What a Friend We Have in Jesus!

A little something from my life this week that I felt inspired to share in this blog:

Roshan is now on an official trip to Amsterdam, and two days after he left, my son Daniel came down with fever and a few episodes of vomiting. The vomiting subsided soon, and I continued paracetamol for the fever. My prayer during the fever was that Jesus will be with him, comfort him and enlighten me to take care of him the right way. I didn’t pray that the fever would go away altogether – because, as we know, these sicknesses are all part of our life. He is there to comfort us, and that’s all we need; and I knew He will bring healing at the right time.

But at night, Daniel’s temperature didn’t come down much with the paracetamol – so I stayed up in bed all night, constantly feeling his hot forehead and giving him wet sponges to cool him down till it was time for the next dose. When it was time for a dose of Calpol around 4am, I was feeling very sleepy and tired – so I told Jesus:
‘OK - with this dose, you HAVE TO bring the temperature down. I am too tired to sit up now. I am going to give him the medicine, and go right to sleep – won’t even feel his temperature till I wake up next – so you BETTER do this.’ :)

And I gave Daniel the Calpol, making the sign of the cross on the forehead, and went to sleep - just like I had told Jesus. I could fall asleep easily because I really trusted He would do what I asked for. I woke up after 2 hours, and felt his forehead – it was completely cool, and I smiled to myself and said ‘thank you!’.

The next day, after Daniel was all better, I told Rachel (11 yrs) and Daniel (7 yrs) exactly what I had told Jesus, and they were surprised and amused. They giggled and laughed, and said ‘Can’t believe you talked to Jesus like that!’

We had a beautiful conversation on this then – and that’s what I wanted to share, to show how the Holy Spirit guided my words, so that the children were able to relate to the situation, and understand how Jesus can truly be our friend:

They said,
‘You must be joking – did you really say that? - In that tone, ‘BETTER do it…’ and ‘HAVE TO’..?’
‘Isn’t that quite rude, to talk to Jesus like that..?’
‘Why didn’t you speak politely?’ :)

I told them : I do have a DEEP love and respect and reverence for Jesus, but at the same time, I have a wonderful friendship with Him also – so I feel free to talk like that to Him. And I’m sure He enjoys that too, - see how readily he answered my request? Rather than just seeing Him as a God seated up in the heaven, Jesus really longs to be part of our lives, and He is waiting for us to share our everyday things with Him . And when we start doing that, we will thoroughly enjoy it and our friendship becomes even stronger…. We can go to Him and talk to Him just as we are – happy, sad, angry, sleepy – whatever.

And I told them that they could also train themselves to talk to Jesus everyday, so they would also come to enjoy this wonderful relationship.

Just a few hours before that Rachel had come to me all upset and almost in tears, saying how difficult she was finding it to learn a Hindi story that she had to… So connecting it with this, I told her: instead of just asking Jesus to help you learn it, talk to Him about it – just like you talked to me; and He will give you His words of comfort, and enlighten your mind as to how to handle it.

I could see that the children were really able to understand what I said, and were able to get an idea about the friendship I was talking about.

At the end of it, Daniel giggled again, saying, ‘Amme, but next time you talk to Jesus, speak just a bit more nicely’ !! :)

I am reminded of the song,
‘What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!’

And I realized how important it is to keep talking to our children about Jesus and help them befriend Him, so they can enjoy His presence to the fullest in their little lives - let's help them discover their True Friend!

Thank you, Jesus!
Lucy

saint

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. - 1 Peter 2:9

Here is a question - What are the first thoughts that come to your mind when you hear the word Saint ? Here are the thoughts that come to my mind - an exemplary model of Christian virtue, a wonder worker , a person who possesses selflessness and ascetic qualities in his/her character.I am also reminded of all the martyrs,mystics and all those super crazy followers of Christ who have changed the face of the Church and the world in general.

With all these thoughts also comes a realization - I can probably never become like them.When I compare there lives with mine,I realize the difference is just huge...extraordinarily huge.I believe all of you too share my feelings...but yet we know God has called all of us to be saints.One of the biggest roadblocks to sainthood is the desire to do big things for the Lord.Don't get me wrong,its an awesome desire  but the fact in this very mundane life of ours with its cares and worries most of us may not achieve great things for the Lord.So,what shall we do ? Why don't we do this - just do small things for the Lord or as St.Therese said "do small things with great love". Dearly beloved today,lets find God in the mundane.Rather than aiming for really huge things,lets find satisfaction and fulfillment in the things we do daily.Those boring meetings,the tough commute to work,the nosey colleagues - lets find Christ in all these and more.Lets aim to be a saint rather than a Saint.Maybe a saint with a small 's' is not a bad idea after-all. 

Review of a movie poster - ‘Lifeu Ishtene’

This is not a critical review of a movie but rather of a movie poster which in itself gave me so much to write about!

A new Kannada movie released this week called ‘Lifeu Ishtene’ ….. Walking through the streets of Koramanagala (in Bangalore) I could see many posters of this movie stuck at various vantage points and anonymous walls. Kannada movies may have lost their past glory but the current makers are not willing to concede the same and with all pomp and glory promote it as if this is the next Oscar winning movie nevertheless two catch phrases on this movie poster caught my attention. One goes this way ‘Food, Clothes & Girlfriends’ and other says ‘Move on Sucker’. And the synopsis of this movie on one of the review site is this – “Lifu Ishtene is a romantic comedy about how young boys express their love to so many girls. True love happens again and again to them.”

I pity on the movie watchers who are fed with such total crap in the name of entertainment. Having one or two good songs doesn’t make it worth a watch and what really hurts the society is the message that is hardwired into the hearts and minds of people through such movies. A message of desperation, which says that it is perfectly fine to be disloyal to people whom you love in your life for the sake of the other – and as they say that’s how you will experience ‘true love again and again’.

