Motherhood of Mary and the Church

Gospel Thoughts

*Ordinary Season : 10th Week - Monday*

*Our Lady, Mary the Mother of the Church*

*GOSPEL -  Jn 19:25-34*

*FIRST READING - Gen 3:9-15, 20*

*Motherhood of Mary and the Church*

*1) Mary as Mother*

The Gospel of the Day calls us to reflect about the Motherhood of Mary in different angles

Motherhood of Mary is not restricted to one person or one area. Her Motherhood covers almost all the areas of Christian life and Christian faith 

*2) The different areas of the Motherhood of Mary*

*A) Mary the Mother of Jesus*

Here we see the Motherhood of Mary towards Jesus. Mary as Mother gave birth to Jesus and Mary becomes the Mother of Jesus

*B) Mary, Mother of the Apostles*

The Motherhood of Mary we see in this context in two places 

First of all at the foot of the Cross, when the beloved disciple took Mary into his arms as His Mother

Secondly in the Upper room after the resurrection of Jesus, where Mary becomes the instrument of bringing all the Apostles together and strengthening them in their faith and commitment

*C) Mary, Mother of the Disciples*

This group becomes larger than the Apostles. 

When people started to follow Jesus, the number of the Followers become more and to all of them Mary became an inspiration. 

*D) Mary Mother of the Church*

Today we recognise Mary as the Mother of the Church. 

She is really a great Mother, who takes care of the Church and under her guidance, the Church is safe and growing 

*E) Mary Mother of the Family*

In the Litany of Mary, we invoke Mary as the Queen of the Family. 

More than a queen, she is the Mother of our family, who guides us in our family commitments

*F) Mary, Mother of the Universe*

Motherhood of Mary also extends to the entire universe. 

She is also the Mother of the entire universe. 

*3) The Need of the Mother*

No one can come into this world with out a Mother. 

Like wise, Mary our Mother is very much necessary in our life 

Without her presence our journey towards heaven becomes difficult and incomplete. 

As a Mother she guides us, protects us, saves us, encourages us, loves us, corrects us and motivates us to follow Jesus 

*4) How do i experience the Motherhood of Mary?*

Mary as Mother is always with us 

How do I accept the Motherhood of Mary in my life? 

Being with Mary will always be a great blessing in, continuing our mission 

Mary our Mother pray for us

*Think about it*

*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*

*Fr Maxim Dsouza*

*Jeppu Seminary*

*Mangalore*

The Fire of the Holy Spirit

Gospel Thoughts

*Easter Season : Pentecost Sunday*

*The Fire of the Holy Spirit*

*GOSPEL -  Jn 14:15-16, 23b-25*

*FIRST READING - Acts 2:1–11*

*Second Reading : Rom 8:8-17*

*1) Coming of the Holy Spirit*

The Liturgy of the day calls us to focus about the Coming of the Holy Spirit

When Jesus went up to Heaven, He had promised us that Father will sent a Advocate, who will be with us 

The same Spirit came upon the Apostles and Mary on the Pentecost Day 

*2) Tongues and Fire*

Two things are Specified, in the Coming of the Holy Spirit. 

The Scriptures clearly tells us that, The Holy Spirit came in the form of Tongues of Fire

Now here two important things we see, they are *Tongues* 👅and *Fire*🔥

*3) Importance of the Fire🔥*

Fire is an important element in our life 

*A) Fire destroys*

As we know that fire destroys everything, especially the things which are not necessary

The same fire of the Spirit will burn all the unwanted things in Our Life

*B) Fire changes*

Fire has the capacity to change everything. 

