Blessed be GOD ForEVER!

My People,

Good Morning! Hope is the most beautiful thing in the world.

1 Peter 4:8 – Above all, hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.

There is this child who is on death’s bed. He looks at the leaf as it’s the only one hanging on the tree. The doctor says if the boy makes it through the night, he will survive. The child tells his parents that the leaf is his only hope, if the leaf does not fall-he will live.  Every time the child wakes up, he looks out of the window. It continues to snow, and the leaf is still seen hanging outside. The morning, sun rays seem to wake the little boy, and he looks to be healthy and he gives a look out the window, the leaf is still there.

When in fact the leaf had fallen the night before, what the parents  had done is get an artist to recreate the scene  making the leaf look like it was hanging on the tree weathering all the conditions.

REMEMBER: We need to build HOPE for others.

Day 22^nd February, 2015 – I feel very sick and so I did not keep the alarm. I thought I would just be doing my will. I wanted to go to Church in the morning, but all said and done I woke up at 07:30 am. I said, ‘Jesus Your will be done’ and I went back to sleep.

Later the same day, a Eucharistic Minister comes home and asks me if I want to receive Jesus, I was overjoyed and said yes. I informed the person, I would be going to Church in the evening. I was on top of the world.

The same day my mom gave me a new cell. I thanked my mom, because I don’t think I would ever go and buy one for myself.

And how can I ever forget what Jesus did for me? He visited me when I was sick and strengthened me.

As we walk along, let this be our song,

BLESSED BE GOD forever!

Day 26^th February, 2015 – I have had an extreme attack of asthma, I suffered terribly. I did pray, saying only this, ‘Your will be done’. My prayer to Padre Pio would end with ‘Gods will be done.’ At 5:30 am I dress up for work. After crossing Mt. Carmel’s, God told me, He was giving me the break I wanted.

I requested for 27^th & 28^th as offs-due to being sick.

Day 28^th February, 2015 – I was at Mt. Carmel’s 6:00 and 6:45 am mass. I was still very sick and a lower back ache does not help at all. I prayed, ‘God, Your will be done. If you say don’t then I won’t. If I have it is only with your will. If you wish to you can take it away, I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.’ I hold Jesus so close, I was hurt I was letting Him feel my pain. After the mass, I just sat back and around 07:20 Jesus says ‘Go.’ In obedience I got up and bowed to the Cross, and I heard Jesus tell me, ‘I am with you, and I will bring the 2 together.’ I felt joy.

Later the same day, I went to sleep due to illness. I saw Fr. Larry in my dream, holding a guitar. I don't know if he ever played one. But he looked so happy. When I woke up from my sleep, I felt good and I had a different outlook to life. It was good! 

Day 3^rd March, 2015 – I have had another terrible asthma attack today, but all praise to God, it’s been a wonderful day. I say wonderful, because I got to see the goodness and love of the people I work with and also my supervisor. Got to feel a lot of love and I guess that makes the trials worth it! Of course I want to get well.

But praise to God! I am on holidays for this week due to my health issues.

  

My mom was having a conversation, with one of our relatives and she was telling them how hurt she felt on someone not inviting me for the wedding. I looked at my mom and I asked her why? Why should you feel hurt? This is what I said, I told my mom, I go to Church and Jesus does not stop me from entering His Church. He invites me with open arms. He is everything to me. I am of God.

He knows me recognizes me. My identity is the one He has given me. I am the child of the Most High God!

We have to know who we are in God – when we do we will never get hurt with dealing with the behaviour of people. We will love them for who they are.

There were times when I was glued to the TV. If I sat to watch after 10.00 it would follow to the early morning hours. I used to always wonder what it would be like in Heaven. That was a big thought and a question then. Questions arose because I would miss all the serials that I liked. But now since almost 10 years, I don’t feel the same, the only time I actually watch is when my cousin switches the TV on. We watch comedy serials. I love to laugh and I do laugh a lot. I am hoping to get better so I can laugh louder, because these couple of days, I have had to restrict myself.

I used to think of myself as a techie, knew and kept myself updated on all the latest computer gadgets in the market. Could have a debate on it and would win single handed. And I loved winning. The love of Jesus changes everything!

People often think that you can do wrong and then pay off your deeds by giving charity. This thought is so wrong. No matter what sin any one commits, Jesus does not wait with a bamboo to whack you.

Repentance is turning away from sin and back to God. It includes some form of penance. The Church has specified certain forms of penance, while making it easy for us Catholics to fulfill the obligation.

