Prepare for the Opportunities God Sends to You

 

In life, there is a need to prepare oneself for the opportunity or blessing one is expecting. So that, when the opportunity knocks, one is ready to grab it. Mathias was one of the early converts to Christianity. He did his best to prepare for the future ministry. When the opportunity came his way to be numbered among the twelve apostles, he was more than ready to grab it. Judas relinquished his position as an apostle because of his greed and selfishness. Judas’s position was vacant. Somebody had to fill the post.

There was an opportunity for a new candidate to assume the dignity of an apostle (Acts 1: 15 – 26). Mathias was there. He was ready. He was prepared. Peter listed the prerequisite qualifications to become an apostle. Mathias possessed all these qualifications. So Matthias became the twelfth apostle. And to show that he was ready to serve as an apostle, he worked assiduously for the growth of the Church, preached the Gospel tirelessly. And today, we celebrate Mathias as a saint, a martyr and an apostle.

Opportunity may come your way; promotion may be looking for you. Success may be searching for you. But the question is this: are you ready? The way you live your life, the choices you make and the things you do; do these clearly show that you are preparing yourself for something great? A lazy worker who does the least in his company is certainly not preparing herself for promotion. When a promotion arrives, she is found wanting. An ambitious but disorganized, disoriented person who is aspiring to the position of leadership is certainly not preparing himself to lead.

You need to prepare yourself for the blessings and favours you are expecting from God. Do not render yourself unfit for the blessing you desire so much.

Victory in Christ

 Jesus tells us that “in the world you will have many troubles” (John 16:33). Jesus asserts this with a note of certainty and finality. In the world, we will face some troubles. Whether we like it or not, there will be troubles, from within and from without. There will be trouble when we least expect it and from where we least expect it.

It is naïve to wish that our lives were entirely peaceful; without any disturbance, challenge, and trouble. To live in such a way as to avoid all troubles is an exercise in futility. What is even worse? Trouble meets the person unprepared, confused and broken. Challenges, troubles and difficulties are part of human existence. We don’t need to look very far; we don’t need to search very hard to find problems in our world, society, families and personal lives.

However, this is not to say that life is full of troubles and nothing else. The statement of Jesus that there will be trouble in this world is not an invitation to pessimism and cynicism. Christ is not asking us to wear the glasses of negativity so that the only thing we see is trouble and nothing but trouble. Christ is not asking us to live a dry, joyless, dull and drab life. There are genuine moments of joy and happiness, excitement and ecstasy in life. Even in the midst of troubles; one can still experience profound peace and consolation.

There are two extremes we need to avoid. First, to wish to live a life without any trouble at all – this is actually an illusion. Second, to see trouble in everything – this is actually the greatest trouble. What we need is a balanced, informed and critical view of life. Life is a mixture, a combination of opposites – good and bad, truth and falsehood, light and darkness, joy and sadness, and happiness and sorrow.

Again, our emphasis is not on the fact that there are troubles in the world. Our emphasis is on the victory that Christ has won for us. Jesus says: “Take courage, I have conquered the world” (

John 16:33). As Christians, we believe that in the midst of our troubles, Christ is with us. He will never abandon us. He will grant us the courage, strength, fortitude, and graces we need to face the challenges of our lives. Our victory in Christ is indeed guaranteed.

The Christian Attitude of Waiting for the Lord

 

The Word of the Lord says “let your loins be girded and your lamps burning and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast” (Lk 12:35-36). Waiting is part of human life. As human beings, we have numerous desires. It usually takes some time for what we desire to be realized. There is a gap between our desires and the manifestation of what we desire. That is why we have to wait.

All of us are waiting for something or may be somebody. It is difficult, if not impossible, to see a person who is not waiting for something. If you are single, you will probably be waiting for a life-partner. If you are married, you are waiting for children. If you have children, you are waiting for grandchildren. If you are unemployed, you are waiting for work. If you find work, you are waiting for promotions. If you have promotions, you are waiting for retirement. If you are facing challenges of life, you are waiting for solution or breakthrough. It is almost trite to say that we are all waiting for something or somebody.

For many of us, the things we are waiting for are temporal, ephemeral and mundane. Most of the things we are waiting for are things that do not last; things that do not satisfy completely; things we can lose against our will. St Augustine says: “do not live and work only for the things you can lose against your will.” Nothing as tragic as waiting only for things we can lose against our will.  You can lose your certificate against your will, for example, in fire. You can lose your car against your will. Your car can be stolen. You can lose your house against your will. You can lose your friend against your will. Your friend can betray you. Your spouse can abandon you. This is the reason our Gospel reading encourages us to wait for somebody who can absolutely satisfy all our desires. Our Gospel urges us to wait for Jesus who can give us the things we cannot lose against our will. If we are rooted in Jesus, We cannot lose Him against our will. We cannot lose the stupendous gifts of salvation, redemption and eternal life against our will.

