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.

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

Jubilee & 10 Lepers!

Sharing by Shibu Devasia a Singapore JY

Dear Family,

I am not the odd one out, if I try to relate all the inspirations & insights with Jubilee, during this year. This thought has been in the pipeline for about couple of week's. Unlike me those who closely hear the gospel, can recall last to last Sunday's gospel reading, it was an ever inspiring gospel of 10 leper's. The reason, the gospel still rings a bell in my head was that I had to frame this mail.
              The scene of me sitting & hearing the priest, do still persist in my mind, more so the gospel theme & how closely we can relate to it. Not because we all were 'lepers', but frankly speaking we were not better than 'one' either, before Jesus & the movement came in my life - the pain of being not 'accepted' & not being one of the 'normal' is quite comparable to a feeling  a 'leper' may have. Though the physical pain in no way comparable, but the emotional pain is somewhat similar and when our LORD heals us we do owe him a lot.
            Today when most of us look back, we may agree that the life we live has been a blessing & what we are today might just be a dream if we had not come close to Jesus through the movement. Today if we have a stable job, its simply because of HIM, never in my life I could have imagined a job that I have now, more interesting is the 'least' of the effort that I have put to get one, its all pre-planned by the one above.
              Today if our talent is show casted through the way we think, or the way we write or the way we speak/sing or the way we deal with people is simply because we learnt from the movement through its various initiatives.
              Today, if we can voice our say pretty articulately, with precision & added flavor of creativity then no denying fact that we have learnt that from our various stages of involvement in the movement.
              I would even say, to correctly discern our vocation & to lead a healthy family life was in a way taught by the movement & still it continues...
              End of the day, if I look back all the mess that was in my life or the wounds as a 'leper' that persisted has been healed by Jesus & mostly these blessing have come through the movement. The gift of a liberal thinking, gift of loving others, gift of good job, gift of a good family, gift of good friends & many more has been freely given to us by the real 'gifter' but in most of the case it didn't fall 'directly' from heaven but I guess through the movement.
               So, sometime I wonder, can any of these 'gifts' has the real 'gravity' or the reasoning to hold back any of the Jesus youth around the globe from not attending Jubilee? Attending it is our simple way of giving thanks to the Lord for what we are today! and the least one can do as a gratitude & acknowledgment for the unlimited grace & blessings that we reap each day & will continue to reap till our death. 

May we as the lone wise 'leper' rejoice & come to the Lord this Jubilee.

Love,
Shibbs & fly

An young historian's take on Jesus Youth

Recently Manoj Sunny began his letter with the question, "What is the difference between JY and other movements?" Interestingly, this is the exact theme I planned to write on. Hopefully I will take it an interesting new direction. It's important for us to realize that Jesus Youth is not simply "another charismatic movement" but, as are all true Church movements, it is a movement with a very specific spirituality, given to us by the Holy Spirit at the time of its founding. As the Jubilee Conference draws near, an excellent way to prepare is to get in touch with this very spirituality.

The core of the Jesus Youth spirituality, is, of course, the six pillars. Prayer, Word of God, Sacramental Life. These three deal with the personal spirituality of Jesus Youth, the interior life, the action in contemplation. One of the defining traits of Jesus Youth is their personal responsibility for their spirituality. Prayer, Bible reading, Mass, Confession, are not something utilized if conveniently available, but rather are actively pursued.

Fellowship, Evangelization, Option for the Poor. These are how we express that personal spirituality; they are the exterior life, the contemplation in action. These external actions will only be as effective as our own personal spirituality. It can be argued that these pillars all build on each other: Prayer fuels Word of God, which helps us appreciate the Sacraments; these three are necessary for Fellowship, which helps in our Evangelization, which draws a variety of people to us so we can create a better Option for the Poor.

Besides these six pillars, there are several other very specific charisms of the movement. Within the movement, our spirituality is expressed through community life, with guidance from elders, pastors, and other youth. This community life often takes place in and around JY families. This life always has the focus of a pathway to holiness, answering the universal call to holiness proclaimed by Vatican II, genuinely seeking to form saints. But perhaps more than anything else, Jesus Youth has been blessed with absolute fidelity to the teachings and Majesterium of the Catholic Church. This is our anchor; this is what keeps us from going astray, as others before us unfortunately have.

Perhaps this fidelity to the Church is what the movement was blessed with first, as Jesus Youth is a remarkable reflection of the entire universal Church. The six pillars are literally a perfect balance of interior and external spirituality. We could dare to say that the six pillars sum up all Jesus recommended to us and commanded us to do, yet without necessarily emphasizing any one aspect over the other. We also find in our expression of this spirituality similarities to the apostolic church recorded in Acts: reliance on the Holy Spirit, missionary trips, following up these trips through various means of communication, and of course, a lay community life filled with prayer, trust, and teaching. Finally, there is a constant link to the Majesterium and especially Vatican II; indeed, I have already quoted from VII documents twice in this letter.

It is this very universality of Jesus Youth that draws people in across all cultures, states of life, and rites of the church. Jesus Youth has spread as far and wide as it has, reaching the hearts of so many people, laity, priests, and religious alike, because perfectly responds to the call of the Church, doing so with our own distinctive charisms: joy; a focus on fellowship/communion and relationships; and total willingness to sacrifice for the cause.

Even right now, we can see the intimate link between Jesus Youth and the heart of the Church. Seeming to almost prefigure our Jubilee Conference, a special meeting of the Synod of Bishops on the Church in the Middle East is being held right now from October 10-24. The theme of the Synod? "Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul" (Acts 4:32), a verse which has always reminded me immediately of Jesus Youth. In his inaugural homily for the Synod, Pope Benedict XVI said:

"Without communion there can be no witness: the life of communion is truly the great witness. Jesus said it clearly: “It is by your love for one another, that everyone will recognize you as my disciples” (Jn 13:35). This communion is the same life of God which is communicated in the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ. It is thus a gift, not something which we ourselves must build through our own efforts. And it is precisely because of this that it calls upon our freedom and waits for our response: communion always requires conversion, just as a gift is better if it is welcomed and utilized."