Abstinence is where one avoids something - when it comes to food one has to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honour of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Fish is permitted, as are animal-derived products such as butter, cheese and eggs. Fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Some people have this misconception that egg is considered as a non-vegetarian diet and so they won’t eat cake because it contains egg. Some mothers will have to cook food for their daughter because she wants to observe the 40 days of fast having vegetarian food, while the rest of the family eats whatever is cooked. 

But this is all so shallow. I mean how can we trouble somebody and keep a fast or abstain from something by making others work on what we think we are making a show of penance-what kind of penance asks that others suffer for us to achieve?

There is this one year we at home, thought of observing strictly a vegetarian diet for the 40 days. But Once my mom, and the other time, some other person bought some non-vegetarian food. We did not disclose anything in-order not to hurt. We shared the meal. I always believe that Love overrules everything else. So how can you hurt or trouble the people you love?

There are some people who go announcing to each and every one they know that they are observing a fast? Why is it that there is such a craving for attention?

There are people who won’t drink liquor for 40 days. I think if one can curb that for 40 days then why not the whole year. If you have to stop only for 40 days and then drink and fall like a pig, what’s the point?

What God sees is the intention, He sees the heart. Below is the Gospel which is self explanatory.
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 (ASH WEDNESDAY)

"Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven."Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. "And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

 

Derek Redmond finishes the race (Olympic 1992) with the aid of his father after tearing his hamstring and not able to continue. This is a part of the 3 hour Agony by Fr. Avon on Good-Friday 2014.

Fr. Avon told us imagine this, if this is what an earthly father does, how much more will our Heavenly Father do? Kindly click on the link to understand what this is all about. It will move your heart. Imagine this it still impacts me a year later. If you don’t feel the tears roll down, write to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FcbTWFqCvc

  

Day 21^st February, 2015 - Fr Avon’s Homily on Penance & Repentance.

He recounted this little scenario of children who are to receive Conformation. The Parish priest lets the teacher know of the Bishop’s tendency of having to ask a complicated question from the students.

Teacher prepares her students. On the day appointed the Bishop arrives and this is what was asked – the difference between Penance and Repentance. On seeing not one hand up, the teacher encourages the students to answer. Finally at the back, someone raises their hand.

This happens to be one of the students who seems to be irregular in attending the classes but somehow manages to be in the batch receiving confirmation for that year. The teacher tells him to go ahead and answer. He replies - what Judas did was penance and what Peter did was repentance....

When I saw Fr. Avon coming towards the altar, I was extremely happy, I felt this song in my heart, don’t ask me why?

 

As we walk along, let this be our song,

BLESSED BE GOD forever!

 

The celebration of the Mass is simply a reminder that each and every day we need Jesus in our lives.

When we care for each other we begin to live the life of Christ, for we would be doing what He would do. If we are united with Christ then we are united to each other. When we are united together through Christ the union becomes an intimate one.

From the 22^nd of February - 28^th of February, 2015 we at Mt. Carmel had the missions. I loved each and every day of it. I am eternally grateful to God and what I heard with the help of the Spirit of God, I write it here.
 

Day 1 of Mission – 22^nd February, 2015 - Fr Vinay spoke on Forgiveness. To forgive is good but to reconcile is better. He spoke on Repentence and the amount of times it comes during the Eucharistic celebration (the mass). Kindly look at the lines highlighted in blue- (for the word ‘REPENTENCE’ throughout this topic)

The Our Father states – forgive us our sins as we forgive others. The implication is that we forgive others and only then will we be forgiven.

It is one of the days of the mission, and this Priest stated that one of the nuns he heard of had been for confessions and during confessions she mentioned that she cannot forgive the person, the confessor asked her again if she meant what she said. Hearing her reply he told her that he could not absolve her either.

Penitential Rite:

All:  I confess to almighty God,
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done,
and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord, our God.

Priest:  May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.

All: Amen.

 

Profession of Faith:

NICENE CREED: We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

APOSTLES' CREED: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

COMMUNION RITE

Priest:  Let us pray with confidence to the Father in the words our Savior gave us.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Priest:  Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
All:  For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.

Breaking of the Bread:

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world: grant us peace.

Communion:

Priest:  This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper.

All:  Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

 

Day 2 of Mission – 23^rd February, 2015 - Fr Lawrence spoke on SACRIFICE in keeping with the Eucharist.

Fr. began with Family must always be our top priority. A husband and wife must always make mutual sacrifices. He continued with saying children must not be blamed for bad behaviour-because it could be that they follow what they watch. Parents must always lead by example i.e. by the lives they chose to live and their love and concern for each other.

Fr. Then ended with Love is Charity 1Corinthians 13:1-13

Day 3 of Mission – 24^th February, 2015 – Fr Julius spoke on Praise, Appreciation and Thanksgiving.

