Disciples of Jesus & Mary

“Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength, seek always the face of the Lord.”With these words the liturgy of today is announced. In the three readings we have today the first from Jeremiah, second from Hebrews and third from Mark we can draw much fruit.The Gospel, Mark 10:46-52 gives us the framework for our deeper understanding of what the Lord wishes to teach us; so that nourished by His Word we may have the strength to follow Him with all our heart and strength.Jesus chose to pass that way because He knew that there was a man there who sought Him. This blind man often heard people speak of Jesus of Nazareth but he knew Jesus as the Son of David. When the blind man first called out to Jesus the people scolded him and prevented him from calling out. Many would have given up then and there. How often we are influenced by others and make our decisions on what others say! This man did not give up but kept calling out and Jesus stopped and said, “Call him over.” Remember, pay attention to the words Jesus chose “call him”. When the people called him they assured him not to be afraid, they said, “Get up! He is calling you!”The blind man then threw aside his cloak, jumped up and came to Jesus. We too must learn to let go of things that we get attached to. Sin in so many ways causes us much blindness that we fail to see the things that trap us, enslave us, and make us closed to the love of God and others. Let us therefore listen to the voice of the Lord calling us out of darkness, throw away the burden of sin, and with eagerness go to the Lord so that He may heal us and make us His true followers.Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The answer that the blind man gave, “I want to see”, gives us a better understanding why Jesus asked this question in the first place. In his answer to Jesus you can understand that this blind man did not only have the faith to be healed, but also has the faith to believe in God who had send His Son, the Son of David to save and to heal. As soon as he was healed he started following Jesus. The gospel ends by saying that he started to follow him up the road. These words ,“up the road” is very important for us because this gives us a sense of direction.The reading from Hebrews 5:1-5, remind us how we should see all priests, especially all our Bishops and the Bishop of Rome our Holy Father. All of them are “able to deal patiently with erring sinners, for he (they) is himself best by weakness and so must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people”. Each priest calls the people entrusted to their care to conversion. There are many in the world who need healing, especially from their blindness; so that as they see the goodness of God, hear His call, they would believe in Him and follow Him by accepting His love for them.It is this theme that is reiterated in first reading from the prophet Jeremiah 31:7-9. The promise made to the people, “I will gather them from the ends of the world … They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them; I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble.” Here we see the Good Shepherd who is the true father of his people. He is the one who calls His people even now. So many are trapped in their blindness of disbelief and suffer in many ways. The Lord sends His call to all who would listen to Him, so that believing in His Name they may throw aside their former way of sin, selfishness, injustice and all forms of blindness. In accepting this healing in their lives they are now prepared to believe in the Lord and how much He loves them. It is His love that calls each and everyone to follow Him. The road is the path of love, joy and peace!We must learn to seek the Lord in all things and we know the truth whether we are true seekers, because if we did so we would have found our way to Him. How do we know that we are on the right road? It all depends on how clearly we can listen to our Lord the Good Shepherd! If His voice is faint then we have striven far from the road and if we hear Him clearly then we follow Him closely. The more we follow Jesus the more we find the grace to believe in His goodness. We become grateful for what the Lord is doing for us and all the good things He provides for us.

The theme: “God is in his holy dwelling: he will give a home to the lonely, he gives power and strength to his people.”God our Father and protector, without you nothing is holy, nothing has value. Guide us to everlasting life by helping us to use wisely the blessings you have given to the world.The first reading taken from 2 Kings 2:42-44 we see that what is brought to the prophet Elisha is little. Through the eyes of the world this is insufficient for the needs of the many present. Yet the prophet sees through the eyes of God; for not only will this be sufficient but there will be some leftover. In the Gospel John 6:1-15 God first provides enough of grass for all to recline on in the desert. The apostles see a lad who has five barley loaves and a couple of dried fish. In the hands of God this is all that is needed. All were fed till they were satisfied and gathered twelve baskets of leftovers.Train your heart and mind to see things as God sees; for with God He needs so little to do much. Often in our lives we see the little and get discouraged because of what we see. The task ahead is so great and the demands appear to increase daily. In response to our prayers the Lord often provides the little gifts and blessings that we fail to see. In order to solve our great problems we should look through the eyes of faith and disover the little things that we possess. With the help of God and trusting in His love for us, we can use these little things to solve our problems and have some leftover still!St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians chapter 4 and verses 1-6 says: “I plead with you as a prisoner for the Lord, to live a life worthy of the calling you have received, with perfect humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another lovingly. Make every effort to preserve the unity which has the Spirit as its origin and peace as its binding force. …”It is the humble heart that lives by faith and because of habitually living in humility can see that great things that the Lord does for His children. The sign that God gave the shepherds is a sign that is applicable always. We will always find the Lord wrapped in swaddling clothes. It is precisely in the brokenness of our lives in the shattered glasses of our existence that we can find the infinite and loving presence of our Lord and God!

