Diplomacy in the apostolate?

 In today's reading we find Paul before the Sanhedrin, making a very shrewd move.  Indeed he shows glimpses of this 'Saul' personality.  Put on trial for preaching Christ, he cleverly incites one group (Pharisees) against the other (Sadducees), without letting them even get wind of his clever move. He merely puts out himself as one among the Pharisees, being accused of believing in the resurrection! The Pharisees fall for it and then the debate is all a fight between the two groups.  Paul, in the meantime, walks out with a sly smile (that's my addition!). 

And just when I thought that was it, there comes the message from Jesus: You bore witness to me in Jerusalem, now be my witness in Rome as well.  

One can be like the crowd, easily swayed by someone's clever distraction, missing out the core argument and point.  We end up, fighting and arguing, without even realising that we long stopped reasoning and focusing.  We can be like Paul, playing a diplomat or a politician, rather than being an apostle. Or could be that Paul was only being wise not wanting to waste his time 'preaching' to the group; hence he merely lets them get entangled with one another, while he gets back to investing his time and energy into positive outcomes and possibilities. 

Getting back to the scene played out at the Sanhedrin, the feedback of Jesus can be interpreted as an endorsement of the ploy that Paul played. Or it could be read as a chastisement.  I prefer to side with the latter.  For in Christianity, honesty is more valuable than diplomacy.  Paul was called to be an apostle, not a diplomat, and certainly not a politician!  

A life of witness

 An excerpt from a reflection I received today...

Indeed, 'some of the loudest sermons are whispered by the lives of the quietly courageous.' 

That’s the kind of faith we are called to have: 

Not a faith that looks fashionable; 

but that’s faithful. 

Not a faith that always roars; 

but that refuses to retreat. 

Not a faith that is just worn on the neck; 

but that's clutched in the heart.

Basically, a life of witness, lived joyfully and generously, because one is rooted in God and his values/Gospel. 

Religion: inside out

 Here's another piece of reflection from Johnson Kottaram, about religion which is quite challenging, and true! 

Faith or Faction? 

When religion leaves the quiet space of conscience and enters the public arena, it stops being sacred and starts being strategic. It no longer redeems; it recruits. 

 When Jemimah Rodrigues thanked Jesus after her cricketing triumph, it was an intimate moment of gratitude. But in a country charged with religious fault lines, her words became ammunition. 

 The devout saw divine favour; the hostile saw provocation. What should have united us in admiration divided us along belief. 

 This isn’t an Indian peculiarity; it’s a global malaise. 

 In the Vatican itself, Pope Leo XIV’s recent permission for ultra-conservatives to celebrate the Tridentine Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica looks less like pastoral generosity and more like an act of appeasement—a cautious nod to figures such as Cardinal Burke who equate faith with form and liturgy with loyalty. 

 The altar, once a place of communion, becomes a negotiation table between warring factions. 

 Even the brilliant Mahmood Mamdani, admired for his intellect and moral clarity, finds himself reduced to a “Muslim voice” by opponents who cannot see beyond labels. 

 In every corner of the world, identity has begun to shout louder than integrity. 

 The problem is not faith; it’s its exhibition. When belief is worn like a badge, it stops being a bridge and becomes a barricade. 

 A faith that needs applause is already insecure. 

 Real spirituality works inward—it refines, questions, and softens. Public religiosity, by contrast, hardens. It demands allegiance, not understanding; conformity, not compassion. 

 Until we learn to keep faith where it belongs—in the inner sanctum of the self—it will remain a divisive force, beautiful in symbol but toxic in practice.

Religion and humanity

 From a letter to the editor (The Hindu, 8 August 2000)

I know a Christian gentleman who lived in this little town,' who used to care for the poor people who came to him.  Among the poor people who used to go to him was an old man in his 70s whose eyes were bad.  The Christian gentleman got him a pair of spectacles.  As years went by the old man became practically blind. "One day he came to this gentleman and asked him if he would receive him into the Christian faith.  The gentleman asked him, "Why do you want to change your religion? You could as well remain a Hindu."  The answer the old man gave was a gem.  "You know every day I meet a lot of people as I beg through the streets around.  People of all religions.  People who worship God in their different ways. But I have a feeling that your way must be the best one, because every time I come to your door, I feel I am a human being."

Don Bosco for his boys

At Don Bosco's oratory, there were all sorts of people, at work... but for the same purpose: the well-being of the boys.  His own Mum, Margaret was there.  So were the mother of Don Rua and a couple of other women.  There were the Brothers, all his 'own men'.  Don Borel, the diocesan priest.  And a whole lot of others. 