What is true love? And if it’s really true how we can have more truer one in some one else? So what do we do if we really find the true one; turn to the truer one then the truthest one? Just like those words don’t exist so too this rubbish concept. True love is true and that’s it. It works very well in movies since the hero supposedly locks down finally to the girl who is supposedly his real true love (while other guinea pigs are lost in various intervals of the movie) and they lived happily ever after. Oh did they? We don’t know? They don’t make many movies for that phase which involves sacrifices and adjustments… which involves the trueness of love in which self denial is a must… which involves the trueness of sacrifice for your true love ( if you could relate to what Jack did in movie Titanic…he layed down his life for his only beloved one).
Now coming back to the phrase itself – ‘Food, Clothes & Girlfriends’, what an apathy that we have reached this level of cheap thinking. If you don’t find it cheap or close to it then I guess you have been already silently brainwashed. Food and Clothes are commodities which can be bought from our nearby super market at our own will with our own money. So when did they start selling girlfriends as commodities and when did it become a necessity for boys that which we cant live without? Now to make this more insane will any forward looking political party put it in their electoral manifesto – Roti, kapdaa or ladkiya? Gosh – where are we heading? Not only such brainwashings attract people but also entice people to look for the same on the streets and may be in every women they see….Don’t blame the eve teasers – we live in an hypocritical society where eve teasing done by an hero is perfectly acceptable since she is supposedly going to fall in love with him anyway – wah! The end just justified the means ….

Now we need to ask ‘is this all to life? Lifeu Ishtena? (in Kannada – and yes that’s the movie title!!!) ….Absolutely No! Life is much more than these.....may be as I see life is in finding one’s true love even at the cost of losing one’s own life. And some find it totally in God and some in their spouse or in a good friend and in poor & so on…but certainly if we can’t find it in one I doubt we will ever find it in many…. .

Throwing Stones

The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. - Numbers 14:18

First a little bit about me - I follow rules,I mean I don't jump lanes while driving, I don't overtake from the left etc. etc.So,when other people do not follow the rules and I have to suffer because of that, I get majorly pissed-off.

So,here I was last Saturday for my confession.I was the third person in the queue of penitents.The first person had just finished his confession and second person was about to take his place.I was busy recalling my transgressions and asking Lord for mercy and then suddenly it happened. A guy just barged into the queue just in front of me and as expected I went hysterical (but silently ).As it was a house of prayer I could not shout or push the guy out of the line.I got really angry and for some reason all I wanted to do was throw a stone at him.As a true engineer, I began to mentally calculate the correct force,the correct trajectory,the correct spin so that my projectile found its intended target - his head  .As I was soaking up to the rage inside me,suddenly this thought hit me - What if Christ was like me ? I mean what if every time we did something wrong(which is most of the times) He throws a stone at us ? Can u imagine such a situation ? Boy,it would be raining stones left,right and center.We would be surrounded by stones and funny looking people with bumps on their head.

Dearly beloved,isn't it awesome that Christ is not like me ? Isn't it great that He is merciful and slow to anger.Week after week I commit the same sins and crucify Him again & again....but still every week when I show up for my confessions I know that in His goodness and mercy He shall wipe my slate clean.I do not know what kinda personal sins you are struggling with today,but know this - He is still in the business of forgiving and restoring. After-all,He was pierced for our transgressions and wounded for our iniquities.

Fall in love with JC today !!!

Musings

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me - Galatians 2:20

The verse mentioned above is one of my favorites from the Good Book.Since coming to Catholic revival I have always believed that this verse should be the motto of my life, that I should die and Christ should live in me.But even though I would like to say that it is happening in my life,the truth of the matter is that many a times(make it almost all the times ) it is Christ who dies in my life and not me.Here are a few examples from my daily life :

Christ says Rely on Me..............I prefer relying on myself.

Christ says hand me your burdens...............I prefer carrying them myself until my back breaks 

Christ says be holy................I prefer being happy.

Christ says endure all temptations.............I say well if it makes me happy I will do it.

Christ says humble yourself..............but all I seek is honor.

Christ wants me to invest in people and relationships............but before investing I want to know about the ROI.

Well,I can go on and on with the list but I think you get the drift.Dearly beloved,the fact is that every minute of our lives we have a choice to make - either to listen to Christ or to the flesh.If you are on the same boat as me, just take a minute now to reflect on the choices that you make in your day to day lives and ask God for the grace to help you(and me) make the right choices most of the times (make it all the times ).

Janta hai mera baap kuan hai – Lokpal!

Everybody in India now-a-days wants to be ‘Anna’ and as they say ‘I am Anna’. Almost everyone who appears in the television or in the print media to be more precise. So my first question is this – is the entire nation behind Anna Hazare? I can’t say for sure if the entire nation is behind him since even my visibility is as far as the television is or the newspapers are or my own friend’s circles or office colleagues and not more than that. Well lets take my visibility aside and for a while assume that the televisions and newspaper are echoing the voice of the people – and the entire nation as they say are with ‘Anna’ in his fight against corruption. So what’s the big deal about this we can ask – can’t an ex-army man exercise his freedom to fight corruption which our country is struggling against from time immemorial. Before answering this question we should ask ourselves are we struggling with corruption; a stupid question to even ask in the heat of all this I suppose but honestly are we suffering and groaning about it or have we accepted corruption as part and parcel of the fabric of the nation. If we have accepted it like the standard ‘Chaltha Hai’ kind of attitude then that’s more the root of the problem and that’s were our campaign must be directed towards. A strong lokpal is good but then it still doesn’t solve the root problem many ways since these very people will make this lokpal’s ‘Chaltha Hai’ very soon or may be like in a typical bollywood dialogue they will say– “Janta hai mera baap kuan hai (Do you know who my dad is?)– Lokpal! ‘

Law of the land can keep only a certain check on the proceedings. We have already certain laws in place to curb corruption yet the many who are expected to minimum follow it are accused of overlooking it and we have the ex chief justice of the nation, chief minister of a state, many bureaucrats as living witnesses to this reality. Certainly a stronger law on paper (Ethics) is needed but what we really need this hour is a clearer law written in the heart of the people (Ethos). This Ethos is needed at every walk of life and at every level.

As you read this – if you are employed , ask yourselves if you have shown fake rent receipts to save some tax – then you are corrupt on the first place! If you have got a land or a certificate or anything from any government office by bribing 100 or 200 INR or higher to any official or third party then you are corrupt! If you have violated the traffic rules and have paid 100 INR to be let off by the police since you had to rush in to go to the Temple or Church or Mosque to pray - then you are also corrupt and even God cant deny it ! So as per Jan Lokpal what shall we do with the corrupt – minimum 5 years or life imprisonment? I think these must be first applied to all those who are sitting and calling the politicians corrupt no doubt most are but how can you point to the dirt in some one ‘s eye when you have a big log in yours? And as a nation we need to ask these questions ourselves how corrupt are we and are we ready to take on ourselves this big dictorial and almost larger than life Jan Lokpal law.

