The Peace that God gives...

Have you ever noticed that what a hot cup of coffee gives you during a break in-between stressful work hours. A relief, it seems to clear your mind, de-stress you and give you calmness. But, thinking about it this change is nothing compared to the peace that Jesus gives.

Jesus said, "I give you Peace, my Peace I give you". He says, that the Peace he gives is not the same as what the world gives us. All the happiness, joy, ecstasy, etc that world offers leaves a trace of bitterness of the past, a little unfulfilled desire for future, a sense of guilt sometimes of being selfish, a bit of disheartenment when comparing our gifts with others...but the Peace that God gives to those believe in him is totally different.

He has mentioned that this is the Peace which makes the Saints and martyrs endure the sufferings of the world and persecutions with a smile and empower them to pray for their executioners. For us too, this is the Peace which brings smile to our lips when we have lost all the hope in life, in people, at work and more.

Today God made me realise once more that when we submit our will to him, when we are in the brink of losing all our hope, he is watching us. Just when we are about to fall, he holds us in his arms. This Prince of Peace whispers through his Holy Spirit that still he is the Lord of our Life. That whisper which is conveyed to the disheartened soul is not heard by the material ears, but the echoes of the whisper resound in the heart and mind bringing peace which is inexplicable except for the smile on the face in light of the toughest moments in Life.....

Praise the Lord! Blessed is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World!!!

Time and attitude towards Offerings..

One day while discussing spiritual matters with my brother, he explained something regarding Time and God. When God created the world, the first thing he did was to separate Light from Darkness and named Light as Day and Darkness as Night. So, Day and Night came to be the first measure of time. When in Life we complain of so many things saying why some things take so long to be done or some memories so long to be undone, when we ask God why he takes so long to punish someone, we must understand the fact that God is outside this thing called Time. For man what seems to be days, months,years and centuries are a mere nothing to God. And that also explains his infinite Love and Patience towards Mankind, waiting for it to come back to Him with a repentant heart. Time is given to Man as a means of proving his perseverance, carrying on his hope till the end of his Time and rely on God for all the happenings in human life.

Another thing which came up for discussion was Offerings given at the Mass, how much it should be and how much Tithe should be given to the Church and how much on charity. My brother explained that its not the money that counts but the attitude with which we give it. He told us a short prayer that he prays while giving an offering, " Lord I am like the Pharisee who gave an offering out of his abundance, make me like the widow who instead gave up her everything". Beautiful, isn't it?

Gethsemane..

Watched a video and soul-stirring song which came via a forward mail. I didn't know the author else I could have acknowledged them here. Just posting the lyrics...

Jesus climbs a hill
to the garden still
His steps were heavy and slow

Love 'n' a prayer
took him there
to the place only He could go

Gethsemane
Jesus loves me
so He went willingly
to Gethsemane

He felt all that was sad
Wicked or Bad
All the pain we would ever know
While his frnds were asleep
He fought to keep
His Promise made long ago

Gethsemane
Jesus loves me
so He went willingly
to Gethsemane

the hardest thing that ever was done
the greatest pain that ever was known
the biggest battle that was ever won
this was done by Jesus
the fight was won by Jesus

Gethsemane
Jesus loves me
so He gave His gift to me
in Gethsemane

Gethsemane
Jesus loves me
so He gives His gift to me
from Gethsemane

Praise the lord for ever and ever...

Friday my Mom had called to inform she was diagnosed of having stones in her gall bladder. My mother had gone on a general check-up and the scan had revealed this. I was deeply perturbed hearing the news. I had not planned to go home the weekend, but after hearing the news I went home.

All throughout Friday, I was thinking of reading all about gall bladder stones on the net. But, since I had lot of work at office I couldn't do it. After office I went for Eucharistic adoration, prayed for my Mom and started home. Coming home on Saturday morning, I accompanied my Mom to the hospital. The general physician after looking at the scan report directed us to meet the surgical specialist.

Afraid as such about surgery, we were waiting for the specialist for couple of hours. At the end the specialist came and right away suggested her to undergo surgery. I interrupted him asking if its anything serious and whether she should undergo surgery immediately though she is not feeling any pain in her abdomen. The doctor said that if the patient is not feeling any pain she can very well wait and undergo the surgery.

Not yet satisfied, we came back home and booked an appointment with a gastro surgeon for Wednesday. By evening my sister was inspired to look in the Internet about gall stones. When she searched this is what she found,

"Some people who have gallstones are asymptomatic and do not feel any pain or discomfort. These gallstones are called "silent stones" and do not affect the gallbladder or other internal organs. They do not need treatment."

Praise the Lord!! We immediately called our Mom, made her sit beside as she read out loud the information. My mother too praised the lord for his great mercy. Thanks to the Lord for the countless blessings he showers on us!!!

Mary's Precious mantle!

