Today's saint became the first Indian layman not connected to any religious institute to be beatified. 🙌
January 15, 2025
Dear John,
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Neelakandan Pillai was born into an affluent Hindu family in 1712. As a young man he went into the service of the royal household in India’s Travancore province. Eventually put in charge of state affairs, Pillai became acquainted with Captain Eustachius De Lannoy, the Dutch naval commander who trained the king of Travancore’s forces. Their relationship awakened Pillai’s interest in the captain’s Christian faith. At his baptism in 1745, Pillai chose the name Lazarus, or Devasahayam in the Malayalam language. His wife and other members of his family were baptized at the same time.
Soon after, Pillai’s enemies convinced the royal court that he was using his position to force others to convert, leading to his imprisonment. European Christians in Travancore came to Pillai’s defense, urging the king to release him. After three years the king complied under condition that Pillai go into exile to a hostile territory. Though beaten and tortured almost daily, Pillai consistently responded with kindness, openly praying for his captors. Shot to death by local soldiers in 1752, Pillai’s body was transported to St. Xavier Church in Kottar. Later when his remains were interred beneath the altar, the site became a popular pilgrimage destination.
In 2012, Devasahayam Pillai became the first Indian layman not connected to any religious institute to be beatified. Ten years later he was canonized in Rome. His liturgical feast is celebrated on January 14.
Reflection
At the May 15, 2022, canonization Mass, Pope Francis said that the lives of the saints prove that holiness is not an unreachable goal accomplished by a select few but comes from acknowledging and sharing God’s love. Pillai, he said, exemplified the Christian call “to serve the Gospel and our brothers and sisters, to offer our lives without expecting anything in return, or any worldly glory.”
Francis knew that idolatry was the key sin in the Old Testament. Sometimes it expressed itself through the worship of statues made of wood, stone or metal. More often, however, it involved the worship of something less than God as though it were God: money, economic resources, political power, an out-of-control nationalism, or anything else to which we can become addicted. These temptations are still with us.
If you listed the three most important values in your life and then shared them with the people closest to you, would any of them be surprised when they compared your list to their experience of you? Identify one positive action you can take today to express your deepest values.
The past and the future are sprinkled with many blessings, however God is in the present. We must tune our hearts to hear the melodies that surround us. The only way to be set in tune is to dwell in the present.
Pray
Lord, here I am. Surround me. Envelop me in your presence, your love, your peace. Help me to discern how I should spend my attention. Show me that what I watch, who I follow on social media, what I read, and who I listen to all have an impact on who I am. Guide me to only want to follow those who will lead me to you. Sing the notes that only my heart can hear. I am in your presence, and I am present in you.
Amen.
Act
Go through your social media accounts and follow pages that inspire you with faith-based posts. Unfollow pages that may not be lifting your thoughts upward.
Today's Pause+Pray was written by Natalie Ryan. Learn more here!
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