Nonetheless, the most interesting of these lot were his own boys, now turned into leaders or even animators.  These boys who joined hands with Don Bosco, whether as Salesians or not, were with Don Bosco every step of the way.  I'm sure, not all of them, or any of them, would have come into the oratory with the intention of carrying on doing what Don Bosco was doing.  But being WITH Don Bosco, having EXPERIENCED first hand, the care and concern shown by Don Bosco, they were smitten.  They certainly may not have been able to explain in words their reasons for staying on, quite a few of them, for a lifetime, why they opted to stay on; but they did stay on!  The closest 'explanation' we get to hear is what Cagliero said: Monk, or no monk, with Don Bosco!  

From Don Bosco's perspective, I'm sure he did not work in order to impress his boys, so that they choose to stay by his side.  That was not his agenda.  His purpose was clear - to him, as well as to all those around him: the well-being of his boys.  It was this clarity of vision and passion with which he went about spending his life and energy for it, that attracted those around him to join hands with him.  For his boys, it was more than attraction; it was a deeply personal experience and individual benefit of that passion.  

Don Bosco did not have a vocation promotion strategy; he didn't need one!  He lived it.  The rest was God's work! 

Pope Francis: In death, as in life

The choice of Pope Francis to have a simple burial, without any fanfare or frills, an ordinary wooden coffin, to be kept on the ground rather than elevated above the floor, to be buried in a place where he spent his time in prayer and among a locale which is inhabited by the poor and migrants... he continues to be himself in death, as he was in his life. 

The secret according to me, of his simplicity, humility and balanced outlook towards everything, was that he never stopped being Jorge Maria Bergoglio.  His election as Pope only made his life and choices more radical as Jorge Bergoglio. What characterised his term as Pope was not the title of being the 'Pope' or the 'head of the Church' but the name he chose 'Francis'.  To the already existing nature of Jorge Bergoglio, he added the qualities of St Francis. 

I wish and pray that the Church continues to elect and appoint such leaders who live and lead by example, rather than doctrine alone or empty pulpit advice. 

Pope Francis, the penitent

The year after Pope Francis was elected as the Pope, during the Lent of 2014, he was to preside over a penitential service. Everyone was keen to hear him, receive his blessings and participate in the service.  But no one was prepared for what actually happened. 

Rather than head to the assigned confessional, he went ahead to another confessional where there was already a Priest seated, knelt down and made his confession! Right there, in front of all people and all the participants, at that very hour when he was expected to hear the confessions of others.  Before all of that, he made his confession! 

A true living witness of what and who a Pastor should be... leading by example rather than mere words. 

Between Easter and Pentecost

The period between Easter and Pentecost, in its maiden chronological occurrence would have been an interesting time to view at, from a historical distance.  Imagine, an event taking place (the resurrection) which has been totally not unheard in reality for ages happening in our midst.  Not even the apostles were sure or clear about what actually was happening, leave alone the others. 

Strange reports and narration of experiences.  Weird social context.  All things put together, it would have been a totally new experience for the Jews, especially those who were close to Jesus.  Never were they really prepared for it. 

For us Catholics we believe in the Holy Spirit and hence the Pentecost marks a significant turn in the history of salvation and the Church.  But sociologically speaking it would really have been a point where the uncertainty, confusion, doubt and anxiety about Jesus' death and the subsequent resurrection paved the way for a communal conviction and belief in the actuality of both.  Even without the spiritual dimension, the very sociological mood and mode itself would have been a great ferment.   

Nonetheless, it is significant to note that what marked this sociological shift in mood, was actually built on individual testimonies and witnesses.  That there were times when Jesus appeared a group or crowd of people is true, but it was his personal encounter with individuals that really made the impact.  But more than that singular encounter, I believer it was the shift in their personalities, after the encounter with Jesus, that truly made the difference.  That post-resurrection encounter was something remarkable in the lives of those whom Jesus met; if not, Pentecost would have been another Passover! 

A Pope in a Poncho: The Gospel of Fragility

by Johnson Kotaram 

It was not the papal cassock, the golden cross, or the solemn gaze from a palace balcony that marked April 10, 2025.

Instead, it was a fragile old man in a striped poncho, worn black trousers, and oxygen tubing, rolling quietly through the grandeur of St. Peter’s Basilica.