Blissful to share...Last week a Prayer group member shared her thoughts about Mother Mary. She told us the way she used to pray, "Mother Mary please cover me with your precious mantle so that when I smile, or touch someone they might see your smile and touch in them". This prayer, she said had helped her a lot when she was working along with guys. (She was talking about the situation 10 years back when co-ed was not much prevalent)

She also narrated one incident which helped her realise the power of such prayer. She had met a very holy priest who was very old and running an ashram. She had been there to decide on her vocation. While leaving,  she hugged and kissed him. The gesture was instantaneous and she herself didn't know why she did it.

When she came back home, she received a letter from the priest saying" Daughter, your kiss was like a dart in my heart!" She recollected her prayer to Mother Mary and thanked for providing gentle solace to a holy one through her :)

What is Bible all about?

Yesterday, in our Jesus youth prayer meeting we were having a discussion about what is resurrection and what it means to us? What is the good news it brings us.I was contemplating on this and got the following thoughts about the Bible,

The Bible comprises of two Promises and one Good News. The first promise was in the Old Testament, God promised us a Saviour who will redeem us from our sins.With the New Testament the Good News was that the Saviour is born. After Jesus Christ's death and resurrection this Good News evolved into saying that the Son of God was born on Earth as Man,he died for the sake of our sins and resurrected on the third day having victory over Sin and Death. The Second Promise is that when we carry our Cross and follow him, on the End of Days he'll come again to claim us for Eternal Life!

All the human life is based on Hope, because to have Hope is to have Life, instead of hoping on getting a better life, a good family, a joyful time we have to accept our Cross without grudges or murmuring and Hope in Him who Comes...

Born Again!

God's thoughtful gift...
Another year adds on,
Made So Specially for me
To improve upon..

I vow to make myself worthy,
of the Life that lies ahead
I cast all my doubts
Both spoken and unsaid...

I let go of my sorrows..
I even forgive my dad
I'm truly starting to believe
God is good, when all is bad

I changed my frowns to smile,
Amused at myself and laughed
Not just on my lips
But bursting from my heart

I know I'm born again!
To love the world anew
Let the dead bury their dead
Sweet Jesus, am gonna follow you!

Regarding Marriage and Chastity

I am currently reading the Volume 1 of  "The Poem of The Man-God". I really felt I should share some excerpts from it regarding Marriage and Chastity.

Regarding Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mother Mary it says:

"But to obtain all this (glory, immortality and everlasting memory to successors) they had to be masters of a true and lasting virtue which no event marred. Virtue of faith. Virtue of charity. Virtue of hope. Virtue of chastity. The chastity of a married couple! They possessed it, because it is not necessary to be virgins to be chaste. And chaste nuptial beds are guarded by angels and from them descend good children who make virtue of their parents the rule of their lives."

Regarding Mother Mary it says:

"From now on, whoever loves Her will become once again God's own, overcoming your temptations, to be able to look at Her immaculate purity. From now on mothers, though not able to conceive without pain, will find comfort in Her. From now on She will be the guide of married women and..."

When Mother Mary reveals her vow to Joseph, he says:

""I will join my sacrifice to Yours and we shall love the Eternal Father so much with our chastity that He will send His Saviour to the world earlier, and will allow us to see His light shining in the world. Come Mary. Let us go before His House and take an oath that we shall love each other as the angels do."

A verse from the Song, "Stabat Mater Dolorosa"

By the cross with thee to stay,

There with thee to weep and pray,

Is all I ask of thee to give.

A Beautiful Explanation of Our Lord's Prayer!

The Kitchen: God's Abundant Table

by Max Lucado

"Give us this day our daily bread..."

Your first step into the house of God was not to the kitchen but to the living room, where you were reminded of your adoption. "OurFather who is in heaven." You then studied the foundation of the house, where you pondered his permanence. "Our Father who is in heaven." Next you entered the observatory and marveled at his handiwork: "Our Father who is in heaven." In the chapel, you worshiped his holiness: "Hallowed be thy name." In the throne room, you touched the lowered scepter and prayed the greatest prayer, "Thy kingdom come." In the study, you submitted your desires to his and prayed, "Thy will be done." And all of heaven was silent as you placed your prayer in the furnace, saying, "on earth as it is in heaven."

Proper prayer follows such a path, revealing God to us before revealing our needs to God. (You might reread that one.) The purpose of prayer is not to change God, but to change us, and by the time we reach God's kitchen, we are changed people. Wasn't our heart warmed when we called him Father? Weren't our fears stilled when we contemplated his constancy? Weren't we amazed as we stared at the heavens?

Seeing his holiness caused us to confess our sin. Inviting his kingdom to come reminded us to stop building our own. Asking God for his will to be done placed our will in second place to his. And realizing that heaven pauses when we pray left us breathless in his presence.

By the time we step into the kitchen, we're renewed people! We've been comforted by our father, conformed by his nature, consumed by our creator, convicted by his character, constrained by his power, commissioned by our teacher, and compelled by his attention to our prayers.

