SUNDAY

Big time events were coming up in the evening celebrating the conclusion of mercy event and everyone was busy getting ready. There were the flower decorators, sound engineers fixing up the microphones, technicians fixing the big screen TVs etc..

Four Bishops were expected, so naturally things has to be taken care of well. After the prayers I stayed for a while and left quietly without waiting for the celebration.

On the way gave a lift to a migrant worker who was waiting in the bus stop to go to town. His grateful smile was my Sunday best.

God bless you all my friends, may we have the grace to think and do the things we have to. May we have the strength to resist the unwanted thoughts which do not have any bearing to our existence. 

July

Monsoon continue to be withdrawn in Kerala and it turned out to be a beautiful Sunday at Vallarpadam, bright and pleasant. Personally, though work was slow I could work hard for the preparation of peak months. May , June, July & August are slow months, the first three being not just slow but emotionally hurting too.

USWNT's world cup victory, Copa America, Wimbeldon final, ICC cricket final every thing was in the week and kept me cheerful in the evening. So when I came to Vallarpadam on this Sunday  I quietly sat in my corner, not giving chance for distraction, being grateful remembering Psalm 50.

Gratitude as we all know is the greatest of all the sacrifice and offerings.

A sunny Day

The cyclone Vayu took our monsoon away. Ever since the cyclone retreated our rain has stopped.

The day was very warm and bright at Vallarpadam.

The parish church was decorated beautifully to celebrate someone's dream coming true :)

First Rain 2019

I was at Vallarpadam when the first rain of the monsoon came pouring down.

The summer heat had become unbearable and the thrashing rain was a welcome change. 

To watch the rain from the Marian Tower was a wonderful experience. The wall after wall of raindrops stretching all the way to the Arabian sea across the vastness of the back water. 

The church looked majestic and lonely in the rain. 

The joy

Blessings are many. Only a very few are blessed with everything that one requires in life. A large majority of us are blessed with only the bare essentials.

Psalms 45:7 reads as " if we love righteousness and hate wickedness we are blessed with joy. "

It is so very true. Few of us have joy. The joy that we have even though we don't have anything at all.  The reading was very revealing for me.

A prayer

The creator of heaven and earth, our God, praise and worship, power and authority be always with You. May everyone everywhere who are praying in their own ways be praying to You, The Creator, and they be blessed with your peace and joy. Please do not let anyone anywhere perish. Thank you for allowing us to know more about You from the culture and tradition of the country you let me born in. I pray for the forgiveness of my sins which I have committed in my human impulses by offering the body and blood of Jesus Christ as my sacrifice for reconnecting with You. Not my grace but Your Mercy Father. Thank you Apostles for bringing the good news to us. Thank you Joseph and Mary. 

At Vallarpadam, again!

Though I came back to Kochi a week ago I could make it to Vallarpadam only on the following Sunday. It was very good to be back at my favorite church and its environs. It was about afternoon and the church was not so  full with devotees coming and going. The 4pm Tamil mass was very spirited but I would have preferred a local mass since I haven't been to one in months. I should have come little more early.

My thoughts were jumbled when I left the college after the semester. There were a few things I had started towards the benefit of our students and all those were left in the midway with no way to continue the effort after I left the village. It was rather disappointing, so much of efforts has been put into all those, but then I was also expecting it too. When ones work is under a contract one cannot predict what happens once it ends.

A day and night journey from the East coast to West coast. 

The cyclone Fani was rattling Odissha when I left the East coast village. Luckily we were spared the destruction. Immediately after that Chennai and our area just three hours away from that big town became unbearably hot. Koimbedu, the big bus station at Chennai became my refuge as I waited for the connecting bus from Chennai to Kochi.

Thank you my Lord for the wonderful opportunity to move around, help me do it well and complete the associated requirements on time and well. Bless us with our working tools and the knowledge to use them well. May everyone my Lord have the means to earn their bread and the grace to do it well gratefully.