No proclamation, no camera crews, no ceremonial fanfare. Just a tired pilgrim in the skin of a pope, moving slowly toward the restored chair of Peter and the tomb of Saint Pius X.

To some, it was a scandal. To others, a shock. And to a few—perhaps not many—it was a moment of profound, unscripted holiness.

Because it was not the Vicar of Christ clothed in tradition but something far rarer: a leader without costume, a priest without performance, a man who dared to embody the Gospel in raw, human skin.

In an institution where clothing is language—the cassock, the skullcap, the ring—all speak of office, succession, and sacred continuity—Francis chose a language older than vestments: the language of presence.

In his beige Argentine poncho, he wasn't signalling authority; he was invoking memory—of his homeland, of the poor, of the Jesus who walked dusty roads with no sceptre, throne, or robe worth envying.

Some saw an older man too frail to dress appropriately. Others saw disrespect for ritual. But to those attuned to the undercurrent, it was something else entirely: a gesture of undoing, the kind that refuses to uphold a performance when the soul is calling for honesty.

He didn’t come to be venerated that day. He came to be.

And in doing so, he reminded the Church—perhaps unintentionally—that the robes, collar, rituals, and relics are only bridges. They are not the water beneath.

When we strip away the grandeur, what remains is a question the Church must confront more often: What happens when the sacred no longer looks impressive? When authority arrives in a wheelchair, with sunken eyes and no cross on its chest?

Whether deliberately or by accident, Francis exposed the quiet truth: the real scandal is not the poncho, but how much we’ve come to rely on appearances to sustain our reverence.

We want our popes upright, glowing, and draped in theology. We don’t want them too human, too frail, too much like us.

But isn’t that precisely the paradox at the heart of Christianity?

Today, when Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt, his official representative on earth is wheelchaired into the most ornate church on earth, dressed in an Argentinian poncho reminded us that fragility is not the opposite of faith—it may be its most honest form.

That perhaps, in a moment like this, the Church caught a glimpse of what Jesus meant when he knelt to wash feet instead of issuing commands.

This was not the Pope as prince or priest. This was the Pope as a person, as a pilgrim, as a reminder that grace may arrive not dressed in white but in weakness.

And maybe, just maybe, that is the Church we need to become.

Parent's impact on children

Last Friday I had the good fortune of being present with the family of Thomas Aquinas, even though the occasion was not a joyful one; it was the funeral of his Dad. 

Nonetheless what was evident and a joy for me to witness was the sincere appreciation of the man that Mr Rayappan (Aquinas' father) was. He was the first trained catechist of the Salem diocese. And right till the end he continued being so.  

Much more than just doing the work of a catechist, he truly appears to have influenced the lives of people and brought them closer to Christ.  The most solid evidence to this fact of his life is the life of his sons!  Of the three I know Aquinas well.  And I told him as I left the cemetery after the burial, "No surprise, your roots run deep and strong!" 

The one thing that kept ringing in my head all along the Mass, especially listening to what several people were sharing and talking, either from the pulpit or all around me, was the impact of parents on the lives of their children!  True indeed, from the fruits one knows the quality of the tree! 

Song of faith

 An interesting story that I came across today: 

A group of two brothers were roaming in the forest, when they found a couple of tiny birds of the family of linnets. When the boys got the birds home, they put the linnets in a cage, opposite the canary bird, which was tied in another cage. (Canary birds are known to be “Singing Birds”) 

They explained to their mother that they hoped the linnets - being so young - would learn to imitate the singing canary. Instead of cheeping as normally birds do, they expected them to sing (like the canary) 

The next day the boys entered the room, and exclaimed: "Mother, come here, look what has happened! Our canary is cheeping like a linnet!" The mother came in and found it so! Instead of the linnets learning to sing, the canary bird forgot its ability to sing! 

Thus, the canary had to be separated from the wild birds of the wood and kept under cover for a time before regaining the singing ability. 

Such is the case with Christians who allow themselves to 'influenced and altered' by the ways of the world! We may end up losing the 'song of our Faith!'

Christian witnessing

It is not what people eat, but what they digest that makes them strong; 

It is not what we earn, but what we save that makes us rich; 

It is not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned;

And finally, it is not just what we preach, but what we practice that makes us Christians!

God at work

In one of his letters to the Thessalonians, St Paul appeals to them saying that all that he and his companions did was to preach the Good News, purely out of love for God.  They had no hidden personal agenda.  Neither did they seek anything for themselves. To this end, he continues, they offered them 'not only the Good News but our whole lives as well'.

