Vasco Da Gamma

Last month we celebrated the 525th anniversary of the arrival of Vasco Da Gamma. Without the Portuguese influence, there would not have been the Church at Vallarpadam and also many other churches in and around Kochi.

It make one wonder why Portuguese had such a strong faith in Mother Mary.  They had built a church and honored the faith and celebrated their resort in Mary in all the lands they have shored. 

It was one heck of a sailing which Vasco Da Gamma in his ship Sao Gabriel undertook along with the fleet he lead to reach India. The turks  have blocked the other route to India, and the Europeans were desperate to find another sea route to the East for trade. That is why he took the risk upon the command of his King John II of Portugal to find the spice route. 

To sail around of Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa was a nightmare. Only the severest of faith can help a man from despair and destruction. Such was the bad weather in the channel of Mozambique. It was the faith of Vasco Da Gamma and the other sailors and their resort to Mother Mary which helped them survive the ordeal and let them sail through the coasts of Mozambique, Mambosa and Milindi, from there all the way across the ocean to Calicut favoured by the current and the Monsoon. 

On May 28th, 1498, Vasco Da Gamma, stood in front of Zamudiri (Zamorin) not as a conqueror but with all the humility of a trader asking permission to trade in the King Zamorin's land. 

Rest is history.

The Great Commandment

Deuteronomy 6

4.
Israel remember this! The Lord- and the Lord alone- is our God. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 
6.
Never forget these commands that I am giving your today. 
7.
Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working.
 8.
Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder. 
9.
Write them on the door-posts of your houses and on your gates. 

Certainly I have failed many times to keep the God's commandment. And yes, I have paid with my own life for it. The failures, the sufferings, the disgraces, the emotional worries etc. 

Being with the Lord is a beautiful experience. The commandments are the ways to maintain it.

10.
Just as the Lord your God promised your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he will give you a land with large and prosperous cities which you did not build. 
11.
The houses will be full of good things which you did not put in them and there will be wells that you did not dig and vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant. When God brings you into this land and you have all you want to eat, 
12.
make certain that you do not forget the Lord who rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves. 
13.
Honor your Lord, your God. 

I guess I have failed in honoring my Lord when my cup was full....

Thank your God for giving me the opportunity to realize this and correct my ways.