NEW COMMITMENTS FOR THE NEW YEAR 2014

I wonder how we will make a radical difference in this year 2014? Will we make any better use of our time? When this year is over, we shall have next 362 days. Will we be looking at the future with anticipation, or with fear?

Let's learn to use the 8,760 hours of the year 2014 in the wisest way we can for us and for the greater glory of God.

Here I want to suggest how we can make a happier New Year by keeping close the seven simple attitudes in our lives:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries.

3. Appreciate what you have.

4. Give to the poor by reaching out to at least 5 families.

5. Expect less from people but give more from yourself.

6. Recognise the value of time.

7. Love God deeply and love your neighbor as yourself.

Prayer for the New Year:

“Lord, help us to understand Your will and Your Word. Help us to prosper in our walk with You and our work for You. Grant us Your power to endure the difficulties and still enjoy the journey.” (Cf. Colossians 1: 1-12).

Mary, Mother of God, grant us your maternal care.

Family as a "Domestic Church"

The last Sunday of the calendar year is a wonderful time to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. It’s a time to reflect on the year just about to an end – on our successes and failures, our times of joy and sadness in our families – and then look ahead with hope and expectation in the coming year.

When we celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we also celebrate our own families. Our families are not perfect. Honestly speaking, most families are a little messy. The purpose of this feast is to show the importance and sacredness of the family as the basic unit of Church life. On this feast of the Holy Family, the Church invites us, to make our natural families into more loving homes.

 

Late Pope John Paul II on his in the encyclical "Familiaris Consortio" (Family Life) describes the family as a “domestic church,” the foundational Church where holiness is awakened, nurtured and lived out. 

The Second Vatican Council elevates the family as a center of faith and mission, a witness to the message of Christ and an agent of transformation. 

The family, therefore, is a living reality that is called to be a vessel of peace, defender and herald of the Word, temple of the Spirit, and a steward of God’s love.

Family life is a full time job. Home is where we feel to talk about our tensions, troubles and difficulties. Let us renew our commitment to our God-given duties as spouses, children and parents. 

We pray that God will strengthen the bonds of love in our families. Let us also remember to pray for the families are in serious problems so that the Lord will guide them and help them their problems in a Christian way of life and to value and promote the sanctity of the family.

I would like to highlight few questions from the “YouCat” for you to ponder over them or to read before the year end:

# 368. What place does the family have in God’s plan of creation?

# 369. Why are families irreplaceable?

# 370. Why should the State protect and promote families?

# 371. How does a child respect his/her parents?

# 372. How do parents respect their children?

# 373. How should a family live its faith together?

# 374. Why is God more important than the family?

Let's Make Everyday Just Like Christmas!

Giving gifts is an important part of our celebration of Christmas. Christmas could be said to be the season of gifts. Gifts are a way of telling others that we love them. 

Christmas was originated by a gift. It was God who started it all: “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son..." (Jn 3:16)

Don’t lose God this Christmas. Don’t forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and greetings. Don’t forget about Jesus in all your parties and celebrations. Don’t let God's only begotten Son become His only forgotten Son this Christmas. Find those quiet moments in quiet places where you can think about Him, speak to Him and draw near to Him.

"Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights..." (James 1:17). Let us say, ‘Thank you Jesus for Christmas, You are the best gift anyone could ever receive.

Let’s make everyday just like Christmas! 

Our hearts are full of many gifts that we can give – "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, and self-control," (Gal 5:22-23).

MERRY CHRISTMAS
          AND
HAPPY NEW YEAR

Mary is Our Advent Model

"The virgin shall conceive and bear a son," (Mt. 1:23)

The end of Advent, the beginning of the Christmas season that approaches, is a time to reflect how is my relationship with God has progressed during the year that is about to end. How we can prepare ourselves?

Mary is our Advent Model. Mary is truly the model of how we should be living Advent in preparing for Christ’s arrival. God, the Father prepared Her from the first moment of her conception to be the worthy Mother of His Son. 

Let us enter into Mary’s response of faith, which is a guide for us along our own pilgrimage of faith. Let us listen to the beat of Mary’s contemplative heart, so that our Christmas may be as fruitful as that first Christmas.