Can a genuine proclamation of the Good News be bifurcated from one's actual living?  It is as if to say, preaching is one thing and our actual life and living, is another.  Personally there cannot be a discrepancy or a divide.  Sincerely proclaiming the Gospel is life - not apart from it. 

However, there could be the case where one very effectively preaches the gospel but is not really moved by it.  The hearers or those who witness this proclamation are moved to change and transformation - but not the one offering the gospel.  This too is possible.  After all, it is not the one speaking or the one listening that solely decides the outcome.  God too is part of the process.  So God, the gospel values and the one undergoing change are at work.  And the preacher?  Yes, the one preaching too is involved, but not as a witness, but as an actor - a good one at that! 

The closed door

The gospel of the day begins with the scene of the closed doors.  The disciples, afraid of the Jews, are behind closed doors.  The scene then turns to Jesus appearing to them and the display of his wounds to them. 

I have another version of this whole episode.  Most the disciples, for fear, chose to stay behind the closed doors.  Only a few dared go out and attempt to do the good they could.  Their reasoning: If we, as the closest to Jesus feel so distraught, how much more will those who felt close to Jesus but did not have the privilege of knowing him as intimately as we did, feel. 

So they dared out to seek those confused and frightened, just as they themselves, and offer the little consolation they could.  Perhaps, in strengthening them, they would be strengthened themselves.  Moreover they knew well that Jesus would have done the same.  So they ventured out, not overcoming their fear, but in spite of their fears!  They chose to risk the open, rather than let fear feed on them within closed doors.   

In the meantime, Jesus appears to those huddled indoors.  And after a while when those few who had gone out return, those who saw the risen Lord narrate all that happened to them.  And as they narrate the conversation they had with Jesus, they particularly get enlightened about the words of Jesus, "Blessed are those who have not seen, but yet believe!"  Those who had dared out then narrate how they were strengthened as they spend time with others similarly distraught and confused.  Without seeing the tongues of fire, they too had received the Holy Spirit!  

Nothing to lose

When questioned by the religious elders, Peter and his company, boldly assert their source of strength and stand by their teaching of Jesus risen.  No mincing words, no ifs and buts.  Simple, plain, direct, acknowledgement of Christ risen and total allegiance to His life and works. 

Besides the Holy Spirit, it was also their freedom from any other aspect of life that helped them preach Jesus.  They literally had nothing to lose!  All that they had, they shared!  Even Jesus.  So no compromises, no calculations, no measuring pros and cons.  That's the power of detachment.  It gives one the freedom to choose ones path, without any fear of loss. 

It is exactly this freedom of detachment and choice that we religious have.  But we fail to make the most of it, because we fear risking the other elements and aspects we have 'gathered' in the process of living like Christ - all 'for' living like Christ.  

Speak softly

After the resurrection of Jesus and the pentecost, it is in a way surprising to notice the apostles go on doing their bit, without really creating a huge uproar or fanfare.  No attempt to go viral!  No shouting from rooftops, to all and sundry.  Just plain, simple steady effort at announcing their personal journey with Jesus... with great passion and conviction. 

Not every discovery needs to be broadcasted to the whole world in the loudest of voice or the most glamourous of means. They only need to be spelt out with great conviction!

Reminds me of the dynamic role played by Marlon Brando in 'The Godfather'.  Or some roles of Robert de Niro.  Just that presence.  Without yelling or shouting, and most often by a mere look, powerfully communicating something profound or serious. 

The haunting music of The Godfather... (The song 'Speak softly...' in that sense is a real paradox!)

Foot-washing as part of the Eucharist

The greatest and most surprising discovery/learning of this Holy Week reading was the fact that St John's gospel does not explicitly mention the institution of the Eucharist during the Last Supper.  The last passover meal of Jesus is spoken of, but not the bread-wine part.  What is mentioned is the foot-washing act.  

This comes to me as a surprise, because the Johannine gospel was used as the cornerstone for our  teaching on the Holy Eucharist during Theology.  (But I don't remember anything else of that course!).  Nonetheless perhaps John stresses the feeding of the 5000 (the only miracle common in all the four gospels) - maybe. 

However, I'd like to think of John stressing the foot-washing as a form of the Eucharist, for the one line appearing in all the four gospels with regard to the Last supper is "Do this in my memory!" Our Christian tradition has restricted the Holy communion only to the baptised, but the foot-washing is certainly the 'catholic' (of the whole world) dimension of our faith!  

