Faith

The twelve days of Christmas – On the first day of Christmas my true love gave me light.

Today, I begin a brief series of reflections called the twelve days of Christmas. The twelve days of Christmas spans from Christmas Day till January the sixth, the traditional day that celebrates the arrival of the Magi or the wise men.

For the secular world, Christmas day is the climax of a long commercial build up to the festivities surrounding the season. The day after Christmas everything seems to crash! For Catholics, these days and those up to the Baptism of Jesus, constitutes what we call ‘Christmas tide’.

Today is Christmas day, the first day of Christmas. The popular song associated with these days first finds mention in a 1780 children’s book called Mirth Without Mischief. There is no evidence that this popular song sung at Christmas has anything to do with persecuted Christians who devised a way of teaching catechism. Yet we can turn this interesting song into a meditation of sorts for the next twelve days.

The Gospel of today taken from John 1:1-18 is called the prologue. One of the themes central to the prologue is the description of Jesus as THE light. He is the “light of all peoples.” As light, he ‘shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome him.’ He is testified as the light by John. John was just the lamp but Christ was the light. He is the ‘true light which enlightens everyone.’ This word of God, this light and life became flesh and dwelt among us.

Reading this text, one may mistakenly assume that Jesus simply came to obliterate and remove all darkness forever. Yet we know that darkness still exists. It is true that over the years this darkness has been diminished by the goodness and kindness of thousands of acts of love, yet the darkness of this world exists because the human heart would rather have its will than let God have his way.

Yet through it all, St John reminds us that “the light shines in the darkness” and maybe that’s the thing. Maybe that’s the gospel writer’s point. It is not that Jesus obliterates the darkness. Christ did not come to make interventions in the world but transformations in our lives. He did not come to stop a war in Ukraine but came to inspire us to talk words of peace. The presence of THE light, the presence of Jesus calls and challenges us to change the situation, and make it much better.

This, I think, is the message of the incarnation, the story behind the story that we will tell each other this day. God enters into the darkness to sit alongside of us as a Providential advocate, a Providential presence; God with us, Emmanuel. God refuses to dwell in the heavens above and from a safe distance watch the drama of human life play out. Instead, our Provident God climbs right into the darkest places to be with us; and in that holy and luminous action, we find reason enough to hope.

Happy Christmas.

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Faith

Love never fails, humans fail to love! – Homily for the nuptials of Ryan and Shelly – 11.12.22
Matthew 11:2-11
By and large there is a tendency to pick and choose ones reading for a nuptial mass, sadly even on a Sunday, disrupting the liturgy of the Church. It’s as if we want to tell God what we want to hear, rather than listen to what God has to say. The Gospel of today, the third Sunday in Advent has much to say to us as pilgrims in this advent season and much for you, my dear Ryan and Shelly to ponder, as you begin this new journey.
The Gospel of St Matthew 11:2-11 is also found in Luke 7:18-23 with a few minor differences. The thrust is the same; John sends two of his disciples to ask Jesus, to enquire what ought to be for us the perfect advent question, “are you the one to come, or should we wait for another?” (11:3)
Right away this question should strike us as odd and even alarming. Was it not St John the Baptist who in John 1:29-36 affirmed Jesus as “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world?” Is John having doubts about his own cousin? How could John doubt Jesus when Jesus so graciously hailed John as one who was greater than any born of woman?
There are two reflections that we can ponder on based on this question. The first, do I have expectations of others that leave me deflated when not matched. The second, is it wrong to have doubts?
Let us tackle the second question first. Is it ‘wrong’ to have doubts? Clearly John had doubts or as some would call it ‘second thoughts’. One might think that a doubt such as this is a grevious offence against God. John doubted if Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed one.
Our lives are filled with doubt. A decision such as this that we are participating, a marriage of two young people, is fraught with doubts and understandably so. Is the person I am marrying the right one for me? Will they be there for me in good time and in bad?
To have doubts is not sinful or wrong; to have doubts is human; yet to be paralysed by doubt is grievously harmful. There would always be marriages around us that fail, that does not make marriage a failure. There are people who profess their love and do not live by it, that does not make love a failure. It is natural to begin to have doubts when we see failed marriages of others in what ought to be a “happily ever after” for them; but to paralysed by doubt and reject marriage and love would be foolishness.
Yes, we should not “fall” in love blindly. Marriage needs to be well considered. Perhaps some of us would be better off as bachelors or spinsters. Perhaps some are called in God’s service. All are not called to marriage. But should we feel that we are called to married life, then a leap of faith is what we called to. Do not let your marriage or your relationship become a case of paralysis by analysis.
How is doubt overcome? It is overcome through faith. The apostles had doubts. “Lord, we believe, help our unbelief.” Thomas was questioning enough to be labelled doubting Thomas. Yet in moments like this the Lord asks us to trust in him, to put our faith in him, to walk with him. “Doubt no longer he says to you both, Shelly and Ryan, but believe!”
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Food

