Author: Editor, Kingdom Revelator

Evangelisation 

A SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST

Our Holy Father, Pope Francis has a request for each one of us that is very close to his heart. He asks us all to pray for him. Discover a new web-site that has been set up to encourage our prayers for the Pope.

 

When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as Pope on 13th March 2013, he went out on to the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica and introduced himself to the world. Traditionally new Popes end their speeches by giving a blessing to the crowd but before doing this Pope Francis asked the crowd for a favour, bowing his head, he asked the crowd to bless him and to pray for him.

Asking for our prayer is something close to the Pope’s heart. To hold the office of Pope is a great responsibility, the man chosen is the Spiritual Leader of over a billion Catholics worldwide. He is a global leader, who has a great influence on other world leaders.

His title “Pope” means “Father” and he represents God our Father in a special way, because like a good parent he guards the truth of the revelation and teaching that Jesus Christ handed on to his apostles. Simon, the chief apostle was given the name Peter or Cephas in his own language, meaning “Rock”. He was the rock on which the first Church was founded. Pope Francis is the 266th successor of Peter, the Fisherman. As Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost and proclaimed the Gospel message, so Pope Francis stands up on the world stage today and proclaims the same Gospel message that has been passed down through the Church for the past two thousand years.

Early in his Pontificate Pope Francis began a daily Twitter feed and his first message was, “Dear friends, I thank you from my heart and I ask you to continue to pray for me. “ He has also said, “The fight against evil is long and difficult. It is essential to pray constantly and to be patient.”

When Our Lady appeared to the three shepherd children at Fatima in 1917 she told them, “Pray constantly for the Holy Father.” As Christians, we are called to pray for one another, and we are called in a special way to pray for those whom God has chosen to shepherd His flock, his priests, Bishops and the supreme Bishop of Rome, the Pope.

 

www.prayforpope.org

 

We can all offer our support to Pope Francis by committing to pray for him. One way is to offer a Rosary daily for his intentions. The web-site www. prayforpope.org has been designed for you to register your prayer commitment for the Pope. Its aim is to get 1 million Rosaries said for his intentions.

 

Tweets from the Pope:

Dear young people, do not bury your talents, the gifts that God has given you! Do not be afraid to dream of great things!

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The Holy Spirit truly transforms us. With our cooperation, he also wants to transform the world we live in.

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Miracles happen. But prayer is needed! Prayer that is courageous, struggling and persevering, not prayer that is a mere formality

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Dear young people, do not be afraid of making decisive choices in life. Have faith; the Lord will not abandon you!

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Evangelisation 

Go Out To The Whole World

One Sunday I went out with two friends in London. We were planning to evangelise and hoping to encounter many people who we could talk to but the streets were very quiet. We thought there was little chance of having the opportunity to speak to anyone so we started to pray the rosary and sing some praise and worship songs. After praying we moved on to preaching, but there was no one to listen to us. We knew that if we were faithful, God would bring people to us. Then we saw a group of people gathered on the other side of the road listening to someone speaking about their beliefs. A few minutes later this group passed right by us and we were disappointed that they didn’t stop to listen. They continued up the road and stopped at a place where there was no one preaching, as if they were waiting for someone. This meant that a short distance away from us there was a group of thirty to forty people just standing as if they were frozen to the spot. So we went closer to them and started talking to them about Jesus. We thanked the Lord that a group of nonbelievers was waiting in the middle of the street to hear the Word of God! Our God always works and shows his power in our weakness.

In the Gospels Jesus did most of his ministry on the streets. He went out into public places and performed many miracles and healings there. Why did Jesus go out to the streets to proclaim? The answer is in Luke 5:32 “I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” Jesus knew that the people who really needed to hear his message were not in the places of worship, but out in the streets and in the markets, going about their daily business. The only way for him to talk to them was to go and seek them out and proclaim the Kingdom of God. His disciples also preached in the streets. In the Acts of Apostles Chapter 2, we see that once they were filled with the Holy Spirit they couldn’t wait to talk about what God had done for them, so they went outside and started proclaiming the Good News to whoever was around. Peter, the fisherman, stood up raised his voice and addressed a crowd. The Holy Spirit gave him the words that he needed and when the people heard him they were “cut to the heart” and three thousand people were baptised that day!

