GRACE...!

          Well, in today's Gospel Reading the Church places before us the episode where Jesus heals the two blind men who pleaded him Son of David Have pity on us/me.          Jesus heals those two blind men because of their faith. The point that I would like to make is Why do we have eyes?  What is the purpose of sight? A random reflection: Scripture time and again reminds us about eyes of the mind and eyes of the Heart.        The purpose behind sight is that we may see clearly and begin to relate to our neighbors and begins. Because ultimately we are all judged on account of relationship with our neighbors and not on account of our achievements and credentials but Relationships. For this end God have mind by which we grow in Wisdom; Heart by which we grow in Love and Life that disposes Faith in God. Wisdom guides us to make right decisions in Life, Love enriches our life and Faith helps us to see things beyond reality. Well, Wisdom, Love and Faith make our life meaning

         What is life? A question that has been invading in the minds of people since ages. Well, what exactly is life? It is the result of the choices that made yesterday. In life we ought to make choices that shape the life. There are plenty of choices at our disposal but then what matters most is not the about the choices but the right choices that certainly bring us laurels in life.         It is interesting to observe how we make choices and decisions. There are people who make right decisions and there are people who make their decisions right. Where lies greatness. This is not at all our concern but then where do we belong; Making right decisions or making our decisions right. Perhaps this we may call it the road less traveled...... think over...

One who prays ever never demands the other, rather his/her prayer life commands the other to pray like him/her ever...This we can see in the parable of Jesus where a rich man enters the temple and begins to magnify his prayer life saying "I spend time in prayer everyday and I give alms to the needy and I donate money to the temples etc., unlike that poor man standing at the entrance of the temple. The poor man unlike the rich man stands at the doors of the temple and expresses his unworthiness before the sight of God." Thus he pleases God than the rich man with his lengthy prayers...  Where do you and me stand? Examine and see.... 

Namakaranam and Annaprasana: In Telugu Hindu culture and tradition the naming ceremony of a baby is usually celebrated on the same day of the anna prasana (feeding the bay solid food for the first time). Cultural Reasons and Understanding: This sanskar/ tradition/ ceremony is performed on or after the sixth or seventh month as per the gender of the child, sixth or seven months for the boy child and odd months for the girl child. This ritualistic ceremony initiates the introduction of solid food for the baby. When the baby gets solid food for the first time, Mantras are recited and pujas are offered to the various deities. It is believed that, with Annaprasana , the flaws that arise due to intake of impure food when as a foetus are removed. It is also believed that Annaprasana ceremony will help to propitiate speech. The meaning of Annaprasana is anna =rice and prasana = to enter. Annaprasana is done after the Namakaran ceremony. The baby is given rice kheer or payasam

I love nature and nature loves me. It is very true that when we begin love mother earth no doubt she loves us more than we love her. That is exactly what it means to say life comes from life. Nature is the perfect manifestation of God’s love for humanity. The one who is in tuned with nature will surely feel God’s grace all through and every stage of life. For he/she is completely engrossed and enveloped in Mother Earth/Nature. Let the heavens proclaim the glory of God says the Psalmist. So, my sincere wish and prayer is that we the humanity learn to appreciate God’s master piece, the nature. If we do so I AM sure that we also begin to love ourselves and our neighbors. Thus we spread the joy of life and the radiance of God’s love for us. 

Well, I just got up from the bed rolling over and rubbing the eyes with mixture of emotions and thoughts at both in mind and heart. However, what makes life thrilled was the object of my thoughts. Well none of us can ever get what ever we desire and dream of yet we can get something of all that we desire and dream of. This is the paradox of life. There where does the real meaning of life consist; in things, people, relationships, sex or friendships. I presume life is much more than all these things that are only momentary and transitory. What is then not transitory and momentary.   Well, it is life with God. Yes it is in Him that we all drive our inner meaning of life……For life comes from life and love comes from love. God desires us all to get back to him and so our spirit as well longs for his Di vine Touch..

