It is 22nd May 2018. We celebrate the memorial of Saint Rita of Cascia, who was a widow from Italy and she later on became a nun the Order of St. Augustine. She is a patroness for abused wives and mourning women. The readings of from James 4:1-10; and the Gospel Mark 9:30-37. The Church is as vulnerable as that of any institution when it is faced with internal quarrels and intentionally timed out fights to achieve one’s ambition. In this perspective, every human ambition is tainted with selfishness, divisive mentality and for one’s personal growth over the common good. When people are not happy with what they have in their lives, they promote intentional and evil quarrels by picking on everybody’s mistakes and achieving what they desire. When God is side-lined for the achievements of human ambitions, then we are directly at war with God not against a human institution or a person. In the first reading, St. James clearly points out to us all the believers whether we are lay people or chosen ones to serve that we have a war within ourselves before we engage in the enormous war against the other ecclesially and domestically. All those who create wars are suffering from the mental sickness of pride, lust and greed leading and vowing to destroy truth, goodness and love in the Church and in the society. Unless and until, in tremendous humility we deal with what is going on within ourselves, we will be the destroyers of peace that God desires by all means. Let us deal with our pride, lust and greed before we wish to talk about the evil in others. “God opposes the proud but God gives generously to the humble. Give in to God, then; resist the devil, and the devil will run away from you. The nearer you go to God; the nearer God comes to you. Clean your hands, you sinners, and clean your minds, you waverers.” (James 4:8). The responsorial Psalm acclaims, “Entrust your cares to the Lord and God will support you.” (Ps.54:23). The Gospel reprimands us to deal with our pride that does not allow us to communicate with Christ and the Church. When we surrender ourselves to Christ, we become service oriented not success oriented. Jesus presents the model of a child for all those who wish to be His followers. We all need to be trusting God like a child accepting one’s weakness and willing to ask for help. Let us stop becoming the friends and servants of the world rather let us desire deeply to commit our cause to Jesus by becoming the lesser one to serve wherever we are. “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mk.9:35). May we deal with our inner wars first before we wish to change the world around. May you have a good day.