Faith

Did you know that St. Luke was a doctor and an artist? – Feast of Saint Luke the evangelist

St Luke whose feast we celebrate today was a companion of St Paul and was his fellow worker. His name means “bringer of light”. We find three scriptural references to St Luke in the letters of St Paul and from them we can safely conclude that Luke was a particularly intimate and faithful companion.

Besides writing the Gospel, he is also the author of the Acts of the Apostles. The Acts of the Apostles covers a period stretching from A.D. 33 to A.D. 60 and together with the Gospel, Luke is responsible for penning 38,000 words, or 24% of the whole New Testament.

St Luke also had another job, he was the “the beloved physician”; he was as a medical practitioner and that is why he is the patron of doctors among others.  Luke is also the patron of artists. “According to tradition he was an artist, as well as a man of letters; and with a soul alive to all the most delicate inspirations, he consecrated his pencil to the holiest use, and handed down to us the features of the Mother of God. It was an illustration worthy of the Gospel which relates to the divine Infancy; and it won for the artist a new title to the gratitude of those who never saw Jesus and Mary in the flesh. Hence St. Luke is the patron of Christian art.” ( Excerpted from The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.)

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Faith

Frills or Faith? – Wednesday, 28th week in ordinary time – Lk 11:42-46

My dear friend, the late Fr Larry Pereira often compared religion to a river, which at its source was pure and clean until the flowing water reached the plains where humankind would throw their garbage in it. One can say this of all religions without exception.

When Moses gave the Israelites the commandments of God, they numbered just ten. However by the time of Jesus the Jews held 613 laws of which 248 were positive, corresponding to parts of human body and 365 were negative, corresponding to the days in a year.

In the Gospel of today Jesus pronounces three woes against the Pharisees and the lawyers. These were members of the religious establishment who had become the de facto interpreters of the law during the four hundred years before Jesus, when the prophetic voice stood silent.

In their endeavour to live devout lives, the Pharisees (meaning separated ones) and the lawyers or scribes (who began as notaries and ended up as interpreters) created a niche for themselves by becoming the ‘go to people’ on all matter religious and in doing so they also began to add their own understanding of the law. The Talmud and the Mishna dating from a period before the Common Era through to the fifth century contains the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis on a variety of subjects that were orally passed on till they were written.  

It would be fallacious to think that Jesus attacked the law itself when He pronounces the woes against these Jewish leaders. Jesus does not see anything objectionable in the Pharisaic lifestyle per se. What he objects to is the deviation and neglect of the central commands of God in favour of commonly held practices which of course were human interpretations.  

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Outside in – Tuesday, 28th Week in ordinary time – Lk 11:37-41

Today’s Gospel exegesis is going to be a bit of a strain on the brain. While the characters in the text seem to be familiar (the Pharisees) it is the intended characters (Jewish Christians) that may astound us and leaves us a bit perplexed.  In order to understand this text fully we need to remind ourselves that the intended audience of Luke’s Gospel are the Gentiles, (Non – Jews) many of whom now follow the Jesus. Here in lies the flash point as the early Christian community consisted of Jewish Christians (Jews who now follow Jesus) and the Gentile Christians (non-Jews who now follow Jesus)

The confluence of such diverse thinking people with multiple religious backgrounds is bound to cause friction especially on matters such as ritual purity which were sacred to the Jews.  Luke in his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles mentions the Pharisees 35 times. Although it is easy to count the number of times he mentions the Pharisees it is more difficult to ascertain their function in his story. In some cases, such as the incident of Gamaliel in the Acts of the Apostle, the Pharisee in question is mentioned in positive light as is Paul the Pharisee (who became the Apostle).

We know from Acts 15:5 that those Pharisees who had become the followers of Christ began to demand that the Gentile converts to Christianity be circumcised and charged to obey the laws of Moses. While on the surface of today’s Gospel it appears that Jesus has a ‘run in’ with the Pharisees, perhaps Luke is actually addressing his congregation who composed of Pharisees who now followed Christ and who were demanding an imposition of rigorous Jewish ritual purity on Gentile Christians as a criteria to be part of both the community as well as participation in the common meal. It is for this reason that Luke presents Jesus as demolishing such ritual demands in favour of internal purity.  

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Art/ Heritage

THE PILGRIM OF PEACE: Reminiscing the Visit of St. Pope Paul VI to Bombay In 1964

‘If it pleases the Lord, I come to India and I come’

December 2, 1964 – a day distinctly marked in the history of India and the Church. As throngs of people flooded the Airport Terminal, all eyes were fixed on that spot where the ramp was being adjusted. The great door of the Air India plane opened and His Holiness, the Pilgrim of Peace stood framed in it. He was clad in his white cassock, with a red satin cape and a gold embroidered stole on his shoulders. On his face was a smile that touched millions as he extended his hands in an embrace that excluded none.  

As the choir burst into ‘God bless the Pope’, the Vice President, Zakir Hussain and His Holiness mounted the decorated rostrum. ‘We come as a pilgrim, a pilgrim of peace, of joy, of serenity and of love. We greet all Indian people, every man, woman and child. Jai Hind!’ Pope Paul VI affectionately exclaimed.

His words electrified the union of hearts as a deafening ‘Viva il Papa’ roared the air. Never before had a ‘Namaste’ or a ‘Jai Hind’ produced an enthusiastic thrill as when uttered by the ‘Pilgrim of Peace.’ Indeed, no prisoner of the Vatican was Pope Paul VI.

The visit of Pope Paul VI to Bombay (now Mumbai) from December 2 – 5, 1964 is a testimony of unforgettable memories, stories, pictures and reports. However what sonorously echoes the tangibility of the event are certain remarkable souvenirs housed with honour at the Archdiocesan Heritage Museum, Goregaon.