Do we not see a clear reflection of the Jesus Youth lifestyle in the Pope's words? And this is something being addressed to the entire Synod of Bishops!

So please allow yourself to experience the Jubilee grace this year; please do not allow any worldly anxieties, difficulties, or sorrows get in your way. This is the best opportunity you'll have for 25 years to truly experience the universality of Jesus Youth: as if the prospects of meeting Jesus Youth from 25 countries and counting wasn't exciting enough, Cardinal Ryklo (attending the Synod of Bishops as we speak!) and many other archibishops, bishops, priests, and religious are also attending. Please come to the Jubilee and truly experience the universal grace of Jesus Youth.

See you at Rajagiri!

God Bless!
From Bangalore,
Richie Dow, JYA (NJ)

About Richie - He is an young dynamic Jesus Youth from New Jersey(USA). Currently in India to help Jubilee mobilization and volunteer for Jubilee Conference. He is currently pursuing his bachelors in Chinese History.

Time for beginning another Exodus

Time for beginning another Exodus

we should not allow any of our brothers and sisters to miss this time of Grace

Manoj Sunny (General Convener Jubilee Conference)

What is the difference between JY and other movements? This is one of the questions I used to ask myself whenever I came in contact with other movements. There are many differences, but one that has always inspired me is the purpose and motivation of every Jesus Youth. In many other groups, I find that people go in order to receive something in their life – especially in the form of blessings. But in our groups, people come in order to give themselves to do His will. People are willing to set apart many things; to lose many things in their life in order to follow Him. Some may start this journey for blessings; but soon they understand that JY is all about losing and giving. However, all of us know that our Lord will never stand at the receiving end – He will give it back to us a thousand fold – in His time.

   

I am quoting from one of the recent mails from Shelton sent to the Rexband:

“Joji Babu, earlier KYCT coordinator, was sharing something important in a recent Jubilee meeting from a scriptural perspective. It made me rethink my approach to the Jubilee. He was talking about Moses and how he approached Pharaoh to let the Israelites go to Israel to celebrate jubilee. At first, the Pharaoh said that all the men could go. But Moses was not satisfied. Then the Pharaoh allowed the families to go. But Moses was not satisfied until the families, with all their children, cattle and possessions left the bondage of Egypt to celebrate Jubilee. Then Joji Babu was talking about his difficulties of how he is arranging to travel with his entire family in spite of the classes of children etc. He was speaking about bondage of our own ambitions and physical and financial limitations that keep us locked in our world - safely far away from the Jubilee, from the congregation, the blessings and the call for the next level of ministries in our lives.

In a sense, it shook me a bit, because in spite of all the buzz about Jubilee, I have also in the back of the mind, thought about it as an important 'JY programme' for which I will need to take leave. Now I am slowly beginning to realize that the Jubilee is for each one of us, like the Israelites, an opportunity to let go of what we are constantly clinging on and direct our journey into the land and mission that God is leading us.

Besides, for each one of us, Jesus Youth has been our Exodus out of the 'Egypts' that we could have gone in our earlier days. We chose to seek God's will not because of our good sense, but because God spoke through our friends in the movement, because of our prayer experiences in the movement and the mission of the Church that we discovered here. So for us the Jubilee is our way of saying 'Jesus, above everything, I value what you have done in my life'. And taking great trouble to come together with our families children, our possessions and our joy is such a beautiful gesture of gratitude.

So, let us encourage and support each other to take the trouble to make this journey. In the Jubilee meeting, I was hearing stories of how pregnant women who deliver in November are planning to travel from abroad with their one month old babies so that the new generation will begin their life with the joy of the Jubilee. So wherever you go and wherever you meet Jesus Youth, please remember to share the Jubilee Story and ask them to leave things behind and start the journey - not individually, but with the entire family. It is not easy. Like the Israelites, someone like Moses will have to intercede for us so that our chains are taken away. And like Moses, it is perhaps the call of each one of us to choose families in the JY and start praying for them so that they might make the journey together”

The Jubilee conference is all about giving oneself and losing many things in our lives; money, time etc. At one point of time in our lives, we all set out on an ‘Exodus’, blindly trusting Him. He has blessed us with more than we want, more than we deserve. I have a fear that many of us are busy taking care of these blessings. Jubilee is the time for beginning another Exodus; to take up a new mission according to the promptings of the Spirit. The entire JY family is going to listen to Him. We strongly believe this is going to be much more than a programme. If we are going to take this as another conference, there is no need for all these struggles. But if we are coming here to share, listen and recommit ourselves to begin a new journey, we should not allow any of our brothers and sisters to miss this time of Grace.

Happy Jubilee.

The beginning of Prolife outreaches in Bangalore

You read about how our lord brought Josephine Maria into the lives of Bangalore pro-lifers and how she became the intercessor in heaven for Bangalore pro-life ministry. Now it is time to look at how the outreaches of Bangalore pro-life ministry started. So here is the first pro-life out reach of the ministry and how it happened when a few people stepped out in faith. Even when they stepped out with out any prior experience in spreading pro-life message and into the heart of the battlefield, an abortion clinic, keeping God at the forefront of the battle, what miraculous conversions happened. Hear it in the words of a pro-life member.

The Pro-life team consisted at that time of about 15 working people who used to gather together regularly on Fridays to intercede for the cause of Pro-life. One among us who used to gather there was a nurse. Towards the end of 2007, she got a job in a small hospital in the center of Bangalore City. It was only weeks later, to her shock, that she discovered that there are frequent abortions happening at the hospital, as many as 300 a month. She refused to work there any more and resigned her job. She shared this with us when she came in for the pro-life team meeting. Everyone in the team was deeply concerned. We knew this was a frequent happening in the hospitals in and around Bangalore, but hearing it for the first time in a first hand account like this had an impact on all of us. We were not at all sure of what to do. In prayer we decided that we should visit the hospital. None of us at that time had the slightest inkling of what it is going to turn out to be.

