Letter 1-2: The Heart is deceitful!

And some one said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” Luke 13:23

Do you think all of us will be saved? 

Why is it we are so hard to hearing that we won't accept corrections. You know, God corrects us for our good.

In the present time:

We have gone completely mad and out of control.

We have made The Church-The House of God, a place to our convenience with huge tele screens for display and air coolers in the Sanctuary.

When we pray, we must come to seek God and not our comforts. We are meant to live a life of sacrifice. 

Prayer is my time with God. 

Prayer is also a sacrifice one makes for the good of the other.

Prayer is a sacrifice the heart willingly makes.

Prayer is not about getting together online through conference calls. There is no sacrifice in it. It is a modern-day bluff telling what effort each person is making to pray, while there is no effort at all. During Covid it was a very valid thing to do, not now. Now, we dare to bluff God.

When one is unable to move out of their home, the Online celebration of the mass is the only comfort. 

I have come to understand the implication of it being on a daily basis. And it should not be so. 

Because there is nothing in comparison to the celebration of the mass in the Church. Because there is nothing like Jesus feeding you and me with His Body and Blood. 

Always Avail of This Privilege-

Do not miss This Great Privilege.

(The online mass during Covid was a necessity, but we have been out of that situation for a long time now, we need to be coming to Church. 

This obviously i am telling myself. So important that i need to remind myself, what and how much i am missing. And i am missing a lot.)

(Please know, when you stand before Jesus, every effort you made in your lifetime to be in the celebration of the Mass and receive the Body of Christ– will count to your benefit.)

Please do not make it a habit to be a participant in the online Eucharistic Adoration unless you really can’t move out of your home.

And when you are given that grace to go out-please do visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

JESUS is there waiting for you and me.

IT IS most essential to be in the Presence of Jesus. 

CHRIST is LIFE Itself!

CHRIST is Everything!

However sick you are, whatever the stage of your sickness, COME in the Presence of Jesus, sit before HIM, and your sickness has to stop -it cannot progress ahead. Sit with Jesus every day, let Jesus know how you suffer and what is it you want from Jesus. And pray for your loved ones too. Learning to TRUST - JESUS is an important matter and the way to a miraculous life in Jesus.

Online Eucharistic Adoration is just it, online. When one is sick and cannot move out of one's home, then Jesus understands.

Otherwise, it is a lack of effort on reaching to Jesus. In reality, it should be me running to Jesus. It must be my effort, my willingness and my sacrifice all in the grace and Will of God. It must be me talking to Jesus, telling, asking, praying to Jesus for me and for others.

Always know Jesus waits for your presence with Him. Make the effort.

(P.S: I have an asthma condition, that makes it very difficult for me to walk. The distance to my Church is 10 minutes. But 2 minutes into walking and I want to sit.

But here is the thing, I need to fight this condition trusting in God. So, in the grace of God, I have been working on myself, trying to walk-run at home. I do make an effort to walk continuous 1 hour. I desire to come as soon as POSSIBLE.)

It is at funerals when one is giving the eulogy you hear of how the loved one is now in Heaven.

My thought is why would anyone say that?

Sometimes you hear all the degrees and the Job Status and all the achievements. And in my opinion, it is not a necessity because he or she is not doing a job portfolio or job hunting. The person is GONE.

It is good to know the person apart from all the artificial things that people usually speak at funerals. Talking of the achievements, does not matter at all to where one is going.

You are alive and breathing now, so please think about this-

It matters to God, if you've been unkind to the people in your life.

It matters, to God, if you've never lived a day of your life loving others. 

It matters to God, when you think all the riches is for you. But everything is not always about you or for you. 

IF you think all the comforts in the world, paves the way to Heaven- Please Think again.

We are meant to be a Holy People, but we lead very selfish lives that keep us from entering the phase to be Holy.

PRIESTS + Nuns + SAINTS = HEAVEN.

Then there is Purgatory and HELL.

To be made Holy (there is a cleansing process and), one would enter Purgatory upon death.

Yes, many people declare they are holy – and I will tell you why they think they are:

• Because they go to Church every day.
• They may be (titles)……or in some committee in the Church.
• They go for Eucharistic Adoration.
• They are in all kinds of prayer groups. They pray the Rosary. They make the novenas.

(I will come to the point. 

Are you OBEDIENT to GOD in all things of life? Please read:

Attending the mass everyday-most wonderful. Praying all the time, and the way you do exemplary.)