I don’t know if which Lokpal will come – Lokpal of the people’s representatives or the Jan Lokpal of the so called people’s representatives but Lokpal or Jan Lokpal – we need to build a generation which writes this law of integrity on to their hearts. How will the coming generation learn it until the present generation teaches it? How can we teach it if we don’t practice it? How can we practice it if we don’t believe that we can do it? Believe yourselves; don’t be in hurry to get things done for yourselves, don’t encourage the corrupt, and resist them with your patience. A patient man’s curry is far better than the fury of the impatient!

Source : http://www.togglefree.blogspot.com/

This is truly what I need

Lord, much more than profound wisdom and great understanding, I desire a heart that is pure, lowly and contrite. This is truly what I need.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

They couldn't bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus - Mark 2:4

I have some great friends......no make that awesome friends.Friends who have stuck on with me for years.Friends that I can bank upon to stand by me anytime of the day or night.Friends who would bend over backwards to save my skin(this happens a lot).Friends who stimulate me intellectually and with whom I share common interests.Over the years God has given me the grace to befriend some really smart n fun people and I thank God for that.I am sure it is the same for all of you too. Isn't friendship really a great gift from God ? 

In the Bible there is this story about remarkable friendship,its the story about the crippled man and his four friends.We probably have heard this story a zillion times,but still its a good reminder as to how we can have a radical effect on our friends' life.Yes, 'R-A-D-I-C-A-L' is the correct word to describe this kind of friendship.What other word can describe their intrepidity in breaking open a roof so that Jesus could heal their friend.And Jesus heals the crippled,not because of his(the cripple's) faith but because of his friends' faith.So,today take a moment to think about all your friends and family-members who need Jesus  in their lives.I am sure there are many people in your lives who need the healing(not just physical) touch of the Savior.What are you doing radically different to bring Jesus into their lives ? Are you even doing something ? Pray,ponder and do something....something radical. 

Break open some roofs today.

Irish Wristwatch

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham - Mathew 1:1

Irish Wristwatch  - Try saying this phrase ten times as fast as you can !!

Tough,eh ? You see this is a tongue-twister,one of the many words in the English language that you can not say without sounding like an idiot. Tongue-twisters usually rely on rapid alternation between similar but distinct phonemes , unfamiliar constructs in loanwords, or other features of a spoken language in order to be difficult to articulate.So,why am I writing about tongue-twisters today ? It so happened that the other day I was reading the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Mathew (I rarely read this part of the Gospel,I think its the same for you guys too) and was confounded by the tongue twisting names of the people mentioned in it.Sample this - Zerubbabel or try saying this name - Jehoshaphat  or this - Shealtiel.......better still try saying all the three names together one after the other.Tough,isn't it ? As I was struggling through these unpronounceable names I came upon another familiar and a rather easy to pronounce name - Rahab (Mathew 1:5)

If you haven't heard about Rahab,then read the Book of Joshua.According to it, Rahab was a woman who lived in Jericho in the Promised Land and assisted the Israelites in capturing the city. Nearly all English translations of Joshua describe her as a harlot or prostitute.Yeah you read it right - a prostitute.A prostitute who decided to do the will of God in faith.And how did God reward her ? Well,she is the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great..........................great  grandmother of Jesus.In other words,Jesus came through her.Dearly beloved,many times we have to make a choice - between God and the world.My advice - Be smart,make the right choice.I know it is tough but it is the right thing to do.And once you have made the right choice ,one-day you'll see Jesus coming through you to the people around you.Try it.

Be a man/woman after God's heart today !!!

The Bookshop

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. - Genesis 1:27

A few week back I was at Crosswords near Brigade Road.It is one of my favorite places in Bangalore.Why ? Two reasons - books and air-conditioning  PERFECT.I can take my own sweet time to go through the various titles,read them,review them and finally decide not to buy them .All this in the midst of perfect air-conditioning.So,I simply love that place.As I said - PERFECT.I have been a regular at this shop since the day I have landed in B'lore,and have been lately noticing the popularity of their self-help books section.That part of the shop always seems to be crowded with people.In this section you'll find books that claim to give you that perfect body,perfect mind,perfect family and all.There are books to help you become a  better husband,a better father,to help you become better at your job,better in sex,better at managing finances etc.I even found a book which claimed that the reader can become rich only by thinking and acting like he/she is already rich.

Here is the thing,I find self-help books to be extremely pedestrian and stupid.Now,don't get me wrong,its a good thing to try and improve oneself.But dude, becoming rich by thinking and acting like you are already one,will lead to only one thing - BANKRUPTCY .All of the self-help books work on this simple principal - 'You are not good enough,and that's why you should improve yourself". Contrast this with what God our Father says in the Bible,"you were made in My image" In this world we are constantly bombarded by sights and sounds that reiterate the notion that we are not good enough.Dearly beloved,whenever you catch yourself believing in this very big lie,do take a moment to remind yourself about what God thinks of you.And if you really do need a self -help book  - read the Bible.Those self-help books only claim to help you succeed in this world but the Bible will teach you how to succeed in this world and the next.

Seize your inheritance in the Lord today ! 

Jo dar gaya woh mar gaya

Those of us who have grown up on Indian television,would be very familiar with the consumer electronics brand - Onida and their popular ad-theme from the 80s and 90s featuring the devil complete with horns and tail.Here is the thing,when I was a little kid I found this Onida devil really scary.I always thought that this devil resided inside my TV,and whenever this particular advertisement came on the TV I would quickly close my eyes and ears and hide behind the couch.No matter how much my parents tried to pacify me or try to explain the science behind the television,I wouldn't budge from my hideout until the advertisement was over.According to my puny little brain the devil lived inside that TV.Isn't fear a funny thing ?

We all have our fears and on our own we seldom succeed in making them go.I'll be really surprised to find a man/woman who has been fear-free throughout his/her lives.And fear seems a natural human response when threatened.But what is God's view of fear ? Again and again the Bible tells us - do not be afraid,fear not,be courageous etc. In-spite of knowing all these verses when faced with a difficulty our first response is to get scared and take flight.But, yet God expects us not to loose our cool and stand our ground.

