Author: Editor, Kingdom Revelator

Reflection 

THE POWER OF PRAYER AND PRAISE

There are many excuses that people make as their reasons not to pray, it might be because they are too tired or they’ve too much to do, but prayer is an important part of our life of faith. It keeps us in a relationship with God and helps to keep our faith alive. St Paul writes, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” (Romans 12:11-13) God wants us to persevere in prayer so that he can make use of us, because if we let him, He can do amazing things through us, to bring more and more people to Him.

In the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 16 it tells the story of Paul and Silas being arrested, stripped, beaten and thrown into jail with their feet chained between heavy blocks of wood. To the surprise of the other prisoners Paul and Silas spent the evening in their cell, joyfully praising and praying to God. Suddenly, around midnight, there was a violent earthquake, which shook the prison and all the doors flew open and the chains fell off the prisoners. The jailer was frightened because he thought that all the prisoners had escaped, but when he heard that this was not the case, he was so amazed by the power of God that he was converted and he and all his family were all baptised.

Even after being stripped and beaten, Paul and Silas remained strong in their faith. Others in the same situation would have been miserable and dejected but the two disciples continued to praise God in songs and prayer and this was a great witness to the other prisoners. Through the worship, God revealed his glory to them and to the other inmates and even to the jailer and his family.

St Paul says, “We want to remind you, brothers, of the trouble we had in the province of Asia. The burdens laid upon us were so great and so heavy that we gave up all hope of staying alive. We felt that the death sentence has been passed on us. But this happened so that we should rely not on ourselves, but only on God.” (2 Corinthians 1: 8-9) When we are weak and allow God to work in our lives He will be strong and give us His strength to deal with our problems. So surrender the keys of your life to the one who raises the dead, who calms the storm, who heals the sick, who forgives sinners, whose love endures for ever. To the only God, who alone is all wise be Glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

 

“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

Written by Jerrin Joseph

Life 

HOW I FOUND GOD

MY EARLY LIFE

I was born into a Christian, Catholic family and was raised by my grandparents until the age of 9. Unfortunately my grandparents spoilt me and with the lack of punishment and discipline, I became very rebellious and naughty. My grandparents just loved me too much to tell me off or punish me so I started rebelling against them and blackmailing them to get what I wanted. I wouldn’t eat my meals and wasted so much food when my grandma wasn’t looking. I skipped saying the Rosary with them to watch my favourite TV shows because I thought that the Rosary was boring and I wanted to enjoy myself. I know that I hurt them a lot.

MOVING TO ENGLAND

However, everything changed for me after my parents brought me to England. At first, I felt alone and sad because I was by then much closer to my grandparents than to my parents. Everything was very different and I didn’t feel secure or happy any more in this new country. I remember crying one night because I missed my grandparents so much and I asked God never to take them away. But, gradually, I started to settle and get used to my new situation and I was a bright, happy, cheerful kid.

MY PROBLEMS BEGIN

We moved to a new area when I was 10 years old and I started going to a new school and that is when a huge problem hit me. I can’t tell you what the problem was because it is too hard and personal to say but I suffered a lot from it. I lost my childhood innocence. I didn’t understand what was going on. I ignored it at first but as I grew older and started looking at things from a different perspective, it all seemed very wrong. This went on for 4 or 5 years of my life and as I grew it got worse and worse. I didn’t tell anyone. I couldn’t tell anyone. Someone that I had really trusted had hurt me, in such a way that it was impossible to put right.

I HID MY TEARS

I cried a lot at night times; it was the only time that I could just open my heart and cry as my sister would be sleeping. I was scared, frightened and alone. I questioned God: “Why me? What have I done? I’m just a kid. I don’t know what to do”. When I was alone and scared, I could not turn to anyone for comfort, no one saw my tears, not my parents or friends. I just couldn’t say anything to them. During the day, I would hide all my tears with a smile and laughter but only the Lord, the one above, saw how weary my eyes were. How much I was crying and suffocating on the inside. “When I walk through the valleys of death, I shall fear no evil for the Lord is with me.” (Psalm 23:4) The once cheerful and happy kid was gone.

SHARING MY TROUBLES

It was at this time that my aunty moved nearby because she had a new job and we were really close with her and my cousins. One day we were all together talking about things, and my sister, without realising it, gave away a slight hint about my problem. My aunty guessed something wasn’t quite right with me, so when we were alone, she asked me what was wrong. At first, I resisted, but then I broke down and told her everything. She tried to help as much as she could and although it took a long time, I eventually resolved my problem.

