Jesus the way to Heaven

Do you try your best to be righteous before God? Follow His commandments and yet are struggling with one particular area of your life? Do people still mock you for serving God after the unanswered prayer? As I was meditating on Luke Ch.1 beautiful things the Lord started showing me. Zachariah was from priestly family and Elizabeth was descendant of Aaron. Righteous and followed the commandments of the Lord; but yet childless. Here, childlessness was something that brought in lot of shame, but they never loosed hope. If you compare even Abraham and Sarah were childless. But God intervened!  The society in such situation makes it a hell on Earth for such people. Just imagine if you were in Heaven, people would have prayed for you and not disgraced you. The sole reason being, they know that God uses such things as instruments to draw the attention of the individual towards Him. The analogy to understand Jesus will be like a new born baby, it cannot speak to you, but it knows that the ...

As I spoke to my Cloistered nun friend and was listening to her spirituality, the words that she spoke kept me pondering. We nuns need to be like god(small "g") i.e. in our thoughts, words and deeds. Every word that we speak should lead the person to God. This blog will be what my God kept me thinking about the whole mass. Every time we judge! Yes, we do! May it be someone that we hate or any person who poses a threat to our intellect. We Judge. And soon the Lord started showing me flashbacks of my past where I've been judgemental in a situation and also showed me how He would tackle the same situation.  Jesus showed me series of His life events when He being the King and His Father being the Creator; showed that life is not always happy with possessions and wealth. Crib was His birthplace and not a fancy hospital. Poor Lazarus, Mary and Martha were His best friends and not rich people like Herod. Sinners were someone who could change from their lives then the ones who th...

On the day of the commemoration of the Souls Day, the Gospel reading is really worth pondering upon. It's about the woman of Nain who loses her only son. Let's go more deeper into this passage and understand it. When we lose our loved ones, our whole life goes haywire. Some complain to God how could You do this to us? Some go into depression whilst some lose hope in God. The thing that we fail to understand is, everything that happens is according to the will of God, though be it death or life. When Jesus is made witness to the funeral of the woman's son, He was filled with compassion for the woman. Now, we should not forget that, Jesus was also a human being like us. He too weeped, felt thirsty, deeply moved at the death of Lazarus, became joyful etc. So Jesus really understands our sorrow of losing our loved ones. He's presence is with us in the form of people who take care of us when we are in sorrow. Jesus is the one who uses such good Samaritans to comf...

My life journey with Christ Love and happiness is what everyone seeks for in life. We are ready to do any sacrifices to live a life full of security and free us from all worries. Well, even I live in this so called world and seek such things. But, in my story of my encounter with Christ plays the pivotal role. We all hear this thing called "try to build a relationship with Christ". Sometimes, it feels so bizarre to even think about it that you can have a relationship with someone whom you cannot physically see. Well, I am such a guy who will believe in such things and will try out to any extent. And there was I in relationship with Christ❤ I encountered Christ way back in 2014, but from the year 2018 my actual journey totally in Christ took off. Since then many things changed; like focus, priorities, way of life, way of thinking, etc. This changes can only take place if the Holy Spirit gives you the grace to do so. If you truly understand "LOVE" and co...

Key scripture:- Mt. 16:24-28 Reflection:- Here in this scripture Jesus teaches how an individual can be His follower. As I was inspired by this topic, I hope it also touches you too as it touched me. There are two elements here that Jesus stresses on: one is the "cross" and second is "self-denial" . Let's study both in a deeper prospective. The Cross:- Now, what would you consider a cross?? Is it the same as the wooden planks that Jesus carried up to Golgotha? That's a physical representation of a cross, but spiritually there are many other such things that can be termed as a cross. I would say, it is a thing or a thought or task or suffering which hinders our peace of mind. We run helter-skelter to rectify it but all goes in vain. So, when all our efforts go in vain we remember someone; and that someone is undoubtedly "God". So why do you think we have to go through such vigorous crosses in life? Why no shortcuts? Crosses...

