03 January 2016
The Epiphany of the Lord
For offline Daily Homily app of navchetana click on following link
GET IT ON GOOGLE PLAY- Homilies Navchetana
Is 60: 1-6, Eph 3: 2-3a, 5-6
Mt 2: 1-12
Epiphany
Today,
the church celebrates the feast of epiphany. A realization that Christ
is the Son of God! Adoration of the Magi consolidates the event of
incarnation of Jesus as Son of God.
It
is interesting to note what Wikipedia, the most sought
–after-reference- web site, explains the word epiphany. An epiphany is
an experience of sudden and striking realization. As it had happened
with Sir Isaac Newton. Hitherto unexplained, a falling apple made him
realize that everything falls down because of the gravitational force
exerted by the earth. Thus epiphany is a situation in which an
enlightening realization allows a problem or situation to be understood
from a new and deeper perspective.
It
was not even in the wildest dreams of anyone that a helpless babe born
in a manger could be Son of God, the promised saviour the Israelites
were waiting for. Neither the religious and political leaders nor the
devout ordinary men had a clue. But the magi sharp in their observation
could not take away their attention from a particular star in the story
which appears, disappears, leads and then stands over a house. They
watched, followed and dare to be guided by the star. And Lo! Here
happens the miracle of epiphany. Hitherto a fragile babe in a manger
born for an illiterate couple is the focus of attention of the most
known wise men of the time and they bent their knees in reverence and
they did undo the treasure chest they have been carrying for a while and
offer to him their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Thus they had
that enlightening realization of epiphany. God became man and dwelt
among us.
Unlike
any other organisms or creatures, Humans are a race class apart and it
is their ability to have epiphanies what makes the trick. For a grazing
cow green grass is nothing but its fodder. How much ever they try, they
won’t have any other deeper realizations or enlightenment. But for a
human being a sudden enlightenment could lead to realize the umpteen
shades of green the grass carries and now they know how much a green
grass can contribute for the existence of the entire universe by the
emission of oxygen through the process of photosynthesis. For him, the
ordinary greenness of grass which is only a fodder for a cow turns to be
an extraordinary life giving gift of God. The miracle of Epiphany.
A
beggar begging for a living had been an ordinary scenario but an
epiphany changed Sr.Teresa to Mother Teresa. This epiphany made her take
up a fourth vow and she was to give wholehearted and free service to
the poorest of the poor. And now millions live happily solely due to her
responding to the epiphany she had.
A
couple of months ago the world was inspired by an another epiphany that
had been realized in Malala Yousafzai, a petite, beautiful, innocent
and young girl from Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. Responding
positively to the epiphany that getting education is each girl child’s
prerogative, she defied the unjust ban proclaimed and enforced by the
Taliban on gilrs going to school. She refused to be bullied. She wanted
to study in her school along with her friends and amongst her peers and
she was not going to be dictated by a set of bullies. Malala’s defiance
was a slap in the face of the brutes. The savages had to crush this
defiance and they did. The Taliban painted a bull’s eye on the little
girl and let loose their killers. One afternoon as she finished school
and was playing with her friends in the school yard there was gunfire
and Malala fell, shot through her neck and head. An epitome of courage
and bravery. Thanks to the epiphany she had realized. Malala lives. No
hatred, no bitterness, just an ironclad resolve to continue doing what
she is determined to do, to go to school, every day, alone if required,
but defiant and determined.
Epiphany! Three wise men bent their knees in front of a silly babe born in a manger!
Epiphany! An ordinary nun turns to be the most revered lady in the world for serving the poorest of the poor.
Epiphany!
A girl of 14 years becomes the symbol of courage and defiance inspiring
the millions of girl children to learn and lead life worth.
We
need epiphanies. Let us open our eyes and ears and all the more our
hearts to witness and become part of that epiphany. A moment of
ignorance and we may miss it badly. We need epiphanies so that there
shall be peace, love and courage abound in this new year.
Fr. Joby Pulickan CMI
St. KURIAKOSE ELIAS CHAVARA
Today
we celebrate the feast of Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara. St Kuriakose’s
life was dedicated to the service of Syrian Church and society in
Kerala. Under his leadership, a good number of apostolic initiatives
were undertaken: the establishment of seminaries for formation of the
clergy; the introduction of annual retreats for the faithful, devotion
to the Blessed Sacrament by introducing forty hours of adoration, a
publishing house for Catholic works, schools attached to the Parishes
for education, a house to care the destitute and the dying and a
Sanskrit school for Dalit Children.
Saint
Chavara dedicated himself for encouraging and counseling Christian
families. He fought schisms and tried his best for the unity and harmony
within the Church. Today Catholic Church solemnly recalls with love and
gratitude all his efforts to resist threats of disunity and encourage
the Clergy as well as the faithful irrespective of rites to unity and
solidarity with the Universal Church.
Saint Chavara conceived three words: tapasubhavanam, besrauma, and darsanaveedu which
means house of asceticism, house on the top and house of vision
respectively, to describe the highest ideal of monastic life. Saint
Chavara is the first priest who started monastic life in India. He also
added, “The strength of the monastery is not in the thickness of its
walls, but in the zeal and virtues of the members who live in it”.
It
was St. Chavara who realized the need forempowering women for the
social uplift of the families and for the dedicated service of the
Church. In 1866, St. Chavara together with Fr. Leopold OCD started the
first religious house in Kerala for women which is known as the
Congregation of Mother Carmel.
Saint
Kuriakose Elias Chavara was an embodiment of Christian spirituality and
mysticism. St. Chavara wrote many spiritual books. ‘Atmanutapam’
or Compunction of the soul is considered to be his best work.
Compunction is a spiritual disposition which is pricking guilt feeling
of one’s conscience for wrong actions. Though Chavara did not commit any
sins, his compunction for his misdeeds were so deep which emerges from a
profound sense of gratitude to God for his abundant and merciful love.
This feeling of unworthiness before God made him a great Carmelite
mystic together with Theresa of Avila and Theresa of Child Jesus who
always maintained the Carmelite spirit, “I am nothing, God is
everything”.
The
life and the deeds of Saint Chavara are a great source of inspiration
not only to the Christian Community but to humanity as a whole.
Fr. Shepherd Thelapilly CMI
Back To Current Homilies
No comments:
Post a Comment