A NEW STRENGTH

It was a very difficult time but with the help and love of my aunty, I became stronger and more confident. She taught me that I shouldn’t be afraid because God was with me. I had a strength that I thought I could never have again. It was overwhelming. It was the strength of the Lord, the Holy Spirit. I spoke out and I wasn’t afraid anymore. My enemy’s words couldn’t manipulate me anymore. I spoke with such power, that I amazed myself. I began to believe and trust God more than anything, more than my own life. I believed that he was with me, that he wouldn’t let go of my hands. He wouldn’t forsake me. He was my strength. “I was fiercely attacked and was being defeated, but the Lord helped me. The Lord made me powerful and strong; he has saved me” (Psalm 118:14).

HAPPY AGAIN

I have experienced really difficult times at a very young age, things no child should ever go through and although I thought that I would never be happy again, the impossible is now possible because of the power of God in my life. My strength is coming from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, the one who has counted every hair on my head, who has collected every one of my tears in his jar. My strength is in the Lord. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is impossible for him. He is great, he is amazing, and he is the Lord. I believe it because I have felt him; truly felt him, present in my life.

GOD HAS SAVED ME

When I look back now, at all those times that I’ve cried, I realise that the Lord was there. He was standing by my side, watching. Every time I broke done and cried, he hugged me tight, wiped away my tears and gave me strength. That is the love of our Lord and He heard and answered my prayers. HE HAS SAVED ME! He died for me. In the past, I lived because of him. Now I live for him.

Life 

SUPPORT ON OUR JOURNEY

WE NEED RELATIONSHIPS

As believers, we need community. We need brothers and sisters in Christ who know our struggles and who are walking with us on our journey of faith. We need people who see us wandering from the path of grace and point us back to the gospel. “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1) St Paul wrote: “I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” (Romans 1:11-12)

A CHALLENGING TIME

My first experience of community was when I was a Church leader during my time at the Bangalore Nursing College. I was constantly moved by the faith of the people around me and God was always giving me the opportunity to meet new people and share the gospel message. After gaining my nursing diploma, I moved to Bhopal in central India where I was working in a small hospital, trying to hang on to my faith in Christ Jesus alone. It was a very challenging time for me, because the nearest church was ten miles away and it could only be reached by rickshaw, which was expensive. I really struggled without a community where I could be encouraged in my Christian faith.

JESUS YOUTH GROUP

After a year I was moved from Bhopal to Chandigarh, as part of my post-graduate degree. It was another new challenge but I met up with a couple of young people from Kerala, who were part of the Jesus Youth group, actively evangelizing the Hindu people. With these young people I found the community that I had been looking for. I enjoyed their fellowship and their praise and worship. We sang Hindi songs, said the Rosary together and became a close community. We lived, learned, dined together and fellowshipped with other believers each weekend. It was a place where we were nurtured, encouraged, guided, and grew in faith together. I also found a good church and made some wonderful friends, both at work and in church. “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.” (Hebrews 13:1)

SPIRITUAL GROWTH

When I came to the UK to complete my degree this continued and I got involved in a Youth community called Metanoia, based in Preston. A few years ago, I started attending spiritual retreats and the Second Saturday Catholic Conventions in Birmingham led by Fr. Soji, and Sehion Ministries team, which have introduced me to another wonderful group of likeminded young people. They have really helped my spiritual growth. “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11) By the grace of God, we are each being moulded to be part of His evangelical mission on earth in different ways.

Written by Prince Paulose

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DON’T MISS OUT THIS EASTER

Easter is the greatest event in the Church’s Calendar. In the Easter liturgies we are offered a wonderful way to renew our faith and experience the love of God in a deeper way at this special time.

Each year we are given the opportunity to deepen our faith and experience more powerfully the love of God in our lives through the beautiful liturgies of the Church that are celebrated at Easter. The Season of Lent officially ends on Thursday of Holy Week and a period of three days of prayer and liturgies, called the Easter Triduum, begin on Holy Thursday evening and last until dusk on Easter Sunday. The Masses and Services during this time are full of deeply meaningful symbols that help us to experience the love of God in a deeper way by entering into the mystery of His Passion and Resurrection.

MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

The Triduum begins with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday evening. In this beautiful and joyful celebration of the Mass the Last Supper is remembered, when Jesus washed his disciple’s feet and gave them the gift of the Eucharist. This Mass is also a celebration of the priesthood and during the Mass the priest will, if he is able, wash the feet of chosen members of the congregation, as Jesus did at the Last Supper. Throughout Lent the Gloria is not been sung but at this Mass all the bells are rung while it is being sung and then the bells and the organ are silenced until the Easter Vigil Service. At the end of the Mass the altar is stripped bare and remains uncovered until the Easter Vigil. The Blessed Sacrament is removed from the Tabernacle and is processed to a side altar, where there is usually Eucharistic Adoration for some time into the night. This is to remind us that Jesus asked his disciples to stay awake and pray with him on the night before his arrest. “They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took with Him Peter and James and John.” (Mark 14: 3 –33) If we join in Adoration we too can sit with Jesus.

GOOD FRIDAY

Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstinence and the liturgy is very solemn as it commemorates the death of Jesus on the cross. All the statues and pictures in the Church are covered up, the altar is bare, and the door of the empty tabernacle stands open. So the atmosphere of the Church is one of sadness and mourning. The Mass is not celebrated on Good Friday or during the day on Holy Saturday but there is a service of the Lord’s passion and death which takes place during the afternoon around 3 o’clock. There is the Liturgy of the Word, which includes reading the account of the Lord’s Crucifixion followed by an opportunity to venerate the Cross (to bow before, touch or kiss the crucifix) and Holy Communion is distributed using Hosts that were consecrated the previous day. The whole service helps us to think about the great price that Jesus paid for our redemption out of His love for us. “He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)

HOLY SATURDAY

The Church teaches that Holy Saturday is the day when Our Lord’s body lay in the tomb. It is a day when the faithful are asked to meditate with prayer and fasting on his passion and death, and on his descent into hell, while waiting for His resurrection. The Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 624 says, “By the grace of God, Jesus tasted death for everyone. In his plan of salvation, God ordained that his Son should not only die for our sins but should also taste death, experience the condition of death, the separation of his soul from his body, between the time he expired on the cross to the time he was raised from the dead. The state of the dead Christ is the mystery of the tomb and the descent into hell.” It goes on to explain that hell is the place where all who had died before Him, whether righteous or evil, were waiting for their redeemer. When Jesus descended among the dead he opened the gates of heaven for those who were justified and so the Gospel message could be preached to all mankind, those yet to be born, those living at the time and all who had already died.

EASTER VIGIL

The third part of the Easter Triduum is the Easter Vigil Mass held on Holy Saturday night after sunset. This is the first celebration of the resurrection of Jesus and His victory over death and is a wonderful celebration of light and new life. “On this holy night we celebrate the Easter Vigil, the first, indeed the mother of all vigils, of the liturgical year. On this night, we walk once more the path of humanity from creation to the culminating event of salvation, the death and resurrection of Christ.” (Homily by Pope Saint John Paul II on Holy Saturday 2004)

The Mass starts with a celebration of light, when all the lights in the church are turned off and a small fire is lit outside the church. With the congregation outside, the priest blesses the fire and a new Easter (Paschal) Candle is lit from the fire. This candle is then processed into the darkened church as a sign of Christ, the Light of the World, who has overcome the darkness of sin and death. Then everyone lights a small candle from the flame of the Paschal Candle symbolising that Christ wants to spread his light to all people. This section finishes with the singing of a beautiful hymn of praise called the Easter Exultet which includes the words, “This is the night when Christians everywhere, washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement, are restored to grace and grow together in holiness. This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave. What good would life have been to us, had Christ not come as our Redeemer?”

This is followed by the Liturgy of the Word, where there are readings from the Old and New Testaments recalling the story of God’s great love for his people throughout the ages. The Gloria is sung once again with all the bells ringing joyfully. The next part of the Mass is called the Liturgy of Baptism when the congregation, holding their lit candles, renew their baptismal promises. This is also the time when adults who want to be baptised or to become full members of the Catholic Church are initiated into the Sacraments and receive Baptism, and Confirmation as appropriate. They will then receive the Eucharist later in the Mass. The Easter Vigil ends with a celebration of the Eucharist.

EASTER SUNDAY

If you cannot attend the Easter Vigil, the Mass on Easter Sunday is a joyful celebration of Christ’s resurrection. It may lack some of the symbolism of the Easter Vigil Service of Light but it is a fitting conclusion to Holy Week and celebrates Baptism and the New Life that Christ won for us by His resurrection from the dead.