Reflection on the "Prodigal son" Key scripture:- Luke 15:11-32 Reflection:- We all know this parable of the Prodigal son very well. But in this article I was inspired to jolt down about the application of this parable in the modern generation.  What does prodigal actually mean? According to Google,  a person who spends money in a recklessly extravagant way .  So here we have a father and two sons and most of us are like the younger one, who often feels that the outside world is far more fascinating then what we are living in right now. We are amused by the pictures of people on Instagram, Facebook, etc. and we alas! "I wish that I could also go on such extravagant tours" or " I wish I had so many followers and likes to my post." This leads us to get saddened and curse ourselves on not having such a good life. We all make the efforts to the point of blackmailing our parents to often give us things which probably they cannot afford too. Bu...

Reflection on the Mission of Seventy/Seventy-two Key scripture:- Luke 10:1-12; 17-20. Reflection:- This mission of the Seventy or the Seventy-two has this confusion between these numbers. But there is a lot of history involved in it which brings us back to the Old Testament. In the book of Number 11:36 So the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their place there with you. So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord ; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. Numbers 11:16‭, ‬24‭-‬24‭, ‬26 NRSV In the above verse we see something similar happening. T...

Reflection on "Parable of wicked tenants" Synopsis:- (Mt. 21:33-46; Mk. 12:1-12; Lk. 20:9-19) > Landowner plants vineyard, puts fence, digs wine press and built a watch-tower. > Leases to tenants and goes to other country > At harvest, landowner sends slaves and tenants beat them > He sends more slaves, but they beat them too  Finally, sends his beloved son, but they kill him to inherit his inheritance > Jesus poses a question to the audience, "what will the landowner do?" > They reply that he would beat those wretches to miserable death, and lease it to others to produce harvest > Jesus replies through a quote from Psalm, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes"? > Therefore, Kingdom of God will be given to people who will produce fruits Reflection:- This was the parable I was supposed to meditate and preach to the youth and t...

How to handle stress! Key scripture:- Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23 NRSV Reflection:- There are two types of main stresses which humans go through. One is physical stress and the other is emotional stress. The latter is most difficult to cope up with and is also a root cause to many diseases. Past week has been the most stressful week of mine, wherein, I was in no mood of doing anything, but just sleep it out! Even to associate with God was becoming so difficult. Finally, St. Paul came to the rescue as I heard about their initial struggles in the book of Acts of the Apostles. Can I compare my stress with the amount of sufferings they went through as they proclaimed Christ? Certainly not! The phrase "walk the talk" has been a challenge for all the preacher and the teachers of Word of God. If not followed you end up being hypocrite! So I throug...

A short reflection on wearing masks We all have secrets hidden in our lives and we often put masks over our face to hide them. We keep our friend circle small and share it with a few. But alas! It's gone out like a gas-perfume. How do I know whom to trust in life? Read more to find out... According to the Bible, it is okay to not to share about your life with others. Often we are confused with the dilemma on whom to trust my secrets with and whom not to trust. Sometimes, we might have been left dismayed by that fact that we actually let it out to someone and whether that secret is going to remain a secret or not? So it triggers our trust factor while dealing with people since then. And hence we wear masks! I believe, each person is a born actor/actresses. Because your life might be a haywire, but you hide it with a smile. We all know whom to share what, regarding our lives. And it's correct to do so. I'll give some points in this blog to help you out:- 1...

How to cope with frustrations and disappointments? Key Scripture:- I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. John 15:11 NRSV Reflection:- This topic made me contemplate for days together as things were running haywire in my life. I sat down frustrated with things, not knowing what to do with life. One way Jesus says "surrender your burdens to Me" and the other way, I try my best to cope with the frustration. This blog is all about that! As days went by, one morning the Lord spoke to me saying, "All these things that are happening in your life are to mortify you, to make you pure and to examine your faith. Trust in me, for you are my Child and I love you!". These words of hope gave me sudden joy and I was at peace amidst all the turmoil.  We all go through frustrating moments, and then we exclaim, "why Lord why??? Why all bad things are happening only with me??" This reminds me of w...

