Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C.
The
one message resounding from all the pulpits during the season of Lent is “Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) Indeed this
was the first message with which Jesus inaugurated His public ministry.
Repentance means turning to God. It involves a turning away from everything
other than God - orienting one’s attention to God alone. God becomes the one
and only purpose of our existence and the joy of living. Repentance therefore
requires a total change of the heart.
“Rend Your
Hearts” (Joel 2:13)
The invitation of Jesus to build our
lives on God is coupled with a promise that the Kingdom of Heaven will be
ushered in. To declare the “Kingdom of God is at hand” implies that
God’s reign is coming upon our lives. God is taking charge of our lives to
leading us to all that is beautiful and life-giving. St. Paul spells out that “The kingdom of God
is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17) This movement of the Holy Spirit making us
right with God and filling us with Divine Peace and Joy is definitely a deeply
personal experience. But the consequences are in no way limited to the
individual. The experience of the infilling of the Holy Spirit is so tremendous,
it fills the heart and flows over to everyone around in such a way that a
community is formed in the grace of the Lord. Hence, the promise given to us
this Lent is that God is working to turn us and everything around us into His Kingdom
- whereby our families, our neighbourhoods, our parishes and everywhere we live
gain a Divine milieu.
This
indeed is a message of hope to a world that is darkened by the bad news of
rivalries, conflicts, violence and war. Relationships are strained in families,
unjust structures are cropping up in societies, corruption prevails in the
political realm and ruthless crimes have become commonplace. There is an air of
despair in the thoughts and conversations of people. Each sees a need of change
in the other imagining himself to be the unfortunate victim of all the
discrepancies.
It
is in this context that the season of Lent breaks in with a vision of the Kingdom
of God - a reign of goodness in which everyone is right with the other with
peace and joy prevailing in our hearts and in our midst. It is for this vision
to be actualized that Jesus turns to us to return to Him with our whole heart
and mind. Indeed the change must begin with me! The greater I feel the need of
change in my society, the greater must be my own response in turning back my
heart to be right with the Lord.
“Seek First
The Kingdom And His Righteousness” (Matthew 6:33)
A young man met me during a retreat.
He began to share his concern at how the world was becoming a miserable place
to live with nothing good to hope for. He pointed out that even in the Church,
things are not going the right way. He said he enjoyed being in this retreat
centre where he did not know anyone and could isolate himself to relish the
pure holiness of God untainted by the world. He could sit quietly and listen to
the Word of God and take part in the liturgical celebrations.
Then
he began sharing how in his parish it was very different. The parish was torn
by dissensions and constant wrangling between two communities. Every Sunday
after the Holy Mass, without fail there would be an ugly showdown. When the
parish council meets to deliberate on the policies and celebrations of the
parish, there would be angry exchanges and ugly accusations. They could never
come to any agreement. The parish priest found it impossible to lead the people
in harmony. This young man himself was in the leadership of one of the groups.
He concluded saying that if only his opponents had cared to listen to his
viewpoints and thus become just before God, much good could have been
accomplished.
I
prayed with him and the message I sensed the Lord prompting was precisely the
message of repentance. I conveyed this to him. He was shocked and disbelieving.
He thought I had missed his point just as his parish priest always did. I
explained to him that there was evil in the whole situation. The anger and
hatred, the calumny and disruption was definitely not from God. St. Paul draws
a sharp distinction between the fruit of evil and the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
“Now
the works of the flesh are plain:… enmity, strife, jealousy, anger,
selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the
like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall
not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
(Galatians 5:19-23) I pointed out to him that it was clearly not
the Kingdom of God but the kingdom of evil that was flourishing in the parish
community. From this ungodly situation, it was God who brought him for a
retreat for the Divine plan to use him as an instrument to usher in God’s Kingdom
in his parish community. To him was assigned this crucial service to his parish
and to God.
What
was needed now was for him to abandon his life in the Hands of God that God may
be able to use him for the heavenly mission. It was no more an individual
agenda or human working that was to be pursued. In fact, all these had to be
set aside for him to be available for God to work through him. The one thing I
advised him to start with was to fast and pray because Jesus said it is by
fasting and prayer that evil powers are cast out (Mark 9:29).
“We Are Ambassadors For Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20)
He returned home with a hope that he
could be of some help to God to bring peace to his parish. He took the advice
given seriously and prayed for the whole parish - taking part in the Holy Mass
daily. He refrained from arguing with anyone. He fasted once a week. Very
sincerely, he asked God to usher in the Promises of the Kingdom of God into his
parish. At the end of the second week, he called me and told me that no hint of
a change in the scenario. I asked him to persevere in his spiritual exercise. A
month later, I receive a call from this young warrior! His tone was lively as
he described joyfully that there was a change but not in the others but in
himself. Earlier even during his prayer, there his mind was filled with
thoughts despairing at how his opponents could take such unjust postures and
how the parish priest was being imprudent in his decisions. But now he began to
realize that there was much that was wrong in himself. His stubbornness and his
prejudices were unfounded and a stumbling block to any reconciliation. He felt
drawn to the Sacrament of Confession and it was to the parish priest that he
confessed his sins. He realized that as he was getting more genuine with God he
was also becoming open to the ideas of others. He concluded saying, “I can feel
a lot of change in myself.” I assured him that this was a sure indication of
the real miracle God had decided to work in this place. The fact that he felt
convinced of his responsibility was the beginning of the greater
transformations God was to work. The inner transformation precedes external
change.