 Jesus often says that we should be watchful. You have heard these words, “Watch and pray.” 

In the parable of the ten virgins, where five were foolish and the other five were wise; watchfulness is seen from two aspects. The first is that the foolish did not bring with them extra oil. So being watchful means to prepare in advance because you do not know when you will need it. The second aspect is that when the virgins came together the foolish ones should have observed two realities. First they had not brought extra oil and the other five had done. We are often curious what others do, how come these foolish one did not notice this? Watchfulness then is observation, noticing little things, and this makes a servant always attentive to the needs of others. The second reality was that the Master had delayed his coming giving these foolish virgins ample time to go and buy extra oil. Recall these virgins did have the resources or the money to buy oil. They did go to buy oil but at the wrong time. Had they been attentive and used their time well they would have acted quickly and been back with the extra oil. 

The watchfulness of a servant is that of constant attentiveness. This attitude of attentiveness comes from a deep gratitude. You must understand that God calls you to be His servant and He has chosen you to serve Him and others. God will send you people to see if you are a servant or not. God will never expect you to give something that He has not given you. 

How do you serve God? By offering Him your trust, firm hope, love, adoration, thanks, praise, friendship, service, and by being happy in His presence. It all depends on your relationship with the Lord. The more you grow in His love and friendship the more you will be open to understand His gift of service to you. This gift of service comes from His heart. Jesus spoke of this to his apostles on the night He was betrayed. He washed the feet of His apostles and told them that they too must serve others just as He did. 

If you are truly grateful for this calling then you will never miss an occasion of proving yourself trustworthy, especially in little things. You will try to serve the Lord every breath that you take, learning from all what He did, and trying to imitate His love and service to His Father. 

Often the Lord chooses various instruments to teach us how to be watchful in our love and service of God and neighbor. Accept them as opportunities for you to grow in your responsibilities towards your Master. How you respond is a clear statement to God that you are exceptional. You desire to belong to the in-crowd. If the Lord needs something to be done then you are always waiting to be chosen. This constant waiting is being watchful. 

When it comes to being watchful in your love and service to your neighbor, first and foremost what matters is your willingness. Secondly it is serving them in their needs and not what you think they need. Thirdly it is anticipating their needs so that they need not be embarrassed by asking for help. Fourthly it is doing little things for others joyfully and also allowing them to serve in the little that they can afford. 

Watchfulness in your life could cover many facets. It could be your vigilance or care you take in guarding your thoughts, desires, emotions and directing them to the service of God and neighbor. Refraining from judgment, impatience, unkind remarks, hasty decisions, and idleness are a few areas to be watchful. In the spiritual life it is important to keep a watch on one’s desire to love and serve. You should be careful in this regard lest you become lukewarm, careless and become presumptuous. The word presumptuous means taking for granted or presuming something. It is part of being careless and not being attentive. 

Keep constant watch on your attitude. Let it always be filled with gratitude and encouraging others to be grateful too. Try to focus on the positive and the good things the Lord is doing in your life. 