Challenging But Very Rewarding

Today there are many lost and lonely people in the world looking for meaning and hope in their lives, searching for the one who will complete them. They may not know it but they are searching for God. St. Augustine said, “We were made for You, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” One of the best places to encounter people who are searching for the Truth is on the streets. I am involved in a new street evangelisation ministry, which has proved to be challenging but very rewarding. Some people are afraid of street evangelization saying that their faith is not strong enough but the reality is that many souls can be saved through this ministry. My experience is that you only need to trust the Holy Spirit who will speak through you. If your faith is weak then street evangelisation will help to strengthen it, when you see how God works to bring the right people to you. Everyone who wants to see the salvation of souls can be part of the mission of street ministry by praying for it. Please pray for us as we go out into the world to spread the Good News.

Life 

Treasured

A GRADUAL CHANGE

This is the story of how God transformed my life. I used to be a normal, bright and confident child but in my teens I realized that something had changed in me. When I went back to visit family in India I remember my relatives looking at me in a puzzled way and saying how I used to be such an outgoing and happy child. I could only look down at the floor in embarrassment as someone mentioned again the day when, as a child, I apparently ran up onto the stage at a wedding and danced my heart out, not at all worried about all the eyes watching my every movement. I am not sure when I started becoming more of an introvert, turning more and more into myself and not seeking the company of others. It was not that I was a true reclusive; I just simply felt exhausted trying to be someone that I was not. I loved talking to people and getting to know them, but I hated living up to other people’s expectations. I found it easier to keep my true person hidden away inside, almost like an oyster cradling and nurturing its pearl, waiting to show the right person its treasure.

I LIVED A LIE

I found it easier to put on a front for my family, friends, and classmates. I’d say, of course I’m happy, of course I’m smart, of course I’m a good church-going girl, of course I’m perfect. I have it all together. Can’t you tell by the smile on my face and the bitter lie in my eyes? Only my pillow and I knew about the tears I shed, night after night… and, of course, God knew. Before I met the living God, I was an empty shell of a person. I was a person who was so used to hiding my feelings from others that I could not even tell myself, how I really felt. I was that person.

GOD SAW ME

Then I met God. I met Him at a retreat where He saw my brokenness, even though I thought that I had bandaged over all the wounds and hidden all my fears. He spoke to me through a person, telling me that He saw my tears, He saw my troubles. He saw me. God saw me for who I was, not for the person that I was pretending to be. He wrapped me in his loving arms and cradled me, seeing me as someone to be cherished and valued, like a diamond that He had found underneath piles of dirt. He did not see the scratches on the surface or the numerous flaws. He did not condemn me for my sins nor did He find any faults within me. In His everlasting mercy, He freed me. I know that I was not worthy of any of it. I am still not worthy of it. Sometimes I just sit and ponder, wondering how I would have turned out if He had not deigned to come into my life and pour out His mercy upon me, if He had chosen not to love me.

MY TRUE SELF

Through God’s love alone, I was able to revert to my true outgoing self, I have been transformed into the person that He wants me to be. I no longer feel that society defines who I am, but God does. I am able to ignore what others might think of me and I can talk to people honestly. I can love others to the best of my ability, and reflect the love, that He is showing me daily, into other people’s lives; so that they too can know the God that I met and fell in love with. I want them to find the God who cradles me in His arms daily, nurses my wounds, and wipes my tears away. He shows me that there is no one I need to please in this world. Now I am living my life for God and Him alone. He is my Saviour. He is my one true love. He is my treasure because I was his treasure first.

 

Written by Emily Thundiyil