So on February 17, 2008, Saturday, the pro-life team gathered together in a chapel in a seminary nearby. No one had any idea how to start off. We decided that what ever we do, we should do it in prayer. So we spent around one and a half hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It was decided that one team should go for the outreach and the other team should be interceding for the people who are going through out the time they are gone. Then we picked lots to see who should go for the outreach and who should be interceding for them. The selected team of 4 got ready to go to the Hospital and the rest of the people remained in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

When the team got to the hospital, none of us had any idea how it should all start. So two minutes were spent in prayer and it was decided that we should go and meet the doctor directly. So we walked up to the nurse at the reception and asked to meet the doctor. We told the nurse about Jesus Youth and pro-life ministry in brief and that we had come to see the doctor. All this time we were expecting to be thrown out by the hospital security guards any time. But the nurse asked us to wait for some time till the doctor got free. That gave all of us some courage. We shared with the nurses and some of the people who were waiting to see the doctor about pro-life and gave some of the pamphlets that we had brought with us. That removed the initial inhibitions that we had and we now had the courage to face the doctor. The nurse came over to tell us that the doctor will see us now.

We went in and introduced ourselves as pro-lifers, we spoke to the doctor about the preciousness of life, abortion and pro-life. We spent about 15 minutes with the doctor. She received our message very well. There was a dentist among us, he gave his phone number to the doctor and we came out. We were all thrilled that we were able to talk about pro-life with so much courage and conviction. Then it was a whirlwind, we went to every room in the hospital and met every nurse in that hospital and talked about the preciousness of life. And we all came back praising the lord for going before us to prepare the hearts to receive his message.

The results were miraculous. The doctor stopped abortion on that day. The next week we had a follow-up outreach to the same place and the staff said that no abortion happened there in the last week. The doctor now counsels anyone coming to her for abortion and if they are not willing to relent, she would refer them else where. We can confidently say that she became a pro-life doctor and a big support for us.

She also became our coworker in saving innocent lives of babies who were going to be aborted. Our second pro-life baby came into our hands through her. That is for another time.

The story of Josephine Maria Rose, the start of a prolife journey

As told to me by the Prolifers of Bangalore Jesus Youth -

This is the story of Josephine Maria Rose and Angel that touched the lives of prolifers of Bangalore and the story of how a journey of miracles, miracles of life started in the Prolife Ministry of Bangalore.

It all started on 23 November 2007, Friday evening, with a call from a Nursing Student studying at a Nursing home in a village about 60 km from Bangalore. In this nursing home there was a premature female child, born at 22.5 weeks and weighing 560g. The mother of the child did not want the child and the hospital didn’t know what to do with the child.

The little baby needed extra care for survival and the parents were not willing to bear any more burden. The prolife team called up the doctors at the Nursing Home and they were happy to give the permission to take the child, provided we were ready to give an undertaking, assuming full responsibility of the child. They also wanted a consent letter from the parents that they do not want to take any further responsibility, we agreed.

Four of us prolifers, including a husband and wife, left Bangalore by taxi and reached the nursing home at 12 midnight. The child was placed on the bed near the mother, and she was not even looking at her. The child was alive and occasionally crying out. The parents of the child already had two children and they did not want a third girl child. It was probably a failed abortion. The parents were only too willing to give a letter in writing given the baby’s responsibility to us.

After completing the formalities, we took the little child. The lady among us received the precious child, covered her with the only warm cloth that we had and set off for Bangalore in the taxi itself. Early morning on Saturday at 4 A.M we reached St. Johns Hospital, Bangalore.

Everyone whom we had met while going to collect the baby was of the opinion that there is very little chance of her survival. The doctors at St. Johns also were of the same opinion. The only chance was for her to be put on the ventilator. We agreed to bear the expenses and they immediately moved the child to Neonatal ICU. The chances of her survival were slim, but we felt that her life was too precious to let go so easily. She was on ventilator for two days and we prolifers kept vigil outside the NICU. All we could do was to pray. On Sunday (25th November 2007) night 11.40 pm, she had a cardiac arrest and our little angel went back into the arms of her loving heavenly Father.

She was taken to the cemetery and provided a Christian burial. There were 6 of us by her grave side to say our final byes. Some of us had called her Maria, some others among us named her Josephine. The Sisters who gave her baptism named her Rose. She was the first life that the Lord had placed into our care. She is like our firstborn. We were all deeply sad in our hearts, but we know that we have given our best for this little one of our God whom no one else wanted. And we know that she is in the lap of Jesus and that she knows each one of us by name. We also know that we can raise to her our needs and she will speak on our behalf to Jesus and today she is a powerful intercessor for our ministry. We consider her as our patron saint. We call her Josephine Maria Rose. And that is the point from where the Prolife Ministry of Bangalore blossomed. Certainly our little angel was hard at work in heaven.

The life support systems etc in the hospital were expensive and if someone were to ask us what would you do if there were many other children who asked our support, we do not know the answer. We just did what we felt was right in the eyes of God and we know that what we have done for this little baby, we have done for Christ. We pray that as you read this, you will make a resolution to stand up in defense of every life that is in danger of being snuffed out, in all circumstances.

Website of Bangalore JY Prolife Ministry : http://www.prolifearmy.org/

Tracing the footsteps of Christ in Bangalore JY Prolife Misnistry

Dear all,
I have been a mute witness to the amazing ways in which our Lord Jesus has worked through the JY Bangalore Prolife ministry. Only thing I have known about the JY Prolife ministry is that they are a faithful and committed group. They were never a group of extra ordinary, visible, magnetic group of people. But on the other hand a group of prayerful, consistent, people with zeal for the call Lord had given them and who did their bit faithfully. And I have heard from them the wonderful miracles that our lord worked through them. Till now our lord has given the group 16/17 adopted children. Little lives that Christ the savior protected from the hands that were poised to snuff them out. Also the numerous lives that Christ touched through them, changed for ever from being destroyers of lives to protectors of lives.