Guarding your imagination and directing the powers of your mind to the things of God will help you to be watchful. There are countless images out there to pull you towards the comforts of this world. Many images today focus on corrupting your mind, robbing you of your innocence, filling your mind with prejudice, thoughts of vengeance, selfishness, and pride. A simple way of checking your health line when it comes to be watchful is the level of peace and joy that abides in your soul, your heart and your mind. If you are truly watchful and keeping a firm guard on your thoughts, images, and reasoning processes you will focus on the things of the Lord and this will always bring with it peace and joy. If you divert from this watchfulness then you will slip into the things of this world and the result will be restlessness and sadness or discouragement which often leads to despair. 

Both the Shepherds and the Wise men were watchful and because of their diligence in these things the Lord revealed to them His beloved Son.

September 21: Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

Jesus watched Matthew and saw the gifts that he had. These talents would be of great value as an apostle to serve others and also to write the Gospel of His Lord and Master. Matthew would have to be totally open to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit who would remind him of all that Jesus said and did. Matthew was drawn into the presence of God being with us. That is why Matthew starts his Gospel with Jesus being Emmanuel, God with us. He ends his Gospel with these words, “I will be with you till the end of time.”

As a tax collector Matthew was formed in the art of observation. No little detail would pass his notice. As a tax collector he was hated by the Romans because although he was a Jew that had to depend on him for the collection. The Jews hated him because he would take much more than what was due and if taxes were not paid he was cease their assets. This is a valuable lesson for an apostle or disciple to learn, namely, how to put up with those that hate you. As Matthew continued in his job he learned how to handle these pressures and move ahead in spite of the open ridicule, confrontation, negative remarks, the looks of disdain and constant rejection. As he continued surviving all these attacks Matthew developed a thick skin as it were. He commandeered a strength from within himself that would make him shameless and undaunted by these attacks. He learned to survive on his own without necessarily depending on the good opinion of others.

Meeting Jesus was an experience he could never forget. You can understand the questions that must have gone through his mind and the emotions that filled his heart as Jesus called him, “Come follow me”. Who is this man? Does he really know what kind of man I am? Will his other followers ever forgive me for who I am? I have no training in the law and I have never lived a life of holiness, yet why does he call me to follow him?

Matthew would soon learn how to see people through the eyes of love. This God who is with us is a God of love and mercy. He would often watch how Jesus dealt with sinners. At the feast that Matthew gave to introduce his friends to Jesus he would hear those words, “I have come to call sinners not the righteous”. Often he would hear those words ringing in his ears, “The sick need a doctor the healthy do not.”

Each of us have so many areas in our lives where there is brokenness, regrets, painful memories, fears, guilt, shame, failure and countless other experiences. We must all learn to look at them through the eyes of Jesus who can take these broken pieces and create something beautiful. Yes, it is possible for him to take a tax collector and make him an apostle. Certainly he can take us as we are in our weakness and fears and make us into His disciples.

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Word of God is the seed and it will bear fruit if we tend to the garden of our souls.

• The first thing to do is spend time in prayer. Our Lady often pondered in her heart. This is taking prayer to a deeper level. We pray not just with our lips but with our hearts. The evil one cannot snatch the Word of God from the person who reads the Word of God and understands it. In understanding something we show our care. We become watchful.
• Secondly by meditation or pondering we allow the Word to go deep into our heart. The Lord does this through suffering, humiliation, opposition, trials, temptations and other means. The deeper the seed goes the firmer the roots. It is like a tree planted by the river side. The roots go deep and so it can withstand famine or flood. So when any persecution or trial come the soul can withstand this because the Word is deeply rooted in the soul. From within its treasures it can find all the virtues it needs to deal with these situations.
• Lastly the soil needs to be weeded constantly otherwise weeds will grow and choke the plant or tree. These weeds are the anxieties and the lure of riches. The weeding process is through constantly trusting and making it a habit to live by faith. In encouraging others and seeing the goodness of God in one’s life, a person can grow in the faith and confidence. The lure of riches stands for any kind of attachment, which can lead to idolatry. It is important therefore through prayer and meditation that we carefully consider what it is that occupies our mind, thoughts, emotions and especially out heart. Where our treasure is there our heart will be. We make it our constant effort to make Jesus the treasure of our hearts and so we desire that His Word make its home in us.

