Interesting that St. Paul had his life-changing personal encounter with the resurrected Christ many years later despite being a hard-core Pharisee and persecutor of the early church. I firmly believe that we too have our ongoing encounters.

Many know that beyond life is death. But do we know that beyond death is life ? And life depended on Christ’s consent to shedding His blood, without which there would have been no forgiveness of sins . Heb 9:22

Seeing Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem as an “ascent” was a revelation. Geographically, in Luke’s Gospel Jesus travels from the Sea of Galilee (690’ below sea level) to Jerusalem (2500’ above sea level). Jesus’ ascent was in his self-offering on the Cross (Golgotha) i.e. loving to the end on the real mountain of God.

When it comes to food, there have been studies on nutrition so we sort of know because of this. However, when it comes to the word of God, how do we know? Well, allow me to share my experience.

It has been said that a human life is like a sentence: We don’t know its full meaning until the last word has been said. The trajectory of each life from birth is often indiscernible until its course is complete. Then we can look back and see how preference, vision and purpose guided that life to its goal. This is why the last chapter of a life is spent summarizing our experiences. How many people come to know themselves only at the end of the story they have written over the years.

Naturally, it is wholesome to preserve the friendship knowing that in this life there is one to whom you can open your heart, with whom you can share confidences, and to whom you can entrust the secrets of your heart. It is a comfort to have a trusted friend by your side, who will rejoice with you in prosperity, sympathize in troubles, encourage in persecution.

My dad passed away at a young age; I was very, very young too. Memories of events in my life while Dad was still with us are vague but I recall asking him about the story behind my given name. After having had three sons, my Father was praying for a daughter and when I entered the world, my mum said, he was full of joy and delight. He praised God and gave special thanks to St Anthony, to whom he had a very strong devotion until his last days on earth.

Nothing is more captivating than to see a person poised in complete union with a supernatural presence and absolutely unaware of all that is going on around. And we hasten to say that is spirituality! Nothing can be further from the truth.

We all struggled to live with the pandemic and just as we begin to see a ray of hope in the far end of the tunnel, the uncertainties haunt us as we desire to live a normal peaceful life. The ‘freedom’ to associate and move around in person to participate in social interactions, to develop and grow relationships within the family or the society or the world. On a bright side, I am offered more time and opportunity when I can choose to listen to the Word of God, treasure its fullness and share its riches.

There were a thousand reasons to pull me down and prioritize the successes of the world. I was always surrounded by the voices of friends and relatives who spoke of their achievements. At times I was drawn but nothing lasted. All these fell short and made me take a detour to seek Jesus even more since my childhood.

It was a known fact among the non-Israelites that Jerusalem had been destroyed and the people were exiled in Babylon in 586 BCE. Now when Cyrus, the Persian conqueror, gave an edict for them to return to Jerusalem, the pagan peoples were amazed at what the Lord did for Israel. The psalmist also sees the hand of the Lord in their return.

Sometimes, in a secular world, I myself tend to forget when difficult circumstances arise and feelings of anxiety creep in, I do seek advice from whom I am close with instead of falling on my knees and seeking Jesus to search and heal me of my concerns and anxieties. I realize that I take Jesus for granted at times knowing that he knows what’s in my heart and I need not seek him to ask.

God is working through this pandemic, do we see him? People say, if God is good, why doesn’t he put an end to this evil, suffering and death? Those are questions that come up in the minds of some thoughtful people and some who don’t believe in the word of God.

What keeps us going is the strength drawn from the inner depth of our relationship with God who is our driving force. Ever willing to lift us when we are weighed down and to give us the push. It feels like a tight rope pulling us and we need to make our choice to go forward or fall backward.

.......an anxious Jesus who is feeling distraught and is in distress as his cruel death loomed ahead. He cries out, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will.”

I go to Church, though I must confess not regularly, and spiritual life was lukewarm. Picked up some years later on my spiritual growth, then went downstream again. Too much tragedy, hardship with separation after 21 years of marriage, with little hope, just darkness.

This bible verse "I am the Bread of Life" gives me a thirst and puts me on a journey. It is an ongoing and intriguing journey without end. Jesus is the one who can quench the spiritual hunger that is in every human heart. I have come to love him. I will follow him anytime to a wedding, a picnic and a funeral. Who could resist the best wine?

Last year I came across a scripture verse which made a profound impact in my working life. It is from Colossians 3:23-24. (NJB) that reads “Whatever your work is, put your heart into it as done for the Lord and not for human beings, knowing that the Lord will repay you making you as his heirs, it is Christ the Lord you are serving” . This is a verse from the letter of St Paul to the Church at Colossae.