ENTER THE MYSTERY

The Triduum, the services on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil are the most important in the Church’s calendar for each one of us and we should make a special effort to attend them all. They are opportunities to pray and praise together with our Parish community thanking God for all that he has done for us. Together they celebrate the most sacred and important aspects of our faith. By attending all three important celebrations we journey with Jesus through his Last Supper, His Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, His Crucifixion and His Resurrection and we are able to enter into the mystery of these events. Make sure that you don’t miss out on the most beautiful, dramatic and faith-building liturgies in the Church’s year this Easter.

 

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WHY READ THE BIBLE?

The Bible should be any Christian’s best friend and companion. Through reading it daily we begin to understand ourselves and the world better and we can discover how much God loves us and His plan for our lives. Reading the Bible gives us a number of blessings:

Truth

The Bible gives us the truth about God (and ourselves) that we could never discover on our own. The truth that we find in the Bible is not the truth of an idea but the truth we find in a person, a person who is totally faithful to His word. God is that person and the Bible is like a mirror, reflecting back to us the true character of God as well as our own unfaithfulness.

Power

The Bible uses images like a hammer and fire (Jeremiah 23:29) to describe God’s power and St. Paul says the word of God is ‘the sword of the Spirit’ (Ephesians 6:17). This power is not a physical power, able to lift or move heavy objects but a spiritual power, which is infinitely greater and can change our spirits, our hearts and our minds. It is the power of goodness and of love and even helps us endure physical weakness, suffering and sacrifice for the sake of Christ and our neighbour.

Life

Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) We read in Ezekiel 37 about the dry bones coming to life and God says “I will put my spirit within you and you shall live.” (Ezekiel 37:14)

What happened to the dry bones can also happen to us when we read the Bible. But we must read prayerfully, being aware of the presence of God and giving Him the time and space to speak to us as we read. The life that the Bible gives us is eternal life, a sharing, by grace, in the very life of God Himself. As we read the Bible each day, we will find that our lives and the situations around us change for the better because, through grace, we are able to see the world more and more as God sees it and our own prayer life becomes more meaningful.

Joy

The Psalms are full of expressions of joy in God’s word (Psalm 19:8; Psalm 33:1). Jeremiah said to God, “Your words were found and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy, and the delight of my heart.” (Jeremiah15:16) The joy God gives us is different to anything the world can give because it is God’s love and He never stops loving us. The Bible is God’s love letter to each one of us. We all need to be loved and hopefully we are all loved by others in our lives, by parents, children, grandparents and friends. But God’s love is unchanging and forever, even when we don’t love Him back in return. He never stops loving us and died on the Cross for us.

The Bible is the most interesting book ever written. It contains within it everything we ever need to know about God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. For an excellent guide on how to read the whole Bible and the Catechism in one year go to www. brandonvogt.com/ read-bible-2015

Written by Maureen Chatfield

Life 

OUR INVISIBLE COMPANIONS

MY ANGEL IS WITH YOU

We have a promise from God in Baruch 6:7, “My Angel is with you, and he is watching your lives”. God cares for us at all times. To illustrate this I will share a true story with you. A man from Kerala told me about a brutal attack that he survived when he was twenty four years old. One day he was walking with two of his friends. After walking a few miles, one of them suggested taking a break as they were tired, so they sat down on the veranda of a school to rest for a while. It was already getting dark and unknown to the man, his two companions had plotted something sinister in advance. Suddenly they attacked him and tied him to a nearby chair. Using a towel they started to strangle him, trying to choke him to death. He was totally overpowered by the two thugs and he could offer little resistance. They beat him so badly that he became unconscious, and then they disappeared off and left him for dead. Many hours passed, but no-one came to help him in that lonely place and he was unable to move. He was afraid to make any noise in case his attackers should come back and finish him off. As he regained a bit of consciousness he feared for his life and thought about his family. He realized that only God could save him and began to pray.

Suddenly he saw a bright light coming from the sky. He began to tremble with fear but was unable to move. The light came closer to him and a beautiful person with two wings emerged from it and touched him gently with his wings. He felt a strange feeling of calm and soothing inside. The continued flapping of the wings gave him comfort and gradually he came back to his full senses. He felt strong enough to get up and managed to find his way home in the early hours of the morning. With good care from his family he soon recovered. He is convinced that he is alive today only because of the mercy of God manifested through the intervention of his wonderful Guardian Angel.