But the real big question is - are you leading an exemplary life?

Are you a loving wife-husband?

As a wife are you in obedience to your husband? Are you aggressive always causing a nuisance.

A good wife is there with her family. She may go for work, come back and see to her husband and children. And yes, she cooks, as it is part of her responsibility. And it is an exception when her husband comes from work and helps her in the kitchen. She does not expect of him, but he does it out of love.

A good husband does not come home drunk and cause a chaos. 

A good husband and wife are faithful to each other. Faithfulness in a marriage is a key to great love.

As Parents, do you make differences in your children? Children are a blessing and Joy. And there must be no distinction made.

And most importantly are you obedient to your PRIESTS?

Obedience is REQUIRED. 

Mostly when people meet, their mode of talking is always their property. It is all that matters to them.

Everyone forgets The Rich Fool.

Because we are all such fools.

We are so attached to our wealth; the number of injustices we do cannot be because we are holy.

The goodness in us is dying. We fall often. And money is the reason we fall. Money is necessary, BUT we must be wholly dependent on God and in His LAWS.

Have you ever noticed that nobody these days talks about, Hell or Purgatory for that matter. How come?

Nobody is afraid of the consequences of selfish living. Why?

These are questions we need to take seriously.

Everybody speaks like there is no need to worry of getting to Heaven. As if they got a deal done for their super reservation to Heaven.

And rarely will you hear Priests talk on Purgatory or Hell, and if they do, it is a touch and go matter. Nobody wants to tell their parishioners, that your lifestyles will take you to Hell.

For the next thing you hear - there is a huge rally, and the transfer of the Priest will be much in the happening.

 

And going by the Words of Jesus, one's lifestyle could take one to Hell. To be a 100% candidate to Heaven we need to follow the words of Jesus. COME let me explain:-

When i am looking down my kitchen window, i see people moving about holding their cells in hand, talking with the other person online. For a moment you would want to think there is so much love, that people can't live without talking to each other. But no that is not the entire truth. 

When far from each other, people will talk for hours. But when they are under one roof, they have no time to look at each other. 

That is how strange we have become. There is no genuineness left. We have become very materialistic in our approach to everyone. 

We live selfish lives; we live like there is no tomorrow. 

We don't live the way God expects of us. We give new meaning to that which we want to conveniently change. 

A Wealthy person may have 4-5 houses or more and untold wealth. 

All the Blessings we are blessed with - All the material wealth, the properties, everything we have is to be shared. For nothing is really ours. Everything we have is God given and meant to be of use to one another. So that there is no one in need. 

Please read:-

Acts 4:32-37 (Reading - 29 April 2025)

32 Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet; and distribution was made to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph who was surnamed by the apostles Barnabas (which means, Son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field which belonged to him, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Are we of one heart and soul. Sadly No. We are too selfish and blind to see. 

Do we have everything in common. No. The intention to share, that understanding is very much in lack. Everybody likes to know they have more than their neighbour. And that is a sad truth.

Not a needy person in sight. Please click on the link below to know more. (The below title says it all.)

The WORLD: Refugee & Poverty!

At the Heart of God, we are His Children, thus we are all Brothers and Sisters. 

The Old Christians in -ACTS 4- fully understood God's Sacrifice. They loved GOD, and they loved their neighbour's with the love of God. In their way of life, we need to imitate them.
We are given things, so that we can share and we must share. God freely gave us Himself. We must imitate our God in His Generous Giving. 
We have to love God with our whole heart. Our every move must be in moving to be with God and learning to love one another. Our greatest treasure is always GOD.
We are light years away from the love they bore for each other in Acts 4. What am amazing LOVE!    

Going a bit further. We now enter Matthew 19:16-30
Let us look at:- The Rich Young Man

16 And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” 

17 If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which?” 

The rich man wants to know the way to eternal life. Jesus asks him to keep the commandments. He asks Jesus, which one?

(Jesus says) And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 

(v19 As human beings, we always keep ourselves safe. We want the best for ourselves. What i want for myself, i should want the same for my brother or sister. 

And that is what Acts 4:32-37 mentions that people were of one heart and soul, they did not claim anything as theirs, but they had everything in common. They followed what Jesus says here, 'you shall love your neighbour as yourself.' They lived perfectly in perfect love.

20 The young man said to him, “All these I have observed; what do I still lack?” 

In Matthew 19:20-21, the rich man thinks he has done everything perfectly and is quite content when he asks Jesus, knowing he should get a great answer “All these I have observed; what do I still lack?”

