Author: Editor, Kingdom Revelator
K R 09
K R 08
The Greatest Day in History
EASTER DAY
What would you say was the greatest day in history? Maybe for you it was when you got your exam results, when your brother or sister was born or when your team won the cup final. For all mankind the greatest day in history was in fact Easter Sunday, the day that Jesus rose from the dead. On that day Jesus gained for us the ability to enter into heaven and gave us the gift of everlasting life. Death was defeated, it was no longer the end for us. That day was the turning point for all people, even for those who had already died before the great event. Everyone who has ever lived or who will ever live could benefit from the events on that first Easter day
THE DAY OF RESURRECTION
In the Mass we celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Each day, at every hour of the day his death and resurrection are being re- presented to God in Catholic churches around the world. So in some way for Catholics each day is Easter day, the day of resurrection. Saint Ambrose speaking to newly baptised Christians reminded them that each time they receive the Eucharist the event of the resurrection is applied to their lives “Today Christ is yours, yet each day he rises again for you.”
SHARING OUR GIFTS
So let us celebrate each day as if it were the greatest day in history all over again. Jesus celebrated Easter day by giving us the greatest possible gift and we can celebrate the many blessings that we have received from God by sharing them with others. There are so many people who need our help, it may be something simple like a lonely neighbour who needs someone to talk to or some shopping done or it might be getting involved with national campaigns to help persecuted Christians in the Middle East or street children in South America. The possibilities are endless there are so many people in need around us and around the world.
TELL THE WORLD
There is also a spiritual hunger in many people, who don’t know about the great gift that Jesus offers us in his life, death and resurrection. The greatest day in history means nothing to them unless we tell them about it. Pope Francis said, “The message which Christians bring to the world is this: Jesus, Love incarnate, died on the cross for our sins, but God the Father raised him and made him the Lord of life and death. In Jesus, love has triumphed over hatred, mercy over sinfulness, goodness over evil, truth over falsehood, life over death.” This is the message that the world needs to hear and then we can all celebrate the greatest day in history.
Written By : June Palmer
24/7 Friendship
A PASSIVE CHRISTIAN
Being born and brought up as a practicing Catholic, Christianity has always been a part of my life. However, I never really knew who Christ really was. I thought of Jesus as someone sitting on his throne looking down on me, watching what I was doing and judging me. I thought that he was making a note of the times when I sinned or did anything wrong. Also, my prayer life was very boring. I found it hard to pray as I simply didn’t know how to pray or what to pray for. I thought that as Jesus was God he would never understand my problems or how I felt deep inside, so was there any point in praying anyway? I knew so little then about Jesus Christ.
GOD BECAME MAN
Hebrews 4: 14- 15 tells us, “Since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet he did not sin.” Jesus, in his earthly life was also tempted in every way possible just like everyone else, yet he did not sin. So how can we ever feel that God does not understand us? He knows the challenges that we face. Philippians 2: 5-8 tells us how God humbled himself to become a man in order to identify himself with us humans. Jesus was true man and true God and as a man he experienced the same emotions as us. We read in the Gospels how he expressed his love, compassion, sorrow, mercy, and anger. This shows that Jesus knows what it is like to be human just like you and me.
HE UNDERSTANDS US
We are so blessed to have a God who actually understands us and sympathizes with our weakness. Jeremiah 1:5 says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.” Christ is the only person who understands us inside out. He knows why we fall, where we fall and how we fall because he knew us even before our mother found out she was carrying us. Therefore, let us not drift away from God, rather let’s cling onto him just like a child who clings on to his father. The Bible says “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:8). This is true. If you take your closest friend for example, the more time you spend with them, the closer you become and you find yourselves wanting to say and do the same things. This is the same with Jesus Christ. When we are close to him we don’t have to speak words for him to understand us. Just a thought or a glance at him and he knows our every thought and prayer. When we share everything with Christ, all our successes and failures, he will rejoice with us, shed a tear with us and sometimes have a laugh with us too.
CHRIST WALKS WITH US
My image of Jesus was all wrong, rather than sitting in his kingdom watching how we are doing, I now realize that he walks with us. Whatever we do and wherever we go, he is always beside us but we usually don’t realize that he is there. Deuteronomy 31: 6 says “It is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.” So, let us rejoice that Jesus Christ is beside us 24/7 and he is with us in everything that we do. Try having a chat with Jesus today just like an intimate friend who knows everything about you. You don’t have to change in order to experience Christ in your life; because Jesus, himself, will change you. Simply seek Christ and glorify him in all that you do. Just wait and see how he is going to change you. Jesus is the most understanding, faithful, supporting and loving friend you can ever have. Let us enjoy the warmth of this beautiful friendship all our life.
“You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15: 14-15
Written By : Sharon Thomas
WHO IS IT?
