News - July 2016

It is in giving away; not in receiving that I find joy.

“Fight to the death for truth, and the Lord God will war on your side.” (Sirach 4:28)

Saint Ignatius strove with all his might to discover the truth about God and about himself. Once he found the Divine Truth, he gave all his energy to stand in the truth, to defend the truth and to bring the truth home to people all over the world. The truth he discovered was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in whom alone is found Eternal Life.

Anger is a weed; hate is the tree.

“Accept my discipline rather than silver, and knowledge of me in preference to finest gold. For Wisdom is more precious than jewels, and nothing else is so worthy of desire.” (Proverbs 8:10-11)

Wisdom calls out to us and exhorts us to accept her discipline. Living with Wisdom means to obey her laws and to lead a life which is ruled by God's Will. Knowing that Wisdom is the greatest treasure we can ever receive, let us earnestly seek her with all our soul. One day we will understand her true value - all the gold and silver in the world ranks nothing in comparison with her and those who have obtained her are the richest of all men.

Actions speak louder than words; yet we are full of words but empty of actions. Therefore we are cursed by the Lord, since he himself cursed the fig tree when he found no fruit but only leaves. 

“Yes, Lord,” she said, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.” (John 11:27)

Throughout his ministry of meeting people and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, Jesus sought faith. He frequently asked, “Do you believe?” The Lord constantly examines our faith. Who is Jesus to me? To what extent do I trust Him and believe in His words? Do I believe that He is the Son of God and do I order my life according to my faith or is my life ordered according to my belief that the present world is everything? Do I live engrossed in the present world, hardly remembering Jesus?

Nothing would be done at all if one waited until one could do it so well that no one could find fault with it.

“Do not scorn the discourse of the wise, but make yourself familiar with their maxims, since from these you will learn the theory and the art of serving the great.” (Sirach 8:8)

Wise people are those who in their lives have feared God and therefore left a bright legacy for those who wish to learn from them. The Fathers of the Church fit very well into this description. Sometimes we see people who scorn the teachings of the Fathers and instead follow their own ideas. Wise people will take care to study the discourses of the Fathers and in this way will acquire true learning in the ways of God.

No one is to be called an enemy; all are your benefactors and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves.

“May God grant me to speak as He would wish and conceive thoughts worthy of the gifts I have received, since He is both guide to Wisdom and director of sages.” (Wisdom 7:15)

Divine and humble prayer is the beginning of great things. A person who knows how to pray well on his knees will become great. Solomon prayed to God for the grace to conceive thoughts worthy of the gifts he received from God. And the result was, God blessed him with Wisdom, which directs the origin, form, shape, substance and end of the human thought. It is because of our lack of frequent prayer and the Wisdom from God that our thoughts are weak, base and limited.

We must fear God out of love, not love Him out of fear.

In everything you do, remember your end, and you will never sin.” (Sirach 7:36)

Whenever the thought of death crosses our minds, we probably try our best to dismiss it as fast as we can. The Bible tells us that the thought of death should accompany us every day, in all our actions. The thought of our Heavenly Homeland and the joy that is waiting for us will help us forgo the transitory pleasures of sin. For those who are in Christ Jesus, death is not an end, but a beginning of a better one, a more joyous one, a more beautiful one. Indeed, let us look forward to death, which is nothing but an entry into Eternal Life!

The true success of our lives consists in knowing and doing the will of Jesus, in doing whatever Jesus tells us.

“All that is good, all that is perfect, is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with Him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow caused by change. ” (James 1:17)

Saint James makes a very clear distinction in his letter on the gifts that come from God and those that do not. Temptation and sin, which are so common in our daily lives, do not come from God. He tells us that these come from the evil desires which wage war within each one of us. The gifts that come from God are always pure, full of goodness and perfect. There can never be any change in God’s nature - He always remains the Father of Light; this means that till the end of time, all that is Light, good and holy has its origin and source in Him.

Many people mistake the work for the vocation. The vocation is not the work. The vocation is to belong to Jesus.

“Since what we aim for is not visible but invisible. Visible things are transitory, but invisible things eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

To succeed, we all need to have an aim. For most people, their aims in life belong to this world. Winning the approval of men, enjoying transitory pleasures of sin and amassing wealth using any means, even devious, are among the top few. St. Paul asks us to aim for invisible things which belong to the world to come - righteousness, faith, love and peace. These will last forever, whereas all other things will leave us today or tomorrow.

My only desire is to love my Lord to perfection.

“My child, keep my words, and treasure my precepts, keep my precepts and you will live, keep my teaching as the apple of your eye.” (Proverbs 7:1-2)

God addresses us affectionately as “my child” - what is this greeting supposed to mean, except that He wishes by these loving words to draw our attention to accept the grave counsel He wishes to imprint on our hearts? He tells us that unless we keep his precepts and teachings as the apple of our eye, we will be lost. How great the attention we should pay to God’s commandments! But sadly, how little attention is paid to them! Let us therefore endeavour to use all our power to treasure them in our hearts.

The more we know of men, the less we love them. It is contrary with God; the more we know of Him, the more we love Him.

“When law came on the scene, it was to multiply the offences. But however much sin increased, grace was always greater.” (Romans 5:20)

Today we celebrate the Feast of Mary Magdalene, a feast that celebrates the victory of grace over sin. Mary, the sinner, was conquered by the grace of God that overflowed into her from Christ Jesus. From being the sinful woman, she rose to become a new creation and became one of the most purest souls ever. Far surpassing the Apostles in love, she flew towards the Holy Christ with wings of confidence. Looking at her, therefore, let every sinner draw courage to come close to Jesus Christ who came into the world to save sinners.