Anything which is put in the fire turns into Ash

The Same fire turns our sinfulness, into Ash, which has no existence at all 

*C) Fire gives light*

Where there is fire, there is light. Like wise with the Spirit coming in the form of fire will give us spiritual light 

*D) Fire clears something*

Fire has the power to clear everything, especially the unwanted things 

The fire of Spirit will clear all our sins 

*E) Fire keeps life alive*

As long as there is fire/temperature in our body we will survive. The moment there is no fire life is gone 

So fire sustains life

*F) Fire is an important element of our life*

Without fire, life is impossible. Like wise without Holy Spirit good and holy life is impossible

*4) Importance of the Tongue*

Tongue is a powerful tool 

Tongue is a miracle of God

Tongue makes our life meaningful 

Tongue gives us teast

Without tongue one can't Speak. When one is not able to speak, life appears to be useless 

*5) Tongues of fire and My Life*

How well disposed I am to recive the Holy Spirit

Both tongues and fire work wonders in my  life  

Let the Holy Spirit in the form of Tongues of fire come upon us and remain with us forever 

*Happy Feast of Pentecost*

*Think about it*

*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*

*Fr Maxim Dsouza*

*Jeppu Seminary*

*Mangalore*

What about Him?

Gospel Thoughts

*Easter Season : Seventh Week - Saturday*

*What about Him?*

*GOSPEL -  Jn 21:20-25*

*FIRST READING - Acts 28:16-20, 30-31*

*1) Peter, John and Jesus*

The Gospel of the day presents to us the three important figures in the passage, who communicate a powerful message to us 

Jesus is the Master and Lord, who has already distributed the responsibility to his disciples, and is ready to depart from them

Accordingly, Peter will be the head of the Apostles and he will have to take care of the entire mission 

*2) Peter's Question*

Instead of concentrating on the Mission which was given by Jesus, Peter became very curious about the reposibilty of Jesus' beloved disciple, John

So looking at John, Peter asked Jesus, what about Him? 

To this question Jesus didn't answer directly, but indirectly he said something

*3) The Clear message from Jesus*

Since Jesus didn't answer the question directly, it is clear that, it is not the Concern of Peter to know what is waiting for John. 

Peter's work is to concentrate on the responsibility which was given to Him and to continue the mission

So not to waste time in finding our other peoples work and not doing the work, which is entrusted to us 

*4) Concentrate in your Mission*

All of us have one or the other type of mission 

We are called upon to concentrate on the mission, which is given to us, and to remain faithful to the same 

By interfering in others work, we not only waste our time, but also become an obstacle for others work 

*5) Tendency to Compare*

By knowing others work at times, we want to compare our work with others 

Comparison usually happens to see, who is greatest, who is popular, who is better, etc

Such things do not help us to grow and to continue our mission 

*6) What about my life?*

Unnecessary curiosity to know what happens in others life is not good 

Am I spending too much of time in finding out what happens to others? 

Instead of this we must always ask *What is waiting for me?*

This will help to deepen our vision and to continue our mission in a better way. 

Finally think *What is happening to me?*

*Think about it*

*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*

*Fr Maxim Dsouza*

*Jeppu Seminary*

*Mangalore*

Peter's Deep Pain at Jesus' Third time Asking about - Do You Love Me

Gospel Thoughts

*Easter Season : Seventh Week - Friday*

*Peter's Deep Pain at Jesus' Third time Asking about - Do You Love Me*

*GOSPEL -  Jn 21:15-19*

*FIRST READING - Acts 25:13b-21*

*1) Do You Love Me?*

We find this beautiful question in today's Gospel. 

Jesus asks this question to Peter, after His resurrection. 

Jesus would have asked any other questions, like,

Will you continue my mission? 

Will you remain faithful to me? 

Will you preach my message to the people? 

But Jesus asked *Do you love me?*

This question is because, when a person loves, He/She is able to do anything in life. 

So Jesus asked this question.  

*2) Jesus asking First Time*

When Jesus asked for the First time Peter joyously answered this Question in a positive tone

He said yes Lord i love you 

This is the first reaction of Peter towards Jesus 

*3) Jesus asking Second Time*

When Jesus asked second time, once again Peter answers in a positive tone

He says yes Lord I love you

Here Peter might not have paid much attention while answering the question. 

When Jesus asked he answered the Question

*4) Jesus Asking Third time*

When Jesus asked for third time the reaction of Peter was quite different

Peter felt a kind of sorrow in his heart, he was anxious and he was bit hurt to hear the same question for the third time 

He might have thought, that Jesus is dobuting his answer to the question. 