Here in Matthew, the rich young man asks the question, what do i still lack. He probably thought he did wonderful. 

In v21 Jesus tells him, if you would be perfect... (means he lacks)

In Mark 10 - The Rich Man (Jesus says, "You lack.....)

“You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

In Luke 18 - The Rich Ruler (Jesus says, "One thing you still lack..)

“One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

(What Jesus is telling us ALL - WE ALL LACK till we decide to share our resources with all our BROTHERS & SISTERS)

(Trouble is, we are never ready to listen. We have found the easiest means to charity, give a little and get away with sharing everything.)

21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 

Jesus says in Matthew 5:48 - You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

God sacrificed His Only Begotten Son, to give us new life.

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

God did not withhold His Best. God gave us His Everything-In His Only Son Jesus. We were indeed poor, but in God's Divine Sacrifice of His Son, we were made partakers of Eternal Life. God's Sacrifice was PERFECT! For God gave us His ALL-HIS only Begotten Son!

To be perfect like our Heavenly Father, Jesus in Matthew 19:21 tells us to 'go, sell what you possess and give to the poor...' 

(Because when we give of ourselves and share our bread, we are in imitation of God, Who gave us HIS ALL.)

To be perfect we have to do the following Acts 4:32-37(From abv)

And this is what Jesus means: - The old Christians sold everything they had and shared with each other and nobody lacked anything. They gave everything they had for love and followed the Apostles, they followed Jesus. 

This is how we must live with our fellow brothers and sisters. (Acts 4:32-37 mentions people sold all they had and followed Jesus.)

In this lifetime, it is most difficult to think of parting with our comforts. But yet maybe you can find a little place in your heart to do something good - give a little. 

Practise for 30 days, till it becomes a habit to give.  

22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 

The rich have all the comforts in this world. And all that is given is not for them to spend on themselves but to be shared with everybody. But once you are accustomed to a certain way of life, it is that much difficult to leave it behind, it is difficult to share. 

The poor have absolutely nothing in this life. No roof above the head, no proper clothes to wear. Sometimes, there is no food for the day. They go to sleep empty stomachs. Now if these poor, being poor lead a simple loving life, they have done basically everything that is expected of them. They go straight to Heaven, and why shouldn't they, they struggled all through their lives. 

Not so with the rich. A luxurious life, a way to travel around the world. All the means to spend. Homes here and there. Great clothes. Dining in fabulous places. Travel in fancy ways. There is no shortage to anything. Could i mention a lack of love to their brothers and sisters. The rich had plenty but did not bother to share what they had with the poor.

We have to remember, that at the end of time, Jesus will ask each one of us what we did with the Talents given to us.

25 When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 

A man does not enter Heaven on his own merits or the wealth he accumulated here on Earth. For all materialistic wealth is perishable.

One enters Heaven in the Grace and Will of God. 

God’s gift of Salvation isn’t something we can buy, nor is it something we can earn by our own good works. 

Romans 6:23 - “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”. On the Cross Jesus Christ became the final Sacrifice for our sins. He paid for our salvation with His Blood. Jesus gave us His ALL. 

We are meant to give our best to everyone, not with holding anything from anyone who needs. We must be always in imitation of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. 

27 Then Peter said in reply, “Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many that are first will be last, and the last first.

Luke 8:8 in Parable of the Sower -8 And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold. 

The Priests and Nuns and Saints have left everything for Jesus and here in Matthew 19:29 Jesus has promised they will receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life. 

Inherit-means it is their Property. They receive IT as Heirs of Jesus. WOW!

Acts 4:32-37 - They gave everything for each other. They left everything for Jesus. They lived loving their neighbour as themselves. 

And in Matthew 19:21-Jesus says to the rich young man and Jesus tells us too:-“If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 

They the People of Acts 4:32-37 were Perfect. Jesus's words. 

November 11, 2024 - The Judgement of the Nations:

Matthew 25:31-40 RSV

31 "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. 34 Then the King will say to those at his right hand, `Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? 38 And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? 39 And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' 40 And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'

-   - - - - - - - - - - -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 

41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’ 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

And what about being judged. We all know there is an account to give for the things we've done and failed to do.

YES! God is merciful, And God is Fair and Just.

But when we work with the grace of God provided to us, at different times of our lives there will be changes. And that change is good because it comes at a certain point of time.

But there are people, who, with the grace of God provided to them, will not make good of the graces, because they think they have the time, and they follow their will. But the end may come suddenly.