If you are afflicted with this disease called fear,here is a good opportunity to come clean.We have just celebrated Easter.Christ is risen.Indeed,He is risen.Through Easter,He has conquered death - the final frontier.This same Risen Christ promises us,that He shall never leave us nor forsake us.He is on our side,protecting us,caring for us and relieving our fears.So,call upon the living God today and ask him to absorb all your fears.Being the good Father,He'll definitely do it.Dearly beloved know this - when we are living in Christ's love and power nothing from this world can hurt us.So be of good cheer and do not fear.

Take a chill-pill today !!

(for the sake of re-living the nostalgia u can watch the old Onida commercial here) 

The Worst Easter Ever

And as they were afraid, and bowed down [their] faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? - Luke 24:5

Consider the scenario ,you decide to spend the Easter Triduum in Bangalore,alone away from your family.On Easter eve you decide to go to one of the more famous Churches in the city where you have never been before,so instead of taking your own vehicle you hire a rickshaw.Traversing through the roads of B'lore your rickshaw gets a flat tire in the middle of nowhere.Finding no other means of transport you decide to walk to the church and then it starts to rain...heavy rains and you don't have an umbrella.As you are unsuccessfully trying to keep yourself dry you realize it is just 20 minutes to the start of the Easter vigil, there are only few rickshaws in sight all of them occupied by the way and the rain does not show any sign of letting up.Finally one rickshaw-walla decides to stop for you,you enter the rickshaw and realize its totally flooded and wet on the inside,anyways you decide to carry on reach the church,rush in only to find the whole place full of people,not even a single free seat . Welcome to my world.

As I was standing there in the church angry and wet,the proceedings of the night started.I was too irritated to even listen to what was happening in the Church and suddenly the choir started singing "Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good" .I thought to myself 'what an irony, am I expected to thank God in the middle of all this ? '  . But as they were singing I realized this is not irony...this is a pretty natural and expected behavior from us Christians - To praise and thank the Lord under all circumstances.Through Christ's death and resurrection we are a new creation.Because of His resurrection we have hope in the middle of hopelessness,light in the middle of darkness and life in the middle of death.The Resurrection is proof that God,our father,adores us and is for us.And when He is for us there is only room for thanks and praise not fear and complain.This was my Easter Revelation for 2011.

Dearly beloved,Christ has risen from the dead.....let us also find the strength in Him to rise up from our graves

TGIF

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was on him; and with his stripes we are healed - Isaiah 53:5

Yesterday one of my colleague was asking me as to where I was planning to celebrate Good Friday.Whether I was going up-North to be with my parents or down-South to be with my extended family.As I was about to answer him,I noticed something..he used the phrase celebrate Good Friday.I thought as to who on earth celebrates Good Friday ? Yes,we may observe Good Friday,we may contemplate Good Friday.....but we never really celebrate Good Friday...Do we ? Realizing his apparent mistake,I was about to correct him,I was about to give him some gyaan in theology,as to how Good Friday is a solemn reminder of the crucifixion of Christ,how on this day we Christians contemplate the passion of Christ etc.But before I could utter a word of correction to him another thought came to my mind.....after-all why is this day called 'Good Friday' ? Why not Lousy Friday,Awful Friday or maybe just 'The Friday' or something like that....why add the adjective 'Good' ? Its then that this personalized verse from Isaiah came to  me,"But He was wounded for MY transgressions, He was bruised for MY iniquities: MY chastisement was on Him; and with His stripes I am healed".I realized that He died to save me from the wrath of God.I was like a lost sheep....a stupid lost sheep who didn't even realize that it was lost.Happily unaware of my own lassitude I was going my own way,not caring about Him or the world.Yet He chose to endure humiliation,scourging and the Cross for me.Why ? Because He has loved me....He has loved me with a love which is beyond explanation and understanding.This  'Love' is what makes this Friday 'Good'.In-fact it is not just a 'Good Friday' it is the 'Best Friday' as far as schmucks like me are concerned .And that's why I realized that my colleague was not all that wrong to use the phrase "celebrate Good Friday" and therefore chose not to correct him.After-all,if it is good then shouldn't we celebrate it ?

Dearly beloved this Friday is worth a celebration.God's passionate love for us is what makes it worth celebrating.This Friday as you are contemplating the Passion of Christ...also do contemplate the awesome love of God which made this passion possible in the first place.Realize this,we should have been on that cross,not Him.Yet , He chose to endure every pain for just one thing...LOVE .

He died for us......shall we now start living for Him ?

The Thief

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be
with me in paradise - Luke 23:43

Chances are that you have never heard of Václav Klaus.No worries,not
many knew him outside his country the Czech Republic until last
week.Václav Klaus is the the president of the Czech Republic, and he
was caught stealing a pen during a large news conference in Chile with
the Chilean President Sebastian Pinera. Here is what happened - the
two leaders were celebrating the signing of a new transportation
agreement.At the ceremony, Mr Klaus nimbly took out the pen embedded
with Chilean lapis lazuli stones from a pen box kept in front of him
and slipped it into his pocket. To cover his tracks, he then shut the
antique pen box before smiling for the camera.Needless to say this
gaffe of his was caught on camera and promptly made an appearance on
youtube,where the video went viral and now Mr.Klaus finds himself at
the receiving end of  ridicule and mockery at the hands of his
countrymen and the world at large.You can watch the video here

Mr Klaus got it all wrong and in all probability the tag of thief will
stick to him for the rest of His life.But,in this post I want to
highlight the life of another thief who according to the Bible got it
right at the fag end .Tradition tells us that his name was Dismas.We
also know him as the good thief crucified along with Christ.Boy,did He
get it right ? Many of us might have started this Lent with high
hopes,with a desire to change ourselves for good, hoping that this
Lent will be different from the previous Lents.But as time progressed
we might have realized that nothing much is changing and eventually
might have fallen victims to our own nonspiritual inertia.And now we
find ourselves in the final week of Lent.If like me , you too are
wondering what should be done in this Holy week...then like Dismas
looking at the crucified Christ and saying ,"Remember me when You come
into Your kingdom" will be a good starting point.Here was a thief who
at the fag end of his life comes face to face with the Son of
God,realizes his own frailty and gets it right with God.And how did
Christ respond ? Dearly beloved,Christ didn't even utter a word about
forgiveness of his sins or anything,but just said,"Thou shalt be with
me in paradise" and that's the beauty of God's love.So,this holy week
just turn to Him with humility and penitence,leave aside your past
transgressions and get it right with God,our father.And His promise
for an honest penitent is still the same  - "Thou shalt be with me in
paradise"

