Peace is a beautiful gift of God and He intended the human kind to live in peace with one another and with the whole creation. (cfr. Isa. 11. 6-9).

The angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds thus: “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men of good will” (Lk.2:14). Only when we give glory to God through our lives, can we experience the peace of God. The coming of Jesus into the world was an assurance of peace to people of good will. In the gospels we see Jesus greeting people with peace on many occasions. To the woman who was healed of haemorrhage, Jesus said: “Your faith has healed you.  Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (5:34). It was her faith in Jesus that healed her and relieved her of her sufferings and  gave her peace.

As it was time for Jesus to leave the disciples, He knew they were disheartened and hence in his farewell discourse, He told them: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (Jn 14.27). When Jesus appeared to the Apostles after His Resurrection, again He greeted them: “Peace be with you” (Jn 20. 19,21, 26).

The living and loving God reads the pangs of our innermost self and He always offers His peace. The peace that Jesus gives is not just the absence of unrest or violence. It is much more positive; it takes away our anxiety, fear and worry. Nothing can take us from the peace of Christ – no sorrow, no danger , no suffering can make it less. It is internal. It is the experience of the possession of all the blessings of God; the possession of God Himself. As Prophet Micah writes: “And He will be their peace” (5.5). “Jesus is our peace” (Eph 2.14). So it is not an abstract idea, but the very person of Jesus. The peace of Christ is part of our ‘life in Christ’. So Jesus said: “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace” (Jn. 16.33). The world may persecute us, as Jesus pointed out, still we can have the peace of Christ.

We need to have peace with God, with ourselves and with one another. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was always in perfect peace with God the Father, with Himself and with others as He was living the word of the Father, which He was proclaiming: “The word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me” (Jn. 14.24). In fact every one of us yearns for peace. But we see around us that many are bereft of this peace. Through Prophet Baruch God is pointing out the reason why we do not experience this peace. “If you had walked in the way of God, you would be living in peace forever” (3.13). If I do not have this peace ‘forever’ it is because I do not walk in the way of God; the logic is as simple as that. God is ever faithful to His word. “God is not a human being that He should lie, or a mortal, that He should change His mind. Has He promised, and will He not do it? Has He spoken, and will not fulfil it?” (Num. 23.19). Jesus is ‘the way, the truth and the life’ (Jn 14.6), and when I live His way, I am not far from the experience of peace. God’s way is selflessness, forgiving love, humble service to one another, considering others better than ourselves (Phil 2.3), respecting human life etc. When our way is not such,  when we live in selfishness, bitterness and anger, not considering the dignity of our life or that of others, craving for name and fame…it is but natural that we experience lack of peace within. “Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace, in peace because they trust in you” (Is 26.3.).

St.Paul tells about ‘the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding’ (Phil 4.7). What does it mean? When I enjoy ‘all good things of the world’, like love and appreciation from everyone, success in my career, good health etc, I may be able to experience peace, which the ‘world can understand’; where as if I am deprived of all these ‘good things of the world’, when people reject me, misunderstand me; when I face problems in my career, financial crisis, health problem etc, I am still in peace and serenity of heart, ‘the world cannot understand’ that. The onlookers may ask me: “How can you be in peace when you have so many problems?” Yes, this is the peace which surpasses all understanding, and only in God I can experience such peace. Quite rightly St.Augustine has said: “Our heart is created for you O Lord, and until it finds Thee, it is not at rest”. As St.Paul tells: “To set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Rom 8.6).

“If you, even you, had only recognised on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Lk 19.42). Lord, open our eyes to recognise the truth about what will bring us your peace and what will take away your peace from our lives.

“The inner peace is a fruit of the union of the human will with the divine will. It is achieved through the body of Christ, in its worship, prayer and Sacramental life. Baptism joins us with the whole body of Christ and is a commitment to discipleship in all its implications” (Bishop Richard Harries: ‘Questioning Belief’)

After the final blessing of the Holy Eucharist, the Priest sends us forth with a mission: “The Mass is ended; go in peace (in the peace of Christ).”. We, the faithful respond: “Thanks be to God”. We thank the Lord for the gift of peace which we received while participating in the Holy Eucharist; through listening the readings,and ‘breaking of the Word; then by receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, we become one with the Prince of Peace. As At.Paul tells: “It is no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2.20). We go back to our home, place of work with this peace of Christ, and with a changed attitude through hearing the Word which enables us to live in peace with one another and with every situation, however hard that may be.

Mary Pereira

When we are listening to the radio, sometimes the frequencies from two stations clash and we do not get clarity for the hearing. So we tune it to the right frequency to hear it properly. Likewise we need to tune our heart in order to hear God’s voice clearly.