Yes, God is Abundantly Merciful in this lifetime, but we need to co-operate with God, Who, is ever loving to us.

Once this life comes to an end - then it is time for judgement.

 

The rich often believe that with a few charities here and there they could buy their way to Heaven, that is their belief. 

They have the comforts in this world, and they want the comforts of Heaven as well. They will not change their lifestyle. But Heaven has to make exceptions for them, for the charities they did. 

How foolish their thoughts. How can God be fooled to such insanity? Is it not insane to think you can give to charity and God will absolve you of the ridiculous things you continue to do? 

Everything is God's. Have you ever understood that? How is your money, which God has blessed you with - which is HIS - going to get you absolved of your many sins. 

All you need is a repentant heart and a simple Prayer:- 

"Lord Jesus, forgive me for i have sinned. I do not know how to pray, teach me Your ways oh Lord. Lead me to You, for i need You." 

Go to Church and make your confession with a Priest. 

We cannot be Heaven bound and the reason being our lack of love for our family and neighbours.

I Pray for everyone Heaven. We need to concern ourselves about everyone. For Love is our Ticket to Heaven.

We don’t know, who will make it to Heaven and who will fall short.

And could anyone be lost, that would be their own shortcoming. It is the Lord’s desire, that we all make it to Heaven.

So, the question will all be saved? What's the church's understanding on that?

From the scriptures, we understand that God desires that all be saved.

Therefore, Deny yourself and carry your cross daily and follow Jesus.

People’s opinions change rapidly. Therefore, it must never matter what people think. I will explain to the best I can in the grace of God.

Tom and Phil have been neighbours and friends. For some reason there was a fight. Maybe given a day or two or perhaps a week the situation could have changed.

Tom is aggressive, manipulative, revengeful and when he lies, he sounds believable. With the fight that broke out, it got loud especially when Tom kept hurling abuses at Phil.

The neighbours know the reason of the fight-for such things spread like fire. But they maintain their silence, for they know Tom.

Phil thinks it better to be quiet; he thinks of his family, he does not want to grow bitter or angry. He chooses Peace. He lets go of the things that hurt him.

But not so with Tom. Tom talks badly about Phil, he wants everyone to see there is no good in Phil. Every time he talks, he grows aggressive, not understanding that hurtful talks don’t make a person calm.

New people come into the neighbourhood, and they too hear the stories. It seems believable and convincing.

As time rolls on, this becomes the truth. Even the people from the village have forgotten what led to the fight. Because every piece of the story over time has been fabricated. And with the passage of time, it seems the natural truth. Though there is no such thing as natural truth. Truth is Truth.

Phil keeps his distance from people, while maintaining his silence. There are people who think badly about Phil, it hurts Phil, but he does not want to defend himself.

There was a time when he could have said something, but knowing Tom, things would not help.

The Moral: Gossip is deadly, you kill the reputation of a person. 

But Tom gives no second thought. Tom has sown the seeds and repeatedly sown a lie. In the years that have rolled on, the people who don’t know the situation know what they hear from Tom as the truth.

How deadly are your words, how deadly are your deeds to hurt and degrade a person?

Remember: No one is given the right to hurt and demean another person through gossip or lies. But people do that all the time.

THE TRUTH

Don't be envious of anybody.

Let not your anger cause you to sin. No matter how good a reason, anger expressed aggressively is never justified.  

The reason we get mad at ourselves most often is due to our own failure. The failure to love. 

When we are in obedience to the commandments of God, we will be in Peace. 

We must pray for God's Grace, to do the right thing always. 

We must pray to God to give us a HEART like His always Loving, Humble, Kind, Patient, and seeking to be JUST of Heart in everything we do.

We must always be Thankful to God for everything He has given us, the good and the not so good.

Avoid creating rifts whether at home or outside. It is a bad thing. Anger is an opportunity for an outburst. As anger grows, so do the abuses, there are fights that tear you apart. 

Peace must begin at Home and then move into the world.

The absence of God is the absence of Love.

The absence of God is the absence of Peace.

The absence of God is the absence of Joy.

It is no home, where Christ is not in Residence.

The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately corrupt; who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9

Anger is destructive. It destroys the Peace in the home, it destroys relationships. And children growing up in a destructive environment will be no better persons than what they are exposed to.

Peace grows in the heart of a person. Jesus is the Prince of Peace!

Please also read: Letter 1-3: TRIALS

JMJ