That might have been the reson for his pain 

*5) What happens when the same question is asked for third time?*

When the same question is aske for the third time, Peter was hurt 

But on the other side, it is also possible that, it made Peter to think what he was saying 

When he answered for the third time, he really paid attention to the question and answered it 

When something is asked or answered for the third time, it appears that the matter is important or serious 

So these are the other implications of asking for the third time 

*6) Do you love me?*

Finally Jesus is asking the same question to all of us. What is my reply? 

Will i feel hurt like Peter? 

Will i doubt like Peter for some time? 

Will i answer in a positive way? 

What will be my reaction to this question? 

*Think about it*

*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*

*Fr Maxim Dsouza*

*Jeppu Seminary*

*Mangalore*

Lifting up his eyes to Heaven, Jesus Prayed

Gospel Thoughts

*Easter Season : Seventh Week - Thursday*

*Lifting up his eyes to Heaven, Jesus Prayed*

*GOSPEL -  Jn 17:20-26*

*FIRST READING - Acts 22:30; 23:6-11*

*1) The Prayer of Jesus*

The Gospel of the day speaks about the prayer of Jesus 

There are many things which are highlighted in Jesus' Prayer. 

Among them today we are going to focus one important aspect of Jesus' prayer. That is the way Jesus prayed. 

*2) Jesus lifted His eyes to Heaven*

The Gospel begins with the posture, in which Jesus prayed. 

It begins in this way *Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed*

Here Jesus lifting his eyes to Heaven and praying becomes very important thing. 

So there is something special in the act of Lifting the eyes to Heaven and praying. 

So what would be the meaning of lifting ones eyes to heaven and praying? 

*3) Various meanings of lifting ones eyes to heaven and praying*

*A) Focus on Heavenly Things*

Lifting ones eyes to Heaven means wanting to see heavenly things 

Since in Heaven all good things are there, by seeing to heaven, one is able to see, holy things and able to pray better

*B) God is in Heaven*

We believe God is in Heaven. So by lifting ones eyes to heaven means, seeing God and praying, which will help the person to pray better

*C) Direction of Ones prayer*

This gesture of prayer also shows that the prayers are directed to God. It is very important that our prayers should be addressed to God, in order to receive the fruit of the prayers 

*D) By lifting ones eyes to heaven, whole being is lifted towards heaven*

The moment we see the heaven and and start to pray, our whole being is lifted towards heaven. 

Not only our eyes, but our heart, mind, spirit and Whole being is lifted towards heaven, and this helps us to pray better 

*4) Need of lifting ones eyes to Heaven and Praying*

Since we are in the world, our focus is on the Worldly things

As long as we focus on Worldly things, we are not able to pray, because we will be distracted and disturbed with worldly things 

So it is necessary to see heavenly things while praying. This will happen only when we look at heavenly by lifting our eyes to heaven 

*5) Where is my gaze while praying*

All of us pray, and we need to pray 

Its not enough that we pray, but our prayers should be effective and fruitful. 

This will happen only when we have right focus while we pray. 

Seeing heavenly things and praying will help us to have deep meditation on the Heavenly things, which will help us to have God experience in life 

If So, am I ready to, lift my eyes to heaven and pray?

*Think about it*

*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*

*Fr Maxim Dsouza*

*Jeppu Seminary*

*Mangalore*

We do not belong to the World

Gospel Thoughts

*Easter Season : Seventh Week - Wednesday*

*We do not belong to the World*

*GOSPEL -  Jn 17:11b-19*

*FIRST READING - Acts 20:28-38*

*1) They do not belong to the World*

The Gospel of the day, presents to us the beautiful prayer of Jesus to His disciples. 

There are many things which are highlighted in Jesus' prayer for his disciples. 

One among them is about our existence is the World. 

In His prayer, Jesus makes it very clear that the Disciples of Jesus do not belong to the World, but we are in the World. 

*2) We need to remeber this Great Truth*

The disciples of Jesus must remember this great Truth, that we don't belong to this world 

We need to remember this fact because, this fact will change our perception of life in this world 

The moment we realise that we don't belong to this world, we will be enlightened persons, and our life will become more meaningful and effective. 