My dream of years came true, when on May 26 we arrived at the Divine Mercy Shrine, in Krakow

The image that Jesus asked Sr. Faustina to be painted is placed in the chapel of the sisters of Mercy. Close to the painting is the picture of St. Faustina. In the altar below are the relics of the saint and on the pew is one of her first class relics for devotees to venerate.

The painting of Jesus in the chapel is so alive. It looks like Jesus is about to leave the painting and is always coming towards you. He has already taken the step towards you, now it is up to you to open your heart to receive Him. When I saw this painting my heart burst out with joy and I reached out with all my strength to touch Him. The rays that come from His side are the great sacraments of the Church - the Eucharist (Red) and Baptism and Confession (White). In looking at the Divine Mercy painting I came to realize that this is the Sacred Heart of Jesus pierced for us and the rays are His love and mercy. These rays are not only graces coming to sanctify us but also showing us the way home!

I brought all of you before the Divine Mercy shrine and asked the Lord to bless you and your families, living and deceased.

It is important that if anyone is dying that you say the Divine Mercy chaplet for that person and ask that person to allow the Divine Mercy to enter one’s heart and soul.

One of the side trips we made was to the birth place of Pope John Paul II. We saw a little museum that showed his early pictures, his crib and many of the things he used while going out skiing, and other activities. In one of the cupboards were four vestments that showed him journey from a priest (black hat), bishop (miter), cardinal (red miter), and pope!

On Thursday, I did go with a small group to Auschwitz and Birkneau.

In the midst of utter disregard to human dignity, total humiliation, undue pain and suffering to satiate the wickedness of man, there is the power of hope, love and sacrifice that shines brightly. We have Fr. Maximilian Kolbe who gave his life to save another man who was married and had children. In the middle of the night priests would consecrate pieces of bread and distribute small pieces to those around encouraging them to be strong in their faith. There are countless stories of people who helped prisoners and because of it were imprisoned and suffered death.

In my heart I will always remember these brothers and sisters who belonged to different peoples. Join me in praying for them and for healing and forgiveness for those who inflicted so much pain on others.

With my priestly blessings,

Fr. Santan Pinto SOLT

1.    Learn from the Lord how to be humble. True humility acknowledges the greatness of God, avoids attributing anything to self, and is not hurt easily. Humility is the manifestation of nothingness. Remind yourself often that you are dust and that without the breath of God’s spirit you are nothing. Make it your daily practice to attribute everything to the loving providence of God. Often because of your weakness you will slip into self-sufficiency. You may think that you can manage things on your own and hence need no direct assistance from God or others.  

Pride is often easy to discover hidden in our actions, thoughts and attitudes. It is hard to uncover the paths of vanity. You may fall into the trap of false humility. You will then depend on yourself. You may refuse to do things or volunteer to do anything because of your weakness. You may possess the desire to do these things but are afraid of failure. You may be afraid even of success because others will be jealous of your success. 

True humility acknowledges God’s greatness. You realize that with the Lord all things are possible and you do everything to glorify God and thus become a witness of His unfailing love for you

Those are meek, who possess a gentle spirit. Be sensitive to the needs of others. 

Why is it so difficult for me to be meek? I often dreaded being bullied, pushed around, left out, and considered strange and unwanted. I would do anything it took to become popular among my friends and show off before the girls in my town. 

Nothingness teaches us how to understand meekness the way Jesus not only spoke of it but also practiced. It is difficult for us to turn the other cheek in our lives. Often we defend ourselves and protect our good name before others. Meekness does not mean being a coward and expressing fear by silence or other means. Meekness is governed by truth and is meant for those who are strong. The weak get threatened by the thought of meekness.

Dear Disciples of Jesus and Mary, Missionaries of Mercy, friends, children and grandchildren:

We know that God created man and woman in His image and likeness. In the Garden of Eden all of creation did not know death. When our first parents sinned, death came into the world and with it fear, shame and guilt. It is important to know that death is not eternal but life is. A time will come when we will all be raised from the dead and will continue to live eternally.