I fist ate the is five ingredient dish when Belmira, a parishioner of mine, here at St Stephen’s  made this for a small intimate gathering for the parish fathers. I could not wrap my head around the flavours. She made it again at the cooking contest that was held at parish and which was judged by the head of department, Don Bosco’s Culinary School, Annabelle Rodrigues who also happened to be my professor at culinary school.

Do not be fooled by the simplicity of ingredients because this dish packs a complexity of flavours. Indian food tends to be over spiced and the subtle flavours of the main ingredient itself is often lost. However, the combination of the chillies is crucial. The motuo or Aldona chillies have a thick skin and and short and deep reddish black. The Bedgi bring in the heat and the Kashmiri adds a bit of colour and spice. You can buy the Aldona chillies from Mapusa market in Goa, they sell them by the piece ( in hundreds) and not by the kilo.

This dish combines a lovely pungent, sour and salty flavour while retaining the flavour of the meat it self. For best results, always use fresh meat rather than meat that has been frozen.  Other recipes add ginger and garlic along with turmeric, cumin and coriander seeds. I liked this dish the way it was made.Pork Solantulem is also called Pork Amsol or Pork Binda Sol

INGREDIENTS

1 kg – lean pork – 3 tablespoons rock salt – 3 large onions – 5 kashmiri chillies – 5 Mapusa or Aldona or Motuo chillies ( different names for the same type of chilli) and 7-10 Bedgi chillies – A handful of Kokum  or ten halves

METHOD

Take 1 kg of pork with little fat, cube it (make big cubes), wash well, drain all the water out, you may also use kitchen towels to drain the excess water.  Add 3 teaspoons of rock salt & apply to the meat using your hands till the salt has been incorporated into the meat thoroughly, At this stage you could use a tablespoon of ginger garlic paste if you so desire but this recipe did not have it. Set aside. Take 3 large onions, cut horizontally.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a vessel. Add the onions and sauté till transparent. Add the chillies after breaking them into half. You could also leave them whole but take off the stem. Add the  Kokum and Sauté for a 1 minute. Add the Meat and Sauté for 2 minutes.Add one cup of water and bring to boil, then simmer till the meat is tender.  Serve Hot and enjoy over a shot of Feni with friends.

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Faith

It’s Christmas Eve or Trinity Sunday? – Saturday, 4th week in Advent – Luke 1:67-79

It’s Christmas Eve and the song of Zechariah or the Benedictus is ‘sung’ at the Gospel today. The Benedictus is a prayer of thanksgiving said by Zachariah at the birth of St. John the Baptist. It is called the Benedictus because it begins with the Latin word “blessed.”

Zechariah’s hymn of praise at the birth of John has many parallels with Mary’s Magnificat. It is firmly rooted in the Old Testament and the faith story of the people. The prayer focusses primarily on Jesus, as Saviour, not John. God is faithful to the promises God has made. John is the prophet who will go before the Lord to prepare the way and give knowledge of salvation. The tender mercy of God offers light, hope and the way of peace.