The prayer's next three petitions encompass all of the concerns of our life. "This daily bread" addresses the present. "Forgive our sins" addresses the past. "Lead us not into temptation" speaks to the future. (The wonder of God's wisdom: how he can reduce all our needs to three simple statements.)

First he addresses our need for bread. The term means all of a person's physical needs. Martin Luther defined bread as "Everything necessary for the preservation of this life, including food, a healthy body, house, home, wife and children." This verse urges us to talk to God about the necessities of life. He may also give us the luxuries of life, but he certainly will grant the necessities.

Any fear that God wouldn't meet our needs was left in the observatory. Would he give the stars their glitter and not give us our food? Of course not. He has committed to care for us. We aren't wrestling crumbs out of a reluctant hand, but rather confessing the bounty of a generous hand. The essence of the prayer is really an affirmation of the Father's care. Our provision is his priority.

From The Great House of God
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1997) Max Lucado

My soul is robbed of its innocence; clothe me dear Jesus, with the garb of penance and contrition

Prayer for Protection through the Precious Blood of Jesus

During a discussion with my Prayer group about Intercessory prayer, I was advised to say the "Prayer for  Protection through the Precious Blood of Jesus" before starting to pray for others. By this way, we are asking Jesus Christ to protect us through his Holy Blood from the evils against which we are seeking relief for others.

Here is the prayer:

Lord Jesus, by faith in your merits, I now take your Precious Blood and sprinkle it over myself and my family right from our head to our feet. I seek from you total and complete protection for my life and my family. Lord Jesus, keep us free today from evil, sin, temptation, Satan's attacks and afflictions, fear of darkness, fear of man, sickness, diseases, doubts, anger, all calamities and from all that is not of your kingdom.

Fill us Lord Jesus with the gifts of your holy Spirit and grant us the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, understanding and discernment, so that we shall live today in your glory by doing what is right.

Praise you Jesus, Thank you Jesus, Jesus I love and adore you. Amen.

Greatest Love!

I have someone who loves me more than anything in this world......my Jesus!

The Need to Pray Rosary...

Posting this as heard from my brother,

My brother had a question on why we should pray the Rosary to Mother Mary instead of Jesus Christ, Our Lord himself. For this he was explained in a retreat that, the "Rosary is not about praying to Mother Mary, but praying with her".

Still unsatisfied, he was reciting the Rosary with doubts in his mind, when the following words came to him,

"Hail Mary...(prayer)is the message of Good News to the Earth that Christ, Our Lord is going to born as Man in this World. This is the greatest joyous message ever to the Earth from its beginning. When one says this prayer daily, he is proclaiming the Good News of the Lord and urging the Lord to come into one's life"

Alleluiah!!

A confusion...

In Exodus 14:8 it says,

   ⁸And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.

Why would God harden the heart of a person??

The closest answer I could  get was, Sirach 15: 11-13

11

Say not: "It was God's doing that I fell away"; for what he hates he does not do.

12

Say not: "It was he who set me astray"; for he has no need of wicked man.

13

Abominable wickedness the LORD hates, he does not let it befall those who fear him.

Checkout what differentiates us, humans from other species

In the class day lecture, Professor Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University discusses the unique and non-unique traits of humans compared to other species on earth. Watch the video to know the difference!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrCVu25wQ5s&feature=player_embedded#

Value of prayer!

I was watching some videos on youtube about talks given by Mother Teresa, she says "God's prayer gives you a clean heart, a clean heart can love God and each other! "

Amen O:)

Related links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yFzCBIK-PY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-3gDwk178E&feature=related

Answers for life, in God's own way!

I was reading the book "Impossible...but for God" by Johny aka John George Samuel. He says, "You know, I was carried by others when my leg was in a bad shape. Now at least I can use the four-legged walker to move around. God may have several things to accomplish in our home and in the lives of each one of us before I start walking myself."

When I read those lines, I felt God was answering the questions of my life :)

A simple prayer for those in need..

Its really a beautiful thing to pray for others whom you don't even know. Of all the things you could do for anyone, a prayer is the most simple and highly rewarding. Here's an example that I follow:

Anytime I see an ambulance on road, I say a little prayer for those inside.


"Dear Lord, Please cure the person suffering inside of all problems of body, mind and soul. Please fill the hearts of their dear ones in these moments of sorrow with your peace and comfort"


Likewise one can look around in their day-to-day life for moments they can be of help to others, even if its just a humble prayer O:)

My thoughts on God...

Once I was talking with my friend. She was looking out for a new job but was worried because she was not getting any calls. She told me, "I don't have any contacts nor any references, but only God". I replied, "That's more than enough na!"

Instead of relying on people, big or small put your faith in God and he'll get you through any problem in your life.

I, the lost sheep!

^{God said in Luke Chapter 15, verses 4-6,}

⁴What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

   ⁵And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

   ⁶And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

   ⁷I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance


And yes he keeps his promise to this day....he found me :)