Here we start a new series, where we chronicle the miraculous ways of our Lord. Be a bit patient with us as we string them together slowly. God bless you.

Deeper & Higher - Focusing on migrants

Where are we hosting D&H?

Blast from the Past:
Sep11 2009 - JY as a ‘A growing sense of hope’ –http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-jy-growing-sense-of-hope.html

Sep14 2009 – ‘The response of the movement to the world around’ - http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-response-of-movement-to.html

Sep15 2009 - JY ‘a critique of contemporary values’
http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-jy-critique-of.html

Sep16 2009 – ‘Challenging ourselves to a deeper, personal relationship with Jesus’
http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-personal-relationship.html

Sep17 2009 – ‘Formation in steadfastness’
http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-formation-in.html

Sep18 2009 - ‘A lifestyle of openness and dialogue’
http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-lifestyle-of-openness-and.htmlgher-lifestyle-of-openness-and.html

Reflection:
Today let’s reflect on ‘Focusing on migrants’
Along with bases in campuses and universities, parishes and work places, Jesus Youth has also spread into the world in the context of modern facilities for travel and migration. The new generation is moving across the world for studies and career prospects. At the same time many others are forced to flee from their homestead for a variety of other reasons. People of God have a special regard for migrants (Gen 12:1-3, Heb 13:14) as it is a special responsibility and a great opportunity. The movement has already made some provision for attending to sections of migrants and it should renew its efforts to be a presence of joy and welcome to people on the move, such as students, job seekers, new city dwellers and those seeking refuge.- From Letter to Jesus Youth

Personal Thoughts:
Courtesy: Siju Mathew

Thanking almighty God for His wonderful deeds amongst us through the years. From the early years of Christianity and human history lots of marvelous things happened and are happening through migrants. These days we can see that only as beautiful leading of the Holy Spirit people keep migrating irrespective of culture, language or any other reason.
For us Jesus Youths it’s created a perfect platform to live the faith and mold the movement as a missionary in its whole nature. And I'm not intimidated to call migration as a lifeline that carved us as we are today and lot more will follow in years to come. Though there are many struggles every migrant go through time to time, the very personal call each one of us received compels us to be united with the church and continue mission for us in the new place.
In my personal view there are two factors that contribute to our new mission land:

1. The effectiveness of the local leadership if any
2. Our own effectiveness that I can call as the personal commitment as a missionary.
The second one leaves us no room for cocooning ourselves with our reasons whatsoever, but get in to a fellowship with the believers around with out disturbing the harmony that exist there. Or it could be a call to start some thing afresh if the promptings of the Holy Spirit does so. No doubt, inviting a spiritual guide in our new battle field will be a shield. Being in constant interaction with the faithful and the protection of their intercession will definitely keep us strong apart from our constants that are dear to us all along.


Prayer (to be repeated throughout the day):
My Lord Jesus help me grow deeper in your love today, each day

Regards,
Thomson
God’s Online.24x7.

Deeper & Higher - A lifestyle of openness and dialogue

14 Days to Go
How the bamooo Grows!
Did u know? - It takes five years for the seed of a bamboo tree to show any growth above ground, and then it grows to a height of 90 feet in six weeks! Five years of preparation, of putting down roots, of spreading underground, so as to have access to plenty of food. And then, only then, does it take off.

This is an extraordinary fact that requires reflection. The time spent with John the Baptist was preparing the people to meet and follow Jesus. It was like a novitiate. We all need such preparation and formation. The journey moves from information, to formation, to transformation. Surely any failure to grow spiritually in our lives is the result of a lack of genuine preparation, of spiritual formation. To live in the warmth of God's love is a sure and certain way to grow.
Blast from the Past:
Sep11 2009 - JY as a ‘A growing sense of hope’ –http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-jy-growing-sense-of-hope.html

Sep14 2009 – ‘The response of the movement to the world around’ - http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-response-of-movement-to.html

Sep15 2009 - JY ‘a critique of contemporary values’
http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-jy-critique-of.html

Sep16 2009 – ‘Challenging ourselves to a deeper, personal relationship with Jesus’
http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-personal-relationship.html

Sep16 2009 – ‘Formation in steadfastness’
http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-formation-in.html

Reflection:
Today let’s reflect on ‘A lifestyle of openness and dialogue’
Jesus Youth movement has always given emphasis to the divine commission to share the Good News of the Kingdom. The growing tendency to withdraw from the world around7 is definitely a great enemy of an active lifestyle of sharing the Gospel. Jesus Youth have an inherent eagerness to welcome and dialogue with everyone they meet. In the midst of the pervading tendency of alienation and suspicion, Jesus Youth should take a special responsibility to seek all opportunities to collaborate with individuals and groups and not be inward looking or sectarian in their living situations – whether it is the Church or the wider society. We must follow the example of our Master who made friends with all kinds of people, even sinners and outcasts. While many express their concern over the ominous growth of violence and corruption, we should be more and more prepared and be open to join hands with other individuals and groups of goodwill and earnest dedication, to build a culture of tolerance and justice, where the seed of the Kingdom can be sown.- From Letter to Jesus Youth

Personal Thoughts:
Courtesy: Mathew Joseph
Sometimes God's ways are bit funny…
The powerful God who created heaven and earth...
The One who made everything perfect...
Why He need our help to share the Gospel to the world?
Why can't He make everyone followers of Jesus?

May be God wants us to take part in His creation work…
He is expecting us to join Him so that we together create the kingdom of God.
Isn't it a great expression of God's love for us?
He is reaching out and collaborating with sinners like you and me!!
That's God's love....

