News - July 2017

If you are silent, be silent out of love. If you speak, speak out of love.

“Fight to the death for truth, and the Lord God will war on your side.” Sirach 4:28

Saint Ignatius strove with all his might to discover the truth about God and about himself. Once he found the Divine Truth, he gave all his energy to stand in the truth, to defend the truth and to bring the truth home to people all over the world. The truth he discovered was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in whom alone is found Eternal Life. Therefore, he glorified the Lord by his life - Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam!

At the moment of death we will not be judged according to the number of good deeds we have done or by the diplomas we have received in our lifetime. We will be judged according to the love we have put into our work.

“And now I understand everything, hidden or visible, for Wisdom, the designer of all things, has instructed me.” Wisdom 7:21

Quite often, we underestimate the power of God. We forget to ask God for Heavenly Wisdom and presume that we can find the path to knowledge ourselves. But those who ask God receive the gift of Godly Wisdom, and they understand the working of all created things, whether they be hidden or visible with ease, since the Wisdom that designed them all reside in them.

Jesus tells us that the purpose of our freedom is to yes to God's plan for our lives. What makes our yes so important is that we say it freely; we are able to say no.

Having a deep faith in Jesus Christ “Yes, Lord,' she said, 'I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.” John 11:27

Throughout his ministry of meeting people and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, Jesus sought faith. He frequently asked, “Do you believe?” The Lord constantly examines our faith. Who is Jesus to me? To what extent do I trust Him and believe in His words? Do I believe that He is the Son of God and do I order my life according to my faith or is my life ordered according to my belief that the present world is everything? Do I live engrossed in the present world, hardly remembering Jesus?

Our Lord needs from us neither great deeds nor profound thoughts. Neither intelligence nor talents. He cherishes simplicity.

So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were urging you through us, and in the name of Christ we appeal to you to be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5.19

The love of God our Heavenly Father is ever active. He constantly seeks ways and means to communicate to men. In every age, He sends forth His messengers to people urging them to reconcile with Himself. One such messenger was Saint John Mary Vianney who burned with the compassion and mercy of God towards those separated from Him and he spared no effort to effect their reconciliation with God.

Jacob did not cease to be a Saint because he had to attend to his flocks.

“May God grant me to speak as He would wish and conceive thoughts worthy of the gifts I have received, since He is both guide to Wisdom and director of sages.” Wisdom 7:15

Divine and humble prayer is the beginning of great things. A person who knows how to pray well on his knees will become great. Solomon prayed to God for the grace to conceive thoughts worthy of the gifts he received from God. And the result was, God blessed him with Wisdom, which directs the origin, form, shape, substance and end of the human thought. It is because of our lack of frequent prayer and the Wisdom from God that our thoughts are weak, base and limited.

All the sins of your life seem to be rising up against you. Don’t give up hope! On the contrary, call your holy mother Mary, with the faith and abandonment of a child. She will bring peace to your soul.

In everything you do, remember your end, and you will never sin.” Sirach 7:36

Whenever the thought of death crosses our minds, we probably try our best to dismiss it as fast as we can. The Bible tells us that the thought of death should accompany us every day, in all our actions. The thought of our Heavenly Homeland and the joy that is waiting for us will help us forego the transitory pleasures of sin. For those who are in Christ Jesus, death is not an end, but a beginning of a better one, a more joyous one, a more beautiful one. Indeed, let us look forward to death, which is nothing but an entry into Eternal Life!

Prayer is the future gladness, an endless work, a wellspring of virtues, a source of grace, hidden progress, food for the soul, an illumination of the mind, an axe against despair, a proof of hope, sorrow done away with, the wealth of monks,  the reduction of anger.

“All that is good, all that is perfect, is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with Him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow caused by change. ” James 1:17

St. James makes very clear distinction in his letter on the gifts that come from God and those that do not. Temptation and sin do not come from God, they come from the evil desires which wage war within us; whereas the gifts that come from God are pure, full of goodness and perfect. There can never be any change in God’s nature - He always remains the Father of all light, meaning that, till the end of time, all that is Light has it’s origin and source in Him.

Willingly suffer a bit for God Who suffered so much for you.

“A loyal friend is a powerful defence: whoever finds one has indeed found a treasure. A loyal friend is something beyond price, there is no measuring his worth. A loyal friend is the elixir of life, and those who fear the Lord will find one. Whoever fears the Lord makes true friends, for as a person is, so is his friend too.” Sirach 6:14-17

Every human being needs a true friend. It is said in the Bible that when the first man was created, no suitable helper for him was found; and that was when God created a friend for him. A loyal friend is sent by God to stay by you through thick and thin, to advise and correct you when you are wrong and share your joy when you do right. May God grant each of us loyal and true friends, and may He bless our friendships so that they may be true and lasting unto eternal life.

The Lord's words are true; for Him to say it, means that it is.Again, "Scripture cannot lie".

“My child, keep my words, and treasure my precepts, keep my precepts and you will live, keep my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind these to your fingers, write them on the tablet of your heart.” Proverbs 7:1-3

God addresses us affectionately as “my child” - what is this greeting supposed to mean, except that He wishes by these loving words to draw our attention to accept the grave counsel He wishes to imprint on our hearts? He tells us that unless we keep his precepts and teachings as the apple of our eye, we will be lost. How great the attention we should pay to God’s commandments! But sadly, how little attention is paid to them! Let us therefore endeavour to use all our power to treasure them in our hearts.

Learning unsupported by grace may get into our ears; it never reaches the heart. But when God’s grace touches our innermost minds to bring understanding, His Word which has been received by the ear sinks deep into the heart.

“When law came on the scene, it was to multiply the offences. But however much sin increased, grace was always greater.” Romans 5:20

Today we celebrate the Feast of Mary Magdalene, a feast that celebrates the victory of grace over sin. Mary, the sinner, was conquered by the grace of God that overflowed into her from Christ Jesus. From being the sinful woman, she rose to become a new creation and became one of the most purest souls ever. far surpassing the Apostles in love, she flew towards the Holy Christ with wings of confidence. Looking at her, therefore let every sinner draw courage to come close to Jesus Christ who came into the world to save sinners.