenly kingdom there is no place for positions of superiority. The one who is considered important in the eyes of God is one who serves all. Jesus points at himself to show them that he, who is called a master by them, is willing to be their servant. His whole life- purpose is to offer himself for the liberation of all from sin and slavery to sin. It is in sacrifice and self-abandonment that he finds the fulfillment of his life.
These words are a strong source of encouragement for us to defeat the feelings of defeatism and despair in our lives. We often become discouraged when we don't get the so called plums of life. These plums of life, the offices of position and superiority do not mean anything. They are just illusions.What gives us strength is our willingness to be helpful to others.

Kaitha, First Week,Mt.21:28-32

Through the parable of the two sons, Jesus asks his listeners that it is not what appears on the surface that matters but the internal disposition that makes one act .the first son although said no to the request to the request of the father, he relented and decided to accede to the request of the father. In our own personal life, such a situation may arise.We may think it is foolish to follow the teaching sof the Lord that cme to us thrugh the Scriptures and th Chruch but then we still have time to change our attitudes and to follow the Lord.
it is not late for us to follow the Lord. any time is good time for us. we may have committed awful sins but there is always a chance to repent and to change our ways.
Fulton J.Sheen calls it "Second Chance". Always we are given  opportunities for second chances. Without getting stuck in our rebellious and sinful ways, we shall make changes in our lives and follow the teachings.of the Lord.