How often I hear those words of Jesus, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” My response is “No”. I do want to but have a hard time believing this reality because all I see around me is death. In the depths of my soul I know that what Jesus says is true. I do not doubt His words a bit. Yet my human nature, which is so feeble, can grasp the reality of death and the pain and anguish of separation. How can one truly move beyond the grasp of death and focus on the eternal life that Jesus promises us?

Be aware of this gift of faith that lays deep in our soul. The more you are conscious of this gift the more it grows. What is important is just little faith. We all desire much faith. God gives us sufficient graces that we need to live our daily lives. If we start using the little faith that we have then like the mustard seed our faith though little will grow. With our faith all other virtues like hope and love will increase as well. Make it your daily practice to exercise these virtues. The Lord gives us opportunities to grow in these virtues because they help us to solidify our belief in His love and mercy towards us.

Those who choose to walk in doubt, anxiety, worry, lack of forgiveness, hate, greed, selfishness and other forms of sin: find themselves in darkness. The light of Easter has the power to dispel the darkness of sin within and enable us truly to fulfill our Baptismal vows, which we renew at every Easter. We reject sin, the world and all forms of selfishness. We profess our faith in God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We are proud to state our belief in the Church as our Mother and to belong to the family of God. Our sins weigh us down often but it our faith in the forgiveness of sins that gives us new courage to abide in the light of Christ.

It is precisely this light of Christ that shows us the path of forgiveness. We are invited to enter the abundance of God’s mercy towards all. Learn to walk with humility and you will find the power of Jesus drawing you close to His Heart. All sinners were drawn to Jesus. You find this in Luke Chapter 15. This is the chapter that I love the most after the prologue in St. John’s Gospel.

In the Risen Lord we too have been raised with Him. We belong to Him because we are His Body. Every Mass that we celebrate we are drawn into the power of His Word that purifies us. His Body and His Blood which He give us in Holy Communion is the certain way of becoming more and more like Him. It is our greatest desire to conform our minds and hearts according to His mind and heart.

I shall pray for all of you that this Easter will bring you much joy and peace. I know how hard it is to live a life of joy and peace in a world that often confronts us with pain and sorrow. May the light of Christ lift you to the things of God, drawing you always to His abiding love! Make it a habit to know that the power of the Resurrection is far greater than all the sufferings, misery, pain and sorrow that often surrounds us.

During the season of Easter grow strong in your love for the Lord. You belong to Him and so you must be certain of His love for you. The problem is that we have a hard time allowing the love of God penetrate our being. If His love abides in you then that love will over flow. You will love others irrespective of whether they deserve to be loved or not. This is the truth that sets us free – it is the truth that God loves us because He is love. If you call yourself a child of God then you too must remember that you are love.

When you learn to love as God loves then you realize that everyone is special in your life. By loving one in a special way does not mean that you love someone else less. Love cannot be contained or divided. Love is inclusive of all because love is God. I pray that you come to understand the way God loves and enter and abide in His love always!

I want to thank all of you for your generous support and love that you all have shown me when my Mother returned home. Often I seek her and think of her and my guardian angel reminds me of the words of the angel of the resurrection, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead”. For those who have lost their loves ones I say, “True love never dies. And if we believe in the Lord then we shall never die. This fact is a certainty based not our feelings but on His Word!

With my priestly blessings,

Fr. Santan Pinto SOLT

Choosing to be lowly, left alone, rejected for the sake of Christ - all this is part of journeying in nothingness. We have been trained since our childhood to survive. Often we have sought to be popular and boast of our little achievements. This attitude of being cheered when one did well, was successful, won a game, etc., are all aspects that enhanced once self-worth or self-esteem.

Those who are advanced in prayer have developed a close relationship with God. These few know who they are and that God loves them because He seems his image in them. Through the years they have come to know the love of God and the esteem that He has for each of them.

On one side these souls see the admiration and values of the world and how shallow all these are. The other side stands the glory of God that is made visible in the Incarnation. When the Lord became man and lived among us, He never lost His divinity. So also with the souls who seek to journey in holiness, they too hide the graces and blessings the Lord favors the soul. There are those gifts that must be shared. These souls share them and draw all to the glory of God and not to themselves.