We can hear voices from the outside world, from our hardened conscience or from our right conscience which is built on the Word of God. We need to discern from where the thoughts, motivations, urges come.

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they know me” (Jn 10.27). Through a familiar imagery for the Israelites, Jesus was bringing forth a truth. The shepherd, tending the sheep, goes in front of the sheep with a staff and a whistle. Each time when he wants to direct the sheep, he uses his whistle producing a particular sound. When he wants his sheep to turn to the right in order to lead them to green pastures or to fresh waters, he whistles a particular sound; the sheep understands the message and turns to the right. When some danger is ahead, he sounds the whistle with a particular voice and the sheep run as directed by the shepherd. Suppose two sheep among the flock think: “There is nice green pasture here; let us graze for some more time”. If they disobey the shepherd’s voice and stay back, they will be in danger.

The Lord, who knows what is good for us in each situation and in each state of life, is talking to us through His Word, through His Church and through the gentle whispers of the Holy Spirit within our heart. But we need to attune ourselves to receive it.  In the busy schedule of our lives, and much more, in this technological age, attuning ourselves to the voice of the Lord becomes harder.

According to a Vatican spokesman, Fr.Federico Lombardi, “without a spiritual life, people are at the risk of losing their souls. In the age of cell phone and internet, it is very difficult to protect silence and nourish the interior dimension of life. There is an interior and spiritual dimension of life that must be guarded and nourished. If not, it can become barren to the point of drying up and indeed dying. Today it is a very grave threat and it is the most irreparable misfortune” .

If we fail to heed to the voice of the Lord and amend our ways, the warning is given to us that we will be crushed by the enemy, “because you did not recognise the time of your visitation from God” (Lk 19.44).

A preacher was giving a retreat for College students. At the end of the retreat a young boy came and told the preacher: “I liked your preaching. But I will do all that after some time. Life is short; now I am in the prime of my age. I want to enjoy life. I have many girl friends and I like pornography”. After four years, the preacher was giving a retreat in the same locality. A very sad looking man approached the preacher and asked: “Do you recognise me? I am the one who came to you and said, when you were giving retreat in our college four years ago that ‘life is short; I want to enjoy’…Then he started weeping. In tears he said: “Yes, my life is very short. I am an AIDS patient now. I may die soon”.

The Lord was speaking to his conscience when he was listening to the Word during the retreat. Gentle was His call, giving him the freedom of choice. It was time of ‘the Lord’s visitation in his life’. But he did not want to heed to it. The loving Lord had a beautiful plan of welfare for this young man as for each of us. “Surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope” (Jer 29.11). Our enemy, the devil (1 Pet 5.8) also has a plan for us: “to steal and kill and destroy” (Jn 10.10a). If I live, listening to the voice of the Lord, His plan of welfare about me will become a reality and I can taste the goodness of the Lord all throughout my life. But if I give a deaf ear to the voice of the Lord, and rebel against His loving admonitions, then I am giving chance for the enemy to influence my life. And his plan is to destroy my life here and hereafter.

In olden times, people used to catch rats at home with a trap. If a rat smells the blood of a rat caught in the trap, it will avoid running into the trap. It learns a lesson from a previous incident of some other rat dying in the trap. We, human beings do not learn from our past experience or that of others. We rather jump into the same trap thinking that nothing will happen to me. The number of divorce taking place, and consequently children suffering from psychological problems, becoming addicts of drugs and sex, should open our eyes to the reality of the hard consequences of our leaving God and His Word out of our life, resulting in misusing our freedom for premarital sexual relations, leading to no solidarity of family life. But such behaviours are “blinding the mind of the unbelievers” (2 Cor 4.4). Through the prophets the Lord tells: “Oh that today you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your prosperity would have been like a river” (Is. 48.18). “If you had walked in the way of God, you would be living in peace forever” (Bar 3.13)

St.Stephen was accusing the Jews: “You stiff necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as our ancestors used to “ (acts 7.51).

Lord Jesus, save us from this peril. Touch our hearts and open it to listen to your Word; touch our minds and illumine it with your light.

Mary Pereira

“Work for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you” (Jn 6,27). What is it that endures into eternal life? Jesus makes it clear: “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (Jn 6,63). After one’s death when the body is laid in the coffin, nobody will say: ‘Peter is lying in the coffin’; but people will say: “Peter’s body is lying in the coffin.’ The soul-less body is lifeless body. It is the spirit/soul in me that makes me, me. It proves what Jesus has said: “It is the spirit that gives life”.