ST PETER’S ESCAPE

St. Peter had a miraculous escape from prison with the help of a Guardian Angel as we see in the account in Acts 12:1-11. Herod, the king of Israel was persecuting the early church.  He had killed James, the brother of John and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he then arrested Peter and put him in prison. He made sure that Peter was well guarded, because he wanted to present Peter to the crowds the following day. But the all-powerful God intervened in this difficult situation. Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with chains, and with sentries guarding the doors when an Angel of the Lord appeared before the apostle. He shook Peter and woke him up and immediately the chains around his hands fell off. The Angel told Peter to get dressed and follow him. Peter obeyed and on the way out every gate that they had to pass through opened before them automatically. Peter could not believe what was happening. He thought he was dreaming. Once they had left the prison and were out on a street, the Angel disappeared. Only then did Peter realize that the Angel had been sent by the Lord to rescue him. This happened at a time when the Holy Spirit was working in a mighty way among the Christian people. The Apostles were fearlessly going about evangelizing and healing many with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Many signs and miracles were taking place by the power of the name of Jesus.

A VISION OF ANGELS

Let me give you another personal testimony. Once, a family came to the Sehion Retreat Centre for a five-day retreat. On the fourth day, their young daughter had to be rushed to the nearby hospital with a bad fever and severe vomiting. The father and the other siblings stayed on for the retreat and the mother stayed with the child in the hospital. The anointing and healing session was scheduled for the final evening. When the mother realized this, she was very upset that she would miss it.

She prayed, “Lord, you know how much I wanted to be there for the last anointing prayer along with the others.” Immediately, she got an inner urge to recite the Rosary. After completing the Rosary she closed her eyes, and then she had a vision. She saw a multitude of Angels surrounding the compound of the Retreat Centre, singing and dancing with joy and praising God. A large magnificent and beautiful Angel was seen covering the entire Attapadi Sehion Retreat Centre. By this time, she and her child were bathed in sweat and her daughter showed signs of recovery. When the doctors examined the girl, they found her completely healed so they were able to join the last prayer and healing session and testify before hundreds of people.

Once, a parish priest shared with me an interesting way of keeping young children quiet in the Church. He advised the faithful to submit their noisy children to the care of their Guardian Angels to enable the parents to concentrate on the Mass without distraction. The parents did exactly that and it worked wonderfully well. The children were very peaceful and calm throughout the service.

WATCHING OVER US

The presence of the Holy Angels is real; they are watching over us night and day. God has assigned an Angel for every person, every community, every country and nation, for example, the Guardian Angel for Israel is St. Michael as we read in the book of Daniel. By the protection of our Guardian Angels we have divine help in every trial and tribulation, the same way as they stood by the disciples to save them from persecution and danger for being followers of Christ. They guided and protected them from every evil. But those who live in sin and are led by worldly pleasures cannot feel the power or presence of the Guardian Angels in their lives. You will understand their protection and power when you live in holiness.

On the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels, on 2nd October, Pope Francis said “I believe in Guardian Angels and everyone should listen to their advice.” He added, “It is dangerous to chase away our travelling companion. It is only pride stopping people hearing their voices.” So, when you go to school, or before you start a journey or travel or go for an interview, rest assured, your Guardian Angel will be with you throughout.   God has given you His Angel to help you, guide you, instruct you and save you from all dangers on your path and they are always nearby. They are invisible, but invincible as well, because they are sent by the most powerful God. So you will be in safe hands.

Let’s take this moment to pray to our Guardian Angel: “Angel of God, sent by God as my companion and friend on earth, protect me from the temptations of the devil, and help me to walk always as a true child of God, my Creator.”

 

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

 

Written by Father Xavier Khan Vattayil

Bible Story 

NOAH’S ARK Genesis 6:1–9:17

WHO WAS NOAH?

Noah was the only righteous man who lived in a world full of evil, brutality and corruption. Among the people of his time, Noah was the only person who God found to be innocent of wrong doings. Although he lived in a society where everyone was doing what they wanted without any regard for God, Noah was completely committed to being God’s obedient servant. All the way through Noah’s long life, he showed unwavering loyalty to God. For Christians he is a truly inspirational person!

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE STORY?