Interestingly, there may be a little detail that may elude us. The Benedictus is preceded by the fact that the Holy Spirit filled Zechariah and he spoke this prophecy regarding Jesus. The Holy Spirit is integral to the Christmas narrative. It is the Holy Spirit that comes upon Mary and covers her while the power of the most high overshadows her. Elizabeth too was filled with the Holy Spirit when she heard the greeting of Mary at Ein Karim. In Today’s text, the Holy Spirit fills Zechariah prompting this prophecy. It is the Holy Spirit that rested on Simeon in the temple and guided him to meet the parents of Jesus at his circumcision. The Christmas story is a Trinitarian one; the will of God the Father, the Birth of Christ the son and the workings of the Holy Spirit.

God has come to rescue his people as he promised long ago. The promise still holds for us. Whatever trouble we may be in, God is coming to save us and we can be at peace.

On the eve of Christmas, I want to wish all of you, my dear faithful readers on pootypadre.com and all of you who follow my YouTube channel a very happy Christmas. As some of you may be aware I will be taking a sabbatical for two years in five months from now. I will be moving to Goa where I will continue to study scripture and write and record my teachings.

Have a blessed Christmas day tomorrow. We will not be broadcasting tomorrow but will be back on Monday, 26th December. It is a special day for the parish of St Stephen as we will be stepping into our 75th year as a parish. His Eminence, Cardinal Oswald Gracias will celebrate the Thanksgiving mass at six pm here at St Stephen’s. Do join us in the celebration of the Hoy Eucharist.

God bless you all and Happy Christmas once again.

Fr Warner D’souza

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Faith

A  Child that Christmas forgot – Friday, 4th Week in Advent – Luke 1:57-66

It is true that the birth of John the Baptist is celebrated on the 24th of June but look at the buildup to the Christmas narrative and his birth is a page before that of Christs’. In fact, the Gospel of Luke positions the birth of the precursor as an immediate text before the birth of Christ in chapter two. The liturgy most deliberately wants us to pause and reflect on the birth of another very significant child before we can ring the bells of Christmas.

The birth of John was greeted with rejoicing, both for the parents and to God who had shown them great mercy. While the Gospel of today mentions the birth of John in just two verses it dedicates the next eight verses to the his circumcision and the events surrounding it. The birth of John was an act of God’s mercy and part of his salvific plan, the actions surrounding his circumcision reflect the faith of those who were beneficiaries of this mercy. Elizabeth and Zechariah are presented as models of faith and fidelity.

God commanded both Abraham and Moses to circumcise male babies when they are eight days old (Genesis 17:9-14; Leviticus 12:3). John’s circumcision, while routine, nevertheless marks Zechariah and Elizabeth as faithful in their observance of Jewish law. That is to be expected, of course, given that Zechariah is a priest (v. 5; see also v. 6).

In the culture of the Israelites, the name of a child was very significant. God sometimes changed the name of a person, such as changing the name of Abram to Abraham, of Sarai to Sarah, and of Jacob to Israel. At other times, God gave the name of the child before birth. Such is the case with both John and Jesus.

The drama of our text has to do with a family argument over the name which was to be given the child of Zacharia and Elizabeth. Names were important in that culture, and were supposed to embody something of the importance or character of the person or to make some sort of statement or to express some sort of faith. The naming of a child would normally be a parental function, but these neighbours and relatives try to influence this naming to honour Zacharia by naming the child after him. The question which we must bear in mind as we approach our study of this passage is, “why would Luke bother to include the account of a family argument over the name of a child?” There are two theories.

The naming of the son after his father implied that this child would walk in the steps of his father, that he would carry on the father’s name, and thus his work as well. Had John been named ‘Little Zach,’ he would have been expected to grow up as a priest, just like his father. He would thus have gone about with his father as he carried out his priestly duties, learning how to do things, just like his daddy did them. To be named by any other name would have implied just the opposite. John would not follow in his father’s steps.

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