  I cannot but express the joy of visiting a beautiful community; where I feel God is truly present amidst you. I am an eye witness of this.    I thank God for the day and for His blessings that I cherished. And I thank Sr Maria through whose instrumentality God gave me this memorable opportunity to visit you. I am indeed privileged to visit and experience the joy of the community and consecrated life (spirit). I was not merely amused but inspired and (moved like the John the Baptist in the womb of the Elizabeth). Your joyful witness of the community life was inspiring indeed.   Hence, I felt in my heart that this joy needs to be appreciated and communicated. Therefore, I pen this to tell you not merely to express my gratitude but to tell you that nothing can surpass your joy in the community and nothing can transcend your joyful witness of the Consecration and Charism. I was blessed to witness the radiance of your humble yet vibrant community...and the joy of living.

         Today human being in the world is preoccupied with the rat race of power, prestige and possession. As a result the societies and FAMILIES are losing the sense of values, morality and God. Thus God has become a rare phenomenon in the modern world, thought of only at times of need, danger, ill health, favors, jobs and ceremonies. Otherwise God is kept in the back seat as if He is a stranger to life.      Today technology, scientism, materialism, consumerism, individualism have crept into families crumbling down the edifices of values, relationships and specifically the dignity of the families . We can see this drastic change in the current families as people go away from Families to Restaurants, Class Rooms to Cafes and Priest to Celebrities. So much so that young people isolate themselves indulging in latest technologies and social networks. No wonder why relationships become suspicious and inauthentic. Thus traditional values are at stake in this fastrack times. Theref

  We know that, Pope Francis considers family as a mission and vocation in the life of the Church and the world at large. So, it reflects the mind of the Church as it brings God’s message of Love to the families of today especially to the families that are most in need of help, support and accompaniment.  Well, as every road has two sides, similarly family in its dimension has negative and positive dimensions especially in the contemporary scenario where family at every moment faces threats of violence, poverty, money, media, ideologies and immorality-negativity in the world. All the same it is not proper for the pastors to judge and categorize the families and then condemn them for their state of life. So, Pope Francis invites us all to speak about family on a positive note, especially love in a family dimension by taking Scripture and tradition as the main sources. Thus he invites us all to work for the renewal of families despite biting difficulties, problems and serious issues. T

It is God who takes the initiative in creation, sustaining and salvation. With this the initiative is not stopped. He continues to seek the humanity in all asking us to turn to Him. He is after us although we are busy like Eve and Adam satisfying ourselves and indulging with the apple of egoism, power, prestige, possession. Yet God takes initiative to ask, Where are you ? Gen 3: 9. He asks us, as he asked Cain Where is your brother ?     ‘ Talitha Cum !’ two Aramaic words spoken by Jesus Christ, in the Gospel of St Mark 5:41 when He raised up or brought to life the dead daughter of Jairus, an official of the synagogue. The word means “little girl, get up!” If we take original Aramaic expression, ‘ talitha ’ meaning ‘little lamb’followed by the feminine imperative singular ‘ koum’ as found in Greek translation. It is one of the few recorded words of Christ retained in near original form in any of the Gospels. Keeping the meaning of the word talithakum and the context as the ba

             Capital punishment for rape? Is an article written by Dr. George Therikattil in “Light of Truth”, as an answer to the question asked by Jacob Chacko, in ‘Faith Matters?’ The question is about, shooting down, hanging or castrating them the appropriate punishment?      According to Dr. George, Capital Punishment is not a solution for any crime. He pointed out the fact that the State has not given the power to take life: He also expressed the fear that many of the sexual abuses are done by the family members or close relatives or neighbors. If it so, when the punishment is severe the victim or the family may refuse to file a case against their dear ones. It is a sad thing to know that how in India there is evil persisting in the doors of a family.    For Dr. George all sex offenders are not on the same nature or not under the same category. It may be due to alcoholic, stress, drugs, or other sexual factors. And he also looks at rape as a symptom of a “disease.” At this seri