Become Holy this Holy Week

Mountain Climbing

I can do all things through HIM who strengthens me - Philippians 4:13
Last month our professionals prayer group went for an outing in lieu of our 5th anniversary to a place called Savandurga.It is a famous hill on the outskirts of B'lore and one of the largest monolith hills in the world. The hill rises to 1226 m above mean sea level and forms a part of the Deccan plateau.The plan was to reach the base of the mountain by 10 AM and have a time of bonding while climbing up and come down by 12:30 PM.We hired a mini-bus and reached the base of the mountain by 10 AM.The 1st reaction of most of us on seeing the mountain was 'Oh my God...how on earth are we supposed to climb a mountain this high ? '..to those of us who are quantitatively challenged - 1226 mts is a huge distance its 1.26 kms - and that too - UP,against gravity.With an average inclination of 45 degrees and in some places 60 degrees the task becomes even more tough for a bunch of out-of-shape techies like us.But anyways we  started. ..huffing, puffing,with a prayer on our lips and with lots of mutual encouragement most of us were more than half the way up by 11:30 AM.We had come down after that because of the time constraints.But hey,we made more than half of it,not bad for a bunch of professionals whose only source of physical activity is the finger tapping while using a computer-keyboard.(anyways,I have decided to join a gym ASAP )

This brings me to an important point,most of us when faced with a big problem in life have a similar reaction i.e. 'Oh my God,How on earth am I supposed to solve this problem ? ' We get tensed,sometimes bitter.The answer to this question ironically lies in the question itself  => 'my God'. Dearly beloved,we serve a God who takes a personal interest in our lives.Our successes,our failures and indeed our problems nothing escapes His attention,He is interested...very interested in every little detail of our lives.Before you ever reach the mountain(problem) in your life He already has a plan for you...a plan to help your overcome your mountain(problem).As humans the first reaction of most of us is to find a way around(by-pass) our problems, but God our father expects us to face the problem head on with courage.And this courage to take on our problems does not come from a confidence in our own abilities but from a confidence in an all-powerful almighty God.Over the years,God has taught me this one thing - 'I'll only face two kinds of problems in my life ever, the first kind is the one which by my God's grace I can solve and the second which I just can't solve.The first kind of problem I go ahead with a prayer and try to solve,the second I let GO and let GOD(both ways I win )".And that's my prayer for us today,that we find the grace of God to solve the pressing problems in our lives and if not,let's  find the courage and the faith to let go and let GOD deal with those.Let our hearts never be troubled again.

Be a brave-heart in the Lord today

Miracles

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out! " - John 11:43

mir·a·cle - A highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment

When I was a kid believing in miracles was easy.I believed from the bottom of my heart that miracles happened and that God is a God of miracles.My prayers and petitions,no matter how fantastic they were,had a kind of cocky self-assurance that God can and God will.And God did.Then something happened.I grew up.I became more rational.I became more cerebral.I became more analytical.I never lost my faith.I just started putting an asterisk  '*'  to my more extravagant prayer requests.So,whenever I was asked to pray for something or some cause which seemed to be highly improbable and requiring of a miracle,my prayer would be something like this - Lord please do this for me *
* now I know Lord this thing I ask for is really far fetched and You could be busy with other important things too,so if possible do it,if not then no hard feelings 

I don't know how many of you suffer from the above mentioned emotion in prayer.I believe most of you.C'mon now be honest with yourselves,how many times when supposed to pray for what seemed to be an impossible cause in your mind have you used the word 'May Your will be done' not because you really believe in these words but because you want to give a leeway to God.Some elbow room for God,so that He doesn't look bad.Dearly beloved there is news for you and me - "God is still in the business of doing miracles".That was one of the messages from this Sunday's gospel reading.Lazarus raised from the dead.Our puny little brains can't comprehend the capabilities of God our father.He is the one who parted the Red Sea,He is the one who produced manna in the desert,He is the one who fed the multitudes,He is the one who rose from the dead.So,don't limit God in your prayers.From now on when you pray,pray with a renewed assurance and understanding that He is infinitely able.No petition or request is too big for Him.And yeah,He is never too busy for you 

Be audacious in the Lord today.

There is something about Mary

"And the angel came in to her, and said, Hail, thou favored one! the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou amongst women" - Luke 1:28

Last week's long weekend afforded me and my roomies a much needed vacation in the beach town of Pondicherry. One of the days I woke up a little early and went to the beach,which was just across the resort we were staying in.It was around 5:45 AM,there was a cold morning breeze,the surf was up and the sun was rising.It was a sight to behold and I felt like praying & thanking the Lord.I was struggling to find words for my prayer and ended up saying the 'Hail Mary'.Slowly,intently and with all the concentration I could muster I said the words of this wonderful prayer.The surroundings made it all the more surreal.It was Bliss with a capital 'B'.

But,why pray to Mary ? All of you must be aware of the big theological debate happening between us Catholic and our Protestant brothers(and sisters) about Mary,Her role in salvation,Her veneration etc. But this post is not about the theology,(If u want some cool Marian theology in plain English click here and alsohere ) its about the relationship.So,why do we end up calling up Mary all the time ? I believe,its that 'mother thing'.I mean generally Mom's are easier to get to,they are more compassionate and tend to have a lot of patience.(Note : Dad's too possess these ,but Mom's tend to possess these virtues in much larger quantities ) They don't waste time while responding to requests and prepare awesome chicken curry (OK,the chicken curry part was  about my biological Mum  Lent-effect ) But most importantly Mother Mary is 'the' perfect example of surrendering oneself to the will of God.Her 'YES' in Luke 1:38 is the perfect example of how our own response to God,our Father,should be.Turn to Her and she'll turn you towards Her Son.One of the coolest advices,for our walk in Christ,given in the Scriptures is from our Mom herself i.e. "Do whatever He tells you"(John 2:5) and He tells us - 'Behold Your Mother'(John 19:27)

So,call upon Mommy today(and while you are at it,say one 'Hail Mary' for me too )

Aladdin

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. - Mathew 6:33  


All of you must have read/heard/seen the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp from the Arabian Nights.You guys know the drag poor lad + magic lamp + Genie + 3 wishes + beautiful princess + love + evil magician + final confrontation between good and evil ,finally good wins and everyone goes home happy and satisfied.I remember reading about Aladdin in my 1st or 2nd grade,and the one thing that immediately stuck me was this - Aladdin was a total idiot.I mean think about it,here is a Genie who promises you three wishes and the schmuck Aladin goes on and asks for stuff like a palace,money etc. and before you know his 3 wishes are over.If I were in his place my first wish would have been - "10,000 more wishes" . Why would anyone in his/her right mind want to dry out his number of wishes ? This question confounded me then and it still does.So,for me Aladdin is a low-IQ imbecile.Period.