We are created with spirit, mind and body. St.Paul tells: “May your spirit, soul (mind) and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5,23). Our Creator God provides us with everything that is needed for us to have ‘abundant life’ (Jn. 10,10) in all these areas. “He endowed them with strength like His own….gave them dominion over beasts and birds. He gave them discretion and tongue and eyes, ears and a mind for thinking. He filled them with knowledge and understanding and showed them good and evil. He allotted to them the law of life. He established with them an eternal covenant and revealed to them his decrees. Their eyes saw His glorious majesty, and their ears heard the glory of His voice. He said to them: “Beware of all evil”. And He gave commandment to each of them concerning the neighbour…(Sir.17,3-14). “The Lord created medicines out of the earth…and He gave skill to human beings …By them the physician heals and takes away pain….” (Sir. 38.4, 6, 7).

So God our loving Father is much concerned about the welfare of our body, mind and spirit. But we tend to be taking care of our body and mind, but often we neglect the care of our spirit. Our body must be submitting to the mind, and mind to the spirit. And my spirit should be submitting to God’s Spirit and to His Word. Then only we can attain eternal life. So Jesus said: “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt. 4,4). The Word of God is the food for my spirit. Nourishing my spirit everyday with this food helps me to have His life in me.

“Do not work for the food that perishes” (Jn.6,27). Jesus echoes the question posed by Prophet Isaiah: “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labour for that which does not satisfy” (Is. 55,2)? We satisfy our physical hunger by food; but our spiritual hunger (for life, for truth, for love) can be satisfied only by God. The other means which we falsely go into for our satisfaction are just like “cracked cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2,13).

“Having loved his own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (Jn. 13,1).  As a beloved father who will make all arrangements in order that the life of his children be smooth going, so too Jesus at the last supper instituted the Blessed Sacrament as the nourishment for our soul: “…Take, eat; this is my body….Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of the sins”(Mt. 26,26-28). In the discourse on Bread of Life in the Gospel narrative of John (6,22-59), Jesus was foretelling about this food for our soul.

“The bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh… Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life…Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them…whoever eats me will live because of me…”

Right from the beginning, the Old Testament makes it clear that God has made a Covenant relationship with His people. And in the New Testament, Jesus seals this Covenant with His Blood, which he commanded His Apostles to continue to ‘do in His remembrance’ (Lk 22,19). “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” (Lk 22,20; 1Cor.11,24-25)

It is abiding in His teaching that will make us His true disciples. Just believing in the Lord through our baptism is only a first step of our discipleship. “Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (Jn. 8,31-32).

The more we are united with God, the more free we can be from the hurts and pains of everyday life. May we nourish our soul through the spiritual food, which the very Author of life is giving us every day. Bodily food helps us to be alive in this world; food for our mind (knowledge, worldly wisdom, recreation with friends etc)  help us to become mature and enjoy this earthly life. But it is the spiritual food that sustains and develops supernatural life in me, which alone is everlasting.

Lord Jesus we thank you for ‘renewing and strengthening our inner man nature’ (2 Cor. 4,16) through your Presence in us, through your Word and through the Holy Eucharist. Along with St. Paul we ‘pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ , the Father of glory, may give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation as we come to know Him, so that, with the eyes of our heart enlightened, we may know what is the hope to which He has called us, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power for us who believe, according to the working his great power.” (Eph 1,17-19)

Mary Pereira

We have reached the third Sunday of Easter Tide in our journeying with the Lord.

We see in the Gospel narration by St.Luke (24.13-35), the Risen Lord joining the company of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus who were walking in unbelief and despair. But they experienced something beautiful when the Risen Lord entered into their life: First as a stranger joining with them in their conversation and ‘breaking the Word of God’ to remove their doubts and despair; then He stayed with them, and after giving them the bread which was ‘blessed and broken’, He entered into their very being. (Lk 24.13-31).

Being set free from their doubt and despair, and illumined by the light, the Risen Lord shed into their heart, they were now able to see everything that happened in the past with a new meaning. The darkness of sorrow and despair gave way to joy and hope. This is true Inner Healing.

Only the Risen Jesus makes sense of everything that happened in the past. In His Word and in the breaking of the bread, the past is interpreted in the light of the great truth that Jesus is risen and He is the Lord Immanuel.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ, a faith believed and lived as the central truth by the first Christian community; handed on as fundamental by the Tradition; established by the documents of the New Testament; and preached as an essential part of the Paschal mystery along with the cross: Christ is risen from the dead!” (638).

As St.Paul says: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” (1 Cor 15. 17). It is the Risen Lord who gives meaning to our life; sets us free from all sins, bondages and curses; heals us of all our brokenness. The more we experience the power of the Risen Lord, the deeper we experience the newness of life.