Jesus went about doing good (Acts 10:38).
He was sensitive to the needs of the people around...
He made friends with all kinds of people, even sinners and outcasts.
Sharing the good news and healing them.

We are called to be the light of this world giving Jesus to the people around us.
Every opportunity to share Jesus requires us to reach out to people.
Understanding their needs and problems.
Sharing the Gospel as a solution to their problems is a challenge.
That is the challenge God wants us to take today…

Prayer (to be repeated throughout the day):
My Lord My God, make me your humble instrument of love.

Regards,
Thomson
God’s Online.24x7.

Deeper & Higher - Formation in steadfastness

Introduction:
Why Deeper & Higher?

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. (Matthew 7:24-26)

Do you know how a Bamboo Grows?
It takes five years for the seed of a bamboo tree to show any growth above ground, and then it grows to a height of 90 feet in six weeks! Five years of preparation, of putting down roots, of spreading underground, so as to have access to plenty of food. And then, only then, does it take off.
Only when we grow deeper in Lord can we reach higher in our growth and evangelization else stronger winds will bring us down easily in no time. These stronger winds could be manifested in many forms such as hurt feelings, inferiority complex, discouragement, guilty feeling etc and above all our personal Sins …
Going deeper makes us stronger like the bamboo which bends to extreme levels but never breaks. Learning from a bamboo lets grow deeper first in Lord then higher!

Archives (Please don’t miss the earlier reflections):
Sep11 2009 - JY as a ‘A growing sense of hope’ –
http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-jy-growing-sense-of-hope.html
Sep14 2009 – ‘The response of the movement to the world around’ –
http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-response-of-movement-to.html
Sep15 2009 - JY ‘a critique of contemporary values’
http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-jy-critique-of.html
Sep16 2009 – ‘Challenging ourselves to a deeper, personal relationship with Jesus’
http://jydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/09/deeper-higher-personal-relationship.html

Reflection:

Today let’s reflect on ‘Formation in steadfastness’

The contemporary culture of instant satisfaction, short attention span and the lack of an eternity perspective are definitely not conducive to ensuring continuity and developing rooted ness in life. Yet the movement believes that a lifestyle of steadiness and commitment is quite significant for fruitfulness (Jn 15:5). As the movement has found active participation in cells to be a very effective means of providing support in one’s spiritual journey, the building up of cells becomes a very important responsibility of the leaders as well as the coordinating teams of Jesus Youth. - From Letter to Jesus Youth

Personal Thoughts:

Where are we heading? Where are we building our home? Where are we buying our land? Where are we investing? Where will you vote... tough questions?

Well as word of God says we all are ‘Citizens of Heaven’ (Phil 3:20), so we are going to vote over there, our say is there, our fuller life is there and so is our government and King!

We are not only called to make this voyage to Heaven but also to take along companions on this journey … Our cells ,companionship & prayer groups are called for such a joyful holy journey together.

I now can imagine saints singing to us:

Come with me to heaven a place of truth and joy…
Are u a prodigal son?
If yes so come with me …
There is a father who is waiting for you … from time eternity……………

Or are you the elder one?
If yes so come with me …
There is a father who is still waiting for you… from time eternity……………

Prayer (Is a communication - to be repeated throughout the day):

If you love someone how long do you want speak on phone or face-2-face? 1 hr, 2 hr…..or 24 hrs? God’s online 24x7 giving you missed calls and trying to reach you…Pick up the call or call him back!

O lord Jesus I am prodigal son/daughter, my soul thirsts for you.

Regards,
Thomson
God’s Online.24x7.

Deeper & Higher - personal relationship with Jesus

Reflection:
Today let’s reflect on ‘Challenging ourselves to a deeper, personal relationship with Jesus’
We often say that the most important aspect of our movement is ‘Jesus’ as our name ‘Jesus Youth’ suggests. Yet we must recognize that if we are not vigilant, there is always the danger of our spirituality getting reduced to certain programmes, groups or gestures, which is why we propose an ‘itinerary of holiness’ to help youth walk with Jesus in their everyday lives. The practice of the ‘six pillars’, participation in cells and a steady recourse to spiritual guidance
should support the nurturing of a fresh and dynamic relationship with the Lord. The core concern of the Jesus Youth movement is this ever renewing and ever widening personal walk with Jesus. There is an urgent need to challenge youth to renew and sustain their fidelity to this key element of Jesus Youth spirituality. - From Letter to Jesus Youth

Personal Thoughts:

Courtesy: Jose Thomas(Joji)

For each one of us who call ourselves Jesus Youth, the journey that we are on, started with a personal encounter with Christ. But that was only the beginning, what happened after that is what is most important. The paths that we trod after that, the lives that we touched, the love we shared, all these forms our journey with Christ. There is a very important aspect which determines how far we can go on this journey in this life.
That aspect is, "How much do you know the one who called you?"
Each call of our Lord is a call to step out in faith. Never at the moment of call is it made clear to us what exactly our call is or where it will lead. In our personal encounter with Christ, we were asked to step out in faith and we all did. If we look at people of immense faith like Abraham, Moses or Mother Mary, it’s their knowledge of who is calling them that makes them step out in faith. And its their deep and intimate knowledge of Him, that makes them continue faithfully even in most hopeless circumstances, never doubting a bit about their call or the promises given to them.
For us also to be faithful to our calls, we need to know the one who called us. And just knowing Him would not help to sustain our journey when the storms rage around us and we are not able to see the loving face of our savior. The intimate and true knowledge of our Lord who called us is the only thing that can sustain us through those storms until the morning breaks and brings with it the light of our saviors’ comforting grace. So from this day until the moment we breathe our last breath, and complete the beautiful journey that we started, let us be continuously on a journey of discovery too. A journey of discovery, of the beauty and depth, of the love of our wonderful Lord. Building an everlasting relationship with him. This is what will keep us true to our call until the last breath and beyond, until we come face to face with His majesty.
~ Joji

Prayer (To be repeated throughout the day):
O lord Jesus I desire to know you, to meet you, to be with you… more and more today.