Today, we ask Mary Our Most Beloved Mother to help us and show us how to find the way to celebrate a better Christmas so that our lives can be lived honestly and generously, so that we can turn away from sin and turn our hearts towards Jesus.  Mary will help us to get closer to her Son, Jesus Christ.

A Segment in RTM

On Wednesday, 18th December, I was invited to take part in a recording for a special segment in RTM Channel 102's VASATHAM programme. The segment was on what Christmas is all about. There were also two other representatives from the Catholic Church - Nyanam and D'cruz Joseph from the Archdiocesan Office for Human Development (AOHD) ministry. The commentator for the programme is a well-know person by the name of Pandithorai.

This programme will be broadcast on Sunday, 22nd December from 1pm to 2pm. I would like to encourage all my Tamil speaking parishioners/friends to watch this informative programme. I am sure you will enjoy it.

The Coming of the Lord Stirs Joy

The 3rd Sunday of Advent is called “the joyful Sunday.” The coming of our Saviour will stir up the joy within us, in our homes, in our community and the Church.

During his lifetime, John himself had doubts about Jesus being the true Messiah and unsure about whether Jesus "who is about to come.” 

We all have doubts and fears that float up in moments of difficulty and trial. Be it doubt or fear, the lesson is exactly the same: Turn to Christ in every circumstance of life. Christ is our reassurance and strength when fear invades our hearts and clouds our minds. Thus, we echo the motto of the Baptist in all that we do: “He must increase and I must decrease”.

Where God is, there is joy and there is beauty. Our hearts can easily become frightened and weighed down by the hardships we face. Our hands can grow weaker. We can lose patience in our sufferings as we await the coming of the Lord. 

No matter what, we have to carry around our wounded hearts and we have to accept suffering willingly and joyfully. We must not allow any distress to break our friendship with God until He comes and heals us. May this Christmas stir up the joy within us.

Advent is the Time to Make Room for Christ

"Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight,” (Luke 3:4).

The real sign of Christmas is the coming of Christ as a gift to our homes and our hearts. It is a real sign of Christ presence, and we tend to forget easily.

Before all the excitement in this Christmas, today we need to stop and think about “What I need to change in my life?”  In our own life there are many things that we need to straighten out. Our resentment till now has never resolved.  How about our patience and tolerance with one another? What obstacle can I remove to prepare a way for the Lord? How often we look at our lives and our situations - and say “Lord I need help.” 

We must not forget that this Advent is a time to make room for Christ to enter into our heart. We need him to be a real part of our lives. We have to let go of the old way of thinking and acting and put on Christ in a real and visible way.

Peace is the theme of the Second Sunday of Advent. Whatever separates us from God's peace, whatever makes us restful relationship with God and with one another, we must get rid of it today. May Christ equip and prepare us for this advent in true peace!

Advent Practices!

Some simple ways to include “Advent Practices” in your busy schedule:

1)      Desire for the Lord. Make it a habit of silently praying, “Come, Lord Jesus.” Take a few deep breaths throughout the day. As you exhale, let go of tension, worry and anything else that is not of God. The best way to transform trials and tensions is to turn them into a prayer.

2)      Do something nice for someone every day. It might be an encouraging word, a phone call, a note of appreciation or a little act of kindness.

3)      Get rid of grudges. Use Advent as an opportunity to let go of any anger or resentment that you might be holding onto.

4)      Pray for patience. If you find yourself becoming anxious or upset, ask the Lord for the gift of patience. Then make a conscious effort to be a more patient person.

5)      Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and take advantage of the opportunity to cleanse your soul in preparation for the coming of Jesus at Christmas.

6)      Unite with Mary. Set aside time once a day to join Our Lady in praying the Magnificat (see Lk 1:46-55) and the Rosary with your family.

What is to Come?

We have begun the season of Advent. The word "advent" comes from the Latin "adventus" meaning, "to come." The stories of Advent are stories of thrilling expectation, stories of hope and stories of joy. 

On this First Sunday of Advent we are reminded that we should not spend all our time waiting and doing nothing. The best way to live each day is to live it as if it were our last day. That means having a serious prayer life and acting with a deep spirit of charity during the Advent.

Lord, I want to prepare myself well this Advent for your arrival at Christmas, so that I can offer you a fitting birthday gift. Help me to live each day to the full in order to grow in holiness and to keep my gaze fixed on the things of heaven.