Every day we have is a day that needs to be well spent on appreciating the members in our family. We must take time to thank each and everyone. We must rejoice, give thanks and praise to God in all things. Like when we pray the Gloria and the Eucharistic Prayer (highlighted in blue):

Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,  almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:  have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:  receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,  you alone are the Lord,
You alone are the Most High,  Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,  in the glory of God the Father.  Amen.

Priest:The Lord be with you.   All:  And also with you.
Priest:Lift up your hearts.    All:  We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest:Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.  
All:   It is right and Just.

Day 4 of Mission – 25^th February, 2015 – Fr Savio.

The miracle of the loaves and fish-feeding the 4000.

Family should share their time together. One must never treat mass as an obligation. The Eucharist comes alive when we look at it with eyes of love and belief.

Priest: Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.
All: Blessed be God forever. 

1 Corinthinas 11:24 states - and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."

This is what we remember and celebrate at each mass. We must break for others out of the sense of love in us. That would be in keeping with the Eucharistic celebration of the mass.

Day 5 of Mission – 26^th February, 2015 - Fr Vinay spoke on to care, share and dare.

When we care we begin to share. When we share what little we have, God blesses that generosity.

Most of the times we take our families for granted. It’s only when we are apart do we really understand certain aspects of family life. Fr. gave us an example of a student who begins to live in a hostel and for the first time has to do everything by himself. He realizes the importance of every member in his family.

The Priest begins the celebration of the mass with the greeting - The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.(fr described this word as God wanting to be intimate, with us-When we pray to the Father, we are in communion with him and with His Son, Jesus Christ)

Fr. emphasised that we need to share whatever we have and can. Mans greatest need is food. We were reminded that during the celebration of the mass the Priest says:

Priest:  At the Saviour’s command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say: ‘Our Father’

Jesus has made us worthy and given us this confidence to pray calling ‘Abba Father.’

 

Day 6 of Mission – 27^th February, 2015 - Fr Jude spoke with regards to memories.

We all have our fondest memories saved on albums as black/white or colour snaps or these days they are saved on HDD or Pen drives. When we look at them it brings back happy memories.

Memorial is remembrance - To bring back to memory that which has cast its mark on our heart and brings back our fondest memory.

Priest:          Take this, all of you, and eat of it,
                 for this is my body,
                 which will be given up for you.
                 In a similar way, when supper was ended,
                 he took this precious chalice
                 in his holy and venerable hands,
                 and once more giving you thanks, he said the blessing
                 and gave the chalice to his disciples, saying:
                 Take this, all of you, and drink from it,
                 for this is the chalice of my Blood,
                 the Blood of the new and eternal covenant,
                 which will be poured out for you and for many
                 for the forgiveness of sins.
                 Do this in memory of me.

 

On the Emmaus road Jesus approaches the two disciples and joins the conversation. As Jesus spoke on the scriptures a fire was lit within their hearts. As He broke the bread and gave thanks, they remembered and their eyes were opened. They recognized Jesus in the breaking of the Bread.

We were told that no matter what the event is or whatever the celebration is – it must always begin with a prayer.

Fr. also made a mention, love your priests but do not fall in love with them.

As is the people belief that-the celebration of the mass ends with the final blessing-but Fr. reminded us that once the final blessing is given we must take Christ with us into the world we go.
 

Day 7 of Mission – 28^th February, 2015 – Fr Denzel

Fr. Denzel spoke my favourite topic, he spoke on loving people-everyone. It was wonderful to listen to him as he spoke with love and joy.

This is what he mentioned of a question that was put forward to the confirmation student’s as to which is the most important part of the Eucharist?

There were different answers given.

One of them said ‘Go and proclaim the good news’ and one of the voices from the crowd replied, ‘thanks be to God’ while others laughed.

Fr. put the question forward to us then He let us know-that every part of the mass is very important. Fr. explained everything with joy it was a pleasure to listen.

Fr. Denzel said we should be focused on Christ. We can’t be people centred. Jesus came for all. He mixed with tax collectors and even laid His hand on the lepers. Jesus made no distinctions.

He told us that when you love someone you will give them your time. And when you do give them your time, you give yourself completely. 

 

CONCLUSION: We have to be like Jesus, our Master-The carpenter, a simple man. He could have held a gold cup chiselled with the finest of jewels, but He chose for Himself a cup made of wood. We need to be like our Master. We can't follow Him and live a life of grandeur. We have to let go of the things that are of the world-you can't chose Jesus and the world. Amen.

With all my Love,
For Love Prevails!
AnitA.

PRAYER: Abba, Father, keep me obedient and always faithful. Remember, this your servant.
Mama Mary keep me humble, I pray. Amen.