Regards,
Thomson
God’s Online.24x7.

Deeper & Higher - JY a critique of contemporary values

Why Deeper & Higher?
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. (Matthew 7:24-26)
Do you know how a Bamboo Grows?
It takes five years for the seed of a bamboo tree to show any growth above ground, and then it grows to a height of 90 feet in six weeks! Five years of preparation, of putting down roots, of spreading underground, so as to have access to plenty of food. And then, only then, does it take off.
Only when we grow deeper in Lord can we reach higher in our growth and evangelization else stronger winds will bring us down easily in no time. These stronger winds could be manifested in many forms such as hurt feelings, inferiority complex, discouragement, guilty feeling etc and above all our personal Sins …
Going deeper makes us stronger like the bamboo which bends to extreme levels but never breaks.

Reflection:
Today let’s reflect on JY as ‘a critique of contemporary values’
The complex and powerful winds of progress and change that are sweeping across our communities are deeply affecting our attitudes and lifestyles.Enduring relationships and sustained commitments are being swept aside in the rapid pace of life. While the increase of wealth and material conveniences has made the youth financially more generous, independent and leisurely, the uncontrolled pursuit of money and material comfort has seriously affected the spiritual life of this generation(Lk 12:13-21; Mk 8: 36, 37). Amassing wealth is gradually becoming the key purpose in life for many, and even prayer and spirituality become a means to this end. In fact, this tendency to create, package and market an over-simplified, instantly-gratifying and painless spirituality is growing all around us. We need more young people who not only do not conform but can also challenge the values, motives and aspirations of the people around us. The Jesus Youth movement has a very significant role to play in exposing this mindset and in living a deeper Catholic spirituality - From Letter to Jesus Youth

Personal Thoughts:
Courtesy : Mathew Joseph
During the last 15 years Bangalore has changed a lot. It has grown from a pensioners' paradise to the IT capital of India. Lot of migrants coming to the city every day in search of a good job and good life. Wealth creation is becoming the sole motto for many. Success in life is measured only by the millions you make. The pub culture and the BPO culture is fast catching up.
Why is the creation of wealth not making our life simpler? Everyone is stressed and under lot of problems. Money is not solving their problems. Corruption is fast catching up in the society. Values are fast disappearing from people's mind. Everything seems to be fine as long as you make profits... Family values are fast disappearing. Drugs, alcohol, fashion and casual sex are no more a sin to this generation.
As JYs, are we open to the realities around? How many times did we pray for the social problems of Bangalore? Did we ever try to take an initiative to change this society? Many times, our prayers and prayer groups become totally isolated from the realities of the society we live in.The mall culture is fast influencing even the JYs.Our prayer groups also becomes disconnected from the main stream society and even from our parish youths... How many times we cared to share the gospel to the youth in our parish or in our community around?
Are we sensitive to the needs of the people around us? Do we have any responsibility towards the society we live in? What are we doing to make their lives better? How much do we get involved in resolving the social issues? Are we too busy, we even forget to pray for them? Selfish spirituality is a danger we need to watch out for... Remember, if you want to reach heaven, it is your responsibility to take the whole of Bangaloreans along with you to heaven. When you reach heaven, Jesus is going to ask you - where is your brother? Every Bangalorean irrespective of his caste or creed is your brother and you are responsible for their salvation.

Prayer (To be repeated throughout the day):
O lord Jesus make me amass your love as my wealth.

Regards,
Thomson

Deeper & Higher - Response of the movement to the world around

As we prepare ourselves for the JY regional conference named "Deeper and Higher" happening in Christ University on Oct 2,3 & 4 lets reflect on the spiritual theme for the conference for the coming few weeks. The scriptural theme for the conference is “Put out into the deep”, Luke 5:4.
Continuing on our objective to ‘deepen our spiritual life’ on the back drop of this regional conference lets reflect on our next element which will help us’ Put out into the deep’.

Reflection:
Today let’s reflect on ‘the response of the movement to the world around’
Every Christian has a serious responsibility to reflect about and act upon the world around in the light of the Gospel (Lk 12: 55, 56). The mystery of the Incarnation, and Passover, through which God has lovingly united the world and its history to himself, bequeath on every Christian the duty to work together for progress and peace in the world. As Jesus Youth is a missionary movement, we ought to be creative designers of peace by getting involved in the affairs of the world. Our movement, with its focus on youth, has a special duty to challenge young people not to make use of the groups and activities to withdraw into their comfort zones and escape from their duties and responsibilities, but to inspire and guide them to be responsible and loving neighbours(Lk 10:29). This challenge is especially relevant in a fast changing, success-oriented culture where ‘personal achievement’ and ‘personal satisfaction’, both spiritual and material, often form the entire focus of one’s busy schedule. For many, even prayer life and personal spirituality are very much coloured by this holy self-centeredness, often turning spirituality into a set of external exercises and pious activities that do not influence their lives or relationships in a deeper way - From Letter to Jesus Youth

Personal Thoughts:
A question we need to answer now – Am I a Levite who passed by the wounded person, or the priest who was busy with His pious activities which supposedly pleased God or the good Samaritan who truly showed love beyond borders. Yes we all are called to be good Samaritans where ever we are. May be I am walking through the crowded streets of S G Palaya, or working in ITPL, or stuck in the electronic city traffic jam or studying in MCC or any nursing college or teaching or marketing where ever I am, am I called as a JY to be a living 5th Gospel for my fellow brethren.
Why are our faces saddened after lot of prayers? Where is the joy of praying? Aren’t we still a joyful contradiction. I think the time has come for prayerful actions. The time is right for us to come out of our own 4 cornered comfort rooms and step out into the world as living message of love of Christ.

