03/03/2016 14:01
By Ainish Philip
One fine morning, when St. Francis of Assisi went out to pray in the fields, he walked beside the church of San Damiano, which was almost in ruins because of its extreme age. Guided by the Holy Spirit, he went inside the church. He knelt before the crucifix and prayed with tear filled eyes to the Lord. As he gazed at the Cross of our Lord, he heard a voice from the crucifix, telling him three times, “ Francis, go and repair my house!” Hearing the divine voice, Francis prayed...
02/12/2015 22:55
By Ainish Philip
As we await for the Word to become flesh among us (John 1:14), let us observe a few things we can do this Advent season.
Word of God : Just as we need food for our bodies to energize us, we need God’s Word everyday as food for our soul. If we are continually fed with God’s Word, we will never be starved spiritually. Jesus said, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). As we read and meditate on God’s Word, the Word will stay in our heart and keep...
24/02/2015 18:04
By Ainish Philip
Ephesians 5:16 St. Paul asks us to make the best use of time, because the days are evil. Jesus tells us that the last days will be like the days of Noah and of Lot, in which the people ate, drank, bought, sold, planted, built, and so on (Luke 17:26-30). If you notice, these things are normal in itself. These are activities that are part of man’s life. Then how does it become sinful?
If we look into our lives in the light of the above bible verses, our lives are saturated with...
08/01/2015 18:51
By Ainish Philip
In the book of Exodus we read how the Lord dries the Red Sea making it possible for the people of Israel to walk across it to freedom. The Egyptians are drowned and killed in the sea. I have always tried to picture this great victory in my mind. The Israelites might have travelled all the way without even catching up on their sleep in order to reach to safety. And for all the pains they undertook, God did not allow anyone of them to even trip or fall or get hurt during the...
25/12/2014 14:31
Wishing you a blessed Christmas. May the infant Jesus, ‘Emmanuel’ be with you every moment of your life!
Merry Christmas!
Be Holy! Be on Fire!
Stay in peace. Stay with Jesus.
07/12/2014 17:59
By Ainish Philip
“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure.” Sirach 6:14.
Are you among the ones who love to attend retreats, follow ups, and prayer groups? Have you ever noticed how God puts us among people who are spiritually hungry and whose journey towards God mirrors our own?
Once we are born-again and regenerated spiritually after attending a retreat, the normal tendency is to look for people with whom we can share our faith. The camaraderie is...
01/10/2014 13:25
By Ainish Philip
"Even if the fire of love seemed to have gone out, I would keep on throwing fuel in it and Jesus would take care to light it up again." St. Therese of Lisieux
Perhaps the only motive of St Therese of Lisieux, also known as the ‘Little Flower’ was - to give glory to the Lord through her short, yet simple life. Today as we celebrate her feast day, let us look at some of the virtues she practised to make her life holy and pure unto God.
Love: St Therese believed...
05/09/2014 21:38
By Guest Blogger
Isaiah 44:21 ‘O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.’
I have forgotten my God many a times. I have left Him at the altar, I have abandoned Him in my personal space, I have ignored Him in counsel. Yet, He never forgot me! I am sure I don’t speak for myself but for a vast majority of youth when I say that ‘I have forgotten my Lord and Saviour’.
The beauty of our God is that He remains the same – Yesterday, Today and Forever. He is the unchangeable in a world that is...
26/08/2014 23:37
By Ainish Philip
Luke chapter 15: 11-32 talks about the famous ‘Prodigal Son’ story where the son forgets about his father and enjoys life for himself. Eventually he gets back to his senses and decides to get back to his father. He expects to be ridiculed and reprimanded and is willing to be a servant at his father’s house. But as he returns home, he is surprised by the warm welcome and love he receives from his father.
I have always wondered what thoughts might have run in his small mind as...
14/05/2014 18:25
By Ainish Philip
On a recent visit to one of the local churches, my attention was drawn to a couple of young girls who were dressed in tight, skin revealing short dresses. As they stood in one of the front pews completely oblivious to the fact that they were feast to many ogling eyes, I prayed a little prayer: ‘Lord, cover us in the mantle of modesty!’
It is vital to state that we are all visual beings and there is some truth to the fact that our eyes are attracted to flesh or can I say bare...