THE GOLDEN LILY

When Pope Paul VI visited Bombay during the 38th International Eucharistic Congress, he desired to donate ‘the most precious gift since he sat on the ‘Sogolio di Pietro’ to the world’s ‘poorest of the poor.’ What could be more precious than the tribute of a chalice surpassing artistic, historic and theological beauty, gloriously and graciously regarded the Golden Lily? Engraved with the Papal Coat of Arms, the chalice was executed by Marcello Conticelli, Orvieto’s great artist. It was presented to Pope Paul VI during his visit to the Cathedral to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the Eucharistic Miracle that took place in Bolsena in 1264.

THE MITRE OF H.H. POPE PAUL VI

His Holiness St. Pope Paul VI presided over the Eucharistic Congress from December 2nd to 5th, 1964. On December 3rd, the Day of Consecration of Bishops, this resplendent mitre was worn by H.H. Pope Paul VI and later presented by the Holy Father to H.E. Valerian Cardinal Gracias as a token of his love and affection. The ornamentation includes a decorative plant like motif which branches out from the central axis. The embroidered symmetrical design on the mitre is complemented with precious stones strewn in the center. The Papal Coat of Arms on its fanons enhances its historic beauty.

THE PAPAL ROSARY

On December 5, 1964, the day of departure, the Holy Father visited Bandra’s famous shrine, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount. A canopy of festoons and garlands, bunting, banners and fishing nets covered the route as ‘men, women and children cheered wildly and nuns climbed the iron railing of their convent compounds to wave handkerchiefs at the passing Pontiff.’ (Examiner, 1964). Inside the shrine, the Pope prayed and presented to Bishop Longinus a sparkling crystal rosary among other souvenirs.

CHALICE, CHURCH OF ST. PAUL, DADAR

After celebrating the Eucharist in the precincts of ‘St. Xavier’s Gymkhana’ for a crowd of more than 40,000 people, Pope Paul VI crossed the street into the Church of St. Paul where the sick and infirm had gathered. He blessed them and gave them holy pictures. A chalice was then presented to the priest who served the parish. The gilded cup has a globular knop of five amber stones on a base of onyx. The stem is ornamented with the staurogram, the symbol of the Cross used by the early Church.

COAT OF ARMS

A traditional language since the Late Middle Ages, the Papal Coat of Arms is the personal heraldry of the Popes of the Catholic Church. It includes symbolic vocabulary relating to the Holy Father’s personal background and beliefs. The Coat of Arms of St. Pope Paul VI was seen featured above the Papal Chair set on the gigantic altar build on the Oval Maidan, the centre of the Congress events.

The Pontifical insignia depicts the Triregnum with the crossed keys set behind a red shield. The colour red signifies martyrdom, alluding to the ‘Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the people.’ The three fleur-de-lis (flower of Lily) represent the Trinity while also recalling the purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The six small hills at the base of the herald are reminiscent of the ancestral origins of Cardinal Montini (later Pope Paul VI). The word ‘Montini’ can be traced to its Italian counterpart signifying ‘little mountains’.

It was not just the great events of the Holy Father’s visit that caught the public imagination but rather his simplicity, generosity and the little human things that he did that won the heart of India. Right from his concern for the photographer who died in an accident, to his swiftness to come to the aid of anyone young and old, to going down on his knees to give communion to little orphans, to his compassion for the sick and the blind, to his tears at the sight of suffering and poverty and his abandonment of prepared speeches in favour of an interpreter so that he could spontaneously speak his heart out; Pope Paul VI in his very own words left his heart in India. (‘We feel ourselves to share in a moral citizenship with this land which we will ever love. Here we leave our heart!’ –Pope Paul VI)

With a gracious Namaste as the Pope left for Rome he left behind in a million hearts a memory that is in itself a benediction – the paternal benediction of a Pope, the evermore affectionate intercession of a Saint!

(Sources: Pictorial Souvenir and Volume 1 and 2 on the 38th International Eucharistic Congress, 1964)

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Faith

Pester or Persevere? Thursday, 27th week in ordinary time – Lk 11:5-13

Today we focus on the second and third part of three part structure on the teaching on prayer (11:1-13). In response to the disciples request to pray Jesus teaches them the Lord’s Prayer or what some have also called the ‘disciples prayer.’

After having received the prayer the disciples now listen to a parable on prayer and a saying on prayer. The parable is based on the social customs that enshrined the laws of hospitality. As in India, this social custom was regarded with great respect among the people of Jesus. Atithi Devo Bhava   अतिथिदेवो भव which translates from Sanskrit as ‘the guest is equivalent to God’ is taken from an ancient Hindu scripture which became part of the “code of conduct” for Hindu society. Similarly, the respect for a stranger or guest was ingrained in Jewish society as their code of conduct.

The parable is often misunderstood as the need to be ‘persistent in prayer’. Like the friend who stands at the door of his neighbour at midnight, asking for bread for another who has visited him in the dead of night, so too must we ‘persist with God’ as thought pestering him would give us what we want.  This makes God a bit of a snooty hard to get by chap rather than the Father of the prayer that Jesus just taught them.

The cause of this misunderstanding lies in the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version’s) translation of the Greek word “anaideia” which has been translated as PERSISTENCE. ‘Anaideia’ really translates as ‘shamelessness’ or better still ‘a boldness which comes from familiarity’. The Father of the Lord ’s Prayer  to whom we ask for daily bread, is the Father to whom we shamelessly ask for all our needs (ask and it will be given) and we do so boldly like a child who is ‘familiar’ with the Father.

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