There is a great famine for love in Bangalore. May our prayers result in love and our love in fruitful actions. I believe we all are called to be a pro-lifer, an intercessor, a lover wherever we are and this is not limited to just our prayer warriors from intercession team or pro-life ministry members. Every JY is called by Lord to this kind of joyful life which contradicts the saddened cynical masked life of the world. Ask any one outside – How are you and the answer is audio taped – I am fine? Are they really? Or are we robots who are taught to say that all is fine with us (a mask).
Are we ready to unmask, unlearn the wrong and wear the mask of Jesus Love & Joy and show the same to others? When God closes one door he opens many so let’s find the many open doors in our life to go out to the world with Christ’s good news.

Prayer (To be repeated throughout the day):
O lord Jesus make me pro-life.
O Mother Mary pray that I become an intercessor just like you.

Regards,
Thomson

Deeper & Higher - JY a growing sense of hope

As we prepare ourselves for the JY regional conference named "Deeper and Higher" happening in Christ University on Oct 2,3 & 4 lets reflect on the spiritual theme for the conference for the coming few weeks.

The scriptural theme for the conference is “Put out into the deep”, Luke 5:4. I would like to go back to the Letter to Jesus Youth dated 23rd March 2008 prepared by the JY international team which highlights the various aspects of putting out into the deep.
At the heart of the Jesus Youth movement is its special call to offer a relevant spiritual response to the fast paced, constantly changing, multi-ethnic world of today. Such a response can proceed only from deep reflection and a clear discernment of the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Thus the focus of ‘Deeper and higher’ remains mainly on two aspects - “Deepening of our spiritual lives” and “Strengthening of our Mission”.

Reflection:
Today lets reflect on JY as a ‘A growing sense of hope’.

The youth that are involved in the Jesus Youth movement and those who come into contact with them tell the story of a fresh discovery of hope. Through the movement ordinary youth from diverse backgrounds receive a life changing experience of Jesus and are transformed into active Christians with a sense of mission in life. It is heartening to note that Church hierarchy and leaders of society often express a growing sense of hope and expectation about what the movement can offer to the Church and society. This expression of support and encouragement, especially from the Church hierarchy, while a source of much consolation, is also an awesome responsibility, calling us to be faithful to the guidance of the Church and to fulfil our duties as active players in the growth of the society around(Lk 12:48) – From Letter to Jesus Youth .

Personal Thoughts:

Many times in my life I have felt that things I do is just because someone expects me to do this or a great responsibility lies on me to complete the action.Jesus and His Church have laid a great responsibility on us and not only has He given us this responsibility but also has equipped us with power of the Holy Spirit from above to carry it out.
The greatest challenge you and me face on a personal front day in day out is the responsibility of being holy & faithful to our master in this seductive world. The world is calling from newspaper, internet, peers, and media to a life of pleasure and fun compromising without any hesitation the good handed over to us by Jesus our Lord. The battles are more personal I feel than social. For me personal spiritual battles are fiercer than community one’s. Let’s pray for personal holiness.
Today let’s reflect on these thoughts and make a prayer of Holiness.

Prayer (To be repeated throughout the day):
O lord Jesus through the power of your precious blood make me Holy and pure like you!

Regards,
Thomson

JYPL- Discovering God Through Cricket !

"English invented cricket because they found no other way of experiencing eternity",someone rightly said this about cricket specially test cricket.I am here to share about JYPL-Jesus Youth Premier League , a cricket tourney for JY in Bangalore.Here is a brief account of what happened on that glorious day,29th of June,Sunday,Christ School Ground.

The Day was cloudy as it often gets in Bangalore and more cloudy if seen through the eyes of each and every player who was excited like a little kid to play 'The Beautiful Game'(afcouse in Indian context its Cricket not Football).The schedule for the day included two semifinal matches and one grand finale.The four teams for this tourney were JY STARS(led by Mr.Jose Sebastian),JY Heroes(led by Mr.Jacob Jose),Heavens XI(led by Dony Peter),Celestial Arrows(led by Manoj KJ).
The first semifinal was between JY Heroes & JY Stars.Stars one the toss and put Heroes into bat.It was an 8 Over tourney hence no time for batsmen to settle-in thus the very first ball is a ball equivalent to one in a slog over.Heroes batting was led by the young brigade of Jomon(an engg aspirant) and Floyd(an engg passout and a microsoft employee in the making).They both added 31 runs for the first wicket until the pace of Fr.Mathew(a Somascan Priest in the disguise of a super fast train)caught Jomon who gave a simple catch to Jerry(the teenz keeper).Floyd was the star for JY heroes scoring 30 runs of the total 59 runs.The JY heroes innnings ended at 59 runs for the loss of just one wicket(They were saving the wickets I guess).JY Stars came into bat and smoothly scored those runs under the watch ful eyes of their captain Jose Sebastian who was sitting in the pavilion looking out for new controversies and counting stars!JY stars got it right they went for runs and scored it on time to clinch the match.Cant describe how happy JY Stars were, they were on moon not stars!

The second match was the most waited one between the favourite team of the tourney Heavens XI and the underdogs(literally) Celestial Arrows.Heavens XI under their dynamic captian Dony won the toss and put Manoj KJ's Celestial arrows to bat.A decision Heavens XI will later go on to regret.CA(Celestial Arrow) had a disastrous start losing Deepu Jose on the first ball of the match,obviously the bowler was Dony.But that was just a sample of what was not to come, the CA batsmen belted the Heavens XI round the park .Fours & Sixes rained from the bats of Abhy(Hail Mary),Bejoy(Singapore)as the CA's reached a super score of 100 in 8 overs.The Highest scorer was Bejoy followed by Dony(Heavens XI)who almost created a world record for maximum of number of wides in an over.CA's were highly excited that they got into the field charged up,infact so much charged up that they took an extra player onto the field.Now they had 12 players on field -this is what we call stand apart and being counted.The match organizers woke up late to realize that they were seeing 12 people fielding and umpire Vijay Sebastian found his communication skills quite useful in convincing Dony that 20 run penalty will be sufficient to compensate for this grave mistake by CA's.CA's were cruising with some wickets until then so they decided to hand over 20 runs but they soon realized that it could be a mistake when they saw that the heavy bats of Sminu & Crispin proved why Heavens XI were the strongest team both on paper and on field.Their combined force hit some huge sixers but CA's held their lost nerves and won the match on the last ball when a four on that ball could have seen Heavens XI in heavenly glory.Bejoy from CA was declared the man of the match.Thus it was all set for a final showdown between JY Stars and Celestial Arrows both needing heavenly blessings to keep up their winning streak.
The Finals: JY Stars Vs Celestial Arrows !