King David was the king of Judah; he waited to become the king of the whole Israel. When he became the king of Israel, he began to wait for victory over his enemies. After securing victory over his enemies, he began to wait for affluence, influence and leverage. He got all those. He became bored. He committed heinous crime. Then he realized that all he had been waiting for all his life are things that do not satisfy absolutely. Looking for God- the only person who could satisfy all his desires, he wrote “like a deer that yearns for running streams so my soul is yearning for you my God” (Ps42:1). He began to wait eagerly for the lord. He wrote again, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits… My soul waits for the lord more than watchmen for the morning” (Ps 130: 5-6). Eventually, the Lord showed him mercy and forgave his trespasses. David wrote: “I waited, I waited for the Lord, he stooped down to me, he heard my cry” (Ps 40:1). After experiencing the goodness of the Lord, he wrote: “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps 34:8). David waited for the Lord, he experienced the Lord. He tasted and testified that the Lord is good.

We still have the opportunity and time to wait for the Lord. We need to revisit the list of the things we are waiting for in life. We need to make sure that Jesus is on top of our list - Jesus who can fulfill our desires more that we can ever imagine. Let us sincerely determine whether our waiting is righteous and salvific. A habitual liar cannot say he is waiting for the Lord who is the Truth. A person whose heart is full of hate cannot claim that he is waiting for Jesus who is Love. The Christian whose hands are filled with deeds of darkness cannot assert that he is waiting for the Lord who is the Light. Let us wait for the Lord in a manner befitting of Children of Light. Let us be like men waiting for their master to come. Let us wait earnestly, eagerly and patiently for the Lord. “Those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. They will mound up with wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (Is 40:31).

 

OPEN MY EYES O LORD!

 

Hagar found herself in a precarious and perilous situation (Gen 21:14-21). With a tiny infant in her arms, she ran out water in a dreary dessert. She was distraught and distressed. Her only option was to watch helplessly her son experience slow and agonizing death. We can only imagine the pain and anguish of a mother. But something astounding happened! An angel of the Lord heard the cry of Hagar’s baby. The angel asked Hagar: what troubles you? God opened the eyes of Hagar and she saw a well of water nearby. She felt a huge relief. It is worth noting that the well of water did not just appear. It was not freshly dug. All the while Hagar was crying, overwhelmed with sorrow in the throes of despair, she did not see the well until the God opened her eyes.

When we face the challenges of life and confront the turbulence of human existence, we may be so overwhelmed, so gripped with our sorrow that we cannot see the solution to our problem or answer to our questions. We may be staring gloomily at the closed door and we are unable to see the new door open before us. We may be so harassed and embarrassed by our weaknesses and inadequacies and we cannot see the enormous graces of God. We may be battered by the storms of life and we cannot see the silver lining.

The Pharisees were so obsessed with the Jesus’ infractions of the letter of Mosaic law and they did not see that He was the Messiah. Pilate was arrogantly asking for truth without knowing that he was in the presence of divine Truth. Mary Magdalene was crying profusely unable to recognize Jesus. In the darkest moments of our life, all we have to do is to open our eyes and see the solution to our problems. Finding solution to our problem is not always like looking for a needle in a haystack. Our breakthrough may be hidden under opaque terrain of our fears and anxiety.

 Like Bartholomew, we beg the Lord to open our eyes that we may see new opportunities, new solution, new door, new answer to life’s question, new  hope in despair, light at the end of the tunnel. Open my eyes that I may see the wonders of your love! Ps (119:18).

PRUDENCE: AURIGA VIRTUTUM

 

Jesus did two things after his acerbic confrontations with the Pharisees that might not appear impressive to us (Matt 12:14-21). First, when He realized that the Pharisees were planning to arrest and possibly harm him, he withdrew. Literally he ran away. This might not appear heroic at all. Second, after performing many miracles, he strictly ordered the people not to make him known. Again, this might portray Jesus as lacking confidence in his ministry and mission.

If we peruse the bible carefully, we observe that sometimes Jesus would confront the Pharisees. Just by reading the content of their minds, Jesus would raise controversial issues with them. At other times, Jesus would avoid arguments and confrontation with the Pharisees. Again, Jesus would tell the beneficiaries of his miracle to proclaim his miracles to the roof tops. At other times, he would sternly instruct the people not to make him known.