A short reflection on Jesus and Beelzebul Synopsis:- (Lk. 11:14-23; Mt. 12:22-32; Mk. 3: 19b - 30) > Jesus casts a demon from a mute person > He starts to speak and people get amazed > But, Pharisees and Scribes say that it's done by the power of Beelzebul- ruler of the demons > While some demand for a sign from heaven > Jesus knows their thoughts and says, " every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house". > If Satan is divided then even he can't stand > Jesus inquires about their exorcists' authority to cast demons > The ones whom you hold your belief on becomes your judge > Jesus speaks about finger of God in removing the demon > And hence, the proclaimation of kingdom of God > Analogy of strong man and another even stronger him. > " Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters". Reflection:- In this episode we see Jesus be...

A short reflection on life as a Dust and Spirit filled life.   Synopsis:-  > God forms man from the dust of the ground > Breathes breath of life > The man is alive! > A man born blind in Jn. 9 regains sight after Jesus spits on the ground and mixes up mud and applies it on the eye and the man washes his eyes in water Reflection:- As I was driving back home and praying as usual for an inspiration for the next blog, I uttered these words, "Lord Jesus! I'm a man of dust, and until you send forth your breath of life I won't be Spiritually alive". In short, I was praying for the fresh in-filling of the Holy Spirit. Since baptism and after Confirmation we already have the Holy Spirit in us? So why the fresh in-filling? As bro. Colin once nicely analogized regarding this to regular refilling of petrol to run a bike or car. We all are made of two components:- God formed us from dust but only after breathing into the nostrils i.e. the Holy ...

Reflection on Jesus' intervention with a Rich Ruler and Zacchaeus   Synopsis:- Luke 18:18-25 & 19:1-10 > The Rich ruler calls Jesus "Good Teacher". Whereas Jesus calls Zacchaeus by name. > Rich ruler keeps all the commandments whereas Zacchaeus was a public sinner ( Tax collectors would be usually called public sinners at that time because they would charge high customs, taxes, etc from people ) > Both of them are told to be very rich persons > Jesus requests rich ruler to sell his belongings and do charity; whereas, Zacchaeus voluntarily says he will give half possessions to the poor + repay 4 times those whom he might have cheated. > Rich ruler became sad and left while Zacchaeus earned Salvation for his house.   Reflection:- These contrasting Rich people's lives and their actions gives us a lot of understanding. We always are hungry for knowledge and more knowledge in the world, by saying this I in no way condemn gaining ...

A short reflection on stumbling blocks Note:-  Freeze-bee labeled as "goal" which deviated and the dog crashed into the photographer  Synopsis:- (Mt. 18:6-9) > Jesus hates if you put stumbling blocks before his children > A milestone around the neck and the Sea will be his reward i.e death > But stumbling blocks are always bound to come > But Jesus hates the one by whom it is caused > If your hand leads you to sin, cut it off  > If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out > For you shall save your soul from eternal fire 🔥 Reflection:- Often we hear this common phrase from people i.e., "I could not make it for the retreat or a prayer meeting due to some personal reasons". And then the person goes on to say, "probably it was Satan who put the stumbling block ahead of me!" As a small kid when I used to go to listen to talks from one brother, the meetings suddenly stopped happening. And I wondered why? So the lady ...

Reflection on "The Holy Eucharist" We Catholics go for mass every Sunday or some make it a point to go each and every day. But do we feel a "sense of celebration" in partaking in this Sacrament? Does the mass come alive to us?  Are we worthy to receive Christ while in mortal or venial sins? From where do we know the authenticity of the set structure that we follow nowadays in the churches?  Read to find out more in this wonderful revelations by the Holy Spirit in this article. Like how we Goans (people who reside in Goa, India) love our fish, curry and rice; the middle East countries love their breads to the core. From ancient times people have been making breads and giving thanks to God for it. Even the first book of the Bible speaks of the "bread" in Genesis: By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19 NRSV ...