From the Pastor's Desk

My mother used to tell us: “Don’t be a victim, be a victor.” Then she would also add, “Victory is won not in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground and later win a little more.”

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, …… What is your attitude when somebody rejects you? Do you feel bad and offended or you simply shrug it off, move on and treat rejection as simply part of life?

In the Gospel of Luke 9:51-56 we see, Jesus was refused entry into the Samaritan village but instead of sulking and harboring resentment towards the Samaritan people, Jesus simply walked away without harboring any ill will against them.

Perhaps Jesus was silently saying: “You refused me entry into your village, so I move on without any ill feelings against you people of Samaria”. In that negative reception Jesus had a positive reaction: ‘Let’s move on and go forth with our mission’.

Every now and then there would also be people who will try to offend us or bait us to stoop to their level of arrogance. So, what are we going to do? We must not bite their bait; we instead should keep calm and not allow ourselves to be offended.

We simply must take the higher road and squeeze whatever positive things that we could take amidst the negative situation. We must remember that nobody oversees how we would react in any situation that is thrown to us except us.

Being so, we should not forget to look at the positive in every negative situation that is thrown our way.

Prayer: “Lord Jesus, you are gracious, merciful, and kind. Set me free from my prejudice and intolerance towards those I find disagreeable and widen my heart to love and to do good even to those who wish me harm or evil.”

Fr. Babu Thelappilly