A
few months later, the annual parish feast was due which used to always be an
occasion for rift and turmoil. As a result, all spirituality would drain off
leaving only a bitter taste. Everyone had a tale to tell and a wound to nurse.
This young man decided that the upcoming feast should be a spiritual
celebration. He brought a few youth from his parish for the retreat here and at
the end of the retreat he revealed to them his vision. All of them agreed to
make the annual feast of the year an event of reconciliation.
They
began praying together and suggested to the parish priest that a retreat be
held for the parishioners. Their suggestion was immediately accepted by the
parish priest and by most of the families. They organized an intercessory
prayer group to pray daily for the success of the retreat and they printed
prayers and distributed this to all the families in the parish. They prevailed
upon the Reverend Sisters of the parish to visit all the families and invite
them personally. During the retreat, the parish priest took special interest to
visit the families who were spearheading the conflict.
There
was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the retreat. On the evening prior
to the final day of the retreat, there was a session of testimonies. Here the
young man who initiated the process of renewal in the parish came forward and
asked pardon from everyone - confessing his responsibility for the ill-feelings
and problems in the parish. Tearful testimonies followed. The final program of
the day was the Holy Mass. The parish priest was the chief celebrant. As the
Mass was in progress and it came to the act of Confession, before the
congregation could pray the “I confess”, the parish priest paused and then
turning to his flock he said in a choked voice - “I confess to God and to you
that I failed in my mission to keep the parish community united in love.” At
the end of the Mass he publicly thanked the young man who opened his heart to
be anointed with the Holy Spirit to become a supple instrument in God’s Hands
to renew the parish.
“The
Lord Looks Down To See If Even One Seeks God” (Psalm 14:2)
The
Bible testifies that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because God could not
find even a few men in these thriving twin cities to stand for righteousness.
Scripture also records that when one virgin in Nazareth offered her life in the
Hands of God, God could take the form of flesh and accomplish the eternal plan
of salvation for the whole of humankind. What the angel described to Mary bears
great significance. She could not understand how she could become a mother when
she was not living with a man. The angel explained that nothing was impossible
for God. Mary immediately and totally surrendered her life to God saying, “Let it be done to
me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) It is enough for God if one person can
surrender in trust to God for the work of salvation to be initiated. Five
loaves and two fishes placed willingly in the Hands of Jesus were enough to
feed the multitude of five thousand. A little leaven would suffice to change
the entire mass of dough (Luke 13:21). A little candle is
enough to quench the thickest darkness.
The
angel of God explained to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you.” (Luke 1:35) The Holy Spirit is the key to understand the
mystery of salvation but the Holy Spirit needs to work in and through someone.
In every difficult situation, God is seeking willing individuals who will open
their hearts to the Holy Spirit. When God does not find any, it is then that
the powers of sin have free rein and wreak destruction. Hence the pain in the
voice of God crying out in the temple: “Who will go for me?” One young man opened
his heart to hear the voice and became a prophet to generations (Isaiah Chapter 6).
This young man Isaiah was himself overwhelmed by the sin that had afflicted the
community he came from. He cried - “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” (Isaiah 6:5) His confession brought him the assurance of
God’s forgiveness which he experienced as a burning sensation on his tongue.
We
often complain that evil is gaining the upper hand and the innocent are being
persecuted; the rich and the powerful perpetrating unjust structures and the
poor being driven to destruction. This cry, however, is a careless lament, an
excuse to disown responsibility. Lent is
an occasion when God holds us responsible for the renewal of the community we
are part of. Our insufficiency due to lethargy in seeking holiness should not
pull us back. God is asking us to open our hearts to Him to enable Him to work
in AND through us. He will surely usher in His Kingdom in us and around us.
One
of the pioneers of herbal medicine in Kerala has pointedly affirmed that for
every ailment a man may suffer, there is a herb planted by God in the vicinity,
carrying the healing antidote for the sickness. So also for every ailment in
our society - God can work restoration through one person who opens his heart
for the Kingdom of God to take root. Lent is the sacred season when God reveals
His plan to despatch us with the good news of salvation.
Let Us Pray:
God of Mercy, we
come to You seeking Your pardon. Place Your Hand upon us and burn away all that
is unworthy in us. Till this day, O Lord, we have complained of every
discomfort and failure. We gave up on goodness. We justified our own failures
by accusing everyone else. We refused to accept the mission You had placed
before us. We have disappointed all those who trusted in us. We have drained
our hearts of love and replaced these with ill-will.
Today, O Lord, we
look to You with praise and thanksgiving for great is Your Goodness. Far more
powerful than all the evil is the plan of goodness You hold. When we see You,
we gain courage to hope for light in the dark valley of sin that we have been
dwelling in. Forgive us O God, and quench the evil in our lives and in our
midst. We surrender our calculations and conditions and seek Your Will in our
lives. As we place our hearts before You, fill our hearts with the fire of Your
Love that we may be the aroma of Christ spreading life, love and goodness
wherever we go. May Your Kingdom come on this earth. We praise You, O God, our
King!
Amen.