Dear Friend Jesus, thank you for your humble presence in our hearts. Help us that this grace of your body and blood may continue to sustain our faith in you. Today along with my community, I thank you for the grace of receiving the cassock. May this act of grace help me and guide me to be faithful and loyal to the call you have given me.   On this significant day I pray for my Provincial, Province, teachers, friends, parents and my brother for their instrumental role in my vocational journey. Bless them and keep them under mantle of your grace and love. Some flowers grow best in the sun, others do well in the shade, Lord you always know what is best for us and put us where we grow best. I specially thank you for this my community and the friends who share their best to shape me as your will. For all these blessings of love and mercy, we praise and glorify you as we echo our hearts with one voice… As we pray….Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, Amen.   Tha

Very often we find people keep complaining about difficulties and suffering they face. On the contrary there are people who endure pain and suffering and yet live a happy life. What is the difference between these two kinds of people.?

Now a days it is will be nice to say that  'Patience is Virtue' precisely because, today nobody likes to spend time and be clear about the issues come on the way. In stead today human being has reached to such a state where he has lost the virtue of Patience. This is very clear  if we take a glace at the fast  food, Instant Coffee and the other ready made edible products.    It seems once a Sardargee was praying to  God. As usual like all of us he was also asking God to grant him favors and graces. But surprising he asked God like this. Dear God please bless me abundantly and  give me the patience immediately. Like wise today we have reached to this state where we even have no time to receive the graces from God since we are ever caught up with the word and external  things. If this is the situation, I wonder what will happen to the coming generations. I may be exaggerating but it is reasonable to say that there is a day where we live only in the virtual and multimedia wor

It was very exciting and enthusing to donate blood for the second time. I remember when I donated blood for the first time, I was tensed and frightened. But with that experience I made up my mind to donate this time. Besides my personal reasons I also wanted to encourage and exhort my young brothers to donate blood. Indeed many turned up and made their mind to donate Blood (their self).

The World today is no more the world Yesterday.  Young people and educated people are utterly in confusion not knowing what is what. They are confused and bewildered about the growing fake realities through media, literature and ideologies. Indeed even the learned are led astray by all these untrue realities. So much so that a lie is made truth and a truth is made a lie by the current commercial attitudes. This has become a religion where pleasure is a priority and a values is an opinion. I mean there is never the old but ever the new, be it people, convictions, trends and fashion technology. Seeing the current trend I am just reminded of the words of a Greek Thinker, Heraclitus "The world is in a state of flux" Perhaps he was right ABOUT today's attitudes and temperaments of people, despite the time gap. We may not know the truth but we cannot change the truth. We may hide the truth but we cannot kill the truth. We may twist the truth but we cannot over come the truth.

We belong to earth and earth does not belong to us. My kind thoughts on mother earth, my humble pronounce to you... The almighty had a dream to create a beautiful palace in the cosmos; the thoughts blossomed, it was self a revolving beauty with mighty oceans, blue skies, green trees, long rivers, huge mountains, wonderful creatures and human beings the most significant one. As we know this from the book of Genesis that God created everything and human being as the crown of creation. But something has gone wrong...   We used EARTH as a credit card with no spending limit. As a result, the beautiful Pandas, the Penguins, the Polar bears and the African Tigers are gradually getting extinct. Do you know why paddy fields are turned into stadiums, forests into factories and hills into  leveled  grounds....for this Money?   Besides, our development is a disguise and our progress is a mask.  I AM SORRY to tell you that we are gone wrong by cutting down the trees at the rate

A family in Shillong (Mawlai) from the Warjri clan narrated the experience of having Fr Sngi praying over the family.    Before Fr Sngi encountered the family, the situation and the condition of the family was broken and shattered due to financial crisis, sickness and misunderstandings among them. It was providential that Fr Sngi was invited to visit the house and bless the family at this time of crisis and brokenness. When Fr Sngi visited the family, they were so happy that they welcomed him as a family member and poured out all their sorrow and agony to him; having listened to all their problems and agonies, like a family member he prayed together with them. As the custom of the Khasi, the family gathered around the fire warming up, Fr Sngi invited them all to pray and submit all their family concerns and problems to God the Almighty.   As they were all one in prayer gathered around fire along with Fr Sngi; Fr Sngi in his usual way of praying for the family, he plea