When God saw how much wickedness dwelt in the hearts of the people that He had created, He was deeply grieved. For that reason, God decided to wipe out all of mankind from the face of the earth and start again. He said “I have decided to put an end to all mortals on earth; the earth is full of lawlessness because of them. So I will destroy them and all life on earth.” (Genesis 6:7) However, there was one good man left, Noah, and he was given very clear instructions by God on how he should build an Ark that would protect him and his family from the disastrous flood that was going destroy every living creature. Noah was told to take into the ark with him one male and one female of every living creature, seven pairs of all clean animals and birds, and finally, enough food to sustain Noah, his family and all the creatures while they were on board the Ark.

After they had all entered the Ark, it started raining and the downpour did not stop for forty days and forty nights. The floods caused by the rain lasted for one hundred and fifty days, and destroyed all the creatures that were not safely in the Ark. Gradually, the waters began to go down and the Ark reached the mountains of Ararat. The Ark came to rest there and Noah and his family waited patiently for several months until the earth dried up. Eventually God told Noah to come out of the Ark. Noah obeyed, then he built an altar for God and offered up some of the clean animals and birds that were with him in the Ark in thanksgiving. God was very pleased and He blessed Noah and his sons. More importantly, God established a covenant with Noah and his descendants for ever by promising that He would never again flood the earth and destroy all living creatures as He had just done. As a token of this everlasting covenant between God and humanity, God placed the rainbow in the sky.

WHAT DOES THIS BIBLE STORY TEACH US?

◗ Even though all the people around Noah were leading unholy lives, Noah refused to follow their example. He did not seek the approval of the world; he only sought to please God. Like Noah, we should have the boldness to say ‘no’ to sin and ‘yes’ to God’s will. The society we are living in today is full of temptations. If we’re not careful, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of worldly pleasures and forget all about our God who lovingly created us. Especially during our teenage years, our friends can have a massive influence over us. This means that it’s vital to ask the Holy Spirit to give us the strength not to give in to peer-pressure. If we resist then we are less likely to stray away from our faith and can live our lives in a way that makes us worthy of eternal life. “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)

◗ In the story of Noah’s Ark, we see that Noah was perfectly obedient to God. He did not question why God was asking to him to carry out the rather obscure task of building an Ark. Imagine if we were in Noah’s position; there would be so many questions and doubts that we would want answered before we started building an Ark. Although what God is asking us to do for Him may not always make sense to us, we need to believe that there’s a special purpose behind it. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”(Proverbs 3:5) Instead of voicing any doubts, Noah began to act on God’s words immediately. Through this great example, God is telling us that every time He asks us to do something, we should listen to Him without any hesitation and do whatever He wants us to do wholeheartedly. “If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine.” (Exodus 19:5)

The Ark that Noah built became a place of refuge for him and his family. When the floods came and destroyed everything, he was protected from all harm because he was dwelling in the safety of the Ark. During our lifetime we will experience the unwanted and unexpected floods of sufferings and pain. There may be times when we feel trapped by the problems in our lives and we might feel that there’s no way out but we should not lose hope. Instead, we should ask God for protection and believe that God, who protected Noah from the flood, will also shield us from all disasters. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”(Psalm 46:1-3)

Written by Rosemary Joy

Life 

HEALED IN LOURDES

THE VISION

For many of us seeing is believing, it was so for the people of Lourdes when Our Lady first appeared to St Bernadette. It was a very ordinary day for St Bernadette when she and her companions went to collect wood for the fire. However, the most amazing thing happened while she waited for the others to return from across a stream, Our Lady appeared to her, dressed in white robes and a blue sash. St Bernadette described the vision as the most beautiful lady she had ever seen. She was amazed at the changes this beautiful lady brought to her life and her family. But the rest of the town’s people found it very hard to believe and thought that the young saint was making it all up. Little did they know that many more miracles would happen through the intercession of this beautiful lady.

MY MEDICAL PROBLEMS

On a holiday in India, when I was eight years old, I developed a bad infection on my right leg through a mosquito bite. I took lots of different medicines to try to cure it but the infection just got worse. Within a few weeks it had spread to my whole body and I ended up with blisters everywhere. After two years trying various treatments, the blisters on my body had cleared up but the initial area on my right leg still remained infected and it used to bleed constantly. But to be honest, I wasn’t too bothered about it because I thought no one would ever see it. It wasn’t something I even prayed about because I thought that there were far worse diseases so I shouldn’t complain.