          Fortunately for us,JC*** promises that,"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do" and He does not put a constraint on the number of things you can ask of Him.It can be anything,you want to get hitched-Ask Him,if you want a new job-Ask Him,if you want more money-Ask Him,if you want a new house,a car anything-Ask Him.He will respond in all probability.But,there is a problem here,these things that I mentioned are just stuff and they can't satisfy you.Yes,they will make you happy for some time but they can't keep you happy.Understand this - prosperity after a point of time is boring.As a case in point - The suicide rate in Switzerland(one of the most prosperous country) is much-much higher than that of Haiti(one of the poorest country).Stuff just can't keep you happy....so what can ?? Only God ! Seek Him and His kingdom.He will satisfy.Dearly beloved,today and the days to follow don't just run after stuff but run after Him.Yes we all need stuff in this life but God our Father knows our needs(Note : Its NEED not GREED) even before we come to Him with our petitions.So,seek Him and Him alone ! He will never fail to satisfy !

Seek the Lord with all your heart today !!!




***JC a.k.a Jesus Christ.We are best friends,so He has allowed me to use His initials 'JC'  instead of His full name,how nice of Him 

Bangalore JY Program Calendar 2011 ( click on the image)

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A questionnaire

“Even now,” declares the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning - Joel 2:12

Dear Saints in the making,

Here's a questionnaire for you,quickly choose one option for each of the questions 

1) Its a hot afternoon,you are traveling on a Volvo bus,all the while thanking God for the person who invented air-conditioning, you see an old man approaching your seat.Knowing that there are no free seats available,you:
    A) Immediately get up and make way for the old gentleman.
    B) Look around expecting someone else to do the sacrifice,upon seeing that none of the jerks are getting up you reluctantly make way for the old man.
    C) Pretend to be deaf,dumb,blind,mentally-retarded and in deep meditation all at the same time.

2)You are back from work in the night and sit down for your daily prayer:
    A)You immediately start praying with full vigor forgetting the cares of the world.
    B)You vacillate between your prayer and your cares every 2 minutes,but somehow manage to finish it off.
    C)You immediately start thinking about Muammar Gaddafi and the revolution sweeping across Libya and try to figure out the the effect of these events on the global crude oil prices going forward.Next,you wake up in the morning and rush to work.

3)You miss the deadline of a work assigned to you,you:

   A)Immediately owe up to your mistake resolving never to mess-up again.
   B)Decide to share responsibility between yourself and the rest of your team.
   C)Decide to blame the rest of your team,your computer and Muammar Gaddafi for the mess-up.

4)Upon arriving at the airport you are told that your flight has been delayed by an hour,you:
   A)Thank God for the extra time He has given you for prayer and start praying.
   B)Give an angry look to the ground staff,and begin complaining to God about the aviation industry.
   C)Become a combination of Thor and the Incredible Hulk and make life miserable for yourself and the people around you.

If most of your answers are 'A' ,good for you,you are true blue Jesus Youth ! Congratulations ! Keep it up ! 

If most of your answers are 'B',you are a wannabe Jesus Youth.Work hard.Keep trying.Don't give up.

If all your answers are 'C',well,then you are piyush Philip.Welcome to my world.God help you(and me).

Dearly beloved,this Lent lets strive to convert all our 'B's & 'C's to 'A's.That's what God our father desires from us.That's what Lent is all about.A radical transformation towards Christ and His church.Let the Lent of 2011 be worth remembering for the rest of our lives,and for good reasons.That's my prayer for us today.

Lenten Reflection
To repent is to adopt God’s viewpoint in place of your own…In itself, far from being sorrowful, it is the most joyful thing in the world, because when you have done it you have adopted the viewpoint of truth itself and you are in fellowship with God 

Prayer Requests
1. Pray for the people of Japan,who are affected by one of the worst natural calamity of our times.
2. Pray for the Christians in West Asia.

-- luv n pryrs,
pi.P.

My problem with Ash Wednesday

Remember that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return - Genesis 3:19

Dear Saints in the making,

So we began our Lenten journey for 2011 last week with Ash Wednesday.Hope you guys are getting holier day by day through His grace.This is a time of exceptional grace.Talking about Ash-Wednesday,I have this strange trepidation towards Ash-Wednesday services since childhood,the reason I never seem to get anything resembling a cross on my forehead.I don't know what the priests have against me,over the years having attended Ash-Wednesday services in different parts of the country I never seem to get a cross on my forehead.It is usually something resembling an amoeba or the map of South America made from ash,but never a cross.And the tragedy is that all my friends and extended family attending the mass with me marked by the same priest get a perfect or a near-perfect cross,but I never seem to get one.(Hope this is not a sign from God ) This Ash-Wednesday was no different,but for a change I got a map of India,still not a cross.On a positive note,a map of India on the forehead is quite patriotic,don't u think

But I still look forward with anticipation to the Ash-Wednesday services,the reason  being the words the priest says while marking the foreheads - "Remember that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return". Many times when faced with exceptional hurdles in life we have this natural tendency of asking,"Why God,why are you allowing this to happen ?" Don't we ? Like,why would a loving and kind God allow last weeks earthquake and tsunami in Japan ?  It is precisely this question that this verse from Genesis 3:19 answers.It reminds us about our own mortality.It reminds us that,nothing from this life of ours is permanent.Our successes,our failures and indeed our problems all have an expiry date.In short - ALL OF US WILL DIE.Quite profound and true,right ? Dearly beloved,lets be aware that our eternity is not on this earth.This life and all its troubles are merely a preparation for the eternity of peace that Christ promises to all His believers in His church.And it is this belief in eternity that gives us,the followers of Christ,the courage to face this life and all its seemingly never-ending troubles with a cheerful heart.Because,this is not our home.Heaven awaits us.