For example, a believer who suffers from fear from a past incident ( because that person did not experience the presence of the Lord, like the disciples on the way to Emmaus encountering the Risen Lord), when begins to imagine in faith, the Risen Lord present in His life, and surrenders his fear to him, renounces that fear and commands it in the name of Jesus ,to go away from his life, he experiences the love and power of the Lord. Then he can also walk with Jesus in faith imagining those situations again, and can realise that there is no more fear but courage to face any situation together with and in the presence of Jesus.

Lord Jesus, my Risen Saviour, I praise you and thank you for your presence in my life. ‘You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore’ (Ps 16.11)

Mary Pereira

“A large crowd kept following Him, because they saw the signs that He was doing for the sick” (Jn 6.2)

Do I seek the Lord because of His mighty works? Or do I seek Him for who He is to me? Have I acknowledged Him as the Lord and Master of my life? Christianity is a loving and living relationship with a God who reigns, who is my Saviour, my Good Shepherd, my Strength and Comfort, in whom I take delight. But often we seek God for our physical needs and its fulfilment. We are earthbound in our thinking. In the Gospel narrative of Feeding the Five Thousand (Jn 6. 1-15), we see our nature reflected in the attitude of the crowd. They were so satisfied with Jesus doing many miracles: healing the sick, casting out demons, multiplying the bread etc and they even wanted to make Him king. They wished to use Him for their purpose. We too are eager to seek Jesus, proclaim Him and love Him all the more, when He does wonders. Jesus told the disciples: “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (Jn 6.26). They failed to see the signs behind the multiplication of bread. So too, we seek the Lord for miracles like healing, settlement of a problem and are quite happy when the Lord does intervene in our lives with His might, love and mercy; but we turn to be blind towards the ‘signs of God’ behind these works of God. The Lord calls us for a deeper experience of who He is in our lives; He wants us to enthrone Him as the King of our heart, to surrender our lives to Him and to establish a loving relationship with Him.

Let us seek the Lord with our whole heart. “When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart” (Jer 29.13). We need to ‘take delight in the Lord’ (Ps. 37.4), not in the blessings and favours we receive from Him. So Jesus told us “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Mt.6 33). But are we not often ‘tying the cart before the horse’?

Lord Jesus, forgive me for being selfish in seeking you. Help me to seek you, not for the wonders of you; but may I seek you, the Lord of the wonders. When I give you the first place in my life as my Lord and God, your blessings will follow in my life. Lord Holy Spirit, with your Wisdom and Guidance, may I seek the Lord of my life and surrender my life totally to Him.

Mary Pereira

Jesus, once while talking to His disciples, said: “Let any one with ears to hear, listen!” (Mk 4.23); then He makes it little more clear: “Pay attention to what you hear” (24). Because we fail to pay attention to what we hear, the Word of God we hear remains often in the head level and not come to heart level. Only when the seed of the Word of God falls in the fertile soil of a believing heart, can it become enfleshed in our attitudes, convictions and actions.

Being with Jesus

The Holy Spirit used the human instruments- Mathew, Mark, Luke and John to write the life and the teachings of Jesus Christ. In their unique human way they gave the narrations and hence their writings are not identical, though the underlying truth remains the same. St.Luke and St.John give long stories of the post resurrection appearances of Jesus whereas St.Mark gives a very brief account of the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene, to the two disciples going to Emmaus and to the eleven in the closed room (Mk 16.9-15).

The unbelief of the disciples was shown clearly by all the four Gospel writers. They were neither able to witness to Christ nor proclaim Him because of this lack of conviction. It is in order to remove this doubt and to make them experience Him truly, that the Lord appeared to them and befriended them in different circumstances.

Unless we personally experience Jesus we cannot be His disciples and continue His mission. The foundation of evangelization is a personal encounter with Jesus. As Pope Benedict XVI has said: “The disciples were not just heralds of an idea, but witnesses of a person”.

St. Mark writes: Jesus “appointed the twelve to be with Him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons” (3.14,15). Seeing the boldness of Peter and John, the high Priests and the Sanhedrin realised that ‘they were with Jesus’(Acts 4.13). It is only by spending time with Jesus – in our personal prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, meditation of His Word, active participation in the Holy Eucharist….that we can come to experience Him more. The success, joy and fruitfulness of Christian life is in the living relationship with the living God.

Holy Spirit of God, help me to relish my times of prayer and deepen my relationship with my Lord. May I taste and see how good the Lord is and then help others to come to this experience.

Mary Pereira