She is as sweet as a rose, as fresh as a beautiful flower, with a lovely fragrance. She is the queen of the earth, looking after all of us, wherever we go. She ‘s as bright as the sun, shining in glory, with radiant light. She’s the mother of our saviour, who accepted death, even death on the cross. She is the most gracious virgin, praying for all of us, whenever we need help. She is a caring mother, always with us, guiding our way. She is our protector, who scares the devil away, when we are his targets. She is the Immaculate Conception, with no stain of sin, in her thoughts words or deeds. She is blessed among women, most holy and compassionate, blessed is the fruit of her womb. She is beautiful and radiant, always there with unfailing help, ready to support us. She is the servant of the Lord, there to fulfil God’s word, the chosen one. Now she sits on the throne, in Heaven Above, interceding for her children on earth.
Written By : Crisilda Jojo, Age 12
My Prayer
Spirit of Truth, give me the ability to tell no lies only speak the truth. Lord the giver of light, give me courage to stay brave when I am alone. O graceful one help me to be kind and intelligent to my friends and neighbours. Spirit of knowledge give me the knowledge I need to last for the rest of my life.Spirit of understanding help me to understand what I have done wrong, so I can be good in my life. Spirit of love and peace help me to be nice and peaceful rather than shouting and being bad tempered to everyone.
Written By : Sona Aju (age 12)
Saint
St Winifred was a holy woman who lived and died in the seventh century in Wales. She has been venerated as a Saint since that time and a number of legends about her early life have developed to illustrate her purity and devotion to God. Sharlet Francis Xavier tells her story.
HER EARLY LIFE
Saint Winifred (sometimes spelled Winefride) was born in the seventh century in Holywell, Wales. Her father was Thevit, a rich land owner and her mother was Wenlo, the sister of St. Bueno, a priest, who built a chapel close to their home where he celebrated Mass and preached. Even though St. Winifred came from a rich family, she was a pure and gifted girl who was greatly influenced by her uncle. By the age of fifteen and with her parent’s consent she had decided to consecrate her life to the Lord and become a nun.
MIRACULOUS STORIES
The story is told that her beauty and talents were well known throughout the country and a Welsh Prince, Caradoc came to her parent’s house to seek her hand in marriage. When he got there, he found Winifred alone. She told him that she planned to become a nun and devote herself to God and could not marry him despite his pleas and threats. In a rage, Caradoc chased her as she ran towards the church where St Beuno was celebrating Mass and, overtaking her on a slope, he drew his sword and severed her head from her body. The head rolled down and on the spot where it rested, a spring of water gushed up from the ground. St Winifred’s Well, which still attracts pilgrims today, draws water from this spring.
ANOTHER LEGEND
One story that has been passed down through the ages is that as soon as this news reached him, St Beuno left the altar accompanied by Winifred’s parents and found her head beside the spring. He carried it to her body and covered both with his cloak before returning to finish the Mass. Later kneeling beside the young girl’s body, St Beuno cried out to God in prayer then removed the cloak. Winifred is said to have arisen with no sign of decapitation apart from a faint white circle around her neck. Caradoc was standing defiantly nearby and according to popular belief, when St Beuno invoked heaven’s punishment on him, he was struck down dead and swallowed up by the ground beneath him.
FACTS ABOUT ST WINIFRED
Whatever the legends about Winifred’s early life, we know that she was a nun who lived in the seventh century and she led a life of prayer in poverty and seclusion. She became the Abbess of a convent which was built on her father’s land and later Winifred and her fellow nuns went to Gwytherin, with St. Elwy, the author of her first biography, where she is said to have lived ”as an acknowledged saint on earth, first in humble obedience to the abbess and, after the latter’s death, as abbess herself” until her death in 660. Throughout the centuries since her death there have been many reported healings and miracles gained through the intercession of St Winifred.
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. Song of Songs 8:5-6
SAINT WINIFRED’S WELL
After her death, Winifred’s body was buried in her abbey but in 1138, her relics were carried to Shrewsbury and a shrine was built for her there. The shrine and well became major places of pilgrimage in the late middle ages but the shrine was destroyed by Henry the VIII in 1540. St Winifred has been venerated as a saint since her death when her well at Holywell became a place of pilgrimage for people seeking healing. Royalty including King Richard 1, King Henry V, James II and Queen Victoria have visited the site and thousands of people still visit the shrine each year. It is the only place in Britain with a continuous history of pilgrimage for over 13 centuries and many healings and conversions are still being reported by pilgrims. It is a place of spiritual revival offering pilgrims a sense of serenity and peace.
INTERPRETING THE LEGENDS
St Winifred was very holy and devout and was probably well known in her lifetime. Pilgrims would visit her at the abbey asking for her prayers for healing and many would be cured. That was why she was declared a Saint and her intercession was sought after her death.