Be cheerfully optimistic in the Lord today.

Lenten Reflection

How can we complain when He Himself was considered 'as one struck by God and afflicted' ?   - St. Therese of Lisieux

Prayer Requests

1. Pray for the people of Japan,who are affected by one of the worst natural calamity of our times.
2. Pray that every Catholic makes a radical turn towards Christ and His church this Lent.

Regards,

pi.P

For Japan we pray!

Japan needs our prayers. Eathquakes,Tsunami,Volcanic activities, Nuclear fall outs all have shocked this nation at once,  big time. A nation so progressive in its technological advancements is on its knees now when it comes to nature's natural responses. It may have built buildings to withstand strong quakes but nothing is full proof and we the human race are always at the mercy of the nature which sustains us and God who created the nature.

These catastrophic incidents remind me how small we are in spite of our so called intelligence, how vulnerable we are in spite of our precautions, how fragile we are in spite of our wisdom and strength, how inhuman we are without God in our life.

God's foolishness ( if that even exists) is far wiser than all the wisdom of the human race. Lets get back to basics lets get back to God.

Prayers for all in Japan. May all the departed soul's rest in peace.

Hail Mary pray for Japan & its people......

Lenten Fasting - from what comes out of our mouth!

Dear Friends,

At the very outset of this holy season of Lent I thought to share with you about 'Lenten Fasting' that might help us all to benefit from this wonderful and holy season.

Lenten Fasting

On Ash Wednesday, the Christian faithful across the world lift up their faces to be signed with ashes.  This sign is meant to remind us both of our mortality and of the promise of new life through repentance. The ashes signal entry into the holy season of Lent, a time of fasting, an opportunity to deprive the body and consequently make room for the spirit.

While fasting from food can be good practice as an act of discipline – and nothing can be achieved without discipline – I challenge each Jesus Youth to consider another view as we journey this Lenten season.  It is as important to control what goes into our mouth as it is to control what comes out of our mouth (Mt 15:11).  During this lent we would consider fasting from what comes out of our mouth.

There are four areas we might consider in this kind of fasting.  The first is fasting from foul language.   The air around us is full of it: in movies, in TV shows, in commercials, in song lyrics, in novels and magazine articles, and in everyday conversation.  Almost everyone uses it regardless of their age, education, status, etc.   Often such foul language from children, youth and adults is meant to signal sophistication and freedom in this modern world.  Using foul, dirty language or telling a smutty joke may make you feel like a big shot.  But remember what comes out of your mouth tells what is inside your heart.   To my mind, all it signals is poverty of vocabulary and small mind and heart.  Certainly, foul language has no place in the life of a disciple of Jesus.

The second Lenten practice is to fast from judgments spilling out from our mouth.  If not every day, make a sincere effort at least on every Friday of the season, in honour of Jesus’ crucifixion.  And so for each Friday of Lent, make no judgments about people: about their motives, their goodness or badness, their social standing, their defects, their clothes, their colour, their jobs, their mistakes, …  Just see everyone as God’s children, people for whom Christ died, fellow pilgrims.

Thirdly, fast from verbal negatives that so readily come from our mouths: the put-downs, the jabs that hurt, the insults, the criticism, the condemnations, the sarcasm, the harmful gossip, the rumour that smears, …  Again, if it is too much to practice every day of Lent, make it just one day of the week.  Preferably Wednesday, as tradition holds that this was the day Judas let the words which betrayed Jesus fall from his mouth.

The fourth Lenten practice is to let the word “no” fall more often from your mouth.  After all, our “nos” define our every bit as much as our “yesses”.   Let Jesus be our model.  When Pilate questioned Jesus, he shook his head no and refused to answer, for he knew Pilate wasn’t really after the truth.  He said no to the pain-dulling hyssop offered to him on the cross.  He would go all the way for us.  Jesus said no to turn stones into bread for he did not come to serve himself.  On the other hand, when it came to giving bread to other, to the five thousand, he said yes.

So, let us be like Jesus during this journey of Lent.  Say no to lies, cheating, over-consumption, drugs, premarital sex, pornography, …   But say yes to truth, words that heal and encourage, to charitable deeds and sharing, to prayer time, to families need for your presence and time, … Say yes to all the six JY pillars.  Say yes to Jesus.

May God bless us with a grace filled holy season of Lent.

Fr. Bitaju Puthenpurackal, O.SS.T.

Pastor, JYIT

Superbia

Dear One's in Christ,                  

                              One of the truisms of the Christian journey is that the holier we get, the more sinful we discover we are. This apparent paradox is because the closer we come to God, the more spotlights God shines into our lives revealing the sin hidden in the shadows, much like a ray of sunlight in a room reveals particles of dust and debris that one would never notice otherwise.

                              The Catholic Church divides sin into two categories: "venial sins", which are relatively minor and can be forgiven through any sacramental or sacraments of the Church (as well as through prayer and acts of charity), and the more severe "grave" or mortal sins. The Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of objectionable vices, that were originally used in early Christian teachings to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen man’s tendency to sin.

                           They are called capital because all the sins of commission and omission that we commit are said to flow from these seven capital sins.However, each of these may be venial or mortal depending on the specific case. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent” (CCC 1857)

                      In the Book of Proverbs, it is stated that the Lord specifically regards "six things the Lord hated and the seventh His soul detested." namely:

• A proud look.

• A lying tongue.

• Hands that shed innocent blood.

• A heart that devises wicked plots.

• Feet that is swift to run into mischief.

• A deceitful witness that uttered lies.

• Him that sowed discord among brethren

                           In the order used by both Pope Gregory and by Dante Alighieri in his epic poem “The Divine Comedy”, the seven deadly sins are as follows:

• luxuria (lechery/lust)

• gula (gluttony)

• avaritia (avarice/greed)

• acedia (acedia/discouragement)

• ira (wrath)

• invidia (envy)

• superbia (pride)

                                    In Colossians 3:9-10 the apostle Paul mentions the "old self" and the "new self" as he writes "Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him." He says that the old self has been put aside. Why would one want to put aside the old self, or old man? We are taught to put aside our old self because it is being corrupted.