What determined the decision and action of Jesus at every circumstance is the virtue of prudence. Prudence helps us to determine what is good, choose the right means to attain the good. It also guides the dictates of our conscience (CCC1806). In other words, prudence helps us to do the right thing, at the right time and in the right place. What should I do in this present situation? How should I respond or not respond in the present situation? What is the right thing to do  here and now? The virtue of prudence provides answer to these questions.

Prudence informs us whether to speak or to remain silent; to act or remain passive; to run or to stay. Prudence assists us to determine when we need courage to fight or humility to withdraw; boldness to speak or restraint to be silent; strength to act or patience to be calm.

In the absence of prudence, we make many avoidable mistakes. In the absence of prudence, Peter cut off the ear of a soldier, James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritans, the apostles were arguing among themselves who was the greatest. But with prudence, we avoid unnecessary stress, dangers and worries. We also achieve tremendous feat for the glory of God. Under the guidance of prudence, David was calm in the face of provocation; the widow of Zarephat shared the little she had with the prophet.

St Pio of Pietrelcina is a good example of a man of prudence. He practiced the virtue of prudence in an exemplary way. St Pio says “prudence has eyes.” In other words, prudence is insight, knowledge, wisdom in action. In everything the prudent acts with knowledge but a fool parades his folly (Prov 13:16).  Prudence is our sure guide to right decision in every situation.

Immaculate Conception of Virgin Mary

 

The Catholic Church teaches authoritatively that God preserved Mary from the stain of original sin from the moment of her conception. The implication of this teaching is that Mary is totally free from the stain of original sin and personal sins. Mary is absolutely stainless and sinless. The reason for this inestimable privilege of Mary is very simple. God decided to purify the vessel through which His Son will come to the world. God who is absolutely holy, whose nothing impure can endure in His presence, purified Mary in such a way that she could become worthy vessel for Jesus’ first coming. It is unthinkable that God who is all holy will allow His Son to be stained by original sin. It is because of the divine merit of our Lord Jesus Christ that our Lady was preserved from the stain of original sin. Mary did not receive the singular gift of Immaculate Conception by her own merit. She could not have earned this gift. The gift is generously gratuitous.

The doctrine of Immaculate Conception has puzzled non-Catholics. Some non-Catholics consider the doctrine as a grandiose theory- too good to be true. They accuse the Catholic Church of romanticizing and exaggerating the holiness and merit of Mary. They are also quick to remind us that all men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:13). They will argue that it is only by the death of Jesus that humanity can be saved. How could Mary be free from the stain of original sin?

The Catholic Church is not exaggerating the holiness and privileges of Mary. On the contrary, the Catholic Church lacks the words to express the stupendous graces of Mary with limitations of human language. Who can really put into words the stupendous graces that Mary received? Human words are inadequate to satisfactorily express the profundity of holiness of our Lady.

It is true that all men and women have sinned and are in  need of reconciliation and justification brought about by Jesus. But Mary is an exception because her vocation is exceptional. We receive our salvation after the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus on the cross. But Mary received her salvation before the actual death of Jesus on the Cross. Mary is still saved by Jesus but her justification is unique because of her unique role in the work of salvation as the true mother of our Savior. We cannot blame God for dispersing His Graces the way He desires.

What God achieved in the life of Mary is also what he wants to achieve in our lives too. Graces of God are so effective in the life of Mary because she cooperated with God. She cooperated freely, actively, fully and whole-heartedly. She said her ‘fiat’ with conviction and joy. God will preserve us from stains of original sin with the sacrament of baptism and the horrors of personal sins if only we are willing to cooperate with Him. The graces of God will be active and effective in our lives if we say our ‘yes’ to God, not just with our lips but with our hearts.

PURGATORY AS A GIFT OF LAST RESORT

 

Purgatory can be considered as a gift of God. It is a gratuitous gift of God to those who might perish but are now being purified; those who might be lost but now being saved. Purgatory is a gift because God could have left only two possibilities- heaven or hell. But God offers purgatory as a gift of last resort, as a reprieve, as a cancellation of condemnation; as a sign of hope; as a pledge of salvation. So purgatory can be seen as a gift from merciful God.

Purgatory is an indubitable evidence of God’s infinite mercy and compassion. It is a proof of God’s unrelenting effort to save humanity. It is an assurance that God will stop at nothing to save us. The existence of purgatory is an incontrovertible sign of God’s desire for universal salvation- God who will leave no stone unturned, He will spare no effort to save us.

However, purgatory is a gift we may not desire, we may not require, we may not need- we should not need. Purgatory is the only gift of God that we may not need at all. Even God Himself will be delighted if we do not require this gift. “Be holy as I am Holy.” If we are holy as the Lord is holy, we may not need the gift of purgatory. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” If we are perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect, we will not see the gate of purgatory. We pray for the grace never to make use of this gift!