TORCHLIGHT PROCESSION

Ten years later, I went to Lourdes with my family. My mum suggested that I should pray for healing for my leg. I had heard many stories of miracles occurring in Lourdes but I had not thought that it might happen to me. While we were in Lourdes, we attended the torchlight procession and I have to admit that I had never felt the presence of Our Lady so strongly before. As we processed, holding our candles and saying the Rosary, I felt like Mother Mary was with me through the whole procession. Just like St Bernadette was in awe after seeing her vision, I had the most heavenly experience that night. Getting into bed, I took a final look at the infection on my leg and prayed in the hope of never seeing it again.

THE LOURDES BATHS

The next day we visited the baths in Lourdes. Every moment I waited in the long queue to go into the baths, I prayed earnestly for a cure. Finally the moment came when I had my chance to bathe in the Lourdes water and as soon as I put my foot in the water something filled me. An extraordinary power, it was so strong and overwhelming that tears came to my eyes. Words cannot express what I felt at that moment. After being dipped in the water I walked out feeling an immense joy and love.

YOU HAVE BEEN HEALED

I wanted to check my leg but was scared that I would be disappointed if it wasn’t better. As I waited for my family to return, a woman, who I didn’t know, came over and started speaking to me. She asked about my experience in the Baths and I awkwardly replied, “Emotional is one way to put it.” She smiled and said to me, “Young Lady, you’ve been healed by Our Lady.” After saying this she disappeared into the crowd. My mind was blank and confused. It gave me faith to check for a healing and before my very own eyes I could see my skin all clear and glowing with not a speck of scab or blood. There wasn’t even a scar left behind. I told my family and friends and they were overjoyed. After ten years I was healed!

 

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.” Luke 1: 46 – 47

 

PRAY FOR HELP

When things go wrong in our lives, we try many different ways to fix them but we forget to ask for help from the Creator himself. We fail to have faith in our Heavenly Father but seem to have faith in everything else. Our problems might be big, our disease might seem incurable but our God is bigger and there is nothing impossible for him.

Loving Father, I pray for everyone reading this, that whatever trouble they may be going through, that their faith in You might be increased, Heavenly Father. Lord, I pray that you will touch their lives and bless them abundantly. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

 

Written by Janet Jose

Uncategorised 

WELCOME HIM

I PUSHED JESUS AWAY

To many people, God is someone to turn to in times of trouble or need. To some He does not exist, they say, “it’s all made up.” And to a few of us He is everything. Until a few years ago, for me, Jesus was useful when I had exams but at other times I blamed Him for everything that was going wrong in the world. I used to question Him, saying, if He was loving and caring and a God of peace then why was there so much hatred in the world, and why so much fighting and war? Why were there so many broken families? It didn’t make any sense and so I pushed Jesus away from me.

THE WATER OF LIFE

But four years ago, my thoughts on God began to change and I started to think that maybe things would improve if Jesus became part of my worthless and troubled life. I realised that I needed a drink of that water of life that Jesus promised to the woman at the well, “Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give, will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) I had also read in Revelation 21:6, “To the thirsty, I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life” and I started to thirst for more of Jesus in my life. From that time, slowly my attitude towards people, my negative personality and my sinful life started to change. I stopped blaming Jesus for everything that was happening in the world and I realised that most of the world’s problems are caused because we humans are selfish. At the end of the day, Jesus taught us in Mark 12:31 that the solution was to love our neighbour as ourselves.

EVERYTHING CHANGED

Slowly I accepted Jesus as my brother, my lover, my friend and He became everything for me. From that time, I experienced His true passionate love for me and my worthless life started to have hope. In fact everything in my life changed. The hatred that I had towards my family and myself was replaced by God’s love. He poured his unconditional love into my heart and taught me to love everyone no matter what they had done to me. He clothed me with a new life, not taking my sins into consideration. What more can we ask from such a forgiving and soft hearted God, who gave His only son to show his love for us.

INVITE HIM INTO YOUR LIFE

I wasted the first eighteen years of my life pushing God away. How many years have you wasted? Every day Jesus is waiting for us to stop chasing the sugar coated traps of Satan and turn back to Him. And when we do He will never complain about the years that He has waited for us but He will rejoice that we have returned. I think that when we start pushing Jesus away then we lose the relationship that He wants to have with us. Is it wrong to consider Jesus as our own brother? Not at all, He is waiting for us to call out to him. Jesus spends more time with us than any of our family but we just fail to recognise it. Everything I have written is what I have experienced with Jesus. I urge you to invite Jesus more into your life and start seeing the changes. He won’t disappoint you.

 

Written by Priya Thomas