Christmas

The Indian Christmas 🎅

A blessed day

..at Vallarpadam

Good wishes

Your excellency,
May our good lord guard and guide you all through.
We respect and love ❤ your way of acquiring knowledge and sharing it.

Quiet Time

Absolute stillness...

4 am

Recently I got an opportunity to go Vallarpadam early in the morning. There was hardly anybody at that time except for a group of students from Kasargode who were using the church facility to freshen up.

Bus stop

Its about time we got a bus stop at Vallarpadam. A good one in the making.

Time for everything

There is a time for everything. If we miss it, we miss it for ever.

I pray Jesus, bless us with the grace to understand ourselves better and help us think what we have to think and do what we have to do.

Amen

Ecclesiastes 3

There is a time for everything,
A season for every activity under the heaven.

6. a time to search and time to give up,
    a time to keep and to throw away.

Answers

16 years. I was stuck on a memory. A beautiful memory. Life had seriously moved on from that time and place. But certain aspect of my life over the years continued unfilled and  is so even today. I was constantly praying for that aspect of my life, which every man has to, to be filled. To get on I needed an answer. I had no means to get it without a divine intervention.

Today, it happened. I got my answers.

Heart breaking as it is, I have it.

Thank God.

You are fair and just God.

I recollect and remember sadly how unfair I myself was. Forgive me Lord.

Lights

Each time I come out of a teaching class I remember Luke 17:7-9
"Just a servant Sir" .
Thank you Jesus. Pls do not let me stray away from the blessing again.

This month In India is our month of the festival of Nava Ratri where we gratefully acknowledge the gifts and talents with which we earn our bread. Children are taught their first letters on the day of Vijaya Dashami.

Fondly recollecting all those blessed souls who taught us in class rooms and in life.

Respects, to all those who walked the way early.

Ps: In picture is the bell tower, whose melodious ringing is unique and can be heard far. So is the tower. A land mark of our Basilica.

Sunset

Sunday sunset

Feast

The feast week continues at Vallarpadam.
October, the rosary month.
I went to Vallarpadam in the evening with the gratefulness of a servant who is doing what he is asked to do. That is the way I was feeling about the new classes I started this month.
A remarkable turn around from feeling "stupidly blissful" on the first Sunday of September.
Thank you 😊 my Lord.

Church on the day after feast

Happy Feast day

Blessings and Grace

HAPPY FEAST DAY.
Thank you Mary.

Hunger

You have taught me what hunger means,
You have made me realise time and again,
How important it is to stay focused,
On the means of earning bread.

I pray my lord, show mercy on me, Please do not let me Perish.

In You I trust, Please do not let me be ashamed, You who are fair and just, save me. Psalms 31:1

Jesus, please let me not even think or do anything that's not worthy of Your dharma and make you ashamed of me.

September

Wonderful sunshine

God & Goal

Sent from my Windows Phone

Hope

We should not give up when shadows of hard time crush us. Even in the middle of all these we should stand by our God and continue to work hard for our goals.

New

In the new offices and commercial set ups that are coming up around Vallarpadam, I pray everyone will have an equal opportunity for employment.

Calm

Since the Marian pilgrimage was in the evening, morning at Vallarpadam was calm

Onam

Onam flowers on all wayside

Marian Pilgrimage

Mother Teresa

Watching the ceremony live at Vallarpadam on a huge screen.

July 31, 2016

Jesus, You are the light of my being. Bless me, Lord with the grace to not to loose You, ever.

Trophy

Encouragement

10 th July

As we get closer to our spicy & Ayurvedic month of Karkkidakam, rain is getting heavier. This Sunday rain came in short bursts only allowing me to reach Vallarpadam without much trouble even though I had to wait out a sudden downpour.

Eid

I have spent ten years of my life working in Arabia, earning bread. I cherish every single day of it.
On the occasion of Eid wishing every one the blessing of the God, Almighty.

Thank you

12 years since my father died.
After he went my life changed. In every way.
There has been times I was not even able to pay church fees for a requiem.
From a downward fall to a revival. From death to a rebirth. The new career and new year.
My God, strengthen everyone who are going through the same sorrows and trouble that I have been through. Help them find YOU. Pls send them angels to tell them about You. Open their hearts so that they understand You. Bless them with the grace to stay by You.

Thank you Abbachen.

Wholesome

Some times, no matter whatever be the intention we came to Vallarpadam to pray for, we have this wholesome feeling in our heart, of joy and contentment, we feel Jesus in our heart.
I guess Such days are a blessing and when it arrives all we feel like doing is to sit there in the church, thanking and being grateful.

New lights

Beautiful new lights inside the church on either side. I sat there looking at it for a long time...

Boxed in..

The changing landscape of our church. Big, buildings all over the place.

Lucky & sad

I nearly got hit by a motorbike just outside the rosary Park at Vallarpadam thus morning.  Walking back after the mass and spending some time at the church, listening to the sermon from the loud speaker  I walked right into a motorbike who was far out on the wrong side avoiding a pool of water in the road. The young man braked hard and nearly fell off the motorcycle. We both survived without any injury. We waved and smiled and went off in a hurry after I apologised. I never thought  a motor cycle will come at me from behind and that too through the right.  Lucky.

Sad, 'cos, during my prayer I have been made aware of certain realities which I have not addressed and taken up responsibly. Later in the day , at home, I remembered a friend whom I have not seen for 15 year's. We just disappeared from each other's life and never kept in touch. The prompt I got during the prayer and this friend thought has a connection too.

Monday Morning

I woke hearing the gentle murmur of the elderly gentleman's electric scooter  who ride by my home and is always on time for the 6.15 am mass to which I also was hoping to go. I know I was late.
Sundays I go to Vallarpadam and Monday to my Parish church. Not a good idea. Sunday is the day they make Parish announcements. But that is also the day I spent with Mary at Vallarpadam.

Waking up early has become a little problem now inspite of the awareness that these are the last few beautiful summer mornings before the monsoon and the morning walk to the church is always a cheerful delight. Missing it is a big loss.
The paint fumes from the fresh paintings and the general work that I have been doing at home is getting me tired.
Thinking about the maintenance, thank you my God and my Lord, for the opportunity.
My house was in disrepair and needed maintenance for long.

Respect and gratitude.

Reminders

Edapally

On May 15th, the feast of St. George at Edapally was flagged down. A beautiful memory, St. George being an inspiration for a whole year and more. 

God the Judge

Misfortune wreck us all. The bad phase just like the good phase last longer too. Its only our faith in God who is the Lord of both Good and bad time that can help us pull ourselves out of the rut. 

God help those who are going through the worst of bad phase. Bless me Lord, with the wisdom to not to be judgmental and critical of them to avoid breaking them emotionally than any more than they are already. 

Drill into my heart, My Lord,  that You alone holds the authority to judge others.

 

Edapally St George 's Feast

One blessed day. This year too, on May First with beetle leaves, Jasmine Flowers 💐 I could go to welcome the Roman gentleman who defied The Cesar to hold on to his new faith in Jesus. Inspiring and emotional day.