Heart to Heart Chat
† Heart to Heart Chat – March 30, 2025
My dear friends in Christ,
In Indian (Asia) heritage there is a special bond between a Guru(Master) and the Sishya(Disciple). The Guru teaches everything, and the disciple listens attentively. The Guru walks before, and the disciple follows him with reverence and love. The role of a Guru in the life of a disciple is not just to teach some knowledge and let him go but to initiate someone into a way of life that the individual walks into it with honesty and sincerity till he is fully enlightened to carry on a spiritually enlightened life for the rest of his journey to eternal life. Jesus is the Master of eternal knowledge. He surpasses all other teachers that ever existed on this earth. He has not borrowed wisdom and knowledge from someone else, but he is the word incarnate who contained all wisdom that any human could acquire. Some of his wisdom we find in the gospels amazes us often. “You cannot serve God and mammon.” “The way to God’s Kingdom is narrow.” “Unless you die to yourself you cannot gain eternal life.” These are a few samples of the wisdom he espoused. He is unique in his wisdom and knowledge not just because they were totally new but because he gave shape to all his words in real life. He made every truth become real through his life. He persuaded his disciples to do the same. The best way to learn the truth from Jesus is just to live it. Jesus excels as the best teacher and master by inspiring his disciples just to live all that he taught that they could gain a personal knowledge of the truth that is revealed in his person. The call to discipleship is offered to every one of us through our Baptism. It is not an option. It is a personal response we all should give if we have accepted Jesus as our master and teacher. Jesus says he is humble and gentle of heart. He invites everyone to learn from him to be gentle. How privileged we are to have such a gentle and loving master. Let us listen to his words every day. Spend a few minutes in silence listening to him. He will talk to you in person and tell you what is best for you for that day. When you get the directions for that day then live the truth of the day. If you do such an exercise every day, then you will eventually grow into the truth you learn from Jesus that you will become part of that Truth that is Jesus. This personal discipleship in following Jesus is a daily job. Be honest with this. You will gain a lot spiritually and become a mature human person.
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your brother in Christ,
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Fr. Xavier Ilango
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