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.

Lent

Democracy is our greatest gift and elections are its greatest strength, a mechanism that ensures our systems carries on in the direction those great leaders of our freedom movement foresaw. May we all have the grace to use our votes wisely and the process goes on without any interruptions.

The Lent days are on, the meagerness of life has helped a lot in staying in tune with the spirit of the Lent, frugal and abstained. Though it is mostly by circumstances than by choice. Being thankful to be that way.

Lent Days

The month of "Kumbh" is the breakaway month from the cooler winter months after the monsoon into the hot summer days. Its also the time when the summer fruits bloom. The mango trees looks beautiful with its yellow blooms. Usually, the hot days brings the air pressure down in the land and the water vapour from the sea moves onto the shore, sometimes resulting in very consoling rain. Its called "Flowering rains". It brings the blooms of the summer fruits down, the flowers will be all littered over the courtyard, a beautiful sight.

Beautiful part of the Kumbh month is the clear blue sky and the amazingly clear sunsets. The picture is the sky from my home a few days ago before the flowering rain.

Lent days are going good. Most of the time I attend the 7.15 am mass. There is an inspiring preganent young lady at the church who attend the morning mass regularly with her full bump. She make me wish that every carrying woman have such a happy and peaceful months. Yeah! One should be lucky indeed.

Some countries, like UK, they have the Pancake  race to mark the beginning of the Lent days. They have event everywhere even the MP's have to run around with a frying pan tossing pancakes. Every society have their own customs and events. What is mine..?

Lent Days

I Peter 1:3

"Let us give thanks to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Thank you Jesus for taking Us to Him, for being our Way to Him and teaching us how to love.

Thoughts on the start of the Lent days.