The Jerusalem Entry

He did not choose the busiest gate,

nor the strongest wall,

nor the road of power.

He chose the eastern gate—

where prophecy waited,

where the sun rises,

where hope enters quietly.

And He came not to conquer a city,

but to claim the hearts within it.

the donkey Jesus sat on..

പലപ്പോഴും ഈശോ ഇരുന്ന വെറും ഒരു കഴുത ആണ് ഞാൻ എന്ന കാര്യം മറന്നു പോകാ റുണ്ട് . 

ഒടുകത്ത ഗമ. തൊട്ടാൽ പൊട്ടുന്ന സ്വയ പ്രമാണിത്തം, അത് തകർത്തവർകേതിരെ പക. 

പക്ഷേ അന്തോണീസ് പുണ്യവാളൻ അങ്ങിനെ അല്ലായിരുന്നു. സഭയുടെ ഒരു administrator and manager ആയിരുന്നിട്ടും കൂടി. 

കയ്യിൽ ഉണ്ണി യേശു. ശിശു സഹജ നിഷ്കളങ്കത. Apt symbolism. 

വിശുദ്ധ വാര ആശംസകൾ. 💐

Palm Sunday

He did not choose the busiest gate,

nor the strongest wall,

nor the road of power.

He chose the Sheep's gate—

where prophecy waited,

where the sun rises,

where hope enters quietly.

And He came not to conquer a city,

but to claim the hearts within it.

Ecce Homo

On a Sunday early morning, I rode my scooter across town to visit an elderly gentleman who lives alone.

When I reached, he smiled kindly but said it was too early for him, and asked if we could meet another time.

So I turned back—not disappointed, just unhurried—and made my way to the jetty. From there, I took a junkar boat across the Cochin ship channel toward Vallarpadam.

It was then that I noticed a board announcing the exposition of the centuries-old Ecce Homo—a special grace offered during Lent.

History came alive in that moment. In 1663, when the Dutch conquest of Cochin drove out the Portuguese from Fort Cochin, the Catholic community was forced to flee. They carried with them their altar and the revered Ecce Homo, taking refuge across the waters at the Our Lady of Hope Church.

Most likely, this remains one of the oldest living devotions connected to the first European Catholic church in India.

And I could not help but think—had the gentleman received me that morning, I would have missed this grace entirely.