Jesus is counting on you...

Today the church is under severe attack. The various attacks on churches and religious and the utter disrespect of Christians is appalling.

But unfortunately that isn't the only place from where the church is under attack. Top cardinals, bishops and priests choose to twist and abandon the teachings of Christ to suit the "modern times "

It is very much true that the teaching of Christ is difficult. Not all can accept it. ( Jn6:60)

But not accepting it is your personal choice. Leading others to something false is shameful.

Fr. Antonio Couto, a saintly mystic in 1989 said, "A day will come when priests, bishops and perhaps even Cardinals will abandon the teachings of Christ; in that day God will raise up families who will hold fast to the gospel and save the church."

Today  Jesus Christ and the church needs YOU more than ever. To stand up for the truth. To be strong and well read in your faith. And to live and defend that faith.

Dear young friends, Jesus Christ is counting on you! The Church is counting on you! The Pope is counting on you! May Mary, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, always accompany you with her tenderness. Go and make disciples of all nations. (Pope Francis WYD 2013)

Why God why?

All too often in our life we are faced with situations that push us to ask the question: Why God Why?

Why did I get this sickness? Why am I or my family suffering so much? Why is nothing going right in life?

It gets worse when we pray daily and yet have unpleasant things happen to us; which makes us question whether we should pray at all.

The book of Wisdom 2:18 says: The righteous man is God’s child, He will help him and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.

On this earth we may never understand the use of trying to lead a holy and blameless life. (Wis2:22)

But for those who cling to the Lord, He will always work things out for their good (Rom8:28)

The purposes of the Lord are too mysterious for us to fathom. But it is for us to cling to Him through every storm in our life so that the glory of God may be revealed in our lives.

A spiceless life

Imagine having rice without salt, tea without sugar or chicken without any spices. The thought itself is horrifying.

Now similarly, imagine living our life without the help of the Holy Spirit. Life would be dull and boring.

Through baptism you have been anointed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is time to stir up this Spirit so as to bring a great transformation in our lives.

As you begin to change, people around you will notice the change. There will be no need of you even preaching. Your life will radiate the light of Christ to one and all.

Today and daily I ask you to make this prayer:

Breathe into me, Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy.
Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy.
Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy.
(Saint Augustine)

Superstitions

Today is the 13th of the month. One of the numbers that is considered "unlucky" by many.

What about us?

Do we also believe in such superstitions?
Do we believe in the daily horoscopes that appear in the papers?
Do we believe in vaastu and fengshui?
Or what about believing in astrologers?

The Lord says,"You are wearied with your many consultations. Let those who study the heavens stand up and save you,  those who gaze at the stars, and at each new moon predict what shall befall you." (Isaiah 47:13)

Remember that Jesus is the only saviour (Isaiah 43:11)

No amount of turning to mediums and horoscopes in the hope of "changing your luck" will help you.

Seek the LORD and His strength. Seek His face continually.(1Chronicles 16:11)

Be prepared

Our life on this earth is a journey. A journey ending in a meeting with our Creator.

Often, we fail to realise that to meet Christ face to face needs us to prepare a lot. Just like we pack for a holiday or prepare for an exam, this journey on earth too is a preparation.

But we are so lax about our preparation. We continue to persist in sin, are lethargic about the sacraments, do not have a proper prayer time and yet expect Christ to fulfill our every wish.

Maybe we are like the rich man mentioned in the gospels who enjoyed his life on earth, not even spending a moment thinking of what would happen after he died.

We choose to believe that God's mercy is a free pass for us to keep persisting in our passion filled lives.

"Do not be so confident of the Lord's mercy that you continue to add sin into sin." (Sir5:5)

And do not say to yourself, I have plenty of time ahead of me. Let me relax, eat, drink, be merry.

Because Christ says, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. ( Luke12:19)

Therefore be prepared. (Mt24:44)

The sin of Pride

Pride makes us want to be recognised, to be popular, to be loved by all, to let everyone know our achievements.

Pride causes us to refuse to accept that we are wrong, that we made mistakes, that we are weak and can fall.

"God refuses only the person who does not admit his own weakness; He sends away only the unhappy proud person." (Saint Raphael Kalinowski)

The journey to overcome pride and to strive for humility is a long and difficult one. Time and again we will fail. But it is important that we rise up.

This link may help you:
http://blog.adw.org/2015/02/out-of-pride-and-into-humility-a-lenten-meditation-based-on-a-teach-by-st-bernard-of-clairvaux/

Remember that while you read this message if you think you are a humble person then most definitely you are NOT.

Never forget that humility is the only thing that no devil can imitate. (St John Climacus)

Cracking the Code

I fiddled with my friends’ phone trying to crack his screen lock code. After several attempts at trying to win the ‘crack my screen lock’ challenge I gave up, realising that there were thousands of possible combinations which would probably take me days to crack.

That very evening as I sat in prayer the thought hit me that we have screen locks for our phones, face recognition software for our computers, passwords for our emails and social networking sites, pins for our ATM's, latches and bolts for our doors and windows and much more. Continue Reading

Be opened

Jesus looked up to heaven, sighed and said to the man, " Ephphata" that is "Be opened". And immediately his ears were opened.
Mk7:34


As an ENT surgeon these words of Jesus are one of my favourites.

Not many of us may be deaf in the physical sense. But what about we being deaf to:

• The word of God and the teachings of Jesus.
• The cries of the sick, the suffering, the lonely, the broken hearted.
• The needs of the people around us

It is time to ask the Lord to open up our ears so that we can hear His voice more clearly and experience Him more intimately.

Seek the Lord always

Nowadays we find it difficult to trust our friends even though we meet them frequently
To trust Jesus whom we cannot see is even more difficult.

It gets tougher when we feel that He is deaf to our prayers and pleas. That he allows evil to take place in this world and does apparently nothing.

There may come a point when we start doubting our faith.

But Jesus says, " Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe " (Jn20:29)

Despite all that goes on in your life and around you, can you still cling to Jesus?

Remember that the word of the Lord is right and true. He is faithful in what he does. ( Ps33:4)

While your current situation in life may seem terrible, Jesus asks you to cling to Him through the storm.

He is fully capable of transforming your tragedy into a triumph.

Look to the Lord and His strength. Seek His face always.( 1Chr16:11)