Wednesday 30 December 2015

Love till it hurts

We love to be served, to be given first preference always, to be praised, appreciated and thanked.

Have we paused for a moment to do the same to others?
To appreciate and thank others? To compliment others once in a while?

The world has enough of critics. It doesn't need you to be another.

Will we go out of our comfort zone to do something for a friend? Or someone we don't know?

"Forget about yourself. May your ambition be to live for your brothers alone, for souls, for the Church; in one word, for God." (St. Josemaria)

Let us cultivate the habit of thinking about others. About their needs and difficulties. Maybe in our homes first and then in our neighbourhood.

"In the middle of the rejoicing at the feast in Cana, only Mary notices that they are short of wine. A soul will notice even the smallest details of service if, like her, it is alive with a passion for helping its neighbor, for God." (St. Josemaria)

Tuesday 29 December 2015

Loving God above all


We love so many things that push us far away from God. And often when God asks us to give them up, we say: Lord anything else but this thing. I love this too much.

It's like saying: Lord I love alcohol, drugs, porn, food, abusive language etc more than I love you.

"What a weakness it is to love Jesus Christ only when He caresses us, and to be cold immediately once He afflicts us. This is not true love. Those who love thus, love themselves too much to love God with all their heart." (St. Margaret Mary Alacoque)

Abraham's loved His son dearly. Yet when God asked Him to sacrifice his son up, he readily agreed.

He agreed because He loved God above everything else.

Do we love God above everything else in our life?

The folly of anger

Ever so often we say and do things that we regret later. We want things our way and get very impatient. We end up hurting people and sometimes spoiling relationships.

Anger is something that can end up destroying us. Getting angry and impatient often is a sign of the sin of pride.

There is no sin or wrong that gives a man a foretaste of hell in this life as anger and impatience. (Saint Catherine of Sienna)

The virtue that we need to pray for is humility and meekness.  We need to pray for grace to be gentle, patient, humble and kind.

This will bring more people closer to Christ than many preachings with no practice of humility.

”Be as gentle always as possible; and remember that you will catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than with a hundred barrels of vinegar. How can anyone be angry with another who fights him with pearls and diamonds?” (Saint Francis of Sales)

Monday 28 December 2015

No one is good but God alone!


When everything in our life is smooth sailing we often don't even remember about God.

But when something unpleasant happens, we instantly want answers from the same God whom we ignore so often.

But who are we to know the answers to everything? Especially when we are not ready to do what God asks of us.

If the fairy godmother tells Cinderella that she can wear her magic gown until midnight, the question should be not Why not after midnight? But why did I get to wear it at all?

We must remember that all goodness is gift from God.

And we should accept like Job, that God is in control of everything.
"Lord you give and you take away. Blessed be your holy name." ( Job1:21)

Very often it is our pride that makes us believe that we should have all the answers.

Sinners think they are saints, but saints know they are Sinners. The best man who ever lived once said, No one is good but God alone.

Storms of Life


Storms are known to disrupt nature and they force man to seek shelter.

While the storms of nature may occur once in a while, we face storms in our life on a daily basis.

The storms of anger, disappointment, frustration, pain, helplessness, guilt, despair are something we face ever so often.

At such times we feel God is far away from us. That he is indifferent to our cries. Just like the disciples felt about Jesus who was fast asleep in the boat in the midst of a storm.

But just like Jesus calmed that storm, He will also calm the storms in your life. If only you allow Him to.

Remember that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of Jesus Christ. ( Rom8:39)

All He asks of you is to hold His hand and trust in Him when the storms of life hit.

Created for the extraordinary



Pope Benedict writes that we were not made for the ordinary but that we were made for greatness.
And it is exactly the pursuit of this greatness that should drive us daily.

To be great not only in the eyes of the world but more so in the eyes of God. To show great love, great mercy and great forgiveness towards others.

The world famous MLTR band performed recently in Goa and I was reminded of their sponsors tag line: Be remembered for good.

The world remembers John the Baptist as one who prepared the path for the coming of Jesus.

What will history remember you for?

The turning point in our Family

The feast of the Nativity of Mary and the Sunday preceding Christmas are the two days in the year when the Church exhorts the faithful on the gospel reading of the genealogy of Jesus Christ taken from Matthew Chapter 1.

Year after year as the priest would read this gospel, I would sit wondering why the Church was crazy enough to choose such a reading with so many complicated names. Most of them were unheard of.

So why lay so much stress on the family history of Jesus? After years of just sitting and listening, I decided to take a closer look and what I found frankly astounded me. Continue Reading