*3) We will not be attached to this world*

The moment we realise that we don't belong to this world, our attachment to this world will be less 

Our main problem in this world is, our attachment to the world and for the various things in the world. 

Such an attachment makes our life miserable and unholy. Therefore, detachment from this world and from the things of this world is very much necessary. 

Only when we realise that we don't belong to this world we will be able to detach ourselves from this world 

*4) World is not permanent* 

Either people those who live in this world or the world itself is not permanent 

Unless we realise this fact, we will not be able to detach ourselves from this world 

There are many who think that this world is permanent. Such an illusion is dangerous for our life 

*5) We belong to Jesus and to Heaven*

Since we don't belong to this world, it is clear that we belong to Jesus 

According the St Paul, we are the citizens of Heaven *we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior* Philippines 3:20

So we are separated from this world, and we belong to Jesus our Lord

*6) Live like a Heavenly citizens*

Since we belong to heaven and to Jesus, our life style should change accordingly. 

Jesus has shown the way how to live like a Heavenly citizens. 

The Gospels are the guidelines to live our life, which will be befitting to Heaven 

The Kingdom values like, forgiveness, love, Faithfulness, kindness, sacrifice, humility, service, will help us to live like a Heavenly citizens

*7) Am I ready to live like a Heavenly citizen?*

Once we realise that we don't belong to this world, we should try our level best to live like heavenly citizens. 

One needs disciplned way of life, commitment, determination, desire, willingness, and courage to live this life 

To detached from this world and to be attached to the heavenly things one needs Courage and willingness. 

If So, am I ready to live like a Heavenly citizen??

*Think about it*

*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*

*Fr Maxim Dsouza*

*Jeppu Seminary*

*Mangalore*

Importance of the Visit

Gospel Thoughts

*Easter Season : Seventh Week - Tuesday*

*Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary*

*Importance of the Visit*

*GOSPEL -  Lk 1:39–56*

*FIRST READING - Zep 3:14–18a [or Rom 12:9–16]*

*1) Mary's Visit to Elizabeth*

This is the main theme of today's feast and also of the Gospel Reading 

Since this feast and Gospel reading is highlighting the importance of visit, it is very important to reflect about Mary's visit to Elizabeth

*2) Various things which happened because of Mary's Visit to Elizabeth*

*A)God Experience* Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit. This happened because of Mary's visit. So visits have the power to bring about a God experience

*B) Blessings to the Infant* Mary's visit resulted in divine blessings to the Child, who was in Elizabeth's womb. 

*C) Speaks well about the Person* Mary's visit to Elizabeth resulted in speaking high about Mary, by Elizabeth. 

She said *Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.*

*D) The Magnificat* we can also very well say that, the great Magnificat was the result of Mary's visit to Elizabeth. 

*3) Visit brings about a great Change*

We see this fact in Mary's visit to Elizabeth

The Change happens when both realised that it was God's, great intervention, to carrying out His mission 

There have been, lots of Changes, which happened only because of the visit to Elizabeth

*4) Visits strengthens the Relationship*

Visits are the only way to build a genuine relationship and known the other 

The more we visit, the more we become human beings and the visits become more meaningful to us 

Friendship starts with visits, strengthens by visits, remains forever through the Visits 

*5) Visits revealed God's plan*

The visit was an context to know God's plan to us 

Both Mary and Elizabeth, realised their role in the salvific plan i me the context of this great visit 

Since this visit was inspired by Heavenly Father, this visit has the divine element in it 

*6) How about my life and Visits?*

Mary visited Elizabeth, and we know that this visit brought about a great Change in those who follow Jesus

How far do i give importance to the visits 

How do I look at the concept of Visit in my life?

What are the good things which have happened, because of the Visits?

How do I approach visits, in my day today life?

Visits are the great events in our lives, which give us a great inspiration.

*Think about it*

*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*

*Fr Maxim Dsouza*

*Jeppu Seminary*

*Mangalore*