Wish we really learn better to see the deep interconnectedness of these two integral elements of the Mass and live it out more practically in our lives outside the 'hour-long Mass'.  

Lazarus, the collateral damage?

In the gospel today we hear how the Jews plotted against Jesus and it is amusing to note, that not only is Jesus their target, but Lazarus too!  And what did Lazarus do in order to get his name on the hit-list?  Well, he was raised from the dead by Jesus! 

That Jesus was being plotted against and planned to be bumped off, is quite understandable.  He was challenging the authority of the established system and leaders.  He was teaching all crazy stuff.  He barely respected any of the religious elders - going to the extent of calling them names.  He broke most of the 'sacred' laws.  He just was too much to handle.  So, 'better for one man to die than risk a whole nation'!  But Lazarus?  Why him?  He did not ask to be raised from the dead.  He was just summoned out of the tomb!  Nor did he go about following Jesus and preaching the Kingdom just like the apostles and the disciples.  He never wrote any epistles or memorandums to the Roman government.  I don't think he even ventured out of Bethany on any of the missionary expeditions of Jesus and his cohort. 

Why then target him?  He certainly was no collateral damage.  He was a target in himself.  Purely because his very existence was a living witness to what Jesus was and did.  The scene in today's gospel at the house of Lazarus, where Martha is dishing out a lavish meal and Mary is anointing Jesus' feet with the costliest of ointments, is of real festivity and life.  The same house, a couple of days earlier, was in deep mourning.  Now there is rejoicing.  In that sense Lazarus is a very fortunate man.  Without actually doing much, he merits the death schemers attention.  Blessed is the one whom the Lord favours.  And by that mere single favour, bears witness to the Lord. 

I am blessed with innumerable favours.  Am I then a target of those who hate Christ, for my very life  bears witness to Jesus?  Or am I treated by them as an insignificant threat, someone whom they think is not connected to Jesus at all?

Prayer for vocations... somewhere!

Every morning during morning prayers we pray for vocations - to and for all sorts; parenting, married life, jobs, religious life, Salesian religious life... Everyday one particular group.  Of course, of these intercessions, given the present shrinking number of Salesians in UK and in Europe, the one closest to our heart is for the Salesian religious life.  There's a small bookmark with set prayers for each group that we use for this purpose. 

This morning as Fr Sean was leading the prayers and towards the end, he announced the title of the intention: Prayer for vocations.  And then, flipping through his breviary to locate the prayer card and unable to do so, softly exclaimed, "somewhere".  

I almost burst out laughing.  The irony of 'Prayer for vocations... somewhere!' was too much for me to keep quiet.  While Fr Sean's expression was as an innocent sign of exasperation at not finding the prayer card, and I did recognise that, my mind took a leap ahead to think of actual vocations ... somewhere!  

While those of us from India - and other parts of the world, where there is a steady number of young people coming forward to join us Salesians - may take pride in this fact, it is still a cause of concern, at least for me.  Most of our vocations are not from Salesian settings.  They are youngsters who accidently heard of Don Bosco or literally strayed into the aspirantate!  Not that they are bad or shallow - far from it!  But my concern is about the youngsters in our own settings.  There are thousands of youngsters with whom we are in touch with for years - every day of their life, in schools, colleges and boardings.  Then there are those in our parishes and youth centres, whom we may not meet daily but do have a regular contact with.  If these youngsters who know us from close quarters are not willing to explore their Salesian vocation, then there is something wrong with those of us who are already professed as Salesians!  Vocations are the fruit of our youth ministry!  Not the other way round! 

Life as a witness media

What really impressed the Jews during the time of Jesus and the immediate post-resurrection period was the witness of the early Christians.  The teachings and doctrines were pretty much present in their own scriptures but what was lacking was a 'living model'.  Someone or some who would make that doctrine into actual living.  Jesus initiated it and the early Christians, especially the apostles and disciples, continued it.  Just imagine if the apostles and others merely went about preaching the Gospel but not really living it - mere transmission of the text!  Christianity would have ended up even before it spread! 

An interesting statement to this effect is the following text from St Paul's letter to the Thessalonians (2:8):

Like a mother feeding and looking after her own children we felt so devoted and protective towards you, and had come to love you so much, that we were eager to hand over to you not only the Good News but our whole lives as well. 

What really carried home the message of the Gospel was not their oratorian skills or communication media, but their lives filled with the very message of what they were preaching.  Their life was the message and the message was also the medium.