17^th Day of Lent:      March 21, 2014:

“The Stone that was     Rejected has                         Become                        the Cornerstone”

                                                                                                            (Mathew 221:42)

                                               

Richard Rohr in his reflection on the readings of the day says, “Don’t be too afraid of being thrown into the pit” for he continues to say, “there is a biblical pattern here: there is no going up until you go down”. There are numerous biblical stories pointing to this claim. Joseph undergoes rejection and humiliation as a result of his brothers’ jealousy, Peter denies Jesus three times, goes down into the water before being picked up by Jesus, and of course Jesus himself endures agonizing crucifixion and death before he himself would be raised up by God the Father.

The world looks at such people as ‘losers’ and not ‘winners’ but the Good News is that God is on the side of the ‘losers’ for “the stone rejected by the builders has become the corner stone”.

Joseph sold as a slave ends up in Egypt and becomes the savior of the Israelites and Jesus our brother becomes savior of the world through his passion, death and resurrection. In the face of adversity, affliction, agony, aggression, assault, and when confronted by total rejection, objection, conviction, oppression ...let yourself into the divine grace and know that God can bring good out of evil, success out of failure, triumph out of defeat.

  

Reflecting upon my own rejections, failures, defeats, and many are they, I can only turn to God with a heart full of gratitude for God indeed has done marvels with those diminishing events of my life.

No one asks for suffering, rejection, humiliation, defeat but when they come our way and you have no way of avoiding them invite your God to hold you gently in the midst of these unwanted travesties and fall gently in to the arms of God. So we pray with the psalmist “In to your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me O Lord, O faithful God” (Psalm 31:6).

God Bless you always!
Sincerely Yours,
Rev. Fr. Cyriac Chandy Mattathilanickal, MS

Wishing you and yours A Holy Lent!

Rev. Fr. Tom Puthusseril, M.S.

                                                                                                                          Shrine Director