A November Sunday

Kneeling in gratitude after a long week at Lady of Ransom, Vallarpadam. The peace and joy one feels while being there inspite of life and circumstances are priceless and for that one travels miles. 

Candles. The few on the  lower right is mine. I was not particular in lighting candles at Vallarpadam till a few months ago. I thought lighting oil lamps at home was good enough. Then I got an advice from a spiritually elderly person, when one is specific about certain intentions one has to follow certain rituals and tune the mind and prayers accordingly.

Thanks giving for being able to build a house. Expressiin of gratitude and thanks for the blessings received is a great motivation for others who are in difficult situations to stay strong in their prayers. 

"There is no better prayer than having a grateful mind."

 A note of gratefulness. The best I have read on this Sunday. These are always left by the devotees in front of the Sub Altar of the church. They are deeply enriching and brings peace and joy to mind. It is also a social history of how families grow and how noble some of them are in their aspirations. I found this note very enlightening, their request for peace and harmony in the family and general well being of everyone finishing off with a request to be able to to write a note of gratitude every time they visit the Basilica. The writer probably is a piligrims who might have come from far. 

All Souls Day

All Souls Day. 

In memory of our dead, they are gone but they still lives on in our hearts and will continue to live in our memory till the day we die. 

Fondly remembering those who came and lived with us, giving up their families and everything for us. May their souls Rest in Peace. 

Remembering our dead. 

The November blue sky. The specialty of the time of the year. 

Lady of Ransom, Kanyakumari

This Sunday is the feast of Lady of Ransom also called Alankara Matha at Kanyakumari. This video is from Saturday night service.

You may notice the similarity of name with our Basilica at Vallarpadam. Perhaps built by the same Mercedarian priests of Vallarpadam from the 16th Century. The old church at Kanyakumari goes back to that century. 

A Sunday in July

That clock on the side was is very comforting for the lonely pilgrims who spend hours in and around the church. 

A Sunday view of the Altar. Getting ready for the feast in September. 

Church at noon on a sunny day of the monsoon. 

God bless all those who came to Vallarpadam today from far especially those who came with their new borns for dedication. Welcome to the tribe of 'Ransomers'. 

A picture Tour of Vallarpadam

The boats at the old Jetty

The lane to the parking strewn with flowers.

Vallarpadam Marian Tower

A historical part of a 160 feet flag post of teak wood. 

The Confession Hall

The wingside where the wind from the sea never stops blowing. 

A Sunday afternoon after the 11:30AM mass

Meenakshi Amma's abode

A way out to the village. 

Infant Jesus in the good old Wooden altar

The beautiful wooden Panels of Vallarpadam that speaks of the days gone by and the people who lived here. 

The offering at St. Mary's Basilica Vallarpadam

A usual offering of Rice preparation at Vallarpadam. Perhaps, due to the pandemic impact nobody touched it for a long time. In normal circumstances the pilgrims would have accepted it readily and the container would be empty soon. 

8th day of the Feast

I couldn't, due to my work, come to the church on the feast day. As usual, the church was crowded on the feast day and the week preceding and following it. Pilgrims & devotees from far and wide and all religious background continued to visit the church on these days. As we all know, Lady of Ransom has a special place in the hearts of those who work in the sea. Such communities make their annual pilgrimage to Vallarpadam on these days. This year too, many of them were there on the day I went to the church. 

The procession after the 11.30 am mass. It went around the Rosary Park and returned to the church. 

Though it looks like ants on the church during day time, the lights were beautiful at night. 

My blessing this year was to know more about the Saint Peter Nolasco. An year earlier I had a dream in which I saw Saint Peter Nolasco standing at the altar of the church. I didn't know the saint then, on enquiry the church staff had told me that we have a statue of the saint in the church. On this feast day, I found the statue beautifully decorated and his name written in bold letters at the bottom. More about the saint in a later post. 

The best drink to have at any time of the day. Sugar Cane Juice are nutritious and very organic, unless the vendor contaminates it. The latest machine and technology make the juice maker's job easy and the waiting less for the thirsty. 

The feast of Our Lady falls in the month of "Kanni" which is called the best month in our Malayalam Calendar. Neither rainy nor summer, just the mild weather of Kerala. 

The Unmistakeable icons of the feast, the status quo accompaniments of the Church and the feast.

One more year, My Lord, I have come to the feast with my grand mother, that is the first visit I could remember and to all the feasts after that when I was home and here in Kerala. 

My Lord and My God, I pray bless all those who seek you with the grace and knowledge to live by You and live in your peace and Joy. 

Amen. 