                                 That old man who lives only for himself, arrogantly cutting himself loose from his Creator and selfishly closing his eyes to the needs of his neighbor. It is not merely a theological description: every one can readily understand this “old man” because we experience the direct effects of this nature within us, summed up in the seven capital sins: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony.

 1.Pride (thought for this week)

                                                        He was the most beautiful of all angels. He was referred to as the Day Star, and the son of Dawn. His name itself spoke of his brightness—Lucifer, angel of light. He dreamt of ascending the heavens and raising his throne above that of God's. But he was sent crashing down to the dark recesses of the pit for committing the greatest sin of all: Pride.

                                                    That is what pride, described by theologians as the father of all sins, does to us. We end up going down even as we try to go up. It is also the most common of all sins, though strangely enough, most of us don't even realize that we are proud.

Prayer

Oh my God, at this moment I offer all the sins especially in the areas of capital sin PRIDE that I’ve addicted to. I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell, but most of all because they offend You, my Lord, Who are all-good and deserving of all my love. I pray that even though temptation comes, help me to stand firm, to avoid the sins. Amen.

Saint Francis of Assisi  help us to overcome this sin 'Pride'.

Talking Donkey

...but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm  -  Proverbs 1:33

Dear Saints in the making,

Here's a question for you,what would you do if you found yourself in the company of a talking donkey ? I understand that even finding a normal non-talking donkey in B'lore is tough,let alone a talking donkey.In-fact I don't even remember seeing a donkey in B'lore ever (except for people sometimes behaving like donkeys that is,me included).But for a moment lets contemplate this impossible scenario,while you are thinking,here are my thoughts on this,I'll first try to understand what the donkey is saying,then if it has something interesting to say I'll indulge in a conversation with it and when it starts getting boring I'll try to sell the donkey thru eBay, if it is an uninteresting donkey I'll immediately try to sell it thru eBay (I believe there are enough schmucks in this world who would like to buy a talking donkey,interesting or un-interesting) both ways -  I'll be rich  ha ha ha very rich.... ha ha ha ha ha ha

Jokes apart,in the Bible there was this guy who found himself in the company of a talking donkey,his name was Balaam ( Numbers 22-24 ).He was a very influential diviner who, although aware of the true God YAHWEH, made his services available on a freelance basis.He was commissioned by King Balak of Moab to put a curse on the incoming Israelites (BAD IDEA - U don't mess with JEHOVAH's people.Period.) God warns him but he ignores it and chooses to follow his own plans,finally God makes his pet donkey speak to him and thereby gets his attention.Like Balaam many a times we have this inclination of not listening to God's voice and going our own ways.We do have this little voice inside telling us not to go a particular way,but we choose to ignore it.Dearly beloved,as disciples of God,we really only have one job... to follow God and only God.To do what God wants and only what God wants.To say what God would say and only what God would say. As disciples of God and followers of Christ we ought to listen to that small voice of the Holy Spirit guiding us and warning us when on a wrong path.The question is, - "Are we listening to this small voice,or would God our father have to make a donkey speak in our lives to get our attention ? "  People,are we listening ?

Open your hearts to the Holy Spirits promptings today.

THINK THIS OUT 2DAY

God does not command us to live in hair shirts and chains, or to chastise our flesh with scourges, but to love Him above all things and our neighbor as ourselves. - --Saint Charles of Sezze

SAY THIS OUT LOUD 2DAY
My hope is in Christ, who strengthens the weakest by His Divine help. I can do all in Him who strengthens me. His Power is infinite, and if I lean on him, it will be mine. His Wisdom is infinite, and if I look to Him for counsel, I shall not be deceived. His Goodness is infinite, and if my trust is stayed in Him, I shall not be abandoned.

luv n prayers,
Piyush

Steve Jobs and Evangelization

"He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.." - Mark 16:15

Dear Saints in the making,
"The post below has borrowed heavily from the writings of Eric Sammons "

About a month back the Consumer Electronics Show was held in Las Vegas and the big buzz was for tablet computers. It seems every tech company is jumping on the craze created by Apple’s iPad. What I found fascinating was comparing the sales pitch for these new tablets with the one given by Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs last year when he announced the iPad.
When Jobs was talking about the iPad, he spoke about it being “magical” and how it is a great way to experience the Internet. He gave practical examples of using the iPad and emphasized its ease of use and how fun it is to use.
When the others introduced their tablets, they talked about how they had dual-processors, included so many gigs of memory, and ran the latest Android OS. They reiterated the great tech specs their tablet had compared to the iPad and other tablet devices.
Which do you think is the more effective sales technique? The non-Apple CEOs were selling toothpaste; Steve Jobs was selling white teeth. Instead of focusing on the details of his product, Jobs instead focuses on how his product will change people’s lives.


I think this topic tells us something about how to effectively evangelize.


If you look at the early Church, especially in New Testament times, you see that the first apostles took the “white teeth” approach to evangelizing. They proclaimed that they had seen the risen Lord and that he had transformed their lives. Again and again St. Paul speaks of the transformation his experience with Christ had on his life – and that others can have the same transformation. He did not get into the details of exactly how Christ is God or things of that nature; he spoke of the power of Christ to change lives.
When evangelizing, eventually one will need to discuss the details of the Faith: exactly what the Church teaches and why. But that is not the main thing ; instead as Jesus Youth we must proclaim that Christ has changed our lives and that He can change yours as well. Those who are in most need of Christ will be drawn to our experience and it will lead them to want to know more about this Jesus Christ and His Church that have so radically changed our lives.So today in our workplaces,our homes,our schools and our colleges,let us take the 'white teeth' approach.As Jesus Youth we have been called to demonstrate the life changing power of Christ to the people around us.There are only 4 Gospels in the New Testament,we are the 5th and sadly we could be the only Gospel that some people will ever read.So Saints,rise up to the occasion.Onward Christian Soldiers...........................


Have a spirit-filled day !


Point2Ponder:
Many, many people hereabouts are not becoming Christians for one reason only: there is nobody to make them Christians. -- St. Francis de Xavier


Prayer Intentions:
Pray for Vocations
Pray for all the prayer groups active in and around Bangalore.
 
Courtesy - Mr.Eric Sammons - http://ericsammons.com/
Composed by  - Piyush Philip