Stories would have been told about her miraculous deeds and these may have tried to explain why she was so saintly. Choosing death rather than dishonor shows how devoted she was to God, that she was willing to die for him. The story of St Winifred being brought back to life mirrors the story of Lazarus in the Gospels when Jesus called him out of the tomb and Lazarus was restored to life. If Jesus could restore Lazarus to life why could he not bring the saintly Winifred back from the dead? It also reminds us that like St Winifred we have experienced in our Baptism the death of our old life of sin and our rebirth into new life in Christ. So let St Winifred be our model of holiness and virtue so that we too may become a Saint. St Winifred’s Feast Day is on 3rd November.
Written By : Sharlet Francis Xavier
Proof of an Intelligent Designer
We cannot prove that God exists by scientific experiment. That would be like trying to measure the speed of light using a thermometer, which can’t be done because they are entirely different things. But did our creator leave sufficient proof of his existence for us to find him?
RECOGNISING INTELLIGENCE
Scientists became very excited when they first discovered stone tools together with bones in a cave, as the stone tools were the evidence of a tool maker. The scientists recognized that these tools could not have designed themselves but were made by intelligent beings, so they concluded that early man was responsible for making the tools even though they did not witness it personally. This connection between information and prior intelligence enables us to detect intelligent activity even from unobservable sources in the past. There is an organization in California called SETI that is searching for extraterrestrial intelligence and they use radio signals and optical telescopes to search for deliberate signals from outer space. How will they know when they have found smart E.T.s? All they are looking for is a coded radio signal from outer space because the people at SETI believe that if they find a complex coded message, they can safely assume that an intelligent being sent it. It is a pity that they are looking to the skies for coded messages from an intelligent source when they should be looking through a microscope instead at DNA, the basic building block of life that contains a coded message that was designed by a very intelligent being – God himself!!
WHAT IS DNA?
DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid. It is present in every cell of every living being and carries all the information about how that organism will look and function. It carries the genetic code and is responsible for passing information on from one generation to another. It is a full instruction manual, telling the cells in the body to act in a certain way and contains the instructions needed for living beings to develop, survive and reproduce. Bill Gates once said, “DNA is like a computer program, but far, far more advanced than any software we’ve ever created”. Recent discoveries have shown that the information in DNA is only part of a complex information processing system in each cell. This is so complex that it far exceeds our present capabilities in computer design in its complexity, design logic and information storage capacity and amazingly DNA can reproduce itself in only a few hours. How did such a vast amount of information and programming come to be in each human cell?
A RESULT OF EVOLUTION?
Did the chemicals needed for the formation of DNA come together through an unguided process which relied only on chance? To think that this is possible is like making a huge heap of random Scrabble letter tiles then scooping up a bowlful and throwing them on the floor and the letters falling into a line in perfect alphabetical order A – Z. That is as likely as a DNA molecule appearing on the earth by chance. Clearly, “something else” is at work. Dr. Werner Gitt, a German professor of information systems, makes it clear that one of the things we know from science is that information cannot arise from disorder by chance.
WHO DESIGNED DNA?
The information on a computer screen can be traced back to a user or a programmer. The information in a magazine comes from a writer. So, the discovery of information in the DNA molecule provides strong grounds for inferring that intelligence played a role in its origin, even if we weren’t there to observe the system coming into existence. This leads to the conclusion that the huge amount of information in the cells of living things must originally have come from an intelligence, which must be far superior to ours. The Bible says, “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” The amazing molecule of DNA with its complex information system has been created by the most intelligent designer – our ever loving God. It is he who says, “It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.” (Isaiah 45:12)
KNOWING THE DESIGNER?
Before he died, a well-known atheist, Professor Antony Flew, said that in keeping his lifelong commitment to go where the evidence leads, he now believed in the existence of a god after the complete discovery of the DNA molecule. “What I think the DNA material has done is show that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinary diverse elements together.” The most important question is that if there is sufficient evidence of an intelligent designer, almighty God himself, would you like to know him? Would you like to spend some time with him? He wants to have a personal relationship with you and is waiting to reveal himself to you. Just ask him into your life and he will transform it. God does not force us to believe in him, instead, he has provided sufficient proof of his existence for us to willingly respond to him. He is waiting.
Famous Catholic Scientists
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and theologian. He is probably best known for being the first person to invent a mechanical calculator. He grew up as a Roman Catholic but it was only after a conversion experience in 1654, when he had a vision of God, that he abandoned his scientific work to concentrate on theology. He wrote many theological works mainly in defence of Christianity. He said “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”
Gregor Mendel (1822 – 1884) was a German scientist hailed as the Father of modern genetics. His studies of the characteristics of pea plants and how these were passed on to the next generation of plants gave the basis for the future study of genetics. He was the first person to trace the characteristics of successive generations of a living thing. He was not well known in his life time but was a humble Augustinian monk, who taught natural science to school children. The importance of his work was not recognised until twenty years after his death.