Feast

Retreat Prior to Mary's feast at Vallarpadam

Beautiful Gateway to Our Lady of Ransom Church

Evening Sun lighting up the Vallarpadam Sky

The new building near the highway lit by the evening's golden sun

With the annual retreat and the Marian pilgrimage this year's feast is just about starting at Vallarpadam. I was lucky to be there on a Monday evening.

Meenakshi Amma's Story

An inspiring story. I often think about her as my Meenakshi Amma.

Altar today

The peaceful moments of the quiet hour at Vallarpadam Church dedicated to the Holy Spirit is strengthening as well as consoling.

Summer Rain

Summer rain is very soothing. But when it continues for more than a few days, it becomes a mess. This year we are having a lot of rain after Vishu.

Beautiful view of an overcast evening in the neighborhood of Vallarpadam Church. A fast changing landscape. Next year, by this time, there will be a whole lot of urban commercial development in these areas.

Prayer of the season

Monsoon is on. For the fishing folks in Kochi, life has become little tougher.

Life for everyone, brings tough times. May we all have the strength and grace to deal with it positively. May we not even lose a moment worrying over what we are going to do, how we are going to deal with situations etc..

Let us bind our life in faith, God provides, He keeps, He leads..

Amen.

Lamps of life

I have been desperately trying to clear some exams for  a license which would give me more opportunity to work on history and in tourism. Ever since the program was announced by the authorities in February, I have kept aside everything and kept working for it. Unfortunately, the program has not moved much from the application stage. The authorities have extended the last date for application thrice. The lack of backup plan to survive has devastated me.

Often, the pressure of the situation blew me away. Most of the time making me even forget how to pray. During such timea, it takes a lot of effort to find comfort through spirituality as everything seems lost. Difficult indeed, but for ordinary folks like me, what else is the way to stay alive. Sooner or later comes back to my God.

Deliberately trying to stick to the ritual of lighting a lamp at dawn and at dusk is one of the ways, that ensure I offer my day and thought to God without fail. Lighting lamp has a big significance in our Hindu Tradition. In old testament, the way the arc of the covenant should be respected with light and lamps are detailed very clearly.

Personally, when we light a lamp we are offering to God all our emotions of the day, anxieties, joys and everything we have in flames to the Divine Creator, who is light himself. It gives me joy to contemplate on how Meenkashi Amma lighted lamps at the altar of Lady of Ransom centuries ago. She sure would have lighted a lot of lamps everyday.

May the light in our lives, burn brighter.

Our prayers are with all those who lost lives in Oklahoma twister and through other natural calamities all over the world.

Holy Ghost Feast

The age old memories, The age old faith.

Living and living His way to find peace and happiness in life.

That's the tradition, we keep and we live.

Picking up our cross every day and following Him, just the way He picked up His own with utmost humility and all his heart.

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.   

  

Happy Easter

HAPPY EASTER

The lent days and the recollection of the Passion of Christ helped me deal with my own life and its problems very much. Three distinct miracles added on to the re-assurance, that if we carry our Cross well, we will be comforted and guided through to victory. 

One of the miracle was so personally pleasing that it knocked me out emotionally with joy. It also made me open my eyes to the fact that, I am using only 10% of the chances and opportunities that God so lovingly bring to me.

The first miracle taught me, indeed it is us and the way we act under pressure, that save our situation, our day. For us to deal with a problem we need to have presence of mind. For us to keep the presence of mind we need to stay calm, not to be affected by the emotional aspect of the situation.

The rituals and practices help us a lot to stay put in the right way...Without it we go astray, our mind go here and there. Ligthing the lamp for God in the morning and evening is one of my most adored ritual. Well, about that, later. 

Wishing you all my friends, a Happy Easter. May you all have the grace and understanding to realize what is your cross and live it well. Good Luck and God bless.

PS: The picture is from Lady of Ransom, Vallarpadam.

Loving the cross...

As the Lent days are progressing, my days are emotionally getting harder and at times the situation gets so much harder to bear I am afraid I will fall apart.

Even still, the observation of the first day of the Lent is holding me together and keeping me steady.

If you love Me, you will pick up your Cross and follow Me.

Yes, Jesus, I love you so much.

PS: Picture is that of the Oil Lamp at  Syrian Church at N. Parur.

A request!

My Lord and My God!

My joy and my peace, when I am tired and lonely with twists and turns of my life, please gift me a companion, who will talk to me about YOU and YOUR WAYS and help me live better in every way!

The flame

Psalms 144:1

1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle .

The flames that is raging in my heart....

I am imperfect my god, I cannot love completely with my own heart, please come into my shortcoming, please let me, please help me love with your true love, unconditional love. 

Save me, O! LORD from the consequences of my imperfections-anxiety, fear, disappointment, anger. Fill my shortcomings with your perfection My LORD, liberate me O! Jesus, from the bondage of these emotions.