JY Stars won the toss put themselves into bat and they did put in a decent performance scoring 67 .The star was Ashish(Prolife)who intially mistook JYPL to be a football tournament(as the snaps can better tell)who came to the party scoring 28 runs.CA's bowling hero was Bejoy taking 3 scalps in the final few overs.CA's came into the field to bat with just 68 on the board might have already set one hand on the most coveted JYPL trophy but Stars bowlers had other plans under the firey spells of Lijesh,Johnson and Fr.Mathew .CA's crumbled into pieces surrendering an easy win to JY stars.CA's were all out for mere 42.Aashish was declared man of the match.Thus JY Stars proved why they were the best team on that day(may be other teams have a different opinion nex time around...)Kudos to Jose Sebastian for leading JY Stars to a well deserved victory.Manoj KJ was declared Most Valuable Player for scoring 0 runs,taking 0 wickets and 0 catches ..surprised!!!!....Manoj led a team to believe that we can achieve impossible things through prayers and CA's clearly knew that they were playing only for God's Glory(Believe it or not I was part of the team ...every time Manoj KJ raised his hand in the field we knew what we needed to do..PRAY).Bejoy from CA on grounds of pure statistics was the Best Player of JYPL.

This was the more cricket part of JYPL.I will leave the pictures do the talking with regard to all the fun and fellowship part of JYPL.Have a hearty laugh-CLICK HERE FOR THE JYPL SNAPS.

Team Behind JYPL:

Tom Joseph was the main organizer of JYPL.Jacob Jose the designer of the Logo's and our true inspiration.Melvin the designer for JYPL best player trophy.Anto Roy & Rajshekhar our logistics team,Prince our Drinks organizer,Savitha made the day great with some amazing face painting opportunities,Fr.Tom our support and dad,Ann Mary our Coordinator and chief guest,Vijay Sebastian the multi-talented umpire,Rajshekhar/Sminu part time leg umpires,Floyd/Jinu/Johnson the scorers,Dony our part time Commentator,Anto Machery/Feena/Patrick/shinto our photographers,Candice/Jessy/Nisha and team our cheerleaders and drummers.,Shaju the man behind the original JYPL idea.......and the rest all who made it a great day of Joy and Fun.And Above all Our Lord Jesus Christ who brought us all together in His name- JESUS YOUTH !

and afcouse my MOM for giving me an opportunity to write this article late in the night! .....and the OSCARS goes to...................... JY STARS !

Love Beyond Borders

Dear all , Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-the only saviour on record to have promised of eternal life.Am pleased to blog after a long break.I am happy today coz I discover today that I am not the laziest person, their are many more around here (Did you know - the last person to blog here happens to be myself !).

So I wish & pray that all may wake up soon from their deep sleep to get some thoughts flying here;Just a thought -What if St.Paul felt the need to take a break from writing the letters ?What if St.paul missed expressing His opinions due to long travels? What if I failed to tell my Jesus experience due to my busy work?what if......?

Enough of my Philosophical deadlines , let me come to what I felt like sharing here .

Last few months have been quite low with me spiritually.I have been missing my prayer groups, cell,fellowship and meetings.Just finding it as a seriously tedious task to find some balance between work and life.Please do pray for me and all my colleagues around the world with the same issues !

But the main highlight of the year that went by was SAC'07 .I am glad that I am a JY.

I am glad that I am a catholic and above all I am glad to know that I am chosen by Christ Himself to share His Love & Peace.

SAC-South Asian Conference was an eye opener.I am not in the minority ,I am in the majority of people who have accepted Jesus as their saviour. Love Beyond Borders - what a beautiful phrase......I was able to find my own borders which prevented me from sharing Christ with others.

If you have any experience please do share .Whats your take on year 2007 ? What do you hope for in year 2008 ?

C'mmon all sleeping beauties ! he he . . .

yours,

Thomachan.

An unusual experience!

Yesterday I went to attend Dony’s sister’s engagement in Begur. After the reception, Sanjay and I were standing in front of the church and saw poor child, about 3 years, crying bitterly. He seemed as though he was crying for help. We went to him and inquired why he was crying. Another child from the neighborhood showed up and told us that he passed motion in his pants and his mother was not around. His pants were dirty from top to bottom. He seemed to have loose motion. The stench was strong.

Sanjay and I looked at each other and we knew we are going to clean him. We motioned him (His Name was Ravi) to come along and he held on to Sanjays hand. We then took him to the toilet behind the church. This toilet was locked some ten minutes back when we wanted to use it. And to our surprise now its was open. We went inside with the child and there was hardly any water in the tap. But soon water started coming in drops. I removed his pants and could not stand the smell but I was strengthened by the thought that it was Jesus whom I'm attending to and I used my hand to clean him thoroughly.

His face lit up and it was so heartening to see him very comfortable and contented. Then next task was to the clean his pants. Sanjay took up that part and I poured water for him. We rinsed the pant that was really dirty. We then took him near his house and put the pant for drying. Our hands smelled really bad and the toilet did not have sufficient water to wash. It was an experience of a life time and I thank Jesus for this exceptional one.