18/03/2014 19:49
By Ainish Philip
Lent is a time to prepare our hearts for repentance by making a change in our attitudes, words, and lifestyle. Just as football player may work at staying healthy and fit the whole year round but still give special attention to conditioning before the start of new training, same way we will find great spiritual benefits in setting aside a few weeks to give special attention to the state of our souls. Here are some ways we can grow in holiness this Lent season:
Prayer:
Imagine...
29/01/2014 01:06
By Ainish Philip
Ever since I moved to the US, I have been humbled by the devotion of a devout Catholic priest, Fr Jose Uppani towards the Blessed Sacrament. He insists on spending an hour with the Lord before every Holy Mass. I felt a great peace and power penetrating me from the Blessed Sacrament. And one time, my eyes welled up when he gave the Eucharist to a person who was unable to walk and upon receiving Jesus, the man walked! What a powerful healing; and Father very humbly said, its...
13/01/2014 18:08
By Ainish Philip
I met a 21 year old young woman recently at a retreat. She had a glorious joy on her face which was beyond description. I asked her, “Did you meet Jesus? She said quite happily, “Yes! I did, at the confessional after 6 long years!” And tears of joy rolled down her cheeks as she kept saying, “I am free in Jesus! He took my burdens away!”
When I meet young people at the retreats, they seem to be like this little child going with a rather heavy bag to school and wait for his...
23/12/2013 23:15
This Christmas, let us pray together that we have an ever increasing experience of the presence of the Child Jesus and His Holy Mother during our celebration.
Wish you a happy Christmas and a holy and blessed New Year.
20/12/2013 15:54
By Ainish Philip
Looking back, perhaps one of the epic moments of 2013 was when the Catholic Church elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, as the new Pope. What was totally enchanting was when the new Pope bowed down his head in humility and said to the crowd, “Pray for me.”
He’s become the role model of millions today; he’s won the hearts of men, women, youth and children alike, he’s made a radical change through his small acts of love, he’s truly Christ in action in a...
10/12/2013 22:50
By Ainish Philip
Did you experience a fresh wave of revival sweep across England?
Saturday the 7th December 2013 saw a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Thousands thronged in early in the morning despite the cold pricking against their skin for a joyous event - to glorify the name of Jesus! The Convention led by Rev. Fr. Xavier Khan Vattayil and Fr. Soji Olikkal, and graced by many other holy priests was a day of mega anointing. Within minutes into the Convention, not only the many...
03/12/2013 00:14
By Ainish Philip
Sibling rivalry, fighting over who can have the front seat in the car, angry because mum gave the bigger cookie to the elder sis, feeling low because the best friend has not been giving enough attention, looking in the mirror and being depressed over the beauty that her best friend has and she does not, mentally questioning in the mind that why my classmate has countless friends on Facebook, how does my brother manage to score better than me, - one thing in common...
19/11/2013 10:03
by Gitty, Sheril, Nimmy
We’re having a great day and we want to share our joy. We’ve heard this new track and its tune is playing on our mind. Whom do we share it with? We feel sad and lonely. Whom do we call at the first place to share our feelings? Let’s face it. We teens and youth like to spend most of our time with our friends more than our families. How important is it to have good friends who will help us in our walk towards holiness? Today we have...
09/11/2013 23:11
by Ainish Philip
Have you ever been in a situation where you hurt your friend or your loved ones without thinking? Can you think of any moment where you wished “Oops!! I shouldn’t have said that!” If yes, you’d want to read more.
It is surprising to know that most of our language is influenced by who and what we surround ourselves with. We live in a world where we are so used to hearing foul language from movies, videos, TV shows, video games, certain music genres, and...
31/10/2013 21:45
by Ainish Philip
We all face temptations in different ways. It gives us a sense of gratification, pleasure, and momentary happiness. Satan shows us an immediate moment of glory and we let down our defences. What he does not show us is the long term effects of falling into temptation. He does not show us the teen crying all alone in the dark of the room, bouts of anger, depression, guilt, and low self-esteem. So how do we overcome it? This is the question which hounds our...
25/10/2013 16:43
by Ainish Philip
A lot of people are entangled in friendships which seem to start on a serious note but fizzes out in a couple of months. I know many ‘teen couples’ who hang out with each other and are comfortable together. However, they seem to break up every couple of months, and get back ‘on track’ within a week or so because they are ‘so much in love’ with each other. People who needed their space at one instant suddenly feel they can’t live without each other the next...
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