GRACE...!

Pastoral Counselling Course  27th-28th September 2018  1. Write an integration paper of understanding and insights received?    The two-day sessions were guided by the Holy Spirit and the grace of God. It was a moving experience invoking the Spirit with a hymn Spirit be our spirit... On the first day, we were put into context by drawing our attention to Jesus. Evangelists tell us how Jesus was compassionate, empathetic and yet effective in his three years of public ministry. Therefore, Jesus the Good Shepherd is our model and inspiration to emulate and imitate. It was an eye-opener for me, that (in the contexts of the Religious Life) ‘if we are left to ourselves then we come to know the truth of our convictions and commitments.’ Perhaps, today a majority of laypeople, faithful, domestic staff and people who associate with us in work know how autonomous, authoritative, assertive, independent and even disobedient we are. This sets everything in perspective of the Pastoral

Monday: 1 Cor. 11:17-26, 33; Lk. 7:1-10   The first reading presents to us how Paul explains the attitude and the disposition of the community with regard to the Lord’s Supper. In fact, Paul gives a scolding to the community because they failed to understand the meaning of the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. As we all know that the Eucharist is the expression of Jesus love for the twelve apostles. But, the community was disloyal to this Eucharistic love due to disunity and lack of eschatological orientation. One of the reasons why Paul does not commend the community is that while celebrating the Eucharist they were stuck to their divisions and factions. Thus the community failed to understand the primordial things over the trivial issues. They gave away the eschatological essentials by being bogged down by the existential elements. Paul is rather emphatic as he says that what he received from the Lord he passed it on. But then the community could not do so. Therefore, at

Once, a friend asked me to prepare a talk on the role of the young people towards parents, family and the Church. Today, the young people are seemed to be busy doing many things but they fail in life. In fact, many young people end up in life as drunkards, drug addicts, rapists and then commit suicide. As teenagers, they are so promising and so active in studies, sports and music but then as they complete teenage something goes wrong with them. Where are the principles that they learn in the School? Where are the values that they learn in the family? Where is their faith? Being young is adventurous and challenging. But then, suddenly there is a drastic change in their lifestyle, dress code, talk, food habits, picnics, new and unknown friendships and online late night chatting etc. Dear young reader, I am happy that you are reading this and while you read if you find yourself uncomfortable then you’ve got to think seriously about your life. Today all the young people who are victims

A las! B itter tale is mine. C omes to my mind like an unceasing sunrise and D rives me into depression and dejection. E ventides are filled with assignments galore. F requent trials of text-familiarity tests add on to my grief. G riever, I have become more grievers my associates turned. H ighlighting, again and again, the highlights of the Bible text, I nch is not left without colouring the page. J ust how contrast to my day; colourless and lifeless. Knowledge of the scripture I sought to master L amentations unending is what I fetched and M ourning and in misery, I sink deep. N ineveh, the old destroyed city O h! What a similar pathetic state we both have P arched for comfort and longing for consolation. Q uestionable life is mine, is it worth treading? R ender your answer, O Lord, and restore my soul. S ilence, my dearest soul, loose not your hope T rust in Lord, take time to test your motives U nwrap your true self, strive for the truth